Editorial

Citation

Bell, G. (2012), "Editorial", Strategic Direction, Vol. 28 No. 11. https://doi.org/10.1108/sd.2012.05628kaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Strategic Direction, Volume 28, Issue 11

Welcome to the 11th and final issue of volume 28 of Strategic Direction. In what has been a typically turbulent year, many organizations have been investing in their people and processes in order to defend against these changeable conditions, and prepare themselves for future growth.

The EFMD’s Excellence in Practice Awards, now in its 6th year, celebrates such corporate learning and development initiatives, in particular those of proven impact, carried out in a sustainable, efficient manner. As our regular readers will be aware, each year issue 11 of Strategic Direction is published in conjunction with the EFMD, to provide independently-written reviews of the five winning case studies.

Celebrating its 40th year, the EFMD is recognized globally as an accreditation board of quality in management education, corporate universities and technology-enhanced learning programs. With more than 700 member organizations from academia, business, public service and consultancy in 80 countries, EFMD provides a unique forum for information, research, networking and debate on innovation and best practice in management development.

Our first article, “Accelerating senior leaders’ development and driving growth strategy”, reviews the winning case from the Executive Development category, entitled “Merck Global Human Health Executive Development Program”, by Nancy Singer, Judy Kelley, and Cara Stolarczyk of Merck and Co., and Sandhya Karpe and A. Janeen Pesiridis of The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA. This paper discusses the challenges faced by Merck, a global healthcare company, and how the partnership with Wharton aided the development of leaders with the skills to manage in a rapidly-changing environment.

The winning case from the Talent Development category, entitled “Trusted, innovative, bold: Building global mindsets for a global future”, by Andrea Lewis of BAE Systems, Inc., and Tim Sellick of Saïd Business School, is covered by the review, “Raising global awareness in early-career high-flyers”. This article provides an illuminating overview of BAE Systems, Inc. and Saïd Business School’s collaboration in equipping early-career graduates with a global understanding.

Our third review, “Linking theory and practice in Siemens’ new training initiative”, discusses the winning Professional Development case, “Senior Siemens Production System (SPS) Expert Program”, by Walter Liebisch and Ralf-Ulrich Gruhs of Siemens. This article describes the implementation of the SPS Expert training programme – a lean philosophy intended to simplify the manufacturing process.

“Leeds University Business School and Goldman Sachs bring 10,000 small businesses to Yorkshire” reviews the winning case from the “Other” category, by Deepak Jayaraman and Sarah Hackett of Goldman Sachs, and Rob Whieldon of Leeds University Business School. This article outlines the collaboration between Goldman Sachs and Leeds University Business School in the pilot of a new program designed to help small businesses and social enterprises grow and create new jobs.

Our final case-study review, “Executive education stimulates strategic thinking and action”, discusses the winner of the Organizational Development category, entitled “Business Unit Strategy at Lonza – Linking Executive Education and Strategy Development“, by Uwe Boehlke of Lonza, and Philipp Guthof from the University of St Gallen. The paper describes a six-month action-learning program in which Lonza and its academic partner, St Gallen, radically reshaped the company’s approach to strategy development.

We follow these articles with three of our more traditional reviews. The first, entitled “Good deeds tops for bottom line: how social responsibility can benefit companies”, gives an overview of CSR – how it is reported, implemented, and the benefits it can bring. Our second review, “Horses for courses: business school teaching in today’s world”, addresses the topic of MBA programs, arguing that the inclusion of more functional skills training will leave graduates better equipped for the business world. Our final review, “Credibility and trust on the agenda: authentic leaders bring a touch of humanity”, advocates authenticity in leadership, while warning that the study of Authentic Leadership may have unrealistic expectations at its core which must be tempered.

Issue 11 concludes with an interview with Jan Ginneberge and Martine Plompen, both of the EFMD, discussing the development of the EiP Awards since inception, and offering an overview of the key themes evident in this year’s entries.

Gareth Bell