Theory To Practice

As the only white goods manufacturer left in Australia, it’s fair to say that the challenges facing our management team here at Electrolux are somewhat unique.

Consider the fact that we also retain all of our departments in-house in terms of things like business management, marketing, manufacturing, engineering, contact centres, transport logistics, supply chains, warehousing and distribution, and you start to get a fuller picture of the nature of those challenges. It’s also because of this that we’re able to offer an equally unique learning environment for Master of Management students.

Working with them has been an interesting experience. Having already absorbed a great deal of theoretical knowledge, a step into the real world has proven very helpful to their continued development as future management professionals. Encountering a place where things don’t always fit into nice little neat boxes was initially a confronting experiencing for many of them. They had to adapt and quickly become accustomed to applying their knowledge to a practical setting that wasn’t always as predictable as they may have expected.

What the students found particularly enlightening was the opportunity to tap into our in-house departments to draw their information. They were able to sit down with senior managers and ask all the questions they needed to ask and receive expert guidance and coaching. In the process, they learned about the different style of management required for an operational model such as ours.

While the advantage of maintaining a powerful in-house capacity is a greater degree of control and alignment, the danger is that you can fall into a comfort zone whereby you still think you’re the best in the market. It’s a zone that must be avoided at all costs, and the reason we continually seek to reassess and benchmark ourselves by engaging with external consultants who keep us abreast of what's happening in the marketplace.

Author: Peter Savas, Director of Service and Logistics, Electrolux Australia

A Meeting of Minds

I’ve just returned from Incheon, South Korea, where I had the absolute privilege of representing The University of Sydney Business School at the 2011 Global Model United Nations Conference (GMUN).



I’d applied to be a conference official at the beginning of the year, and after a lengthy selection process I received my appointment as Chair of the G77 – a role that entailed coordinating the positions of 131 Member States across four General Assembly committees. Over a five-day period, 600 leading students representing 54 countries discussed eight topics revolving around the general theme of sustainable development. All of us came together not only to build consensus on the issues, but also to achieve a sense of understanding between our respective cultures. I’m happy to say that GMUN managed to achieve both these objectives.

So, can the collaboration of Model UN participants have any real effect on the current state of the world? Given that students don’t have the authority to act on behalf of their countries at the actual UN, we can only be content with arriving at conceptual solutions for now. However, I believe this sets the scene and builds the necessary knowledge capacity for the right decisions to be made in 10 or 20 years’ time, when these same students are taking up key leadership positions in their home countries.

In terms of my own future, I ultimately see myself working in various roles. Initially, I hope to work with a private organisation (perhaps even a not-for-profit group in a developing country) trying to create the infrastructure and the economic framework required for sustainable development. But at some time in my career, given my economics background and interest in economic development as a whole, I also see myself contributing as part of the World Bank. For now, I’m just happy to reflect on my amazing time in Korea. Highlights of the trip? There were certainly many, although I have to say that meeting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was pretty special.

Making The Grade

Few things in the international business world rank as prestigiously as CEMS accreditation, and the University of Sydney Business School can lay claim to having achieved the coveted recognition back in 2008.

An alliance of 28 world-class business schools and over 60 international companies, CEMS accepts only one educational institution per country for membership following a very demanding and rigorous selection process. The mainstay of the alliance is the Master of International Management degree - a program designed to create the next generation of international business managers. A pre-experience degree, it's offered only to elite students completing an accredited Masters degree from a CEMS member organisation (like the Master of Management at the University of Sydney). Requiring students to also be proficient in business communication in at least two languages, the degree offers the invaluable opportunity for participants to study in a Masters program at any one of CEMS' international member schools.

While the inherent strengths of the degree are numerous, a key component is definitely the international business project component that entails a six-week consulting assignment with an international company. Students also get the opportunity to participate in a number of skills seminars provided by corporate partners, with subject matter ranging from negotiation skills through to understanding climate change. It's these types of initiatives that represent a huge value-added component to what's being taught in the classroom.

In 2009, the Financial Times ranked the CEMS Master of International Management degree as number one in the world. Today it's the highest ranked degree open to students at any Australian university. That's one of the reasons the University of Sydney's Business School is now something of an international beacon, attracting leading students not only from within Australia, but from all over the world.

Author: Professor Nick Wailes - University of Sydney Business School

Making a Difference

While it might sound slightly unusual, one of the key aims of the University of Sydney Business School is to ensure that not all graduates finish up with the desire to work for huge multinational corporations.

Granted, these can be extremely enjoyable and rewarding places in which to develop a career. However, we also want to strongly encourage our students to consider an active involvement in other fields, whether social entrepreneurship, the creative industries, micro-enterprise or corporate enterprise. Social entrepreneurship is a key focus of our Innovation and Enterprise Program. Our RARE (Remote and Rural Enterprise) program is a classic case in point. Launched in January this year, this initiative allows participating students from numerous faculties to broaden their experience by traveling to remote rural Australian communities and applying their expertise to various projects.

I’m happy to report that we’ve just had our first three students return from the initial RARE experience, with the participating representatives (one from architecture and two from business) involved in the development of an aquaponics venture, a cultural village and a housing project near Alice Springs. Far more than just a simple nine to five affair, the project maintains a strong emphasis on relationship-building and providing students with first-hand experience of the issues and challenges that face remote communities.

While we now have projects operating across Australia, including rural as well as Indigenous activity, we’re also looking to expand the number of projects and enterprises in which we’re involved. Just as importantly, we’re also looking for students who might want to participate in RARE experiences that are scheduled to take place in September and January. It’s something I would encourage all students to consider, as the benefits to all involved can be profound and even life-changing.