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s Making a positive differenceBusiness magazine speaks to prominentalumnus Muhtar Kent, Chief Executive andChairman of The Coca-Cola Company

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Working in Unisonwith academicsBusiness Schoolgraduate helps localfirm expand itsmarkets.

Opportunitieswithout costsThe LogisticsInstitute is helpingthe unemployedback into theworkplace.

Talent for recoveryDr Kevin Orr and DrStephen Swailesinvestigate how tokeep talent inbusinesses.

Contents

Making a positive difference...........................................................................We speak to prominent alumni Muhtar Kent, Chairman andChief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company, about his careerand experience at Hull.

03 Welcome

04 Makiing a positivediference

06 Engaging with theworld of work

Students connect withreal business issues

07 Working in Unisonwith academics

08 Opportunities withoutcosts

09 Talent for recovery

10 How clean are yourhands?

11 News in brief

12 Events diary

07 08 09

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04

2010 promises to be a year of change – whether it be political,with the inevitability of a general election, or economic, asthe experts predict a slow upturn in financial fortunes for UKplc at the same time as public sector savings will begin to bite.

Whatever the new year may bring, Hull University BusinessSchool is primed and ready to assist with the challengesfaced by our friends and colleagues across the region.Working with business is a core function of the school, usingour knowledge to help businesses build capacity ready forthe rise in economic fortunes.

Initiatives such as the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (p7), inwhich the school now has several years’ experience, and ourpostgraduate project scheme (p6), open up channels fororganisations to access fresh ideas and expertise.

The school has also gained access to government fundingwhich provides free or low-cost training through a range ofprogrammes held at the Logistics Institute, available toindividuals who have been made redundant by the recessionor organisations seeking to improve their staff development.

Our researchers too are looking ahead of the economic cycle.Dr Kevin Orr and Dr Stephen Swailes are investigating theimportance of managing talented individuals within anorganisation, holding on to and making the most of thesepeople in turbulent times (p9).

With so much in the pipeline, Hull University BusinessSchool and its partners and colleagues have a reason for apositive outlook for 2010.

Professor Mike JacksonDean of School

Welcome

If you have any news for the nextissue, or require further informationon any of the items featured, pleasecontact

Kate TysonHull University Business SchoolT +44 (0)1482 463335k.tyson@hull.ac.uk

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Working closely with businesses is key to the vision andmission of Hull University Business School. With this inmind, Business magazine was delighted to interview thelatest figure in its notable alumni series – the man incharge of arguably the world’s most well known brand,Coca-Cola, economics graduate Muhtar Kent.

Following his acceptance of an honorary doctorate from the University,Business Magazine wanted to find out more about Mr Kent’s meteoriccareer path and how his time at university prepared him for the future.

Business Magazine (BM): Coca-Cola is probably the world’s best knownbrand. Has the current economic crisis by-passed the corporation or isCoca-Cola feeling the pinch of the recession?

Muhtar Kent (MK): While we are not immune to the global economicconditions, our system’s ability to think and act like an integratedglobal enterprise – with a strong local focus – allows us to grow ourrevenues and profits in any economic condition. We’ve been developinginnovative plans to address changing business realities for more than120 years, and have managed to be less affected than other companiesand, ultimately, emerge stronger from these challenging periods.

BM: You graduated with an economics degree – do you think that thishelped you in your chosen career path and perhaps given you a greaterunderstanding of the economic situation?

MK: There is no question that my economics degree from Hull hasserved me exceptionally well over the course of my career. The criticalthinking required, the ability to step back and think holistically aboutsolving problems, and the rigorous discipline involved in such a classicliberal arts education have been the foundation for my career andsuccess. Hull is very much a part of who I am today.

Making a positive difference

Muhtar Kent

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BM: In a time when budgets and margins are being squeezed, do youthink that it is still possible to focus on corporate social responsibility?

MK: It is possible and it is necessary. Our company has alwaysendeavoured to conduct business responsibly and ethically. To us,sustainability means evolving our business for continued success,recognising that the health of our business is directly linked to thehealth of the communities we serve.

Sustainability is a significant driver of value that offers meaningfullong-term benefits for our business and society. As a result, we nowinclude sustainability among the key criteria by which we evaluate ourbusiness plans and performance.

We are realigning our business model to match the interests of ourbusiness, society and the environment, and we are assessingeverything to see where we can build better, more effective systemsand improve our overall productivity.

BM: Do you have any personal words of wisdom for our students who arelooking to start an illustrious career in business?

MK: Students graduating from a great university like Hull are nowentering a world which is paradoxical in nature. There are enormouschallenges on one hand and even more breathtaking opportunities onthe other. In the next few years, this generation will lead a billion newpeople around the world into the middle class. Despite the economicwoes of the day, the world is going to grow 20 trillion dollars richer bythe year 2020.

Given these realities, my advice to is to hold close to the relationshipsthey have established at the University of Hull. Relationships are at theheart of their future success and this generation’s ability to work acrosscultures, geographic borders and differing points of view will be essential.

Muhtar Kent – Curriculum Vitae

1972 – 1975 University of Hull – BSc Economics

1976 – 1977 London City University – MSc AdministrativeSciences

1979 – 1998 Variety of sales and marketing roles withinCoca-Cola, including Senior Vice President ofCoca-Cola International and Managing Directorof Coca-Cola Amatil-Europe

1998 – 2005 President and CEO of Efes Beverage Group

2005 Rejoined Coca-Cola as President and ChiefOperating Officer of North Asia, Eurasia and theMiddle East Group

2006 President of Coca-Cola International

2008 Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola

2009 Announced as Chairman of the Board ofDirectors and Chief Executive Officerof Coca-Cola

If you would like to putyourself forward to beinterviewed as part of ourprominent alumni series,please contact SarahFewster, alumnicommunications manager, on+44 (0)1482 463409 ors.fewster@hull.ac.uk.

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The breakneck speed at which most businesses operatemeans that projects that can add value, but are notnecessarily time sensitive, sometimes simply don’thappen.

With this in mind, the world of work office (WoW) offers postgraduatestudents and businesses the opportunity to work together on a short-term project. The project, which forms part of the student’sdissertation, tackles a real business issue and gives organisations afresh perspective on their activities and processes.

One such organisation is Hull-based KC (Kingston Communications),which this year offered projects to three MSc students. RichardGriffiths, Head of Sales and Marketing, was involved in the selectionand recruitment process for the students and was impressed by thecalibre of those chosen. He said: ‘As a business we are constantlyevolving, so when the opportunity arose to bring in intelligent, energeticpeople to engage with our business, we jumped at the chance.’

‘The students had exposure to a real working environment with accessto all business data. They were treated like employees and expected tobe professional at all times, which they were.’

Masters projects last three months, between June and September, andcan be a practical basis for a dissertation. Projects look at specific areasthe business would like to address, on a wide range of subjects such asfinance, logistics, sales or marketing. The WoW office works with theorganisation to generate a project brief which is used to match studentswith the project in terms of their areas of interest and skill sets.

‘The projects were not lightweight dilemmas, but major decisions thatthe business is considering in terms of future direction’, Richardcontinued. ‘From our brief, the students came up with someoutstanding ideas and gave us a different perspective and, in somecases, challenged our exisiting viewpoint.

‘From the excellent standard of what was produced it is obvious thatthe students not only understood the content but also enjoyed writingit. They all produced great quality submissions and received excellentfeedback – both from us and in terms of the grades they received. Weonly wished that the projects could have lasted longer!’

‘KC’s ethos as a local employer is to engage with the communitythrough many different aspects and this project seemed like a great fit.The students were very capable and able to work independently, whichwas not a drain on our resources and time.

‘Working with the business school was a simple process. The studentsbrought a lot of value to the business and we have high expectations ofnext year!’

If you have a project which may be suitable for our postgraduatestudents, please contact Career Skills and Placements Manager,Valerie Monaghan on +44 (0)1482 463302 or v.monaghan@hull.ac.uk.

Did you know that we offer arange of ways for businessesto connect with students?

The world of work (WoW) officeprovides a one-stop-shop to helporganisations access a talent poolof future business leaders – ourstudents.

Examples of activities include:

- Mock interviews where studentstest their mettle with seniormanagers from a wide range ofbusinesses.

- Regular guest lectures with speakersfrom business – key to both ourundergraduate and postgraduateprogrammes.

- Advertising your student andgraduate recruitment opportunities.

- Matching placement year studentswith organisations. There arecurrently over 160 studentsinterested in paid work placementsstarting in summer 2010 for aminimum of 40 weeks.

- Providing the link betweenorganisations and postgraduatestudents in search of businessprojects to complete their mastersprogramme – see story on the right.

Students connect withreal business issues

Engaging withthe world of work

Unison Ltd manufactures precision tube bending machinery for theautomotive and aerospace industries and is unique in its industry. As part ofthe KTP programme, Unison has employed business school alumnus ShonaLloyd, who graduated in 2005.

‘I have worked in various marketing roles since 2005 but this KTP project offersme the opportunity to experience a different sector and get my teeth into aspecific project with the support of the University – so I leapt at theopportunity to further develop my CV’, commented Shona.

‘I am a graduate of the business school, was president of the Students’ Unionat Hull and have kept in touch with many of my lecturers over the years, so Iam delighted to be able to work with the University on this project.

‘As well as focusing on developing a new marketing strategy for thisenterprising business, I will also be studying for my Masters, using Unison asthe heart of my dissertation, which will be really rewarding.’

Unison Ltd marketing director, Peter Wilkinson, echoed this sentiment: ‘We aredelighted to welcome Shona onboard and welcome the opportunity to engagewith fresh thoughts and ideas. Her experience and expertise will help UnisonLtd investigate new international opportunities and help shape our product inthe future.’

John Munro, lecturer in marketing and business at Hull University BusinessSchool in Scarborough, is supervising the KTP. ‘Needless to say, we aredelighted that a graduate from the business school has been appointed and Ilook forward to working with Shona over the coming months.’

This KTP project is one of a number organised by the University’s KnowledgeExchange, which coordinates business activity for the University. KTPs arepart-funded by the Government and are open to organisations of any sizewhich have a feasible strategic need.

For more information regarding KTPs at the University of Hull, please contactLiz Ringrose on +44 (0)1482 464909 or l.ringrose@hull.ac.uk.

Working in Unisonwith academics

Hull University BusinessSchool is helping a high-tech Scarboroughbusiness to expand withininternational markets, aspart of a KnowledgeTransfer Partnership (KTP)programme, which linksbusinesses anduniversities nationwide.

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Rising unemployment has been a stark reminder that the effects of therecession are long lasting. With this in mind, the Logistics Institute hastaken advantage of funding to enhance the skills of individuals whohave been made redundant within the last six months.

With the help of regional funding, the institute is currently offering freedriver training courses such as the ADR Hazardous Goods and DriverCertificate of Professional Competence (CPC) – although training inother areas will also be available throughout 2010.

Other schemes such as Innovation Vouchers benefit entireorganisations. Provided through Business Link, the vouchers offerSMEs in the Yorkshire region the opportunity to take advantage of£3,000 to be used to access expert consultancy delivered by educationproviders such as the business school.

The funding is used to develop a solution to a specific project whichhas to be innovative and help grow the business – for example sellingan existing product or service in a new market, finding more efficientways of doing business or creating additional benefits to the currentbusiness offering.

Businesses can also apply to the Logistics Institute for a slice of£900,000 which was secured by the University from the EconomicChallenge Investment Fund (ECIF) to help organisations andindividuals through the recession – and to come out of it stronger andmore competitive than before. The funding is applicable to mostcourses offered in the business school, including external bespoketraining programmes.

‘We understand that times are hard for many businesses across theregion so, working closely with the University’s Knowledge Exchange,we have ensured that the Logistics Institute has a wide range of helpon offer’, commented Richard Faint, commercial director at theLogistics Institute.

For more information about funding training and opportunities,please contact Sarah Longthorn on s.longthorn@hull.ac.uk or+44 (0)1482 347500.

The Logistics Institute hasbeen working alongside theUniversity’s KnowledgeExchange to providebusinesses and individualswith access to training andfunding initiatives whichprovide help in difficulteconomic times.

Opportunitieswithout costs

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Talent for recovery

Talent management continues to be a hot issue. But has the globaleconomic crisis turned our assumptions upside down and challenged howwe think about talent?

Redundancies in some sectors, repercussions relating to the bonus cultureand retrenchment in public spending will force a fresh approach to talentmanagement.

Staffing decisions in public and private organisations reinforce the need toidentify, nurture and retain talented individuals: those who make a realdifference to the bottom line and the quality and impact of services.Rewards are an important part of a talent retention strategy but can they belinked to ethical, sustainable and strategic goals?

On the other hand, an expanded talent pool can help organisations torebuild and emerge from the crisis. This may involve thinking imaginativelyabout the profile of new recruits, perhaps looking for people with relevantskills and experience in other sectors. This could help fill skills gaps andenable those who are unemployed to explore a wider range of jobopportunities than they may have thought possible.

These are some of the issues being explored by researchers in the school’scentre for management and organisational learning (CMOL). The school hasrecently been strengthened by the addition of Andrew Cressey, who hasjoined us after a successful career in marketing to look at organisationaltalent strategies. He is particularly interested in how organisations definewhat it means to be talented and in exploring how being ‘talent-listed’ – ornot – influences individuals. Stephen Swailes and Kevin Orr are developing a‘Talent Index’ which is a diagnostic framework to help organisations assesshow they approach the management of key staff.

If you would like to know more about this work and how it might help yourorganisations or would be willing to be interviewed as part of our research,please contact Stephen or Kevin on s.swailes@hull.ac.uk ork.orr@hull.ac.uk.

Dr Kevin Orr and Dr Stephen Swailes, Centre for Managementand Organisational Learning (CMOL), Hull UniversityBusiness School.

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The ‘Give Soap a Chance’ demonstration was developed as part of atraining programme to raise awareness of infection control andprevention run for staff at the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHSTrust by Hull University Business School.

The ‘Leading Change and Best Practice in Health Care AssociatedInfections’ (HCAI) programme has recently celebrated the graduationof its first cohort to receive a University accreditation.

Course leader Jean Kellie said: ‘Through the course, link practitionersare given the tools to become more proactive and to lead change bybecoming role models of good practice in the ward amongstcolleagues, professionals, patients and visitors.

‘As we have seen through the lightbox, even those who think theyhave clean hands can carry germs and infections which can beeliminated through simple measures.’

Since the programme began, 27 members of staff from Hull and EastYorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust have passed through the programme.A further 15 members of staff have recently embarked on a thirdprogramme.

Eileen Henderson, Assistant to the Medical Director at the Trust,concluded: ‘We are delighted that our staff have received thisaccreditation. And we are pleased to see that the University staff andstudents appear to be adhering to good handwashing practices!’

The leadership programme is just part of the business school’s rangeof provision, which helps organisations to achieve sustainablecompetitive results in the global marketplace. Working withorganisations to service the needs of the current businessenvironment, the school offers user-relevant research and businesseducation with practical applications, alongside successfulconsultancy work, and has international expertise in the areas ofleadership and strategy, management development and logistics.

A schedule of training runs throughout the year, however,programmes can also be tailored to meet specific organisationalneeds, either delivered in-house or on campus. For moreinformation, please visit www.hull.ac.uk/hubs/business.

Students and staff showedhow well they scrubbed upwhen NHS staff brought in alightbox which highlightsgerms and infections that arecarried on our skin.

‘How clean are your hands?’

Logistics professors atnational conference

Director of the Logistics Institute,Professor David Grant, andvisiting professor and logisticsguru, Martin Christopher, wereboth invited to present as keynotespeakers at the annual LogisticsIreland convention.

With the theme of the volatileglobal economy firmly on theagenda, both Grant andChristopher used their wideknowledge and expertise ofsupply chain management andlogistics to present persuasivearguments to over 200 delegatesat the event.

Rebranding updateAs you will now be aware, theUniversity has undergone astrategic rebrand and the newvisual identity for the Universityand business school website willbe going live very shortly.

With clearer content andimpactful images, the sites have afresh new look which will appealto students and businesses. Visitwww.hull.ac.uk/hubs.

Fellowship Award fromESRCThe business school has beenawarded a Management andBusiness DevelopmentFellowship from the ESRC in theresearch area of Europeantransport and logistics.

Director of research, ProfessorSteve Armstrong, director of theLogistics Institute, ProfessorDavid Grant and ProfessorChandra Lalwani, director of thelogistics institute research centre,completed the application for thefellowship – one of only 17awarded this year.

The fellowship is the businessschool’s second prestigiousaward from a UK researchcouncil, the first being theappointment of research fellowAdrian Coronado Mondragonthrough the RCUK AcademicFellowship Scheme.

International Week 2009Students and staff were invited toshare in the school’s successfulInternational Week, bringingtogether people and expertise tolook at what it means to work in atruly international businessenvironment.

The school was delighted towelcome all visitors at the eventsuch as senior representativesfrom KIMBERLY–CLARKPROFESSIONAL*, who sharedtheir experience in developinginternational careers, andProfessor Pablo Collazzo, who ischair of the Global ResponsibleCompetitiveness Institute inNyenrode and consultant to theUN Industrial DevelopmentOrganisation.

News in brief

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In October, the business school onceagain played host to the annual PeterThompson lecture.

This year’s speaker was Ms ChristineLoh, recently presented as one ofTime magazine’s ‘Heroes of theEnvironment’. Her presentationfocused on international businessand its impact on the environment,specifically on the effects of airquality and climate change on theshipping and port managementindustries in Asia.

Ms Loh explored how majorstakeholders in the logistics andsupply chain sector are meeting thegrowing challenges of environmentallegislation and corporate socialresponsibility.

The annual lecture is held inrecognition of the generosity of DrPeter Thompson OBE, LLD, JP, whoendowed a chair in the businessschool, presently held by ProfessorDavid Menachof.

The event was well attended and theguest list included MSc and MBAstudents from the business school.

This was a very thought–provokingtopic which highlighted shortfallsand action points for the future, notonly in Asia but globally, and ourthanks go to Christine Loh forpresenting this interesting lecture.

Environmentmatters

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Open days for full-timecoursesSaturday 20 February 2010Saturday 13 March 2010Wednesday 28 April 2010Saturday 10 July 2010

Open days offer the chance foranyone considering studying onany of our undergraduateprogrammes to visit the businessschool at either the Hull orScarborough campus.

Visitors will meet members ofstaff in the business schoolsubject area or areas that are ofinterest, as well as interact withcurrent students, helpingapplicants to make an informeddecision about their futureeducation.

To register your attendanceplease visit the business school’sopen day web page atwww.hull.ac.uk/hubs.

Part-time coursesOpen evenings for part-timecourses – Executive MBA, BABusiness Management, and BABusiness Management andLogistics – are due to take placein March, June and September.Exact dates are yet to beconfirmed, please see thebusiness school website forfurther details.

Lectures/WorkshopsWarehouse design & managementWednesday 24 February –Thursday 25 February 2010

Key skills for logistics managersMonday 29 March – Wednesday31 March 2010

Logistics managementdevelopment programme (LMDP)Wednesday 28 April – Friday 30April 2010

For further information aboutany of the events listed above orforthcoming activities, pleasevisit the events section of ourwebsite, www.hull.ac.uk/hubs.

Hull University Business SchoolHullHU6 7RXT +44 (0)1482 347500E businessschool@hull.ac.ukW www.hull.ac.uk/hubs

Events diary