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s Bright lights of the eastBusiness magazine speaks to high-flyinggraduates at PricewaterhouseCoopers Malaysia

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Transforming theIndian supply chain

Improving publicsector effectiveness

Australian partnersget the Hullexperience

Contents

Bright lights of the east..........................................................................Graduates Kwai Fatt Chin and Johan Raslan share theirinsights into the Malaysian economy and how the businessschool prepared them for successful careers at PwC.

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1. Welcome

2. Transforming theIndian supply chain

3. Leaning towards SixSigma

4. Bright lights of theeast

6. Connecting graduatesfor success

7. Improving publicsector effectiveness

8. News in brief

9. Australian partnersget the Hullexperience

Keeping in touchwith the businessschool

10. Events diary

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The new coalition government has brought politicaltransformation and, with it, sweeping changes to the world ofbusiness which affect us all. Although we are still predictinggrowth, it is likely that the upturn will be extremely slow.

In these unprecedented times Hull University Business Schoolis redoubling its efforts to respond to the needs of globalbusiness.

We were recently invited to join a trade mission to India whichsought to understand the skills needed to make supply chainsin this emerging economy more competitive on the globalstage (p2). Research from the Logistics Institute looking attransformational logistics will hopefully help to inform futuredevelopments in this area.

The school is poised to help organisations maximise theirrevenue by cutting costs and a new Lean Six Sigma programmeis to be offered from June (p5), working with global businessprocessing outsourcing provider Arvato.

We are also renewing our commitment to our former studentswith the launch of the new Alumni Connect scheme (p6),which formalises our links by providing access to academicexpertise as well as career coaching, vital in the uncertain jobmarket.

2011 promises to be yet another unsettled year for business. Itis therefore even more necessary to take all the opportunitiesthat do present themselves.

Professor Mike JacksonDean of School

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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

However, as the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has repeatedly said, Indiamust aim for a sustained double-digit growth in order to eliminate poverty andprovide jobs for its growing population of young people.

This sentiment is vital as India, now the second most populous country in theworld, is a very young nation in terms of demographics, with more than 50% of itspopulation below the age of 25. It is little wonder that training and education hasbecome a national obsession – nearly 1,000 new universities are needed to meetdemand and India is looking to foreign institutions to help fill this gap.

Logistics Institute commercial manager Richard Faint was recently invited to travelas a delegate on a UK Indian Business Council (UKIBC) trade mission to the countrywhich was led by UKIBC Chair and former-MP Patricia Hewitt and specificallyfocused on the supply chain industry.

As part of the trip, Richard met with business leaders in the logistics and foodprocessing industries to discuss the skills needed to improve business processes. Ina country where 30% of food produced never makes it to the plate but spoils alongthe supply chain, this is an important issue to master.

Transforming theIndian supply chainIndia’s economy has once again grown beyond expectations sofar this fiscal year, to reach almost 9%. In a global market wherenot just banks but countries are being rescued, this growthseems almost unprecedented.

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‘Supply chains in India can be described as asymmetrical. On the onehand, you have big national companies using advanced technology intheir supply chains, such as atmospheric manipulation within cold store.On the other, there are nearly 12 million ‘Mom-and-Pop’ small-scale storeswith their informal business model and underdeveloped supply chains,’says Richard.

‘Many of the skills that are required are low level fundamentals andprocess improvement technology, such as Six Sigma, to create greaterefficiencies and economies of scale. The Chartered Institute of Logisticsand Transport (CILT) is looking to tackle these issues through long termeducation programmes, in which we hope to be involved.

‘It might be difficult to change the Indian supply chain model, but withinternational successes such as the Indian Godrej Group conglomerateand moves from foreign retail chains to join the internal market, there is adefinite shift in progress.’

It is vital that businesses do sense this need for change and actaccordingly. As customers become more sophisticated and choice grows,India needs to transform its supply chains to increase competitiveness.

Professor David Menachof, director of the Centre for Logistics Research, isworking with logistics guru and visiting professor to the business school,Martin Christopher, and Yorkshire businessman Rob Bell on research intotransformational logistics. In addition to co-founding consultancy firm,Archomai, Mr Bell has extensive experience of the Indian market and is anadviser to the Confederation of Indian Industry logistics group.

‘Transformational logistics is an umbrella term for evolving logistics andsupply chain management in the emerging and developing world,especially the BRIC countries’, said Professor Menachof.

‘In these economies, priorities are very different to those in the Westernworld. There is a need to invest in systems which we already take forgranted. For example, in India only 4% of retail is what we would class as‘modern’ – e.g. chain stores – as opposed to 80% in the UK. This meansthat there is a massive discrepancy in terms of purchasing power and noreal economies of scale. If the supply chain were enhanced and mademore efficient, products that are already good on price could becomecompetitive internationally.

‘Although it is vital for supply mechanisms to work in their own markets,Indian supply chains have to feed into the global standard to becompetitive. Western systems are not the ultimate goal, but transforminginto something which integrates well with this model is important.

‘In India there is a thirst for knowledge which we can see among ourstudents. Businesses know that there is a need to become the very best notjust in India, but in the world. Through our research, we hope to definetransformational logistics and work more closely with emerging marketsto help them to overcome barriers and assimilate into the global market.

For more information about logistics research, visit www.hull.ac.uk/hubs.

The school is working withbusiness process outsourcinggiant Arvato to deliver aBlack Belt programme in LeanSix Sigma, to help radicallyimprove the quality oforganisational processes andoutputs.

The Lean Six Sigma approach hasrecently grown in popularity in boththe public and private sectors. Thephilosophy seeks to minimise wasteand variation to ensure a consistentlyhigh quality product. Relying onmethods that have been developedand tested over the last 50 years, itaims to reduce the number of defectsto 3.4 per million opportunitiesthrough a process of rigorousinvestigation and problem solving.

Richard Faint, commercial managerof the Logistics Institute, believesthat this programme will savebusinesses thousands of poundsby improving performance andeliminating the waste caused byimperfect products and inefficientprocesses.

He said: ‘It has been estimated thatsystems which are not as rigorousor effective as Six Sigma can cost acompany as much as 10–15% of itsrevenue – money which mostbusinesses can ill-afford to lose.

‘At the business school our academicteam has developed a high qualityprogramme, giving delegatesaccess to cutting-edge research, aswell as a university accreditationthrough the successful cost-savingcompletion of a project.’

For more information about thenew Lean Six Sigma programme,which commences in June 2011,please contact Richard Faint on+44 (0)1482 347500.

Leaning towardsSix Sigma

Business magazine caught up with them to ask about theirviews on the current financial crisis, Malaysia’s potentialrole in global economics and how they think their time atHull helped further their careers.

Business Magazine (BM): The global economy has seen aconsiderable slowdown since 2007. In your opinion, did thegrowing Malaysian economy have any advantagescompared to other countries?

Johan Raslan (JR): When riding out economic storms,Malaysia has historically managed to stabilise its economyand restore investors’ confidence. For example, during theAsian financial crisis of 1997, it adopted an independentand holistic approach towards economic recovery, and asa result had the shortest and shallowest downturn of anyof the afflicted countries.

Kwai Fatt Chin (KC): Malaysia has many key comparativeadvantages such as a stable Government, which leads toclear and effective planning and implementing ofeconomic developments and an open, responsive, highlyexport-oriented economy, to capitalise on global trends. Italso has a balanced, diversified and programmedeconomic approach towards growing natural resources,developing a range of industries and is now turning itsfocus towards the services sector.

BM: Since the low of its recession in the first quarter of2009, Malaysia looks to be recovering. Where do you thinkthe country’s future strengths and development lie?

KC: Malaysia’s future strengths lie in natural resources. Byleveraging these, investors can take advantage ofMalaysia’s strategic location in the middle of bustling Asiaand a climate conducive to scaling production of greenproduce. There is also an abundance of oil and gas andongoing development of alternative energy sources as wellas a highly bio-diverse tropical forest with its unparalleledpotential for medicinal research.

In financial services, Malaysia has established itself as aregional centre of excellence for the up-and-coming fieldof Islamic Finance.

JR: Malaysia’s other important resource is ‘people’ whogrow up in a diverse environment in which bi-lingualismis the norm.

Looking ahead, we see acceleration in the areas ofeducation and skills development, and healthcare fromdisease prevention through childcare development andwellness services.

BM: You are both on the PwC joint leadership board for thePwC SEAPEN Region, which covers Malaysia, Thailand,Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. What qualities do youbelieve tomorrow’s business leaders, our graduates, requireto face future challenges?

JR: While the fundamental need of a business to achieveprofitable growth remains, many leaders are nowendeavouring to generate growth in a more responsibleway to do the right thing for the environment, society andthe marketplace.

Tomorrow’s business leaders will need both hard and softskills. Hard skills such as strategic vision, entrepreneurialdrive, and the ability to negotiate will give you a goodstart. But these are not enough to make one a leader.Increasingly, you will see an emphasis on ‘authenticity’.Values such as integrity and bravery need to be in the DNAof a good leader.

KC: Today, talent management is a major business theme.A good leader needs to be a role model to set the tone fromthe top and inspire their people to excel and make themhappy to remain with the business. It is all about livingand demonstrating the right values and behaviours.

BM: You both studied undergraduate business degrees atHull. How did this experience help to equip you for yourcurrent career?

KC: Hull was really the furthest place I had been awayfrom Malaysia on my own at that point in time. Johan wasmore familiar with UK, given his family ties, but this washis first foray into ‘the North’. We both owe a debt ofgratitude to the people of Hull, with their natural ‘take usas you find us’ friendliness, as well as to the University.

Both of us feel that our time in Hull strengthened ourthinking skills and confidence, as we participated ingroup tutorials. The ability to communicate well isessential for any business leader these days, and Hullhelped us in this area. Hull had, and no doubt still has, anenormous number of extra-curricular activities and wecredit much of our success to this early start.

JR: Hull taught us to celebrate working with diversity, andto see beyond barriers of class, gender, religion andethnicity. Hull and its University had a strong and positiveimpact on our values, as well as our skills, in ourformative years.

To this day, we are still putting these skills, and these values,to good use as we lead a firm of more than 100 partnersand 3,000 people in five countries in South-East Asia.

Bright lights of the eastIn 1978 Kwai Fatt Chin graduated in Economics fromHull, and Johan Raslan followed threeyears later with a degree in Economics and Accounting. Since then, their careers have gonefrom strength to strength and they are nowManaging Director and Executive Chairman atPricewaterhouseCoopersMalaysia.

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At the business school we are committed to the development ofresponsible leadership for a complex world. And as a key part ofachieving this goal, we have developed a new continuingprofessional development scheme – Alumni Connect.

This unique subscription-based scheme will enable the school’s global alumnicommunity to continue their professional development following graduation. It isaimed at individuals who graduated post-1999 or in a business-related subject pre-1999 and offers a wide range of benefits for the annual fee of £150 (inc VAT),including:

• Business Source® Alumni Edition – an online database of nearly 1,450 full-textbusiness magazines and journals, across nearly every area of business. Itincludes general periodicals, trade publications, top management journals,country economic, industry and market research reports, company profiles andmuch more;

• Business lectures, seminars and an annual conference delivered in globallocations.

These events will be themed around topical business issues and will includepractical advice and support to enable those who attend to put theory into practicein their own organisations.

• The latest cutting edge research from the school’s academic staff• Individual career advice and support, including career coaching and managing

your career videos. Members can also access a specialist recruitment guide foran insight into who is recruiting and when. All career support and resources willbe provided by Workmaze Ltd, one of the leading providers of careersinformation to the international business school market

• An online member directory and e-networking opportunities• Regular e-newsletters.

Sarah Fewster, alumni communications manager at the school, believes that this isan important service for our graduates. She said: ‘As business leaders, they need tobe equipped with the latest business thinking to understand and respond to thecomplexities of the global business environment. Alumni connect will enablemembers to benefit from the latest business research and provide opportunities tofurther develop their knowledge and skills, regardless of their location andwhatever their business type.’

If you are interested in finding out more information about Alumni Connect, pleasecontact Sarah at s.fewster@hull.ac.uk, +44 (0)1482 463409 or visitwww.hull.ac.uk/hubs to register online.

Connecting graduatesfor success

Alumni Connectconferences andseminarsAs part of our newgraduate professionaldevelopment scheme,business researchseminars will be held inour international teachinglocations.

• Hong Kong – 8 April 2011• Singapore – 13 April 2011

Dates in Bahrain andOman will be confirmedsoon.

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As part of the comprehensive spending review,announced in October, the coalition government isseeking to introduce cuts in public spending on anunprecedented scale. This poses a massive challenge tothose leading and managing the delivery of publicservices. The extent to which they are successful inrethinking and redesigning services in a relatively shortspace of time will be a key determinant of what happensin terms of the balance between service cuts andproviding more cost effective services.

There is a need for public sector leaders to redesign ‘as awhole’ as well as eliminate waste. Management systemsapproaches can enable them to do both and to empoweremployees to manage and implement working practicesaround customer needs. But public sector leaders willneed to be innovative and will face many tough choices.

By using tried and tested management systems methods,public sector leaders will be better equipped to radicallyrestructure organisations to be more effective and efficientfor delivering the services which matter most to the citizenon the street.

In a research report produced in collaboration withKPMG, we found that there is strong interest in usingsystems thinking in the public sector. Over 65% ofrespondents to the research were already using systemsthinking approaches in their organisation to addressissues such as efficiency, improving service delivery andprocess improvement. The results have also beenimpressive, with over 70% claiming that the outcomes ofusing systems thinking have been either very good orexcellent.

Implemented in the right way, systems thinking couldhave a major impact on transforming the public sector.There is significant potential to rethink the delivery ofpublic services and to do more for less. Systems thinkingcan ensure that the cultural, structural and processchanges necessary are managed together and in harmony.

The business school offers programmes in leanmanagement systems and for more information, pleasecontact Pam Jackson on +44 (0)1482 347556.

Improving public sectoreffectivenessLeading management systems academic, ProfessorMike Jackson, explains how usingsystems approaches can help the public sector to manage the funding cuts.

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Accreditation visitThe business school was visited inNovember by accrediting bodyAACSB – the Association toAdvance Collegiate Schools ofBusiness – in advance of theproper visit in February.

Feedback has so far been generallypositive. The team were pleasedwith the quality of discussionsand the information they received.Detailed preparations are currentlyunderway for the actual visitbetween 20 and 23 February 2011.We hope to be able to bring youfurther news in the next edition.

New appointmentsSince the beginning of this year,we have strengthened ouracademic team by 15 staff at levelsfrom professor to lecturer. Postshave been agreed in the sixsubject areas, including a newprofessor in systems thinking,Gerald Midgely, and two newSenior Lecturers in OrganisationalBehaviour and HR Management(OBHRM) – Dr Patrick Reedy andDr May Seitanidi.

Internally, director for the Centrefor Marketing Innovations andApplications, Professor Jon Reast,has been appointed as the Chairof Strategic Marketing and DrBarbara Allan has been appointedDeputy Dean of the businessschool, following the departure ofDr Anthea Gregory.

Record PhD recruitmentThe school has this year recruited39 new entrants to our full-timedoctoral programmes. This is thelargest single intake since theschool began, almost double the2009 intake, and takes the totalPhD community to over 120.

In addition, we are pleased towelcome a cohort of 10 part-timePhD students from MzumbeUniversity, our partner institutionin Tanzania.

Aunt Bessie’s producesexcellent resultsCongratulations to family-runfrozen food company and businessschool corporate partner, AuntBessie’s, which recentlytriumphed at the ManufacturingExcellence Awards where it wasawarded the ‘Productivity throughSkills Award’.

The firm, which employs over 350staff in Hull, impressed judgeswith its commitment tomaintaining investment intraining and support for all of itsemployees.

The business school has workedclosely with Aunt Bessie’s and itsparent company, William JacksonFood Group, over a number ofyears on a variety of projects andthe company has have justembarked on the fourthManagement DevelopmentProgramme at the school.

Postcards from the pastStudents can look back at theirplace of study over the years,thanks to a historical donationfrom Mary Burgess Holford.

A former primary school headteacher, Miss Holford studied inthe business school buildingswhen they were the Kingston uponHull College of Education from1939–1941. She celebrated her90th birthday in October and askedher niece, Delia Cowley, to presenta framed set of picture postcardsof the school in its original formatto the business school.

News in briefNew Year’s Honourfor businessschool DeanDean of the business school,Professor Mike Jackson, has beenmade an Officer of the order of theBritish Empire, OBE, in the 2011New Year’s Honours List for hisservices to higher education and tobusiness.

Professor Jackson was born andschooled in Hull before gaining anOpen Exhibition to study at OxfordUniversity. He has spent his entirecareer in Hull and has been Dean ofthe business school since itsinception in 1999.

A systems scientist, ProfessorJackson’s distinguished career hasincluded terms as President of theUK Systems Society, of theInternational Federation for SystemsResearch and of the InternationalSociety for the Systems Sciences.He is a Fellow of the BritishComputer Society, the CyberneticsSociety, the Chartered ManagementInstitute and the OperationalResearch Society.

Professor Jackson said: ‘I amobviously very proud to receive thishonour. Although my own researchwork has contributed to the award,primarily it was given due to thegrowth of the business school overthe past 10 years from virtuallynothing to a school which is nownationally and internationallyrecognised as excellent.

‘It is a fantastic acknowledgment foreveryone who has contributed to thesuccess of the business school. Ihope that the OBE will bring evenmore attention to the school and Iwill seek to use the award to that endduring my remaining time as Dean’.

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Further news and informationwill be added throughout theyear, please visit the newssection of our website,www.hull.ac.uk/hubs.

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The business school welcomed 30 executive studentsfrom strategic partner organisation QueenslandUniversity of Technology (QUT) to a study week in Hull,where they took advantage of the school’s world-classexpertise in systems thinking.

The visit formed part of the students’ international study tour module ofboth the Executive Master of Business in Complex Project Managementand Executive Master of Business in Strategic Procurement, which Dean ofHull University Business School, Professor Mike Jackson, helped to create.

As part of the week, the executives attended seminars in complex systemsthinking and international contracts law. The programme was led byProfessor Jackson and involved a small team of specialist academics inthe field.

Professor Jackson said: ‘The programme is designed to promote strategicand innovative thinking about complex projects and to encourageproblem-solving and leadership skills.

‘Systems programmes have been delivered in Hull since the 1970s, so weare delighted to be able to share our experience and knowledge with ourinternational partners. Both Hull and QUT are members of theInternational Centre for Complex Project Management (ICCPM) andcollaborate in research and teaching in this field.’

As part of the study tour, delegates spent the day at The Deep, Hull’sspectacular aquarium, where participants worked alongside executiveswho managed the project to build this award winning visitor attraction.

Australian partnersget the Hullexperience Suggest an issue?

We are always looking for newways to connect with our readersand would appreciate yourfeedback on the articles inBusiness magazine.

If you would like our experts toconsider a particular topic in thenext edition or to comment on thecurrent edition, please contact PROfficer, Kate Tyson, on+44 (0)1482 463335 or emailk.tyson@hull.ac.uk.

Videos onlineAs part of our events programme,the business school is nowvideoing prestigious lectures andseminars, most recently the annualPeter Thompson lecture, deliveredby shipping expert Dr HelmutSohmen, and the engagingseminar given by Lord Digby Jones.If you missed these events, visitour website to replay theexperience.

Social mediaYou can follow the latestdiscussions, networking, news andevents at the business school onsocial media.

Facebook: Join our school page atwww.facebook.com/hubs.

Twitter: Get the latest bite-sizeinformation on research, news andevents by following us@hubsonline.

YouTube: The school has its ownchannel, showcasing video clips ofevents, student testimonials andacademic comments on current hottopics. Search for hubsweb.

You can also access all the latestnews and opinions from the schoolat www.hull.ac.uk/hubs.

Keeping in touchwith the businessschool

Open daysFull-time coursesWednesday 9 February 2011Saturday 26 February 2011Open days offer the chance foranyone wanting to study on anundergraduate programme to visitthe business school at either theHull or Scarborough campuses.

Visitors will meet members ofstaff from the business school, aswell as interact with currentstudents, helping applicants tomake an informed decision abouttheir future education.

Part-time coursesMonday 7 March 2011Open evenings for part-timecourses enable you to find outmore about how our ExecutiveMBA and BA BusinessManagement courses can enhanceyour business and managementknowledge and skills.

For further information on full orpart-time open days, please visitthe business school’s events webpage at www.hull.ac.uk/hubs.

Businesslectures/workshopsSystems thinking in serviceorganisationsBegins Wednesday 2 March 2011

To reserve your place, pleasecontact Bridget Freer on+44 (0)1482 4347500 orb.freer@hull.ac.uk

Business lecture with SimonCalver, CEO of LOVEFiLMThe story of LOVEFiLM9 March 2011

To reserve your place, pleasecontact Ian Calvert on+44 (0)1482 463183 ori.calvert@hull.ac.uk

For further information about anyof the events listed above orforthcoming activities, please visitthe events section of our website,www.hull.ac.uk/hubs.

Hull University Business SchoolHull, HU6 7RX

+44 (0)1482 347500businessschool@hull.ac.ukwww.hull.ac.uk/hubs

Events diary