Archivo de Mayo/2007

Pablo Triana – Director, Center for Advanced Finance IE Business School
Artículo publicado en Portafolio.com, mayo 24 de 2007.
Tanto si uno está o no está de acuerdo con los comentarios más alarmistas de Al Gore, parece indudable que el planeta está siendo testigo de patrones climáticos extraños en los últimos tiempos. Los términos ‘cambio climático’ y ‘calentamiento global’ se han convertido en inevitables clichés de nuestros días, los más urgentes problemas a los que se enfrenta la humanidad según muchos, temas obligatorios para los políticos.
Si bien la realidad del cambio climático no admite mucha disputa, lo que parece más controvertido es si la acción humana es responsable. La mayoría de los expertos así lo creen. Pero, para ser justos, al mismo tiempo una minoría de voces contrarias nos indultan de tales cargos.
Incluso si asumimos que las personas somos irrefutablemente culpables de que haya inviernos sin esquí y campos de golf sin regadío, la siguiente peculiar paradoja hace su presencia: a la vez que esos malvados humanos han puesto al planeta (y a sí mismos) en apuros, han brillantemente desarrollado herramientas que ofrecen protección económica sobre esos mismos fenómenos indeseables.

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El Instituto de Empresa ocupa la 22ª posición del mundo en formación ejecutiva, según el Ranking 2007 de Executive Education de Financial Times. Este informe, que analiza la calidad de la formación directiva a nivel internacional, sitúa al Instituto de Empresa en la 7ª posición del mundo en programas abiertos de formación; y en la 52ª en programas in-company.
Dentro de los programas abiertos de formación del Instituto de Empresa destaca el ‘IE Business Leadership Forum’, un programa en el que participan Presidentes, Vicepresidentes y Consejeros Delegados de grandes compañías, que se reúnen mensualmente con personalidades del mundo de la política, las finanzas, la economía y la empresa. Este espacio de debate propicia la confrontación de ideas y la predicción de tendencias políticas y económicas en distintas regiones del planeta, lo que permite bosquejar una visión global. Entre las personalidades que han participado en las sesiones del ‘IE Business Leadership Forum’ figuran George Soros, Edward Prescott, Klaus Schwab, Mikhail Kasianov o Kishore Mahbubani, entre otros. Entre los programas abiertos del IE destaca, asimismo, el Senior Management Program (SMP), un programa orientado a la alta dirección que profundiza en el enfoque estratégico, la eficiencia en la gestión y la capacidad de liderazgo de los participantes.
El Ranking de Executive Education de Financial Times analiza distintos parámetros de calidad de los programas de Executive Education. Entre ellos, evalúa el grado de satisfacción de los participantes respecto a la preparación y el diseño de los cursos, la calidad del claustro de profesores, el enfoque internacional de los programas, el perfil del alumnado, el desarrollo de habilidades de dirección, el cumplimiento de expectativas, etc. Tanto en el análisis de los programas abiertos, como en el de la formación in-company, los expertos han contrastado la opinión de participantes y empresas clientes.
El Instituto de Empresa forma líderes que promueven la innovación y el cambio en las organizaciones, directivos emprendedores que generan empleo, riqueza y bienestar social. Reconocida como una de las principales escuelas de negocios del mundo, el Instituto de Empresa dispone de un campus urbano en Madrid y cuenta con un claustro de más de 400 profesores que, actualmente, imparten clases a alumnos de 73 países en los programas master, de doctorado y de executive education. Los alumnos del Instituto de Empresa utilizan metodologías innovadoras de aprendizaje online y presencial, y se benefician de la red de comunidades del IE, que incluyen a 35.000 antiguos alumnos que ocupan puestos de responsabilidad en más de 100 países.

Las Comunidades del IE representan una oportunidad formidable para expandir nuestro “network” y las relaciones entre los diversos “stakeholders” de nuestra escuela de dirección. Os animo a participar, con vuestros comentarios y en los foros. Comprobaréis el enorme potencial de estos nuevos canales de comunicación.
Un saludo muy cordial,
Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño
Decano.


Technorati Tags: IE Business School, Instituto de Empresa, MBA blog, MBA, ExMBA , Santiago Iniguez

Las Comunidades del IE representan una oportunidad formidable para expandir nuestro “network” y las relaciones entre los diversos “stakeholders” de nuestra escuela de dirección. Os animo a participar, con vuestros comentarios y en los foros. Comprobaréis el enorme potencial de estos nuevos canales de comunicación.
Un saludo muy cordial,
Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño
Decano.


Technorati Tags: IE Business School, Instituto de Empresa, MBA blog, MBA, ExMBA , Santiago Iniguez

Las Comunidades del IE representan una oportunidad formidable para expandir nuestro “network” y las relaciones entre los diversos “stakeholders” de nuestra escuela de dirección. Os animo a participar, con vuestros comentarios y en los foros. Comprobaréis el enorme potencial de estos nuevos canales de comunicación.
Un saludo muy cordial,
Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño
Decano.


Technorati Tags: IE Business School, Instituto de Empresa, MBA blog, MBA, ExMBA , Santiago Iniguez

While traditional work histories still rule, the day may not be far off when video pitches become a standard supplement.
by Francesca Di Megliofrom Newsweek
A keyword search of “résumé” on the online video site YouTube turns up 5,180 results, including videos of everything from someone breaking into his boss’s office to a young person who plays the piano and sings his own praises in the hopes of launching a career in public relations. With all the buzz around video résumés, the B-school student seeking that post-MBA job might think the paper résumé—or its online equivalent—is dead. But at least for this year’s class of grads, the message is “think again”.
Many career-placement directors at top B-schools are telling their students to steer clear of video altogether for now. The reason? While the YouTube generation—the so-called “Millennials” who were born after 1981—might be embracing video résumés, it’s the Baby Boomers who are still doing most of the hiring. “Boomers aren’t going to watch them”, says Everette Fortner, director of career development at the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business Administration.
Business school career counselors are also wary because of the unprofessional tone of some videos. In the fall of 2006, Yale student Aleksey Vayner sent his video résumé, called “Impossible is Nothing,” to investment bank UBS, and the video quickly found its way to YouTube, where it was mocked, spoofed, and made Vayner the laughing-stock of Wall Street. The lengthy video, which had Vayner waxing poetic about life, breaking bricks with his hands, and dancing with a half-dressed woman, became the epitome of how not to do a video résumé. It has led some people—especially those in B-school—to shy away from the medium entirely.
A Sense of Presence
One of the résumés on YouTube belongs to Allen Ulbricht, a 2003 graduate of Georgia Tech’s undergraduate management program, whose video has him dressed in business casual attire and responding—as naturally as possible—to likely questions for a Web 2.0 gig to which he was applying in December, 2006.
Now the owner of Real Nice Software, which creates custom software for small businesses, Ulbricht says he pulled himself out of the running for the job but is sure his video, an adjunct to his traditional online résumé, would have given him a leg up on the competition. Video will become an expected part of the job application, says Ulbricht, even if it will never replace traditional, written résumés.
Still in their infancy, video résumés have caught on with the creative and with other young people who want to show off their skills—either because of the visual impact or to make up for lack of work experience. “Video résumés animate a job seeker in ways that traditional paper media can’t”, says Mark Oldman, co-president of the career site Vault.com in New York. “You can really get a sense of one’s professional presence, poise, enthusiasm, and passion”.

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June 21-22, 2007
NH Eurobuilding Hotel
Madrid Spain
The Sumaq Summit program, aimed at members of the business community and academics in Europe, Latin America, the US and Asia, has been held for three consecutive years in Atlanta, US, where it enjoyed great success. These programs generated numerous opportunities for executives, as they exchanged experiences and insights into business management and established contacts with top-level representatives from different world regions and sectors.

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Article published in Business Day’s Real Business of South Africa
by Prof. Herrington – University of Cape Town
Entrepreneurship is a long, difficult word. And like the word, the reality of the concept involves many differing viewpoints and definitions. The word, entrepreneur, comes from the French language and dates back to the 1700s. It’s a strange word, difficult enough to pronounce, let alone spell. Yet nowadays it’s a household word used by millions throughout the world.
However, ask 10 different people their understanding of the word, and you are likely to get 10 different answers. Some people think of it as a mad scientist working in his garage trying to invent something that is totally new to the world in the hope that he may well be able to commercialise it and make money from it. Others think of the housewife working in the kitchen who develops a superb sauce recipe. She gives this to her friends who think that it is fantastic. More friends ask for it and soon she thinks that if it is so good she could sell it.
Then a company is formed and a new growth venture starts up. Such an example is Ina Paarman in SA or Sara Lee in the US.
Whatever the definition, the process is undoubtedly critical to the well-being and economic development of a country. Jean-Baptiste Say, a French economist of the 1800s, said that an entrepreneur shifts economic resources out of an area of low productivity into an area of higher productivity and greater yield. The Oxford dictionary definition describes the entrepreneur as one who organises, manages and assumes the risk of a business enterprise.
In SA, large corporations are changing. They are undergoing what they call restructuring, downsizing, and reorganisation. The net effect is that large corporations are not contributing to the growth of employment in the country. It is up to the small businesses, and it is these businesses that should be encouraged to start and grow.
Modernisation is having its effect. E-commerce has had a pronounced effect on what is happening in the business environment. If one sits back and thinks about what profound developments have taken place, especially in communication, there are probably four major changes that have revolutionised communication worldwide, and these changes have taken place in the past 50 to 60 years.
The introduction of the cell-phone, the personal computer, television and jet travel has revolutionised the way in which we communicate. It has made the world much smaller as communication is now almost instantaneous and the latest news can be relayed live around the world. No more does the business person or government official have to wait days to find out what is going on. All this has tremendous advantages, but it also has brought its own inherent problems. Daily pressures have become enormous, time is of vital importance, globalisation has caused increased competition, and many other factors influence our day-to-day lives.
Nonetheless, whatever one may say, the importance of entrepreneurship within business, within governments, among nongovernment organisations in any country is crucial. It is definitely the chief agent of change that operates within the economic system. The most successful companies are those that engage in more entrepreneurial activity and innovation than others.
The need in SA for entrepreneurship is certainly greatest when companies face diminishing opportunity streams as well as rapid changes in technology, consumer needs, social values and political roles. Those organisations which stop innovating and do not practice entrepreneurship do not grow they often decline rapidly and eventually disappear.
If one looks at Fortune 500 companies, and compares those that were listed 20 years ago against those listed today, less than 25% are still operating. Multinational organisations have learnt this lesson the hard way. Pan Am was one of the largest airlines in the world about 10 years ago and no longer exists. Swissair ceased trading and there are numerous other examples of airlines that have followed the same sad demise. There are many reasons for this, but one may well be the innovation brought about by South West Airlines in the US.
They were the forerunners of low-cost air travel, an innovation which has been copied by numerous companies throughout the world including our own kulula.com, 1time and the more recent Mango. It will be interesting to see how the airline market develops over the next 10 years. The world is complicated, especially for modern companies.
Considerable turbulence is taking place, in which rapid changes occur within the economic, social, financial, regulatory, labour, and technology areas. The complexity of change is enormous and only those companies that are flexible, adaptable, aggressive and innovative are likely to sustain their competitive advantage.
Danny Miller, a renowned entrepreneur and writer, states that an entrepreneurial firm is one that engages in product-market innovation, undertakes somewhat risky ventures, and is first to come up with proactive innovations, beating competitors to the punch.
A non-entrepreneurial firm is one that innovates very little, is high-risk averse and imitates the moves of competitors instead of leading the way. On the other hand, George Bernard-Shaw says the reasonable man (or woman) adapts themselves to the world. The unreasonable person persists in adapting the world to themselves. Therefore, all progress depends on unreasonable men (and women). Michael Morris of Syracuse University in the US talks about two different types of entrepreneurship: frequency and degree.
The degree of entrepreneurship within an organisation relates to how big the innovation is, how risky it is to the organisation, and how often it is done. Many organisations innovate occasionally, but this level of entrepreneurship is so significant and has such an influence on the company, that it can sustain itself for many years into the future.
An example of this is the development of the A380 by Aerospace. It is a major innovation which could well have a profound effect on the industry, but if unsuccessful will certainly dramatically influence the well-being of the company. Mining companies fall into this category as mining exploration is a very costly affair and requires huge amounts of capital and long periods before economic payback is achieved. Anglo-Gold Ashanti is in the process of sinking new shafts a venture which requires considerable capital outlay and may not produce the returns required.
Naturally, considerable research has gone into the process to minimise the risk, but it is nonetheless risky. With frequency of entrepreneurship, it is important to measure how often and how many times an organisation introduces new products, processes or systems. This would apply particularly to those organisations that are involved in the manufacture of fast moving consumer goods. These companies introduce a number of new products each year.
Although the money required is considerable for a small business, it is nonetheless less risky, but necessary if the company is to keep ahead of its competitors. Companies can do both types of entrepreneurship and depending upon the levels in each category, will determine the intensity.
All progressive companies need to consider this and they do this via various means which can include traditional research and development, involving ad-hoc venture teams that are formed in an organisation to develop and complete a particular project.
Herrington is the director of the University of Cape Town Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the UCT Graduate School of Business, and one of the authors for the South African Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. This article appeared in Business Day’s Real Business in April.

O jornal “Gazeta Mercantil” tem publicado algumas notícias do jornal espanhol de negócios “Expansión“. Pelo fato de o IE sair quase diariamente citado no Expasión, estamos sendo citados com certa frequência no Gazeta Mercantil. Assim, republico aqui uma notícia sobre relacionamentos amorosos no trabalho.
Madri, 10 de Maio de 2007 - O desempenho de casais que trabalham junto gera polêmica. Algumas empresas não aceitam o fato. Mais da metade dos homens e 46% das mulheres afirmam que já tiveram um relacionamento sentimental no ambiente de trabalho, de acordo com dados de 2005 do site para a busca do par ideal, Match.com. E as cifras dos que se apaixonam no local de trabalho aumentam, segundo o psicólogo Ramón Rico, professor de Comportamento Organizacional na Faculdade de Psicologia da Universidade Autônoma de Madri.
As jornadas de trabalho que se prolongam até a madrugada, as situações de grande tensão compartilhadas entre colegas, as intermináveis reuniões e as viagens de negócios fazem com que simples companheiros de escritório possam se tornar algo mais. “A proximidade física na hora de desempenhar diferentes tarefas ou a própria configuração do ambiente são alguns dos fatores que propiciam o nascimento de romances no local de trabalho”, afirma Rico.
Diante dos riscos que o amor pode trazer às empresas, existem três teorias sobre como gerenciar o fato. Enquanto algumas empresas preferem evitar esse tipo de situação estabelecendo certas normas, outras vigiam de perto seus funcionários enamorados, embora sem fixar regras concretas. Um terceiro grupo de empresas aposta abertamente na total liberdade de ação por parte de seus funcionários.
As grandes multinacionais, principalmente, as de origem norte-americana, são as que no momento mais se mostram intervencionistas. Consideram que é melhor prevenir do que remediar, e logo acendem a luz de alarme, a fim de que um romance não interfira nos negócios. O laboratório farmacêutico Abbott, a consultoria Deloitte e a gigante de informática IBM são algumas das empresas que contam com um regulamento interno para impedir que um casal de namorados ou de marido e mulher tenha também uma relação direta de trabalho. “Trata-se de uma norma mundialmente conhecida. O que fazemos é dialogar com os interessados para, caso estejam na mesma área, um dos dois seja transferido para outro posto na empresa. Assim, evitamos qualquer tipo de conflito e suspeitas no ambiente de trabalho”, destaca Yolanda García, diretora de Recursos Humanos da Abbott. A Deloitte estabelece em seu código de ética, que seus empregados devem comunicar a um superior quando souberem de relações pessoais entre outros funcionários. “Nosso negócio se baseia na independência e na objetividade, portanto, é muito importante para nós evitar qualquer possível interferência. Procuramos buscar alternativas dentro da empresa para um ou outro envolvido no romance, mas nem sempre isso é possível”, diz Juan Luis Díez Calleja, sócio responsável pelo departamento de Recursos Humanos.
O favoritismo é uma das loucuras do amor mais temidas pelos departamentos de RH. Se já é difícil ser objetivo diante das virtudes de um parceiro amoroso qualquer, como manter a imparcialidade quando a pessoa cujo salário precisamos revisar é nossa (nosso) namorada (o)? “É claro que existe uma tendência de se favorecer quem apreciamos. É uma coisa natural. Isso acontece não apenas com casais apaixonados, mas com os amigos também”, explica Diego Vicente, professor de Comportamento Organizacional no IE Business School.

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Por: Juan Carlos Martinez Lázaro
Profesor de Entorno Económico, Instituto de Empresa
Por décadas, las empresas europeas han realizado fuertes inversiones directas en América Latina. Ahora, la tendencia parece revertirse. Las transnacionales latinoamericanas se lanzan a la conquista del viejo continente…
En los últimos años estamos asistiendo, al calor de la globalización y de la alta liquidez existente en los mercados de capitales, a un proceso de internacionalización económica sin precedentes.
Las fusiones y adquisiciones transnacionales están adquiriendo unos volúmenes desconocidos, puesto que cada vez son más las empresas de todo el mundo que abordan la necesidad de expandirse fuera de sus mercados de origen.
Aunque la internacionalización empresarial viene de antiguo (lo habitual era que las multinacionales provinieran de economías desarrolladas como Estados Unidos, Europa o Japón), la novedad es que se están incorporando a este proceso compañías de países que tradicionalmente han sido receptores de este tipo de inversión, pero que se han convertido en gigantes en sus propios mercados y buscan crecer en los países ricos mediante la adquisición de empresas locales.

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