A Message From The Dean

The Global Imperative

Every aspect of our professional and personal lives today is shaped by our global context. And yet, for many of us, this global context remains a frontier. We know it is out there; it beckons us, it shapes our lives, but it is yet to be traversed and experienced.

Once we venture forth, we see a world that is changing radically and rapidly. Centers of power are shifting as lenders become debtors, imitators become innovators, and industry leaders become industry laggards. Many of us are still grappling with the magnitude of this change.

The 1990s unidirectional vision of viewing emerging markets in terms of outsourcing and new consumer markets no longer suffices. Today, we need a multi-dimensional vision that encompasses emerging markets as the home of new, world class, multinationals that are restructuring global industries and changing global competition. Indicative of this trend, the head of investment banking at UBS in India reported that five years ago they focused on advising western multinationals on their entry strategy to India. Today, their largest business is advising Indian companies on going global. The tide has turned.

Boston Consulting Group recently identified 100 multinationals based in developing nations that are poised to “radically transform industries and markets around the world.” The 100 combined multinationals had $715 billion in revenues in 2005, $145 billion in operating profits, and $500 trillion in assets. With direct access to some of the world’s fastest growing markets, combined with access to global intellectual talent and financial markets, these companies have grown at 24 percent annually over the past four years. This is a mega-trend that cannot be ignored.

  • It is now Indian software companies – such as Infosys, Tata Consulting Services, and Wipro – that are global leaders shaping the $650 technology services industry.
  • In pharmaceuticals, it is India’s Ranbaxy that is the top supplier in much of Europe, and the market leader in large population countries such as Nigeria and Brazil.
  • Mexico’s America Movil, with its innovative “pay-as-you-go” cellular service, is emerging as the world’s largest international cellular provider, with over 100 million Latin American subscribers.
  • Huawei Technologies in China, which employs 7,000 engineers and invested half a billion in R&D last year, is the global leader on voiceover- Internet protocol service.

Given this context, it is imperative that the School of Management strengthens its global expertise and engagement. We need to ensure that we are educating our students to lead and manage effectively in this rapidly changing global environment.

As a small school stepping onto the global landscape, our challenges are significant. But with our core competency of educating women for power and leadership, our opportunities are significant as well.

As you will see in this issue of NETWORK, we have made great progress this past year. We identified India as a priority country for developing strategic partnerships. Professor Gupta and I visited India in March 2006. Now, Professors Blake-Beard and Kolb will teach a course on Gender in Leadership at the prestigious Indian School of Business in the winter term; undergraduate management students will visit India on our first study abroad course in the spring; several of our faculty have been invited as keynote speakers to Indian university business conferences; and we have recruited several excellent Indian MBA students to our program. At our Alumnae Reunion Day held in October, we organized sessions on business trends and opportunities in both India and China.

In addition, we have expanded our research with an international focus. Examples include research on women and microfinance in Russia; a global study on women and family enterprise; and a major study on the status of women in business in Latin America. We have increased the number of international faculty and faculty with international expertise. We have adjusted our MBA and undergraduate programs to ensure that we have opportunities to recruit more international students.

As we continue to develop our global initiative, I invite your ideas, connections, and support. This is an exciting initiative at the SOM; one that I hope will benefit our students and our alumnae.