Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/59887
Students, faculty, staff, and employers all want to be associated with an organization that values excellence—not just as a word or phrase on your brochures, but rather as a full-scale, head-on assault against mediocrity. excellence—not just as a word or phrase on your brochures, but rather as a full-scale, head-on assault against mediocrity. Once stakeholders observe firsthand that the changes they make in their roles actually can lead to improved performance in key areas such as learning outcomes, the natural response for most is to begin thinking about the next round of improvements. What should other business schools focus on to improve their performance excellence? Given the national visibility of rank- ings, it's difficult for business schools not to get caught up in pursuing them. However, rankings are, at best, a distant measure of quality. AACSB got it right in the last revision of accreditation standards when it strengthened the requirements toward a focus on outcomes. In the end, complicated systems and processes are meaningless if they do not trans- late into quality outputs. While busi- ness schools as a whole are moving in the right direction, when we whole- heartedly start paying more atten- tion to our learning results than we do to how our peers per- ceive us, we will have taken a significant step forward. Designing the Successful Alliance Business schools that seek to form alliances with other institutions are primarily looking to enhance student educational experiences. When schools consider academic partners, whether for a student exchange or program alliance, their single most important criterion is the quality of the faculty. Selecting the right partner and agreeing on the objectives of the arrangement are the two most critical factors in making such an alliance work. These are among the findings uncovered in a survey of strategic alliances conducted jointly by AACSB International, efmd, and the Canadi- an Federation of Business School Deans.More than 160 schools from 28 countries participated in the sur- vey, which sought to determine whether schools already have agree- ments with other schools from foreign regions, are considering agreements, or are not pursuing such alliances. By far, Western Europe appears to be the most collaborative part of the world. Thirty-four percent of U.S. respondents say they have or are con- sidering alliances with schools in that region. On the other hand, U.S. schools are generally less likely than schools in Western Europe or Asia to have alliance agreements in any Canada 24% United States 32% Africa 9 % Latin America 32% Western Europe 46% Eastern Europe 27% Middle East 12% U.S. schools, 36 percent of schools in Western Europe have or are con- sidering agreements in Canada. Although collaboration may be weak among North American schools, the survey found substantial intra-region- al cooperation in Western Europe and Asia. Not surprisingly, "enhancing stu- dent educational opportunities" is the main motivation for 67 percent of respondents who make strategic alliances. Developing faculty is also a prime objective, according to 29 per- cent. Other goals are to increase visi- bility or enhance the school's reputa- tion (18 percent), help globalize the school (17 percent), and attract stu- dents (16 percent). What makes such an alliance a success? According to 26 percent of respondents, it's partner selection. While many schools wish to make alliances, they say, few bring quality to the table. It's important to choose partners with whom your school has a quality fit and that offer both stability and leadership. When Asia 37% Australia and Pacific Ocean 21% selecting Alliances Around the World Shown are the percentages of business school respon- dents who say they already have strategic alliances with other schools in each region. partners for a student exchange, schools consider these factors, in order of importance: quality of faculty, quality of stu- region. For example, despite its close proximity to the U.S., Canadian schools are more connected with partners in Western Europe. Compared to only 11 percent among dents, types of programs offered, location, recommendations, reputa- tion, accreditation, previous experi- ence, other partners, and size. Reputation replaces recommenda- tions in the top five when a prospec- BizEd MARCH/APRIL 2005 9