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representing ten different countries indicated that they desired to initi- ate more collaborative partner- ships. They're particularly inter- ested in looking for partners in the Asia-Pacific region, according to 36.7 percent of respondents. Smaller but significant numbers of respondents would like to col- laborate with schools in Europe (18.3 percent) and the Americas (15 percent). Shedden of UNICON notes that these collaborations are often driven by the companies themselves. Rather than choosing a single busi- ness school to meet all of their exec ed needs, many employers are invit- ing different schools to work with them based on different criteria. "Many of us mistakenly view all business schools as a homoge- neous unit because we're all in the same market," says Shedden. "But companies often combine executive education programs from differ- ent schools based on their research skills and reputations." He points to a program for execu- tives for software company Oracle that Cranfield offers jointly with IESE in Barcelona, Spain. In that case, says Shedden, Oracle wanted to combine Cranfield's strength in program customization with IESE's strength in strategy. "Today's corpo- rations are sophisticated purchasers. They know the strengths of the vari- ous business schools. They might turn to different schools because they want a different disciplinary focus, or they might want to expose their executives to different cultural expe- riences," says Shedden. "Business schools have to recognize that they don't necessarily know everything." Stanford of IMD agrees that the "old boundaries" that separate one 26 July/August 2012 BizEd business school's exec ed program from another's are fading, in favor of more collaborative delivery models. "So much of executive education today is driven by business needs," he says. "The days when execu- tives go to Harvard to receive what only Harvard faculty can deliver, or to INSEAD for only INSEAD faculty, or to IMD for only IMD faculty, could soon be over," he says. "Today, we partner with consultants, behavior coaches, and other business schools so that we can deliver what's right for the client." Virtuous Partnerships That recognition—that no business school has all the answers—is lead- ing business and business schools alike to forge deeper partnerships to inject exec ed programs with both academic and industry perspectives. Companies are becoming more involved in the design of executive education courses, as advisors, men- tors, and even instructors. (See "Cor- porations on Campus" on p. 28.) That level of involvement may produce programs that respond to the needs of the market today and better anticipate its needs five or even ten years from now, says Poon of Fisher College. "When you partner with the business com- munity, your faculty can immerse themselves in the issues companies are struggling with. This creates a virtuous relationship where our faculty rethink the curriculum based on employers' needs, and employers advance the skills of their workforce based on our scholarship." Poon and other educators emphasize that many companies still view executive education as a way to reward talent and cultivate loyalty. But after the recession, its purpose has expanded significantly. For employers, it's also a tool that will help them improve their opera- tions and do more with less, says McGuire of UM. "Companies can no longer give big raises or extraordinary bonuses, even as they're add- ing more to job descriptions and stretching their people across more responsibilities. Even so, they still want to retain their talent," she says. Investment in executive edu- cation is a way for companies to show their best people how much they are valued, she adds. But by tying executive education directly to their objectives, companies also receive tangible dividends for that investment, in the form of employ- ees equipped with the bolder inno- vations and smarter solutions their organizations need to thrive. UNICON's report on blended learning is at uniconexed.org/2011/ research/Blended_Learning_Report- Eiter-Woll-Nov-2011.pdf. Duke CE's report on learning and develop- ment can be found at www.dukece. com/papers-reports/documents/ FocusFuture.pdf. TETRA IMAGES/GLOW