Study time for senior execs
New training programme will focus on strategy and innovation
The College of Management Mahidol University (CMMU) has joined forces with MIT Sloan School of Management to introduce a cutting-edge senior executive education programme in Thailand.
CMMU’s executive programme director Natwut Amornvivat said the institute made the decision to enter the senior-executive education arena following requests from some top Thai executives who would like to prepare their businesses to cope with the threats and opportunities arising out of the Asean Economic Community that comes into effect in 2015.
But instead of launching a “general CEO skills” course, CMMU is slanting its programme differently, by laying emphasis on strategies and innovation which are considered crucial areas for firms to compete effectively in today’s business environment, and its partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's business school unit which specialises in both areas, he said.
John Akula, faculty director of MIT Sloan School of Management, said that according to his knowledge, the so-called Strategy and Innovation for Businesses in Asia (SIBA) programme is the first major executive education programme in which the US business school was partnering a Thai university.
“It appears to me that Asia is becoming a focal point for innovation. The speed of innovation in every part of the world is distinguished. I don't think the American model can be applied everywhere in the world. But we can learn a great deal from each other,” he said.
Targeted at “C-level” executives and business owners, the SIBA course is designed as a project-based executive programme that can offer very tangible benefits to attendants, CMMU’s deputy dean for academic services, assistant professor Vichita Ractham, said.
“It’s not just about attending the class and going abroad; we want to provide tangible benefits [to the execs]. It’s more like a consultancy project customised to the Asean context where participants can bring up specific company cases under the supervision of MIT and CMMU faculty members,” she said.
Natwut said that SIBA students – limited to 30 participants – would also have the privilege of interacting with prominent Thai chief executives who would be sharing their real-life experiences in the SIBA class.
Among the top shots are Bangkok Bank president Chartsiri Sophonpanich, former deputy finance minister and Bank of Thailand governor Chaiwat Vibulsawasdi, Stock Exchange of Thailand president Charamporn Jotikasthira, former deputy prime minister and finance minister Somkid Jatusripitak, former commerce minister Narongchai Akkaraseranee, Siam Cement Group chief executive Kan Trakulhoon, PTT chief executive Pailin Chuchottaworn, and Intouch executive chairman Somprasong Boonyachai.
The SIBA programme comprises five days of classes in Bangkok and four days at Sloan. After that, participants will have two months of project assignments at their respective companies and return to the class to wrap up their projects. The chief executives and directors of their companies will be invited to hear the cases.
Commencing next February, the SIBA programme will accept the first round of applications late this month. Enrolment fee is Bt590,000.
Natwut said the SIBA course would also emphasise “managing up”, which has become a necessary skill for successful managers nowadays.
Among the MIT lecturers who will deliver the SIBA programme are professor Arnoldo Hax, an internationally known expert in the fields of strategic management and operations management. He proposed the “Delta Model”, reflecting a new paradigm shift in modern business strategy from “I win, you lose” of the olden days to the present era where winners excel in collaborating with other stakeholders to build the so-called “eco system”.
SIBA course participants can recruit top students during their visit to the MIT campus and also visit an innovative company in the Boston area, Natwut added.
