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This original research examines the nature and development of commercial activity in new (post-1992) university business schools. The picture that emerges is one of a complex market that is local and regional in nature, and where the ability of individual schools to compete in a range of commercial submarkets is constrained by their resources and capabilities, as well as by market opportunities in the region. The research highlights that although most schools are seeking to grow commercial activity, it is likely to be a slow process, based for the most part on incremental and organic growth. While commercial activity is a small and marginal source of revenue generation, it is unlikely that school and university systems, processes and structures will be developed to support commercial activity in ways that will allow it to grow substantially. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Management buy-outs have become an established feature of business life. Changes in the environment have forced many large organizations to take a measured examination of their product portfolio and to consider where it is best to concentrate scarce resources. Areas and activities which are thought to be peripheral to the core business of the company are ripe for divestment. Potential buy-out managers need a strategy, both for steering the business through the acquisition process and for its subsequent management and direction. This paper examines some of the strategies that have been deployed using case examples from original research and comments on their effectiveness or otherwise. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Commercial activity, or third leg activity as the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) defines it, and the income it generates, is of increasing importance to all higher education institutions (DES, 2003; CEML, 2002). For new or modern university business schools in particular, the falling unit of resource attaching to HEFCE student teaching income and the virtual disappearance of research revenues as a result of the poor results in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), has combined to produce a scenario in which commercial activity is likely to be an increasing priority as business schools attempt to remain effective and solvent. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

There is a substantial and growing body of evidence to suggest that organizations are increasingly recognising the importance of individual and group learning and knowledge management as ways of attaining competitive advantage. A consequence of this phenomenon is the growing demand for management education and training and increasingly, this is linked with the imperative of integrating management development with other organizational systems and processes to ensure their effectiveness in delivering business goals. The purpose of this paper is to analyse this trend from the perspective of a New University Business School, i.e. one of the post 1992 Universities, created by the demise of the Polytechnics and their subsequent transfer to university status. One of the principal aims of the paper is to suggest and identify potential market development opportunities and to highlight the competences required by business schools to successfully compete is this potentially profitable, yet increasingly competitive market. The significance of the corporate education market should not be underestimated. As an example, the Association of Business Schools (1997) estimated that this type of activity accounted for up to two-thirds of the programmes offered by its members in their provision. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Boards of directors that have a leadership role in corporate strategic planning go beyond merely caring for shareholder interests and take a proactive role in the success of the business. They do this by setting the strategic direction and evaluating company performance. The cultural and organizational conditions for the development of leadership boards are however, not well understood. The roles of executive and non-executive directors need to be clearly defined in order that such boards can be effective and assert control over strategy and performance. Executive directors can only be effective when they clearly differentiate their role of providing direction from their daily role of working with managers in the company. Recent research has begun to push back the ignorance surrounding the development of leadership boards. This will be examined in order to define the barriers standing in the way of more empowered directors. It will then be used to identify the actions and approaches that can be used by directors to develop their involvement in, and influence over, corporate strategic planning. This is then followed by a discussion of boards that places the issue in their contemporary policy context. It leads to the conclusion that the organization of partnership between board and management is important and that business success increasingly rests on openness and trust supported by creative and challenging dialogue. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

There is a growing recognition by senior managers in many large organizations of the strategic impact corporate universities are having on their companies. This can be viewed as a consequence of organizations recognizing the power of learning and knowledge as drivers of strategic change. This paper contends that this growing recognition is leading to the emergence of a sophisticated form of corporate university, one that is predicated on the principles of organizational learning and knowledge management. In order to explore this claim a world-class corporate university model is developed that draws from the work of leading writers and contemporary research. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The article begins with the premise that strategic management is a dynamic activity, actively managing the way in which strategy unfolds. It also stresses the innovative role of strategic management and the need to reinvent industries. The recent $1.4 billion deal with the US defence company Raytheon to provide a system to monitor exploitation of the rain forest for the Brazilian Government is used as an example of the two aspects of strategic management. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The article examines the: nature of management in small firms, using the example of the hospitality industry varying aims of the owner managers and their effect on the running of the business need for higher managerial skills state of management development in the hospitality industry and comments on the lack of strategic thinking and practices. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An analysis of the positional power of entrepreneurs and an evaluation of the misuse of that power with detrimental affects on other stakeholders.

An analysis of the human resource development needs and methodologies of small firms. Also reprinted by the Indonesian and International Perspectives of Human Resource Development and its Management by De Montfort University, Leicester, March 1994. ISBN 1857210166.

The majority of existing studies of small business failure tend to focus upon either the symptoms arising from problems within the firm or upon the reasons cited for failure. Comparatively little analysis of the root cause has been undertaken. Failure and success are usually defined in rational terms which ignore stakeholder aspirations. Many owner-managers pursue personal objectives which inhibit the probability of success if measured using these rational criteria. The root cause of small business failure is almost invariably a lack of management attention to strategic issues. Notwithstanding the fact that common skills and abilities are required, the management process in small firms is unique and cannot be considered to be the same as professional management in larger firms practised on a reduced scale. The multiplicity of roles expected of the owner-manager often causes dissonance which enhances the probability of poor decision making and inappropriate action. Successful small firms practise strategic management either consciously and visibily or unconsciously and invisibly.

Small firms are a major and growing provider of employment and are playing a vital role in economic regeneration. The contribution of contemporary, relevant and focused management techniques to enhance competitive advantage is crucial, especially in performance management and reward systems. The performance management systems of large organizations simply cannot be scaled down to fit the smaller enterprise which often exhibits a radically different management process and operating context. The skills and abilities of managers are fundamental to the success of any performance management system. Consistency and clarity in both design and implementation are essential features. Smaller enterprises need to be aware of the paradox of formalized performance management systems which may erode the flexibility, innovation and team working required for long-term success and strategic health.