Welcome to the second edition of our quarterly 'Executive News'.

This e-bulletin will keep our senior alumni, corporate partners and friends abreast of the School's latest news, research stories and corporate collaborations.

In this edition, we have a research feature from our faculty. Dr Oliver Mallett sets out to explore the ways in which the changing degrees of formality and informality in SMEs can affect not only the policies and practices in operation but also the ongoing, everyday social interactions between owner-managers and employees.

In Durham, Toni Mascolo, Co-Founder of TONI&GUY, participated in the Durham Speaker Series: Corporate Forum event where he discussed the research he participated in with the Business School and shared his secrets to global business success. 

Dr Julie Hodges is currently working with the British Council to run a Leadership Skills Development Programme for women in the Middle East.

Professor Cheng Siwei, Dean of the School of Management at the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (the Academy) has been awarded an honorary professorship to Durham University Business School.

Durham University Business School hosts the North East Child Poverty Commission (NECPC), the only regional body based in a UK university that is committed to tackling child poverty. 

There are also exciting opportunities to join one of our MBA programmes.

Spotlight on...

Informality and employment relationships in small firms: humour, ambiguity and straight-talking

Dr Oliver Mallett, Durham University Business School, and Dr Robert Wapshott, University of Sheffield's School of Management discuss informality and employment relationships in small firms.

We focus on humour as an ambiguous medium of informality, yet viewed by owner-managers as a tool at their disposal.

However, while early studies of humour in small and medium-sized enterprises support such a functionalist view, our findings indicate its significant limitations. We argue that humour obscures but does not resolve disjunctive interests and it remains stubbornly ambiguous and resistant to attempts to functionalise it.

Our findings contribute to studies of humour in small and medium-sized enterprises by challenging its utility as a means of managerial control or employee resistance. They also contribute to studies of employment relationships by exploring humour's potentially disruptive influence within the formality–informality span, especially as small and medium-sized enterprises seek greater degrees of formalisation, with implications for how those relationships are conducted and (re)negotiated on an ongoing basis. To read the article in full, click here.

The secrets of global business success

Cavaliere Ufficiale Toni Mascolo OBE, Co-Founder of TONI&GUY, delivered a presentation, part of the Business School’s Durham Speaker Series.

Mr Mascolo’s presentation included an overview of the work TONI&GUY has undertaken with the Business School, notably a major service quality and customer satisfaction research project with Professor Tom Redman and Dr Les Graham. The research, which draws a vast amount of data from across TONI&GUY’s UK business, was developed to increase understanding of the company’s full service chain, from frontline service worker to regional manager and also to support TONI&GUY in understanding and improving customer retention.

Mr Mascolo said: “My story, and the story of TONI&GUY, is ultimately about giving people the tools to succeed. Fifty years ago I set out to build a franchise that combined high standards and creativity with individual empowerment. I would say to new managers, ‘Your success is our success, we give you the tools but you make our business great.’ It is a pleasure to be speaking at a school which shares these values, and which shows true commitment to providing the skills to excel.”

If you would like to find out more about how the Business School can work with you on a collaborative research project click here.

Leadership programme for women in the Middle East

Dr Julie Hodges is working to help women in the Middle East access to opportunities to expand their management skills for use in the business world.

In collaboration with the British Council, we are running a Leadership Skills Development Programme for women in the Middle East. The programme which aims to enhance the leadership skills of professional women has been designed and delivered by Dr Julie Hodges. Programmes to date have been delivered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The women who attend the programme are from a broad range of sectors, with some already acting as leaders within their organisation or community. Their ambitions are high and their challenges are tremendous. The programme equips the women with the skills and confidence they need to be effective leaders, to overcome obstacles they face as individuals and to help enhance their career prospects. So far both programmes have been oversubscribed and discussions are now taking place to run another programme in Muscat, Oman. The longer term aim is to train women locally so that they can deliver the programme across the Middle East.

Cheng Siwei, leading Chinese academic, awarded honorary professorship

The Business School continues to forge strong relationships in China.

Professor Cheng came to Durham with Professor Hong Zhao, Deputy Dean of the Academy to receive an honorary Professorship and to discuss a series of proposed academic and educational collaborations between the two institutions.

As part of his visit, Professor Cheng delivered a guest lecture to the School’s students and fellow academics entitled ‘The Future of China’s Economy.’

Professor Cheng said: “Working with Durham University Business School has been an extremely rewarding process and I am pleased to accept honorary Professorship at the School. Durham has demonstrated its commitment to developing a truly cross-border educational experience and I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Durham in delivering these exciting new programmes.”

Professor Rob Dixon, Dean of the Durham University Business School, said: “Professor Cheng has cultivated a respectable international reputation as an educator, ambassador for the Academy and an advocate of greater academic collaboration. We hope that by partnering with us we can continue to deliver an exceptional international experience to students. We look forward to a long relationship of collaboration between our two institutions.”

Child Poverty in the North East

Durham University Business School hosts the North East Child Poverty Commission (NECPC)

You might not be aware that Durham University Business School hosts the North East Child Poverty Commission (NECPC), the only regional body based in a UK university that is committed to tackling child poverty. The strategic development and co-ordination of the group is carried out by the Institute for Local Governance which aims to improve the performance of the North East’s public sector organisations.

According to official government statistics, around 1 in 5 children growing up in the North East are living in poverty. This amounts to over 100,000 children and around 2 in 3 of those children live in working households, where at least one of the adults is in employment. This is generally referred to as ‘in-work’ poverty. Poverty affects children in many ways: poorer children are more likely to die suddenly in infancy; they are more likely to suffer from ill-health and acute illnesses; they are less likely to do well at school; they are more likely to live in poor quality housing and more likely to spend time in temporary accommodation; and they are also more likely to grow up in poverty.

Child poverty affects us all. From an economic perspective, according to recent research, it costs the country £29billion per year. From a business point of view, people in poverty do not have high disposable incomes and this presents problems for business sustainability and growth. And given that around two-thirds of children living in poverty are living in working households, there is a need (not to mention a good business case) for employers of all persuasions to examine their employment procedures to ensure they are not adding to the problem. This is something the NECPC are currently working on.

If you would like to support the work of the Commission, or find out more, please contact Stephen Crossley on +44 (0) 191 334 9107 or click here.

MBA Programmes

Whether you want to study full or part-time, independently or as part of your organisation’s strategic development programme, we have a range of options available.

Full time MBA

Applications are open for the Business School’s Full time MBA which commences September 2013.

There are some exciting scholarship opportunities for organisations looking to enrol three or more employees onto the Executive MBA. 

Global MBA

From October we will be offering two modes of study for the Global MBA:
1) The blended mode, which combines online and taught modules.
2) The online mode, which is 100% online, with no requirement to attend elements in Durham.
Both options will have three-year study plans which outline the timetable of modules to be taken.

To find out more about programmes, events or how your company can work with the Business School, click here.