The curved glazed exterior is one of the School's new distinct architectural features.

An aerial view of the newly extended Durham University Business School.

New business school unveiled.

The recently extended and renovated building at Mill HIll Lane opens its door for the new academic year.

We invite you to visit us to take a look at the state of the art equipment and teaching facilities as well as our fabulous event space. See the events calendar below for more information on upcoming events at Mill Hill Lane and around the globe.

In this issue we feature two recent pieces of research conducted by Business School faculty. Professor Birgit Schyns explores one of the factors influencing perceptions of leadership, facial expressions; including one study that found when facial expression reflected the traits associated with leadership, expectations of that individual’s leadership qualities were higher; Dr Oliver Mallett examines humour in the workplace and informality in employment relationships. In an effort to recognise patterns, the study identified what was directly described as funny by interviewees; what appeared to be thought funny by their peers; and what the researchers themselves felt was intended as humour.

In our 'Spotlight on' section we highlight the work the School is undertaking to improve employability prospects of our graduates. We are keen to hear from organisations looking to recruit Dutrham talent, whether the roles are aimed at graduate level, MBA or experienced hires.

The School's Centre for Global Learning and Executive Education is launching some stand-alone MBA modules available online or as as three-day residential course. These are open to existing MBA graduates as a refresher, or as Continuing Professional Development opportunities for non-MBA delegates.The courses cost £1295 each but there is a £500 discount for DUBS Alumni members.

Finally, one way in which your organisation may benefit from a collaboration with the School is through our student Consultancy Projects. Participating in the scheme will provide your organisation with a dedicated and motivated individual who can work independently, remotely or on-site, to deliver high quality tailored research into key issues affecting your business. As well as gaining a multidisciplinary and multicultural perspective, you will receive practical recommendations that deliver competitive advantage and improve performance. Visit the final 'Spotlight on' section below to hear how one of our corporate partners, Alcatel Lucent, viewed their consultancy project experience.

We hope you enjoy reading this issue of Executive News. Please let us know if you have any feedback or wish to explore business opportunities with the School.

Spotlight on...

Birgit Schyns, Professor in Organisational Behaviour/ PhD Programme Director

The face of leadership: Perceiving leaders from facial expression.

Durham's Birgit Schyns, and Savvas Trichas from University of Portsmouth Business School are working on research looking at recognising a good leader.

What makes a good leader? Can you tell? And more to the point, can you tell the moment you meet one? There’s a whole body of research which examines the factors influencing perceptions of leadership and now Birgit Schyns of Durham University Business School and Savvas Trichas from the University of Portsmouth Business School have carried out research looking more closely at a particular facet of these – facial expression.

It’s theorised that leadership, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. If people have a view on what makes a good leader and the facial expression of an individual reflects that, then the perception of that person as a leader is enhanced. Further, Schyns and Trichas hypothesised that certain expressions (such as frowning) generate a stronger perception of leadership than others (such as raised eyebrows).

Read more.

Leading Edge is the School's career and skills programme for students and alumni.

Accessing Talent through Durham's Leading Edge Programme

Durham University Business School is committed to improving employability prospects for both students and alumni around the globe..

One initiative which has been building momentum recently is the School's Leading Edge series of international career events. Over the past twelve months we've hosted similar events in Beijing, Delhi, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai and Shanghai.

This month we return to mainland China to host a recruiter panel in Beijing (Wednesday 23 October) and Shanghhai (Saturday 26 October). The theme of the panel is ‘Career Resilience: How to stand out in the current climate’ which will be followed by a small recruiter exhibition. Companies involved so far include: BP, China Three Gorges, EY, Hilton, Morgan McKinley, Shell, Siemens, Standards Chartered.

If your company is interested in participating in the China event or learning more about future opportunities to hire Durham graduates around the globe please contact the Leading Edge Team.

Dr Mike Nicholson delivering a session on Crisis Management and Social Media Strategies at the UN Foundation, Washington DC in July 2013.

MBA modules now offered on a stand-alone basis to support delagates CPD.

From November 2013 The Centre for Global Learning and Executive Education is launching a portfolio of Online Open Courses and taught Short Courses.

Change Management, Leadership and Social Media Strategies are optional modules from the Durham MBA programme, now offered on a stand-alone basis. Although offered outside of the University’s framework for a major award, delegates are welcome to take an optional assessment.  Successful completion of this assessment may be used to gain admission to an MBA programme at a later date and to apply for subsequent credits for prior learning.

Short Courses:
20 to 22 November 2013: Change Management (Dr Julie Hodges)
20 to 22 February 2014: Social Media Strategies (Dr Mike Nicholson)

Open Online Courses:
20 January to 21 March 2014: Leadership (Dr Julie Hodges)
28 April to 27 June 2014: Social Media Strategies (Dr Mike Nicholson)

For further details, costs and to apply, please contact exec.ed@durham.ac.uk

'Humour is subjective, and identifying what’s funny, is a tricky business'. Dr Oliver Mallett.

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

This is a study being undertaken by Oliver Mallett, Durham University Business School, and Robert Wapshott, School of Management, University of Sheffield

Anyone familiar with the TV sitcom ‘The Office’ will know that offices can be hilariously funny – and sometimes excruciatingly embarrassing – places to be. Researchers have long known that humour has a crucial role to play in how the workplace functions, although the details of how it varies according to the size of the business have so far been largely unquantified.

Smaller companies are traditionally less formal and lack of formality breeds increased interactions between managers and employees: the limited amount of work which has been done to date has tended to focus on the positive side of humour. This study from Dr Oliver Mallett, of Durham University Business School and Dr Robert Wapshott from the University of Sheffield looks at how the development of a company, leading to increased levels of formalisation, is reflected in the changes in the way humour works – and how the change is not always positive.

Read more.

Alcatel Lucent has worked with Busienss School students on consultancy projects to help improve strategic developments within the company.

Could your Business benefit from our expertise?

Each year, our students have the opportunity to work with an organisation on a research project that will examine a strategic business issue.

By participating you will receive consultancy and objective recommendations from either an MBA or a Masters student.

The School works with a wide variety of organisations from all sectors. Jim Trotter, VP Commercial Development & Strategy at Alcatel Lucent, has been impressed with the results and with the entire process of this collaborative activity:

‘Alcatel-Lucent has a longstanding relationship with Durham University Business School and has remained impressed with the calibre of the work produced by the students during the consultancy projects each year. This year was no exception and the insight afforded by the final recommendations has been extremely valuable in terms of improving our strategic view on likely payment models for Indian customers. We very much look forward to working with next year’s students on some equally challenging assignments.’

For more information on the benefits of participating in the conusltancy projects visit our webpage or contact the Corporate Relations Team.