Archived news
2009
International marketing students' brush with real-life markets
25 February, 2009
The summer class for International Marketing Management have just finished ‘playing’ an online simulation game through a US-based simulation company, Interpretive Simulations. The students played the role of Regional Manager for a toothpaste company expanding into Latin America. After analysing various local environmental factors, the students had to choose which countries to enter and then determine and fine-tune their marketing mix based on consumer and competitive research in those markets. The game ran throughout the semester and formed the basis of non-exam assessment.
Lecturer Ben Neville said that the students loved playing the game and that overall it was a huge success. He said that the main benefit for the students was the opportunity to put the class theory in to practice before doing it in the less-forgiving corporate setting. The competitive nature of the game also motivated the students to continually improve their performance through better research and deeper analysis. From a pedagogical perspective, it also caused the students to synthesise a large amount of disparate information within a consistent and focused strategy; something that is difficult within the traditional topic-based lecture and case study format.
The simulation results were evaluated through a balanced scorecard comprising profits, brand equity and market share. This score contributed to students’ final class mark. Other simulation-based assessment comprised of a Pitch to the Boss (The Apprentice-style!) and a Succession Plan outlining their results, strategies and what they had learnt about the market to an incoming manager.
Associate Professor Milé Terziovski invited on a European Union 7th Framework Project Advisory Board
22 January, 2009
Associate Professor Terziovski has been awarded a $36,000 travel grant over three years to participate on a six member Advisory Board, advising the TARGET consortium which consists of members such as Siemens, Nokia, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, University College London and several other European institutions. The TARGET Project is a Large-Scale Integrated Project (IP), funded under the Seventh Framework Programme (6 Million Euro), which aims to research, analyse, and develop a new genre of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) environment that supports rapid competence development of individuals, namely knowledge workers within the domain of innovation and project management. The project will be launched at University College London on 27 January, 2009.
2008
Professor Anne-Wil Harzing wins best paper award at ANZAM
18 December 2008Professor Anne-Wil Harzing recently won the "all conference" best paper award at the ANZAM (Australian New Zealand Academy of Management) conference. The all conference best paper award is selected from the 16 best papers of the different streams at the conference. Professor Harzing and her co-authors, Lena Zander (Victoria University of Wellington), Audra Mockaitis (Victoria University of Wellington)et al won the International Management stream award and also the all conference award. The winning paper was entitled "Getting closer to the action: examining leader's behavioural intent with GLOBE's leadership dimensions across 22 countries".
Department Researchers Launch Report on Aged Care in Victoria
28 November, 2008
Associate Professor Leisa Sargent, Professor Bill Harley and Ms Belinda Allen of the Department of Management and Marketing launched a report on findings from their recent research on aged care in Victoria this Friday 28 November at the Australian Nursing Federation’s Aged Care Nurses Conference in Melbourne.
The research report outlines the findings of a systematic, empirical study of 1038 unionised employees in Victorian aged care. The research results suggest that significant work and organisational pressures (including aggression) in the aged care sector are having detrimental effects on nurses’ and aged care workers’ well-being. Importantly, the research findings also shed light on why workers are likely to leave the sector. Additionally, the research provides evidence of the importance of good human resource practices and adequate staffing levels in promoting positive resident care outcomes and minimising medication errors. For more information, read the report Working in Aged Care: Medication Practices, Workplace Aggression, and Employee and Resident Outcomes(pdf 449kb) or contact Associate Professor Leisa Sargent
Dr Leisa Sargent promoted to Associate Professor
31 October, 2008Dr Leisa Sargent of the Department of Management and Marketing has been promoted to Associate Professor. This is an important recognition of her significant contribution to her discipline, the Faculty and the University. Congratulations to Leisa.
Master of HRM Student Wins AHRI Rising Star Award
23 October, 2008Justin Angsuwatjarakorn, a Master of Human Resource Management student with the Department was last night awarded AHRI's (Australian Human Resources Institute) HR Rising Star of the Year Award at a gala dinner in Sydney.
The HR Rising Star of the Year award category recognises "HR practitioners who are new to the profession and have demonstrated early success and impact. This award is open to HR practitioners who have been in the workforce and held a HR position for less than five years."
Justin is HR executive advisor at Telstra and was nominated for the award "to recognise his contribution to HR and Telstra as a whole. His current successes and role as the strategic HR executive advisor demonstrates his cognitive ability, maturity and ability to excel in a highly-complex environment."
Management Professor Cynthia Hardy in Nobel Symposium
25 September, 2008Professor Cynthia Hardy recently accepted an invitation to attend the Nobel Symposium on the Foundations of Organization, held near Stockholm, Sweden. The Nobel Foundation's Symposium program was initiated in 1965, since when more than a hundred symposia have taken place on topics of cultural, scientific and social significance. Organized by Lars Engwall (Uppsala University) and Tore Ellingson (Stockholm School of Economics), this symposium brought together a small group of 40 leading organization theorists, sociologists and economists to discuss the theories of their respective disciplines concerning organizational boundaries, structure and change. The symposium lasted for two and a half days, and consisted of presentations, discussants’ comments, and a panel discussion.
Professor Hardy was one of only two participants from Australian institutions; the remainder came from leading US and European universities. They included leading economists such as Oliver Williamson (UC Berkeley), Oliver Hart (Harvard) and David Teece (UC Berkeley); sociologists were represented by Ronald Burt (University of Chicago) and Neil Fligstein (UC Berkeley) among others; while organization theorists included such Stanford luminaries as Stephen Barley, Kathleen Eisenhardt and Michael Hannan. Presentations were conducted on such topics as power, organizing, institutional emergence, bent preferences, contracts, behavioural incentive theory, and social hierarchy. The final panel was one of the highlights of the symposium since it provided an opportunity to listen to some of the distinguished scholars who helped found the discipline of organization theory – emeritus professors James March, John Meyer, Charles Perrow, and Richard Scott – expound their views on the value of organization theory in understanding organizations.
Associate Professor Milé Terziovski releases new book on innovation and entrepreneurship
19 September, 2008Congratulations to Associate Professor Milé Terziovski of the Department of Management and Marketing on the September release of his book, ‘Energizing Management through Innovation and Entrepreneurship: European Research and Practice’.
Published by Routledge, the book provides an in-depth understanding of key variables that play a significant role at the various stages of the innovation process, leading to successful commercialisation of products and services. Combining interdisciplinary studies in entrepreneurship and innovation, the book consists of contributions focusing on theory, research and practise in the field of innovation, management and entrepreneurship.
Dr Leisa Sargent Awarded Grant to Study Student Teams
18 September, 2008The Australian Learning and Teaching Council have awarded Dr Leisa Sargent and her colleagues Associate Professor Marie Kavanaugh (USQ) and Dr Donella Caspersz (UWA) $145,000 for a two year study to examine the antecedents and consequences of student team virtuality.
Two key aims of the study are to assess and trial the technologies available to facilitate student team virtuality and team effectiveness (assessed as learning, performance and viability) as well as develop open sourced web-based staff and student resources to maximize the experience of student team virtuality.
The 2008 Foenander Lecture: Forward with Fairness - A Business Perspective on Labor's Reform Agenda
21 August, 2008John Denton presented the 23rd Foenander Lecture to an enthusiastic audience on Wednesday 20 August. John Denton is Partner & Chief Executive Officer of leading Australian law firm, Corrs Chambers Westgarth and one of the country’s most respected experts on labour law. The lecture highlighted the aspects of the Government’s proposed new workplace relations system "Forward with Fairness" that matter most to larger employers.
Read a transcript of the lecture (PDF 182Kb).
Alumnus becomes Chair in Marketing in Department of Management and Marketing
15 August, 2008Professor Simon Bell has been appointed as Chair in Marketing in the Department of Management and Marketing.
Professor Margaret Abernethy, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Commerce said “We are very pleased to welcome back one of our distinguished alumni, Professor Simon Bell as Chair in Marketing. The Faculty’s success in attracting a string of eminent research scholars in recent months is indicative of our growing reputation as a world class research organisation and brand in Australia and internationally.”
Before returning to the University of Melbourne to rejoin the Department of Management and Marketing, Professor Bell was at Cambridge University’s Judge Business School which ranks 20th in the world in terms of its MBA programs. He has held visiting positions at Copenhagen Business School and Catolica University in Lisbon where customised executive education and training is well established.
Professor Simon Bell received his B Com (Hons) and his PhD from the University of Melbourne. His research interests include Services and Relationship Marketing, Customer Loyalty, Sales Force Management, Organisational Learning and Social Networks and Regional Clusters. His publications appear in leading international journals such as The Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, The Journal of Retailing, Industrial Marketing Management and the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services.
The key objective of the Chair in Marketing is to strengthen the Department’s research profile, capabilities and sustainability by engaging in rigorous and relevant research in partnership with relevant stakeholders.
“I am excited about the opportunity to share some of my experience in Marketing education and research gained in Europe over the last six years where I worked with leading corporations like Shell, Rolls Royce, Royal Mail and British Telecom. I am also very keen to forge close links with the Australian business community and the marketing profession in terms of knowledge exchange” said Prof. Bell.
Award for Excellence for Professor Anne-Wil Harzing
31 July, 2008Prestigious professional journal, HRM, the Journal, has awarded their annual “Ulrich & Lake Award for Excellence in HRM Scholarship” to the Department of Management and Marketing’s own Professor Anne-Wil Harzing.
The 2007 award is for Professor Harzing’s outstanding paper “Country-of-origin, localization, or dominance effect? An empirical investigation of HRM practices in foreign subsidiaries.” This article was co-written with Dr. Markus Pudelko and appeared in the winter 2007 issue of Human Resource Management (Volume 46, Number 4, pages 535-559).
Congratulations to Professor Harzing.
2008 Intensive Summer School Teaching at Universidad de La Sabana
11 July, 2008From 9 to 20 June 2008, Dr Danielle Chmielewski of the Department of Management and Marketing once again participated in the Intensive Summer Programme (International School of Economic and Administrative Sciences) at Universidad de La Sabana in Bogotá,Colombia.
The aim of the Summer Course was to contribute specialised education to Colombian undergraduate students interested in this topic. In addition, whilst in Colombia, Danielle gave a presentation to the students at Universidad de La Sabana about study opportunities at the University of Melbourne, and also attended the inaugural University of Melbourne Alumni Drinks and Dinner in Bogotá.
Next year Universidad de La Sabana is looking to expand its Intensive Summer Programme to include a variety of business-related disciplines. Danielle described her experience as “wonderful” and highly recommends the program to other academics.
Presentation to Sony Ericsson
08 July, 2008On June 2, 2008 students studying ‘Managing in Contemporary Organisations’ through the Department of Management and Marketing, after a semester of investigation presented their thoughts on how Sony Ericsson could create an optimal virtual organisation. Ideas were delivered to an executive panel live via a video link to Sweden and were well received.
M&M students with big ideas solve problems for Australian business
24 June, 2008High achieving students in the Department of Management and Marketing have just completed a rare opportunity; consulting on real case work for an Australian business.
The Case-Based Challenge run in the ‘Principles of Marketing’ subject allowed students to put into real-life practice the concepts they had learnt in the lecture theatre, helping solve weekly issues for Family Mail House (FMH). FMH is one of the longest established mail houses in Victoria. The company has seen and adapted to a number of industry changes. Australia Post’s introduction of barcoded mail in 1999 was one of the greatest industry challenges to date. Impressively, FMH was the first mail house to lodge barcoded mail in Victoria. It is also one of Australia Post’s few select Bulk Mail Partners.
It’s the first time the challenge has been run, and while the program is not assessed, the most realistic and comprehensive responses at the end of the semester were chosen as winners. Students received prizes and the opportunity to complete further work experience with the company.
Dr Angela Paladino, who developed and oversaw the web-based challenge, says the experience was both unique and invaluable for the students.
“The CBC gave students the opportunity to apply what they learnt each week and address realistic challenges faced by the companies in the marketplace. It also provided students with comprehensive, regular feedback so they could improve their problem-solving skills.”
Joan Glenane, a director of Family Mail House, expressed her sincere thanks to the students who participated for their ideas. “Student responses were comprehensive, objective and insightful, providing the company with a fresh perspective”.
Marie Coson and Sue Lim were judged to have presented the best solutions to the company out of 66 submissions. All students who participated were formally acknowledged for their efforts by FMH. Well done to all of the students who participated.
Procter & Gamble seek M&M students to style marketing solution
24 June, 2008A knowledge transfer partnership between Procter & Gamble and the University of Melbourne’s Department of Management and Marketing has generated innovative research solutions to complex marketing problems in Australia.
Teams of undergraduate and postgraduate marketing students recently presented their marketing research reports to a panel of experts consisting of marketers from P&G and leading marketing research professors from the University of Melbourne.
According to Dr. Elison Lim from the Department of Management and Marketing at the University of Melbourne “Multinationals such as Procter & Gamble and leading research universities such as Melbourne hold unique knowledge bases. The sharing of such knowledge is the key to solving complicated marketing challenges like how to grow the hair styling category to the same levels as in other advanced markets such as in North America, Europe and Canada. From a learning perspective, we call this knowledge transfer."
The winning research report from the undergraduate student team used quantitative research methods covering a sample of 103 respondents in order to shed light on how to increase the usage of hair styling products. It found that sales in Australia are lower than in other developed economies due to insufficient product education programs, lack of product bundling to reduce costs and underinvestment in sustained marketing campaigns.
The winning report from the postgraduate team used qualitative research methods to better understand how to convert non-users to users. Four themes emerged from the research including a perceived concern regarding harmful chemicals in hair styling products, a growing preference for the “natural look”, negative perceptions about ‘over-styled’ hair and confusion about product benefits and usage. Recommendations for overcoming the marketing challenges included suggestions for new packaging, new distribution channels, integrated marketing communication, introduction of less chemically harmful products and a new brand to capture male consumers in the 25-35 age group.
Research enquiries to Dr Elison Lim elisonl@unimelb.edu.au
Associate Professor Ying Zhu: Paper for Discussion at APEC Summit
15 May, 2008Associate Professor Ying Zhu (Department of Management and Marketing) joins University of Melbourne colleagues Associate Professor Sean Cooney (Law School) and Dr Sarah Biddulph (Asian Law Centre) at the upcoming APEC Summit in Lima. Associate Professor Zhu has co-authored a paper on "The New Development of Labour Laws and Industrial Relations in China" which has been published for discussion.
Mr Shyong Wai Foon & Associate Professor Mile Terziovski: Best Paper Award
15 May, 2008Joint authors Shyong Wai Foon and Associate Professor Mile Terziovski (Department of Management and Marketing) have been nicely rewarded for their efforts. Their paper on "Operations and Maintenance Practices and their Impact on Power Plant Performance" is the Operations Management Division winner of the Chan Hahn Best Paper Award at the 2008 Academy of Management Meeting in Anaheim, California.
Professor Cynthia Hardy & Dr. Leisa Sargent: International Grant Success
03 April, 2008Professor Cynthia Hardy and Dr. Leisa Sargent (Department of Management & Marketing) have both caught the attention of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada with separate submissions, and have each been rewarded with a three year grant to fund their respective research.
Professor Hardy’s research project ‘Technology Evolution and the Environment: A Discursive Perspective’ examines processes of technology evolution for an ecologically sustainable economy. The project will be conducted with fellow researcher Professor Steve McGuire from McGill University,Canada.
Dr. Sargent is a member of an international research team headed up by Professor Mary Dean Lee, also from McGill University in Canada. The main goal of the research is to study the range of pathways professional and managerial baby boomers are using to construct retirement in both Australia and Canada.
Dr. Joeri Mol: Individual Award for Outstanding Lecturer
23 April, 2008Congratulations to Dr Joeri Mol who was been presented with the Individual Award for Outstanding Lecturer (2007) on April 14, 2008 at the Dean's Awards Ceremony.
Using the Sony Case Study Competition as the primary activity for student learning, what started as a pedagogical collaboration has culminated into a platform where teaching, research and knowledge transfer are linked to provide a unique learning experience for students.
His innovative use of technology is breaking new ground in teaching and learning, and his interaction with the business community highlights the value of reciprocal learning to students and potential employers.
Hugh Gundlach & Samantha Smith: 2008 Kinsman Studentship Awards
29 February, 2008Congratulations to Hugh Gundlach and Samantha Smith who have been awarded the Kinsman Scholarship in 2008 - Hugh Gundlach for Packaging Authenticity in the Premium Beer Market; and Samantha Smith for An Investigation of Consumer Motivations Towards Organic Food Purchases in Australia.
Professor Anne-Wil Harzing:Making Research Headlines
14 February, 2008Professor of Management (International Business) Anne-Wil Harzing has developed new research data software, and comments on the proposed review of research funding in The Australian newspaper. Read the full article.
2007
Faculty Research Grants Awarded to Management & Marketing Academics
30 November 2007The Faculty of Economics and Commerce recently awarded $220,000 of research grants for 2008 to researchers within the Faculty. Several researchers from the Department of Management and Marketing were awarded grants for their research projects.
- Dr Danielle Chmielewski for her project The Timing of Entry of Line Extension: A Firm-Based and Market-Based Perspective
- Dr Jennifer Frahm for Improving Management Communication in the Australian Business Community
- Associate Professor Bill Harley and Professor Graham Sewell for The Effectiveness of Human Resource Management in the Australian Private Security Industry: A Preliminary Study
- Dr Stewart Johnston and Associate Professor Christina Cregan for The Networked Multinational Corporation: An Investigation of Australian Subsidiaries
- Associate Professor Damien Power for Global Manufacturing Research Group: Survey of Australian Manufacturing Practices and Performance
Management Student Wins Global Business Simulation Challenge
27 November 2007
University of Melbourne student Kerim Koyunoglu has taken top honors in the Capstone Challenge, a global business simulation challenge organized by Management Simulations Inc. (MSI).
Koyunoglu beat more than 500 other graduate students from across the world, from places as far a field as Poland and Kenya, to take the prize. He says the competition was an amazing opportunity which helped confirm what he wanted to do after graduating.
“Participating in the Capstone Challenge has provided me with the opportunity to see how far I can go globally. It has helped me improve and develop my skills towards dealing with uncertainties that are bound to be seen in the real business world.”
Koyunoglu had attended the “Strategic Management” post-graduate subject taught by Dr. Tom Osegowitsch, lecturer in the Department of Management & Marketing at the University of Melbourne. Dr. Osegowitsch used the Capstone business simulation in class to simulate the formulation and implementation of strategy in a more real-life setting, with student teams competing against one another over the course of the semester. He commented that the main benefit of the simulation lay in allowing students to experience the interactive and dynamic nature of competition, which is difficult to convey through more conventional teaching techniques.
The Capstone Challenge allowed students to test their insights generated during the course of a semester against students at other universities. The Challenge rates participants’ success according to the ‘Balanced Scorecard’, a comprehensive strategic assessment tool.
Dr. Osegowitsch said that “The fact that Kerim found the time to compete in this extra-curricular challenge while at the same time preparing for exams testifies to his level of commitment and enthusiasm. His win is a wonderful achievement given the high level of competition from around the world.”
Koyunoglu is expected to graduate in July 2008 with a Master of Applied Commerce degree, with a concentration in Marketing.
Damien Power Promoted to Associate Professor
November 02, 2007Dr Damien Power of the Department of Management and Marketing has been promoted to Associate Professor from 1 January 2008. This is an important recognition of his significant contribution to his discipline, the Faculty and the University. Congratulations to Damien.
Department Visitor signs book contract with Cambridge University Press
11 October , 2007Dr Tom Bramble, a Visitor to the Department of Management and Marketing from January to June 2007, has signed a contract with Cambridge University Press to publish a book on the recent history of trade unionism in Australia. Provisionally titled "From Flood to Ebb Tide: Australian Trade Unionism, 1967 to 2007", Tom has been working on the book during his time at The University of Melbourne. The book is due for publication in mid-2008.
Associate Professor Lea Waters Wins Carrick Award
08 October, 2007
Associate Professor Lea Waters, Department of Management and Marketing has received a 2007 Carrick Award for Teaching Excellence in the field of Law, Economics, Business and Related Studies. The Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, today congratulated the country’s most outstanding university teachers in announcing the 2007 Carrick Awards for Australian University Teaching.
Twenty-four university teachers from across Australia will receive $25,000 to advance their teaching careers and to support their ongoing commitment to excellence in teaching. Fourteen further Awards have also been decided, the 2007 Carrick Awards for Programmes that Enhance Learning, with each team to be awarded $25,000.
“The Carrick Awards acknowledge the vital contribution made by individuals and teams to the quality of student learning, from undergraduate teaching to research supervision,” Minister Bishop said. “The Awards provide recognition and support to a range of teachers acknowledged by their colleagues as making an outstanding difference to the learning experiences of their students.”
Reputation is everything says Department visitor
09 September, 2007Visitor to the Department, Dr Peter Verhezen had an article published in The Age while he was working with us. Entitled ‘Reputation is everything in good times and bad’, Dr Verhezen discusses the role the right corporate image plays in the public’s trust in the integrity of our business leaders.
Jennifer Frahm wins best paper award
09 September, 2007Jennifer Frahm has won a best paper award in the Organisational Communication and Information Systems Division of the Academy of Management.
The paper, "Building an Organizational Change Communication Theory", was co-authored by Kerry Brown of QUT and will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management in Hawaii in August. The Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management is the world’s largest and most prestigious management conference and Jennifer’s award makes two in a row for the Department’s Organisation Studies researchers. Last year, Dr Lea Waters won a Best Paper for "Voluntary and Involuntary Job Redundancy: Hope or Helplessness".
Management Students Present to Sony Ericsson
01 September, 2007
Not every day do students in the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Economics and Commerce have the opportunity to put their ideas on management to executives of major international companies. Students of the subject Managing in Contemporary Organisations did just that recently when they presented their thoughts on how Sony Ericsson could create an optimal virtual organisation to an expert panel live via a video link to Sweden.
See the full story in The University of Melbourne Voice