Kyiv Mohyla Business School students complete intensive seminar (11/14/04)

Kyiv Mohyla Business School students complete intensive seminar

by Michael Chaban

CHICAGO - The first class of executive graduates of a multi-cultural and foreign exchange program involving Kyiv Mohyla Business School (KMBS) and Northwestern University's Center for Technology and Innovation Management (CTIM) successfully completed a two-week American practicum at a final symposium conducted on the Northwestern University campuses in Evanston and Chicago, between July 23 and August 8.

As part of an initial three-year collaboration between KMBS and Northwestern University that had already delivered a series of important seminars to this leading Ukrainian business school in Kyiv, 45 Ukrainian executives who had completed their MBA programs with academic distinction, participated in this study exchange, the first of its kind in the Chicago area.

The program was the result of the continuing cooperation between the two institutions and suggested promise for jointly designed future programs; a follow-up program has already been scheduled for 2005 and is likely to become a continuing series.

A facilitating partner in orchestrating the exchange was the Kyiv Mohyla Foundation of America, which arranged for the program's implementation with Northwestern's U.S. National Science Foundation Center for Innovation and Technology Management, located in the Kellogg School of Management.

In addition to lectures by Kellogg and law school faculty and business experts, this program for the newly minted executives in the business community of Ukraine involved visits to companies and intensive practical exposure and experience with several executives of major corporations, as well as a one-day symposium designed to faciltate further interaction between the Ukrainians and American business counterparts.

Presentations to Ukrainian MBAs

The joint program involved a series of presentations by a number of Kellogg's distinguished academic authorities in the fields of management and marketing. These included those of Prof. Michael Radnor, director of the Center for Technology and Innovation Management and a member of the board or directors of the Kyiv Mohyla Foundation who organized the program with Kyiv Mohyla Business School; Prof. Robert Dewar, who spoke on marketing oriented organizations; Prof. Paul Hirsch, who lectured and conducted exercises on leadership; Prof. Philip Kotler, whose topic was marketing; and Prof. Edward Zajac, who lectured on Business Alliances.

The Ukrainian executives were especially enthusiastic in their discussions with renowned author Philip Kotler, the award-winning educator, an influential corporate adviser and global marketing guru. Prof. Kotler, the first recipient of the American Marketing Association's Distinguished Marketing Educator Award, is the S.C. Johnson Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School and the author of the most widely used business school textbooks "Marketing Management" and many others. Prof. Kotler's latest book, "Ten Deadly Marketing Sins" (he signed a copy of his book for each participant) was the topic of his 90-minute lecture to the Kyiv Mohyla Business School group.

Other academic and practitioner presenters included Dr. Thomas Kappel of Andrew Corp., who spoke about "roadmapping," and David Grossman of the Dynamic Strategy Group (lately the global director of technology strategy for General Motors), who illustrated the use of "mind and domain mapping."

Jeffrey Strauss conducted decision simulation exercises, Tom Churchwell of ARCH Development lectured on entrepreneurial development, Dr. Jack Bishop on small and medium enterprise management, Mark Dziersk of the Herbst Lazar Bell design firm (and chairman of the Design Society of America) spoke on product development, and Simon Bell of A.T. Kearney consultants focused on globalization.

The program included coverage of the critical intellectual property and security topics, with addresses from Prof. Andrea Matwyshyn of Northwestern University Law School and Mark Hellman of the Tripod Law Firm.

Corporate experiences

A number of Midwest corporations covering such fields as mass media, transport, communications, the food industry, health care, insurance and business law were involved in the academic exchange. On-site visits took the executive students to Harley Davidson, Kohler, Materials Sciences, Miller Brewing and Motorola, as well as to the Argonne National Laboratory.

A representative from Kraft (Dr. Susan Gaud) brought in not only valuable insights on how that firm - one well-represented in Ukraine - conducts its market-driven innovation programs but also impressive product packages for each student. With these various opportunities, the Ukrainian participants were able to observe and discuss American corporate traditions and innovations in management.

Ukraine Day colloquium

The two-week program included a colloquium at the Kellogg School on July 30 titled "Strategies for Business Development in Ukraine." The event was sponsored by Motorola Corp. and co-organized with the World Trade Center Chicago, Kyiv Mohyla Foundation of America and the Chicago Sister Cities International Program - Kyiv Committee. Among participants at the conference were leaders representing government, business and academic professionals.

The speakers included former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine and member of the board of Kyiv Mohyla Foundation William Miller, who reviewed Ukraine's current political and economic situation; Guy Pfeffermann, former chief economist of International Finance Corporation, who spoke about the risks and constraints facing companies in developing and transition economies and focused on the training of competent local management to meet such needs; Robert Langlois, director of Global Relations at Motorola Corp., who spoke about Motorola's past and current experience in Ukraine; Jaroslawa Z. Johnson, managing partner and director of the international law firm Chadbourne & Parke LLP, in Kyiv, who spoke about the experiences of corporations in conducting business in Ukraine; and Pavlo Sheremeta, dean of Kyiv Mohyla Business School, who discussed experiences in building a world-class business school in Ukraine.

A highlight of the conference was the presentation by Kellogg School Dean Dipak Jain, who addressed global management issues with both local and global research, traditional teaching and educational programs. Dr. Jain shared his perspective on the management challenges of the next decades and the evolving Kellogg model. Several graduates of the KMBS executive MBA program presented papers on specific corporate development in Ukraine.

The day concluded with a visit to and picnic in the Ravinia Festival to hear a performance of Mahler's "Symphony of a Thousand"; tickets were provided by the festival through the good offices of Jim McClung, a festival board member and formerly senior vice-president International for FMC Corp.

Members of the Ukrainian executive MBA delegation commented that improvement of mutual understanding was successfully achieved through the one-day conference with an anticipated result of a more productive future dialogue between Ukraine and the U.S.

The American participants in the conference mentioned that the quantity and quality of questions presented by both the Ukrainian and American audiences proved one more time that Ukrainian business is of interest to American business and that American corporations should follow developments in Ukraine's political and business climate closely.

In addition, the participants commented that the fact that the dean of Kellogg School of Management, considered the No. 1 business school in the world, attended and warmly greeted the participants to the conference and was visibly supportive of the cooperation with KMBS, is testament to the serious approach of Kyiv Mohyla Academy to education and its potential.

The Kyiv Mohyla Foundation of America has promoted the collaboration between Northwestern and Kyiv Mohyla in its efforts to support the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, a leading institution of higher learning in Ukraine, in attaining a higher level of academic excellence and an international presence.

The study tour and conference were financed by a combination of sources, including the individual participants, Kyiv Mohyla Business School, Northwestern University, Motorola Corp., various grants and the Kyiv Mohyla Foundation of America. The Chicago Kyiv Sister Cities Committee contributed with the facilitation of activities. The Chicago Group of Ukrainian Professionals hosted a gathering for the participants at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art.

| Home Page |