Cranfield School of Management

Cameron studies 'golden skirts' quotas

David Cameron visits Stockholm to ‘get ideas’ on how to increase the proportion of women directors in the UK.  He will examine controversial plans for gender quotas in the boardroom and may admit a lack of progress in boosting the proportion of senior female executives.  Cranfield’s research suggests that 89 per cent of FTSE 350 companies have no female directors.

Bonuses of contention

The global market for executive talent is far from perfect. As Dr. Ruth Bender has pointed out, companies benchmark themselves against “a limited population of elite salaries”, usually chosen by their pay consultants. But as companies in fast-growing economies extend their reach – and compete for senior staff with multinational experience – upward pressure on incentives to attract and retain top executives may increase.

Crash course in: Taking your brand upmarket

Your core product is struggling and margins are almost non-existent.  Maybe the answer is to reposition upmarket.  Dr. Paul Baines, director of the MSc in Strategic Marketing describes what’s involved.

Further information...

Family business

Moving to England was a huge decision for Elaine Grogan, it meant giving up a job she loved, but this year she upended her life so that her Irish husband Peter could pursue an MBA at Cranfield School of Management.  Her verdict on the 12 months at Cranfield is that it has been a “great experience – you meet lots of people from 40 different countries, with different talents and different ideas to you”. The fact that she has enjoyed her time as a student’s partner is largely down to her attitude. “You have to find something to do day to day. You have to contribute something – you can’t just wait for people to approach you and you also have to make time to do something with your partner.” She was helped, she says, by Cranfield, which lays on social activities and sports clubs for partners of students.

Radio interview

Dr. Ruth Bender discussed pay and bonuses.

Business approach to gender

The total number of women executive directors in the FTSE 350 fell from 45 in 2010 to 43 in November 2011, despite a concerted government effort to boost female participation in business leadership, according to data from Cranfield School of Management.

TV interview

Dr Ruth Bender took part in a live discussion with Will Hutton on fairness.  What does it mean, does it exist, is it right for our society?  The discussion is in response to the £963,000 bonus awarded to Stephen Hester, the RBS chief executive.

Further information...

O'Donnell derides approach to gender

The private sector’s reliance on appointing female non-executive board members instead of promoting more women to senior executive positions has been derided as ‘a bit of a joke’ by Lord O’Donnell, the former cabinet secretary.  The intervention by Lord O’Donnell, who retired at the end of December, underlines concern that companies are responding to government pressure to improve the gender balance of their boards by having more female non-executives instead of more women running the business.  The total number of women executive directors in the FTSE 350 fell from 45 in 2010 to 43 in November 2011, despite a concerted government effort to boost female participation in business leadership, according to data from Cranfield School of Management.

TV interview

Dr Ruth Bender was interviewed live discussing the £963,000 bonus awarded to Stephen Hester, the RBS chief executive.

TV interview

Dr Ruth Bender was interviewed live discussing the £963,000 bonus awarded to Stephen Hester, the RBS chief executive.