Cranfield School of Management

Women at director level help to make a marque

Last year’s UK Women on Boards report, called for FTSE 100 boards to aim for 25 per cent of women directors by 2015 and concluded that a variety of background and experience on a board led to better decisions. According to Professor Susan Vinnicombe; “Women often have more varied career backgrounds than men, who are more likely to have worked their way up through a company.  If your market consists largely or partly of women, you need to have women’s views at top decision making levels.”

One in 10 executive boardroom appointments go to women

Women claimed just one in 10 executive boardroom appointments over the past year despite ministers’ demands that the biggest companies install more women at the top table. Eleven FTSE 100 companies still do not have any women on their boards, according to a recent study by Cranfield School of Management. 

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Funding still tops list of concerns

Growth is what all business is ultimately about. But if you start your own company, how do you recognise the point at which you can no longer keep it going, and growing, on your own? How do you know when the time has come to take on employees, other than when you collapse from exhaustion?  The answer is not always as simple as it seems, says David Molian, director of the business growth and development programme at Cranfield School of Management.  "In any start-up, the aim in the first year is to get to the end of the first year," he says. "Survival is everything. The business is likely to be in a state of flux and experimentation to find out what works."

On your bike to woo women directors

Entrepreneurs need female advisers to join them in the boardroom.  The belief that female board members will improve financial performance has faded in the past few years, according to Professor Susan Vinnicombe, who advised on the Davies report. "Realistically, how can the gender of one or two people at the top affect share price or return on capital?" But female non-executives can bring less tangible benefits to the boardroom, including communication and risk management skills. "Women make about 80% of consumer decisions, so intuitively they are more in touch with the marketplace," said Vinnicombe.  "They also enhance corporate governance because they tend to be conscientious."

Radio interview

Professor Clare Kelliher was interviewed on the breakfast show discussing work-life balance.

Radio interview

Dr Ruth Bender was interviewed on Marketplace Morning Report, commenting on an article in the New York Times that says JPMorgan losses are now estimated at $3 billion.

TV interview

Leadership expert Murray Steele joined former FA chief exec Mark Palios on “Jeff Randall Live” to discuss applying football strategy in a corporate boardroom.

These lessons are still worth learning

MBAs don't come cheap, so the priority for any applicant should be to find the best way to finance a course. Given the economic climate, the MBA funding picture changes almost weekly so it is important that would-be MBA students do their research.  Add in living expenses, travel, books and forgone salary and the total bill can reach six figures. So, is an MBA at a top school still worth it?  Professor Frank Horwitz, director of Cranfield School of Management, says: "Even in these uncertain times people should not underestimate the power of an MBA from a prestigious school. Our faculty work with organisations around the globe, which means they are current and topical in their teaching." The good news is that some business schools still offer tailored loans. Cranfield, INSEAD and Oxford, for example, are among the schools that participate in the Prodigy loan scheme. Developed for MBA students, the Prodigy scheme lets students take out loans from a fund invested in by the university, alumni and friends of the school. Unlike traditional banks, Prodigy Finance uses a predictive scorecard to assess a student's earning potential, rather than basing decisions on current or historic salary.

The 21st Cranfield MBA Regatta

In July, the talk among Cranfield School of Management students will be of tacking, gybing and hoisting the mainsail, as they host the 21st Cranfield MBA Regatta. The races are held over the first full weekend in July on the Solent. Numerous social events will serve as distractions from the sailing.

Ask the experts

Visiting Fellow David Glassman gives his advice in the ‘Ask the Experts’ section for entrepreneurs on whether to diversify or not.