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Revitalized Executive Education Program offers customized training

Knowledge may be power, but acquiring it is only one part of the business equation. Equally important in today’s competitive environment is the application of knowledge in the development and execution of effective organizational strategies.

Increasingly, companies of all sizes are challenged to maximize available resources as they seek to gain a distinct competitive advantage. Today’s managers must be fluent in a variety of disciplines, ranging from sales and marketing to finance and strategic planning. While emerging technologies and sophisticated management information systems are critical components of business success, their efficacy is contingent upon the deployment of management talent.

Contemporary outlooks and fresh perspectives gleaned from executive education offerings can make the difference in transforming once-competitive challenges into competitive opportunities. As part of its commitment to Mississippi and regional businesses, the School of Business Administration is sharing the expertise of its highly credentialed faculty through a revitalized Executive Education Program.

“The national market for executive education has changed dramatically over the past 20 years,” says Dr. Brian Reithel, dean of the business school. “The so-called workshop as junket that was acceptable in times gone by has fallen by the wayside. Now, every hour of every employee’s day must deliver genuine business value. That has resulted in a fundamentally different approach to executive education that focuses clearly on delivering actionable knowledge in an effective and efficient manner. Those new values are the hallmarks of the Ole Miss Executive Education Program.”

Under the leadership of Dr. Robert “Bob” Robinson, director of executive education and Michael S. Starnes Professor of Management, the programs are designed to meet the needs of managers and decision-making employees of all backgrounds, from seasoned executives needing updates on current trends to entry-level managers with marginal experience. Benefiting from the input of faculty, advisory board members and other business leaders, the revised executive education initiatives include what Reithel calls “public invitation” and “custom” components.

Typically, the public invitation programs are taught in a more generalized classroom or workshop environment; custom programs tailor pre-existing course modules to an individual company.

“We offer many programs to satisfy the needs of Mississippi and regional businesses,” says Robinson. “These run the gamut from basic management skills to tailored programs for specific organizational needs. For example, our Getting Results: Basic Skills for Managers is a general program that allows participants to choose from 15 four-hour training modules, including Change Management, Communication, Conflict Management, Dealing with the Problem Employee, Improving Decision Skills, Labor Relations for supervisory and middle-management levels, Leadership, Legal Environment for Managers, Motivating Employees, Performance Evaluation and Rater Training, Planning Skills and Time Management, Role of the Manager, Team Building and Understanding Work Groups.”

Since convenience is an overriding priority, training modules are offered throughout the year in three locations throughout Mississippi. Brochures and/or updated information on specific offerings are available by calling 662-915-7635 or 662-915-7481, or by visiting the business Web site at www.bus.

olemiss.edu/directory/execed/ index.htm.

While these Executive Education Programs are designed to be highly inclusive of a variety of business needs, Reithel says the school is targeting firms that are primarily located in Mississippi and the immediately surrounding states.

“These firms face competition from local, regional, national and international competitors that require them to constantly seek better solutions to business problems and useful new perspectives to recast problems and change the nature of competition in their markets,” Reithel says.

Given the expanded depth and role of human resources management within individual companies, Robinson added that the Ole Miss Executive Education Program is a Human Resources Certification Institute “approved provider” for continuing education credits for HR professionals holding the PHR and SPHR certifications.

As part of its commitment to serving the individualized needs of regional businesses, Dean Reithel stresses that the Ole Miss Executive Education Program has the flexibility and expertise to develop additional course modules if its resource library does not address a specialized challenge that a firm is facing.

“Many of the other educational service providers who deliver these types of programs do so with instructors who have read the textbooks and combined that knowledge with some work experience,” Reithel says. “Our programs are different because they are delivered by researchers who write the articles that ultimately end up as sections or chapters in textbooks. In other words, our researchers—because they are constantly probing the bounds of business knowledge and business thought—are able to deliver material that is based on the very latest ideas about effective business practices. The ‘shelf-life’ of our seminars, therefore, is far greater than that available from other organizations that are not at the leading frontiers of business thought.”

Reithel says select module subsets are available through real-time compressed video connections in order to help reach far-flung or geographically dispersed groups of employees. “We are also working on a small number of modules that will be available at some point through the Internet,” Reithel added.

While the business school is promoting executive education offerings via brochures and the Web, Reithel and Robinson say word-of-mouth testimonials are most meaningful. Robinson pointed to a recent seminar on anti-harassment policies that received very positive reviews on course content and presentation from program participants.

“We are very fortunate to have on our faculty individuals who have superb academic credentials and possess practical work experience and are in tune with the latest developments in their respective areas of expertise,” Robinson says. “Our faculty can provide assistance in areas ranging from management and marketing to business communication to finance and accounting. We offer more than motivational speeches—our goal is to work with program participants to provide practical solutions to real business problems.”

Reithel wholeheartedly agrees, noting the school’s strong connection and commitment to regional business concerns. Reithel adds that the dialogue that exists among business leaders and faculty members through executive education simultaneously reflects in a positive way on undergraduate education initiatives and the development of well-rounded business students.

“All of our Ole Miss business programs revolve around the mission of leveraging the knowledge of our faculty in order to have the greatest impact on the business community in and around the state of Mississippi and the region,” Reithel says. “Our Executive Education Programs will help forge stronger two-way bonds between our faculty and leaders in the business community. Those in the business community benefit from their interaction with faculty members at the forefront of business research. In turn, our faculty members will ensure that the research they are conducting and the more traditional classroom instruction they are delivering to students enrolled in degree-granting programs at Ole Miss proceeds along relevant avenues that will have a substantial impact on the free enterprise system in our state and nation.”

Karen Holliday is a freelance writer from Tupelo.