Showing posts with label mba. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mba. Show all posts

Saturday, June 23, 2018

Interview with Gary Stading, Ph.D.: Energy Leadership MBA In a Time of Amazon, Google, AI Robotics, Climate Change, Fear

Welcome to an interview with Dr. Gary Stading, Dean of the College of Business, Engineering, and Technology of Texas A and M Texarkana. 



1.  What is your name and your background
Dr. Gary Stading comes to Texas A-M Texarkana after a distinguished career in industry, including transportation and supply chain management. He has been recognized by a number of global organizations for his contributions.

https://youtu.be/RxifFpSaQ5g
2. How can an MBA prepare a person for changing times? 
The Texas AandM Texarkana MBA program is designed to help build and enhance the skill set you need to compete in today’s fast-paced marketplace. Whether you are managing your own business or trying to advance your career to the next level, completion of the Texas A--M Texarkana MBA program gives graduates a competitive edge through its unique class design approach, flexibility, affordability, and diverse concentration options.

What makes Texas A - M Texarkana different?
The College of Business, Engineering, and Technology (CBET) faculty concentrate on preparing students to be valuable leaders in both business, and community service initiatives.  The CBET offers quality undergraduate and graduate programs through academically and professionally qualified faculty.  The tenured and tenure- track faculty members are active scholars that consider intellectual scholarship an asset for providing excellence in teaching.  The faculty pursues continuous improvement, and they realize that the curriculum must emphasize critical thinking skills and emerging technological solutions to prepare students for today’s complex business environment.  In addition, the faculty recognizes the importance of being active in community service.

3.  What do you see as the importance of Energy Leadership at this point in time and in the future?
The College of Business, Engineering and Technology works closely with members of energy based organizations, such as the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and Southern Gas Association (SGA), to offer an MBA with a concentration in Energy Leadership. to meet the needs of many growing businesses. This degree is developed for professionals already in the energy arena or aspiring for valuable and exciting careers in the energy and petroleum based industries, including oil and gas.  The coursework develops skills vital to successful leadership in energy related fields.  These topics include such areas as risk assessment and the management, accounting and financial planning specific to energy related fields, and management of capital and personnel resources. The program is offered online which enhances and encourages student interaction from all over the globe.

4.  How can Supply Chain Management make a different for students in their professional lives and careers and how is SCM changing?
Supply Chain Management (SCM) provides an exciting and rewarding path of study, in which students learn skills that directly affect and can increase business profitability. Careers in SCM take many paths and end up with a multitude of career options.  The curriculum teaches students to properly balance materials, finances, and information throughout the supply chain to achieve growth of company profitability.  Skills acquired via the Supply Chain concentration are in high demand. By completing a degree in Supply Chain Management, students will set themselves apart to succeed in business. Students will develop analytical skills in learning about inventory management, logistics, quality, purchasing, and transportation. Students in supply chain management have the opportunity to learn and then subsequently return value to both their own personal investment portfolios or to grow their company business.  Supply Chain is changing the way businesses compete.  Students learn how businesses leverage relationships with suppliers and customers by forming teams to compete in the marketplace.

5.  What are some of the new directions in business leadership that you see emerging?
I don’t know that I would call these perspectives “new directions,” but I’ll talk about some of the newer academic topics and perspectives being discussed in leading business education journals. One such topic is that the authors are arguing that it is important for business leaders to keep the forces of technology from dehumanizing the workplace.  De-emphasizing the human element out of the workplace is strongly discouraged because it basically eliminates a key sustainable competitive advantage for businesses.  Another stream of leadership discussion warns against “hero worship” of business leaders.  This rhetoric discusses how the practice of romanticizing business leaders gives too much credit and too much blame for failures on high profile leaders of companies.  A third area of discussion is really a research area.  A group of researchers are evaluating how a transfer of workplace knowledge is occurring and should occur between the retiring baby boomer generation and the millennials stepping in to take their place.

6.  Please recommend a few books for our readers.
I personally would like to recommend of recent resurgence of a genre of books out about some historical leaders.  I have read some recently published books about U.S. Grant, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lincoln, and others (each has different authors and titles).  While their places are cemented in history, the stories of these historical political leaders and recently researched leadership styles provide a fascinating perspective on effective leadership styles.  Two, in particular, are the recent biographies about Grant and Lincoln.  These stories also provide analysis of some of their failures, discussing how these leaders overcame or coped with the trials and tribulations of these eerily similar obstacles experienced by modern day leaders. The stories about Lincoln and Grant involve some surprising similar problems that modern day leaders face.  For instance, Grant, when he was president, was deeply involved in equality issues of all kinds (e.g. both race and gender).  Anyway, I believe we can learn a lot about leadership by studying some of our historical leaders. 

Life Edge Interview with Gary Stading, Ph.D.
https://youtu.be/RxifFpSaQ5g


Insights ... which ... 




Friday, July 30, 2010

Capstone / Research Paper Guide: Sustainable Business

New degree and certificate programs that focus on sustainability and sustainable business continue to gain traction in the economy, particularly as there continues to be a need for energy efficiency, cost-savings, and positive public relations.

Many schools require capstone projects and extensive research papers. For example, Anaheim University offers a graduate diploma in sustainable management, and has a choice of two capstone projects. Dominican University requires either a service-learning practicum, which can be either an internship or a capstone project. The University of Denver's master's degree in Environmental Policy and Management offers an emphasis in Energy and Sustainability.

Planning your capstone / research project:

Primary thesis: start with a clear statement, and then narrow it down. Make sure your thesis gives an indication of the possibilities contained in the project.

Introductory paragraph: Include your thesis statement, and be sure to provide details and a general overview of the scope of your research paper.

Engaging Opening: Start with a clear statement of why this matters, and show it with an illustrative scene or reference to a core or controversial paper.

Definition: What is sustainability today? Why does it matter? Definition section.

Your focus: Your sustainability focus. Describe your focus and goals in an in-depth way.

Background and contexts. Provide give sufficient background, details, and history of the particular issues you're exploring. Sources can include statistics, journal articles, government documents, news sources, reliable websites.

Literature review / history of the idea: who has written on your topic? what have they said? Sources: refereed journals, You can use blogs and opinions, but it is important to discuss their agendas and bias.

**Importance / Priorities / Issues that come to the surface
**Conflicts / controversies

Case Study Analysis?

Elements to Include:
**Sustainability Project Goals / Vision / Core Mission
**Project Overview
**Review of the Project Elements
**Sequence / Timing / Project planning

Conclusion and Recommendations: What makes your capstone or research project valuable is a combination of the following items: a) thorough investigation of your primary thesis; b) solid research in multiple databases and sources; c) reliable, credible sources; d) insightful analysis; e) creative, innovative conclusion and recommendations.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

New Master's Degrees Change as the World Changes

A recent set of articles in New York Times Sunday edition (Jan 3, 2010) highlighted how master's degrees are bellwethers of new directions. Because master's degrees generally do not require a large number of hours, many colleges and universities have used the flexibility of interdisciplinary master's degrees to tailor student studies to individual goals, interests, and career opportunities. The obvious critique is such degrees can be trendy, and perhaps, arguably rather useless if there are massive paradigm shifts. But, the same can be said for traditional master's degrees. One can safely say that the bloom is off the rose of the stolid, traditional MBA, and to be at all competitive one must be sure to enter an MBA program that at least has a modicum of "sustainability studies" emphasis.

The article provided food for thought, and prompted a contemplation of some of the emerging trends and degrees. In doing so, one can gain an appreciation of the skills that are valued, and emerging industries that will potentially hire "niche" workers.

Homeland Security: After 9/11, many colleges and universities scrambled to assemble master's degree programs in Homeland Security as a continuation of Criminal Justice programs. Frankly, it appeared that there might be an oversupply just a year or so ago, as Iraq changed direction and budget issues resulted in layoffs at police departments, government agencies, and private security providers. Now, thanks to publicized security concerns, there is a renewed interest in the programs. There are a few new twists: language studies, cross-cultural studies, and emergency management have been added into most curricula.

CyberSecurity: This is a very specialized field that requires individuals to evaluate and remedy vulnerabilities within systems. Students become operational in computer networks, programming, and systems. This is an important program, but one can't help but suspect that some programs could be overly general, and deal with issues on a systems level, and never provide the hard-core math, computer science, and skills-training to make the graduate truly valuable. The extreme value to a company, the government, or military is the individual's ability to do things "hands-on" as well as to understand certain things about human behavior, marketing developments, and social networking in order to respond to emerging technologies.

Educational Leadership: This has been an extremely popular program for teachers who must have master's degrees for permanent certification, or who wish to move forward in their careers and become administrators of private schools, charter schools, or even community college programs. The best programs emphasize organizational development, and require students to have a project-based approach where they develop plans for schools or educational institutions. It's also important to include public policy training, educational technology for transformation, curriculum development, and teacher training programs. Informational technology may also be a focal point. Avoid programs that do not incorporate case studies and which do not require students to build a plan to rebuild a school.

Individualized MBAs: The MBA that can be somewhat customized to the individual's interests and goals is more important than ever. For example, an MBA program may allow an individual to focus on health care administration and to even take courses in specific areas, such as urgent care entrepreneurship. It can also be more theoretical in nature, and look at the interplay of sustainability and public policy as they relate to enterprises.

Sustainable Communities: There are any number of variations on the sustainability theme, all of which hold enormous promise in a world that must look at sustainability as a reality in a world that sees itself as increasingly interconnected, and where energy and environmental concerns are squarely at the center. An international scope is often a key characteristic. A good program will go to lengths to let the students develop a deep understanding of the concept of sustainability, and will provide significant grounding in "green" practices in various industries, including construction, transportation, healthcare, and manufacturing. In addition, programs look at individuals, communities, and the world -- each from a different set of criteria that discuss how to develop an enterprise, a community, and a household with an eye to long-term viability. Avoiding boom-bust mindsets is a part of the emphasis. Encouraging creativity and new solutions is equally important.

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