Whether it's discussing case studies or challenging received wisdom in study groups, at the heart of the MBA concept is America's abundant facility for self-expression, exchange and critical questioning.

In western executive training, saying precisely what you think simply conforms to the established corporate comfort zone.

So how do western business schools working in Asia try to apply their models of free-for-all communication to a region where discretion and inscrutability, not to mention the imperative of the iron rice bowl, have been bywords for group behaviour since long before the United States was born? How do you foster open communication in a culture which is not always very vocal?

Kathleen Slaughter, associate dean of the Richard Ivey School of Business in Hong Kong, agreed that achieving the right atmosphere for communication was critical to the success of executive education in Asia.

That is why, she is keen to stress, her faculty has put a great deal of effort into making sure that the students on Ivey's programmes hit the ground running when the courses begin.

"We always start with a two-week residence period, where the students have breakfast, lunch and dinner together," Professor Slaughter said. "They come to class every day. They do team building exercises. They go back to the hotel together.

"By the end of those two weeks, they really know each other well and they're comfortable with expressing themselves. That's because we knew they weren't naturally going to just open up and start exchanging with each other, and we wanted to catalyse that communicative behaviour." Professor Slaughter maintains that the impact of promoting communication in the earliest stages of their programmes has a major impact on her students' ability to take on a concept that Ivey has made its own, and even trademarked: "Cross-Enterprise" thinking.

"We've always been a general management school, and we emphasise that to be a good manager you have to be able to oversee every element of the enterprise, not just your own. To do that, you have to take on different perspectives, understand all the different roles. Getting participants to express themselves is key to that dynamic."

As an example of cross-enterprise management, she cites the example of Apple.

"[Apple's co-founder and chairman] Steve Jobs didn't just look at his iPod and say, `what can you do with just this product and how can we sell more of them'? He looked at everything that was associated to it, moved into iTunes, expanded to iPhone, synched in with the iMac. He developed something that is truly cross-enterprise. All of the time he had to be asking, `what are all the things we need to take the enterprise forward'?"

Promoting dynamic class communications and the cross-enterprise culture also helps break down the notion that there must be clearly defined "right" and "wrong" solutions to every problem.

"We want to foster an atmosphere where people get out of the habit of thinking that there is only one `right answer'. There is no one answer. It's about how they conceptualise and develop ideas and solutions for themselves. I think there is a desperate need for people to enhance those skills here, and there's a lot more work to be done to move people away from the model of `I'm the professor, you're the student, don't question what I say'."

According to Professor Slaughter, even the best case studies can only tell you what one company did under particular conditions; they are not designed to give you a "right" answer.

"Good case studies are designed to be highly thought-provoking. Sometimes the students will look at a case and say, `this is what that company did? No wonder they failed'. Other times it can be, `and that worked? Wow'. What's important is that they learn not only from the case, but about themselves and from each other."

The Richard Ivey School celebrates its 10th anniversary in Hong Kong next month. Guest of honour at the gala dinner, to be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on November 11*, is Colin Powell, the former US secretary of state. Does Professor Slaughter believe he embodies the values of open communication and cross-enterprise thinking that her faculty is committed to develop in its students?

"He's a great leader, and he has led by example," she said. "He stood up and said, `I made a mistake' when he knew that was the right thing to do, and when the time came, he had the moral and personal courage to make a stand against things he believed were wrong. He's held in the highest regard by his fellow-countrymen and a lot of Americans you talk to just shake their heads and say, `he should have been president'."

Richard Ivey is not the biggest executive education faculty in Hong Kong, but its track record and roll-call of alumni leave no doubt as to its status. As Professor Slaughter said: "We have our niche - and if you're going to be in a niche market, you have to be the best."

SCMP
18th October, 2008