3. Refined Research Question
✤ I am interested if immersive group coaching can improve the thinking of managers towards
making better decisions with the often difficult trade-offs when dealing with Sustainability
issues.
✤ Primary question: “Can coaching managers in immersive worlds lead to value shifts and
improved thinking towards sustainable business practices?”
✤ Secondary questions:
✤
What do immersive worlds offer and what are their limitations?
✤
What are sustainable business practices?
✤
What values underpin sustainable business practices?
✤
What type of coaching will be effective and scalable, 1:1, peer or group coaching?
✤
What are values and value shifts?
✤
What would the design of a MBA course entail?
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
4. Research Influences
✤ My positive MBA Experience and acknowledging the shortfalls
(Research Practice Divide)
✤ Secondment to Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (Sustainability)
✤ Obtaining transformational change with Coaching as a coachee,
becoming a certified Coach in brain based methods, and
acknowledging the problems with scalability of 1:1 coaching.
✤ Web 2.0 the potential solution to overcoming geographical, cultural
and scalability issues, and opportunity for interactive learning in
unique simulations
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
5. MBA Shortfalls
✤ My MBA Experience was positive, however...
✤ Evidence that supply is now outstripping demand and not as elite
programme or as valuable as it used to be (Connolly, 1997)
✤ Some scholars have been severely critical of the MBA model, faculty,
administrators, students, recruiters, media and business. Mintzburg
(2005), Pfeffer (2005), Bennis & O’Toole (2005), and Ghoshal, (2005).
✤ My observations are that the MBA is modeled around intensive and
rapid surface learning, but I believe that a student can learn new
new ways of thinking through coaching.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
6. Sustainability (definition)
✤ Business Ethics. A form of applied ethics that examines ethical rules and principles
within a commercial context; the various moral or ethical problems that can arise in a
business setting; and any special duties or obligations that apply to persons who are
engaged in commerce.
✤ Corporate Social Responsibility. The voluntary actions taken by a company to address
economic, social, and environmental impacts of its business operations and the
concerns of its principal stakeholders.
✤ Sustainable Business/Sustainability. Business that contributes to an equitable and
ecologically sustainable economy. Sustainable businesses offer products and services
that fulfill society’s needs while contributing to the well-being of the earth’s
inhabitants.
✤ Christensen, L.J. et al., 2007. Ethics, CSR, and Sustainability Education in the Financial Times Top 50 Global Business Schools: Baseline Data and Future Research Directions. Journal of
Business Ethics, 73(4), 347-368. Available at: http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/s10551-006-9211-5.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
7. Coaching
✤ Helping relationship formed between a client who has managerial
authority and responsibility in an organisation and a consultant who
uses a wide variety of behavioural techniques and methods to help
the client achieve a mutually identified set of goals to improve his or
her professional performance and personal satisfaction and,
consequently, to improve the effectiveness of the client’s organisation
within a formally defined coaching agreement (Kilburg and Hopkins,
2000, p.17)
✤ Facilitating Positive Change through Improving Thinking (Rock. D,
2009, proprietary coaching system called RCS)
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
8. Why the RCS?
✤ Science back up its claims (www.neuroleadership.org)
✤ It was successful for me.
✤ Invested in understanding it (MBA Dissertation)
✤ I have invested in training.
✤ Experience in workplace Executive Coaching.
✤ 1:1 focus, but will explore group version
✤
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
9. Web 2.0
✤ Immersive Worlds: Fewer limits to geography, class size, or virtual
world interactive simulations!
✤ Blogs: Critically Reflective Manager
✤ Wikis: Building a Sustainability knowledgebase
✤ Social Media - Collaboration
✤
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
10. Methodology
✤ Quantitative Survey of the current significance of values and quality of thinking
towards the issues around Sustainability
✤ Quantitative longitudinal research of SBS, MBA Alumni recording a base line for
sustainability awareness and effect, from their respective MBA programs
✤ Action research via a sample of MBA Students who will form part of a research group
looking at coaching,
✤ Ethnographical and qualitative research to evaluate Coaching Performance towards
better thinking/values towards Sustainability
✤ Grounded theory??? research to develop the Executive Coaching Model appropriate for
the MBA
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
11. Creating the new
Sustainability Elective
✤ Neelankavil (1994) posits that
'The ideal MBA [graduate]
would be, in short a, a well-
educated and well-rounded
individual who could tackle
the myriad of problems faced
by managers in all business' (p.
38).
✤
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
12. Research Outcomes
✤ A new Sustainability elective course delivered to MBA students, and
later to be offered to non student parties
✤ Perhaps a new coaching model within immersive worlds that can
improve quality of thinking and create value shifts
✤ Clarification on Sustainability Practices for Managers.
✤ Re-usable Immersive World Content
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
13. Research Interest
✤ Sustainability Educators and Change Agencies
✤ Academics
✤ Coaching Profession, Dr David Rock, Brain Based Coaching Author
✤
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
14. Research Phases
✤ Literature Review, coaching certification, obtain sponsorship, initial
surveys on sustainability, and methodology research (1 Year)
✤ More Literature Review, design of course content and action research
Iterations (2 Years)
✤ Findings and discussion against Literature (6 Months)
✤ Thesis & defense (1 Year)
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
15. Looking for Sponsorship
✤ Developing the content for the immersive world:
✤ Buying or Renting an Island
✤ Obtaining the skills or services to create scenarios
✤ Development costs
✤ ADSG and SBS
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
16. Next Steps
✤ Investigate Sponsorship
✤ Confirm program start and advisors
✤ Further Literature Reviews on new research questions
✤
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
17. References
✤ Kilburg, R. R., and Hopkins, J., (2000), Executive coaching: Developing managerial wisdom in a world of chaos, Washington, DC, US: American
Psychological Association.
✤ Rock, D., (2009), Coaching with the Brain in Mind, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New Jersey
✤ Ghoshal, S., 2005. Bad Management Theories Are Destroying Good Management Practices. Management Learning, 4(1), 75-91.
✤ Mintzberg, H., 2005. Seven — Plus or Minus a Couple. Management Learning, 4(2), 244 -247.
✤ Neelankavil, J.P., 1994. Corporate America's Quest for an Ideal MBA. Journal of Management Development, 13(5), 38-52. Available at: http://
www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/02621719410058374.
✤ Pfeffer, J., 2005. Why Do Bad Management Theories Persist ? A Comment on Ghoshal. Management Learning, 4(1), 96 -100.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
