Resilience. Caring. Integrity. These are the habits that Arshad Ahmad (MBA’81, PhD’2000) seeks to instil in his students. They can make an immediate impact on students’ career – and a positive impact on the people in their lives. Ahmad has been named the International Educator of the year by Academy of International Business (AIB), an organization of international business and management. He is currently the Vice-Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan, and an EMBA professor at McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business.
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Desautels alumnus named International Educator of the Year by the Academic of International Business
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Standing in a check-out line is the least pleasant part of the shopping experience – and it could become a thing of the past. New technology is allowing shoppers to make in-store purchases with their phones, and a variety of self-checkout pilot projects are already underway at stores in Montreal. Some are as simple as scanning a QR code, and confirming your credit card information.
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DesautelsConnect welcomed Karolina Nanowski, Account Director at Good Apple, as host of the February Office Hour. Nanowski imparted advice to help Desautels students with their journey at º«¹úÂãÎè and beyond, citing her own her own mentors and experiences as stepping stones into the marketing world. Nanowski is also passionate about volunteering and helping her community, as such DesautelsConnect’s opportunity was ideal.Â
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Victor Luis, Chairman and CEO of Moose Knuckles, explains his unique view on success and how he rose through the corporate ladder during the Bensadoun School of Retail Management Retail Leaders Talk. Students in the Master of Management in Retailing (MMR) were given insights into how to view success and pave one's own way rather than following others.Â
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Leadership makes many different demands. Certain situations require the quiet contemplation of an introvert – like taking time to consider all implications before a decision is made. Other situations need an extrovert’s gregariousness, like taking the time to ensure that employees know their hard work is appreciated. The best leaders will do both, according to Karl Moore, a Professor at Desautels. Ambiverts make up about 20 per cent of the population, and display some qualities of both introverts and extroverts.
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The purest water makes the best vodka, but despite having water in abundance, Quebec had no vodka makers until relatively recently. Nicolas Duvernois observed this disconnect, and, in 2010, he founded Duvernois Creative Spirits, writes Desautels Professor Karl Moore in Forbes. He was working as a hospital janitor when he launched the company, with a vision to leverage Quebec’s natural resources to make a premium spirit. Since then, the company’s Pur Vodka has been named the best vodka in the world six times.
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Russia produces about 10 per cent of the world’s oil, but the rest of its economy is more of a lightweight. Before it attacked Ukraine, and had its financial system crippled by severe sanctions, Russia accounted for about three per cent of global GDP. Because Russian stock markets were closed after the invasion, investors have been unable to sell their holdings.
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Access to technology is deeply uneven. Many of us take the internet for granted, but nearly 40 per cent of the world’s population has never even been online. When the pandemic closed schools, not everyone could just switch to online learning. But communities that lacked access to technology found other ways to stay connected. A new study co-authored by Desautels Dean and James º«¹úÂãÎè Professor Yolande E.
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During lockdowns, access to luxury services was severely limited. Fine dining establishments were reduced to haute cuisine in take-out containers, and spas forced to close altogether. But some shoppers have tried to fill that void with consumer goods. Everyone’s life was disrupted, but those who kept their jobs had some extra money in their pocket, and many of them spent it, says Charles de Brabant, Executive Director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management.
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Serving as the head of a major business school, there are a lot of moving parts and things to consider. Desautels Dean Yolande E. Chan joins Isabelle Massé of La Presse to discuss what led her to Montreal, equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the workplace, how business schools play a role in preparing students to adapt to an ever-changing world, and the importance of entrepreneurship in business education curricula.
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Risk is a fact of life in business—it’s also an ever-present reality in times of war. Wars and armed conflicts embroil 60% of the developing world, and now Ukraine and Russia, posing a constant threat to commodity production, the flow of international supply chains, and the economic lifeblood of these nations.
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After receiving a bronze certification under the º«¹úÂãÎè Sustainable Workplace Certification program, the º«¹úÂãÎè Desautels Master’s Office has taken it to the next level, earning its silver certification. The Sustainable Workplace Certification program challenges the º«¹úÂãÎè community to foster healthier, environmentally friendly, connected workplaces through individual and collective practices. Congratulations to our Master’s team for this stellar achievement; keep up the good work!
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In an ideal economy, hard work and creativity would be rewarded – and each person could lead a life of meaning and dignity. But our obsession with metrics can get in the way, according to Prof. Henry Mintzberg, the John Cleghorn Professor of Management Studies at the Desautels Faculty of Management.
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While the use of economic sanctions for political means is no new strategy, the magnitude of the sanctions imposed on Russia in the wake of Putin’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine is unprecedented, says Professor Sebastien Betermier in an interview with CTV Montreal. Perhaps most impactful is the freeze on Russian Central Bank assets and SWIFT, a financial messaging platform used by banks to make international transactions.
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Women still face barriers in attaining leadership roles, and rethinking leadership is one part of solving this problem, writes Marine Thomas. For that, the Editor-in-Chief of Les Affaires looks to the ideas of Desautels Prof. Henry Mintzberg. By dispersing leadership throughout an organization, companies can create a flexible and inclusive workplace that is more conducive to the advancement of women’s careers.