Fridays are a day to slow down and relax in the corporate circle but not for students of the Loyola Institute of Business Administration, it was like every other day filled with assignments, submissions to be made and a surprise guest lecture. Ms. Anne Nemer, Asst. Dean and Executive Director, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania addressed LIBA students on the changing business situations – The New Manager: Developing a Global Mindset. The lecture session covered important points such as – diverse business leadership, innovation for survival and social-cultural frameworks.

In a multi-polar world the need for diverse leadership is ever increasing and only leaders with a global mindset (i.e. those who have a positive attitude and perceive the global markets, understanding its opportunities) can thrive as successful managers.

Quoting the latest newspaper articles on mergers and acquisitions from around the world Ms. Anne Nemer, Asst. Dean and Executive Director, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania said “With the economic growth in the past few years, developing countries are becoming more and more international. Therefore the need for a global mindset is imperative for managers and leaders. In fact one of the world’s first managers with a global mindset came from India; Mr. Jamshedji Tata. The world today is multi-polar and the technological advances have led to a global rebalancing, in the coming years the GDP growth of the developing world will soon overtake that of the developed world.”

The lecture enclosed the importance of innovation and its connection to survival in the industry by citing the example of Bombardier’s latest innovation ECO4, an energy efficient train, where 75% of the products to be sold in the next five years are yet to be innovated or invented.

Understanding cultural frameworks: society and individuals form the basics of an open mindset. A global manager should be able to differentiate the obvious from the subtle and have a broader perspective of the real environment. The amount of time taken to understand a problem, devising a plan of action to implementation is crucial for a manager.

Ms. Anne Nemer encouraged LIBA students to make the best use of a diverse culture like India to broaden their horizons of thinking and understanding cultures. The new manager has to be curious and open to diversity. She further emphasized the importance of not only learning but also teaching and the role of social and professional networking.

Interesting points were put forward by the students supported with examples on global mindset and an energetic Q&A session closed the lecture.

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About LIBA

LIBA is a renowned Jesuit institution with an emphasis on academic excellence coupled with value based education. As one of the top b-schools in the country and undoubtedly the best in Tamil Nadu, LIBA strives through this programme to make managers in the proximate business community create better value to the organizations they serve.