THE EDITOR’S DESK
very prosperous year for all of you. We close volume 29 of the magazine with a look back at some of our favourite events of 2011, with a particular focus on the 5th International Conference of the Business Schools Partner Network (BSPN)that was held in October September in Mauritius (pictured top right on the next page). I would like to once again thank Professor Tommy du Plessis, Chairman BSPN for hosting Management Today magazine at the conference.
H
The BSPN exists to support and promote the work of South Africa’s business schools and the network now represents nine of the country’s sixteen business schools. The network comprises; Potchefstroom Business School (PBS), Tshwane University of Technology Business School (TUTBS), Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Business School (NMMUBS), Rhodes Business School, Regent Business School, The Management College of Southern Africa (MANCOSA), Milpark Business School, University of the Free State Business School, and The Graduate School of Business University of KwaZulu-Natal. Between them, these business schools number in excess of 1 000 MBA students each year.
Formed six years ago in 2005 by three founding schools; PBS, TUTBS and NMMUBS, it has grown steadily and continues to invite new members. The member business schools share both best practices and resources, including moderators and examiners, as well as encouraging research into business school methods. This is a very encouraging approach given the focus on education and development in our country. BSPN also acts as a vital networking organisation for staff of the member business schools to academically enrich and develop themselves. Each year BSPN holds its International Business
6 Management Today | January 2012
appy new year to all our readers, may 2012 be a
Conference, the first being in 2007 where 68 papers were presented to 45 delegates. The recent 2011 Conference held in Mauritius (pictured opposite page) was attended by 110 delegates from South Africa, Mauritius, Kenya, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Spain, The Netherlands and The Czech Republic.
Of the 165 papers received, all of which followed a double-blind peer review process by 100 international reviewers, 108 were presented over the four days of the Conference. Please enjoy the abridged versions of ten of these papers, featured in this issue of Management Today magazine. To access the full versions of the papers please either contact the relevant author or email me here at the magazine.
The Conference has two goals, firstly to provide an international platform for the presentation, discussion and debate of different academic and professional approaches on recent developments in a turbulent business area. The second goal is to provide the opportunity for academics, practitioners and doctoral students to have their work validated and benchmarked within the benevolent academic and professional community. The 2008 Conference was accredited by the Department of Education. The 2009, 2010 and 2011 Conferences are going through the accreditation process, which currently takes two years.
To find out more about how business schools can join the BSPN, more information about past Conferences, and details of the 2012 Conference to be held in September, please contact, Antoinette Bisschoff on +27 82 878 5183
pbscab@telkomsa.net or visit the website
www.ibc-bspn.com. Alternatively you may contact Professor Tommy du Plessis on +27 18 299 1495 or by email at:
tommy.duplessis@nwu.ac.za.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114