Chandran Sankaran, Founder and CEO of Zyme Solutions, told MBA students that entrepreneurship is about creating self-sustaining businesses and entities. It's about changing the status quo. In his lecture he asked if the core skills underpinning entrepreneurship were learnable and if risk-taking is a birth gift or can it be cultivated.

Entrepreneurship is crafted

Students at business schools should think like biologists, according to acknowledged advertising authority Rory Sutherland of Ogilvy & Mather UK.

Conventional economic theory is extraordinarily narrow, blind to ethics, psychology, path-dependence and to marketing. Adopting aspects of evolutionary biology, psychology and behavioural science will create binocular vision and a different way of looking at problems.

Rory Sutherland was a guest speaker at the Cambridge Leadership Seminars at Cambridge Judge Business School.

Rory Sutherland, Ogilvy & Mather UK: Economists should think like biologists

This episode looks at environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting: issues that matter to business operations, and how companies report about them. Of interest are not just issues that affect how companies operate, but also issues that arise, in part, because of companies’ operations. One of those issues was highlighted by the COP27 summit that took place in Egypt while the episode was being recorded: business operations worldwide contribute significantly to the still too-high level of greenhouse gas emissions and thus to climate change.

Episode presented by Dr Sarah Kroechert, Assistant Professor in Accounting at Cambridge Judge Business School.

With guest speaker Ethan Rouen, Assistant Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, and Cambridge MBA students Mario Parussini, Matilde Luce, Paul Zahary and Priya Saikumar.

Episode 1: Environmental, social and governance reporting (The MBA Perspective on Accounting)

Documentary on the Hinkley Nuclear Contract (Part 1)

Documentary on the Hinkley Nuclear Contract (Part 2)

The Hinkley nuclear contract - interview with Tim Yeo

The Hinkley nuclear contract - interview with Tom Burke

The Hinkley nuclear contract - interview with Michael Pollitt

With Angus Johnston, Pippa Rogerson, Oke Odudu and David Howarth

The Hinkley nuclear contract - lawyers' roundtable

The Hinkley nuclear contract - David Howarth and Simon Deakin interview

This second episode looks at business information risks and responsibilities: the threats that arise from different types of information and how companies can prevent or handle them. A potential threat companies face arises from accounting information if this information is mis-represented, as has been the case in numerous accounting fraud cases such as the recent scandals around the German payment processor Wirecard, or the UK bakery chain Patisserie Valerie. Potential threats also arise from disinformation and, in particular, disinformation campaigns that target companies’ reputation or market position.

Episode presented by Dr Sarah Kroechert, Assistant Professor in Accounting at Cambridge Judge Business School.

With guest speaker Alan Jagolinzer, Professor of Financial Accounting at Cambridge Judge Business School, and Cambridge MBA students Kristen Chang, Eli Auerbach, Zach Marks and Calvin Liew.

Episode 2: Business information risks and responsibilities (The MBA Perspective on Accounting)

To award-winning businesswoman and food guru, Pinky Lilani, 'likeability' is a key characteristic underpinning success in business.

"If you don't like someone you don't want to do business with them. It doesn't matter how intelligent they are, how great they are at communication if you don't like their attitude and you don't like them, you're not going to do any business with them."

She told MBA students at Cambridge Judge Business School that the 'likeability' factor was a key inclusion in her list of seven qualities required to be successful in business. 

The title of her Leadership Seminar was 'collaboration and kindness', which she insists are two essential ingredients for success.

Pinky Lilani is CEO of Food Magic and is listed by Radio 4's Woman's Hour programme as one of the most powerful women in the UK. She is the driving force behind the annual Women of the Future Awards and the Asian Women of Achievement Awards.

Collaboration and kindness

As cities grow, the last mile in delivering goods becomes ever more critical and expensive. Mithun Srivastav, a Cambridge MBA 2011 alum, has started a company (Blowhorn) in Bangalore to solve this problem. Here he talks about his hopes for the company, his entrepreneurial journey and gives advice on when to seek external funding.

A solution for the last mile in logistics

It is well-known that mobile payments, in particular M-PESA's system, is very prevalent in Kenya but one area of Kenyan economy has resisted adopting mobile payments. Cambridge Judge Business School PhD Student and Gates Scholar Marlen de la Chaux explains why public transport operators in Kenya have been holdouts against M-PESA, and the implications for developed world mobile solutions such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet.

Marlen also talks about the opportunities that the Gates Scholarship have given her to further her research in entrepreneurship in extremely difficult situations.

An interview with Conrad Chua, Head of Marketing & Admissions for the Cambridge MBA.

Gates Scholar explains why mobile payments haven't taken off in Kenya's public transport sector

Several Cambridge MBAs worked for more than 50 hours over one weekend to develop their idea of helping SMEs get financing. The twist? SMEs will pay the interest in gifts. This idea won them the top prize in the Cambridge Startup Weekend and they will now compete in the Global Round. 

<a href="http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/media/2014/three-start-up-teams-move-on-from-cambridge/">Visit the Cambridge Judge Business School website to find out more</a>

A new way for SMEs to get financing wins CJBS team a prize at Cambridge Startup Weekend

As the battle for global music streaming between Spotify, Apple and YouTube hots up, we have an interview with Khalid Bajwa, one of the founders of Patari. Patari aims to be the Spotify of Pakistani music, but is this possible in an age when even "radio" stations such as Apple's Beats1 try to reach global audiences?

An interview with Conrad Chua, Head of MBA Admissions & Marketing at Cambridge Judge Business School.

The Spotify of Pakistan - re-energising local music

There is still room for music giants like Bertelsmann according to Akosua Ayim, a Cambridge MBA student. Akosua was part of a team that won the Talent meets Bertelsmann competition recently. A musician herself, Akosua shares her learning points from the time she spent talking to senior management in Bertelsmann.

An interview with Conrad Chua, Head of Marketing & Admissions for the Cambridge MBA.

Learning about the music industry with Bertelsmann

In this two-part podcast series, Professor Simon Deakin and Dr Boya Wang first debate the recent stock market crash in China, and in part two, they look in more depth at the historical development of China's business economy, the strength of the rule of law in China today, and how its institutions, business leaders, judiciary and regions interpret those rulings. 

Recent stock market turmoil in China

Marty Wikstrom recently presented to the Cambridge MBA class as part of the Leadership in Action speaker series.

Martha "Marty" Wikstrom has had an illustrious global career in retail management and strategy to date. She is the Chairman of Harrys Of London and former CEO of Fashion for Compagnie Financiere Richemont, the second-largest luxury goods company in the world.

Here, current Cambridge MBA Dipika Sawhney interviews Wikstrom on her collaborative approach to leadership.

Leadership in Conversation: Marty Wikstrom

Julian Metherell recently presented to the Cambridge MBA class as part of the Leadership in Action speaker series.

Metherell's high profile career spans roles including Chief Financial Officer, Genel Energy and Partner at Goldman Sachs and CEO of their UK investment banking division.

Here, current Cambridge MBAs Cassiano Gomes Peres and Bevan Alvarez interview Metherell on leadership and why individuals should be accountable to prevent crisis.

Leadership in Conversation: Julian Metherell

In this podcast series we go behind the scenes to give you a feel for what it's really like to work in some of the most coveted careers and companies. In this podcast Cambridge MBA Ajay Arora (ex-BBC) is joined by classmates that have joined the programme from various finance backgrounds.

Getting into finance

"One of the biggest issues of the 21st century is the influence of computerisation and robotisation in work," says Christopher Markou, PhD Candidate at the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge. "What I am trying to do by looking to the Amish for my work is look to at how other communities have been able to mediate the influence of technology. We are already seeing AI-based legal research systems that are replacing legal clerks, and it raises serious questions about the prospects of law students going forward. 

"Ours is a world where communications is instantaneous and unconstrained, we are losing our identity, we need to understand what we value and get a consensus around that. Working is important, and the ability to have an identity through the work you do is very important, it is a central aspect of our life and one worth fighting for."

Keeping the world at arm's length: what the Amish can teach us about technology

So you want to work in…finance

Dr Ramesh Mashelkar (produced by Boni Sones OBE)
Dr Ramesh Mashelkar is helping to lead the 'inclusive technology' revolution in India, with 28 honorary doctorates to his name, he told the Centre for India & Global Business how science was a changing landscape.

Cambridge Judge Business School

Where there's a will there's a way

Alumna Suneira Rana from the Cambridge MBA Class of 2012 talks to Conrad Chua about her experiences during and after the programme.

Interview with Suneira Rana (MBA 2012)

Not since the winter of discontent in 1979 has our economic and social well-being, societally and personally, been so dependent on how effectively people, as human capital, are managed. Ineffective HRM can inhibit organisational performance, destroy value and competitiveness; Dr Jonathan Trevor explains how the current financial crisis is an example of just such a human capital crisis.

Judge Business School Podcast Series

Human capital risk

There's a new wind blowing through business as David Cameron's coalition government gears up to make a massive dent in the public purse by cutting borrowing and talking up the so called 'Enterprise Society'. In this brave new world school leavers will be taught how to set up as sole traders, redundant public sector workers will form social enterprises to bid for those public sector contracts that are being outsourced to fill their posts, and private companies will be engaged to get the unemployed out of bed in the morning and into work. But is the 'Enterprise Society' a myth or a reality?

Is social enterprise being set up to fail?

Dr Ben Hardy, Research Associate in Neuroscience, Endocrinology & Finance, says morale is related to performance. Workers with high morale believe they that they work harder, longer and communicate more effectively. Low morale can produce the reverse but not in all circumstances. An individual's professional approach may drive them irrespective of their feelings.

Don't worry be happy!

Every now and again there comes a time in the development of a field of inquiry when some bright spark gets up and challenges traditional thinking by turning accepted theories on their heads. Well, it seems the world of International Business scholarship is experiencing just such a moment with the publication of a new book by an accepted authority on business strategy.

Professor Alain Verbeke, guest speaker at the 2009 CIBAM Distinguished Lecture, has written International Business Strategy that will have boardrooms poring over its every word in great detail. It dispels guru messages using real cases and constructs a new framework for the essence of international business strategy and the foundations of global corporate success. Gurus, he thinks underestimate the complexity of the markets.

Rethinking the classics in international business strategy

Michelle Tuveson, Executive Director, Centre for Risk Studies

Michelle Tuveson says decision-making in risk management relies on cultural perceptions of how we perceive those 'threats'. However she warns that risk must not be observed from a parochial point of view; it must be seen from a global view point.

The bigger picture

How have the concepts of corporate governance evolved, and are they fit for purpose in this disruptive era?

In this episode, joining podcast host Michael Kitson, University Senior Lecturer in International Macroeconomics at Cambridge Judge Business School, are Cambridge Judge faculty Simon Learmount, Lecturer in Corporate Governance; Jennifer Howard-Grenville, Diageo Professor of Organisation Studies; and Shazhad (Shaz) Ansari, Professor of Strategy & Innovation.

This is the ninth in a series of "Cambridge Judge Business Debate" podcasts featuring faculty and others associated with Cambridge Judge Business School and the broader Cambridge community.

This latest podcast focuses on corporate governance – including the definition of corporate governance, geographical differences and the role of social media.

Corporate governance

In this episode, joining podcast host Michael Kitson, University Senior Lecturer in International Economics at Cambridge Judge Business School, are Michael Pollitt, Professor of Business Economics at Cambridge Judge, and David Reiner, University Senior Lecturer in Technology Policy at Cambridge Judge.

This is the 10th in a series of "Cambridge Judge Business Debate" podcasts featuring faculty and others associated with Cambridge Judge Business School and the broader Cambridge community.

This latest podcast focuses on energy policy – the nature of the challenges, the difficulty in addressing climate change, and a few bright spots surrounding wind and solar power.

Energy & energy policy

What is effective leadership in business and politics, and how can leadership be inclusive rather than divisive?

In this episode, joining podcast host Michael Kitson, University Senior Lecturer in International Macroeconomics at Cambridge Judge Business School, are Simon Learmount, Lecturer in Corporate Governance at Cambridge Judge, and Thomas Roulet, University Senior Lecturer in Organisation Theory & Information Systems.

This is the 14th in a series of "Cambridge Judge Business Debate" podcasts featuring faculty and others associated with Cambridge Judge Business School and the broader Cambridge community.

This latest podcast focuses on leadership – what it is, can it be taught, and how to be a leader for everyone without carving divisions.

Leadership

In this episode, joining podcast host Michael Kitson, University Senior Lecturer in International Macroeconomics at Cambridge Judge Business School, are Cambridge Judge colleagues Philip Stiles, University Senior Lecturer in Corporate Governance; Mark de Rond, Professor of Organisational Ethnography; and Simon Stockley, Senior Faculty in Management Practice.

This is the 16th in a series of "Cambridge Judge Business Debate" podcasts featuring faculty and others associated with Cambridge Judge Business School and the broader Cambridge community.

This latest podcast focuses on office politics – the good and the bad – and ways to make office politics contribute to organisational performance rather than cause disruption.

Office politics

Knowledge will dictate the future of organisational hierarchy as bureaucratic structures are replaced and where leaders will emerge rather than be elected, say Kate Tojeiro and Dr Jonathan Trevor.

The power of middle managers will gradually disappear as organisations journey through a 'monumental' evolutionary process driven by the now paramount transparency of information. It will apply mostly to knowledge intensive organisations, but all sectors whether manufacturing, services or banking will have to embrace parts of this approach.

The end of the middle manager?

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