Rotterdam School of Management presents new HR course

Citation

(2001), "Rotterdam School of Management presents new HR course", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 25 No. 2/3/4. https://doi.org/10.1108/jeit.2001.00325bab.007

Rotterdam School of Management presents new HR course

Rotterdam School of Management presents new HR course

A unique new human resource management course has started at the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM). The course is called "The Brand Called ME" ("My Effectiveness"). It is the MBA student's journey through the discovery of how their identity impacts their effectiveness and, ultimately, business performance.

Quantum Brands, an international branding company that dramatizes the values of organizations, developed the event in collaboration with RSM as a pilot programme for MBA HR and career development. Dianne Cleton, Director MBA Programs at RSM, and Dr Colby Stuart of Quantum Brands put their heads together to address a couple of glaring issues impacting international business specifically the clash of value systems and individual behaviour. "We wanted to help people build better skills and knowledge in using values conflict as a springboard for innovative solutions to problems facing managers everyday in international business", says Stuart.

The common thread throughout the courses in The Brand Called ME addresses juggling individual values systems and the resulting behaviours driven by them with business and organizational needs.

The first participants are 150 MBA students – Class 2002 – from 47 different countries with their own languages and distinct cultures with well-defined value systems. Students participate in self-evaluation tools and courses which identify their values, preferences and behaviours then gain understanding about how their personal and cultural behaviour impacts effectiveness, through learning team dynamics and communication and presentation skills.

"Hopefully, these MBA students will be more aware and capable of contributing to and delivering top business performance on a human level, knowledge level and creative level, not just on an economic level", says Stuart.

To leverage and dramatize the value of an HR development event like this for RSM, Quantum will be filming a documentary of The Brand Called ME. RSM wants to capture the students' journey and their discovery process of how their identity impacts effectiveness in business performance. The second stage will involve building an interactive learning Web site with communities that address platforms of significance and meaning surrounding identity, cultural impact and business performance.

The Brand Called ME is one of the products of an integrated and branded identity system Quantum is developing with and for RSM. Together, they are harnessing the value of RSM's relationships; for example, networking learning programmes with students' needs relevant to business performance and aligning this with RSM's partners and alliances.

Shortly, the executive education department of The Rotterdam School of Management will roll out customized programme versions of The Brand Called ME into corporate environments.

For further information, contact Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus Graduate School of Business, PO Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 (0)10 4082222. Fax: +31 (0)10 4529509. E-mail: rsm@rsm.nl; Internet: www.rsm.nl