NEWS & INSIGHT
IMD CELEBRATES 50 YEARS
HOW BEING POLITICALLY CORRECT AT WORK IS HARMING YOUR MARRIAGE COUNTRY: US SCHOOL: Miami Herbert Business School, University of Miami A new study has found that being politically correct in the workplace can result in angry or withdrawn behaviour in the home. In an office environment, employees often feel the need to censor themselves in order to create a comfortable atmosphere for those around them and to avoid offending their co-workers. This professionalism could involve not talking about certain topics that might lead to conflict or not saying the first thing that comes to mind. In order to be politically correct, employees have to exercise restraint. This is described in the study as a two-way process: first, there has to be an understanding of how we might be being offensive, and, second, there has to be the willingness to change and suppress those comments that might be considered politically incorrect. The complexity of this process can lead to cognitive depletion – basically tiredness. The more self- censorship an employee commits for their co-workers, the higher their level of cognitive depletion. This can lead to employees feeling that they have less energy to be nice to their spouse when they are not working. The study suggested that to combat this, managers should aim to give more positive feedback to their staff. On the flip side, employees should do things that help them mentally recharge, such as exercise, taking breaks and getting the right amount of sleep. The research was conducted using surveys and written responses from employees in administrative, service, clerical and technical positions, as well as from their spouses. The study, entitled Walking on eggshells: A self- control perspective on workplace political correctness , was published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. It was co-authored by Valeria Alterman, an assistant professor of management at Miami Herbert, alongside researchers from Texas A&M, the University of Florida, Florida State University and the University of Arkansas’ Cody Bradley and Adam Stoverink. EB
OF ITS MBA PROGRAMME COUNTRY: Switzerland SCHOOL: IMD
IMD celebrated the 50th anniversary of its MBA programme in October with a weekend of events that brought alumni, faculty and students together. Around 200 MBA alumni were in attendance and ran the full gamut of IMD’s MBA classes. There was also an opportunity to hear members of the school’s inaugural class of 1972 and its class of 2022 talk through their varying experiences and highlights of a programme undertaken half a century apart. IMD’s dean of the MBA Programme, Omar Toulan, and David Bach, professor of strategy and political economy, looked in more detail at the evolution of the school’s education at this level over the past 50 years, in another session. Most recently, they explained, a stronger focus on sustainability has been encompassed, but they were keen to emphasise that leadership and experiential learning has always remained at its core. “We remain fundamentally committed to leadership. Because we believe the world changes when leaders leverage organisations to drive impact,” said Bach. In a separate address, IMD president Jean-François Manzoni talked about the school’s responsibility towards training leaders at a “pivotal moment for the world” in which globalisation has created an “array of social and environmental liabilities” that are inescapable. “In such an environment”, Manzoni continued, “we need competent and trustworthy leaders; people who import stress and confusion and export calm and clarity. We want the leaders we develop to be responsible. They have to be forward-looking and innovative. They must also have the courage to make tough calls.” The current MBA programme at IMD has its roots in those introduced at predecessor institutions IMEDE in 1972 and CEI/IMI in 1978. Its current class is made up of 104 students, of which 35 per cent are female, and it comprises 39 nationalities. The average number of years of work experience held by the class is seven. TBD
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