RHB Banking Group works with Melbourne Business School for leadership initiative

Source: RHB Banking Group. From left: Yasir Abdul Rahman, Head of RHB Academy, RHB Group Human Resource; Jamaluddin Bakri, Group Chief Human Resource Officer, RHB Banking Group; Greg Campbell, GM, Asia Pacific, Melbourne Business School and Jeffery Soong, Regional Manager Asia, Executive Education of Melbourne Business School at the signing of the strategic partnership for the RHB Leadership Signature Programme Series.

The RHB Banking Group has partnered with Melbourne Business School (MBS) for the RHB Leadership Signature Programme Series, aimed at developing talents for a high performance workforce. MBS is the graduate business school of the University of Melbourne, Victoria, holding AACSB and EFMD (EQUIS) accreditations.

The collaboration is part of the group’s learning and development transformation initiatives which focus on creating a step change in the learning content, learning experience and learning environment for RHB employees. 

The programme is designed as a capstone for springboarding employees for progression and succession in their career. Jamaluddin Bakri, Group Chief Human Resources Officer of the RHB Banking Group said, “As businesses now operate in a very volatile environment which requires more complex and adaptive thinking abilities and skills, we are taking proactive measures in transforming our learning approach to develop talents to meet an increasingly volatile future. Our transformation focuses on establishing a new learning architecture for the bank which supports innovative learning practices, revamped curriculum and impactful learning experiences to accelerate the development of RHB talents.

“Working together with MBS on the new learning architectural design, RHB’s talent will be imbued with greater learning agility where they are able to learn, unlearn and relearn continuously. With this partnership, we are confident that the new approach would enable RHB to achieve its goal of creating a high performance workforce in line with our reframed strategy.”

The programme series is designed as an integrated learning journey which will use multimode learning approaches such as face-to-face, self-paced, and interactive coaching as well as online to deliver an engaging and flexible solution. It comprises three core programmes, namely Transition to Business Leadership Programme for Middle Level Leaders, Emerging Leaders for Frontline Managers and Foundation of Leadership for Individual Contributors. 

“This is an important initiative and signals a clear and tangible commitment from RHB in developing its people and equipping them with the skills, knowledge and mindsets that will enable them as well as the bank to thrive and flourish in a highly competitive and dynamic world,” said Greg Campbell, GM, Asia Pacific, MBS, RHB Banking Group's strategic learning partner in the design, development and delivery of the programme.

Meanwhile, the first cohort of 145 in the RHB Leadership Signature Programme Series is scheduled to be rolled out in December 2016. Other major programmes carried out by RHB as part of developing talents were the RHB INSEAD Senior Leadership Development Programme in 2013/14 and the GMC-1 Senior-Level Mentoring Programme in 2015.

White paper on managing talent in the China hospitality industry offers solutions

The Florida International University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management (CSHTM) and its Institute for Hospitality & Tourism Education & Research (IHTER) have released a white paper on talent in the Chinese hospitality industry which may be of interest to HR managers handling Chinese resources as well as to those in the hospitality industry. 

Managing Growing Pains of China’s Relentless Hotel Development Pipeline provides the hospitality industry with ideas on what can be done to address the severe shortage of qualified and skilled talent in China for hotels entering the market, including professional coaching, conflict resolution and career ladder strategies at the workplace.

Authored by Simone Champagnie, executive director at IHTER; Danqing Liu, Associate professor at CSHTM’s Marriott Tianjin China Program; and Christine Toguchi, MD at MacroVision Network and the Project consultant for IHTER, the paper explores the insight, ideas and pertinent questions arising from the intellectual exchange that took place at the Visionary Leaders Forum in Shanghai last June. 

Click here to download the white paper in English and Mandarin.

Asian students zero in on LHE hospitality management programmes

Students from Asia represent a considerable percentage of the student body at the various schools run by Laureate Hospitality Education (LHE), which comprises four institutions: Glion Institute of Higher Education, Les Roches International School of Hotel Management, Kendall College, and Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School. 

Source: LHE. From left, Hou, Tatar, Williams Knight.

“We continue to see traction and interest in the region for our programmes in Switzerland, the US and our branch campuses," said Judy Hou, CEO of Glion Institute of Higher Education.

Hou, who was in Singapore with other LHE CEOs to speak at the inaugural Women in Hospitality and Tourism in Asia conference, added: "Our presence in this conference acknowledges the roles of Singapore and China, among others, as pivotal to the hospitality industry growth, not only in the region but worldwide.”
Glion is the only institution to offer an internationally accredited 100% online Hospitality MBA. The online MBA in International Hospitality and Service Industries Management, designed and delivered by an international faculty of industry experts, and spanning about 2.5 years, is accredited at university master’s level by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and saw its first batch of graduates in December 2013.

"In creating an online classroom we are giving our students the opportunity to continue to grow professionally without putting their career on hold. Our interactive learning approach means students debate with classmates from around the world and can apply the concepts and skills learned immediately into their working environments, offering far more to both student and employer than a more traditional distance learning programme," said a Glion spokesperson. 

"The nature of virtual learning means that we’re attracting hospitality professionals who already have established careers but recognise the need for continual development. We have also forged partnerships with a number of major hotel groups who are keen to put employees into our programmes," the spokesperson added, naming Accor, Hyatt, Rotana, Taj Hotels, Ritz, Banyan Tree and the IHG group as some of the students' employers.

According to a 2014 backgrounder from Glion, the institution currently has 297 students from across 70 countries learning online, with an average age of 37 and over 15 years work experience each. Nearly four in ten (39%) of Glion Online MBA students come from Asia Pacific countries, with a further 20% from Africa and the Middle East.

Glion has students from Marina Bay Sands and Sofitel in Singapore participating in the online course. Hou says, “These students are well supported by their management teams at work, and we expect the degree to position them to fast track their career in hospitality management.”

Kendall College, based in Chicago, USA, and known for expertise in hospitality and culinary arts, has also seen increased interest from Asian students due in part to the vibrancy and promise of the tourist and culinary scene of Chicago. “Kendall has seen a 60% increase in culinary arts students from Asia, with women representing more than 80% of those new students,” said Emily Williams Knight, President of Kendall College. “This diverse pool adds to the unique and global experience of our academic approach.”

Sister institution Les Roches’ Global BBA programme is also popular as it allows students to pursue their academic studies in China, Spain and Switzerland.

“International hotel companies – which have excellent potential for growth, especially in Asia – are looking to hire graduates who are not only used to a multicultural work environment, but who also have expertise acquired in different parts of the world,” said Sonia Tatar, Director General/CEO of Les Roches Worldwide. 

“The Global BBA programme gives students a unique and differentiated exposure to countries where the hospitality sector is in full and rapid expansion, providing them a competitive edge to enter this professional market.”
 
LHE is a member of the Laureate International Universities network, which is made up of more than 75 accredited campus-based and online institutions of higher education, serving more than 800,000 students in 30 countries.