What do you look like in your emails?

Alfredo Behrens, Professor of Cross-Cultural Management

FIA, International MBA, São Paulo, alfredob@fia.com.br

Email communication is culturally rooted in the Northern hemisphere and, in being emotionally lean, it is not the most Latin-friendly media, yet, use it we must. As a student enrolled at FIA’s International MBA or EMBA you are likely to work at organizations that span the globe. It may help you to be aware of how you may be seen elsewhere when an email of yours arrives. How you are seen may reflect on your chances of promotion, which entails in meeting established standards of leadership skills through email communication. Developing your skills at inspiring followers is particularly relevant at your fuzzy stage of organizational development, where emerging leaders are expected to influence a team’s outcome without much formal authority over them. This becomes even more relevant when taking part in geographically dispersed teams, where the impact of different cultures might get in the way your effectiveness as an emerging leader.

Soft tactics, like presence in email exchanges through frequent helpful participation, or seeking to ingratiate yourself may result in higher acceptance of you by the rest of the team. It pays to be kind, as long as you do not look insincere; much as in face-to-face communication, flattery may advance your interests, but not if it is perceived as seeking ulterior motives.

Email, in being emotionally lean, facilitates the application of soft tactics like ingratiating yourself in one email, even with typos, for those may be taking as evidence of spontaneity. Yet it may pay sending a request for collaboration in a subsequent email, avoiding a too facile link of your ingratiation move with the request for help or input.

On the other hand, hard tactics like commands or reprimands, are particularly resented when perceived as presumptuous, as they are when you have no formal authority over the people you may address such emails too.

Appearing rational in an email exchange is always positive, but does not seem to be as important in generating followers to your position. In part because you are expected to be rational in any case, but also because the email environment, being so emotionally lean in nature, prizes those who voice affection and consistency, the latter being taken as evidence of fairness, a quality expected of an effective leader.

Before hitting the Send button it might pay to think how you might be seen at the others’ Inbox. Take some time to Read more at: Lindred L. Greer & Karen A. Jehn. Follow Me: Strategies Used by Emergent Leaders in Virtual Organizations, International Journal of Leadership Studies. Volume 5, Issue 1 / 2009.

FIA sobe 7 posições no Financial Times

FIA climbs 7 positions in the Financial Times. (See English version below)

Tenho a satisfação de informar que subimos este ano sete posições no ranking de 2009 do Financial Times de Londres, passando de 68° para 61° lugar entre os melhores Executive MBAs do mundo. Este resultado reflete nosso esforço de maior internacionalização, trazendo cada vez mais professores, conselheiros, e alunos do Exterior para participarem em nosso curso, além de incrementarmos as viagens e a participação em congressos e eventos internacionais.

Outros pontos fortes da nossa avaliação são a qualificação dos professores (PhD. rank) e a seletividade dos alunos, que formam o sexto grupo mais experiente do mundo. Nossos ex-alunos figuram em posições de direção de grandes empresas, e sua remuneração média está entre as doze mais elevadas na pesquisa global do Financial Times.

No curso, são alcançados os principais objetivos dos alunos, com a consolidação de uma visão estratégica dos negócios, o aprimoramento em finanças, a troca de experiências práticas, o fortalecimento do network e é claro, a qualificação para desafios maiores em suas carreiras.

A pesquisa do Financial Times é a mais respeitada internacionalmente, pois é feita com muita objetividade. A FIA é a única escola brasileira que tem seu próprio Executive MBA no ranking do Financial Times, posicionado acima de muitas universidades tradicionais dos EUA, ficando em 25º lugar entre os cursos baseados nas Américas.

Ficamos muito satisfeitos com estes resultados, mas trabalhamos sempre em novas iniciativas para continuarmos a melhorar. Estamos incrementando a exposição internacional com mais uma viagem opcional à Índia, trazendo mais professores do Exterior, e ampliando a atividade de pesquisa conjunta com colegas do exterior visando aumentar nossa publicação internacional.

Para os ex-alunos, estamos oferecendo programas de palestras abertas, e grupos de discussão e estudos de políticas públicas, sustentabilidade, empregabilidade e um trabalho de fund raising para modernizar nossos equipamentos de aula, além dos projetos sociais tradicionais da FIA e dos ex-alunos.

Contamos com seu continuado apoio e participação, James Wright


FIA climbs 7 positions in the Financial Times.
I am pleased to report that this year we climbed seven positions in the 2009 Financial Times Executive MBA ranking, from 68th to 61st place among the best Executive MBAs in the world. This result reflects our continued efforts in internationalization, bringing to our courses more faculty, advisors and students from other countries, as well as increasing study trips and attendance at international conferences.

Other strong points are the faculty qualifications and the selectivity of students, who are the sixth group most experienced in the world. Our alumni hold leadership positions in large companies, and their average salary is among the twelve highest in the world-wide survey.
We feel that we are meeting our student’s main objectives on entering the course, which are to obtain a broader strategic view of business, to improve their finance skills, share practical experiences, to strengthen their professional networks and of course, to gain more qualifications for ever greater career challenges.

The Financial Times survey is the most respected international ranking, for it’s objective approach. We are the only school in Brazil that has its own Executive MBA course in the ranking, positioned ahead of many traditional universities, occupying the 25th place among the EMBA courses based in the Americas. We are very pleased with these results, but we are already working on new initiatives to continue improving.

We are increasing international exposure an additional regular study trip to India, bringing more teachers from overseas, and increasing joint research with colleagues from abroad to increase our international publication. With our alumni, we are offering programs open lectures and discussion groups and policy studies, sustainability, employability and fund raising projects in addition to traditional social projects.

We count on your continuing support and participation, in these initiatives! James Wright

Projeto Carbono Zero - MBA EXECUTIVO INTERNACIONAL

Por ocasião da finalização do programa de estudos e conclusão dos trabalhos, os alunos do MBA da Fundação Instituto de Administração programaram uma iniciativa inovadora e sustentável: “zeraram” a pegada de carbono referente aos deslocamentos para atendimento do curso.

A FIA manifestou-se compromissada em apoiar iniciativas semelhantes para futuras turmas e já estuda ampliar a adoção de práticas de sustentabilidade para todo o curso. Segundo o Professor James Wright, Coordenador do curso, outras sugestões de práticas sustentáveis estão sendo encaminhadas para aprovação pelo Conselho Consultivo do MBA Executivo Internacional da FIA com a idéia de minimizar o consumo de eletricidade, papel, além da utilização de materiais recicláveis e sustentáveis pelos alunos e professores.

Leiam mais e assitam o vídeo no link: http://consultoriaprofuturo.com/projeto-carbono-zero/

Information session - International MBA - India!

We are having an information session in India for anyone interested in attending our one year full-time International MBA Program in English.

Please RSVP and pass the invitation on to friends and contacts who might be interested.

Date: Jan. 18th 2010 Time: 5:00 pm

Location: Hotel Marine Plaza 29, Marine Drive Mumbai 400 020

Email: internationalmba@fia.com.br

Inscriptions: http://informationsessionsmba.questionpro.com/

Palestra Conjuntura Econômica e Perspectivas

Prof. Dr. Simão Silber, Doutor em Economia por Yale University e Professor Doutor de Economia na Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade na Universidade de São Paulo – Graduação e Pós-graduação

Em 29/10/09 das 08:30/10:00 na FIA - Rua José Alves da Cunha Lima.

Palestra em português e vagas limitadas.

Inscrições: http://eventosmba.questionpro.com/

Informações 3732.3520

Information session - International MBA - in London!

We are having an information session in London for anyone interested in attending our one year full-time International MBA Program in English.

Please RSVP and pass the invitation on to friends and contacts who might be interested.

Date: Oct. 13th 2009Time: 11:00 am
Location: The Chesterfield Hotel - 35, Charles Street, Mayfair - London W1J 5EB.

Email: internationalmba@fia.com.brConfirm your participation: http://informationsessionsmba.questionpro.com/

USA 2009 - International

We have just come back from a very productive trip to the USA. The Executive MBA class spent one week at Vanderbilt University, Profs. Renata Spers and I worked on post-doctoral research projects with Vanderbilt, and I gave a class on the Future Vision for Brazil at the Vanderbilt Center for Latin American Studies.

After a very full week, the FIA staff traveled to Miami and hosted on Saturday, 26th September an open house information session at the downtown Hilton Hotel. There, we met with prospective students, and presented the FIA International MBA to candidates from the US who are interested in starting in our February 2010 class.

At Vanderbilt University, besides a strong program of classes on Marketing managent, branding and pricing, we traveled to visit Fedex, Nissan and jack Daniels. The FEDEX Superhub in Memphis, is an amazing overnight operation, where 130 planes are off-loaded, turned around and loaded with more than 1.5 million packages sorted by destination in a 3 hour period. At Nissan, we toured the plant and an operations VP explained how they operate the most productive automobile factory in the USA, and in the Jack Daniel factory, we could see at first hand how they have built a brand for bourbon ( actually, a Tennessee Whisky) which is the 5th most consumed whisky brand in the world.

Our group was very impressed by a presentation by Mr. Mark Emkes, CEO of Bridgestone-Firestone – Americas responsible for all activities from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. Base on 22 years of international experience, including Dubai, Spain, Argentina and two long periods in Brazil, Mr Emkes made it very clear that straight talk, clarity of goals and respect for cultural diversity are fundamental ingredients for success in an international career.

An international seminar like this helps us learn across borders, and helps us understand some of the fundamental strengths and capacity for change of the American economy and society, who are critically reviewing recent mistakes and discussing changes and a new positining in a more equal and diversified world order. For our students who did not take part in this trip, we will as usual summarize the main topics and go into more depth in the international sessions on the 1st and 2nd of October.

Regards, James Wright