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Message from the Dean
Mohan Tanniru
Globalization and flat world! Service Economy! Knowledge Economy! Transformative Leadership needed to turn the US Economy! We've heard it all in the last few years.
 Whatever we call them, it is clear that changes occurring in the market place call upon universities to prepare students to face a highly competitive world, embrace change, and lead their team, functional unit, organization, or their own company forward. At the same time, it is incumbent upon a research university to continue to drive thought leadership. This requires us not only to engage in scholarly research but also to pursue applied research directed at complex problems faced by our partnering organizations, and to develop new methodologies and approaches that can help future managers and leaders succeed.
The School of Business Administration has taken this challenge seriously. Our faculty worked hard in the summer of 2007 to proactively design research frameworks to address these challenges. We developed an array of research working groups to address specific business areas. We are seeking input from our business partners to refine the focus of these working groups. At the same time, we are crafting collaborative inter-disciplinary partnerships within the University and also adding other university partners for the knowledge exchange required to solve these problems. Let me now share the focus of some of these working groups captured in these over arching statements . . .
- Enterprise strategy, entrepreneurship and leadership in a global economy;
- Corporate governance and monitoring to address the changing regulatory world;
- Investment and financing in global markets;
- Branding and relationship management in the Internet age;
- Process and decision analysis to address global supply, decision and value chain complexities;
- Information technology management using global work-force;
- Sensitivity to social and cultural differences in global business;
- Formulation of public and social policies in turbulent times
Our SBA faculty members are also being tapped for equally important research partnerships with other schools on campus to address critical areas such as health care management, product lifecycle management, lean processes, entrepreneurship and technology management, as well as service sector innovations in education and government.
The effort of the working groups and our cross-university partnerships will be directly tied to our graduate and undergraduate programs. As a result, our applied research and the knowledge generated from it will serve to augment the experience in the classroom, preparing our students to understand the world they face and teaching them new approaches they can use. In addition, our career and leadership center will help allow our students to integrate multiple soft skills such as mentoring, team work, communication and presentation, networking, and research.
The School of Business Administration at Oakland University welcomes you to join us as we expand our knowledge base and provide opportunities for our students to learn and grow. Ultimately, with your partnership we can collectively
- Shape the future of cross-disciplinary business research dedicated to addressing the complexities that business and other organization leaders are facing, and
- Shape the future of management education so that it best prepares our students to become valuable contributors who can manage change in the marketplace and help U.S. companies adapt and successfully compete in the global economy.
Come and join us as we shape the future of business research and education through leadership and partnership and help celebrate our progress towards this goal in two years as a part of our 40th year anniversary in October 2009.
Thank you
Mohan Tanniru (Dean)
In partnership with OU Administration, SBA Faculty and SBA Staff
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