Go Green with Executive Education

Sustainable business practices continue to grow in importance to organizations across the country. Executive Education recognizes this and has partnered with the University of Arkansas Applied Sustainability Center to offer many new courses in this emerging field.

The mission of the Applied Sustainability Center is to lead organizations in the retail and consumer goods industries toward sustainable practices that support an economy built around people, planet, and profit. This is accomplished by solving complex problems, providing expert guidance, brokering problems and solutions, and by sponsoring research.

On September 30, we held our first sustainability course, the Wal-Mart Supplier Sustainability Assessment. This 90-minute program was available both in-person and online.

November will be a very green month at the Reynolds Center, with two sustainability courses on the schedule. They are the following:

Corporate Greenhouse Gas Inventory
This course is available in-person and online.
Stakeholders are beginning to expect companies to report their corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to publicly set reduction goals. This one-day course will give participants the knowledge and tools needed to compile their GHG inventory in accordance with generally accepted protocols and to publish information to the Carbon Disclosure Project. Participants will learn the basics of greenhouse-gas science, understand the GHG Protocol and Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions, and review the Carbon Disclosure Project and other major sustainability reporting outlets. Students will also be trained on simple tools to help them collect data, calculate their footprint, and set achievable reduction targets.
Date and Time: November 12, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Cost: $145
This course is limited to 60 in-person participants.

Life Cycle Assessment for Managers and Executives
This course is available in-person only.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a powerful tool for understanding the impacts of a product or service across its entire life, from the extraction of a raw material to use and disposal. As LCA and product sustainability reporting become more mainstream, managers and executives across functional areas need to understand LCA so they can incorporate it in their decision making processes. This one-day course gives participants the ability to do just that. Participants will review LCA theory and work through LCA case studies to gain experience in interpreting and making decisions based on product sustainability information.
Date and Time: November 17, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Cost: $695

For more information on these and other sustainability programs, please visit our website.

Forecasting is About More than the Weather

Executive Education is excited to offer three new courses in November. Dr. Matthew Waller, the Garrison Endowed Chair in Supply Chain Management at the Sam M. Walton College of Business, will be teaching these classes focused on Retail Forecasting.

Each of these one-day courses will be taught in a computer lab with sample data sets to analyze. Participants will be given three-ring binders and copies of slides with areas for capturing notes.

Below are the highlights and dates of the programs.

Order Forecasting

November 6

In this course participants will learn how to use good information in shipment and order data and combine it with the information in POS. Each participant will be capable of explaining which forecast measure should be used and will be able to interpret the measure.

Forecasting New Items or New Promotional Interventions

November 13

Sometimes there is insufficient data or unusually large changes are expected. In those cases, the traditional approaches to forecasting are inappropriate. This is often true with new items. It is also true when new promotional interventions are used. In those cases, very uncommon forecasting techniques are required.

POS and Demand Forecasting

November 20

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to determine the appropriate forecasting method and how to apply it. They will also be able to identify errors in existing forecasting approaches. The focus will be on replenished items and will include items with or without trend and seasonality, but we will also consider methods to incorporate promotional activity. Each participant will be capable of explaining which forecast error measure should be used and will be able to interpret the measure. They will also learn to compare forecast accuracies.

For more information, contact our office at (479) 575-2856 or visit our website.

No Wedding-Bell Blues at the Reynolds Center

Our Wedding Planner Showcase was a great success, and we'd like to thank the participating local vendors for their involvement. We'd also like to thank the representatives from the University's Panhellenic sororities who modeled for our She Said Yes! Bridal Fashion Show. We had a great turn out!

To see more pictures from the Wedding Planner Showcase, visit our Facebook page.

Brides! Come One, Come All to the Reynolds Center!

On Tuesday, October 20, the Donald W. Reynolds Center will be host to a variety of local wedding and event planning services for a Wedding Planner Showcase! Cakes, flowers, dresses, and more! There will even be a fashion show featuring models from each Greek sorority on campus.

When: Tuesday, October 20 from 1:00 to 5:00 pm

Where: Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development, University of Arkansas

The event will feature door-prizes and free samples. Admission is free! Whether your wedding is in ten weeks or ten years, you won't want to miss this bridal extravaganza.

Help Us Help You

Executive Education is here to serve you. We want to offer the kind of professional development programs and training that will benefit you, your employees, and your organization. To serve you better, we'd like to know what you need. What kind of training would best help your organization? What professional development issues have you noticed in your workplace?

Help us create the programs and courses that will make your organization more successful. Tell us what you want by leaving a comment on this blog or on our Facebook page, or you can email our office.

Experience the Business Behind the Magic

Disney Institute has trained tens of thousands of leaders from across the globe with its various professional development programs. Focusing on the areas of leadership, loyalty, management, service and creativity, Disney Institute utilizes the successful management principles and business philosophies of the Walt Disney World Resort. Disney Institute provides a unique and compelling opportunity to "experience the business behind the magic."

Executive Education, in conjunction with University of Arkansas Global Campus and Human Resources, is happy to welcome for the third year Disney Institute's Disney Keys to Business Excellence. This unique one-day event will challenge participants to look at their businesses in an entirely new light by showcasing the powerful strategies and business models that are the cornerstones of Disney's long-term success.

Disney Keys to Business Excellence contains four core topics:

• Leadership, Disney Style - how effective leadership can be the catalyst for employee satisfaction
• Loyalty, Disney Style - how improving an organization's culture means integrating selection, training and care
• Service, Disney Style - exploration of the world-renowned principles for service excellence
• Management, Disney Style - key practices and principles in building and sustaining staff

This year, the program will be held on Thursday, September 24, at Little Rock's University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Seats are still available, but won't be for long. Take advantage of this incredible opportunity and enroll today!

Visit our website to learn more about this world-class program.

Student is Source of Pride for Executive Education

Executive Education strives to provide not only world-class professional development programs for executives, but also priceless job experience for our student workers. We are proud that one of our former student workers, Kennon Largent, was featured in a student profile for the Walton College website. The story, written by Abby Hartz, is posted below.

A Sam M. Walton College of Business senior, Kennon Largent’s interest in financial markets at the age of 17 set him on the path to pursue a degree in Financial Management and Investments.

“When I was 17, I started to develop a strong curiosity for financial markets,” Largent said. “Everything from the mechanisms that drive them to the unlimited learning opportunities that are inherent within these markets.”

Largent said his dad sparked his interest in financial markets by explaining the financial world to him with great enthusiasm. “I had always wanted to find something that I was truly passionate about and do that for the rest of my life. I can honestly say that money was not the element that lured me towards finance. I simply found my passion.”

Largent was an intern at the Arkansas World Trade Center (ARWTC) in the Spring 2009 semester. He said the ARWTC seeks to promote trade between Arkansas companies and international companies. “Basically, I performed a lot of research and analytical assignments for Arkansas companies,” Largent said. “I assisted several companies that were interested in expanding their businesses internationally, both on the export and the import side. Since I lived in Brazil for a while and have a good understanding of that area, my primary focus at the ARWTC was on Latin America trade development.

“I gained a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience working at ARWTC,” Largent said. “It was an amazing opportunity to work with and learn from people who really know what they are talking about in terms of the international business environment.”

Largent said while working at the ARWTC he was exposed to a range of business situations that forced him to improve upon his professionalism, analytical abilities, cultural awareness and networking skills.

“The thing I love most about the Walton College is its diversity,” Largent said. “From its students to its faculty, we are surrounded by a mix of cultures and ethnicities. This diversity helps to bring a multitude of different perspectives and insights into the classroom.”

Largent said another important aspect of the Walton College is being surrounded by people who share your same interests and who genuinely have a desire to learn. “This makes it so much easier to develop the skills we need to succeed in the real world,” Largent said.

Largent’s experience working at the Center for Management and Executive Education contributed to his professional development. He said this job gave him the opportunity to interact with everyone from CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies and foreign diplomats to the service workers who maintained the buildings and classrooms. “I learned so much about the service industry and how rewarding it can be to serve others,” Largent said.

Kevin Rose, assistant director of Executive Education, said of Largent: “Kennon is one of the most exceptional students I’ve come to know. Not only does he exhibit a professional demeanor when working with university faculty and staff, he is an exceptional representative of the University of Arkansas to external constituents. Kennon demonstrates a positive attitude at all times and welcomes any challenge that will allow him to learn, grow and steer others in a meaningful way. With his commitment to personal and professional excellence, I have no doubt that Kennon will accomplish great things.”

Largent said he initially plans to get his MBA after graduation and ultimately he said he would love to be an International Portfolio Manager. “I would like to be in a position that allowed me to interact with many different types of people and clients of different cultures on a daily basis.”

Theres and Kevin's Excellent Adventure

Theres Stiefer and Kevin Rose, director and assistant director of Executive Education, respectively, had the opportunity to spend three days visiting with business leaders throughout the state of Arkansas.

The purpose of the trip was to determine and discuss the role of Executive Education and to see how our center might better serve Arkansas in the area of professional development. Upon returning to Fayetteville, Theres and Kevin hoped to have successfully completed the following.

• Determine the evolving needs for executive education and leadership development programs


• Illicit ideas for new initiatives and improvements to existing programs


• Increase awareness of our services among the companies visited.

We also discussed our upcoming programs, including Disney Keys to Business Excellence, Emerging Leaders Program, and Supervisory Leadership Series, among others.

On the Menu for August 20

An exciting new Lunch and Learn has been added to the Executive Education course schedule. On Thursday, August 20, join Dr. Judith Neal, director of the new University of Arkansas Tyson Center for Faith and Spirituality in Workplace, for this special event.

During this lunch and learn, Dr. Neal will cover:

• Definitions of faith, religion, and spirituality and how they intersect
• The trends that support a growing interest in these underdeveloped dimensions of diversity and examples of how organizations are integrating these in the workplace
• Guidelines and principles for incorporating these concepts in your own workplace

The cost of attendance is $25, which includes lunch and class materials. The class will be held at the Donald W. Reynolds Center from 12:00 pm until 1:00 pm. Click here to RSVP.

The Tyson Center was funded by a $2 million gift from the Tyson Family Foundation that was matched by the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation in the University of Arkansas, creating a $4 million endowment. The center will focus on curriculum development; outreach programs to businesses, churches and civic organizations; and research program support.

"The creation of this proposed new center by John Tyson and the Walton College," said Dr. Neal, "is a very important event in the field of management. This is the first time a center like this will exist in a state university, and it will send a powerful message to the business, academic and faith communities that faith and spirituality have a legitimate and valuable role in the workplace."

The House that Reynolds Built

Executive Education is housed in the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development, which recently underwent state-of-the-art renovations. These renovations were announced at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, July 21.

Members of the Rogers/Lowell Chamber of Commerce; faculty and staff of the Walton College of Business, including Dean Worrell; and the local media attended the ceremony. In addition to the ribbon cutting, guests enjoyed a tour of the newly-renovated facility.

These renovations and upgrades, made possible through Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development endowment funds totaling $225,000, include:

• Hi-definition projector, Blu-Ray player, and Dolby 7.1 surround sound for the auditorium
• Interactive SmartBoard technology for the multi-purpose training room
• User-friendly, electronic touch panels in each room
• 50-inch flat panel display for the conference room
• Eco-friendly ergonomic seating
• Sustainability-designed carpet
• Low-VOC paint throughout the building

Sustainable options were preferred and carried out when available.

The Reynolds Center, now more than ever, is an eco-friendly, cutting-edge event space, available to the University of Arkansas and the community. It is ideal for conferences, meetings, retreats, and a variety of other events. For more information, click here.

Theres is Taking On Texas

This week, Theres Stiefer, director of Executive Education, will be in Austin, Texas for the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Management Leadership Institute for Career Services Professionals. This workshop is designed for career services professional from higher education institutions from across the nation, particularly new directors or mid-career professionals with two to seven years of experience in career services. The content is tailored to practitioners without extensive management training.

Management Leadership Institute (MLI) is a five-day, professionally intensive workshop led by faculty or experienced career services practitioners. MLI offers practical information and opportunities to network with peers and learn from experienced colleagues who have successfully met the challenges of career center management. The participant will:

• Learn leadership skills usefull for peer management and managing traditional direct reports
• Discover how one can add value and balance to a career center's mission and goals
• Get new methods of increasing the visibility of a career center within the university setting
• Develop a financial management plan and manage a budget under pressure
• Build a valuable network of colleagues in the career services profession

Theres will facilitate two sessions: The Manager's Toolbox and Career Development for the Career Developer.

The Manager's Toolbox will help participants develop their skills and confidence in their managerial roles. With the increasing complexity of work, continually changing expectations, and the need for higher levels of productivity and commitment, managers are required to perform in a more effective manner. This program has been designed to build skills in the basic competencies that managers need most in supervising and leading employees to greater individual, team, and organizational performance. Topics include the following:

• Employee Motivation - Energize or Polarize
• Performance Development and Growth
• Managing and Encouraging Differences
• What Keeps You Up at Night?

Career Development for Career Developers focuses on learning how to develop your own self. With the participants, Theres will discuss communicating one's talents and skills to perpetuate one's professional future; how to balance work and other function of one's life; setting and achieving goals personally and professionally; learning to enjoy oneself and one's accomplishments; and realizing that one's career is a journey, not a destination. Topics include the following:

• It All Begins With You
• Discover Your Purpose
• Emotional Intelligence
• What Give You Hope?

The institute is being held at Austin's Hilton Garden Inn and Executive Conference Center from July 12 through July 17.

Hi-ho, Hi-ho, It's Off to Learn We Go!

You can design and create and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality. -Walt Disney

This September, the University of Arkansas is excited to welcome back Disney Keys to Business Excellence, held this year at our Cooperative Extension Service in Little Rock. It's a unique and incredible opportunity for professionals to learn the strategies that have made Disney a successful, world-renowned company.

Register early and save! Complete your registration by 11:59 pm on Wednesday, July 15 and save $100. It's a great price for an even greater program!

Disney Institute is a leader of professional development programs in the areas of leadership, loyalty, management, service, and creativity and has trained tens of thousands of leaders from across the globe. It's a program that is not to be missed! Previous attendees, like Foxwood Golf Club owner Ted Belden, can attest to that. "I have been impressed with how the Disney organization operates. Going to this program opened up doors for our organization to re-envision how we do things." And, he adds, "the presenters were excellent."

To quote Walt Disney once more, "the way to get started is to quite talking and begin doing." Begin registering for Disney Keys to Business Excellence today.

Houston, We Have Intelligence

Earlier this week, Greg Fike traveled to Orlando, Florida to lead a workshop at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. This two-day seminar focused on emotional intelligence and leadership.

Before the program, participants completed an emotional intelligence profile. The goal of the program is to identify areas in a participant's profile that could be utilized to strengthen his or her leadership role. The workshop stresses the importance of integrating emotional intelligence into the day-to-day activities of each participant, as well as recognizing and understanding how emotions can effect productivity, decision making, and inter-team relationships.

The goal of the participants is to learn how to utilize their strengths in their roles as leaders. They look forward to using the information from this workshop when they return to work. They gain practical and useful tools that can be carried out effectively in the workplace.

During the workshop, one participant wondered aloud if there is a correlation between emotional intelligence and a person's age. This caused a great dialogue among the group about the differences between the measured areas of the IQ (Intelligence Quotient) and the EQ (Emotional Quotient). While IQ research has shown a static measurement after a certain age, EQ research indicates that as one gets older there is a tendency for their emotional intelligence to increase.

Emotional intelligence is an abstract concept, but it can be used concretely by looking at its behavioral aspects. When looking at how nonverbal communication is related to emotional states, many of the participants begin to understand how they can utilize the information in positive ways.

Human emotional intelligence is as old as humans themselves. By studying and understanding the structure of the brain, one can see that emotions have always effected our thinking, attitudes, and perceptions. Emotional intelligence is a useful tool, as it plays a substantial part in our activities and decisions.

Stay connected with Executive Education

Follow us on Twitter and become our fan on Facebook to receive the most up-to-date promotions, announcements, and information from Executive Education.

We are excited to use these new tools to share with you new ideas in leadership, the latest research from our faculty, updates from staff, news from the Sam M. Walton College of Business and much more. We hope this becomes an even better and more convenient way for you to keep in touch with us at the University of Arkansas.

We'd love to hear from you, as well. Don't hesitate to leave comments or feedback on this blog, on our fan page, or on Twitter.

ABCBS's Customized Program Works for Them

This week, supervisors from across the Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield enterprise attended the first session of their company's fourth set of customized Supervisory Leadership Series workshops, facilitated by trainer and Associate Director of Executive Education, Greg Fike.

ABCBS has scheduled six series of this workshop for 2009 and is committed to having all their supervisors attend over the next three years. Since the program's inception, it has proven to be a valuable tool for employee development and preparation for the leadership roles that are the next natural step in ABCBS's career ladder.

The workshop's content is designed to prepare and support existing supervisors in their roles as team leaders, decision makers, managers, and process experts. Through exercises and interactive content application, these supervisors have experiences that will enhance their strengths as leaders. This workshop hones their skills to facilitate leading productive teams, developing employees, and acting as performance coaches.

The participants look forward to learning and want to take back as much as they can to support their own development. The success of the program has warranted a waiting list of future ABCBS attendees. This creates a supportive environment that allows for learning new behaviors and testing different leadership strategies. Open dialogue is fostered in such an environment, and feedback is expected. The climate is upbeat; participants are open to new methods and enjoy discovering their own effective leadership styles.

One focus of this week's session was utilizing the research from Influencing Strategies. With interactive exercises, the participants learned how to apply the different strategies and worked on expanding their influencing-strategies repertoire. The goal is to expand the use of these different strategies, which gives the supervisors many options. The chosen strategy can thus be catered to the context of any workplace situation. For instance, one participant discovered Logistical Persuasion is a useful tool for successful communication with his boss.

It is important for supervisors to send the message to all employees that they are capable, effective, and significant within their own activities. What leaders do now sets up what can be done later. Leaders should assist all employees in becoming more capable and effective in their work, therefore encouraging them to play a more significant role in day-to-day operations. Each participant in this program will learn how to make this happen in the workplace.

Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield's Supervisory Leadership Series workshops are a customized version of Executive Education's Supervisory Leadership Series. For more information about program customization, visit our website.

Live Blog from Domestic Violence Course

Today's blogger is Kevin Rose, Assistant Director of Executive Education. He is blogging live from the Combating the Workplace Effects of Intimate Partner Violence course.

Today I have the distinct pleasure of attending one of our newest programs, Combating the Workplace Effects of Intimate Partner Violence. This program originated from a research project undertaken by two Walton College faculty members whose research showed strong correlations between domestic violence and negative business impact. From that research, we found a need to educate our business community and provide additional training on the topic.

Our facilitator today, Detective David Williams, will be leading us through several examples of the negative workplace impact of domestic violence and the need for increased employer involvement in such situations.

One of the first things we are exposed to in this course is a recording of an actual attack on a young lady in a parking lot. Fortunately, this victim was able to record the audio of the attack which was used later as evidence. This compelling audio clip makes the case that the topic of domestic violence should never be taken lightly.

Det. Williams poses the question regarding who is liable for reporting instances of domestic abuse: individuals, neighbors, coworkers, employers, supervisors? This is especially important for businesses to consider as there may be legal consequences involved. To help answer this question, think about the following shared consequences of domestic violence:

• Nearly $5 billion per year in medical expenses


• More that $100 million in lost wages, sick leave, non-productivity


• 30% of domestic violence victims lose their jobs


• Increased school absences and lower grades (victims and witness/victims)


• Children are 15 times more likely to be abused/neglected in a domestic violence home


• Domestic violence is THE strongest risk factor for transmitting violence to the next generation


• More babies are born with birth defects due to battery on pregnant mothers than all illnesses combined


• Depression in victims is 60%-80% (7% is population)


• PTSD in victims is 30%-40% (1% in population)


• Increased propensity for addiction/substance abuse

We now hear from Dr. Carol Reeves and Dr. Anne O'Leary-Kelly who are here to discuss their research study, funded by the National Institute for Justice. Below are some interesting conclusions of the study:

• Many employees are dealing with intimate partner violence in their lives.


• It is not uncommon for IPV to occur on work premises.


• IPV has negative effects on employees and on work outcomes.


• IPV victims who need assistance seek help at work.


• Victims who disclose IPV at work generally feel more hopeful.


• Victims who feel hopeful display more positive attitudes and behaviors.


• Coworkers are “sympathetic but reluctant observers.”

Many may not readily see the connection between business results and domestic violence issues, but this program presents compelling evidence that businesses and organizations have a role to play if employees are suffering intimate partner violence.

I am impressed by our presenter's knowledge of the subject, his professionalism, and his passion for improving the lives of others. At the very least, this course has taught me that domestic violence in any form is nothing to be taken lightly and that I, as an employer, have the responsibility to become involved in situations where domestic violence may be occuring.

If you would like more information about this course or if you wish to be notified if we offer this course again, please visit our website.

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Executive Education's programs are designed to provide today's professional with innovative experiences that enhance abilities for facing a demanding, ever-changing workplace.