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New Global Research Site Announced in Hong Kong

Stopping in Hong Kong during a fast-paced tour of Asia that also included visits to Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur, HBS Dean Kim B. Clark made an important announcement about the School's Global Initiative at an October 29 dinner hosted by the HBS Club of Hong Kong.

Clark opened his remarks by praising the Hong Kong Club's efforts in organizing the "hugely successful" Global Alumni Conference last April, noting that it had "set a new standard" for HBS alumni gatherings. Then mentioning the extraordinary changes that are occurring in the Asian business world - changes that are best understood at close range - Clark announced that the School is actively investigating the establishment of a small HBS research facility based in Hong Kong.

"The global nature of business today has created a remarkable set of opportunities and some interesting challenges for the School," he began. "In response, we are launching an important initiative that will enhance the way we prepare business leaders for the future." Clark reminded his audience of the School's long history of field-based research and its commitment to a faculty that is close to business practice. "We are building on that solid foundation to ensure that Harvard Business School in the 21st century will be an institution where our interests, activities, faculty, and commitment are truly global in nature."

Modeled on the recently launched California Research Center, the Hong Kong office will serve as a base of operations for the School in the Asia-Pacific region. Slated to open this fall, the center will be staffed by an executive director and one or two research associates. "The idea is to have people on the ground who are able to connect with important companies and executives from around the region while conducting case writing and research," noted Clark, who has named Professor Robert H. Hayes to serve as faculty chair of the project.

Currently an average of twenty HBS faculty travel to Asia at least once a year, and in the last three years, approximately eighty Asian-based case studies have been written. The new operation is intended to support and enrich this activity, making it possible for HBS faculty to develop research in areas such as equity markets in emerging economies, entrepreneurship in the overseas Chinese communities, and state-owned enterprises. A longer-term vision is that faculty will be in residence for periods of up to one year, developing affiliations with other faculty in the region and working on collaborative projects.

The Hong Kong office will be a place where workshops and activities will give faculty, research associates, doctoral students, and research affiliates a chance to interact and work together in what Clark called "one of the most dynamic regions in the world." Over the next decade, the hope is to establish similar research offices in other key regions. "We are wholeheartedly committed to the idea of building new understanding, deeper knowledge, and intellectual capital about business on a global basis," he concluded.

Earlier in the day, Clark and Hayes attended a breakfast meeting with members of the newly formed Asia Advisory Committee, chaired by Victor K. Fung. Representing leadership from the major countries in the Asia-Pacific region, these alumni and friends of HBS will act as relationship builders for faculty, developing networks and contacts for research and case development as well as providing advice and counsel.

by Audrey Snee

Former HBS Dean Fouraker Dies at 74

Lawrence E. Fouraker, Dean of the Harvard Business School from 1970 to 1980 and an early advocate of a global perspective in management education, died of viral pneumonia on December 20 in Brookline, Mass. He was 74.

Fouraker joined the Business School faculty in 1961 after a decade as an economics professor at Pennsylvania State University. He quickly made his mark at HBS as an effective and highly regarded teacher in the MBA and Executive Education Programs, while also taking leadership roles in the administration of the School's international programs and its Division of Research.

Many significant changes took place at HBS during Fouraker's tenure as Dean, including sizable increases in the numbers of women and minority students; new curriculum initiatives in ethics, business and government, human resource management, and the management of small businesses; and substantial additions to the School's permanent endowment.

In addition, in a period when U.S. corporations were the center of business schools' attention, Fouraker saw the importance of an international outlook, encouraging research activities and educational programs around the world, including the establishment of an HBS program for international senior managers in Switzerland. He also encouraged HBS professors to give their advice and guidance to help create business schools abroad in cities such as Tehran and Jerusalem. "Larry Fouraker was a true visionary regarding the coming of a global economy," said HBS Dean Kim B. Clark. "He paved the way for the kind of international point of view that we regard as so essential today in educating leaders for the 21st century."

Former HBS Dean John H. McArthur praised Fouraker's successful efforts to manage and control the School's extremely rapid growth at the time - a process that began in the years following World War II - by limiting the increase in the size of the faculty so as to sustain the quality and unique character of the HBS community. "Larry had to make some tough decisions in this regard," said McArthur, "and he did so with courage, conviction, and unshakable integrity. His dedication to quality and the high standards he set in everything he did strengthened the School immeasurably for all who followed in his path."

Lawrence Edward Fouraker was born in Bryan, Texas, on October 28, 1923. His college years at Texas A&M University were interrupted by service in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946 but after his discharge, he resumed his studies there, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1947 and a master's in 1948, both in economics. He earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Colorado in 1951. An expert on business strategy and organization, Fouraker was the author of a number of publications and journal articles. A study (with Sidney Siegel) titled Bargaining and Group Decision-Making won the 1959 monograph prize in the social sciences from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Promoted to full professor at HBS in 1963, Fouraker was named the School's Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration in 1968. When he became the School's sixth Dean in 1970, Fouraker assumed the George Fisher Baker Professorship, an endowed chair that was then traditionally given to the Dean of the School. After stepping down as Dean in 1980, he held the Ford Professorship for another year before leaving the faculty.

Fouraker received Harvard Business School's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, in 1980. A professorship was established in his name in 1981 "in recognition of his many contributions" to HBS. He was also the recipient of several honorary degrees from institutions in this country and abroad and served on the boards of many major corporations throughout his professional life.

Fouraker is survived by his wife of forty-eight years, Patricia Orr Fouraker, and by a son, a daughter, and two grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at Memorial Church in Harvard Yard on February 20 at 2 p.m.

Not Your Typical Business Conference

NYC Networking Day Energizes Alumnae

The weather in New York City was dreary drizzle on a fall day last October 25, but on the third floor of 42nd Street's Grand Hyatt Hotel, there was pure sparkle in the air. More than one hundred HBS alumnae from all over the country and the world had gathered for a one-day conference, "Choosing to Lead: Women and Leadership," sponsored by the New YorkÐbased HBS Network of Women Alumnae (HBSNWA). The gathering included women from the HRPBA Class of 1958 all the way up to the most recent graduating MBA Class of 1997. All had set aside this particular Saturday, as HBSNWA chairperson and conference organizer Karen A. Page (MBA '89) put it, to "tell their stories, discover they're not so different from one another, and learn some useful ideas for making their lives and careers more successful and satisfying."

It was a simple formula, and one that delivered. From Value Line CEO Jean Bernhard Buttner's (HRPBA '58) informative talk on the importance of financial investing for women, to the three upbeat and entertaining panels on how to succeed in corporate, nontraditional, and entrepreneurial career pursuits, to a moving speech on the power of the human touch in business and in life by Maxwell House Coffee and Post Cereals president Ann M. Fudge (MBA '77), to a dinner organized by Beatrice ("Bunny") Ellerin (MBA '95), the day's events generated an energy that allowed speakers and participants alike to dispense with formalities and talk about what's really important to businesswomen in the 1990s. It was, in the satisfied words of one attendee, "not your typical business conference."

Buttner began the morning by urging women Ð who are more likely to raise children alone or survive their spouses than are men Ð to prepare financially for the long term by investing in equities early and regularly. According to a recent study, she said, 88 percent of American women invest primarily in low-yield vehicles such as savings accounts and CDs, none of which outpaces inflation. By not entering the more high-yield world of equities, she said, "women may safely be going broke."

"Above all, don't fear failure," she stressed. "Remember, the fear of failure is a sure formula for not achieving success."

The theme of risk taking was echoed throughout the day, starting with the first morning panel on corporate leadership with moderator Gail C. Coleman (MBA '80), director of Salomon Smith Barney; Janet M. Green (MBA '88), partner at Ernst & Young; Ann M. Sarnoff (MBA '87), senior vice president of Nickelodeon; and Nancy C. Walker (MBA '86), general manager of Mosby Consumer Health. Among their words of advice to women in corporate life: Pick the "right" company by paying attention to signals the CEO and the firm's literature send about company mission and values. Focus on getting a quality boss over a good job title. Don't be afraid to take seemingly circuitous career paths once inside the organization. Have passion for what you do, and show it. And, for those with children, don't let work supersede the important things in your children's lives.

After a luncheon talk by Ann Fudge (see sidebar), who was honored with the HBSNWA 1997 Alumna Achievement Award, participants convened for the day's last panel on creating a new business. Moderator Julie A. Farrell (MBA '80), Yvonne V. Cliff (MBA '85), Rysia de Ravel (MBA '83), Kathy M. Reilly (MBA '91), and Lan Lan Wang (MBA '78) shared stories and lessons from the trenches about how to launch and sustain an entrepreneurial venture.

Karen Page, a one-woman powerhouse who is a marketing strategy consultant and award-winning author of three books on the food-service industry, was the conference's primary organizer. "I think everyone left with more energy than they had when they walked in," she said. "When you're dealing with a bunch of extremely busy women, that's a sign of success." If the buzz in the reception hall afterward as participants excitedly clustered together to exchange ideas and business cards was any indication, Page was right on the mark.

With more MBA women in line to become the next generation of top corporate officers, there is a growing need for female role models in the classroom. This presents a challenge for business educators, since for many years most of the nation's chief business leaders have been men, and the majority of business school cases feature male executives.

In the fall, a new initiative was launched to support the development of case studies featuring women business leaders in key roles. The effort, the Marjorie Alfus/Committee of 200 Fund at HBS, is an unusual collaboration between three parties: Marjorie Alfus, a retired Kmart executive who now concentrates on the real-estate and stock markets; the Committee of 200 (C200), a national organization of women business executives; and the School.

"Women, no matter what their level of confidence or success, are always looking for role models. This new initiative will provide corroboration for women that they can achieve their highest goals," says Alfus, whom HBS Dean Kim B. Clark praises as a catalyst for the venture. A longtime member of C200, Alfus will chair an advisory council made up of C200 members who have agreed to participate in the case study program. This group will also work with HBS faculty and students in programs to encourage women to pursue high-level careers in management. C200 will assist the initiative by helping to identify women who are key decision-makers and asking them to serve as subjects in HBS case studies. "We wanted to do something that creates a legacy," says Victoria Jackson, chairman of C200 and CEO of Nashville-based ProDiesel. "This initiative will have a powerful, long-term impact - for both men and women."

Since HBS is the world's leading producer and distributor of case studies, the significance of this enterprise will reach well beyond Soldiers Field. "This project will be of great importance in the world of management education," says Clark. "The faculty is determined to make it a success." To demonstrate its commitment to the effort, in addition to encouraging faculty members to seek women protagonists in their research, the School is matching the generous financial support of Alfus and C200.

The creation of the fund was announced last October at C200's fifteenth anniversary celebration in Chicago, which was attended by Senior Associate Dean for External Relations F. Warren McFarlan and Assistant Professor Myra M. Hart. Hart, a key player in last November's Women Leading Business Executive Education seminar (see page 32), will coordinate the program at HBS for the Division of Research.

Following national media coverage of the initiative, dozens of letters and e-mails from HBS graduates around the world praised the effort and its potential impact. All those with suggestions for relevant cases are encouraged to e-mail Hart at mhart@hbs.edu.

Photograph by Roark Johnson

A Joyful Noise

Photograph by Brooks Kraft

February 1998 Table of Contents: Table of Contents Running Up the Score Women at the Top Alumni Resources Theory & Practice Update Profile Q & A