Corporate/college alliances, necessitated by a variety of critical global economic factors, are here to stay and the practice continues to reinvent itself in a number of innovative ways. As ongoing alliances evolve and corporations continue to seek partnerships with institutions of higher education, certain key elements necessary for these alliances to succeed are becoming clearer, and colleges are learning more about the business world in order to become more adept partners.

These are some of the findings of a recently completed survey of business schools around the world entitled "The 1998 Survey of Global Education Best Practices." The survey was conducted by Corporate University Xchange, Inc., a New York-based consultancy, and AACSB in cooperation with the European Foundation for Management Development. The survey studied 50 business schools, including 30 in the U.S. and 20 in other parts of the world. The survey, the first of its kind, complements a separate "Survey of Corporate University Future Directions," which is conducted annually by Corporate University Xchange.

Survey results found that the curricula emphasized in U.S. alliances is leadership development, strategic planning and competitive analysis. International schools concentrate heavily in the area of global management and include some finance, marketing and leadership development in the curricula they offer their corporate partners.

Regarding selection criteria in establishing an alliance, U.S. and international businesses believe many of the same factors are important, with one noteworthy exception: U.S. schools place a much higher emphasis on using technology for learning than their international counterparts, while international schools put a higher priority on global capabilities.

In Corporate University Xchange's "1998 Survey of Corporate University Future Directions," which included deans of 100 corporate universities, the selection criteria of shared vision and sharing risks ranked nearly the same in importance as in the global education study. However, corporate universities deemed technology for learning and performance measures more important selection criteria for choosing a learning partner, probably reflecting corporate concern with establishing clear outcomes for investing in employee education.

A majority of business schools in the "Survey of Global Education" and a large percentage of the corporations in the "Survey of Corporate University Future Directions" said that clearly defined roles/expectations represent a primary success factor in an alliance. "Business school deans, like corporate university deans, believe flexibility and creativity on both sides is a key success factor," said Jeanne Meister, Corporate University Xchange founder and president. "But the two groups acknowledge a set of somewhat disparate success guidelines. For example, corporate university directors find that maximizing learning resources is a key criterion for developing a successful alliance with a university and establishing portable credentials. Colleges, on the other hand, stress the importance of listening to the client and making sure the faculty is willing (and able) to deliver." These differences in success factors reflect the two groups' respective roles as corporate client and university vendor, she said.

Faculty members involved with corporate alliances find they must develop a new skill set in order to operate as true business partners. In fact, when corporate university deans and business school deans were asked about the critical skill sets needed to establish and maintain a successful alliance, both groups stated the importance of relationship management skills.

The survey found that the skills of project management, relationship building and communications are especially critical to U.S.-based business school deans due to the collaborative nature of many U.S. corporate/college alliances.

Growing Need for Deeper Corporate/University Alliances

Corporate/college alliances have burgeoned for several key reasons that relate primarily to the need for corporations to leverage the research capabilities of colleges. Universities, in turn, have sought alliances not only to generate revenue, but also to connect their business curricula to the real world and establish for their students new sources for internships and jobs.

The development of alliances also stems from the fact that corporate reengineering and globalization have presented challenges to organizations for whom education is not a core competency. The major goal for a number of alliances - for instance, the one between Indiana University and Whirlpool, which changed its orientation to the international market - is to make an organization more effective in responding to the complexity of a global business environment and help it position itself as a leader in redefining its industry.

New corporate strategies dictate new learning initiatives, and thus the need for university partners. For example, Case Corporation, makers of earth-moving and agriculture equipment, formed an alliance with the University of California's Haas School of Business when Case changed from a product-driven to a customer-driven organization. Partnerships with universities also represent an effort by many organizations to become employers of choice-for both current and potential employees-by providing certificate and degree programs.

Necessity for Clearly Defined Selections Criteria in Establishing An Alliance

The selection criteria for determining the right university partner must be clearly defined to create an effective alliance. From the outset, there must be commonality between the partners regarding key parameters of the culture, structure and strategy of the corporation. Interestingly, the most important selection criteria include articulating a shared vision, clearly defining roles, responsibilities and deliverables, having global capabilities, and having both the university and corporate partner assume shared risk in designing new executive development programs.

Critical Factors in Running a Successful Alliance

The survey uncovered a number of critical success factors necessary to sustain a thriving alliance. Support from the top echelon of the corporate partner is one of the most important factors. Well-defined roles, responsibilities and expectations, investment in technology, and operational flexibility to adapt to changing dynamics within the economic climate, as well as within the corporate partner's organization, also are key factors. Additionally, it is extremely important that the university faculty involved in the partnership learn the business of their corporate partner.

Customized Programs Drive Innovative Alliances and Require New Roles

The logical outgrowth of an alliance in which the university becomes intimately familiar with its partner's business is a customized program designed to suit the unique business needs of the corporation. This requires a sustained commitment by the university faculty and a major role shift - acknowledged by both parties - from provider of traditional executive education to provider of business solutions; it means becoming a business partner.

University Faculty Must Develop New Skills More Aligned With Private Industry

It is becoming increasingly important for faculty members involved with corporate alliances to develop a new skill set in order to operate as true business partners. This new skill set draws upon a combination of relationship-building skills, project management and communications, and is essential to maintaining an effective alliance.

Key differences between business and academia dictate new approaches to how faculty members perform their jobs. For example, the drastically short cycle time in business dictates that customized executive education programs be developed in far less time than is normal at most universities. Also, the nature of business requires a more collaborative effort from faculty and more sensitivity to project dynamics - like deadlines and receptivity to third-party ideas - more common in the corporate world than in the groves of academe. Faculty also must learn to think cross-functionally, because all business problems are inherently cross-functional.

Alliances Are Expanding the Relationships and Offerings to the Corporate Market

With the advent of new roles, new skill sets and new approaches to delivering business education, universities are expanding their relationships with the private sector and developing new products and services for this growing market. For example, faculty working in the intensive, collaborative, custom environments that are proliferating as a result of increased alliances are behaving more like consultants and expanding their influence in the corporation accordingly.

Strategic planning is another expanded role being played by university partners. Faculty members sometimes attend what might otherwise be exclusively internal corporate meetings and even maintain an on-site presence, as well as attend courses on company values, vision and strategy.

"'The 1998 Survey of Global Education Best Practices' revealed that corporate/college alliances are growing in their sophistication and becoming more powerful tools for effecting organization-wide change, while providing crucial business solutions," said Meister. "Each new alliance seems like another step toward redefining and honing the very concept of the corporate/university partnership. It's no coincidence that the level of collaboration is on the rise just as the global economic climate is increasingly lucrative, endlessly fascinating and volatile as ever."

Copies of the survey are $30 each ($35 overseas airmail) and can be ordered through Corporate University Xchange, Inc., 381 Park Avenue South, Suite 713, New York, NY 10016. Telephone: 212-213-8650. Web site: http://www.corpu.com

Adapted from the July/August 1998 issue of "Corporate Universities International," with permission.