E-nsights May 2012

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It is with great pride that we announce that BAED just went through the 2012 Periodic Review and passed with flying colours! The proc-ess, which was carried out by a panel of 9 examiners, was rigorous, professional and thorough. The Department was commended in many areas for the high standards it provides as well as it was con-gratulated for its excellent practices.

2012 Periodic Review - Another Success Story for BAED

The 3rd

annual Logistics and Supply Chain Work-shop, with the theme “Innovation promotes Sus-tainability”, was held on 31 May 2012, with great success. More than 120 participants joined the event.

3rd Annual Logistics and Supply Chain Workshop

In cooperation with Helexpo, Young Entrepre-neurs of Thessaloniki, the Interbalkan Institute for Education and Economic Development, the Marketing Club of ATEI and the CMC, BAED successfully organised the 2nd Hotel and Hospitality Management Conference. This took place on 24 May 2012 and attracted 130 participants.

2nd Hotel and Hospitality Management Con-ference

Congratulations to Dr. Kapoulas, Lecturer, and Ms. Mitic, PhD Candidate, whose articles have been ac-cepted for publication in two ABS (Association of Business Schools) list journals!

Dr. Kapoulas and Ms. Mitic Articles Accepted for Publication in ABS List Journals

EDITORIAL MORE on page 2

LATEST NEWS MORE on page 7



2 Editorial

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: MAY 2012—ISSUE 30

nsights E- Monthly e-Newsletter

by the Business Administration and Economics Department

3 Developing the Sheffield Graduate

Attributes

3

3

Business Seminar Series

Company Visit to the Thessaloniki

Concert Hall

Turning Innovation to a Competitive

Advantage

Assessing a Service Operation

Fostering Entrepreneurship

Company Visit to MTel Bulgaria

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The Path to Growth & Success

Practical Issues in Banking during

the Economic Downturn

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Company Visit to Polis Convention

Centre

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Guest Lecture on Public Relations 5

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CSR Seminars in Tirana & Thessalo-

niki

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Coca Cola Seminar in Tirana 6

Guest Lecture by CITY Alumna 6

Guest Lecture on Global Supply

Management

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Company Visit to Emporiki Bank

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Congra

tulations

2nd Hotel & Hospitality Manage-

ment Conference

Bulgarian Students Visit CITY 7

New Learning & Teaching Strategy

Dr. Psychogios Wins the Out-

standing Reviewer’s Award

ABS Journal Publications

3rd Annual Logistics & Supply Chain

Workshop

Developing a Competitive Advan-

tage through Service Optimisation

Guest Lecture on CSR in Bulgaria

Interview with Mr. Kehaghias

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It is with great pride that we announce that BAED just went through the 2012 Periodic Review and passed with flying colours! The process, which was carried out by a panel of 9 examiners, was rigor-ous, professional and thorough. The Department was commended in many areas for the high standards it provides as well as it was con-gratulated for its excellent practices. The Periodic Review is one of the processes that forms the basis of the University’s monitoring and review activity for all taught pro-grammes within all Academic Departments. The aims are to consider the quality of the student learning experience, to ensure that a high standard of awards is maintained, to consider the sustainability of provision and to encourage departments to reflect upon their strengths and areas where support is needed. Dr. Petmezas, Vice Principal, comments: “On the occasion of the highly successful Periodic Review of BAED, I would like to suggest that we all take a minute to thoughtfully consider how many great things we have achieved by working together all these years. It did not simply happen. It is the result of vision, effort and hard work. I feel that we all deserve to be proud! Let us use our recent achievements as springboards of inspiration and empowerment for even further suc-cess. Congratulations!” Prof. Kefalas, Vice Principal, adds: “Let us all congratulate BAED for the successful outcome of its Periodic Review. Congratulations to all for organising and participating in the review, especially to the mem-bers of the Department who showed their commitment during the past few months.” Dr. Nikolaidis, Head of BAED, concludes: “The Periodic Review was a rather demanding exercise for us, but it is over; and it is over suc-cessfully. I would like to thank all colleagues – administrative and aca-demics – for their positive contribution throughout the various meet-ings with the panel. I would also like to congratulate all members of the Department’s administration team for the many hours they have invested over the last three months on the preparation for the Periodic Review. Finally, I would like to thank the Learning and Teaching Qual-ity Assurance Unit of CITY College for the continuous support since November 2011, and of course our Teaching Director, Ms. Sfouri, for the countless hours she has put into this important project. Thank you all for the great effort!”

2012 Periodic Review - Another Success Story for BAED

Newsletter Identity:

Published monthly by the Business

Administration and Economics

Department, CITY College.

Editor: Aimi Papanastasiou

Contributors: Andreas Baresel-Bofinger,

Alexandros Kapoulas, Chris Liassidis,

Fotis Missopoulos, Dimitrios Nikolaidis,

Eftychia Nikolaidou, Tihomir Tihomirov

MAY 2012—ISSUE 30

Editorial

Congra

tulations

3 MAY 2012—ISSUE 30

On Tuesday 8 May 2012, a video projection was coorganised by CITY College and the US Consulate of Thessaloniki. The video projection was about master en-trepreneur, Blake Mycoskie, who has created a shoe company that gives a pair away for every shoe sold. TOMS Shoes is a global brand, having donated more than 115,000 pairs of shoes to children in need. During the event, the HEAD’s List certificates were also awarded to BAED and Psychology Department students who have demonstrated outstanding performance in autumn semester 2011.

Fostering Entrepreneurship: From the Pub-lic Employee Concept to Entrepreneurship

Developing the Sheffield Graduate Attributes

On 4 May 2012, Ms. Sfouri travelled to Sofia to deliver a seminar/training for the local academic staff at VUZF University. The presenta-tion focused on what academics can do in order to ensure develop-ment of the Sheffield graduate attributes. The seminar/training was extremely useful for all participants, who also had the opportunity to directly interact with Ms. Sfouri and ask questions.

Turning Innovation to a Competitive Advantage

On 4 May 2012, Mr. Kehaghias delivered a seminar on “Turning In-novation to a Competitive Advantage” to a large audience in Bel-grade, Serbia. The seminar covered a range of issues, including cus-tomer-focused innovation programmes, job mapping, employee par-ticipation in innovation programmes, open innovation, and how com-panies can profit from a different innovation approach.

Assessing a Service Operation through a Field Trip

On 6 May 2012, students of the Marketing of Services class visited a business setting with the objective of defining the three levels of the product, discuss issues of quality and customer satisfaction, and as-sess an actual business setting by observing and by… drinking their coffee… A really great experience....

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Business Seminar Series Two more seminars took place in May. On Thursday 10 May 2012, Mr. Tsoulis, Golden-i, Apple Premium Resel-ler, delivered a presentation on “iPad Revolution in Modern Management". The speaker explained the im-portance of using new technologies to manage compa-nies in order to create a competitive advantage. On Thursday 17 May, Mr. Kopidakis and Mr. Triakosas from Epikoinonein Creative Office spoke about packag-ing and explored issues such as why companies spend so much money to design attractive packages and the basic principles of designing effective packages.

Practical Issues in Banking during the Economic Downturn

A guest lecture on “Practical Issues in Banking during the Economic Downturn” was delivered to MSc in Banking and Finance students on 14 May 2012 by Mr. Stavros Elemenoglou, Senior Relationship Manager at the Business Centre of Emporiki Bank. The lecture was extremely interesting and triggered many questions from the audience. Although it was scheduled to last for an hour (including questions time), it lasted for two hours. Students were pleased to realise that what they learn in class is very close to what happens in reality. Most of the questions were around credit risk analysis, loan reviews and loan restructuring, particularly relevant during the crisis.

MAY 2012—ISSUE 30

The Path to Growth and Success

On 11 May 2012, Mr. Kehaghias delivered a seminar to middle and senior management and entrepreneurs in Bucharest, Romania. The seminar focused on how a company can ensure growth and suc-cess. Mr. Kehaghias talked about organisational factors that affect strategy implementation, developing strong CVPs, reinventing the business model, and effective partnering.

Company Visit to MTel Bulgaria On 11 May 2012, 2nd level students attending the Bachelor’s programme at VUZF, Sofia, Bulgaria, visited MTel, a private telecommunications provider. During the visit, students and their escort, Mr. Tihomirov, had the opportunity to observe the opera-tions of the company in action. Key employees from the New Product Development Department delivered an interesting pres-entation and conducted a workshop for the students on Innova-tion and Co-Creation. Afterwards, the group had a chance to visit the control room, where a short demonstration on Quality Control was offered. Then, they visited the call center to see how the company operates on this level and how it handles its service to customers.

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Company Visit to Emporiki Bank On 16 May 2012, MSc in Banking and Finance students visited the ‘Loan Exe-cution’ Division of Emporiki Bank, where the General Manager, Mr. Tsakoni-tis, a very experienced banker, talked to them for an hour on the main opera-tions of this very specific division of the bank. The division that Mr. Tsakonitis manages is responsible for granting all the ‘big’ business loans (in excess of 3 million euros) in Northern Greece that have been approved by the Business Centre of the same bank, while the main risk that the division faces is the op-erational risk. The free discussion that followed was extremely interesting and gave the opportunity to students to link theory with practice.

Company Visit to the Thessaloniki Concert Hall

On 23 May 2012, postgraduate and undergraduate students in marketing went on a company visit to the Thessaloniki Concert Hall. There, they were received by the Mar-keting Manager, Mr. Manastiridis, who showed students around the premises and was keen in answering all of their questions relating to the promotional activities of the Con-cert Hall, ticketing, budgeting, sponsorships, and other marketing related issues. Many thanks to Mr. Monastirids, who for a number of years now has been more than willing to share his experiences with our students.

MAY 2012—ISSUE 30

The importance of Public Relations in today’s complex environ-ment was discussed during a guest lecture delivered by Dr. Niko-laidis to 2nd level students on 17 May 2012. Dr. Nikolaidis, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, who has got extensive experience in Public Relations, addressed issues related to the nature of modern Public Relations and the changes taking place in the communication sec-tor. The two main functions of Public Relations were analysed, namely management and communication, as well as the main tasks

Guest Lecture on Public Relations

Company Visit to Polis Convention Centre

On 14 May 2012, a company visit to Polis Convention Centre took place. The visit was organized for 1

st Year-Greek stream students. One of

the directors as well as the Marketing Manager of the centre offered stu-dents a tour to the most high-standard indoor and outdoor convention fa-cilities in Thessaloniki. They also presented some of the challenges and opportunities that the centre is facing. The presentation exposed students to various policies and gave them a real feel of how the organisation deliv-ers its services. It was implied that the success of the centre is a result of the democratic leadership style that is followed with a combination of rela-tionship marketing initiatives. Students also had the chance to learn about capacity planning in terms of serving customers, which is also related to their business studies.


Coca Cola Seminar in Tirana Effective Employee Communication for Corporate Success: A 2-hour seminar took place on 18 May 2012, in Coca Cola, Tirana, delivered by Dr. Nikolaidis. More than 30 employees participated in this training ses-sion which aimed to improve internal communication and employees’ effi-ciency. The goal of the seminar was to make participants see communi-cation differently; to realise the importance of this function in both one-to-one and in a departmental level. During the seminar, the process and the importance of communication were analysed along with the fundamental structures and the principles of effective communication.

CSR Seminars in Tirana and Thessaloniki

“Corporate Social Responsibility: is it a Trend or an Obliga-tion?” That was the topic discussed in two seminars delivered by Dr. Nikolaidis in Tirana on 17 May 2012 and in Thessaloniki on 21 May 2012. During the lectures, the process and the specific func-tions of corporate social responsibility were presented along with some practical implications and examples of corporations that con-tribute to a better society. In Tirana, more than 150 students and executives attended the seminar, asking questions about CSR and trying to find ways to implement the basic principles.

Guest Lecture by CITY Alumna On 21 May 2012, a former student of the International Faculty of the Uni-versity of Sheffield, Ms. Nikovska who is an Account Manager for FU-TURA 2/2 Advertising and Marketing Agency, in Skopje, delivered a semi-nar entitled “Working in an Advertising Agency” within the framework of the Advertising and Sales Promotion Management postgraduate unit deliver by Mr. Liassides. Ms. Nikovska’s seminar was very insightful and covered to a large extend the needs of the current postgraduate students. She provided an integral picture of the life, tasks and responsibilities of account managers in advertizing agencies. Our compliments to Ms. Nik-ovska for the valuable information she shared with our students and wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

Guest Lecture on Global Supply Chain Management

On 23 May 2012, Mr. Kavafakis, General Manager of Kavafakis Co., a com-pany specialised in the production of machinery for the processing and packaging of various paper products, delivered a guest lecture on “Global Supply Chain Management in Practice: The Paper Converting Indus-try”. Mr. Kavafakis’ lively presentation provided a thorough insight in the particularities of an interesting industry sector and the challenges a com-pany faces regarding positioning itself in the changed environment of the global paper converting supply chain.

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2nd Hotel and Hospitality Management Conference

In cooperation with Helexpo, Young Entrepreneurs of Thessaloniki, the Interbal-kan Institute for Education and Economic Development, the Marketing Club of ATEI and the CMC, BAED successfully organised the 2nd Hotel and Hospitality Management Conference. This took place on 24 May 2012 and attracted 130 participants. Dr. Nikolaidis comments: “Synergy is a key concept; for individuals, for institu-tions, for companies. We warmly thank all of our friends/organisations for their exceptional contribution to the joint organization of this event!” A range of topics were covered, including Challenges in the Greek Hotel and Hos-pitality Industry, Integrating Effectively Social Media in a Hotel’s Marketing Strat-egy, Achieving Hospitality Excellence, Building Customer Value in the Hotel In-dustry, and Developing Effective Franchise Systems in the Restaurant Industry. Among the key invited speakers were a number practitioners, namely Mr. Seraf-ini, HR Manager, Hyatt Regency Hotel; Ms. Arapoglou, Sales Director, Premier Luxury Mountain Resort, Bansko; Mr. Shtika, Social Media Expert, TESSERA; and Mr. Tsumas, Mr. Angelos, Mr. Marcus, Ms. Baker, and Mr. Wilson from CHICK FIL A, a fast food chain of more than 1800 stores in the USA. Dr. Szamozi, Senior Lecturer in HR, BAED, and Mr. Kehaghias, Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management, BAED, also delivered insightful presentations.

MAY 2012—ISSUE 30

Bulgarian Students Visit CITY College

On 24-26 May 2012, a group of 2nd level students attending the Bache-lor’s programme at VUZF, Sofia, Bulgaria, visited CITY College in or-der to attend the 2nd Hotel and Hospitality Management Conference. In addition to attending the conference, the students also had a company visit to Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki Hotel, where they had the opportu-nity to closely view the management of operations of a hotel chain. On the same day, the students met with other Bulgarian students on cam-pus, as well as the President of the Marketing Club. In the evening, they had free time and had the chance to take a sneak peek at the night life of Thessaloniki. On 26 May, they departed to Bulgaria full with very warm feelings and a desire to come back in the next academic year, when they will hopefully be in level 3 and finish their studies.


Dr. Nikolaidis participated as a guest speaker in the Business Excellence Show (BES), which took place on 31 May 2012, at the Aleksandar Palace Hotel, in Skopje. In his presentation, Dr. Nikolaidis addressed issues of the importance of customer satisfaction and service quality and the impact on customer retention and loyalty. Under the topic “Developing a Competitive Advantage through Service Optimisation: Focusing on the Cus-tomer”, he also expressed the importance of building a corporate culture within every organisation. More than 500 executives attended the event. BES promotes the principle of permanent, visible improvement of management and operations in general, and the principle of achieving operational excellence. It serves as a meeting place for respectable consultants, university professors and specialised companies whose services, knowledge and skills can enhance work and personal de-velopment.

3rd Annual Logistics and Supply Chain Workshop

The 3rd

annual Logistics and Supply Chain Work-shop, with the theme “Innovation promotes Sus-tainability”, was held on 31 May 2012, with great success. More than 120 participants joined the event. The majority of the audience was coming from other local universities, a fact showing the impact of our reputation to the local community. The inspiring speakers kept the audience’s atten-tion to the maximum for two and a half hours. At the end, some of the participants expressed their interest on our postgraduate programmes. Special thanks to everyone in the department (and not only) who supported the promotion of this event and especially Mr. Baresel-Bofinger.

Developing a Competitive Advantage through Service Optimisation

New Learning and Teaching Strategy

The new learning and teaching strategy, and the employability strat-egy of the University of Sheffield were presented to all International Fac-ulty staff by Louise Woodcock, Head of Academic and Learning Services and by Prof. Paul White, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Learning and Teaching.

Guest Lecture on CSR in Bulgaria

On 28 May 2012, a guest lecture on CSR was delivered by Mr. Kolev, CEO of CSR Bulgaria, to 2nd level students attending the Bachelor’s programme at VUZF, Sofia, Bulgaria. The topic of the guest lecture was “Social Business and CSR”.

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Mr. Kehaghias was recently interviewed by Daily Busi-ness, Romania, about how a company can recover after crisis. During the interview, examples of companies who have applied very effective recovery strategies were pro-vided.

MAY 2012—ISSUE 30

Interview with Mr. Kehaghias

Dr. Psychogios wins the Outstanding Reviewer’s Award

Congratulations to Dr. Psychogios for wining the Outstanding Reviewer’s Award at the Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2012! Each year, Emerald names and rewards the Outstanding Reviewers who contribute to the success of the journals. Each journal’s Editor nominates the Reviewer they believe has been that title’s most Outstanding Re-viewer. Dr. Psychogios was selected for the very impressive and signifi-cant contribution he has made as a Reviewer to The TQM Journal throughout 2011.

Dr. Kapoulas and Ms. Mitic Articles Ac-cepted for Publication in ABS List Journals

Congratulations to Dr. Kapoulas, Lecturer, and Ms. Mitic, PhD Candidate, whose articles have been accepted for publication in two ABS (Association of Busi-ness Schools) list journals! The first article is titled “Understanding Challenges of Qualitative Research: Rhe-torical Issues and Reality Traps” and will be published in “Qualitative Market Re-search”, which is an international journal. The second article is titled “Understanding the Role of Social Media in Bank Marketing” and will be published in “Marketing Intelligence and Planning”. The ABS Academic Journal Quality Guide is a hybrid based partly on peer review, partly on statistical information relating to citation, and partly upon editorial judg-ments following on from the detailed evaluation of many hundreds of publications over a long period. The journals included cover a wide range of disciplines, fields and sub-fields within the social sciences, representing an inclusive approach to what constitutes business and management research.

Documents

E-nsights May 2012