IMD Business School - Tomorrow's Challenges Articles

CHINA IS NOT AN OPTION; IT'S AN IMPERATIVE

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:59:52 +0100

IMD - China Power - As The Economist launches a special weekly section on China, IMD Professor Jean-Pierre Lehmann reflects on the country’s rising global power.

THE END OF THE CHINESE DREAM?

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:25:08 +0100

IMD - Economic Challenges - Property bubble, overcapacity in manufacturing, inflation and rising labor costs. After 30 years of steady growth, is China's economic dream turning into a nightmare?

THE FUTILE SUN WARS

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:39:37 +0100

IMD - Solar Energy - Ten, twenty years ago, solar power was considered a distant dream. Today, the dream is fast becoming reality.

NETWORKING AS AN ENTREPRENEUR

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:34:03 +0100

IMD - Networking - How do you define success for your start-up? And what are your networking objectives? IMD Executive Director Jim Pulcrano has some observations and warnings for Swiss entrepreneurs.

IT'S NOT ALL THAT BAD

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:59:39 +0100

IMD - Layoffs - Can being laid off actually improve overall health and well-being? Does it irrevocably damage their self-esteem? IMD Professor Suzanne de Janasz sheds light on a business landscape dark in unemployment.

SHOULD BOARDS REACT TO THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:49:53 +0100

IMD - Occupy Wall Street - To protect their personal reputations and the brand value of their companies, board directors have to ensure that they are not associated with, nor get labelled as corporate insiders who enrich themselves at the expense of society.

THE EURO CRISIS

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:18:09 +0100

IMD - Euro Collapse - The euro celebrates its 10th anniversary this month under a dark cloud of crisis. However, Didier Cossin argues a discerning risk analysis could provide those investing in Europe with great opportunities.

THE BIG BRAND WISHING WELL FRENZY

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:57:39 +0100

IMD - Corporate Citizenship - With recession and hard economic times, some of the world’s biggest brands are stepping up their role in corporate citizenship.

SOUTH TO THE POLE: CELEBRATING THE SUCCESS OF ROALD AMUNDSEN

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:18:38 +0100

IMD - Effective Leadership - Just over 100 years ago, Roald Amundsen conquered the South Pole. As IMD Professor Bill Fischer explains, his success is a lesson in leadership.

MANAGING THE CONNECTED CONSUMER

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:18:00 +0100

IMD - Brand Management - Companies have often grappled with the “ownership” of their brands. Ultimately, the brand is simply what it represents in the minds of consumers.

IS YOUR COMPANY READY IF THE EURO COLLAPSES?

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:52:02 +0100

IMD - Euro crisis - Standard & Poor’s warned of a possible mass ratings downgrade for 15 euro zone countries. This would have been unthinkable one year ago.

RETHINKING STRATEGY TO ESCAPE COMMODITIZATION

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:53:28 +0100

IMD - Commoditization - Look at almost any industry and you will see companies struggling to differentiate what they have to offer from everything else in the marketplace.“My product is becoming commoditized. Is there a way out?”

THE PROFITABILITY PREDICAMENT

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:00:52 +0100

IMD - Chinese competition - According to the current business mantra, any company that wants to be global has to do business with China.

REVERSING THE TIDES OF DE-GLOBALISATION

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:24:20 +0100

IMD - Business School Curriculum - Business schools overall
have been too complacent in respect to the fragilities and the threats.

MBA 2051

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:07:40 +0100

IMD - MBA Development - If you were the MBA Program Director, what would you never change? Every time I meet a group of MBA alumni I ask them that question. Their answers always focus on the same three themes.

LEVERAGING COMPETITIVENESS TO WAGE WAR AGAINST SHORT-TERMISM

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:01:54 +0100

IMD - Sustainable Competitiveness - From the financial crisis of 2008 to today’s “Occupy Wall Street,” we have testament that many societies have been suffering from short-termism.

SURVIVING THE HIGH-POTENTIAL EXPERIENCE

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:45:43 +0100

IMD - High Potential - It’s great to make the high-potential list, but HiPos can also fall from grace. Here are four traps to look out for.

GETTING A GRIP ON ECO-LABELS

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:30:25 +0100

IMD - Eco-labels - Companies are increasingly coming under attack for the negative environmental and social impacts of their business activities.

OPPORTUNITIES IN A RESOURCE-RESTRAINED WORLD

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:02:57 +0100

IMD -Corporate Social Reponsiblity - There’s money to be made in socially responsible investing. IMD Professor Michael Yaziji explores how asset managers need to better assess a company’s deeper ecological impact.

MARKETING ENTERS THE C-SUITE

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:57:09 +0100

IMD – Segmentation - What sort of business worries keep senior global executives awake at night?
In my conversations with business leaders, I am hearing that more and more marketing-related issues are taking up senior management time.

THE G20, GLOBAL GOVERNANCE AND WHY BUSINESS SHOULD BE ALARMED

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 10:20:12 +0100

IMD - 2011 G20 - With just a few days to go before the G20 summit in Cannes (France), it is no exaggeration to say that the world is in an unholy mess.

THE MARKET FOR ENTREPRENEURS

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:01:03 +0100

IMD - The role of entrepreneurship in aiding economic growth has earned increasing appreciation of late, not least in the wake of the global financial crisis.

REFLECTIONS ON "OCCUPY WALL STREET"

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:55:42 +0100

IMD - Occupy Wall Street - Demonstrations are taking place in many parts of the world, inspired by the “Occupy Wall Street” movement in New York. There are even protests in Hong Kong, a place once described as a “capitalist paradise.”

LEVERAGE THE SUPPLY CHAIN TO IMPROVE YOUR COMPANY'S BOTTOM LINE

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:35:09 +0100

IMD - Supply Chain Model - Scarcity of raw materials and soaring prices for commodities, the financial crisis and the increasing intensity of natural catastrophes have created a paradigm shift.

FROM DREAM TO NIGHTMARE

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:22:06 +0100

IMD - Onboarding - While leadership transitions can be revitalizing, they often prove difficult for both the incoming leader and his or her new team.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AT APPLE

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 10:25:53 +0100

IMD - Apple CSR - According to recent media coverage, it would seem that Apple is interested in developing a new vision, one which includes CSR.

SWITCH-HITTERS, VIRTUOSO PIANISTS, AND LEADERS WHO LEARN

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 09:48:16 +0100

IMD - Develop Strength - As someone who helps develop leaders, I’m often torn between telling them “Play to your strengths” or “Improve your weaknesses.”

CHINA'S 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF MODERNITY: WHAT NEXT?

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:49:59 +0100

IMD - China Future - No one on planet earth – and probably not many elsewhere – could even in their wildest dreams have imagined the trajectory that China has come to take.

A PLEA FOR RESPONSIBLE FINANCE

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:32:00 +0100

IMD - Financial Crisis - Financial education has misled a generation of managers, encouraging them to behave badly under the pretext of pseudo-scientific principles.

WHO CAN YOU TRUST THESE DAYS?

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:11:00 +0100

IMD - Trust - Public trust has been broken on many levels in recent years. One only need mention names like Madoff, Enron and FIFA to make the point resonate.

WHILE CHINA RULES THE GLOBAL ROOST

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:38:00 +0100

IMD - WEF - In his speech at the opening of the WEF meeting on September 13 Premier Wen Jiabao made it clear that China’s position allowed it to make conditions.

LURE OF TECHNOLOGY PLACES CHINA FACE TO FACE WITH REALITY

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:06:10 +0100

IMD - China Growth - At a time when China’s rapid economic growth is shaping the landscape of international business, serious questions arise on the dangers of accelerated development.

CHINESE INNOVATION

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:05:22 +0100

IMD - Chinese Innovation - The Chinese are innovating in a uniquely Chinese manner and consequently rising as formidable challengers to traditional multinationals.

R.I.P - LEADERS VERSUS MANAGERS

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:38:15 +0100

IMD - Difference Leader Manager - Management, we were told, is associated with “controlling and problem solving” while leadership is about “motivating and inspiring.”

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DECADE MAKES

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:38:29 +0100

IMD - After September 11 - 9/11 was a deeply dramatic and traumatic event. The most poignant of these is the fact that since 9/11 we have entered an unprecedented era of uncertainty.

AIR COVER: INNOVATION'S SECRET INGREDIENT

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 18:27:53 +0100

IMD - Steve Jobs Innovation - He was able to use his position of power within Apple to energize innovation project teams, set them loose, and then, protect them.

LEARNING TO LEAD IN A COMPLEX WORLD

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 11:47:51 +0100

IMD - MBA Results - MBAs sometimes say with cynicism “I learned as much from my classmates as I did from the professors.” In today’s business world, that should be said with pride. MBA programs should take class composition – not just individual selection – as seriously as they do any other part of the curriculum.

TUM TATA HO YA BIRLA

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:44:57 +0100

IMD - Birla - “Tum Tata ho ya Birla?” is Hindi for “Are you a Tata or a Birla?” This is what young Indians teasingly ask when one of their friends is bragging about his business ambitions or entrepreneurial aspirations.

SOLVING THE FINANCIAL PARADOX OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:50:00 +0100

IMD - New Business Financing - We believe entrepreneurs need to leverage customers and partners to solve the financing paradox, and to embrace surprises.

STOP MARKET MANIPULATORS

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:57:00 +0100

IMD - Short Selling Ban - Emergency decisions to impose bans on short selling of financial stocks show that governments are doomed to repeat mistakes.

A HISTORIC EVENT THAT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AN EVENT AT ALL

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:57:00 +0100

IMD - US Credit Rating - Downgrading the US debt has been a non-event, and the massive equity sell-off that followed just an overreaction.

ANCHORS AWAY ON THE ENTREPRENEURIAL BUSINESS PLAN

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 14:50:38 +0100

IMD - Start-up Business Plan - The usefulness of a business plan diminishes precipitously as an entrepreneur moves away from the original idea.

IS "GOOD ENOUGH" ENOUGH?

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 11:52:13 +0100

IMD - Consumer Behaviour - Sometimes consumers will put up with a lot to secure a good price. Just look at Ryanair, which is almost as famous for its tough no-frills approach to customer service as for its cheap airfares.

CRACKING THE UNWRITTEN CODE ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:13:36 +0100

IMD - Good Entrepreneurship - Are great entrepreneurs born or are they built? It’s a critical question for any aspiring owner who wants to start a business.

SURRENDER TO THE SOCIAL MEDIA DILEMMA

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:11:20 +0100

IMD - SOCIAL MEDIA DILEMMA - To compete successfully in this new social dilemma, you must not allow yourself to fall behind. Our advice is to benchmark your social media performance against your strongest competitors. Identify the social media platforms and continuously monitor brand awareness and brand engagement of your brand and your competitors. human groups is not simply the average of its members.

EAST ASIAN INSPIRATIONS FOR EGYPT

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 09:22:13 +0100

There are five reasonably common features of the East Asian experiences that should serve as inspirations to Egyptian policy makers.

SOMETHING NEW: MEASURING TEAM IQ

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:11:13 +0100

IMD - Team Intelligence - Teams have intelligence just like individual people do. But the intelligence factor of human groups is not simply the average of its members.

BACK ON THE TOP AND PROUD

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 12:30:04 +0100

IMD - US Crisis - Times may seem gloomy. Gas prices are higher than anyone would have ever imagined. Unemployment in the US is still at an all time high. And many Americans are worried that their children’s futures will be compromised by today’s high deficits and debt.

FROM ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER TO BRAND

Sun, 26 Jun 2011 20:37:37 +0100

IMD - China Innovation - Taking photos, writing e-mails, showing movies – the smart phone has revolutionized our culture in profound ways and evolved into much more than a device for simply making and receiving calls.

MANAGING DIGITAL NATIVES

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 11:37:57 +0100

IMD - Digital Natives - Digital natives, termed by some as Generation Me, are now entering or preparing to enter the labor market.

VIRTUAL MENTORS, REAL BENEFITS

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 11:59:23 +0100

IMD - Mentor - Imagine taking advice from a shipping mogul in Bangladesh. Or getting tips for your upcoming meeting in Japan over a web-cam crossing ten time zones?

TRASH OR TREASURE

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 17:46:46 +0100

IMD - Entrepreneurship and innovation - While many look at waste as difficult at best, and perhaps revolting at worst, the expert entrepreneur sees the starting point of opportunity.

GOING FORWARD WITH TOMORROW'S SUSTAINABILITY APPROACH

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 11:38:24 +0100

IMD -Sustainability in Business - The notion of sustainability-as-less – fewer people, resources and production together with less consumption – is actually not enough.

THE G8 & THE GREAT 21ST CENTURY MISALIGNMENT

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 08:16:31 +0100

IMD - Global Governance - In the course of the last decade the world has undergone the most profound transformation in all of its millenniums of history. Between 2000 and 2010 the share of global GDP of the three leading emerging economies – China, India and Brazil – doubled. The remarkable developments reflect not only the changes occurring within these developing dynamic economies, but between them.

STILL WAITING FOR THE "EUREKA MOMENT?"

Fri, 27 May 2011 15:32:00 +0100

IMD - Innovation Practices - Innovation ain’t what it was. It was once the province of a department, with a clear remit: new product development. Today, it’s everywhere.

JOINING THE RANKS OF LEADING ENTREPRENEURS

Wed, 25 May 2011 09:00:45 +0100

IMD - Silicon Valley - What gives you “bragging rights” in Silicon Valley, the land of entrepreneurship, innovation and extreme capitalism? Though no one who is anyone is actually going to betray Northern Californian coolness by bragging, I wanted to go into the minds of successful Valley business leaders to understand what really gets people’s respect there.

TOWARDS A SECOND WAVE OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Fri, 20 May 2011 15:32:00 +0100

IMD - MENA - The MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, in light of the recent uprisings, is being forced once again to re-evaluate its corporate governance structure.

WITH MODERN TECHNOLOGY, WHO'S RUNNING WHO?

Fri, 20 May 2011 13:35:04 +0100

IMD - Quality Work Life - Have you recently received an email auto-reply saying: I'm currently on business trip with limited access to e-mail? These days, it’s hard to imagine where in the world you must go in order to secure limited access to email.

HOW DEEPLY ENGAGING STAKEHOLDERS CHANGES EVERYTHING

Fri, 13 May 2011 14:53:42 +0100

IMD - Competitive Advantage - An airline company sues an online ticket provider. Fishermen from the Gulf pay a visit to an oil firm in London. An investment brokerage is accused of misleading government. Today’s headlines could be quite different if more companies embraced efforts to engage stakeholders.

NEW TECHNOLOGIES, SAME CHALLENGES

Fri, 06 May 2011 15:32:12 +0100

IMD - technical manager - What are the most pressing managerial issues that crop up year after year in the technology-based enterprise?

DRIVING CHANGE REQUIRES COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP

Thu, 05 May 2011 16:13:11 +0100

IMD - Business Change - Change is inevitable, and large corporations have the power to make the world a better place by embracing the opportunities that change presents.

RE-EVALUATING THE SUPPLY CHAIN POST-JAPANESE EARTHQUAKE

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:39:25 +0100

IMD - Supply Chain Strategy - Japan’s devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident have served as a wake-up call across the world to show just how fragile global supply can be.

INDIA AND THE IMPERATIVE OF INCLUSION

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:27:51 +0100

IMD - Social Inclusion - Last month, Indians rejoiced following their country’s triumph in the final of the World Cricket Cup. With good reason – cricket is the most popular sport in India and it was the country’s first tournament victory since 1983.

CMOs AND TWITTER

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 11:27:00 +0100

IMD - Twitter - The relevant question has therefore moved from if marketers should get involved to how they should deal with it.

THE HUNT FOR NEW IDEAS

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 16:58:51 +0100

IMD - Innovation - They certainly move markets! Whether it’s the tablet computers that are such a rage, smart phones and/or their “apps”, social networking, compression software (such as the mp3) replacing CD players, e-books nudging paper books aside, extreme skiing, rap music, boutique hotels, reality television, our interest in nutrition (organic/bio becoming increasingly preferred in food selection) – you name it, they’re all about ideas.

HAVE YOU REACHED TOTAL DYNAMIC BALANCE?

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 15:38:37 +0100

IMD - Work Life balance - Total dynamic balance. It’s what I’ve found today and what, after a successful career at Unilever that spanned more than 30 years, I wish to share with fellow business leaders.

HOW AN SMS CAN SAVE A LIFE

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 15:18:37 +0100

IMD - Malaria - Every 30 seconds a child dies of malaria.
The problem is not that we lack the medical knowledge to cure malaria, but that the supply chain is not up to the job.

BUILDING AN IN-HOUSE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT UNIT

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:07:26 +0100

IMD - CLU - Having a learning and development (L&D) function at the heart of a business can be immensely valuable. We refer to this as a corporate learning unit (CLU), which can integrate training and development across the company, provide cross-divisional learning programs and help to ensure that all learning is aligned with the company’s strategic objectives.

IS YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY S-I-C-K?

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:27:03 +0100

IMD - Social Media - By now, most people know about social media. Yet, few managers have figured out how to use it in their organizations.

THE AGE OF ENTITLEMENT: GIMME, GIMME, GIMME!

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 10:11:55 +0100

IMD- The New Generation- Many generations have said “today’s young people only think of themselves,” but this time around it may be true. We recently witnessed a crisis sparked by self-contained bankers, politicians and CEOs, with systems and those serving them unable to prevent abuse of the collective; but we ain’t seen nothin’ yet!

QUENCHING THE THIRST OF BUSINESS

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:04:35 +0100

IMD - World Water Day - Each year World Water Day reminds us that water is essential for life. It is also an opportunity for business leaders to reflect on how the world's most precious natural resource impacts corporate operations across the planet.

FORWARD LOOKING LESSONS FROM THE JAPANESE TRAGEDY

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:09:48 +0100

IMD - Japan Development - We sadly mourn the many deaths and suffering arising from the earthquake and tsunami that remorselessly pummelled Japan, and especially for our numerous Japanese IMD alumni and friends who may have been affected. While there will be much analysis of what happened, this tragedy provides also an opportunity to draw broader lessons and look forward.

SOLUTIONS FOR SIMPLICITY

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:12:31 +0100

IMD - Complex business - If there was any further need to prove the interconnectedness of our global economy, the biggest crisis since the Great Depression has delivered it.

SUCCESS FACTORS TO MAPPING OUT NEW MARKETS

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 14:57:57 +0100

IMD – TomTom - Executives can learn from TomTom's story just how effectively new businesses can take control of markets.

LEADERSHIP AND THE EXPLORATION OF THE UNCONSCIOUS

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 10:19:37 +0100

IMD - Responsible Leadership - Leadership is an essential element—perhaps the essential element—of effective management. Exercising leadership responsibly requires more than just providing a vision, communicating it effectively, mobilizing others to follow, guiding the collective progress and being aware of the obstacles in your path. It also requires deep awareness of both the conscious rational and unconscious emotional elements in individual and collective behavior

THE STATE OF INNOVATION AND R&D

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 10:23:01 +0100

Development in Asia - IMD - The recent economic crisis put a big dent on investments in R&D/ innovation. In the world of innovation, the quality of output is more critical than the amount of input.

THE EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 09:33:44 +0100

IMD - Egypt Business - Developments in Tunisia and Egypt, and perhaps soon elsewhere, represent moments of great elation. I am extremely proud of the fact that among the courageous young men and women who stared down the forces of repression in Cairo were alumni from IMD and members of the Evian Group Arab Region.

IS THE MBA OBSOLETE?

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 11:48:33 +0100

IMD - MBA - The world is more complex today than ever. Is the MBA still a good way to prepare business leaders in this new world?

HOW TO GET THE RIGHT DIRECTORS ONTO THE BOARD

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 16:23:52 +0100

IMD - Public Trust - The crisis is over, but Banks still have yet to clean up their balance sheets and increase their lending to Main Street.

TURKEY'S DYNAMIC RESURGENCE IN THE NEW GLOBAL ERA

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:49:32 +0100

IMD - Turkey Economy - In a recent article in Newsweek, Turkish Prime Minister Reçep Tayyip Erdogan branded the EU “geriatric” and “comatose”. This reflects not only Ankara’s frustrations with the EU accession process, but also the global transformations of the early 21st century.

BEWARE OF THE DARK SIDE OF BEST PRACTICES

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 11:18:28 +0100

IMD - Best Practices - There is a dark side to best practices that can hurt your business as much as it can help. Here are four areas of concern.

IN SHORE, OFF SHORE, WHICH SHORE?

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 16:48:52 +0100

IMD - offshoring - For the past decade and a half the decision around outsourcing has been a relatively straightforward one: it allows companies to cut costs, to make better use of their resources and to focus on growth. Over the past 18 months, however, we have seen that the business landscape has changed and the old realities no longer hold true. The future is not now about rapid growth. The risks of outsourcing are now more obvious, and its financial advantages much less clear. At the same time, some companies see big opportunities by in-sourcing and near-shoring.

ARE MEN AND WOMEN DIFFERENT AS LEADERS?

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:52:02 +0100

IMD - Gender - Are men and women different leaders ?

FUNDS THAT LEAVE A LASTING LEGACY

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:01:58 +0100

IMD - GLOBALIZATION - Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) have been making headlines around the world during the global financial crisis.

ONLY THE RULE OF LAW CAN PREVENT A US-CHINA CONFLICT

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:21:15 +0100

IMD - US CHINA - When President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jin-tao meet in Washington, DC on January 19th, they should recognize that generally when a new big power rises, war ensues.

RE-ENGAGEMENT

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 10:51:16 +0100

IMD - Employee Engagement - Often unnoticed, however, is the human story of individual employees and their increasing disconnection from work.

THINK BEYOND THE MARKET

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 10:48:30 +0100

IMD - Competitive Advantage - Take a quick mental tally of the training of the C-office executives in your organization, or at the country-head level. How many of them have technical or business training? Now how many of them have training in political science, sociology or diplomacy?