In 2020, it seems as though we cannot talk about Black History Month without talking about #BlackLivesMatter. The movement has seen increased attention following the killings of American citizens Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd earlier in the year. These incidents have put a spotlight on systemic racism, not only within the justice system, but throughout society. Importantly, they have transformed the way that industries need to handle diversity, equality and inclusion. 

The issue is that many decision makers do not know how to respond to issues of racial diversity and inclusion (D&I), especially in this heightened socio-political context. Is it better to speak up or stay silent? What if we say the wrong thing? What if we get exposed for past discretions? What if we get called out for a lack of diversity within our C-suite?  

Fortunately, there are answers to these questions which are frequently asked by leaders. A useful framework for getting started with D&I, or reviewing existing practices, is: listen, talk, act.

Listen

Any diversity or inclusion effort needs to be informed by insights from the groups who will be affected by it. Of course, for Black History Month and Black Lives Matter initiatives this means that business leaders must listen attentively to their black employees, customers and other stakeholders.

The listening involved in D&I is called active listening - an empathetic listening technique referred to in publications like Time and the Harvard Business Review. Active listening involves hearing the speaker discuss their feelings while asking questions and paraphrasing to ensure your understanding is correct. The key is to fight the urge to be defensive and react with thoughts from one's worldview. According to diversity consulting expert Janet Reid, "You have to slow down your knee-jerk reaction to talk over people and listen in the cadence and rhythm [of their culture]".

Active listening is able to reveal the nuances of a person's experiences. It may be that they have experienced insensitive comments or micro-aggressions in the workplace. They might not feel as though they see themselves represented, or perhaps they are struggling to rise up the career ladder. Listening to these experiences involves having difficult but necessary conversations on topics like bias, privilege and intersectionality. It is then the responsibility of leaders to "do the work" to increase their knowledge on these topics by reading and watching educational content. 

Talk

Brands can't be neutral on issues of racial justice, especially after the intensity of this year. Once business decision makers have gained an understanding of the key issues, they need to use their brand's voice to make an impact. The first thing to do is to take a stance against racism with and share it with internal and external stakeholders. Silence is no longer an option. In the words of Netflix, "To be silent is to be complicit". When e-commerce retailer Fashion Nova failed to post about police brutality following George Floyd's murder - social media influencers and fans noticed. Now is the time for businesses to talk about the plans they have to fight for racial equality.  

But speaking out is not without consequences. Several companies have been "called out" for past discrepancies, such as L'oreal, Disney and Amazon. However, speaking out provides the opportunity for a fresh start for many organisations when it comes to D&I. By acknowledging past wrongs and making new commitments, brands convey authenticity and gain the trust of their employees, customers and community. After dance group Diversity's performance depicting police brutality on Britain's Got Talent received several complaints, ITV made a statement in solidarity with them. This act of defiance and support by ITV was largely praised by its audience. Another way that brands need to talk is by educating their stakeholders through sharing resources and content that informs on race. 

Now is the time for businesses to talk about the plans they have to fight for racial equality.  

Act

In 2020, stakeholders are hypersensitive to brands who don't back up their D&I statements with action. Thus, it is vital for leaders to implement racial diversity and inclusion practices throughout their supply chains and at the forefront of their business strategies. Asking themselves the following questions will help leaders to make a start. 

• Are we sourcing from black suppliers?
• Are we hiring, retaining and developing black employees and do they feel able to express their identities fully?
• Are black employees reaching leadership positions?
• Have we made steps to eliminate conscious and unconscious bias?
• Are we reflecting diversity in our marketing campaigns and working with diverse influencers?
• Are we donating to black causes too?
• Are we joining forces with black organisations and partnering with those working towards equality?
• Are our products and services developed and sold with black customers in mind?
• Are we using the term BAME in the right contexts?
• How should we amend our diversity and inclusion practices post COVID-19?
• Are we measuring and improving our efforts?

In summary, the "Listen, Talk, Act" framework is very helpful for those new to racial diversity and inclusion as well as those who are unsure of how to go forward following this unpredictable year. Brands must listen to their black audiences, speak up in solidarity, and finally act with purpose to make a difference.

We are pleased to announce the addition of new modules for our Global Online MBA programme. They support the evolution of the online programme and give you more choice to personalise your curriculum. 

New electives in business analytics

We have developed new electives for business analytics for the Imperial Global Online MBA programme: Data Analytics and Management (online)* and Big Data, AI and Machine Learning (online)*.

The electives will teach you how to leverage data that is available in organisations, helping you to make key strategic decisions and optimise outcomes. You will learn about tools and approaches to manipulate datasets and find out how to exploit them for performative advantage.

The module content has been inspired by research from the Imperial Business Analytics centre. The new business analytics electives will be available to all Global Online MBA students who start their programme from January 2021 onwards*. Sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date with the Global Online MBA.

*Modules are currently planned but subject to approval

New digital and analytical marketing modules

Have a keen interest in marketing? There are four brand new marketing electives that will be available for those studying the programme: Applied Strategic Marketing, Digital Marketing, Marketing Analytics and Market Research. The electives cover rapidly evolving areas, such as digital marketing and marketing analytics.

New elective to excel in strategy

Finally, our new elective in Advanced Strategy will provide insights into the latest thinking of corporate strategy, sustainability and the role of stakeholders within a corporation. This module is inspired by the work from our ground-breaking Leonardo Research Centre, established to experiment entirely new ways of doing business.

50+ on campus electives to choose from

In addition to the online electives, you can select your personalised programme from over 50 campus-based MBA electives. Discover how you can tailor the programme and progress your career in our Global Online MBA brochure.

If you would like to find out more about the new Global Online MBA electives or the programme feel free to connect with me, Professor Markus Perkmann, Academic Director of the Global Online MBA.

What is Alternative Data

Although by no means a new phenomenon, the use of alternative data has become an important contributor to competitive advantage in financial services. Some claim that the introduction of alternative datasets into business processes is no longer a ‘good-to-have’, but rather a ‘must-have’ feature to maintain market share or even survive.

In this article, I’ll explain what alternative data is, why it is important and what challenges prevent an organisation from benefiting from it in full. I will also discuss the current alternative data ecosystem and its main participants.

So. What is alternative data? There are many definitions, but for purposes of this article, I define alternative data as data gathered from outside traditional financial and economic sources, including data created as an unintended by-product during the application of technology to a specific task. It is important to note that with higher uptake and use of alternative data in recent years, the line between standard market data and alternative data can get blurred.

J.P.Morgan classifies alternative datasets based on the source of the data or how the data is generated:

1. The data produced by individuals, such as their social media posts, search history or personal data.

2. The data generated through business processes, such as transaction data or corporate data.

3. The data generated by sensors. These could include satellite images, geolocation data or IOT data.

Alternative data provides the users with better insights, enabling better decision making.

Importance of Alternative Data

Alternative data is already heavily employed within the financial services sector. A recent survey showed that 82% of hedge funds currently employ alternative data, with an additional 7% planning to start using it within the next 12 months. On top of that, buy-side spend on alternative data is expected to exceed $1.7bn in 2020. However, many large institutional asset managers and financial services firms are falling behind in this area. Only 10% of large institutional asset managers claim that their organisation has a clearly defined alternative data strategy and less than 15% believe that their organisations are well equipped to handle multiple forms of alternative data.

So what is all the fuss about? Why are more and more organisations turning their attention to the use of alternative data? Generally speaking, alternative data provides the users with better insights, enabling better decision making. Additionally, alternative data speeds up processes. For example, standard economic or business reporting data is issued on a monthly/quarterly basis, which leaves the decision maker with delayed ability to react. Alternative data minimises or eliminates this issue by providing regular live (or near-live) updates. In a sector like financial services, where time is of the essence, this offers true competitive advantage - especially in the ever-changing business environment.

The huge benefits that alternative data provide have also been brought into light as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The unprecedented nature of the crisis and its impact on all industries meant that businesses sought new ways to understand the changes in the environment in real-time. Companies simply could not rely solely on the official economic data that normally is released with a time lag. Instead (or in addition), companies started employing various alternative datasets. For example, data covering the use and GPS positioning of mobile phones, job adverts figures scraped from the web, sentiment analysis on social media, etc.

In Conclusion

We are witnessing a huge growth of the alternative data industry. As with many other innovations, financial and tech firms were the first to embark on the journey of implementing alternative data, but it is only a matter of time before it will become a common component for success and competitive edge in other industries. Companies simply cannot afford to ignore alternative data any longer if they want to maintain their competitive advantage or even survive at all. Alternative data is here to stay and companies must start adapting their business processes to accommodate the changes in the data industry in order to prosper in the future.

In the second part of the article, I will explain key participants within Alternative Data Ecosystem and outline the challenges organisations may face when implementing alternative data.

A multi-mode learning experience

The pandemic has brought a lot of challenges to universities and education, and has changed the way we can teach across the globe. Imperial College Business School hosts one of the largest departmental educational technology teams in Europe.

Thanks to our strengths in EdTech, we can deliver our students a superb educational experience in our new multi-mode format. This teaching method allows students and academics the flexibility to move between being on-campus and remote learning, either joining us on-campus or streaming live into the lecture theatre via our new state-of-the-art technological fit-out.

In the ranking announcement, Naomi O’Donnell, MSc International Management 2020-21 told the Financial Times:

I was worried that if my course was going to be taught partly online it would not have the same level of recognition among employers as if I had only studied on campus. There is a view that online courses don’t carry the same level of learning as a full-time degree. I looked at how the situation was being handled by other schools, and Imperial was one of the only ones that said early on in the process that they were well equipped for this situation.

Naomi is one of the students who have joined in the September 2020 intake studying this unique learning experience. You can read more about the “new normal” on campus and how we are adhering to health and safety guidelines.

The Full-Time MBA programme at Imperial College Business School has ranked in the top 10 in Europe in the 2021 QS World University rankings. The programme has ranked highly for thought leadership and employability indicators. This achievement cements the Full-Time MBA at Imperial as a leading programme for individuals who want to create an impact in business and society.

Dr Markus Perkmann, Academic Director of the Full-Time MBA said:

Students on our MBA are prepared with the capabilities and knowledge that allow them to seamlessly move in and out of functions whether within consulting, fintech, or an entrepreneurial venture, as we provide students with the practice, insights, and exposure they need to future-proof themselves in a rapidly evolving jobs market.

The Full-Time MBA equips students with the knowledge and skills to become the leaders of tomorrow. The programme and Business School's close link to Imperial College London, a leading STEM institute, gives students the opportunity to gain cutting-edge insights into digital innovation and entrepreneurship. COVID-19 has accelerated the speed at which digital technologies are transforming business, and Imperial graduates are recognised for the very skills these changes demand. Dr Perkmann says:

We evolve our programme on a continuous basis. Our particular goal is to enable our students to gain from the fact that we are part of Imperial College London, a global top-10 university with world-leading strengths in technology, science, health and business. Students interested in tech, analytics, digital transformation and an entrepreneurial mindset will find that our programme offers them an unprecedented opportunity to take advantage of the broader horizons offered at a STEM institution.