A magazine for ABE members November 2019-April 2020 | Issue 63

Inside:

The dangers of pursuing undisciplined growth

Keeping skills up to date in a fast-changing world

ABE news from around the globe

Making a difference: ABE’s collaboration with UNESCO REF

Student success stories

And more!

Embedding environmental sustainability into business strategy

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144-7 In this issue; news:

progression agreements; units changing to assignment; new payment option; new syllabuses in the portal; ABE shortlisted for awards

8-9 Keeping up to date in a fast-changing world

10-13 The dangers of

an undisciplined growth strategy

14-15 Alumnus profile: Evans Moonga, customer experience administrator, Zambia National Commercial Bank

16-19 Embedding environmental sustainability into business strategy

20-21 The ABE marking process explained

22-23 Making a difference: ABE’s work with UNESCO REF

24-25 Around the world with ABE

26-29 Meet the Top Paper winners

30-31 The winners list: December 2018

Contents

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Linda Wilkin – Managing editor

Published by:ABE, New Malden Business Centre46-50 Coombe RoadNew MaldenKT3 4QFUnited Kingdom

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welcome |

In this issueWelcome to issue 63 of Focus. You’ll notice, as you read through our news pages and Around the World section

(page 24), that there has been lots going on at ABE since the last issue, and it’s been fun looking at all the things we’ve done over the past six months. We’re particularly proud of our work in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Read and Earn Federation (UNESCO REF), which has resulted in us winning a prestigious Federation of Awarding Bodies Collaboration of the Year Award (see page 22 for the full story of the project).

This edition also features two articles about issues close to my heart: keeping skills up to date and making time for lifelong learning (page 8), and embedding environmental sustainability into business strategy (page 16), which is something that all business leaders will need to think about in the future.

Indirectly related to this is a highly informative article about the perils of management pursuing a short-term growth strategy rather than focusing on long-term value creation (page 10).

For those who are thinking about forthcoming assessments, there’s an article explaining the extensive operational process that is involved in ensuring everyone’s papers are marked with absolute consistence and integrity (page 20). And, of course, there’s the usual smattering of inspiring words from our alumni and prizewinners (pages 14 and 26).

I hope you enjoy the read.

Linda Wilkin Managing editor

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University of Portsmouth – distance learning The University of Portsmouth has confirmed that ABE qualifications offer progression with recognised prior learning onto its Learning at Work degree courses, enabling our alumni to gain a UK degree without having to physically attend the university.

The Learning at Work degree courses are ideal if you are working because studies are designed to be applied to your job, and you can tailor your course to match your employer’s objectives.

Bucks New University (delivered by Magna Carta College) Magna Carta College has confirmed that ABE qualification holders can gain direct entry onto the final year of its online BA in Business Management, validated by Bucks New University. This is delivered by distance learning so, again, it is ideal for working learners around the world.

Another way to pay ABE feesYou can now pay ABE fees via Western Union directly to our head office through online bank transfer/card payment. This service is available for:

n Assessment booking (all ABE levels)n Membership reactivationn Annual subscriptions

You pay in your own currency, with the assurance that we will receive your payment in full. You can also pay from anywhere and anyone can pay for you.

*Please note, Western Union charges ABE fees at the standard global rate as per our fees page. No local discounts can be applied.

New university progression routes

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We now have a separate syllabus for each unit in our core portfolio (Business Management, Business Management & Marketing, and Business Management & Human Resources).

This should prove easier and more convenient as you can look in-depth at the content of a specific unit without having to search through the qualification specification document.

The quickest way to find a relevant syllabus is to type ‘syllabus’ in the search bar of your portal.

Individual unit syllabuses now in your portal

As part of our commitment to offering ever better products and services, we will be changing the assessment of some units from assignment to exam in 2020.

This follows a review of our Business Management portfolio, which has been operational since 2018. An outcome of the review was that the blend of exams and assignments is very popular, but the overall balance – 70 per cent assignments versus 30 per cent exams – was felt to be too heavily assignment-based. Certain units,

Units set to change from assignment to exam in 2020

assessed by assignment, may feel more accessible if they were assessed by exam.

With this in mind, our academic team undertook a detailed evaluation of all assignment units, looking at content and learning outcomes, to identify those for which we could provide excellent and robust assessments in an exam format. As a result, the units listed below, currently assessed by assignment, will switch to an exam assessment in 2020.

This will offer a more even mix of exams and assignments while being led by academic input into assessment best practice.

n 4UDCT Dynamic and Collaborative Teams

n 4UPHR Principles of HR

n 4UPMP Principles of Marketing Practice

n 5UHRM Human Resource Management

n5UHRP The HR Professional

n 5UIMC Integrated Marketing Communications

n5USSM Societal and Social Marketing

n 5UADM Analytical Decision-making

n 6UCF Corporate Finance

n 6UDMS Digital Marketing Strategy

n 6USM Strategic Marketing

n 6UAPM Advanced Project Management

For learners and tutorsThe syllabus and learning outcomes of the units are unchanged, so this will not affect learning or teaching. But December 2019 is the last opportunity to take the above listed units as an assignment- based assessment.

For information, please go to www.abeuk.com/about-us/news/some-units-will-change-assignment-exam-2020

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ABE shortlisted for three prestigious awardsWe’re delighted to announce that ABE has been selected as a finalist for several prestigious industry awards, including Education Investor – Exporting Excellence and the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB): Collaboration of the Year, for which we are the overall winner from six finalists, and Exporter of the Year.

Exporting Excellence and Exporter of the Year We have been shortlisted for these awards in recognition of our innovative international strategy and our commitment to setting the global standard for developing business and entrepreneurial skills. In 2019, ABE achieved 18 per cent growth in export revenues, tracking at 14 per cent above the annual growth rate for transnational education exports (source: UK Government International Education Strategy 2019).

ABE did this by focusing on the skills needed in some of the world’s most challenging environments, targeting ‘frontier economies’ through a mixture of political advocacy, a unique local affiliate business model and new courses which can be contextualised for local markets.

ABE’s recipe for success involved a three-pronged approach:

n Influencing the uptake of qualifications through national systems, highlighting ways to improve skills development policies

n Establishing a local affiliate model, enabling a global-local approach

n Ensuring that the qualification syllabus respects and reflects local priorities and cultures

We currently operate in more than 30 countries across four continents.

Collaboration of the Year This award has been won for our collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Read and Earn Federation (UNESCO REF) – read about this ambitious project, designed to make a difference to the lives of 1.2 million young people in Nigeria, on page 22.

Some of the award-winning ABE team

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ABE’s first product specifically for the schools market, ABE Endorsed KidsMBA, was launched this year. This innovative new programme, for children aged 11-15, develops entrepreneurial skills and know-how through the use of games, role-play and discussion. The programme offers a superb introduction to the world of business and is a stepping stone to future careers and further ABE business studies. At the end of the programme, each participant receives a numbered ABE Endorsed KidsMBA Certificate of Achievement.

For schools, the programme is an excellent opportunity to differentiate their curriculum with a fun, added-value programme that develops invaluable life skills. Look out for a generation of young ABE Entrepreneurs.

New entrepreneurial programme for children

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Keeping up to date

Keeping up to date with innovations and technological advances that affect your workplace can be challenging. In marketing today, being digitally savvy is essential. Yet – without wishing to give the impression that I’m ancient – when I started work, the word ‘digital’ referred only to alarm clocks, correspondence was produced on an electronic typewriter and the best form of instant written communication was the highly cumbersome telex.

It’s hard to imagine, but, potentially, in a few years’ time, today’s newest digital technology may well seem as out of date as the electric typewriter, because change is happening at an ever-increasing pace. According to the highly-rated America futurist Ray Kurzweil:

nThe 21st century will achieve 20,000 times the progress of the 20th century

nThe progress of the entire 20th century would have been achieved in just 20 years if it had matched the rate of advancement of the year 2000

nThe progress made in the 14 years between 2000-2014 matched the entire 20th century

nThe progress in the seven years from 2014-2021 will match the entire 20th century.

Along with the rate of progress accelerating, the rate of adoption of

ABE’s head of marketing, Linda Wilkin, has been in business for more than 30 years. Here, she shares some thoughts about the importance of evolving workplace skills to keep on top of innovation and change

technology is also increasing (see 50 million users table).

Increasing anxietyWith unprecedented levels of change in our working environment, it’s not surprising that anxiety and phenomena such as imposter syndrome (an internal dialogue of self-doubt) are on the rise. In the workplace, many of us fear there’s some new way of doing things that requires skills and knowledge we don’t possess. Indicative of this is a 2019 survey by CV-Library that

showed learning new skills was more valued by employees than a promotion or a pay rise.

However, we can be reassured by the thought that, while the tactics and processes of many business functions have changed fundamentally in the past 30 years, the overarching objectives of why we do what we do tend to be constant. Businesses still need to achieve long-term sustainability and growth, HR still needs to attract and retain the best talent, and marketing must still understand and anticipate stakeholders’ wants and needs.

So, while what you learn through a long programme of study remains invaluable, to stay at the top of your game it is essential to continually update and refresh your knowledge and skills – and, given the accelerating pace of change, this is more vital today than it ever has been.

Keeping your skills up to date with limited time and moneyHowever, when you’re busy, it’s easy for professional development to feel like a luxury you can’t afford. But investing in yourself is likely to be the most lucrative investment you’ll ever make. Here are some ways I’ve found to keep in the know when it’s not possible, through time commitments or financial constraints, to go on extended courses and training.

1. Read extensivelyMake a point of subscribing to relevant publications and checking out articles about what’s new. Also, look at email topics, professional networks such as LinkedIn, and read blogs and opinion, even sales literature. The content marketing strategy of many organisations

Airlines 64 years

Cars 62 years

Telephone 50 years

Electricity 46 years

Television 22 years

Computers 14 years

Mobile phones 12 years

Internet 7 years

Facebook 4 years

Pokémon Go 19 days

Time taken from launch to get 50 million users:

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hours a week devoted to keeping on top of the latest industry thinking.

2. Take bite-sized coursesThere are lots of low-cost, short online courses that offer very specific training or skills. These are great to target your personal development in a way that is manageable in terms of time and money.

Your HR department may well support your learning if you can demonstrate a course’s work relevance, and it’s likely your company will be impressed with you for taking the initiative.

3. Talk to people in your industryI’m not a natural networker, but it does get easier with practice. Asking questions is the key; if you’ve read of a new development, find out who has adopted

the practice and what they think of it.

Consider joining a professional membership organisation; this will update you with issues affecting its members and provide opportunities to meet people and learn from them.

You could also consider asking a senior colleague to mentor you. Set a clear objective of what you want to gain from the mentorship so that you can use your mentor’s time wisely and to best effect.

4. Go to eventsIf you’re near a city, it’s likely there’ll be useful free events you can attend. In London, for example, there’s an annual Festival of Marketing and most sizeable marketing agencies host regular events about industry developments and best practice. I make a point of attending anything that could potentially be relevant to my work whenever I can, but – if I have a work meeting or deadline – I’ll let it go. You won’t always learn anything new, but events will give you ideas and help shape your thinking.

If you don’t live close enough to an urban conurbation to take advantage of such events, many seminars are streamed and uploaded online. So it’s worth keeping an eye on what is going on around the world to get an international perspective, particularly if you are in a more rural location.

5. Listen to webinars and podcasts There are numerous webinars and podcasts you can sign up for, and the advantage of this is you can be anywhere in the world with an internet connection. Podcasts can be downloaded so you can listen to them at a convenient time – your commute to work for example. Webinars can vary in quality so duck out quickly if it turns out to be just a sales pitch. I find it difficult to concentrate on webinars if I’m at my desk so, whenever possible, I’ll use a meeting room to give it my full attention.

6. Be curiousBeing curious is, perhaps, most important of all. It’s what will drive you to make the effort to continue learning and developing.

Doing this will make your career more interesting, boost your self-confidence and earn you the respect of your colleagues. And these are goals that will never go out of date!

is to publish white papers and best practice guides on their area of expertise – capturing your contact details in return for supplying the information. Doing all this will help you keep abreast of developments in your industry or job function.

Make a point of researching areas where change is occurring fastest (which is usually what is being written about most). It’s also worth keeping an eye on job ads, particularly at the next level up from your current position. Even if you’re not planning to change job, knowing what skills employers are currently asking for will help you to identify areas where you could potentially fall behind.

I aim to do half an hour of ‘professional development’ type reading every lunch break. If I manage this every day of the week – that’s two and a half

To stay at the top of your game, it is essential to update and refresh your knowledge and skills continually – and, given the accelerating pace of change, this is more vital today than it ever has been

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The dangers of pursuing undisciplined growth

Here, in the first of two parts, Dr Jones, BSc (Hons), ACIB, MBA, ADipC, DBA, consolidates high-level management practice considerations that align with a relevant business management issue to highlight some of the real dangers associated with the undisciplined pursuit of growth by firms as a primary strategic objective.

This can be equally applied to owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through to executive (and non-executive) teams responsible for managing global public limited companies (plcs).

There are many thousands of business management academic articles and books that focus, some obsessively, on growth (and market share) as a consistent and almost mandatory

Dr Tim Jones has extensive senior business management and finance experience, extending over more than 40 years. This has included financing and allocating capital to hundreds of firms of all sizes, domestically and internationally. More recently, he has worked in the City for a large investment bank, restructuring underperforming global companies

strategic manoeuvre that all firms should pursue, irrespective of size, management capability, competitive positioning, financial health, risks and market opportunities. But, it is evident that many corporate strategists do not have a fully developed parallel grasp of finance (theory and practice), which, in itself, has endangered the very existence of many firms when taking external advice to prioritise growth.

While the ability to grow revenues (and profits) remains an important value driver for many businesses, prudent management would suggest this should not be blindly adopted by all firms, as such an undue focus can often result in underperformance, withdrawal of capital by investors and debt providers, financial difficulties and potential insolvency.

Value creationIt is important for managers and owners to understand the concept of value creation, particularly when contemplating a growth strategy for a firm. There is not a consistently direct correlation between growth and value creation (increasing the intrinsic value of a firm) as, to create value, firms must find good projects that generate returns on new invested capital (RONIC) in excess of the risk-adjusted opportunity cost of capital (OCC), which will take into consideration the underlying risks of each investment. With the progressive impact of competition, increasing demands from customers, employees and suppliers it naturally becomes increasingly difficult for a firm to generate positive economic returns. In other words, firms are not generally able to continually extend indefinitely

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return on new invested capital (RONIC) it is necessary to make an adjustment to the usual accountant’s financial statements to prevent any bias from the inclusion of non-operating assets and capital structure. This results in ROIC / RONIC and also free cash flow (FCF) being independent of leverage and focused solely on the operating performance of any business.

Net operating profit less adjusted taxes (NOPLAT) represents the total after-tax operating income (generated by the company’s invested capital) that is available to all financial investors. This differs from the accountant’s income statement by (1) not deducting interest payments from profit, as they are not an operating expense, (2) excluding any non-operating income, gains or losses generated from assets not included in invested capital, and (3) removing the effects of interest income and non-operating income from taxes.

The example below shows a simple business scenario:

The management team of Charmill Limited is considering making an additional £10 million (net) capital investment into fixed assets and working capital during the financial year ending December 2020, to finance the continued growth strategy. The base case forecast shows this is expected

instances, including the activities and behaviour of certain banks leading into the financial crisis, where strong growth and increasing profits were reported. This directly benefited the near-term share price (market value). But as soon as it became clear to the capital markets that the banks were, in fact, growing the businesses (rapidly) but destroying value, beause of the rapidly evolving risks and excessive leverage (debt), the share prices plummeted at a significant pace and have never recovered.

In relatively simple terms:RONIC > OCC = Value creating

RONIC < OCC = Value destroying

It may be worth providing an explanation of the above concepts. To calculate the return on invested capital (ROIC) and

down the demand curve without either reaching saturation point or experiencing financial difficulties.

There are many examples where executives have congratulated (and remunerated) themselves for growing revenues and profitability (accounting-based measures) when they are, in fact, progressively diluting the intrinsic value of the business (economic-based measure). In essence, the additional capital they have invested into the business would have been better deployed elsewhere, or not at all, as the returns generated are below the opportunity cost of utilising that capital when all risk factors are taken into acount.

More specifically, for plcs, it is important to distinguish between the internal activities and communication into the capital markets. There have been numerous

There are many examples where executives have congratulated (and remunerated) themselves for growing revenues and profitability (accounting-based measures) when they are, in fact, progressively diluting the intrinsic value of the business (economic-based measure)

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to generate an incremental NOPLAT of £850,000 through the following year to December 2021, resulting in a RONIC of 8.5 per cent. While, from an accounting perspective, this may look to be a solid investment for the company, the underlying OCC will more clearly determine whether value is being created or destroyed, as highlighted below:

(i) If the company’s OCC is 7.5 per cent, the additional investment would be value-creating as the RONIC is forecast to exceed the capital cost. The directors should seek to make the investment, as this would be forecast to enhance the value of the company.

(ii) If the company’s OCC is 9.5 per cent, the additional £10 million investment would be value-destroying and the intrinsic value of the company reduced – notwithstanding the further growth in revenues and additional £850,000 of operating profits (NOPLAT) the management team should not commit to this new investment. Instead, they should seek other investments or projects that will generate returns in excess of the OCC.

The investment decision is, of course, not as simple as this because the future growth trajectory and total return on capital would need to be forecast out to the end of the investment period, but, in essence, this is the structured approach that should be adopted at all times.

It would, therefore, be foolish and incompetent for any management team to grow a business and, as a consequence, reduce the intrinsic value of the firm but, unfortunately, many do (often without realising until it is too late) – should the expected RONIC be less than the OCC they will be doing exactly this. This crucial management concept should be made much clearer as a priority through training and education from academic and commercial institutions.

NB: If management teams pursue growth strategies and the RONIC falls below the cost of capital on new investments, this higher growth will reduce the value of the firm.

International expansion requires much greater analysis and consideration, as the associated risks of trading in overseas markets are usually higher.

A primary question management should

There are many examples of this, but a more recent one is WPP plc. Following the appointment of a new CEO in September 2018 and much publicised problems at the company, there has been a transformation programme that has resulted in more than 30 subsidiaries being sold and more than 200 offices merged or closed. The main aims of this have been to (1) reduce and simplify a sprawling empire that had become too unwieldy under the previous CEO, (2) reduce the level of debt to strengthen and de-risk the balance sheet, (3) refocus the group to align with the company’s core strengths and the changes in market structure, and (4) return some of the disposal proceeds to shareholders. While the share price has halved from its peak in 2017, the more sensible approach by the new CEO has resulted in the shares increasing by around 20 per cent across

be constantly asking themselves is How much can we grow the business without destroying value? This depends on the expected financial returns forecast to deliver on any new investment and the underlying opportunity cost of capital.

A more intelligent approach from management may incorporate the recognition that there may be some dilution in, or loss of, competitive advantage that will prevent positive economic returns being generated from future projects. They may then need to strategically review the competitive positioning and seek to refocus the business to rebuild or exploit any competitive advantage and lower the growth ambitions.

The overarching management objective of any business, irrespective of size and scope, should be to create long-term value for the owners because they are the providers of equity (and sometimes other funding instruments, including debt) and, as such, require a minimum level of (risk-adjusted) return for the associated risks of their investment. Should investors not achieve this minimum hurdle return, there is a likelihood that investors will seek to remove their capital and allocate it to a different business or project that will deliver the required returns. This would inevitably result in share price falls (sellers > buyers), a deterioration in the credit rating and debt providers seeking repayment or expensive restructuring terms that would have negative broader consequences.

Management practice and realityAll firms should, therefore, be aiming to progressively enhance the intrinsic value of the underlying business. While growth is often a viable strategic option, there may also be economic value in owners and management teams considering the divestment of certain parts of a business. This may release cash, reduce reliance on debt and enhance focus into core areas where there may be competitive advantage to enable stronger and more sustained financial returns to be delivered. Interestingly, whenever a publicly quoted firm announces the intended divestment (selling off) of an asset or a trading division that is neither creating value nor holding future value potential, notwithstanding the reduction in total revenues (and profits), there is a tendency for the share price (market value) to increase or, at least, stabilise.

NOPLAT and FCF are calculated as follows:

Revenues – operating costs – depreciation = operating profit– operating taxes= NOPLAT+ depreciation– increase in WCR (Working Capital

Requirement)– capital expenditure= FCF

FCF is the cash flow generated by the core operations of a business after making deductions for investments in new capital and is calculated as follows:

FCF = NOPLAT – net investment

Invested capital (IC) does not distinguish between debt and equity. It represents the cumulative amount a business has invested in its core operations, basically consisting of property, plant and equipment and working capital. This is shown in the following equations:

IC = operating assets – operating liabilities (operating method)orIC = debt + equity (financing method)

The definition of ROIC (and RONIC) is:ROIC = NOPLAT / invested capitalorRONIC = Incremental NOPLAT / new invested capital

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over a long period – the share price has fallen by around 65 per cent and 50 per cent across the past five and three years respectively, and 35 per cent since November 2018. Amid continued cost-cutting measures, the dividend has also been recently cut. One strategic option, albeit late in the day, would be to divest the food division to a management team that has the precise talent and experience to fully focus on this segment. This would also raise significant capital to reinvest back into the remaining core business, reduce debt and enhance returns to shareholders.

(2) Patisserie Valerie – collapsed into administration in January 2019. This was a long-standing family company, having been founded in 1926, and remained a stable, unique business until 2006, at which stage it still had only

the past six months as the capital markets and investors warm to the slimmed-down business model.

There is also a plethora of similar examples revealing overconfident expansion by management teams having destabilised and debilitated many companies, including:

(1) Supermarkets in the UK – the so-called ‘big four’ continue to struggle because of weak management, sprawling outlets, inflated size, lack of organisational adaptability, inefficiencies, low margins, high cost bases, and lack of focus. This has resulted in their business models not being fit for purpose to compete in a structurally shifting and super-aggressive marketplace that includes the German discounters (Aldi and Lidl), which continue to pursue selective and disciplined investments in the UK with clear cost advantages. Consequently, there has been significant and sustained value destruction across all of the big four UK supermarkets, with Tesco recently announcing a further 4,500 job cuts.

Marks & Spencer has experienced similar issues as it has continually failed to anticipate and adapt to the rapidly changing market conditions, resulting in sustained value destruction

eight stores. Most successful SMEs are associated with a clear focus and strong values, including independence, flexibility, entrepreneurship and innovation, with additional characteristics of management (owners) being relatively conservative and close to customers and suppliers. However, following a change of ownership in 2006, the new management team did not adequately understand or grasp these fundamentals and decided to rapidly accelerate expansion of the business. By the end of 2018, the number of stores had grown to almost 200. Not surprisingly, the level of debt and cash flow became increasingly critical issues and the inevitable demise quickly evolved, with a wipe-out of the equity value and significant negative impact on broader stakeholders (for example, employees, suppliers, customers). This clearly evidenced inept management capability that pursued an irresponsible and unwarranted aggressive growth path, with the resultant destruction of an established niche business and significant stress to wider stakeholders.

SummaryThere is no doubt that businesses and the wider economy need to grow but, in most instances, this needs to be selective and disciplined, with implementation at a sensible and reasonably cautious pace taking into consideration all the associated risks, particularly ongoing cash flows and financing structures.

It is clear that firms can be growing revenues and generating higher profits, but not appropriately positioning scarce resources to create sustainable value – not only for the providers of capital (equity and debt), but also for all relevant stakeholders that directly benefit from businesses that are being managed for value (not growth).

More insightful discussions into such a broad and crucial issue should extend well beyond this brief article. But it is important for such a critical distinction to be fully understood by all management teams to prevent the risk of firms being unnecessarily managed into underperformance and potential distress, with severe broader consequences for society.

The next article will focus on some of the more common management mistakes that have been prevalent across many firms, consistently destroying economic value.

A more intelligent approach from management may incorporate the recognition that there may be some dilution in, or loss of, competitive advantage that will prevent positive economic returns being generated from future projects

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Evans Moonga

I’m the first born in a family of three siblings. I come from Chingola, a small town in Coperbelt Province, Zambia. I am not yet married, but I am attached to someone.

I love reading and researching new business trends, and getting familiar with them. I am also a writer and speaker on business and leadership development.

I work at Zambia National Commercial Bank (Zanaco), a leading financial institution in Zambia offering financial solutions to various market segments, such as: commercial, private, cooperative, food, agriculture and SMEs. The vision of the company is to successfully build people, businesses and the economy. Zanaco invests in various social responsibility programmes and remains a reliable partner with key stakeholders in economic growth. We have more than 60 branches across the country in different provinces.

My role is to ensure that customers are satisfied at every touch point; developing various strategies to enhance service delivery and fostering compliance across all branches to meet customer service standards.

Being an ABE Business Management qualification holder, I am privileged to

understand various business departments and functions, and passionate about connecting and helping people.

After graduating, I took the path of sales and marketing. The knowledge I obtained studying Business Management offers a strong foundation for a career in sales and marketing. I have now started to develop my own sales and marketing concepts, ideas and principles, which have revolutionised the way we sell, market and deliver our products and services.

I started my career path with ABE in 2009, after my friend’s sister, who works for Southern Cross Motors, convinced me that it’s the best business qualification out there. I completed my certificate at Zambia Institute of Management (ZAMIM) then studied further at Zambia Centre for Accountancy Studies.

Within my job role, I most enjoy connecting with people and helping them to make good purchasing decisions that will change their lives. But most importantly, I enjoy effecting positive change through the offering and delivery of life-changing products and services. Above all, working in sales and marketing just stretches your mind beyond limit and makes you a thinking machine.

ABE qualifications are the most recognised, highly valued and preferred by employers in many industries and sectors. My advice to you when studying ABE is to be patient, take one step at a time and never give up, no matter how many times you may fail. I promise you, once you have an ABE qualification you have a passport to success and you can write your own ticket to greatness. There is no limit to what you can achieve or become with an ABE qualification.

ABE ALUMNUS PROFILE:

Evans Moonga is a customer experience administrator at Zambia National Commercial Bank and a motivational speaker on business and leadership. He is passionate about sales and marketing and is using the knowledge he has gained from his ABE qualification to revolutionise the sales, marketing and delivery of products and services

“Being an ABE Business Management qualification holder, I am privileged to understand various business departments and functions, and passionate about connecting and helping people”

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Evans Moonga

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Environmental concern around sustainability is an increasingly topical issue that no business can afford to ignore. ABE examiner and regular Focus contributor Rajesh Raheja discusses how businesses are embedding sustainability into their long-term strategy

Reduce, reuse, recycle: the mantra for a ‘green’ bottom line

Now and again, a news headline becomes indicative of some wider critical social or economic issue. An example of this was the recent news headline: ‘Schoolgirls petition McDonald’s and Burger King to remove plastic toys from meals.’ The petition, initiated by a couple of primary schoolchildren in the UK, garnered almost half a million signatures. Though their appeal

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planet’ as they take another look at their operational decisions related to product/service design, process technology, and supply chain design, planning and control.

Product designFrom the perspective of sustainability, the product and/or service decisions mainly focus on the potential for:

n Recyclability of materials usedn Decreasing waste at the end of a

product’s single-use or multi-use life-cycle

n Reducing the carbon footprint and/or water footprint.

Consider grocery retailing. This sector, particularly in Western countries, has been singled out for rampant over-packaging. Though the firms’ intent is to preserve food quality, most of the packaging is single-use plastic. According to UK consumer rights website ‘Which?’, supermarkets in Britain ‘create almost 800,000 tonnes of plastic every year’. In response to the growing public aversion to plastic – and the need to align with legislative forces – a number of grocery retailers are exploring ways, and setting time-bound targets, for eliminating this polluting material.

There is a new urgency to finding alternative packaging material for preserving food quality and integrity. Marks & Spencer (M&S), one of UK’s leading supermarkets, terms its sustainability policy as ‘Plan A’ and, in pursuance of its sustainability goals, the retailer has decided that, by 2022, all food items sold in its stores will be in recyclable packaging. To do this, M&S is collaborating with local waste-collection agencies.

Many products and services have a water footprint, which can be direct or indirect. The hospitality industry, comprising global hotel chains, has a high direct ‘service water footprint’ (SWF) because of water usage by guests. Overuse of water in the course of business operations is now a big concern for government and non-government agencies all over the world.

Taking account of stakeholders’ growing demand for ‘green lodging’, Hyatt Regency is pursuing ‘water stewardship’. The global hotel chain aims to reduce guest-related water consumption by 25 per cent. According to its corporate

Rise of the ‘green’ stakeholdersAs stakeholders wake up to this reality, they have started questioning the established ways of doing business. Pressure is being exerted in multiple ways: consumers are making purchasing decisions in favour of ‘greener’ products and lawmakers are introducing legislation that requires organisations to re-evaluate their operations. For example, the demand for banning plastic straws is so widespread, and almost unanimous, that it may become an election issue for candidates in the 2020 US elections.

Business organisations, aware of the consequences of not aligning with such emergent forces, are assessing the environmental impact of their operations strategy. Proactive global organisations are taking into consideration the principle of ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’. Their mission is no longer confined to profit; it also includes concern for ‘people and

was directed at the global fast-food giants, it highlighted the growing expectation of stakeholders – whether consumers, government or pressure groups – of operations decisions that include ‘sustainability’.

What is sustainability?The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) defines sustainability as ‘non-declining trends of economic growth and development that might be impaired by natural resources depletion and environmental degradation’. The scope of sustainability, in the sharper context of environmental impact, encompasses ‘carbon footprint’, recyclability, waste generation and disposal, and water overuse because of the threat this poses to the wellbeing of future generations. Materials – such as plastic and fossil fuel – cause serious damage to Earth’s biosphere and impact upon the planet’s climate.

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device is fully functional. In other words, products are designed for a single-use life-cycle. The result of this production-consumption cycle is abounding e-waste, which – when disposed of – releases toxins. The same is true for consumables such as ink cartridges and toners.

To mitigate this environmental impact, manufacturers in the sector are re-evaluating their business strategy, and redesigning their traditional, unidirectional supply chain. For example, HP, the global leader in printing devices, has designed a ‘closed loop supply chain’ (CLSC) that encourages people to return spent cartridges and toners using a prepaid-postage service. The end-of-use waste received through ‘reverse logistics’ is recycled; components retrieved are reused in manufacturing new printing accessories.

Mobile device manufacturers do it a bit differently. Most take the ‘third-party reuse’ route by engaging with partners who specialise in recycling and can profitably reclaim material from disposed-of devices for further use.

Supply networks – particularly in the food sector – are becoming more complex in a global world. Every local firm has a diverse set of network partners, each one playing a unique role. Today,

website, Hyatt wants to achieve this sustainability goal through retrofits of water fixtures, upgrades to ageing heating and cooling plants, and use of alternative water sources or water recycling in all of its properties.

Process technologyThe automotive industry’s sustainability is hinged on multiple dimensions. While there is a need for optimal material usage and recyclability at the end of use in the sector, the areas that get put in the spotlight are energy consumption and carbon emissions:

n Directly, from logistics operations (transportation and warehousing) within the automotive supply chain

n Indirectly, because of process technology used in the oil sector, which supplies fuel required for usage of cars

n Indirectly, during the time a car is used by the consumer.

The United Nations Climate Change statistics estimate road transport’s share of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to be 17 per cent. In recent years, however, legislation such as the Clean Air Act, and ‘low emission vehicle standards’ that have unfolded in the US – followed by similar laws in a number of other countries – have given impetus to the car manufacturers to explore the use of high-performance electric battery technology. Almost all big manufacturers are exiting from competencies in ‘dirty’, fossil fuel-based combustion engine technology, and moving towards plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) technology. General Motors has even articulated its vision of personal mobility as an ‘All Electric Future’.

These strategic choices are not just directed towards decreasing high levels of tailpipe emissions for the satisfaction of green stakeholders, however; it is also to get a share of the high-growth PHEV market as consumers embrace the idea of driving non-polluting vehicles. According to a United Nations report, the market for PHEV is expected to be US$1tn by 2030, a massive leap since 1997, the year in which Toyota launched its Prius, the world’s first hybrid car.

The imminent expansion of the PHEV mass market has the potential to reduce GHG emissions caused by large-scale oil extraction and refining. It is envisaged that the only remaining source of carbonisation during the multi-use life-cycle of a plug-in electric car might be the customer-processing technology, in the form of battery-charging stations that will replace traditional gas stations – although there are still environmental issues to be resolved around the production of electric car batteries and the electricity used needs to be from sustainable sources.

Supply chain design and controlIn the consumer electronics industry, firms engaged in manufacturing laptops, tablets, printers and mobile devices focus on achieving cost and quality objectives. The products are designed and produced to minimise customer returns; defects are strictly managed.

To encourage repeat purchase, however, mobile manufacturers practise deliberate obsolescence by regularly introducing new models and software that is incompatible with earlier models, tantalising consumers with product features that encourage them to upgrade, even if their current

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chain. It has announced an imminent ‘ban’ on supplier brands if they continue to use hard-to-recycle packaging.

Sustainability and business performanceThe number of large organisations that are integrating sustainability and business strategy is growing. Only recently, more than 100 organisations in the US have committed to achieving sustainability goals relevant to their area of business.

Simple logic and evidence suggest that business organisations that display ‘environmental stewardship’ and design ‘eco-efficient’ operations gain in multiple ways, including:

n Money saved through less wastagen Reduced procurement cost by

optimal use of materialn Fewer fines for regulatory

non-compliancen Retained revenue stream because

of customer loyaltyn Maintained brand value, as risk of

reputational loss is mitigated.

All of these have a direct or indirect, but positive, impact on the organisation’s bottom line. More importantly, they help create a more sustainable future – and that will benefit us all.

a large number of food items travel considerable ‘food miles’ after leaving the farm and before reaching the consumers’ tables. Procurement and distribution of food products – whether fresh or processed – uses logistics that span multiple geographies and pass through the systems of food producers, processors and distributors. During this flow, the network uses ‘multi-mode’ transportation, and requires ‘multi-temperature’ storage facilities, consuming large amounts of energy. There is also considerable wastage of food as a result of handling during this flow.

Supermarkets, aware of these environmental shortcomings, are looking for innovative solutions. For example, in some of the geographies in which it operates, Carrefour, the world’s largest supermarket, has decided to procure fresh food items from ‘urban agriculturists’ and adopt ‘responsible transportation’ for distribution, especially within highly congested urban areas. With this two-pronged approach – which involves redesigning its supply network and re-evaluation of its fleet of trucks for last-mile delivery – Carrefour aims to reduce food miles, thereby lowering its carbon footprint and food wastage, and decreasing its costs. Similarly, Tesco, another global supermarket, is introducing strict control in its supply

GlossaryBiosphere: the ecological system comprising all natural assets, such as oceans, atmosphere, flora and faunaBottom line: an organisation’s profit or net incomeBusiness strategy: an actionable plan devised by a firm to gain a competitive edge over its rivalsCarbon footprint: the tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas emitted by human activityCompetencies: a set of resources and capabilities that a firm builds up over time in a particular technology. Rare, valuable and inimitable competencies of an organisation help it to realise its business strategy Greenhouse gases: gases, such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons, that absorb infrared radiation and create lasting heat Logistics operations: activities, such as transportation and warehousing, that facilitate the safe flow and storage of raw material and finished goods within the supply chainMulti-mode transportation: a mix of road, rail, air and sea transportation used for transferring raw materials and finished goods Operations strategy: the set of long-term decisions taken by a firm in relation to its operations – for example, outsourcing v in-house manufacturing, and adopting environmentally friendly resources, processes and materials Pressure groups: groups of people who strive for certain ecological and ethical causes and expect organisations to be accountable Reverse logistics: a set of activities that involve reverse movement and handling of goods in the supply chain from customers to the retailer. It deals with goods that are returned or discarded because of defect, damage, obsolescence and so onStakeholders: individuals or groups who have an interest in the way a business organisation operates. The board of directors and employees are examples of internal shareholders; external stakeholders include government, consumers and pressure groups Supply chain/network: the arrangement between a firm and a set of suppliers, established to procure and transform raw materials into finished products or services with which the end consumer can be served. The upstream supply chain connects the firm with the original source of material; the downstream supply chain connects the firm to the end consumer Supply-chain design: the unique manner in which an organisation arranges its supply chain to achieve its operations and strategic objectivesSustainability: all causes and remedies related to the environmental impact of production and consumption by humans

ReferencesAbbey, J D and Guide Jr, V D R (2017). Closed-loop supply chains: a strategic overview, in Bouchery, Y, Corbett, C J and Tan, T.(ed) Sustainable Supply Chains, Springer. Ahmed, S F (2016). The global cost of electronic waste. The Atlantic [online], available at www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/09/the-global-cost-of-electronic-waste/502019/

Barr, S (2019). Schoolgirls petition McDonald’s and Burger King to remove plastic toys from meals targeted at children. The Independent [online] available at www.independent.co.uk/life-style/mcdonalds-burger-king-plastic-toys-petition-schoolgirls-happy-meals-a8972361.html

Bateman, A H, Blanco, E E, and Sheffi, Y (2017). Disclosing and reporting sustainability of supply chain. Bouchery, Y, Corbett, C J, and Tan, T (ed) Sustainable Supply Chains, Springer.Beard, S and Holt, L (2019). What are the biggest threats to humanity? BBC News website, available at www.bbc.com/news/world-47030233

Carrefour Group (2017). Carrefour unveils its urban agriculture initiatives. Carrefour.com [online], available at www.carrefour.com/current-news/carrefour-unveils-its-urban-agriculture-initiatives

Crowe, V (nd), What are supermarkets doing about plastic? Which? [online], available at www.which.co.uk/reviews/recycling/article/what-are-supermarkets-doing-about-plastic

Esty, D C and Winston, A S (2009), Green to gold: how smart companies use environmental strategy to innovate, create value and build competitive advantage, John Wiley and Sons (revised ed).General Motors Corporate website (2019), GM technology paves the way for an all-electric future. GM [online], available at www.gm.com/our-stories/technology/gm-technology-paves-the-way-for-an-all-electric-future.html

Hyatt Corporate Website (2019), Corporate responsibility at Hyatt. Hyatt [online], available at about.hyatt.com/en/hyatt-thrive/our-planet.html

Jolly, J (2019), Tesco promises to ban brands that use excessive packaging. The Guardian [online], available at www.theguardian.com/business/2019/aug/22/tesco-promises-to-ban-brands-that-use-excessive-packaging Slack, N, Chambers, S and Johnston, R (2009), Operations Management, Financial Times/Prentice Hall. 6th ed.US Department of Energy (2019), Alternative fuels data centre. Energy.gov [online], available at afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/electric_emissions.html

US Department of Energy (2019), Timeline: history of the electric car. Energy.gov [online], available at www.energy.gov/timeline/timeline-history-electric-car

United Nations Climate Change (2018), Global car industry must shift to low carbon to survive – CDP. Unfccc.int [online], available at unfccc.int/news/global-car-industry-must-shift-to-low-carbon-to-survive-cdp

Young, S (2019), Tesco to ban brands that use excessive plastic packaging. The Independent [online], available at www.independent.co.uk/life-style/tesco-ban-excessive-packaging-plastic-waste-pollution-supermarket-a9074386.html

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After each assessment session, tens of thousands of scripts pour into our office from all over the world. It’s our job to ensure the marking of each script is scrupulously fair and consistent. Here’s how we ensure that the integrity of our marking is never compromised

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Before you get your resultsExaminers are recruited based on holding relevant qualifications and strong experience in the subject(s) they will be marking. Ahead of live marking for each session they are involved with, all markers will attend a training (standardisation) meeting with the chief examiner who has set the assessment.

During standardisation, the marker team for a unit discusses and agrees the approach to marking, looking at a sample of work to take into consideration non-typical responses. This process ensures that markers follow ABE’s positive marking ethos. Following this meeting, each marker’s standard of work is checked by the chief examiner before they are allowed to continue working on the scripts they have been allocated.

During the marking period, the chief examiner takes a second sample to check that the agreed standards have been maintained, and if they have not, adjustments (marker moderation) may be made. If the standard is very inconsistent, then the whole of that person’s allocation will be re-marked by another marker, who has attended the standardisation meeting, or the subject examiner.

In addition to checks made by the chief examiner for each unit, the programme leaders (and level verifiers for the Business Management stream) make checks across each level of the qualification to ensure that units at any one level are being marked to a consistent standard.

As qualification levels are nationally and internationally recognised, it is important that ABE marks to the standards expected of these levels. If there are concerns about the marking of one unit relative to another, then recommendations will be made to the Assessment Board for changes to achieve parity across a level (unit moderation). It should be noted that these sorts of changes are very unusual and made by exception rather than routinely.

The results that get published are the final grades once any moderation changes have been applied.

After your results are publishedShortly after results are published, we upload examiners’ reports to the portal. These give a general summary of candidate performance against each question and are a useful insight into how marks are lost or gained.

ABE offers learners the option of applying for an ‘enquiry about results’ (EARs). During the EAR process, the assessment is re-marked by the unit examiner and this marking is then reviewed by the unit chief examiner. The examiner and chief examiner discuss the re-mark and create a report to explain why some marks have been awarded and others have not.

This can be a popular option for learners who would like some individualised feedback to identify areas where they can improve their performance for future sessions. As our examiners are qualified and experienced to a high level and follow academically robust regulator-approved processes, the EAR mark can be taken as final and cannot be challenged on the basis of academic judgement.

You can find the relevant forms, plus further details about the EAR process, in the Form and Policies tab of your portal.

As qualification levels are nationally and internationally recognised, it is important that ABE marks to the standards expected of these levels

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Local skills for global success

The biggest challenge is the unreliable internet connection. Product teams had to ensure the content met the objectives of the programme but allow for bite-sized online learning

In 2019, ABE and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Read and Earn Federation (UNESCO REF) collaborated on an economic capacity-building project to provide a course in entrepreneurial skills that could be delivered digitally to 120,000 young people in Nigeria every year. The project is also supported by the Central Bank of Nigeria and aligned to addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: quality education, decent work and economic growth.

ABE is working with UNESCO to produce a generation of entrepreneurs in Nigeria to help the country take its place in the global economy

BackgroundAs one of the world’s largest producers of crude oil, and with an abundance of gas and mineral resources, Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $376bn.

The International Monetary Fund predicts that it could become the ninth-largest economy in the world by 2050 if it mobilises its 200 million population into a nation of entrepreneurs and consumers. Nigeria’s population

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Uncertainty means the West African nation has seen a steady out-flow of its most promising young talent to Europe, leaving behind a damaging human-capital crisis

stakeholders will help ensure that the entrepreneurial skills provided by ABE and facilitated by UNESCO REF are adopted in national community-based programmes.

ChallengesThe biggest challenge with this collaboration has been the unreliable internet connection. Product teams had to ensure that the content met the objectives of the programme but allowed for bite-sized online learning. To deliver on time, we had to use a range of communication tools because video conferencing is rarely completed without the internet dipping out.

ABE had a development manager in Abuja to oversee the advocacy work and support UNESCO REF in the country, to raise awareness and ensure high-tempo project management.

This collaboration, which has been awarded Collaboration of the Year at the 2019 Federation of Awarding Bodies annual conference, has come about with the highest of ideals: changing people’s lives for the better. It plans to develop the entrepreneurial skills of 1.2 million young people over 10 years. These skills will give more young people the opportunity to build a future in their own country – and we can’t wait to meet them.

advantage is also its downfall, however, as it struggles to overcome rising unemployment, unreliable power supply, poor education and severe poverty.

Nigeria has a range of issues: the government’s fiscal deficit is expanding above budget, unemployment is trending upwards, and uncertainty around petrol prices combine to create an atmosphere of economic instability. This uncertainty means the West African nation has seen a steady outflow of its most promising young talent to Europe, leaving behind a damaging human-capital crisis.

With an entrepreneurial deficit, the country is unable to develop the broad-based economy needed to provide employment, competition and innovation, as well as insulation from the global price and demand shocks in its natural resource markets. Mass unemployment and poverty mean many Nigerians lack basic amenities. In 2018, Nigeria overtook India as the country with the most people living in extreme poverty.

The solutionUsing ABE’s skills-development expertise and UNESCO REF’s experience in delivery – by virtual learning environment (VLE) – to people in challenging circumstances, we set up a collaboration to meet the following objectives:

n Encourage entrepreneurship for job creation, thereby ending forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking

nProvide young people with the opportunity to acquire qualitative international entrepreneurship skills and knowledge, to contribute to the nation’s economic growth (with a focus on the inclusion of women)

nIncrease economic capacity by enabling young people to learn and understand the dynamics of approaching and dealing with international markets.

Combining a laser-focus on objectives with world-class learning content, digital delivery and strong partner relations, this 10-year project is on target to produce a generation of entrepreneurs, helping Nigeria to take its place in the global economy.

Since the project started, it has gathered support from the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian National Youth Service Corps and the Office of the President of Nigeria. These

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Around the worldHere are just a few of the ABE events that have taken place across the globe

Trinidad and TobagoDeveloping closer ties with major employers

UK ABE hosted a prestigious Fellowship ceremony held in central London

Cameroon A meeting (in London) with delegates from the Ministry of External Relations and transport policy specialists to help design skills solutions that support an easy and fast flow of trade

GuyanaNations School of Business and Management reports a great result from its first two ABE courses in Setting Up Your Own Business

South Africa ABE hosts event in Johannesburg for the launch of the ABE Southern Africa regional office (ABE SADC)

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MauritiusA wonderful graduation ceremony to recognise the achievements of ABE learners

ZambiaABE meets leaders to discuss major skills development and capacity building projects

MyanmarABE hosts a series of business breakfasts with some of Myanmar’s leading employers

Malawi A fabulous celebration at a packed ABE Malawi graduation ceremony

SeychellesRob May (ABE CEO) delivers a key speech at the Commonwealth Africa Innovation Workshop

prizewinners |

Meet the ABE award winnersTop Paper Awards are given to the highest achieving candidates worldwide. Here are some extracts from the December 2018 winners’ stories (June 2019 will be featured in the next issue). You can read them in full in the Learners Stories section of our website

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Hussain Mirza, Kuwait – Top Paper Award in Business Ethics and Sustainability, studied at UK International Training Institute

Originally from Pakistan, Hussain moved to Kuwait and has enjoyed the flexibility of the ABE course.“The best thing about ABE is that we can get direct admission into some universities including exemptions onto degree courses that will allow us to take fewer modules, and, in the long run, save on costs and time.”

Indrawatee Sahaye, Mauritius, Top Paper Award in Leading Strategic Change, studied at Sagittarius (Centre For Information

Technology and Business)Indrawatee was able to achieve her award while balancing her job as a senior confidential assistant with her ABE studies.  “I must admit that ABE has presented me with a very big opportunity where I have been able to get enhanced and enriched knowledge and experience that helps me, to a large extent, in the performance of my employment duties.”

Chikondi Bissan, Malawi – Top Paper Award in Dynamic and Collaborative Teams, studied at PACT CollegeChikondi has successfully managed

to combine study with his demanding job as a teacher.“My dream is to become a successful business manager in the future and I am confident that my ABE qualification will help me achieve this.”

Enala Sharom Ching’oma, Malawi – Top Paper Award in Operations Management, studied at PACT CollegeEnala plans to progress

to a Masters degree and then generate jobs and opportunities through running her own successful business.“With ABE qualifications it becomes so easy to gain employment. The thing that I have really benefited from the most while

studying ABE is gaining knowledge on how to manage an enterprise and how to become an entrepreneur.”

Temitope Olaitan- Adeyemi, Nigeria – Top Paper Award in Contemporary Developments in Global HRM, studied at Brix AcademyCreative director

Temitope has gained a number of skills that she plans to use in her future entrepreneurial endeavours.“There are quite a number of advantages to studying with ABE. One of the things I enjoy is the flexibility it provides in learning, which makes it convenient for work and education balance.”

Aravinda Singh, Guyana – Top Paper Award in Managing Agile Organisations and People, studied at Nations School of Business and Management

Aeronautical information service officer Aravinda has found ABE has helped him develop his business knowledge, which he now applies in his job.“Since embarking on my journey with ABE, I am able to understand organisational decisions better. This has allowed me to be more responsive at board meetings because my knowledge of business has significantly increased.”

Nidaa Bibi Tajoo, Mauritius – Top Paper Award in Integrated Marketing Communications, studied at SNIT Business SchoolNidaa was determined

to further her studies while working. During her search, she came across ABE and was drawn to the affordable pricing and the opportunities ABE qualifications provide.“For nearly two years since I joined work, I have been thinking about what further studies to pursue until I came across the

ABE website where I learnt that it offers professional courses at affordable prices and also a pathway to fast track to a university degree.”

Alexander Robert Chikolera, Malawi – Top Paper Award in Strategy Marketing Relationships, studied at PACT CollegeAlexander plans to use

the skills he has attained through studying with ABE to help him fulfil his dreams of becoming a global marketing giant.“Through studying ABE qualifications, I have gained a number of skills. I have learned and gained knowledge on how to communicate, deal and handle clients in the corporate world.”

Roshni Tarak Das, Kenya – Top Paper Award in Introduction to Quantitative Methods, studied at Oshwal CollegeRoshni has been

able to develop vital business skills through studying with ABE.“The public really values ABE courses in Kenya. It helps in their future careers and it provides the people with employment opportunities very easily.”

Marcia Natasha Alexander, Trinidad and Tobago – Top Paper Award in Organisational Design, Development and Performance, studied at SITAL

College of Tertiary EducationMarcia manages to combine her study with being an entrepreneur and an accounts clerk.“The best thing about studying with ABE is that it is flexible, affordable and challenging. It is a recognised programme and accepted by employers in my country.”

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Continues over

“ABE gives you everything that you would need in order to thrive and have the upper hand in and out of the classroom, from team-working and becoming a leader to being an ethical professional. This programme is more than just pen and paper, it is a holistic guide for a successful future” Sasha Lewis

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Sasha Lewis, Trinidad and Tobago – Top Paper Award in Strategic HRM, studied at SITAL College of Tertiary EducationSasha is planning to

study for a degree before pursuing a career in human resources.“ABE gives you everything that you would need in order to thrive and have the upper hand in and out of the classroom, from team-working and becoming a leader to being an ethical professional. This

programme is more than just pen and paper, it is a holistic guide for a successful future.”

Sona Mugunthan, Zambia – Top Paper Award in Dynamic Business Environments, studied at Zambia Centre for

Accountancy Studies (ZCAS)Sona is planning to go onto a degree then gain real-life business experience.“ABE has helped me think of creative

solutions when faced with difficult situations and has encouraged thinking outside the box.”

Ganizani Prince Matola, Malawi – Top Paper Award in Human Resource Management, studied at International

College of Business and ManagementGanizani plans to use the skills he has acquired from studying ABE qualifications to fulfil his

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dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur.“In Malawi, having an ABE qualification – for example, L4, L5 and L6 – a person can easily get employed in large organisations and in higher positions.”

Juzer Hunaid, Kenya – Top Paper Award in Effective Financial Management, studied at Jaffery Institute of Professional StudiesJuzer plans to progress

through his ABE qualifications and eventually go on to complete a Masters programme.“ABE’s internationally recognised qualifications give one the skills to build an outstanding business career. Employers value ABE-qualified staff because they know how to make a difference in the workplace.”

Flocy Banda, Malawi – Top Paper Award in Enterprising Organisations, studied at The University of Malawi Management Development Centre

Flocy came across ABE qualifications when she was looking for a course to help her pursue a career in business management.“The tip I would give to ABE members who are currently studying is be willing to put in work in order to get great results.”

Gopaul Ramgobin, Guyana – Top Paper Award in Organisational Design, Development and Performance, studied at Nations School

of Business and ManagementGopaul chose to study with ABE as a route to help him progress as a HR professional.“The best thing about studying with ABE is the flexibility of study, where the programme caters for the working class. Students are able to work, study and still have time to have a personal life.”

Evelyn Listanco Herrera, Maldives – Top Paper Award in Digital Marketing Strategy and Strategic Marketing, studied at MAPS College

Evelyn was drawn to ABE qualifications because the flexible learning allowed her to balance working in a demanding job while studying.“The best thing about studying with ABE is

the flexibility and the course structure, which is very helpful for working students like me. It gives us an opportunity to work and study at the same time and doesn’t cost us a fortune.”

Marie Belinda Henri, Mauritius – Top Paper Award in Employee Engagement, studied at Sagittarius (Centre For Information

Technology and Business)Senior administrative assistant Marie Belinda has found her ABE qualifications have helped her to grow in both her personal and professional life.“My tip for other ABE learners is that there is no age to start studying. Even if you are a late developer, with perseverance and trust, you can reach the goals and objectives that you have targeted.”

Bibi Saoudah Domun, Mauritius – Top Paper Award in Finance for Managers, studied at JR SchoolBibi chose ABE after deciding to shift into a

more challenging environment and embrace the world of business management.“I would recommend ABE to everyone

because it has a flexible learning programme, and offers a affordable and faster route to employment. Additionally, ABE is convenient for any learners who want to have knowledge in business and management.”

Ahmed Noorally Fazal, Tanzania – Top Paper Award in Introduction to Entrepreneurship, studied at Financial Training Centre

Ahmed has been able to develop a host of business skills through studying with ABE.“I chose ABE because the programme provides professional qualification, flexibility, well-structured modules and useful resources.”

Chifundo K Phiri, Malawi – Top Paper Award in Employability and Self-Development, studied at PACT CollegeChifundo would like to

use her ABE qualification to achieve her long-term education and entrepreneurship goals.“Since I started studying with ABE, I have become so productive at work and able to adapt to any changes. I am also able to solve business problems and prevent them.”

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| prizewinners

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“My dream is to become a successful business manager in the future and I am confident that my ABE qualification will help me achieve this” Chikondi Bissan

prizewinners |

Top Paper Awards Winners 

Name Country College Unit

Danling Zhong China Guangdong Peizheng College Business Strategy & Decision-making

Cosmos Gyapong Ghana Pentecost University College Analytical Decision-making

Veronica Sefiamor Caygu Ghana Pentecost University College Organisational Design, Development & Performance

Vrajadevi Ramrattan Guyana ATC - Accountancy Training Centre Principles of Marketing Practice

Aravinda Singh Guyana Nations School of Business & Management Managing Agile Organisations & People

Rayann Huggins Guyana Nations School of Business & Management The HR Professional

Selena Bacchus Guyana Nations School of Business & Management Societal and Social Marketing

Gopaul Ramgobin Guyana Nations School of Business & Management Organisational Design, Development & Performance

Twice a year, we honour the highest achievers in each unit with a special Top Paper Award. These are the people who score the best percentage pass across the world. Congratulations to all, what a great achievement! Here are the winners from December 2018 assessment session. The winners from March and June 2019 will be in the next issue

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Congratulations to ABE Top Paper Award winners

| prizewinners

Juzer Hunaid Kenya Jaffery Institute of Professional Studies Effective Financial Management

Roshni Tarak Das Kenya Oshwal College Introduction to Quantitative Methods

Hussain Mirza Kuwait UK International Training Institute Business Ethics and Sustainability

Ganizani Prince Matola Malawi International College of Business & Management Human Resource Management

Lonely Jenala Malawi K & M School of Accountancy Operations Management

Chifundo Phiri Malawi PACT College Employability and Self-development

Chikondi Bissan Malawi PACT College Dynamic & Collaborative Teams

Ambokire Mwalwimba Malawi PACT College Project Management

Alexander Robert Chikolera Malawi PACT College Strategic Marketing Relationships

Enala Ching'Oma Malawi PACT College Operations Management

Aaron Chapsinja Malawi Self-study Enterprising Organisations

Emmanuel Kandidziwa Malawi Self-study Advanced Project Management

Flocy Banda Malawi The University of Malawi Management Development Centre Enterprising Organisations

Thetiwe Muhome Malawi The University of Malawi Management Development Centre Principles of HR

Khwima Gabriel Kaunda Malawi The University of Malawi Management Development Centre Advanced Project Management

Bibi Saoudah Domun Mauritius Jhurry R (JR School) Finance for Managers

Marie Belinda Henri Mauritius Sagittarius (Centre For Information Technology and Business Studies) Employee Engagement

Indrawatee Sahaye Mauritius Sagittarius (Centre For Information Technology and Business Studies) Leading Strategic Change

Nidaa Bibi Tajoo Mauritius SNIT Business School Integrated Marketing Communications

Thwe Naw Zar Zaw Myanmar Ever Up College Business Strategy & Decision-making

Zune Lwin Myo Myanmar Strategy First Institute Corporate Finance

Zaw Zaw Aung Myanmar Strategy First Institute Corporate Finance

Temitope Olaitan-Adeyemi Nigeria Self-study Contemporary Developments in Global HRM

Shinana Hussain Republic of Maldives MAPS Strategic Stakeholder Relationships

Mariyam Faiz Republic of Maldives MAPS Strategic Stakeholder Relationships

Evelyn Listanco Herrera Republic of Maldives MAPS Digital Marketing Strategy / Strategic Marketing

Ahmed Sofwan Republic of Maldives MAPS Buyer & Consumer Behaviour

Aminata Amie Turay Sierra Leone Centre For Management and Entrepreneurship Developing International Markets

Hafsa Haroon Sri Lanka Next Campus International Business Economics & Markets

Thabile Precious Simelane Swaziland Mananga Centre for Regional Integration and Management Development Principles of HR

Nadia Saidi Mohamed Tanzania Financial Training Centre Business Essentials

Ahmed Noorally Fazal Tanzania Financial Training Centre Introduction to Entrepreneurship

La Vaughn Whiteman-Lively Trinidad and Tobago CTS School of Business and Computer Science Innovation & Business Performance

Shontell Primo Trinidad and Tobago School of Business & Computer Science Managing Stakeholder Relationships

Sasha Lewis Trinidad and Tobago SITAL College of Tertiary Education Strategic HRM

Marcia Natasha Alexander Trinidad and Tobago SITAL College of Tertiary Education Organisational Design, Development & Performance

Sona Mugunthan Zambia Zambia Centre For Accountancy Studies Dynamic Business Environments

Kirsten Nyirongo Zambia Zambia Centre For Accountancy Studies Managing Stakeholder Relationships

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Business skills for ambitious people