MONA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Professor Neville Ying, BSc, MA, PhD Maryland
– Executive Director
WORK OF THE SCHOOL
During the academic year 2006-2007,MSB continued to emphasise the
personal development of our students.
Students were exposed to personal
development courses to hone “soft skills”
in areas such as communication, business
etiquette as well as action and service
learning. In an effort to facilitate the
UWI’s approach to student centeredness,
quarterly meetings have been introduced
in which student representatives and staff
are involved in strategic discussions for the
repositioning of the MSB.
The School now offers a full-time programme for its MBA and a seven
(7) day week in terms of delivery options for part-time students with the
introduction of a Saturday and Sunday option. With these options,
students have a range of choices, Sunday to Saturday, during the day
and in the evenings.
Student & Programme Affairs
Introduction of Personal Development Electives
As an integral part of the quality improvement process for our
programmes, this year we implemented the new personal development
electives, replacing the seminar series. These electives include: Public
Speaking; Ethics in Business; and Learning through Service and Action
Learning. These electives are part of the School’s response to needs
expressed by students.
The MBA full-time group were the first to take two new electives –
Ethics in Business and Public Speaking. MBA part-time Cohort 10
students followed, opting for Career Development, Public Speaking and
Social and Business Etiquette. All electives received positive feedback
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from students with the high point being the course work assignment for
Business and Social Etiquette which required students to plan and
execute formal functions to demonstrate the ability to apply what they
learned. Topics covered included: - Social &Office Decorum; Business
Protocol & Ethics; The importance of personal grooming: Com-
munication Etiquette; Entertaining & Dining Etiquette.
Scholarships
Since 2004 the School has awarded a total of nine (9) Scholarships to
deserving students, including the annual Scotiabank Jamaica
Foundation / Sir Alister McIntyre Scholarship.
Quality Assurance
External Examiners Meetings
The external examination process is an important mechanism for
quality assurance in the School and the comments of examiners have
always been a source of valuable recommendations for maintaining and
improving standards. Our External Examiners are all from overseas
business schools with which MSB has had established institutional
relationships. The examiners’ meetings formally assess students’
performance and declare those eligible for graduation. The current
external examiners are: Professor Christopher Ross, Concordia
University, Canada; Professor Robert McGowan, University of Denver,
USA; Professor Jack Stevens, Penn State University, USA; Professor
Edward Davis, Clark Atlanta University, USA; Professor Paul
Simmonds, University of the Virgin Islands, USA.
Once again, the recommendations of the external examiners congealed
around the importance of attaining world class standards in all aspects
of our programmes and seeking to validate this attainment through the
involvement of formal accreditation bodies. The year closed on the
positive note of the school accelerating this process through
collaborative efforts involving the Arthur Lok Jack Business School, the
Cave Hill Business School and the British based Association of MBA’s
(AMBA).
MSB Annual Awards Ceremony 2006
The Annual MSB Awards Ceremony held on November 29, 2006 was
the special event for the graduating class of the Diploma in Business
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Administration and Special Awards for persons who did exceptionally
well in the EMBA and MBA programmes. The guest speaker for the
ceremony was Mr Colm Delves, CEO of the Digicel Group.
Graduating Class
One hundred and sixty-three (163) MSB students (EMBA/MBA) were
members of the UWI graduating Class of 2006. In addition, the School
saw forty-three (43) students graduating from our Diploma in Business
Administration Programme as well as nine (9) students graduating with
Certificates for completion of the Summer Electives Programme.
The prestigious award for Most Outstanding Academic Performance -
The Executive Director’s Award was presented to Kareen Henlon –
MBA and The Principal’s Award for Leadership was presented to
Anthony Edwards – EMBA; Kera Fairweather – MBA Full-time;
Richard Blake & Dwight Lawrence - MBA Part-time; and Odelley
Henry –MBA Part-time Sundays.
The following students graduated with distinction:
 EMBA – Kasey Bourne, Stephanie Corcho, Janet Ferguson-
Conie, Orville Forrest, Patsy Latchman-Atterbury, Janice
Richards, Lloyd Smith.
 MBA Full-Time – Annetet Daley, Kareen Henlon, Nadine
Lewis-Smith, Terise Kettle.
 MBA Part-Time – Colin Atkinson, Georgia Balfour, Richard
Blake; Keisha Cardoza, Khayon Desouza-White, Sherrie
Johnson, Claudine Murray, Suzanne Parkin, Keron Phillips-
Jackson, Lisa Prince, Vennecia Scott, Kevin Turner, Opal
Whyte.
Diploma in Business Administration
During the year under review, one hundred and thirteen students were
enrolled in this programme. Cohort 7 - fifty-two (52) students and
cohort 8 - sixty-one (61) students.
Executive Development Courses (EDC)
The Mona School of Business expanded its offerings of management
education by re-introducing Executive Development Courses in
Business Management. Designed to meet the specific needs of the
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business community, these courses provided executives, managers and
other senior staff in private and public sector companies with the tools
to acquire or sharpen the skills needed in today’s competitive business
environment. These courses are designed to complement the existing
programmes of the EMBA, MBA and the Diploma in Business
Administration. The courses were structured to provide tools that
participants could use immediately in their organizations.
The courses offered during 2006 / 2007 were in the categories of:
 Business Communication
 Financial Management
 Project Management
 Negotiation
 Telecommunications Policy & Technology Management
During this academic year, approximately two hundred and ninety two
(292) persons participated in twenty-six (26) offerings of sixteen (16)
courses.
Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA)
The Mona School of Business (MSB), Jamaica, the Cave Hill School of
Business (CHSB), Barbados and the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School
of Business (ALJGSB), Trinidad, collaborated on the development of a
new post graduate academic programme - the Doctorate of Business
Administration (DBA). Professor Neville Ying, Professor Edwin Jones,
Professor Evan Duggan, Mrs. Sandy Alvaranga and Mrs Olivene Burke
spearheaded the development of this programme on behalf of the Mona
School of Business.
The aim of the programme is to:-
 Develop a cadre of business leaders trained at the highest level
 Make Caribbean firms more competitive globally
 Increase the pool of doctoral graduates in the teaching
community
The main emphasis will be applied research; practical business
solutions; testing of existing theories and preparation for executive
business management. The four year part-time programme will consist
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of taught courses, followed by a comprehensive examination in the first
two years, coupled with research and a dissertation.
The DBA programme was launched on June 27, 2007 at the Mona
School of Business by Professor Nigel Harris, Vice Chancellor, UWI
with representatives from the three Business Schools in attendance.
The programme is expected to commence in January 2008.
SPECIAL EVENTS
MSB Open House
The Annual Open House Day for the academic year 2006/07 was held
at the School on January 17, 2007. Over one hundred persons accepted
the School’s invitation. Attendees were taken on tours of the Alister
McIntyre complex and were introduced to faculty and staff and listened
to lively presentations on the University, MSB and the potential
academic and practical gains possible as a result of studying at MSB.
Representatives from several Financial Institutions offering educational
loan services also participated in the day’s activities.
Human Resources Appreciation Luncheon
The School hosted Human Resources Practitioners from the private
and public sectors at a luncheon on January 23, 2007 at the Mona
Visitors’ Lodge.
The Centre for Leadership and Governance
The new Centre for Leadership and Governance which is a
collaborative effort between the Department of Government and the
Mona School of Business was launched on January 31, 2007 at the
Mona Visitor’s Lodge&Conference Centre by His Excellency theMost
Honourable Professor Kenneth O. Hall, ON, OJ. This was followed by a
special forum on Social Capital hosted by the Governor General at
King’s House on April 13-14, 2007.
Institutional Relationships
The School hosted Professor IanMcDonald, President Emeritus of York
University from March 6-8, 2007. Professor McDonald’s visit was the
result of efforts to establish a collaborative relationship between the
MSB, the Departments of the Faculty of Social Sciences and the
Schulich Business School of York University.
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Telecommunications Policy and Management Programme
The Telecommunications Policy and Management Programme
completed its second successful academic year. During the year under
review TPM programme achieved its major strategic planning
objectives and accomplished important goals in a wide range of
operational areas, including:
 Approval by the UWI’s Board of Graduate Studies of a UWI-
wide Master of Science Degree Programme in
Telecommunications Policy and Technology Management to
be led by the TPM Programme of MSB.
 Strengthening of the role of TPM as a strategic node in the
ITU’s Caribbean Centres of Excellence Programme, including
participation in one of its CTU-led regional capacity building
courses, recently held in Trinidad and Tobago.
 Completion of a consultancy in the development of the draft
National ICT Strategic Plan 2007-2012, for Jamaica’s Central
Information Technology Office (CITO), and co-authored by
TPMDirector, DrHopetonDunn and Professor EvanDuggan,
MSB.
 Leadership of the Northern Caribbean component of an
African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) World Bank InfoDev
Research consultancy on ICT and Regulatory Capacity
Building.
 Active participation by TPM in the ICT Sector Task Force for
the Planning Institute of Jamaica’s (PIOJ’s) National
Development Plan ‘Towards Developed Country Status by
2030’, including leadership of the Cultural Content and
Creativity component.
 Institutional Co-ordination of the MSB Online Delivery
programme, including planning and management of a two-
week School-wide training programme in Online Course
Design and Delivery using the Moodle open-source platform
led by anOnline Training Specialist, Mr. Pieter van der Hijden
of Amsterdam in early June 2007. An associated specialized
Mona Campus Workshop was also hosted by MSB.
 Delivery of a highly specialized, practical training course in
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Session Initiation
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Protocol (SIP) technologies to a diverse group of twenty two
(22) senior industry engineers and technical specialists, as part
of the regional ITU Centres of Excellence programme.
 Through the TPM Programme the MSB received two
fellowships for participation in the ITU Centres of Excellence
Training of Trainers’ Programme in the specific area of Online
Education. Two MSB staff members, Allison Brown and
Ingrid Bennett Lewis, were trained in the use of WebCT for
the delivery of courses
 Completed an Island-wide Quantitative Household Survey on
Patterns of Usage of Mobile (cellular) Telephony, especially by
low income users in Jamaica as part of a wider regional project,
led by the TPM-linked research forum called Regional
Dialogue on the Information Society (DIRSI).
Executive Development Series
The annual Think Tank was hosted by the School from November 17-
19, 2006 at the Ritz-Carlton Golf and Spa Resort. Approximately fifty
(50) CEO’s of major Jamaican companies and the Public Sector met to
discuss issues vital to the future of Jamaica. The theme for the Think
Tank was “Creating Opportunities: Making Jamaica Competitive”.
The speaker at the opening ceremony was the Most Honourable Mrs
Portia Simpson Miller, ON, Prime Minister of Jamaica. Other speakers
included representatives from the Inter-American Dialogue; the Inter-
American Bank (IDB) and Stanford University Graduate School of
Business Development.
Jamaica Diaspora Institute
The Mona School of Business has been working with the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade for more structured involvement of
the Jamaica Diaspora in national development. It is planned that a
Diaspora Foundation will be established with a Diaspora Institute as its
operational arm.
Labour Studies Programme
 The Labour Studies Unit continued collaboration with the
Faculties of Pure and Applied Science and Medical Sciences
providing programme development and support for the new
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Masters and PhD programmes in Occupational and
Environmental Safety and Health (OESH).
 Research continued on the study of Labour Administration:
Strategic Response to Transformational Forces: Case Study of
the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Jamaica. This case
is being developed in collaboration with Professor Richard
Phidd, former Professor at the University of Guelph, Canada.
Research & Policy Group (RPG)
An integral and important component of the work of the RPG Group is
the organization of seminars, symposia, conferences and policy
proposals using research data. There are two outcomes that result from
these activities, namely academic publications and research policy
guidelines. The on-going curriculum improvement process to enrich
teaching material for the EMBA/MBA programmes, now has a number
of Jamaican Business Cases in Marketing. The Financial Crisis Study
Report has been completed and awaiting publication.
Mr. Claude Robinson was Co-organizer of the annual Caribbean Media
Conference in observance ofWorld Press FreedomDay, May 2-3, 2007,
in St Lucia. The Conference was co-sponsored by UNESCO, Caribbean
Broadcasting Union and The University of the West Indies, Mona,
CARIMAC and Research and Policy Group, MSB. As chairman of the
Legislative and Policy Committee of the Broadcasting Commission, Mr.
Robinson participated in seminars with leaders of the media and
entertainment industries on application of broadcast regulations on
problematic content over the airwaves and on cable.
The manuscript for a book on Media and Violence in Jamaica was
completed by Claude Robinson and co-edited with Dr. Marjan deBruin
of CARIMAC.
The Office of the Principal commissioned a UNESCO report focussing
on higher education in the Caribbean. Dr Vanus James, School for
Graduate Studies and Research, UWI, Mona, Olivene Burke, Research
Officer, MSB and Lynette Housty, Consultant (Guyana) collaborated
in the preparation of the report onHigher Education in the Caribbean:
Postgraduate Activity in the Region. This report aimed to provide an
interpretation of the historical record and relevance to development of
investment in postgraduate education in English-speaking Caribbean
countries.
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Mrs Olivene Burke prepared the University of the West Indies, Mona
Campus Self Study Document in January 2007, in preparation for the
registration visit to the University by the University Council of Jamaica
(UCJ).
Conferences / Symposia / Special Lectures
The School hosted or partnered with the private /public sectors for the
following conferences / symposia / fora /workshops:
 Telework Consultation Workshop
 Public Consultation for the Montego Bay Stakeholder
Community on the National ICT Strategy
 Institute of Management Consultants of Jamaica (IMCJ) -
MSB Conference
 Special Forum on “New Directions for Development Banking
in the Caribbean”
 International Labour Organization (ILO)/MSB Employers
Organizations Workshop-CAMEO – The Caribbean
Academy for the Management of Employers’ Organizations
 Special Social Policy Forum – “Strengthening Social Capital”.
Sponsored Research Projects / Surveys
WEF Executive Opinion Survey
The School in collaboration with the Private Sector Organization of
Jamaica (PSOJ), both Partner Institutes of the Global Competitiveness
Network of the World Economic Forum, once again conducted the
annual Executive Opinion Survey of Jamaica’s leading firms from the
major sectors of the economy. The study is the world’s leading cross-
country comparison of issues relating to economic competitiveness and
growth. Data from Jamaica and approximately one hundred and
twenty-five (125) other countries are used to rank countries on two
complementary but separate indices: (i) the Growth Competitiveness
Index which aims “to measure the capacity of the national economy to
achieve sustained economic growth over the medium term, controlling
for the current level of economic development” and (ii) the Business
Competitiveness Index which examines the underlying conditions
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defining the sustainable level of productivity. The Executive Opinion
Survey contributes to the preparation of the annual Global
Competitiveness Report. This project is coordinated by Ms Patricia
Douce and Ms Michelle Tomlinson.
Family and Women-Owned Businesses
The research done on Jamaica’s family- and women-owned businesses
continues to gain traction with the invitation of Dr. Lawrence
Nicholson, Lecturer, to two conferences that covered issues related to
these areas of business. In addition to the two conferences, Dr.
Nicholson is in the process of preparing the following: (i) a course
outline for a short course or seminar on family-owned businesses in
Jamaica and (ii) a course outline for an MBA/EMBA elective in family-
owned and women-owned businesses in Jamaica. This is in keeping
with the trend in many Business Schools across the globe.
Entrepreneurial Development Activities
There were two major areas of activity under entrepreneurial
development, the UWI Venture Competition and the Vincent HoSang
Programme.
UWI Venture Challenge Competition 2006/07
Promotions and invitations for entry to the UWI Venture Challenge
Competition was launched in August 2006. A total of eight business
plans were received from MBA, MSc and MIS students.
The team Petroleum Delivery Management System (PDMS) was
identified as the winner of the UWIVC after competing in the final
round on February 7, 2007 against the team Mini-Jamaica which was
awarded second place.
The UWI’s participants in the OFC Venture Challenge at Clark
Atlanta University, USA last year earned 3rd place. The team’s project
Fun Source proposed to offer a multi-service childcare centre for
children between the ages of three months and twelve years old. This
year’s team -Petroleum Delivery Management System (PDMS)
competed with eighteen other teams from American Universities and
placed sixth.
Mrs Patricia Lothian andMr Gavin Beckford were the Faculty Advisors
for this project with coordination by Ms Michelle Tomlinson.
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Vincent HoSang Entrepreneurship Programme – “Students to
Entrepreneurs” Since its inception in November 2002, some thirty (30)
projects have been evaluated and processed through the programme.
For the period 2006/07, three teams participated in the Programme:-
Ellington Foods, Mini Jamaica and Petroleum Delivery Management
System (PDMS). Mrs Patricia Lothian is the Staff Advisor for this
project with coordination by Ms Michelle Tomlinson.
PAPERS PRESENTED
Burke, O.
• “Justification for a Caribbean/Regional Accreditation Model”.
School of Education, Faculty of Education and Humanities,
UWI, March 2007.
• “The Theoretical Framework and Research design: Informing
the investigation for Caribbean/Regional Quality Assurance
and Accreditation”. UWI, Mona, June 2007.
Duggan, E.
• “Mentoring and Sponsorship of the Tenure-Track Assistant
Professor”. 10th Anniversary Celebration of the US-based
Information Systems Doctoral Student Association, Acapulco,
Mexico, August 2006.
• (with Rao, L., and Mansingh, G.) “Toward an Ontology in the
Domain of Information Systems Delivery and Evolution”, 12th
Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS),
Acapulco, Mexico, August 2006.
Dunn, H.
• “Global Trends and Jamaican Media Transitions”. Caribbean
Media Conference 2006, Kingston, Jamaica, September 2006.
• “Challenges and Opportunities of the Evolving Media and
Communications Environment”. Rotary Club of Mandeville,
Golf View Hotel, September 2006.
• “Intervention Strategies for a Crime-Free Tomorrow”. The
Petersfield Community Awards Presentation Ceremony,
Westmoreland, October 2006.
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• “Genderstanding Mobile Telephony: Women, Men and their
Use of Cellular Phones in the Caribbean”. A DIRSI Working
Meeting, Montevideo, Uruguay, November 2006.
• “Working in the Digital Domain: Communication
Technologies and New Media”. UWI Mona Research Day
2007, January 2007.
• “Communication Technologies, Marketing and New Media”.
Seminar by the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTECH),
Jamaica Conference Centre, Kingston, March 2007.
• “Global Technologies and the Business of Jamaican Culture”.
United Nations Small Island Developing States (UN-SIDS)
Conference, Victoria, Mahe, The Seychelles, South Pacific,
April 2007.
• “Mobile Opportunities: Poverty and TelephonyAccess in Latin
America and the Caribbean”, Preliminary Quantitative
Results. Special Researchers Consultative Seminar, Lima, Peru,
July 2007.
Nicholson, L.
• “Debunking the Myths about Family and Women-owned
Businesses in Jamaica: Towards a Policy Framework”. 7th
Annual Hawaii Conference on Business, May 2007.
Robinson, C.
• “Reporting Crime and Violence in the Media in the Caribbean
in observance of World Press Freedom Day. Annual Caribbean
Media Conference, St Lucia, May 2007.
• “Developments in the Pan-Caribbean Media Environment”.
Caribbean Media Conference and Expo, Hilton Hotel,
Kingston, September 2006.
Ying, N.
• “Capacity Building of NGO’s- The Need for Transformational
and Transactional Leadership”. UWI/ HARP Workshop with
NGO’s, Kingston, August 2006.
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PUBLICATIONS
Books & Monographs
* Dunn, H. (2007) Emancipation: The Lessons and the Legacy,
Ian Randle Publishers, Kingston, JA.
* Evans, H., and Burke, O. “National Repost on Higher
Education in Jamaica”, Higher Education: Caribbean
Perspectives. ed. by Kenneth O. Hall and Rose Marie
Cameron: Ian Randles Publishers, 2007, p. 314.
Refereed Journal Articles
* Chevers, D., and Duggan, E. “A Modified Capability
Framework for Improving Software Production Processes in
Jamaican Organizations.” The Electronic Journal of
Information Systems in Developing Countries, 30, 4 (2007):
1-18.
Other Peer Reviewed Publications
* Campbell, G., and Duggan, E. “Does Organizational Quality
Culture Influence Information Systems Delivery Quality and
Success?” In the Proceedings of the 37th Annual Conference
of the Decision Sciences Institute, San Antonio, TX,
November 2006
* Chevers, D. and Duggan, E. “Assessing Software Process
Maturity andDiscipline in Small Caribbean Enterprises”. The
Proceedings of the 12thAmericas Conference on Information
Systems (AMCIS), Acapulco, Mexico, August 2006.
Technical Reports
* “A Report on Higher Education in the Caribbean:
Postgraduate Activity in the Region” by Vanus James, School
for Graduate Studies and Research, UWI, Mona, Olivene
Burke, Research Officer, MSB and Lynette Housty,
Consultant (Guyana), July 2006
* “E-Powering Jamaica: The National ICT Strategic Plan 2007-
2012” by Hopeton Dunn and Evan Duggan, submitted to the
Central Information Technology Office (CITO), January
2007).
* “Industry Needs Analysis for the Telecommunications
component of the planned Caribbean Regulatory Research
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Centre” – TPM in conjunction with Organization of
Caribbean Utilities Regulators (OOCUR) – Final Report
submitted Caribbean Regulatory Research Centre (CRRC) in
June 2007
* “Telework: New Forms of Work and Employment
Opportunities in the Caribbean” by Noel Cowell and
Hopeton Dunn, submitted to IDRC, January 2007.
PUBLIC SERVICE
Mr Harry Abrikian
– Director, Ian Randle Publishing
– Director, Business Recovery Services Limited
– Chairman, Stock Analysis Committee, Jamaica Stock
Exchange
– CVSS/United Way- Programmes & Technical Assistance
Committee
Mr Anthony Barnes
– Board Member, Port Services
– Board Member, Jamaica Manufacturers Association
Mrs Olivene Burke
– Member, Caribbean Area Network for Quality Assurance in
Tertiary Education
– Member, Society for Human Resource Management
– Member, Human Resource Management Association of
Jamaica
– Member & Secretary, Board of Governance, Hope Valley
Experimental School
Mr Kamau Chionesu
– Economic & Social Analyst, Jamaicans For Justice
– Research Advisor, Economic and Social Justice Project
Professor Evan Duggan
– Member, Target Growth Competitive Committee (TGCC) of
the Private Sector Development Programme
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– Member, Global Editorial Review Board (ERB), Idea-Group
Publishing
– Associate Editor, Communications of the Association for
Information Systems Journal
– Associate Editor, Alternative Approaches to Information
Systems Development Track for International Conference on
Information Systems
– Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Journal of Organizational
and End User Computing
– Member, International Editorial Review Board of the
Advances in End User Computing (AEUC) Book Series
Dr Hopeton Dunn
– Chairman, Creative Production and Training Centre
– Member, Board ofManagement, National Library of Jamaica
– Member, Jamaica Commission for UNESCO
– Chairman, Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica
Mrs Patricia Lothian
– Member, Jamaica South African Association
– Member, Special Olympics, Jamaica
– Board Member, FISH Medical Dental & Eye Clinic
Mr Claude Robinson
– Board Member, Michael Manley Foundation
– Board Member, Commissioner, Broadcasting Commission of
Jamaica
– Chairman, Legislative and Policy Committee, Broadcasting
Commission of Jamaica
Professor Neville Ying
– Chairman, Overseas Examinations Commission
– Technical Adviser, Caribbean Examinations Council on
Measurement and Evaluation
– Council Member, Jamaica Employers’ Federation
– Adviser, Government of Jamaica team to the ILO,
Conference in Geneva
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– Chairman, Mico Foundation
– Deputy Chairman, Mico College, Board of Governors
– Chairman, Jamaica Flour Mills Foundation
– Director, MultiCare Foundation
– Director, University Council of Jamaica
– Director, First Caribbean International Bank
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