Scottsdale Healthcare supports ASU business center

Arizona State University’s School of Global Management and Leadership has received financial support from Scottsdale Healthcare to help fund the school’s development of a Center for Productivity, Innovation and Quality. The center will specialize in working with businesses to explore, investigate, and find solutions to industry-specific issues that are sustainable, responsible and pragmatic.

“We are grateful to Scottsdale Healthcare for their support,” says Dean Gary Waissi, School of Global Management and Leadership. “This resource will help the school move forward with its plans to develop the Center for Productivity, Innovation and Quality.

“The center will bring together leading-edge academic research with practical tools and extensive experience from collaborating closely with industry. This blend of rigorous research and practical application will place the center at the forefront of problem solving and productivity among the business community.”

Leading the efforts to develop the center are ASU’s Adegoke Oke and Mohan Gopalakrishnan, who note that ASU is currently developing collaborative relationships with such collegial peers as Dublin City University Business School, Ireland; Tech de Monterrey, Mexico; IBMEC-Sao Paulo, Brazil; Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada; and the University of Athens, Greece.

Among the industries that could benefit from establishing a partnership with the Center for Productivity, Innovation and Quality are healthcare, financial services, manufacturing-focused small businesses and retail.

“Our focus areas are operational and tactical issues,” says Oke, assistant professor of economics, finance and marketing in the School of Global Management and Leadership. “A project outcome might relate to productivity gains, cost reduction, delivery improvement, the transfer of technology or the adoption of technological innovation, or process innovation.”

The center will be one of only a few established academies devoted to the study of complex issues requiring a mixture of functional and thematic approaches. It is currently developing relationships with local businesses, academic centers and business schools both nationally and internationally. This network of relations will enhance the center’s ability to deliver regional and international interventions.

“We believe it is important for us to invest in the creation of this important center because of its tremendous potential and value to the healthcare community.” says Todd LaPorte, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Scottsdale Healthcare. “The center’s healthcare forums will create dialogue among leaders in the industry, helping us tackle critical issues through cutting edge research.”

Ultimately, the center will bring together networks of companies to collaboratively identify and tackle common issues. Under the guidance of the center, the School of Global Management and Leadership will conduct a series of roundtables that will encourage a vigorous exchange of ideas between the center and the companies involved.

“The new center has the potential of bringing faculty and practitioners together to work on thematic research that addresses real life managerial issues,” says Waissi. “The center is evidence of ASU’s continued commitment to addressing economic workforce development.”

ASU students also will benefit from the creation of the center. By linking research, coursework, and entrepreneurial thinking with practical guidance for future entrepreneurs, the center will connect education to entrepreneurship and provide students exposure to valuable real-world experiences in the classroom.

“Our students will receive the opportunity to work with local businesses, exchange knowledge, get an inside view on industry needs, and build relationships that can lead to new collaborations,” says Waissi. “The center will also allow the school to develop international links that will open up opportunities for our students to engage with institutions and organizations worldwide.

“The Center for Productivity, Innovation and Quality will put the School of Global Management and Leadership and its partnership team on the cutting edge of workforce transformation.”

For additional information about the center contact 602-543-6200.