1. Evaluation of decisions of Katrin Muff
Although Business School of Lausanne, founded in Switzerland by Dr. John Hobbs, is rather young, it already has its own history and traditions. With regards to the times of its foundation and growth phase, its competitive advantage on the market was that it was quite different from other business schools of Switzerland due to its practical approach. However, as time passed and Lemania Group acquired BSL, it became obvious that some changes should be done. That is why in 2008 Katrin Muff, an alumni of BSL and a successful business woman, was invited to become the Dean of BSL and to implement a new efficient business development strategy. A new broom sweeps clean, so Katrin Muff was brave enough to change a lot to make BSL more prosperous than its competitors. Katrin Muff is an ambitious person, having a lot of innovative ideas in her head, but is it so reasonable to put all of them to life right now?
Regarding the situation on the market, it is quite obvious that the number of BSL’s competitors has been constantly rising due to the rising demand for MBA and EMBA programs in contemporary business environment. According to the data presented, there are more than 20 universities and business schools providing MBA and EMBA programs in Switzerland. Moreover, the process of globalization has created new challenges for business schools. From this point of view, Katrin Muff’s enthusiasm about innovating BSL and its educational programs has proved its value. Moreover, Katrin Muff has conducted a compelling research of the school position on the market (e.g. SWOT analysis, interviews and questionnaires, etc.), which shows the necessity of the changes suggested by Katrin Muff. She has analyzed the stakeholders’ desires and tried to understand and focus on the expectations of each of them. That is why, in my opinion, the differentiation strategy, implemented by Katrin Muff will definitely bring results and benefits