MBA Solvay Blog

Bio-synopsis: Marc Labie is Professor at the Warocqué Business School of the University of Mons (UMONS) where he teaches organization studies and management. He is visiting professor at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (ULB) and lecturing in the FIPED Executive Program at the Kennedy School of Government (Harvard University). With Ariane Szafarz and Marek Hudon (both from SBS-EM) he is one of the co-founders and co-directors of the Centre for European Research in Microfinance (CERMi), a research centre developed within the Académie Wallonie-Bruxelles as a partnership between the ULB (SBS-EM) and the UMONS (FWEG). His current research focuses on management and corporate governance issues in microfinance.

Areas of Expertise: microfinance, nonprofits management, and governance. Education: Degree course in Economics and Social Science (1992) and Ph.D. in Business Administration (1998), both at UMONS.Teaching in the MBA Solvay since: 2005. Course(s) taught at the MBA Solvay: “Microfinance: from conception to management” (European Microfinance Programme), “Nonprofits Management” (MBA)
Why have you chosen a career in teaching?
Since I was a teenager, I was deeply interested in economic and social development issues. So when I was offered a job as a research and teaching assistant in management, I was happy to accept it, provided I would be free to devote my research to microfinance organizations, a field which was not perceived as very interesting at the time, but which got much more attention later on. That’s how I became involved in teaching. I live in a family where many people have a vocation for teaching; I have to admit that this was not my case originally but I have come up to liking it, even though I have to recognize that I am still more interested in field research.
Why do you teach at the MBA Solvay?
While I was getting involved with our microfinance projects, I was asked by Daniel Traça (who was in charge of the MBA at that time) whether I would accept to teach a course on “nonprofits management”. I was very pleased to accept this proposition for two reasons. First, because I think that a modern MBA education should include an introduction to nonprofits organizations as they represent a major reality in today’s world. Second, because my research in microfinance (specifically on governance) and my involvement in numerous nonprofits since high school has totally convinced me that a lot can be done for nonprofits and the accomplishment of their missions just by improving their management practices. So being part of this agenda makes sense to me.
How is MBA Solvay different from other schools and programmes you have taught in?
For me, the great aspects with the course I am teaching in the MBA Solvay is the partnerships that came with it. First in the design of the course itself. In order to identify the right contents, I was fortunate to benefit from very interesting discussions with some colleagues – and here I would like to give a special thanks to Daniel Traça and Eric De Keuleneer who did contribute a lot to this brainstorming. Then in running the programme itself. Indeed the course is based on a partnership established with Toolbox and Triodos which both support the course in order to offer MBA students the opportunity to work on real consulting jobs. Indeed the assessment of the course is based on team work where teams are composed of one or two MBA students, one volunteer from Toolbox (a Belgian NGO which has specialized in helping other nonprofits to improve their management practices) and an executive coming from the very nonprofits in which those analyses will be conducted. This combination creates a great experience and tremendously enriches the interest of the course.
What are the most important qualities needed to be a successful manager and especially in the nonprofit sector?
I think that in nonprofits, it is even more important than in for-profit firms to be true to the real mission of the organization as it is the core of what a NPO is about. So, having a clear vision of this mission and being honestly and deeply true to it should be the first quality that a nonprofit manager should have. Once this is said, I believe that most of the other qualities required are the same as for any other organization with maybe a little more orientation towards stakeholders analysis as nonprofits tend to be by nature more stakeholders-oriented than regular firms. From that point of view, I even think that many for-profit firms often have a lot to learn from nonprofits, therefore giving another justification to why a “nonprofits management” course fits well in the MBA.
How do you think your courses at the MBA Solvay prepare students for a responsible managerial career?
It may be a little presumptuous to respond to this question but let’s just say that any teacher in the world is trying to prepare his/her students to be responsible citizens and professionals in the field he/she is teaching. To which extent do we succeed in doing this, particularly in business schools? I honestly feel that this is – at least – opened to discussion. But it should be our goal.
What are your five priorities for the MBA?
First of all, I think any university program should aim at turning their students into true intellectuals (Yes I dare use the word!), that is, people who are able to use their skills and knowledge to “think the world” and make sense of their own actions. That should be the top priority. For the MBA more specifically, I think that the great added value is in the mix of profile, experience, and background that characterizes a MBA class. So, building bridges and coming up with creative but relevant applied solutions should be part of the specific agenda of such a program.
Any suggested readings?!
There are quite a few ways of answering this question.
If you ask me what I am reading the most, it is by far newsmagazines and newspapers. In this category, my « personal » suggestion is to combine “Le Monde Diplomatique” and “The Economist”; makes for a great cocktail !
If you are asking for references related to my teaching in the MBA, then I would suggest to combine three books : “Nonprofit Organizations – Theory, management, policy” by Helmut Anheier (2005, Routledge, 450 pages), “Managerial Economics in Non-Profit Organizations” by Marc Jegers (from the VUB), (2008, Routledge,165 pages), and -older and harder to find, but very nice-, “Strategic Management for Nonprofit Organizations – Theory and cases” by Sharon Oster (1995, Oxford University Press, 350 pages).
If at last, you are asking me what are the books that I would take along for a solitary lifetime on an island, then my choice (not very original I am afraid except maybe for the combination) would be: “Development as Freedom” by Amartya Sen, “Cien años de soledad” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and, last but certainly not least, “The Name of the Rose” by Umberto Eco.
What do you do in your free time?!
There are many things that I like to do. Swimming, reading in my bath tub, listening to Jazz music, having a glass of wine with good friends, taking long walks alone (I agree with Olivier Witmeur, it helps clarify stuff!), discovering new places (I love to travel) and more than anything else, having great times with my two boys. Whatever we do in life, as far as I am concerned, there is nothing like being a father; beats everything !

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