Massey on Massey
With a surname such as this, Claire could only work for one university in New Zealand, and she does.
In fact, Claire holds two very important roles with Massey University.
She is currently the director of the New Zealand Research Centre into Small and Medium Enterprise and head of the Department of Management at Massey University.
While Claire is reluctant to expand on her genealogical connection to the University, she is actually related to William Massey, of whom Massey University is named in honour. To make the connection even more relevant, William Massey, at the age of 21, imported one of New Zealand’s first threshing machines and leased it to local farmers, making profits enough to buy his own 100-acre farm – most definitely a small, and then medium, enterprise of the times.
Herself involved with small firms all her life, Claire remains extremely passionate about the role research can play in assisting small and medium enterprises to flourish.
Not content with a work load that would drown other mere mortals, she continues to take active roles in a raft of other enterprise-focused national and international bodies.
So just what is it that she believes she and her team of academics at Massey University can achieve for small and medium enterprise and just what fills her busy days in her current dual roles?
“People are my main focus daily. Not only do I have to oversee a huge group of academics but I am continually working to bring together the many groups in the community that support and drive SMEs towards success. I work hard to ensure everyone maintains a sense of connection to the real business world!”
When asked if she feels she and her researchers actually are making a real difference, Claire has no doubt that real progress continues to be achieved through her team’s efforts. “Today, academics are in touch with business in real terms; we have to be. Our clients, such as the New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development, demand real outcomes that can be transferred and applied to operating businesses.”
Claire’s work is still not without its frustrations and her current key goals focus on aligning the efforts of the many community-based organisations and Government agencies that seem to exist without any cohesive framework.
Claire is delighted with the new Massey University College of Business mission statement – creating leaders, transforming business.
“If we are to achieve the latter, we really need the former. I know my teams and I are achieving our goals when we receive feedback from real people in real business telling us that not only have we made a difference to their business but they found their involvement in our research programmes fun and refreshing.”
To find out more about Claire and Massey’s School of Business, use the following link: www.management.massey.ac.nz and follow the link to Research.
By Tony Hope
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