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Online brand-management course offered through eCornell

Key to the success of any business is how well its brands are managed. Brand perception drives decisions and actions, making brand management one of the most important aspects of business strategy.

Cornell’s online Brand Management certificate program is ideal for business and marketing professionals, and provides the essential framework to build, manage and enhance a brand.

“This program takes a comprehensive look at brand management, enabling participants to develop a strategic approach to running their brand,” said Chekitan S. Dev, program co-author and professor of marketing in the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. “Understanding and analyzing the purpose of your brand … and how it will achieve success is crucial to the long-term success of any business.”

“Every touch point with a consumer conveys brand meaning and should build the brand,” said Patti Mandel ’83, M.B.A. ’85, program co-author and visiting lecturer at the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. “This program covers how to develop a deep understanding of the brand and the world in which it exists.”

Available online through eCornell, this program will cover critical aspects of brand management. The certificate program consists of six two-week courses:

  • Brand Purpose
  • Brand Strategy
  • Brand Positioning
  • Brand Planning
  • Brand Activation
  • Brand Measurement

After completing the six courses, participants earn a brand management certificate from SC Johnson. Visit the eCornell website for more information.

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CALS, eCornell, specialty food group team up for training

Fair trade. Organic. Gluten-free.

Twelve years ago, specialty foods were a mere 4% of U.S. retail food sales. By 2018, they accounted for 15% – almost $150 billion in sales – and the industry continues to grow.

Consumer interest in specialty foods has grown so quickly, companies and universities have struggled to keep up with the need for training the entrepreneurs, distributors and retailers who are working to meet the demand. That’s why the Specialty Food Association (SFA), eCornell and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences have teamed up to create an online certificate training program: the Professional Food Buyer Course.

The new course – the first in eCornell’s nearly 20-year history to be developed with a food industry partner – will be available exclusively through the eCornell platform on June 22.

“If you look at disciplines and you look at college preparation, there’s really no ‘specialty food department’ that will train people to do this kind of job,” said Robert Gravani, professor emeritus of food science and head of the project. “Most people are already in the business and grow into the buyer position; they’re not formally trained in it.”

That transition can be difficult for food buyers, distributors and retailers, who are accustomed to working with larger companies that have mastered the logistics of growing, packaging, storing, distributing and marketing a food item. For small startups and entrepreneurs, which supply the bulk of the fast-growing specialty food market, working out the steps of the supply chain in coordination with buyers is crucial for their success, said Ron Tanner, vice president of philanthropy, government and industry relations for the SFA.

“Specialty food buyers may discover a new product and fall in love with it, but they may not realize how the supply chain would work for them to get the product,” Tanner said. “A large company like a Wegmans or a Whole Foods wants to get that product on the shelves, but if you don’t know the capacity for the producer to actually deliver a consistent product, you’ll end up with out-of-stocks and other problems.”

In developing this collaborative course, Cornell faculty and staff interacted regularly with an SFA Advisory Council to discuss where training was needed, and drafts of the course were reviewed and improved by both teams, said Julie Stafford, who recently retired as industry liaison officer for the Cornell Institute for Food Systems.

“This was a new step for CALS and eCornell … but I think it’s totally in keeping with the public-private partnership approach that CALS has really been known for,” Stafford said. “I think we’ll be doing more initiatives like this in the future.”

SFA reached out to several universities and industry groups about developing the course, Tanner said. They ultimately chose to partner with Cornell because of the university’s demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across disciplines.

For example, Stafford said, food service is a new growth area for specialty foods, and Cornell Dining helped develop parts of the course.

“The real thing that sold us on Cornell,” Tanner said, “was that the various schools – food science, nutrition, business, hotel administration – everyone seemed to have something to contribute and everyone was willing to work together to make this a better product.”

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Cornell’s new certificate program boosts presentation skills to further career growth

The ability to present on any subject, in any place, to any audience is an invaluable asset for every professional. According a Forbes report on a new survey, seventy percent of Americans who give presentations agree that strong presentation skills are critical to their success at work. Yet twenty percent of survey respondents said they would do almost anything to avoid giving a presentation.

Today’s accomplished working professionals lead through their ability to communicate information and emotion effectively, even in the most intimidating circumstances. Cornell’s new Executive Presence certificate program will help learners conquer performance anxiety, refine public speaking skills, and build confidence, with the end goal of maximizing speaker-listener connection and furthering career growth.

“Executive Presence is not magic,” says faculty author David Feldshuh, Professor of Performing and Media Arts, Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences. “It’s a skillset that learners can master with practice and experience.”

The course teaches the learner how to use breathing, visual focus, voice, and gesture to deliver authentic and engaging presentations in a wide variety of settings, from formal speeches to personal interviews. Through the use of video feedback, self-coaching questions, rubric self-analysis, and expert real-time coaching, students learn to diminish restrictive presentation habits, including performance anxiety and mannerisms, and work to become more responsive and expressive. They gain increased insight by watching others present, and understand more fully the importance of effective body language and vocal variety.

“It’s not about achieving perfection or competing with someone else,” says Dr. Feldshuh. “In this class, you compete with yourself. The core skills, analytical tools, and transformative training exercises are intended to position the learner for a lifetime of development. A fundamental learning goal is for learners to know themselves as presenters, and become experts in self-coaching to ensure continued improvement after the course is completed.”

Aspiring leaders, managers, senior leaders and executives, CEOs, actors and performers, and anyone who wants to strengthen his or her ability to connect with others while speaking will find value in this certificate program, which is available online through eCornell.

Upon successful completion of the Executive Presence certificate program, which consists of a single, 15-week course, learners earn an Executive Presence Certificate from Cornell College of Arts and Sciences, and 60 professional development hours.

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eCornell program will help leaders navigate change

Great leaders are always looking ahead, embracing change instead of resisting it and recognizing that the world has changed dramatically in the 21st century.

To prepare managers to lead effectively through “VUCA” (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity), Cornell has launched the VUCA Leadership certificate program. Available online through eCornell, this certificate program will help leaders develop internal strengths and strategic skills, and improve their ability to influence people both within their organization and outside of it to accomplish their vision.

“When organizational leaders are able to identify and reduce the impact of VUCA in the workplace, their teams and organizations thrive,” says Gen. George W. Casey Jr., faculty author of the certificate program and distinguished senior lecturer at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. Casey is a retired four-star general who served as the 36th chief of staff of the United States Army.

The certificate program was developed for leaders and executives at all levels. Learners will match their strengths and weaknesses with the leadership characteristics that are vital for success in today’s fluid world, and they will be able to formulate action plans to increase their opportunities for success.

Courses include:

  • Leading in a VUCA World;
  • Developing and Communicating Vision and Strategy;
  • Building Great Teams;
  • Setting Internal and External Conditions for Success; and
  • Preparing for the Future.

Courses normally start every two weeks. Upon successful completion of all five courses, learners earn a VUCA Leadership Certificate from Cornell’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management.