Langton, 40, enrolled on the program to gain a more well-rounded perspective on business, while continuing to run his IT firm in Zimbabwe, where he has a business partner.
He is currently pursuing a Phd in Marketing from Edith Cowan University and plans to combine his IT skills and business knowledge to implement cloud computing solutions for his clients back home.
What are you doing in Australia?
I came here to study. I have to say that when I first came over here with my wife and daughters we experienced great culture shock and it was quite hard to settle down but my girls aged 14, 15, and 16 are doing really well here. They’re benefitting from the education system here so I think we will be here for the next five or six years.
Why Australia?
It’s a very different environment to what I was used to and I wanted the exposure and the potential for creating a broad network and new alliances. I wanted to compare how we do business at home with what’s out here and to raise my skill level. The most important thing here for me has been the proximity to Asia.
What kind of alliances have you made thus far?
I’ve joined the Migrant’s Business Network in Perth and have attended many forums to develop new relationships. It’s been really important for me to make sure I create social capital because you can transform these relationships into value and being on the MBA has been perfect for this. I’m planning a trip to China with some contacts I’ve made through the MBA to see how things are done there.
Did you consider other business schools for your MBA?
No, only Edith Cowan. I saw an ad for it and the programme fit perfectly with what I was looking for. I did not think about the UK because Zimbabwe has had a bad rapport with them recently. The other thing that appealed to me was knowing that I would be able to experience a bit of Asian culture. I knew Edith Cowan was family friendly so when I came for the first time it was with the entire family.
So what projects are you working on now?
I’ve been on a doctoral program in Marketing, Tourism and Leisure at Edith Cowan and this ends in December 2013. My research is about applying marketing concepts to the way public sector tourism programmes are run but it has a twist. Most of the marketing theories are Western so I’m trying to create a framework that is embedded in African culture and history or "Ubuntu".
Why move from an MBA to a Phd.?
I’ve been running my own IT solutions business and after the MBA I realized that there’s so much happening in academia that people can take advantage of in business world if they knew of it. I saw that I had the opportunity to improve my theoretical understanding, but also apply it in-house for my business.
What was the most significant take-away from the MBA?
The MBA taught me to analyse theories in depth. For instance, now that I undertsand marketing theories, I know which organisations I'll be taregeting for data collection when I go to Zimbabwe.
Has the MBA been useful for your business?
I’ve been running the IT business in Zimbabwe for eleven years and I’ve got a partner on the ground there. The Edith Cowan MBA has helped me relate to our clients better, come up with more efficient solutions and help them to better prepare for change and to use technology for a competitive advantage.
We work with government bodies and NGOs like World Vision and the World Food Programme. Now we’re working on introducing cloud technology and the skills you need to implement these technologies you can only get from an MBA.
What can we expect from you next?
I would like to start a similar business in Australia. No academia for me. The Phd. simply means I can add consultancy as an arm to my IT business.
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