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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Atlanta, GA | Posted: November 1, 2004
In business markets driven by constant technological and commercial change, successful companies and industries must ceaselessly reinvent themselves. But rather than reacting to change, businesses can anticipate and seize advantage from technology and industry shifts to build effective and innovative business models, shared by companies large and small.
To pioneer the next step in enterprise transformation, Georgia Tech announced the creation of the Tennenbaum Institute, the first multi-disciplinary center of its kind, uniting academic, government and corporate experts to create industry-shaping business models. This approach demands a holistic view of industries and world markets to help companies remain competitive.
Established through a $5 million gift from Georgia Tech alumnus Michael Tennenbaum, the Tennenbaum Institute will address both private and public sector enterprises in areas such as aerospace, automotive, banking, computing, defense, education, health care, non-profits, pharmaceuticals, retail, telecommunications and transportation.
As a long-time veteran of Wall Street, Michael Tennenbaum has helped numerous ailing companies back from the brink of a crisis. Tennenbaum primarily invests in companies that are in desperate need of change, and he saw a need for a different approach to enterprise transformation * a need that a multidisciplinary initiative like the Tennenbaum Institute could fill.
"I think it's going to be a big success. It's a strong idea, and it's housed in a good spot," Tennenbaum said. "I think that education has gotten so specialized that there's a big opportunity to build more knowledge by combining different specialties, rather than just to keep drilling down deeper into one specialty."
The Tennenbaum Institute and its members will work together to research the interdisciplinary nature of enterprise transformation, identify and evaluate the best practices for accomplishing transformation and disseminate knowledge through publications (hardcopy and online), meetings (workshops and forums), education (graduate and executive) and outreach (extension services).
"The Tennenbaum Institute represents an opportunity for Georgia Tech to excel at multidisciplinary research and education in its broadest sense and consequently impact our understanding of major economic and social issues as well as contribute to these issues being addressed," said William Rouse, executive director of the Tennenbaum Institute and the H. Milton and Carolyn J. Stewart chair of the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering.
"Our job is not necessarily to solve a business or organization's problems today," he said. "Our job is to anticipate its emerging problems in a five year or so time horizon and to research the best ways of understanding and addressing those problems."
Dollar General Corp. will be the Institute's first corporate member and will bring its issues, concerns, knowledge and skills to the Tennenbaum Institute's exchange and debate.
