Faculty of Business & Economics

MBA program

Management & Marketing skills development

REM 054
Spring 2008 – 2009

Instructor Mrs. Najwa Karam

Course application paper

Prepared by: Mohamad Itani

 Cour se A pplication Paper
Outline:

1- Historical background

2- Mission and Goals

3- Organizational culture and values

4- The environmental analysis

a. Internal assessment

b. External assessment

c. SWOT analysis

5- Segmentation, targeting & positioning

a. Basis of segmentation

b. Selecting the target market

c. Positioning.

6- Conclusion.
 Etablissement
Accredited by the Member of the
Accredited by the Authorized by the homologué
New England Near East South
Council International par l'Agence pour
Association of Asia
of International Baccalaureate l'Enseignement
Schools and Council of
Schools Organization Français à
Colleges Overseas Schools
l'Etranger

1- Historical backg round

The school that finally became International College was founded

in Smyrna, Turkey in 1891 by Alexander MacLachlan, a renowned
Canadian educator, as the American Boys’ School. In 1895 ABS
graduated its first class of five students and renamed itself the
American Collegiate Institute for Boys. In 1936, Dr. Bayard Dodge
of the American University of Beirut invited ACI to come to Beirut
and affiliate with AUB as its preparatory school. This is why for
many years IC was known fondly as “The Prep.” During its first
year in Beirut, IC welcomed 901 students from 37 countries
representing 16 religious sects. IC was truly an international school
welcoming students from all over the Middle East who came as
boarders living in Thomson and Sage Halls.

In 1913 IC opened an elementary school and in 1926 added the

French language Section Secondaire. The 1960’s proved to be an
important decade when IC separated from AUB naming a separate
board of trustees and admitted women to become a co-educational
institution.

During the Lebanese Civil War, IC remained a beacon of tolerance

for the whole of Lebanese society. Students and teachers of all
religious sects continued to attend classes in Ras Beirut. In 1988 a
satellite campus was constructed in Ain A’ar to accommodate the
children of alumni in that area. The Ain A’ar campus continues to
serve students from pre-school through middle school. In 1997 IC
achieved dual accreditation by the European Council of
International Schools and the New England Association of Schools
and Colleges.

International College offers challenging academic programs at all

levels. Students learn English, French and Arabic, and most
graduates are trilingual. At the secondary level students follow one
of four curricular tracks: the Lebanese Baccalaureate, the French
Baccalaureate, the College Preparatory Program, or the
International Baccalaureate.

IC’s 3,400 students come from all over Lebanon, as well as from
other countries in the Middle East and around the world. We are
proud of our non-sectarian admissions policy and significant
financial aid assistance. IC is accredited by both the Council of
International Schools (CIS) and the New England Association of
Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Our graduates, who number in
the thousands, occupy significant positions in medicine, banking,
engineering, commerce and other professions in the Middle East
and around the world.

2- Mission, Philosophy & Objectives

a- Mission

The mission of International College is to provide its students with

exemplary curricular and extracurricular programs which reflect the
best practices in American and international education. IC strives
to instill in its students the skills and attitudes necessary for them
to become responsible leaders in society.

b- Philosophy

International College educates young men and women to be

compassionate and self-reliant, capable of initiative and critical
thinking, and who will serve as role models in society. The
curriculum aims for excellence at all levels and embraces the
education of the whole person. Graduates of I.C. will have
developed self-discipline, problem solving abilities, responsibility,
self confidence, an awareness of the interdependence of nations in
all their diversity, and a set of values leading to respect for others.
 c- Objectives

To promote the development of the whole person:

• Academically,

Through a balanced, relevant and rigorous program, in three

languages, that aims for excellence in the Lebanese
Baccalaureate, the French Baccalaureate, the College
Preparatory Program and the International Baccalaureate, while
developing individual potential and an attitude of life-long
learning;

• Ethically,

Through the promotion of the values of integrity, tolerance,

service and respect for individual differences;

• Socially

Through intra- and extra-curricular activities and sports,

community service, and other opportunities to develop civic and
global awareness and responsibility, leadership, team spirit, and
respect for the value of the environment and for social justice;

• Aesthetically,

Through a diverse fine and performing arts program;

• Physically,

Through a comprehensive physical education and athletics

program that promotes healthy living.

All programs aim to develop personal qualities and skills leading to

intellectual curiosity, effective communication, creative expression,
community building, good citizenship, international mindedness,
and an appreciation for cultural diversity.

3- Or ganizational culture and values

The International College adopts the symbolic view of

organization, through its organization it is clear that the
responsibilities and duties are shared among all key personnel or
managers.
Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees that is mostly of IC graduates is based in

New York - USA it manages and & provides its strategic decisions
to the local Administration.
Raymond W. Audi, Mona Bawarshi '67, Wael O. Bayazid '70, Mr. Camille
Cotran ’74, Frederik O. Crawford, Said S. Darwazah '76, T.M. (Mac) Deford,
Bayard Dodge, Ford Fraker, Peter H. Gerard, Amal A. Ghandour, Marwan
Ghandour’63, James Holman, Anthony Jones, Yusuf A. Kan'an '73, Gerrit
Keator, Fouad Malouf '56, Marwan A. Marshi '79, Safwan Masri, John G.
McCarthy Jr., Azmi Mikati, Anwar Al Mulla, Mirna B. Noujaim, Aida Luce
Reed, Ian Reed, Matthew A. Reynolds, Donald J. Selinger, Talal Shair, Issam
Shammas'63, Mohamed S. H. Al-Soleiman '59, Imad Taher '58, Maya Tohme
Nassar, William H. Turner (Chairman), Richard S. Ward.

Administration

Local administration based both in Ras Beirut and Ain Aar

Campuses deals with middle management matters to plan
organize, lead & controls the lower management positions
throughout the academic year.
John K. Johnson – President
Mishka M. Mourani – Senior Vice President
Elie Kurban – VP for Administration
Moufid Beydoun - V.P. for Alumni & Development
Nimr Ibrahim - VP for Alumni & Development - NY office
Diana Abou Lebdeh - Director, Upper Elem. & Middle Schools, Ain-Aar
Antoine Boulad - Director, French & Cultural Affairs
Wadad El-Hoss - Director, Middle School Ras Beirut
Lama Khayr – Director, Pre-School & Lower Elementary, Ain Aar
Ghada Maalouf – Director, Pre-School Ras Beirut
Youssef Korfali – Director, Secondary School
Julia Kozak – Director, Elementary School Ras Beirut
Raouf Ghusayni – Director, Educational Resources Center
Hiba Chaaban - Director of Human Resources
Talal El Jundi - Chief Financial Officer

The International College organization's has strong culture values

that are widely shared among all employees (staff and
educational) and aggressively followed up via challenging tasks
throughout the organization on daily and periodical basis. (i.e.
through workshops, plenary sessions, inter-levels coordination
meetings, flyers, booklets, daily peers discussions, etc…).

While managers of all levels sets their independent planning

according to the school's general directives, achievements of every
employee is being assessed; rewards are commonly witnessed
through promotions, etc…

4- T he envir onmental analysis

While every organization is subject to many environmental factors,

IC is subject to internal and external factors.

a. Internal assessment

Although internal factors such as resources capabilities and

core competencies affect the performance of most
organizations, the International College has achieved great
effort to overcome such factors.

To overcome such factors IC is continuously adopting various

strategies to keep up with the quality of provided services,
physical: by enhancing and refurbishing the existing buildings
and campus premises and adopting a new master plan for the
new buildings to be constructed to cope with its needs.

Human resources by introducing and encouraging the

employees to attend workshops of various subjects to enhance
their performance, IC is getting expatriate teachers to teach
some of the school materials such as foreign languages and
International Baccalaureate courses.

b. External assessment

IC is affected by external factors that are the outcome of the

specific and general environment as follows:

On the specific level the customers that are parents and

students looking for the best tutoring outcome enforce IC to
provide teachers with up to the state of means and technology
to cope with the latest adopted technologies.

Suppliers such as new teachers universities graduates that

requires proper training to be in line with the school's rules and
objectives.

Competition although very restraint due to the long history of

excellence is giving some challenges to employees to keep up
with the best services.

Pressure groups such as parents committee, students alumni

shares and enforces some changes for the best of the
students.

Parents Committees
A new parents’ committee has been formed for the three academic years
2008-2011.
RAS BEIRUT AIN AAR
Maha Shair Ghada Abela
Yisser Sinno Amal Cavalcanti
Zeina El Khalil Paula Jabra
Diana Bazzi Nada Akl
Lina Assaf, Ghada Faddoul
Rand Idriss,
Samir Kadi,
Reem Awar,
Hala Mourad,
Suhair Hallak,
Inas Fakhreddine,
Maha Makki,
Nadine Maktabi
Tony Choueiri
Hadi Fawaz

MESSAGE FROM THE RAS BEIRUT PARENTS COMMITTEE

Our mission is to act as liaison between parents and students on the one
hand, and the school administration on the other. To accomplish this we
 encourage you to contact us by phone or email for any ideas or
comments that you think should reach the school administration and we
promise that we shall handle them confidentially.

c. SWOT analysis

The strengths of IC is established through its historical

achievements throughout the years, being accredited by
international organizations IC takes its strength through its
diversity in provided services from pre-school through
secondary school with various sections in English and French
languages.

Its weaknesses are little since it is a well established school,

however some new teachers or expats doesn't always come in
line with the school's policy of excellence which enforces the
management to take exceptional measures to overcome such
situations.

The great opportunity that IC has is the great share of students

that registers every year which provides its ongoing success.

As for the treats that faces IC are mostly financial through the
local regulations and customs in addition to the last financial
crash that affected most of its plans for growing. In addition the
political situation in the country also affects IC especially that it
is considered as a school with connections to the USA.

5- Se gmentation, tar geting & positioning

Being a major school with a large number of students

segmentation targeting and positioning becomes a natural process
to be followed to ensure proper marketing outcome to create value
to customers and build strong customer relationships.

a. Basis of segmentation
 IC provides enough sections to cope with the number of
students throughout pre-school to secondary school.
Segmentation also comes into two programs French and
English. In addition to the Lebanese baccalaureate, French
baccalaureate and International baccalaureate are adopted to
cope with the students needs.

IC had to go with geographic segmentation during the

Lebanese civil war to come along with the needs of students
and alumni members, a new campus in Ain Aar was adopted
that provides tutoring from pre-school till middle school.

b. Selecting the target market

IC strategy to select the target market by addressing the

students needs by targeting students and providing them with
all levels services, IC to cope with student's special
requirements introduced IB, French Baccalaureate, Lebanese
baccalaureate programs.

c. Positioning.

IC is very well positioned among customers (students / parents)

this is due to the long sustained achievement of its goals and
objectives and to provide the best teaching to students.

The positioning of IC is also sustained by services, channel,

people and image differentiation.

6- Conclusion.

By adopting a strong culture strategy and ensuring the

achievement of its goals and objectives throughout the years IC
has shown great deal of commitment to the society and to its
employees by providing proper and continuous education to its
students and teachers as well.