Big business background a boon for Dr Frimpong's students
Published on 04 June, 2010
There were congratulations all round when Dr Daniel Frimpong, a member of CPA Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants, was recently promoted to become a senior lecturer at CQUniversity Sydney...
Story by Dr Chris Keane
Like other academics who teach in the accounting and marketing streams, Daniel brought with him a store of industry knowledge and experience when he began lecturing in 1998. He accumulated his breadth of industry knowledge by pursuing a successful management career in the banking, telecommunications and information technology sectors.
In the 1990s, Daniel rubbed shoulders with the big business league. He worked for several major corporations including Westpac, Nortel and Fujitsu, in both Australia and Japan. His former banking role saw him employed as Manager of Management Reporting in Westpac's head office in Martin Place, Sydney. He was responsible for planning, analysis and reporting on a $10 billion asset portfolio held by Westpac's Asset Management Group.
While lecturing at Sydney campus Daniel had to juggle both teaching duties and his doctoral research on the financing of small and medium-sized Australian enterprises (SMEs). His time spent at Westpac stimulated his interest in the financial and human capital challenges confronting SMEs seeking to invest in overseas markets.
Daniel's thesis in behavioural finance critiqued conventional foreign investment theory by proposing an alternative investment model highlighting firm-level differences in knowledge management capabilities and strategy, in explaining the level of investment made by SMEs in their foreign operations.
When it comes to teaching pedagogy Daniel adopts an "evidence-based problem-solving approach". "The key indicator of a good business school," he says, "is to produce graduates who can solve real-life problems and think for themselves and not simply recite what has been taught".
His industry and research background has taught him to "challenge his students to critically analyse problems and generate innovative ways to solve problems".
Daniel considers himself "privileged to have the opportunity to meet and teach international students and future business leaders coming from the emerging economies of Asia and many other countries around the world".
Research and writing remain important to him. Daniel is co-authoring a book due for publication at in 2010, titled Marketing Redefined. He also aims to publish a book on global marketing from an emerging market perspective in 2011.