Leadership - Part II, The Market And Accelerated MBA Programs, by Carr and Feng
February 27th, 2007
Note: Your MBA classmate Steven Feng and I have been reading and thinking about similar issues. The below are segments from each of us that I have combined into this single post.
Prof. Carr Segment:
The market. Ah, all Americans that claim to be true capitalists say they believe in “markets” … except, you will find, when the market applies to them, their firm or their industry! Economic theory (rationale choice) in action.
Having typed such a dig, I do want each of us, myself included, to always constantly be looking at, studying and be aware of the relevant “market” and what it’s doing. And, asking the question — is my own skill set competitive and attactive in the current market?
If not, get ready to be stuck at a firm or in an industry you may not want to be stuck at for a long, long time.
As an MBA student and graduate, you, of all people and professionals, just have no excuse to not know or do this (same holds true for me being an assoicate dean in a business school). Whether you are buying a house or a car, negotiating your salary with a prospective employer, being hit up for a raise by an employee you manage, etc., one (not the only) important starting point of analysis should always be “what is this item worth in today’s market?” and/or “is this employee asking me for a raise at the mean of the market, or above the mean for this market, or is their skill set at the really low end of this market?”
How you perceive their skill set versus how the employee perceives their skill set if often very different. If you don’t ask these questions and find out the answer before you commit, well, good luck in business – you may not last long.
The same holds true for MBA programs. Many people think they know what an MBA program should/should not be doing and/or what it should/should not look like, but they often have have limited knowledge re: what “the MBA market” is doing or saying in this regard because they have never hopped on the Internet to see what the compeition is doing and/or study the issue and market in detail by, e.g., attending conferences where these things are studied and discussed.
For example, with respect to full-time MBA programs in the USA, the “MBA market” is clearly moving more and more toward accelerated programs (see also, Steve’s related sement below on executive MBA programs). Applicants (part of the the market) have spoken with their feet and most will no longer take two years away from work, lose that income, etc., in order to pursue an MBA. Thus, good schools and programs adapt and offer accelerated programs, such as the one you are in. The other one’s won’t adapt and they will limp along or in time die. We have an accelerated program in place, so in terms of “the market” we are ahead of the curve on this item.
As another item and example, I recently did a post on the following topic, “MBAs Who Understand the PRC,” where I talked about how the top MBA programs in the USA are REQUIRING, yes REQUIRING, their students to do a China type trip. We already have built this type of an experience into our program, so we are again in good shape in terms of how we compare to “the MBA market” and the competition on this item. See also Steve’s related segment below.
Does this mean we don’t have work to do on items and issues not discussed above (or below)? Of course not! This post in no way tries to expressly make or imply such a position. That would be absurd. We can all get better and improve.
Two weeks ago the Wall Street Journal published a great article titled, “MBA Programs Hone Soft Skills.” Please read this article. I was both pleased and dismayed after I read it.
I was pleased, because with respect to emphasizing Communications in our MBA program and curriculum, this article highlights that we are ahead of the curve at the Orfalea College of Business. We are also fortunate to have excellent professors who teach this course (Professor Whitaker in the MBA program and Professor Beamon in the soon to be launched MS in Tax program next Fall).
But with respect to Leadership, you will see from this article that some good schools out there are doing some very innovating things; in my view, we are behind the curve in this regard and we have some catching up to do. See also my earlier post on the topic and import of leadership, “Leadership and the Himalayas.”
Re: the issue of Ethics in the curriculum, with Professor Anderson’s GSB 514 Law course in the fall and his GSB 537 Ethics and Corporate Governance class in the spring that students can make the decision to take, I am also feeling pretty good. He too, is an excellent professor. See, e.g., the ethics section of the AACSB organization website that accredits our and all business schools. We also have in place the opportunity for our MBA students to participate each year in a wonderful MBA business ethics competition at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles to see how they/we stack up against other schools and programs, and this year James Towers, Peter Thelen, Katie Hofman Ritchie and Meghan Girvin have stepped up to lead and represent. Kudos to them!
So on four out of five of the above (accelerate program, international trip and experience, ethics, leadership), we are in good shape. But re: one of the items (leadership), we have pockets of individuals who lead, no doubt, and they are to be commended, but AS A PROGRAM the above suggests that we have some more work to do.
I welcome your thoughts on the above.
BY THE WAY, DURING JOB INTERVIEWS AND WHEN YOU INTERACT WITH EMPLOYERS, WHAT WE DO WELL AND RIGHT — SEE ABOVE — IS PART OF THE STORY YOU SHOULD BE AND NEED TO TELL AS PART OF MARKETING YOURSELF FOR THE POSITION!! IF YOU ARE NOT DOING THIS, YOU ARE NOT INTERVIEWING AS EFFECTIVELY AS YOU COULD BE!!
Steven Feng Segment:
On February 13, 2007, a Wall Street Journal article (M.B.A Programs Take Fast Track) discusses the business-school trends in executive MBA programs. Two key trends are shortening programs and foreign travel. Companies want their employees available to work, and the market demand is moving into foreign opportunities and foreign relationships. Although our program is not designed for the “executive,” these trends have been implemented in our program. This correlation may suggest that our administration department has done a good job predicting the future demands. If executives are being taught about foreign countries, this China trip experience will be a valuable asset to your future employer.
Entry Filed under: Pre-Departure, China, Misc.
5 Comments Add your own
1. Ronda Beaman | February 27th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
I am pleased and excited to be teaching the communications course for the new MS in Tax…notice that the WSJ article, as well as many of the leadership courses nationally, are based on fine tuning communication skills. What is a leader? People have to want to be led by you, listen to you, and be inspired and educated by you. You have to make the tough calls, put yourself up front and take the blows. You have to build teams, delegate, create and be a role model, worthy of respect….A leader knows how to motivate, knows when to listen (in fact, statistics show that 80% of a leader’s job is listening), in short, a great communicator is often a great leader. There is both science and art to taking on the mantle of being a leader in any capacity, head of a family or head of a corporation. I think communication courses are a natural setting for developing essential leadership capacities and look forward to doing so in my course this summer!
2. Chris Carr | February 27th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Well said! I completely agree.
3. Felipe Hernandez | February 28th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
Lately, I have had the good fortune of interviewing with some great companies. I mention this because I have noticed two significant themes that apply to this post:
1) I have not been asked a single technical question (no finance, no accounting, no case, no analytical problems.)
2) I have been asked ad nauseam to provide examples of leadership and communication ability.
In fact, some recruiters have gone so far as to confide that they are having a real problem finding people who have technical skills AND the ability to communicate and get along with coworkers.
I think that a particular strength of this MBA program is that there is a true spirit of community and cohesiveness. Within that context, I believe that everyone gets an opportunity to lead and feel completely comfortable communicating and actively participating in every class.
I believe that when it comes to MBA programs, success begets success. Our program will ultimately be judged on the success and loyalty of its alumni (us!) Our performance will directly reflect upon the reputation of this program, so I encourage us all to prove our worth, stay loyal, and foster personal and business relationships for years to come.
4. Chris Carr | March 3rd, 2007 at 8:27 pm
Excellent comment and insight, Felipe.
Do you think that they are not expressly asking you about finance, accounting, etc. because it is implied/assumed you have those skills nailed? I am curious what your read is on this.
No question that one of the strengths of the Cal Poly MBA program is the sense of community and cohesiveness. That is not to say it does not get competitive, but my read is that here it’s less dog-eat-dog than other programs and is one of the draws of the program. Of course, this can cut both ways.
This “balance” between healthy competition and looking out for each other is something I hope we can maintain here for a long time. Both have their time and place in a program, for sure.
You are also right and correct that throughout the program there are places where students can lead and feel comfortable developing their leadership skills. This is truly valuable and is a big part of learning in any graduate program, and each of you should continue to emphasize this fact in your interviews.
The comments in my post were directed more toward how we might, as a program, up the ante and take things to the next level in terms of more formally institutionalizing leadership learning and training in the curriculum, and most importantly, be able to test and assess whether we are doing a good job in this regard. By doing so we would also force the folks in each MBA class who are not naturally gifted leaders or who see themselves as shy or feel more comfortable staying in the “shallow end of the leadership pool” to move more into the deep end of the pool to test themselves and see what they are really made of.
I welcome your, and other students comments and thoughts on this very important subject.
And finally, no doubt, you are also right that the continued vitality of the Cal Poly MBA brand and degree depends on what you folks go out and do with this piece of paper. The better you do, the more it helps all boats rise and increases the value of that Cal Poly line item on your resume.
As the associate dean of our grad programs, I will continue to need the good work and success of each of you in this regard to continue to move this forward. Our best intangible asset is each of you and your future success.
5. Felipe Hernandez | March 4th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
I would guess that these employers assume I have the technical skills necessary, or, that I have displayed the aptitude to easily learn the necessary ‘hard skills’ that a job might require.
As far as ‘upping the ante’ for this program, off the top of my head, I think it would be awesome to have some form of formalized internship or work experience opportunity built in or offered as an option for credit. I don’t know the feasibility, especially since it’s largely an accelerated program and San Luis Obispo isn’t exactly a capital of industry. However, I do know that there is no substitute for experience. In the spirit of ‘learn by doing’ I would like to see a greater emphasis placed on job and internship placement, especially since that was my number one objective when deciding to pursue my MBA.
Along those same lines, I tend to heed the advice of people who have proven their leadership ability. So, I believe opportunities to hear the insights of successful people through such programs as the Distinguished Speaker Series are invaluable.
A very simple way to emphasize the ‘cutting edge’ of leadership theory might simply be to add the reading of bestselling management books into the curriculum. I have personally learned quite a bit about leadership, communication, and self-composure from books by Jack Welch, Warren Buffet, Tony Robbins, Stephen Covey, Etc….. These books would be a much welcome relief from textbook reading. Again, I tend to place much more value on the insights and opinions of Jack Welsh, than I would on a dry textbook. If not done in an individual class, or across classes, maybe it can be a requirement to read 3 such books before graduating (much in the way that the China reading is structured.)
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