Before I was accepted at my graduate school, I went to b-school open houses within the area. One school surprised me, and not in a good way. I found out the school offers a dual MD/MBA degree. I can only assume the program caters to entrepreneurial doctors, and hopefully not doctor's who may want to manage an office. The school had an interesting program that allowed students to create a business from university research.
An alumni came in and discussed his project and what he currently works on. He actually told me his other group member was a medical doctor who was getting completing the MBA program. I asked him why would he want to do that, and the alumni stated the doctor wanted to start his own medical office. I was confused, because not every entrepreneur should invest in a Master of Business Administration.
Based on information found at the Small Business Association Office of Advocacy, small businesses make up 99.7 percent of all employer firms. To enumerate, small businesses total an estimate of 29.6 million businesses. For those not quite sure what constitutes a small business, any firm with fewer than 500 employees. On a side note, micro-businesses are firms with fewer than 5 employees.
Why the numbers? I shall get to that in a moment.
With new businesses emerging annually, many close its doors or file for bankruptcy. In total, based on Census data, a little more than half of all new employer establishments have survived five or more years.
With these numbers, should small business owners invest in a graduate degree? The answer is no. The United States is a country of entrepreneurship and invention. Business leaders have come into existence without having much of an educational background let alone an educational background in business.
Investing in a Master of Business Administration:
COST
The average cost for a full-time MBA program in Chicago is $39,580, and can range from $16,920 to $102,990. The cost does not take into consideration associated costs for the programs such as fees, textbooks, transportation and others. Based on price alone, a program may not be worth the investment for a person creating a start-up.
TIME
A person would have to dedicate about two years into an average full-time MBA program. If going through a part-time or executive tract, the person would have to dedicate close to three or more years. The programs tend to be very demanding and some programs have large amounts of course material to cover and submit. This being said, someone working 40+ hours would have to schedule another 20-30+ hours into the week or weekend to meet the demand for the programs.
B-SCHOOL ACCREDITATION
Any person looking into a business degree should ask about school accreditation. If the school is not accredited by a governing body, mostly the government, then the degree is invalid. The top business schools have an AACSB Accreditation. What does that mean? The accreditation reflects business theory, the amount of persons completing the program, the rate of recently graduated getting hired, the amount of scholarly work produced by faculty, and so on. Does this mean every person should go only apply to an AACSB school? Probably not. Just depends on how you learn (preferences) and what you want to learn. Having gone to two b-schools with an AACSB accreditation, there is are no tangible benefit besides the degree.
BACKGROUND/EXPERIENCE
If a person wants to create a business, the process is rather easy. Would it help to have a background in business? No, not really. Resources are abundant for creating a business in the United States. Many of these resources are free or at a nominal fee. Entrepreneurs can check out the Small Business Development Center to gain key insights from educators and market leaders. If the person is lucky, the newly formed start-up could be selected to participate in a business incubation center. If the entrepreneur does not know where to start, the Internet and local bookstores have a plethora of information on business formation and entrepreneurship. For the most part, b-schools do not really help entrepreneurs focus on their business but instead focus on a wide range of business theory and applications.
NETWORKING
Business schools are notorious for capitalizing on this word. For the most part, as a student, there is little to no chance to network with people in the industry. The best way to network would be to join a professional association or local chamber of commerce. There is a whole new set of resources available by joining a professional association or local chamber. Members have access to databases and events that would lead to networking opportunities not regularly found by being a student at a b-school.
Back with the previous b-school and the doctors getting a MBA or pre-meds wasting time on another degree. With the time, money and energy invested in a Master of Business Administration, the business could have had the investment capital needed for a successful thriving venture. By not getting the degree, you can put close to $40,000 to your start-up. With the Small Business Development Center and Business Incubators, there really is not a need to go through with another program. In all, I would have suggested that the doctor stop fooling around and open his office. There is plenty of things to do and getting a b-degree is not on the short list.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Open, A New Standard in Delivering a Message
I was at home on Sunday morning watching television. It's a usual occurrence that has now become habit. Usually, I watch news, but I happened to watch some movie reviews. The movie review that caught my eye, and ears was Sita Sings the Blues. It's a multi-cultural animated movie that delves into love and something. I didn't really pay attention to what they were talking about. The part that did grab my attention was that the movie is open to every who wants to watch it. No need for a major distributor; the movie can be downloaded or viewed online. How? The movie uses a Share Alike License that allows multi-sharing.
Instead of finding the movie in Art Houses and indy coffee shops, the movie can be found on a website for free (or donation- which I highly recommend). By using this form of license, instead of a DRM, the movie is open to any person who wants to view it. I am actually going to watch it. If the people involved put so much effort in giving the movie to the audience for free, I have an obligation to watch it.
Instead of finding the movie in Art Houses and indy coffee shops, the movie can be found on a website for free (or donation- which I highly recommend). By using this form of license, instead of a DRM, the movie is open to any person who wants to view it. I am actually going to watch it. If the people involved put so much effort in giving the movie to the audience for free, I have an obligation to watch it.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Clutter or News Source
For the first three months of living in my studio, I did not have a television. I rarely watched the news, and I had an RSS feeds for specific companies and mail subscription notifications of top headlines from Crain's and San Antonio Business Journal. I was still missing something though.
Fast forward to present day, I have a television I still rarely use, but I have optimized my social media profiles to feed me information I want to read. Any person who is linked to me on Facebook can attest to my daily posts. In fact, I think they detest my posts. I use several different avenues to get my information and I tend to use Facebook as another means of blogging.
I like reading articles on Mashable for some headlines but I still want to get more news faster. I tend to read Hacker News quite a bit too, but refreshing seems to be tedious. I also subscribe to several news sources on Twitter. In an hour my tweeter page tells me I have 73 new tweets. Each twitter subscription I have attends to a different aspect of what interests me. I have subscriptions to Crain's and Mashable (can't go wrong with those), but I have increased my subscriptions to include several others based on technology or business related sources.
This is where clutter comes in. With all these venues to get news, I get tons of tweets and retweets, or posts giving me the same information. With television, if I watch a channel and the headlines cycle back, I switch to a different station. Maybe, I watch CSPAN, or more likely, I watch Sponge Bob. The growing amount of news comes together into a big mass of regurgitated and rehashed information on the web.
Yesterday, I read three articles on how Steve Jobs blasted Adobe on their software. I read a bunch more headlines that would tell me the same thing, so I decided to skip those readings. Of the three I read, one broke down Jobs' Jobsism into words I could understand (it was very funny and patronizing at the same time). Another author took the information and spun it as a piece on anti-Steve Jobs. Mostly, I felt like the author wanted to reprimand Steve Jobs on his poor method of executing his opinion. The last was a video article with the CEO of Adobe expressing his view point on the matter.
Honestly, those three were almost withing seconds of each other. I like the ability to get the news fast, but I want to be able to spread the amount of news topics. With this technology, I do not have the ability to switch channels. Also, if the topic repeats, I cannot zip or zap my way through boredom. The only thing I can do is to unsubscribe to the plethora of news outlets and be left with my television set watching news.
Fast forward to present day, I have a television I still rarely use, but I have optimized my social media profiles to feed me information I want to read. Any person who is linked to me on Facebook can attest to my daily posts. In fact, I think they detest my posts. I use several different avenues to get my information and I tend to use Facebook as another means of blogging.
I like reading articles on Mashable for some headlines but I still want to get more news faster. I tend to read Hacker News quite a bit too, but refreshing seems to be tedious. I also subscribe to several news sources on Twitter. In an hour my tweeter page tells me I have 73 new tweets. Each twitter subscription I have attends to a different aspect of what interests me. I have subscriptions to Crain's and Mashable (can't go wrong with those), but I have increased my subscriptions to include several others based on technology or business related sources.
This is where clutter comes in. With all these venues to get news, I get tons of tweets and retweets, or posts giving me the same information. With television, if I watch a channel and the headlines cycle back, I switch to a different station. Maybe, I watch CSPAN, or more likely, I watch Sponge Bob. The growing amount of news comes together into a big mass of regurgitated and rehashed information on the web.
Yesterday, I read three articles on how Steve Jobs blasted Adobe on their software. I read a bunch more headlines that would tell me the same thing, so I decided to skip those readings. Of the three I read, one broke down Jobs' Jobsism into words I could understand (it was very funny and patronizing at the same time). Another author took the information and spun it as a piece on anti-Steve Jobs. Mostly, I felt like the author wanted to reprimand Steve Jobs on his poor method of executing his opinion. The last was a video article with the CEO of Adobe expressing his view point on the matter.
Honestly, those three were almost withing seconds of each other. I like the ability to get the news fast, but I want to be able to spread the amount of news topics. With this technology, I do not have the ability to switch channels. Also, if the topic repeats, I cannot zip or zap my way through boredom. The only thing I can do is to unsubscribe to the plethora of news outlets and be left with my television set watching news.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Looking at the Inside Out
My last semester as a business student at the small private university in Texas, I was tested on the culmination of my educational experience. The university is an AACSB accredited school that valued theory and application to business theory and case studies. The business school created a means to explore current business problems with real constraints. The university used its relationship within the community to develop this new teaching model.
The final semester, nervous students clumped together into groups and factions headed by the project manager, the professor, and bid for projects from companies that wanted consulting perspectives. The companies received a different perspective to their current predicament, and the students attained real experience. To a student, real projects seemed like a mountain of work with not only failure as a possibility, but potential company disaster.
Frustrations abound, my group struggled with schedule conflicts, social media scandal, and several all-nighters. A few days before the presentation, the professor drops a bombshell. The culmination of group work and direction was wrong. Faced with a few more all-nighters, three of the five group members started cranking out numbers and models.
We looked through the data we were given, three months of sales figures, and had to come up with a potential solution to the company’s major problem: decrease costs, while maintaining or increasing profits. Also, we did not have the luxury of meeting with the professor again until the presentation. Ultimately, if the professor or the CEO did not like what we had to say, we had no recourse but get a failing grade.
The three of us, the hardest working of the five, decided to work away until our eyes, and fingers were numb. I was in charge of making calculations that allowed numbers to speak for our inexperience. I saw a major obstacle, changing the viewpoint from sales force to management. The problem was simple, how can the sales managers deplore a better strategy that would lead to better sales? Looking at job descriptions, the problem worked itself out. The sales managers relied heavily on the sales force, and the sales force were the delivery drivers.
Living in South Texas, Spanish is an important language, but many business deals use English as the sole language. Speaking with the sales force/delivery drivers, many expressed their insecurity using English and the growing communication barrier had lead to poor sales.
The sales managers have been comfortable speaking with the companies they did business with to create a contract, but after the contract was finished, the sales managers focused on other companies and products. In all, the business was losing money because it stopped communicating with its customers.
To strengthen the argument, I had shown a comparative chart using a linear programming model. I compared the current employee pay expenditure with a new employee pay expenditure that we, the three working group members, had collectively created.
The group expressed concern about leaving customer communication to a group of employees that did not feel confident in the respective role. By simplifying the role, and setting the employee benefits differently, switching the sales force from commission to a flat salary, the expenditures changed.
Also, the group felt the sales managers would benefit from increased sales if the sales managers maintained communication with their customers within their field. The group changed the sales manager’s pay expenditure from salary to a performance-based commission. Ultimately, the sales managers’ pay increases based on their performance.
Restructuring the organization would save the company more money than maintaining the current structure. The owner and CEO would also stand to lose more money based on customer dissatisfaction, and employee incentive programs. The group was not finished yet though. The next part changed how processes could potentially bring in increased value to the company.
Utilizing the restructuring plan, the next phase focused heavily on the internal processes and automation. Based on the savings gained from the restructuring plan, the company would be able to move assets to investments in particular to grow the business from the current model to a more efficient model. The outputs used to express the gains were from the linear programming model and the implications the model posed. The employee structure and number of staff prevalent played an important part to the secondary plan. Thus, to meet the second phase, the company has to utilize the first or primary phase.
The secondary phase used a more advanced decision science model and project management program that expressed future value, and performance. In order to demonstrate the process, the group had to monetize the yield. Numbers would mean nothing if the numbers did not have an expressed relation or value important to the company. In this case, the value was profits.
With the revelation aside, the group had 36 hours left to write and print the final presentation and recommendation. Working with the other group members, two had the ability to express the information in a way that was relevant, understandable, and educational. Within the 10 hour deadline, the other group member and myself counted the hours down as we frantically typed up our thoughts, praying that we can find the energy to present the next morning. Tik. Tok. Two hours left, and we managed to create a presentation and consulting packet.
Within that period, we had no choice but to rewrite sections based on the information given to use from the two group members that had created both increased workload and distractions. The two of us finishing the documents felt disrespected and perturbed by the events. Working with groups does not mean that every person gets along, but we felt the other two were taking advantage of us.
The project and presentation was a success. The group received compliments from faculty, staff, and the company employees. The Dean of Graduate Studies expressed his amazement of the advanced thought processes we used, and the Dean of Business stated that this was work usually seen at a graduate level. With all the congratulations and work, the only thing I wanted to do was eat breakfast and go to sleep, and preferably for a long time.
The project in itself helped me see that communication is very important. Communication is an important business tool that, not used properly, could affect work dynamics, productivity, and potentially profits. Even though the company project was not the top choice, the problems within the group mirrored the problems within the company. With that said, the project was actually the ideal fit, and as students, we produced something that generated value.
The final semester, nervous students clumped together into groups and factions headed by the project manager, the professor, and bid for projects from companies that wanted consulting perspectives. The companies received a different perspective to their current predicament, and the students attained real experience. To a student, real projects seemed like a mountain of work with not only failure as a possibility, but potential company disaster.
Frustrations abound, my group struggled with schedule conflicts, social media scandal, and several all-nighters. A few days before the presentation, the professor drops a bombshell. The culmination of group work and direction was wrong. Faced with a few more all-nighters, three of the five group members started cranking out numbers and models.
We looked through the data we were given, three months of sales figures, and had to come up with a potential solution to the company’s major problem: decrease costs, while maintaining or increasing profits. Also, we did not have the luxury of meeting with the professor again until the presentation. Ultimately, if the professor or the CEO did not like what we had to say, we had no recourse but get a failing grade.
The three of us, the hardest working of the five, decided to work away until our eyes, and fingers were numb. I was in charge of making calculations that allowed numbers to speak for our inexperience. I saw a major obstacle, changing the viewpoint from sales force to management. The problem was simple, how can the sales managers deplore a better strategy that would lead to better sales? Looking at job descriptions, the problem worked itself out. The sales managers relied heavily on the sales force, and the sales force were the delivery drivers.
Living in South Texas, Spanish is an important language, but many business deals use English as the sole language. Speaking with the sales force/delivery drivers, many expressed their insecurity using English and the growing communication barrier had lead to poor sales.
The sales managers have been comfortable speaking with the companies they did business with to create a contract, but after the contract was finished, the sales managers focused on other companies and products. In all, the business was losing money because it stopped communicating with its customers.
To strengthen the argument, I had shown a comparative chart using a linear programming model. I compared the current employee pay expenditure with a new employee pay expenditure that we, the three working group members, had collectively created.
The group expressed concern about leaving customer communication to a group of employees that did not feel confident in the respective role. By simplifying the role, and setting the employee benefits differently, switching the sales force from commission to a flat salary, the expenditures changed.
Also, the group felt the sales managers would benefit from increased sales if the sales managers maintained communication with their customers within their field. The group changed the sales manager’s pay expenditure from salary to a performance-based commission. Ultimately, the sales managers’ pay increases based on their performance.
Restructuring the organization would save the company more money than maintaining the current structure. The owner and CEO would also stand to lose more money based on customer dissatisfaction, and employee incentive programs. The group was not finished yet though. The next part changed how processes could potentially bring in increased value to the company.
Utilizing the restructuring plan, the next phase focused heavily on the internal processes and automation. Based on the savings gained from the restructuring plan, the company would be able to move assets to investments in particular to grow the business from the current model to a more efficient model. The outputs used to express the gains were from the linear programming model and the implications the model posed. The employee structure and number of staff prevalent played an important part to the secondary plan. Thus, to meet the second phase, the company has to utilize the first or primary phase.
The secondary phase used a more advanced decision science model and project management program that expressed future value, and performance. In order to demonstrate the process, the group had to monetize the yield. Numbers would mean nothing if the numbers did not have an expressed relation or value important to the company. In this case, the value was profits.
With the revelation aside, the group had 36 hours left to write and print the final presentation and recommendation. Working with the other group members, two had the ability to express the information in a way that was relevant, understandable, and educational. Within the 10 hour deadline, the other group member and myself counted the hours down as we frantically typed up our thoughts, praying that we can find the energy to present the next morning. Tik. Tok. Two hours left, and we managed to create a presentation and consulting packet.
Within that period, we had no choice but to rewrite sections based on the information given to use from the two group members that had created both increased workload and distractions. The two of us finishing the documents felt disrespected and perturbed by the events. Working with groups does not mean that every person gets along, but we felt the other two were taking advantage of us.
The project and presentation was a success. The group received compliments from faculty, staff, and the company employees. The Dean of Graduate Studies expressed his amazement of the advanced thought processes we used, and the Dean of Business stated that this was work usually seen at a graduate level. With all the congratulations and work, the only thing I wanted to do was eat breakfast and go to sleep, and preferably for a long time.
The project in itself helped me see that communication is very important. Communication is an important business tool that, not used properly, could affect work dynamics, productivity, and potentially profits. Even though the company project was not the top choice, the problems within the group mirrored the problems within the company. With that said, the project was actually the ideal fit, and as students, we produced something that generated value.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
An Interview Later
I had a phone interview Friday for a non-profit foundation. I do not know how I come across in phone interviews, but based on my last phone interview, I didn't make it past the round. I am always amazed when I make it past the first round of candidates (the resume stage), and manage an interview. After that, I feel like I am a contestant on a reality television show indicating that I would do anything to gain my 15 minutes of fame, or in this case, gain experience and employment. Somehow, that came across as needy.
Any way, interviews and resumes aside, finding a job has been a crazy experience. I do feel like I am getting better, but in all, I have a feeling like I am in a circus. I also have interview anxiety, which does not help my position much. I constantly have to think about the information I give, and if I have enough experience. Should I be a go getter? Should I show my enthusiasm for the position? Should I respond with some ideas I may have that could potentially benefit the organization? Lots of questions and sometimes, I have a come up with a complete blank and go through autodrive. Dangerous.
I have been able to respond very well without thinking about the question, but somehow I think the stars and planets aligned and I somehow have managed to come out as a savant. Excellent.
All in all, I still have to apply for jobs and continue submitting my resume. One day, I will have a job. Until then, I guess I should keep myself busy.
Any way, interviews and resumes aside, finding a job has been a crazy experience. I do feel like I am getting better, but in all, I have a feeling like I am in a circus. I also have interview anxiety, which does not help my position much. I constantly have to think about the information I give, and if I have enough experience. Should I be a go getter? Should I show my enthusiasm for the position? Should I respond with some ideas I may have that could potentially benefit the organization? Lots of questions and sometimes, I have a come up with a complete blank and go through autodrive. Dangerous.
I have been able to respond very well without thinking about the question, but somehow I think the stars and planets aligned and I somehow have managed to come out as a savant. Excellent.
All in all, I still have to apply for jobs and continue submitting my resume. One day, I will have a job. Until then, I guess I should keep myself busy.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Good News, Great News, Maybe Excellent News?
This is going to be a short update but an update nonetheless.
Good News:
I heard back from Loyola University (Chicago) and I can say I am a Loyola GSB student. I was accepted for the dual degree program MBA/MSIMC. I start in the summer quarter; or technically, the first day of classes start May 24th.
I found out that I have been waived out of some classes and now only need 22 classes to finish the degrees without having to push back my lifetime goals. Yay! Also, I feel like I struck the lottery because I don't have to pay for any more classes than I need to. This is like having a scholarship, or like having rent waived for a month.
Great News:
I interviewed for an internship with a non-profit and I heard back that I got the job. I am excited to work with the group and I hope to use my background and experience to enrich the community, the programs, and the organization. The position is voluntary so I won't be making any money during my tenure, but the projects seem enjoyable and fun.
I also received an email a week ago about an internship. I was scheduled to have a meeting today, and I just finished. It's an exciting and involved project, and even if I don't get the internship, I know that things are starting to look up.
Maybe excellent news:
I don't know yet, but my life seems to be rosy at the moment. I like where I am at, and I hope I can continue to be blessed with the exciting and new adventures I may have. I am very excited about starting the program at LUC, and I am excited about working with the non-profit.
Good News:
I heard back from Loyola University (Chicago) and I can say I am a Loyola GSB student. I was accepted for the dual degree program MBA/MSIMC. I start in the summer quarter; or technically, the first day of classes start May 24th.
I found out that I have been waived out of some classes and now only need 22 classes to finish the degrees without having to push back my lifetime goals. Yay! Also, I feel like I struck the lottery because I don't have to pay for any more classes than I need to. This is like having a scholarship, or like having rent waived for a month.
Great News:
I interviewed for an internship with a non-profit and I heard back that I got the job. I am excited to work with the group and I hope to use my background and experience to enrich the community, the programs, and the organization. The position is voluntary so I won't be making any money during my tenure, but the projects seem enjoyable and fun.
I also received an email a week ago about an internship. I was scheduled to have a meeting today, and I just finished. It's an exciting and involved project, and even if I don't get the internship, I know that things are starting to look up.
Maybe excellent news:
I don't know yet, but my life seems to be rosy at the moment. I like where I am at, and I hope I can continue to be blessed with the exciting and new adventures I may have. I am very excited about starting the program at LUC, and I am excited about working with the non-profit.
Friday, April 9, 2010
From the Bureau of Labor and Statistics
* Keen competition is expected for these highly coveted jobs.
* College graduates with related experience, a high level of creativity, and strong communication and computer skills should have the best job opportunities.
* High earnings, substantial travel, and long hours, including evenings and weekends, are common.
* Because of the importance and high visibility of their jobs, these managers often are prime candidates for advancement to the highest ranks.
I think they need to redo their analysis. I am a college graduate with related experience, a high level of creativity, and strong communication and computer skills. I still haven't found gainful employment for longer than year.
* College graduates with related experience, a high level of creativity, and strong communication and computer skills should have the best job opportunities.
* High earnings, substantial travel, and long hours, including evenings and weekends, are common.
* Because of the importance and high visibility of their jobs, these managers often are prime candidates for advancement to the highest ranks.
I think they need to redo their analysis. I am a college graduate with related experience, a high level of creativity, and strong communication and computer skills. I still haven't found gainful employment for longer than year.