Shocking Discoveries

I thought I had covered everything when evaluating my decision to get an MBA. I knew the good, the bad, and the ugly, and I was prepared for what I was going to get out of the program. I was quite sure of this, right up until I started classes. Then I discovered that the two most interesting side effects of my MBA were not what I had expected.

Confidence

I was not prepared for what this program would do for me, both personally and professionally, in feeling like I had the ability to walk into any situation and be valuable. I trust my own ideas and opinions. I can make things happen. I have learned that I have tremendous capability. And this will impact me for the rest of my life.

Flexibility

I’m not talking about touch your toes. But I am talking about my new ability to do anything I want. If I want to work for a Fortune 500 company, I can get an interview with almost anyone. If I want to be my own boss, I can start my own company. If I want to work from home three days a week, then I am valuable enough now that I can make that happen. Sure, these will require hard work. I may have to sacrifice in some areas to get what I want. No one will hand this to me. But with MBA after my name, people will consider it. And that is one step farther than I have ever been able to get before.

—Kelsey Harris, Class of 2011, OB/HR

Read more!

Wake Forest MBA Case Competition

Pulled-pork vinegar based barbecue at Little Richards, Cheerwine soda conversion, Bojangles breakfast experience and 36 hours of no sleep. What does that equal? A little trip to good ole North Carolina to participate in the 2010 Wake Forest Summit MBA Case Competition.

As a part of the 6 member team, I learned a ton about myself and my fellow students, inevitable when you spend 4 days together in a confined room. Lesson #1: designate one MBA to decide which minivan to drive rather than having everyone discuss the benefits and features of the Toyota compared to the Dodge. This took a whole 5 minutes and I knew we were bound for 4 days of excitement and opinions.

Second, Febreze Air Effects is the new Windex (watch the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding if you don’t know what I’m talking about). When we arrived on Wake Forest campus Thursday afternoon we were shown to our case room. Amidst the various items the institution provided was a canister of Febreze. My first thoughts: “Um, why is there a canister of Febreze?” At around 12:30 a.m. ET time I learned the importance of this misty delightful fragrance that could permeate a room infested with an insufferable boyish odor. So when looking for an odor remedy, can I make a plug for you? Purchase Febreze Air Effects. It could save your smelling sense if that’s important to you.

Thirdly, “Arrested Development” can save your life. On the flight out to North Carolina I was introduced to this marvelous witty and insane comedy. I’d heard several people talk about the show, but never saw the life sustaining traits that could be invaluable when you’re competing for $50,000 in a case competition with little sleep. During the precious few hours we had scheduled to sleep during the case competition, our favorite Austrailian, David Liddicoat, cuddled up in his blankie watching multiple episodes of this divinely inspired slapstick show. To say the least, I’m converted and have borrowed all three seasons to begin my indoctrination of all things “Arrested Development”.

We also gained new friends from the University of Notre Dame, Wake Forest University, London Business School, IESE Business School (Barcelona, Spain), Dartmouth College (Tuck) and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Thank you to our fellow MBA students, friends and family who provided the 936 votes that helped us win “Fan Favorite.” Now, we may not have placed in the top 3 to win a portion of the thousands of dollars IBM was shedding, but it’s not always about the money. Or is it?

-Ronell Hugh, Class 2010, Marketing

Internship: Omniture

Full-time: Walmart

Read more!

HR Case Competition & Field Study

During this past year, I sought out every real world application of the principles and models I’m learning as possible. Two of those opportunities were a field study and a case competition.

Honeywell Field Study

As a team of five MBA students, we contracted with Honeywell to travel to SE Asia to analyze the HR implications of mass hiring in emerging regions. We spent a full semester analyzing research, gathering data, and conducting interviews and focus groups to determine the top recommendations to improve employee retention and career progression. The highlight was spending ten days in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia getting to know the culture and people and then being able to present our findings and recommendations to senior executives at Honeywell.

Human Capital Case Competition

Vanderbilt hosts the annual Human Capital Management (HCM) Case Competition to attract top MBA talent to analyze how HCM can drive strategy and impact a company’s bottom line. A team of three first-year and three second-year students were given a week to dissect a complex business case and then traveled to Tennessee to present to Deloitte Consulting executives as if we were a consulting team presenting to the leaders of the case company’s management team. Not only did I get a chance to see a real business situation and the impact that HCM can have, but I also had the time of my life getting to know my team members outside of our normal routines and was able to network with successful professionals and leading MBA students at schools like Cornell, UCLA, Michigan, North Carolina, USC, Vanderbilt and Yale. It is one thing to learn what to do in a class setting for an assignment, and a very different thing to actually take the analysis from conception to implementation and get feedback, guidance, and inspiration from those who have proven success in their field. I encourage all incoming MBAs to seek out the fun opportunities to represent BYU through additional activities outside of the academic rigor of the program in order to get the most out of your MBA experience.

-Joe Nabrotsky, OB/HR, Class of 2010

Internship: Honeywell

Full-time: Honeywell

Read more!

European Business Excursion

Early in the fall, a couple of internationally minded second year MBA students decided to take a trip to Europe in late January in order to seek out any available internship or full time opportunities. They invited along as many first year students as wanted to come. A consensus was taken and we decided to go to London, Geneva, and Zurich to meet with several alumni and European based companies. We even got the trip approved by the Global Management Center to count towards our Business Excursion that must be done in order to get the Global Management Certificate. Our great mentor Jim Engebretsen decided to go with us on the trip and set us up with all of his contacts overseas. I wish that I had more time to write more about the trip and the contacts that we made and what we learned, but I guess that you can ask us all about it when you arrive next year for your first year in the MBA program. Below is just a summary to get you excited for your MBA international excursion if you so choose to take one.

Our Agenda:

Day One – We relaxed in London, recovered from jet lag, and went to see Wicked on London's West Side.

Day Two – We went to Hyde Park ward and had lunch with COO of Citigroup in EMEA. Later that day, we went to dinner at the home of the new Diplomat to Russia for the United Kingdom.

Day Three – We visited the CEO of Credit Suisse EMEA Investment Banking at his executive office conference room in London. Later, we had lunch with a few alumni in a fancy hotel and visited Europe Disney/ESPN.

Day Four – We visit Raymond James, Head of HR at Barclays, and flew out to Geneva.

Day Five – We Visit the Global Fund, an oil and gas company in Geneva, and ate at a nice Fondue restaurant.

Day Six – We took a train to Vevey to meet with Nestle, ate and bought lots of chocolate and then took a train to Zurich.

Day Seven – We took a train to Zug to meet with Credit Suisse Private Wealth Management. Afterwards, we met and had lunch with Partners Group (private equity). Then, we met with Johnson & Johnson. We finished with a relaxing train ride back to Zurich.

Day Eight – We had a free day in Zurich. Some people went to Lucern, while some toured Zurich, and two of us got to hear the traditional ringing of the bells on the square - me and Christian I think.

Day Nine – Flew back to SLC.

Summary: Lots of fun and lots of opportunity. Learned tons or tonnes depending on where you live.

-Britt Chapman, Finance, Class of 2011

Read more!

What do your elevator buttons look like?

If you are already determined that an MBA is the only thing for you, then you can stop reading now. Seriously. But if you are like me, you may be thinking, “Wait, can we step back from BYU a bit? Do I even want an MBA?” Then this post is for you.

I make lists. I make lists for groceries, I make lists of things to do, I make lists of books to read. And then I make lists to manage my other lists. When I was considering an MBA, I made about a million pro/con lists. The reason I had to make a million is because my lists were so frustratingly balanced. For every pro, I could think of a con, and for every con, there was a pro. Every up had a down and vice versa. How are you supposed to make a decision when neither choice is an obvious leader? I spent several frustrating months with my perfectly balanced lists before I finally reached Pro/Con nirvana. It looked like this.

Yup, elevator buttons. Surprised? I was. This is a picture I took of the elevator buttons in the Tanner building at the Marriott School. They have since been fixed, but this visual sign from heaven was there long enough for me to realize something important.

I had a fundamental flaw in my pro/con analysis. See, I was determined to list EVERYTHING that might be good or bad about an MBA. I gradually realized, I was completely distracted from what was most important to me, the one thing that really mattered in this decision. What did I want? What is most important to me in the next five years? Money, opportunity, intellectual stimulation, career advancement? So what is it, you ask? I’m not going to tell you. It’s not important anyway. What is important is what is your #1? Once you decide, make your pro/con list again. But this time, only list those things that are a pro or con for your #1, and see how that list turns out. It will probably be much shorter.

When I was done, I found two buttons both pointing up. For me to achieve my #1, there were only pros to getting an MBA (ok, maybe one con, but it was little). So here I am. It was a tough decision to make, but if you can figure out what your #1 thing is, then you will find those determined opposing arrows will end up pointing the same direction. If an MBA is your up, great. But you have to get rid of those opposing arrows before you can move anywhere.

—Kelsey Harris, OB/HR, Class of 2011

Read more!