With top consultancy firms charging thousands of dollars for a day's work, employing their services is a luxury most companies simply can't afford.
But some business schools offer student consultancies for a fraction of the price, making their expertise available to a whole range of organizations.
Student consultancy groups are a feature of many MBA programs, letting companies hire teams of MBA students to solve their business problems and giving the students a chance to put their education into practice.
The Wharton Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is part of Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, ranked by the Financial Times as the having the world's joint best MBA program.
The center employs around 40 MBA students and 40 undergraduates at any time, offering their knowledge and experience to local firms completely free of charge.
Wharton SBDC says it receives hundreds of applications each year from businesses wanting their help, with more than 20,000 small businesses taking advantage of its services over the past 10 years.
Leslie Mitts is managing practice leader at Wharton SBDC. She told CNN that the SBDC works with companies of all types and sizes, including small businesses that would never have the resources to hire a large consulting firm.
"Last week we worked with a lady who was running a dance center for underprivileged kids. As much as she wanted to give away lots of scholarships the school wouldn't exist if she gave so much free service away," she said.
"We made a couple of changes to her business, consolidated a couple of classes so teachers didn't have classes with only two students, and increased the fees by $10 a semester which isn't much, but it is when multiplied by many students.
"Now the center can not only teach all the underprivileged kids in that neighborhood and continue to give scholarships, but it also has a plan for sustainability that keeps it in business."
At Cambridge University's Judge Business School, part of the MBA program requires students to take part in the Global Consulting Project (GCP). The project sees teams of five MBA students spend three to four weeks offering free consultancy services.
Margaret O'Neill is projects manager at Judge and says non-profit companies are among those who have benefited from its services. But it's not just small businesses that can see the advantage of student consultants -- Microsoft, Toyota, Procter and Gamble and Shell International have all taken part in the project.
O'Neill told CNN that companies using the GCP benefit from the students' knowledge of up-to-date research methodology gleaned from the course and the fact that students have diverse backgrounds in a variety of disciplines. And with an average age of 32 the students can offer a wealth of experience.
At Temple University's Fox School of Business in Philadelphia, MBA students can participate in the Enterprise Management Consultant Practice (EMCP). The EMCP charges companies $20,000 for a consultancy, but managing director TL Hill estimates this is only a tenth of the commercial going rate.
Hill says the fee is offered on a sliding scale for non-profits, charities and smaller companies. He gives the example of a project working with a Philadelphia arts program that has created more than 2,000 murals around the city.
Hill says the MBA consultants helped the arts program think about ways of using its copyrighted artwork images to generate extra revenue, including selling prints and T-shirts featuring the artworks.
Robert Parikh is an MBA student at London Business School. Along with seven other students, he forms part of the London Business School (LBS) Consulting Team, a project that runs throughout the summer vacation.
"The idea is to take the skills we're developing and offer them at a reasonable rate," Parikh told CNN.
"The people involved with the team often go on to work for the likes of McKinsey and BCG. By hiring us for a short period over this summer our clients will get very high caliber people before they get too expensive."
Parikh points out that the LBS Consulting Team has a strong background in the field. Parikh, 27, has nearly five years of experience as a general manager for BAE Systems, while other team members have worked for IBM, and in real estate and consulting.
The team is run as a business and profits are kept by the students, but money isn't the motivation for Parikh.
Each year the project starts from scratch and Parikh hopes that being involved from the start will teach him entrepreneurial skills, as well as providing sales and marketing experience he believes will be useful when he finishes his MBA in 2010 and embarks on his chosen career -- in consultancy.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
HBS Essay Questions Released
Application Deadlines
Round 1: October 1, 2009
Round 2: January 19, 2010
Round 3: April 8, 2010
Note: All deadlines are 5 p.m. EST.
Notification Dates
Round 1: December 15, 2009
Round 2: April 6, 2010
Round 3: May 13, 2009
Essay Questions
1. What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? (600-word limit)
2. What have you learned from a mistake? (400-word limit)
Please respond to two of the following (400-word limit each):
1. What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience?
2. Discuss how you have engaged with a community or organization.
3. Tell us about a time when you made a difficult decision.
4. Write a cover letter to your application introducing yourself to the Admissions Board.
5. What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you?
Round 1: October 1, 2009
Round 2: January 19, 2010
Round 3: April 8, 2010
Note: All deadlines are 5 p.m. EST.
Notification Dates
Round 1: December 15, 2009
Round 2: April 6, 2010
Round 3: May 13, 2009
Essay Questions
1. What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? (600-word limit)
2. What have you learned from a mistake? (400-word limit)
Please respond to two of the following (400-word limit each):
1. What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience?
2. Discuss how you have engaged with a community or organization.
3. Tell us about a time when you made a difficult decision.
4. Write a cover letter to your application introducing yourself to the Admissions Board.
5. What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you?
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
经济危机结束了吗？
虽然大众对于谢国忠的经济评论毁誉参半，但是我对于他本人一直都是很尊敬的。不多经济学家能够像他一样实事求是，真正花时间下乡去理解中国经济。以下为谢国忠在财经网发表的一篇对于目前经济情势的文章，我很同意他的看法，也觉得相当客观的反映了目前的环境。
节录于财经网，全文请见 http://magazine.caijing.com.cn/2009-04-26/110153554.html
全球股票市场自3月初触底后大幅反弹。截至4月中旬，全球主要股市均报出约20％的涨幅。处于金融危机重灾区的美国银行业公布了业绩不错的年报。美国总统奥巴马对看到的一线希望津津乐道。美联储主席伯南克也觉得经济有了初步复苏的迹象。日本刚刚宣布了新的一揽子经济刺激计划。市场预测，中国也将公布第二轮经济刺激方案。突然之间，市场上出现了“再不入市就晚了”的骚动。
然而，我认为，这轮上涨仅仅是最终以泪水作结的熊市反弹。接下来一系列新难题将使行情再次下跌。银行业“优良”的年报以及宣称复苏的言论，很可能是有些公司试图利用反弹获得大量资金的幌子，以便度过即将来临的漫长冬日。初次公开发行股票（IPO）将吞没新兴市场。看多的投资者将用自己的真金白银，为这些受苦受难的银行和公司织寒衣。
事实上，配股潮可能已经涌起了，熊市的反弹可能会在一两个月内结束。受经济数据转好消息的刺激，又一轮的熊市反弹可能在今年秋天上演。等到经济复苏被证实无法持续，经济出现二次衰退，或者通货膨胀的压力迫使央行不顾经济疲软而紧缩银根，反弹就将结束。资产价格将在2010年的下半年跌至最终底部。届时，市场会看到财政刺激政策弹尽粮绝，中央银行再也无法滥印钞票了。
熊市反弹不可持续
在2009年初，我预计二三季度将出现一次反弹。现在，我修正自己的观点，我认为，2009年将出现两次反弹。现在，我们正经历第一次反弹，证券配售和IPO将终止这场反弹。转好的宏观经济数据将在三季度推动新一轮反弹。在以前发表的文章中，我预测经济将在2010年出现第二次衰退。
自2007年夏天次贷危机爆发以来，恐惧主导了金融市场。历次市场反弹都短暂无力，仅仅是下一次暴跌的前奏。过去五周的上涨，是迄今最长的一次熊市反弹。它持续的时间越长，市场上的猜惧也越多。我能感觉到看多投资者的悲观情绪。
在前几天CNBC电视台美国频道的一次采访中，一位持“金融危机浪潮将扑面而来”观点的嘉宾几乎被主持人推出门外。当我谈到香港房价将大幅下跌，并回落至正常水平时，主持人的眉宇拧成了一个“川”字，高声强调，香港人有控制价格的能力。“信念”而不是证据，在推动着市场反弹。
市场的严峻挑战，将在公司发行股票、筹集资金的时候出现。高盛首开先河，在公布“良好的”收入数据后，即宣布增发50亿美元的普通股。其他金融机构，可能也将打着偿还政府的旗号展开融资。可是，如果这些机构真的经营状况良好，它们还需要筹集资金来偿还政府吗？在新兴市场，IPO在暂停两年后也将重现江湖。
对投资者而言，他们需要考虑的是这些企业需要融资的原因。在可预见的未来，全球经济强劲增长的可能性不大，企业并不需要资金来扩张，最有可能的答案是为未来的苦日子做准备。我认为，这些在公开场合发表积极言论的企业并不看好未来，只是想在市场仍处于乐观气氛时借机圈钱。新增融资需求最终将压垮市场。
出现牛市的条件是：市场已经跌无可跌；全球经济正在复苏或者将要复苏；如果经济仍处困境，政府能采取更多的经济刺激措施。出现熊市的条件是：债务水平仍相当高，全球经济在债务水平非正常化情况下无法重现增长；全球经济仍在萎缩，尽管可能幅度较小；政府的刺激计划无法启动新一轮经济增长周期。
我站在看空阵营一边。这是一场百年一遇的经济危机，惟一可以比拟的是20世纪30年代的“大萧条”。启动新一轮经济增长，有两个条件必须满足：首先在消费经济国家，例如美国、英国、澳大利亚、爱尔兰、西班牙，债务相对于收入的水平必须重返20年前的标准；其次，制造业出口国，例如中国、德国、日本，必须显著弱化其生产导向性特征...
全文请见：http://magazine.caijing.com.cn/2009-04-26/110153554.html
节录于财经网，全文请见 http://magazine.caijing.com.cn/2009-04-26/110153554.html
全球股票市场自3月初触底后大幅反弹。截至4月中旬，全球主要股市均报出约20％的涨幅。处于金融危机重灾区的美国银行业公布了业绩不错的年报。美国总统奥巴马对看到的一线希望津津乐道。美联储主席伯南克也觉得经济有了初步复苏的迹象。日本刚刚宣布了新的一揽子经济刺激计划。市场预测，中国也将公布第二轮经济刺激方案。突然之间，市场上出现了“再不入市就晚了”的骚动。
然而，我认为，这轮上涨仅仅是最终以泪水作结的熊市反弹。接下来一系列新难题将使行情再次下跌。银行业“优良”的年报以及宣称复苏的言论，很可能是有些公司试图利用反弹获得大量资金的幌子，以便度过即将来临的漫长冬日。初次公开发行股票（IPO）将吞没新兴市场。看多的投资者将用自己的真金白银，为这些受苦受难的银行和公司织寒衣。
事实上，配股潮可能已经涌起了，熊市的反弹可能会在一两个月内结束。受经济数据转好消息的刺激，又一轮的熊市反弹可能在今年秋天上演。等到经济复苏被证实无法持续，经济出现二次衰退，或者通货膨胀的压力迫使央行不顾经济疲软而紧缩银根，反弹就将结束。资产价格将在2010年的下半年跌至最终底部。届时，市场会看到财政刺激政策弹尽粮绝，中央银行再也无法滥印钞票了。
熊市反弹不可持续
在2009年初，我预计二三季度将出现一次反弹。现在，我修正自己的观点，我认为，2009年将出现两次反弹。现在，我们正经历第一次反弹，证券配售和IPO将终止这场反弹。转好的宏观经济数据将在三季度推动新一轮反弹。在以前发表的文章中，我预测经济将在2010年出现第二次衰退。
自2007年夏天次贷危机爆发以来，恐惧主导了金融市场。历次市场反弹都短暂无力，仅仅是下一次暴跌的前奏。过去五周的上涨，是迄今最长的一次熊市反弹。它持续的时间越长，市场上的猜惧也越多。我能感觉到看多投资者的悲观情绪。
在前几天CNBC电视台美国频道的一次采访中，一位持“金融危机浪潮将扑面而来”观点的嘉宾几乎被主持人推出门外。当我谈到香港房价将大幅下跌，并回落至正常水平时，主持人的眉宇拧成了一个“川”字，高声强调，香港人有控制价格的能力。“信念”而不是证据，在推动着市场反弹。
市场的严峻挑战，将在公司发行股票、筹集资金的时候出现。高盛首开先河，在公布“良好的”收入数据后，即宣布增发50亿美元的普通股。其他金融机构，可能也将打着偿还政府的旗号展开融资。可是，如果这些机构真的经营状况良好，它们还需要筹集资金来偿还政府吗？在新兴市场，IPO在暂停两年后也将重现江湖。
对投资者而言，他们需要考虑的是这些企业需要融资的原因。在可预见的未来，全球经济强劲增长的可能性不大，企业并不需要资金来扩张，最有可能的答案是为未来的苦日子做准备。我认为，这些在公开场合发表积极言论的企业并不看好未来，只是想在市场仍处于乐观气氛时借机圈钱。新增融资需求最终将压垮市场。
出现牛市的条件是：市场已经跌无可跌；全球经济正在复苏或者将要复苏；如果经济仍处困境，政府能采取更多的经济刺激措施。出现熊市的条件是：债务水平仍相当高，全球经济在债务水平非正常化情况下无法重现增长；全球经济仍在萎缩，尽管可能幅度较小；政府的刺激计划无法启动新一轮经济增长周期。
我站在看空阵营一边。这是一场百年一遇的经济危机，惟一可以比拟的是20世纪30年代的“大萧条”。启动新一轮经济增长，有两个条件必须满足：首先在消费经济国家，例如美国、英国、澳大利亚、爱尔兰、西班牙，债务相对于收入的水平必须重返20年前的标准；其次，制造业出口国，例如中国、德国、日本，必须显著弱化其生产导向性特征...
全文请见：http://magazine.caijing.com.cn/2009-04-26/110153554.html
Monday, April 27, 2009
Wall Street Pay Bouncing Back?
Interesting read. My view is still the same: there is no fundemental changes on the market and the market will take longer than expected to recover. But an optimistic view is always helpful on the bear market, just like religion.
After Off Year, Wall Street Pay Is Bouncing Back
By LOUISE STORY
The rest of the nation may be getting back to basics, but on Wall Street, paychecks still come with a golden promise.
Workers at the largest financial institutions are on track to earn as much money this year as they did before the financial crisis began, because of the strong start of the year for bank profits.
Even as the industry’s compensation has been put in the spotlight for being so high at a time when many banks have received taxpayer help, six of the biggest banks set aside over $36 billion in the first quarter to pay their employees, according to a review of financial statements.
If that pace continues all year, the money set aside for compensation suggests that workers at many banks will see their pay — much of it in bonuses — recover from the lows of last year.
"I just haven’t seen huge changes in the way people are talking about compensation,” said Sandy Gross, managing partner of Pinetum Partners, a financial recruiting firm. “Wall Street is being realistic. You have to retain your human capital.”
Brad Hintz, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, was more critical. “Like everything on Wall Street, they’re starting to sin again,” he said. “As you see a recovery, you’ll see everybody’s compensation beginning to rise.”
In total, the banks are not necessarily spending more on compensation, because their work forces have shrunk sharply in the last 18 months. Still, the average pay for those who remain — rank-and-file workers whose earnings are not affected by government-imposed limits — appears to be rebounding.
Of the large banks receiving federal help, Goldman Sachs stands out for setting aside the most per person for compensation. The bank, which nearly halved its compensation last year, set aside $4.7 billion for worker pay in the quarter. If that level continues all year, it would add up to average pay of $569,220 per worker — almost as much as the pay in 2007, a record year.
“We need to be able to pay our people,” said Lucas van Praag, a spokesman for Goldman, adding that the rest of the year might not prove as profitable, and so the first-quarter reserves might simply be “sensible husbandry.”
Indeed, last year, when Goldman lost money in the fourth quarter, it did not pay out some of the compensation it had set aside when earnings were stronger.
At other banks, pay scales tilt in favor of particular units. JPMorgan Chase, for example, is setting aside what would total $138,234 on average for workers. But in the bank’s trading and investment banking unit, if revenue stays at first-quarter levels, workers are on track to earn an average of $509,524 over the year. That figure was $345,147 in 2006.
To try to blunt criticism of high pay, some banks have introduced reforms to take back bonuses from individual workers whose bets later lose money. Moreover, executives say that for many well-paid bankers, a good portion of their bonus compensation is in stock, whose value can decline if the performance of the bank lags.
Representatives of several of the largest banks said much of their compensation budget covered expenses other than bonuses, like salaries, health care, pension plans and severance.
Still, the compensation expense is the only publicly disclosed figure related to pay at the banks, and it is the best figure for calculating pay per worker.
This expense includes money for year-end bonuses. For high earners, bonuses can account for three-quarters of pay.
Compensation is among the most cited causes of the financial crisis because bonuses were often tied to short-term gains, even if those gains disappeared later on. Still, as profits return, banks do not appear to be changing the absolute level of worker pay — or the share of revenue dedicated to compensation.
Historically, investment banks have paid workers about 50 cents for every dollar of revenue. The average is lower at commercial banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, because they employ more people in retail branches where pay is lower.
But every dollar paid to workers is a dollar that cannot be used to expand the business or increase lending. Some of that revenue, too, could be used by bailed-out banks to pay back taxpayers.
Wall Street, of course, has a long history of high wages. Not all that long ago, most investment banks were private partnerships, and the workers were also typically the owners. Even when those firms began listing their shares on public stock exchanges, a standard was set in which half of their revenue was paid out to workers.
Their argument is that such lofty pay retains the best employees, who help earn more money, ultimately benefiting shareholders. The set-asides in the first quarter for pay can also help raise morale within the banks.
Some shareholders, however, contend that the earnings pie should be reapportioned. They argue that shareholders have lost a lot of wealth as bank stocks spiraled, so as revenue picks up, more money should be returned in the form of dividends.
“The money should go to shareholders,” said Frederick E. Rowe Jr., a member of the pension board in Texas and the president of Investors for Director Accountability, a nonprofit group. “The fact that the compensation as a percentage of revenue has not gone down is an indication that the root problem has not been addressed.”
Some analysts point to Morgan Stanley as an example of the compensation conundrum. The bank had a dismal quarter, losing $578 million, but still put aside $2.08 billion for compensation. That amount, though lower than the compensation at Goldman, was 68 percent of revenue.
Mr. Hintz, the analyst, said the bank could have avoided losing 57 cents a share if it had reserved less revenue for compensation.
In an interview, Colm Kelleher, Morgan Stanley’s chief financial officer, said the compensation set-aside was based on the bank’s full-year earnings expectations, not just the first quarter. And Morgan could drop its compensation expense only so low, he said, because much of it consists of fixed expenses, like salaries.
“The number of fat cats making loads of money is much less than you think,” he said.
If shareholders do not like compensation policies at banks, they can simply sell their shares. Still, several banks cut bonus pools last year, as losses mounted. And the government is restricting certain pay at banks that received bailout money.
The rule, which applies only to the most highly paid workers, has prompted some banks to try to return the government money as fast as possible.
Executive recruiters in the sector say prospective recruits are still being offered pay packages on par with those of earlier recruits. Some banks that received taxpayer help are even offering guarantees to recruit workers.
Part of the way banks are supporting high pay for their workers is by shrinking their work forces. Citigroup, for example, has dismissed 65,000 people since the start of 2007. That has left Citigroup paying the same amount on average to its remaining workers, though the quarterly cost to Citigroup is down by 25 percent, to $6.4 billion.
After Off Year, Wall Street Pay Is Bouncing Back
By LOUISE STORY
The rest of the nation may be getting back to basics, but on Wall Street, paychecks still come with a golden promise.
Workers at the largest financial institutions are on track to earn as much money this year as they did before the financial crisis began, because of the strong start of the year for bank profits.
Even as the industry’s compensation has been put in the spotlight for being so high at a time when many banks have received taxpayer help, six of the biggest banks set aside over $36 billion in the first quarter to pay their employees, according to a review of financial statements.
If that pace continues all year, the money set aside for compensation suggests that workers at many banks will see their pay — much of it in bonuses — recover from the lows of last year.
"I just haven’t seen huge changes in the way people are talking about compensation,” said Sandy Gross, managing partner of Pinetum Partners, a financial recruiting firm. “Wall Street is being realistic. You have to retain your human capital.”
Brad Hintz, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, was more critical. “Like everything on Wall Street, they’re starting to sin again,” he said. “As you see a recovery, you’ll see everybody’s compensation beginning to rise.”
In total, the banks are not necessarily spending more on compensation, because their work forces have shrunk sharply in the last 18 months. Still, the average pay for those who remain — rank-and-file workers whose earnings are not affected by government-imposed limits — appears to be rebounding.
Of the large banks receiving federal help, Goldman Sachs stands out for setting aside the most per person for compensation. The bank, which nearly halved its compensation last year, set aside $4.7 billion for worker pay in the quarter. If that level continues all year, it would add up to average pay of $569,220 per worker — almost as much as the pay in 2007, a record year.
“We need to be able to pay our people,” said Lucas van Praag, a spokesman for Goldman, adding that the rest of the year might not prove as profitable, and so the first-quarter reserves might simply be “sensible husbandry.”
Indeed, last year, when Goldman lost money in the fourth quarter, it did not pay out some of the compensation it had set aside when earnings were stronger.
At other banks, pay scales tilt in favor of particular units. JPMorgan Chase, for example, is setting aside what would total $138,234 on average for workers. But in the bank’s trading and investment banking unit, if revenue stays at first-quarter levels, workers are on track to earn an average of $509,524 over the year. That figure was $345,147 in 2006.
To try to blunt criticism of high pay, some banks have introduced reforms to take back bonuses from individual workers whose bets later lose money. Moreover, executives say that for many well-paid bankers, a good portion of their bonus compensation is in stock, whose value can decline if the performance of the bank lags.
Representatives of several of the largest banks said much of their compensation budget covered expenses other than bonuses, like salaries, health care, pension plans and severance.
Still, the compensation expense is the only publicly disclosed figure related to pay at the banks, and it is the best figure for calculating pay per worker.
This expense includes money for year-end bonuses. For high earners, bonuses can account for three-quarters of pay.
Compensation is among the most cited causes of the financial crisis because bonuses were often tied to short-term gains, even if those gains disappeared later on. Still, as profits return, banks do not appear to be changing the absolute level of worker pay — or the share of revenue dedicated to compensation.
Historically, investment banks have paid workers about 50 cents for every dollar of revenue. The average is lower at commercial banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, because they employ more people in retail branches where pay is lower.
But every dollar paid to workers is a dollar that cannot be used to expand the business or increase lending. Some of that revenue, too, could be used by bailed-out banks to pay back taxpayers.
Wall Street, of course, has a long history of high wages. Not all that long ago, most investment banks were private partnerships, and the workers were also typically the owners. Even when those firms began listing their shares on public stock exchanges, a standard was set in which half of their revenue was paid out to workers.
Their argument is that such lofty pay retains the best employees, who help earn more money, ultimately benefiting shareholders. The set-asides in the first quarter for pay can also help raise morale within the banks.
Some shareholders, however, contend that the earnings pie should be reapportioned. They argue that shareholders have lost a lot of wealth as bank stocks spiraled, so as revenue picks up, more money should be returned in the form of dividends.
“The money should go to shareholders,” said Frederick E. Rowe Jr., a member of the pension board in Texas and the president of Investors for Director Accountability, a nonprofit group. “The fact that the compensation as a percentage of revenue has not gone down is an indication that the root problem has not been addressed.”
Some analysts point to Morgan Stanley as an example of the compensation conundrum. The bank had a dismal quarter, losing $578 million, but still put aside $2.08 billion for compensation. That amount, though lower than the compensation at Goldman, was 68 percent of revenue.
Mr. Hintz, the analyst, said the bank could have avoided losing 57 cents a share if it had reserved less revenue for compensation.
In an interview, Colm Kelleher, Morgan Stanley’s chief financial officer, said the compensation set-aside was based on the bank’s full-year earnings expectations, not just the first quarter. And Morgan could drop its compensation expense only so low, he said, because much of it consists of fixed expenses, like salaries.
“The number of fat cats making loads of money is much less than you think,” he said.
If shareholders do not like compensation policies at banks, they can simply sell their shares. Still, several banks cut bonus pools last year, as losses mounted. And the government is restricting certain pay at banks that received bailout money.
The rule, which applies only to the most highly paid workers, has prompted some banks to try to return the government money as fast as possible.
Executive recruiters in the sector say prospective recruits are still being offered pay packages on par with those of earlier recruits. Some banks that received taxpayer help are even offering guarantees to recruit workers.
Part of the way banks are supporting high pay for their workers is by shrinking their work forces. Citigroup, for example, has dismissed 65,000 people since the start of 2007. That has left Citigroup paying the same amount on average to its remaining workers, though the quarterly cost to Citigroup is down by 25 percent, to $6.4 billion.
Friday, April 24, 2009
MBA Ranking 2010 - US News & School Selection
一直以來我覺得選校是在申請前才會有的煩惱。但最近越來越多人問我：Adam, 我申請上了a, b, c 所學校，你覺得我該不該去念？如果要去念，我該去念哪一所？而當我反問，那你當初申請這幾所學校的原因是什麼？答案往往是，我想要去念MBA所以就看著排名試著丟了幾所我覺得可能上的學校，可是現在上了又覺得不知道該不該去念...
這樣的回答真的讓我有些哭笑不得，感覺整個思考的邏輯都本末倒置了。很難想像平常大家吃個飯挑餐廳的時候都會為了該去哪一家比較划算又好吃而煩惱許久，但是在申請學校的時候，兩年的歲月跟十五萬美金的投資決定竟然如此草率。只看排名來挑學校似乎就像是看著facebook來挑終生伴侶一樣...
對於頂尖商學院，如果能夠申請上，大部分的申請者都已經對自己想念的學校都有比較明確的想法，就找工作而言，大家也都有幾乎同等的機會來競爭，也有基本的市場薪資行情，因此decision process也相對容易。對於申請排名在20名後的學校的申請者，以下是我的一些想法：
Career Placement 會是一個非常重要的因素
說直接一點就是花的錢到底要賺多久才會回本。
排名較後的學校，若是畢業要直接回大中華區工作，大部分的公司可能還是以local standard加上你過去的工作經驗來給薪，以月薪兩千美金來計算，不考慮稅，最少六年不吃不喝才能回本。所以學費跟獎學金在你選擇學校的decision process中比重應該要提昇。另一方面，若是畢業想留在美國工作，學校所處的地域性在decision process中比重也得提昇。舉例而言，Austin, Seattle, Minneapolis 等城市是許多美國企業的總部，那些企業一般不想花成本到top school 招人，這樣不cost efficient因為那些學生的選擇太多，因此會轉而到在該州或城市的好商學院來招才。而一般美國企業給 MBA的起薪少說也有6, 7萬美金，雖然生活費高，至少回本的時間應該還是比較快。
當然還有其他許多的因素，如主修專業、校友網路、環境氣候等，然而那些都應該要以未來職業的規劃為前提來考量。
Anyway, 每個機構的排名方式均不盡相同，US News算是已經有多年歷史的排名，一般定義的頂尖商學院以本排名來說應該是在Cornell以上的學校。至於詳細的排名以及評分方式請見以下網址。
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/rankings/
1 HBS
2 Stanford University
3 Northwestern University (Kellogg)
3 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
5 MIT (Sloan)
5 University of Chicago (Booth)
7 UC Berkeley (Haas)
8 Dartmouth College (Tuck)
9 Columbia University
10 Yale University
11 New York University (Stern)
12 Duke University (Fuqua)
13 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor (Ross)
14 UCLA (Anderson)
15 Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper)
15 University of Virginia (Darden)
17 Cornell University (Johnson)
18 University of Texas--Austin (McCombs)
19 Georgetown University (McDonough)
20 UNC (Kenan-Flagler)
20 University of Southern California (Marshall)
22 Emory University (Goizueta)
22 Georgia Institute of Technology
22 Indiana University--Bloomington (Kelley)
22 Washington University in St. Louis (Olin)
26 Ohio State University (Fisher)
26 University of Washington (Foster)
28 University of Wisconsin--Madison
29 Arizona State University (Carey)
29 Brigham Young University (Marriott)
29 University of Rochester (Simon)
32 Purdue University--West Lafayette (Krannert)
33 Texas A&M University--College Station (Mays)
33 University of Minnesota--Twin Cities (Carlson)
33 University of Notre Dame (Mendoza)
33 Vanderbilt University (Owen)
37 University of Florida (Hough)
38 Rice University (Jones)
38 University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign
40 Michigan State University (Broad)
40 Penn State University--University Park (Smeal)
40 University of California--Davis
40 University of Maryland--College Park (Smith)
44 Boston College (Carroll)
44 University of Iowa (Tippie)
46 Boston University
47 Southern Methodist University (Cox)
48 Tulane University (Freeman)
49 Babson College (Olin)
49 University of Texas--Dallas
這樣的回答真的讓我有些哭笑不得，感覺整個思考的邏輯都本末倒置了。很難想像平常大家吃個飯挑餐廳的時候都會為了該去哪一家比較划算又好吃而煩惱許久，但是在申請學校的時候，兩年的歲月跟十五萬美金的投資決定竟然如此草率。只看排名來挑學校似乎就像是看著facebook來挑終生伴侶一樣...
對於頂尖商學院，如果能夠申請上，大部分的申請者都已經對自己想念的學校都有比較明確的想法，就找工作而言，大家也都有幾乎同等的機會來競爭，也有基本的市場薪資行情，因此decision process也相對容易。對於申請排名在20名後的學校的申請者，以下是我的一些想法：
Career Placement 會是一個非常重要的因素
說直接一點就是花的錢到底要賺多久才會回本。
排名較後的學校，若是畢業要直接回大中華區工作，大部分的公司可能還是以local standard加上你過去的工作經驗來給薪，以月薪兩千美金來計算，不考慮稅，最少六年不吃不喝才能回本。所以學費跟獎學金在你選擇學校的decision process中比重應該要提昇。另一方面，若是畢業想留在美國工作，學校所處的地域性在decision process中比重也得提昇。舉例而言，Austin, Seattle, Minneapolis 等城市是許多美國企業的總部，那些企業一般不想花成本到top school 招人，這樣不cost efficient因為那些學生的選擇太多，因此會轉而到在該州或城市的好商學院來招才。而一般美國企業給 MBA的起薪少說也有6, 7萬美金，雖然生活費高，至少回本的時間應該還是比較快。
當然還有其他許多的因素，如主修專業、校友網路、環境氣候等，然而那些都應該要以未來職業的規劃為前提來考量。
Anyway, 每個機構的排名方式均不盡相同，US News算是已經有多年歷史的排名，一般定義的頂尖商學院以本排名來說應該是在Cornell以上的學校。至於詳細的排名以及評分方式請見以下網址。
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/rankings/
1 HBS
2 Stanford University
3 Northwestern University (Kellogg)
3 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
5 MIT (Sloan)
5 University of Chicago (Booth)
7 UC Berkeley (Haas)
8 Dartmouth College (Tuck)
9 Columbia University
10 Yale University
11 New York University (Stern)
12 Duke University (Fuqua)
13 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor (Ross)
14 UCLA (Anderson)
15 Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper)
15 University of Virginia (Darden)
17 Cornell University (Johnson)
18 University of Texas--Austin (McCombs)
19 Georgetown University (McDonough)
20 UNC (Kenan-Flagler)
20 University of Southern California (Marshall)
22 Emory University (Goizueta)
22 Georgia Institute of Technology
22 Indiana University--Bloomington (Kelley)
22 Washington University in St. Louis (Olin)
26 Ohio State University (Fisher)
26 University of Washington (Foster)
28 University of Wisconsin--Madison
29 Arizona State University (Carey)
29 Brigham Young University (Marriott)
29 University of Rochester (Simon)
32 Purdue University--West Lafayette (Krannert)
33 Texas A&M University--College Station (Mays)
33 University of Minnesota--Twin Cities (Carlson)
33 University of Notre Dame (Mendoza)
33 Vanderbilt University (Owen)
37 University of Florida (Hough)
38 Rice University (Jones)
38 University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign
40 Michigan State University (Broad)
40 Penn State University--University Park (Smeal)
40 University of California--Davis
40 University of Maryland--College Park (Smith)
44 Boston College (Carroll)
44 University of Iowa (Tippie)
46 Boston University
47 Southern Methodist University (Cox)
48 Tulane University (Freeman)
49 Babson College (Olin)
49 University of Texas--Dallas
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Susan Boyle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY
继Paul Potts之后，另一个让我感动的声音。人多多少少都会有些以貌取人，而让自己深省的是很多美德跟优点并不像是歌声一样在短短的几分钟内就能撼动人心。多尝试用不同的角度来看待事物，或许总会有新的发现跟启发
在商业世界而言，能够be open-minded并知人善用者也才能成为一个成功的专业经理人及管理者。
下面是转载网易娱乐专稿 对于Susan的介绍:
一位身材肥胖、其貌不扬的农村妇女，却凭着一首歌在一夜之间成为了欧美各大媒体的头条。这并不是哪部励志电影或小说的情节，而是发生在英国电视选秀节目《英国达人》（Britain’s Got Talent）的舞台上，而这位主角的名字叫做苏珊·波伊尔（Susan Boyle）。
Susan Boyle出生于1961年，成长于苏格兰一个名叫Blackburn的小镇。是家中十兄弟姐妹中最小的一个。她母亲在生她的时候难产，所以导致Susan在出生的时候短暂缺氧。而她还被诊断出有学习困难症，所以小时候的Susan在学校的时候经常被同学取笑。
毕业离开学校之后，Susan曾经当过六个月的厨师。Susan非常热爱音乐，她经常去剧院观看“专业演员的演唱”，并且师从Fred O'Neil学习声乐。她曾经想要参加英国的另一个选秀节目《The X Factor》但最后还是放弃了，因为她认为这个节目选出来的全都是俊男美女。
Susan 一直都在照顾她的母亲。而她母亲生前一直鼓励她走出小镇去参加更大型的歌唱比赛。当她母亲于2007年去世之后，Susan Boyle终于决定要报名参加《英国达人》，她把这次参赛看成是对逝去的母亲的一种纪念。
Susan Boyle现时失业，而且她一直都是单身。兄弟姐妹也在很早之前就离开了家乡。她的母亲去世之后，陪伴她的就只剩下一只10岁的猫。
本年度4月11日，《英国达人》第三季节目的首场比赛中，当Susan Boyle登上舞台之时，无论是观众还是评判都对这位参赛者进行了从外貌到才能上的挑剔，根本没有人相信她能带出像样的表演。可是当这位业余歌唱爱好者用她那极具感染力的声线演唱完出自歌剧《悲惨世界》（Les Misérables）中的歌曲《I Dreamed a Dream》之后，得到的反应是全场观众起立并给予其长时间的鼓掌。
三位评判对她表演的评价更是充满了溢美之词。连《悲惨世界》的监制在听完Susan的演唱后都表示：“我和其他人一样，都被她那充满情感力量的表演吓傻了。从声音上来讲，我觉得她演唱的《I Dreamed a Dream》是我听过的最好的版本。”据报道，评审之一的Simon Cowell甚至已经为她准备了一纸唱片录制合约。
就这样，丑小鸭一夜成名了。而Susan Boyle的故事也得到了世界各地媒体的广泛报道。而对于这股“Susan Boyle热潮”，英国《卫报》的评论认为“Susan Boyle让人们知道，并不是每一个四十几岁的人都可以像广告中所表现出来的那样皮肤光滑妆容细致的。她的一夜成名告诉观众，她就像大多数的人一样，是一个普通的、有瑕疵的和敏感脆弱的人，在一路的失望与嘲笑中成长，但却一直坚持着为自己的梦想而奋斗。”
也有媒体将Susan Boyle与另一位成名于这个选秀节目的平民男歌手Paul Potts作了一次对比，得出的结论是“在二人演唱开始之前，观众对Susan充满敌意的挑剔与对Paul Potts那还算中立的态度，显示出这个社会对于女人总是要求她们才貌双全，而对于男人则没有这个期望。”
苏格兰日报《The Herald》甚至表示，“Susan Boyle其实给今时今日的人们上了一堂很好地道德教育课。因为人们现在倾向于凭着外表去评判一个人。而Susan Boyle的故事显得感人的地方是，这是一次在这个‘外貌至上’的文化中，才华与艺术的一次大胜利。”
而有媒体认为这次起始于英国的“Susan Boyle现象”，在美国社会其实也引起了一定的共鸣。美联社发表的评论表示，“Susan Boyle现象其实就像是人们常说的美国梦的梦想成真——才华总能战胜逆境与贫困。”
英国《独立报》一名纽约站记者写道：美国是一个最易被“丑小鸭变天鹅”的故事打动的国家。从电影《窈窕淑女》到《史瑞克》。而这次的Susan Boyle是真真实实发生的事情，所以美国人会被她所感动。
美国的《The Huffington Post》则指出了“Susan Boyle现象”的策划性。“无可否认，Susan的表现的确是非常感人的，而现场观众的反应也是出自真心的。但这显然是《英国达人》的监制预料中的效果，因为节目故意地用一种明显为加强前后反差的方式来介绍Susan出场。而且Susan是一个差不多50岁的人了，在这一点上，又会为她获得更多的同情分。观众们一定会为她这么多年浪费掉的时间所惋惜。”
继Paul Potts之后，另一个让我感动的声音。人多多少少都会有些以貌取人，而让自己深省的是很多美德跟优点并不像是歌声一样在短短的几分钟内就能撼动人心。多尝试用不同的角度来看待事物，或许总会有新的发现跟启发
在商业世界而言，能够be open-minded并知人善用者也才能成为一个成功的专业经理人及管理者。
下面是转载网易娱乐专稿 对于Susan的介绍:
一位身材肥胖、其貌不扬的农村妇女，却凭着一首歌在一夜之间成为了欧美各大媒体的头条。这并不是哪部励志电影或小说的情节，而是发生在英国电视选秀节目《英国达人》（Britain’s Got Talent）的舞台上，而这位主角的名字叫做苏珊·波伊尔（Susan Boyle）。
Susan Boyle出生于1961年，成长于苏格兰一个名叫Blackburn的小镇。是家中十兄弟姐妹中最小的一个。她母亲在生她的时候难产，所以导致Susan在出生的时候短暂缺氧。而她还被诊断出有学习困难症，所以小时候的Susan在学校的时候经常被同学取笑。
毕业离开学校之后，Susan曾经当过六个月的厨师。Susan非常热爱音乐，她经常去剧院观看“专业演员的演唱”，并且师从Fred O'Neil学习声乐。她曾经想要参加英国的另一个选秀节目《The X Factor》但最后还是放弃了，因为她认为这个节目选出来的全都是俊男美女。
Susan 一直都在照顾她的母亲。而她母亲生前一直鼓励她走出小镇去参加更大型的歌唱比赛。当她母亲于2007年去世之后，Susan Boyle终于决定要报名参加《英国达人》，她把这次参赛看成是对逝去的母亲的一种纪念。
Susan Boyle现时失业，而且她一直都是单身。兄弟姐妹也在很早之前就离开了家乡。她的母亲去世之后，陪伴她的就只剩下一只10岁的猫。
本年度4月11日，《英国达人》第三季节目的首场比赛中，当Susan Boyle登上舞台之时，无论是观众还是评判都对这位参赛者进行了从外貌到才能上的挑剔，根本没有人相信她能带出像样的表演。可是当这位业余歌唱爱好者用她那极具感染力的声线演唱完出自歌剧《悲惨世界》（Les Misérables）中的歌曲《I Dreamed a Dream》之后，得到的反应是全场观众起立并给予其长时间的鼓掌。
三位评判对她表演的评价更是充满了溢美之词。连《悲惨世界》的监制在听完Susan的演唱后都表示：“我和其他人一样，都被她那充满情感力量的表演吓傻了。从声音上来讲，我觉得她演唱的《I Dreamed a Dream》是我听过的最好的版本。”据报道，评审之一的Simon Cowell甚至已经为她准备了一纸唱片录制合约。
就这样，丑小鸭一夜成名了。而Susan Boyle的故事也得到了世界各地媒体的广泛报道。而对于这股“Susan Boyle热潮”，英国《卫报》的评论认为“Susan Boyle让人们知道，并不是每一个四十几岁的人都可以像广告中所表现出来的那样皮肤光滑妆容细致的。她的一夜成名告诉观众，她就像大多数的人一样，是一个普通的、有瑕疵的和敏感脆弱的人，在一路的失望与嘲笑中成长，但却一直坚持着为自己的梦想而奋斗。”
也有媒体将Susan Boyle与另一位成名于这个选秀节目的平民男歌手Paul Potts作了一次对比，得出的结论是“在二人演唱开始之前，观众对Susan充满敌意的挑剔与对Paul Potts那还算中立的态度，显示出这个社会对于女人总是要求她们才貌双全，而对于男人则没有这个期望。”
苏格兰日报《The Herald》甚至表示，“Susan Boyle其实给今时今日的人们上了一堂很好地道德教育课。因为人们现在倾向于凭着外表去评判一个人。而Susan Boyle的故事显得感人的地方是，这是一次在这个‘外貌至上’的文化中，才华与艺术的一次大胜利。”
而有媒体认为这次起始于英国的“Susan Boyle现象”，在美国社会其实也引起了一定的共鸣。美联社发表的评论表示，“Susan Boyle现象其实就像是人们常说的美国梦的梦想成真——才华总能战胜逆境与贫困。”
英国《独立报》一名纽约站记者写道：美国是一个最易被“丑小鸭变天鹅”的故事打动的国家。从电影《窈窕淑女》到《史瑞克》。而这次的Susan Boyle是真真实实发生的事情，所以美国人会被她所感动。
美国的《The Huffington Post》则指出了“Susan Boyle现象”的策划性。“无可否认，Susan的表现的确是非常感人的，而现场观众的反应也是出自真心的。但这显然是《英国达人》的监制预料中的效果，因为节目故意地用一种明显为加强前后反差的方式来介绍Susan出场。而且Susan是一个差不多50岁的人了，在这一点上，又会为她获得更多的同情分。观众们一定会为她这么多年浪费掉的时间所惋惜。”
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
申请top MBA：女生比较有优势？
最近做了些统计，结果似乎显示在国际学生中女生好像被录取的比例远高过男生。以下是我的一些看法
1. 年龄的问题：就我的观察，蛮多男生还是倾向大学毕业读个研究所，一方面可以先不用去当兵 (在台湾)，二来可以让自己找工作更加有竞争力。想想如果念个研究所丶当个兵出来工作三五年，男生已经将近三十岁，这时候男生好不容易稍稍有点积蓄工作稍微稳定丶可能有些人也考虑成家。这时候能够有决心去准备跟有远见看到top MBA的价值的人真的比较少。反之，女生因为年龄的考量多半会想要早点去念书，很多人也因此从early 20's就开始准备，所以在top MBA我的感觉是女性的申请者比男性多。而这几年被Wharton录取的台湾男生当中，碰巧的好像只有一两位有当兵。
2. 英文：不讳言的说，这几年我看到女生的英语能力还是普遍比男生好些。尤其是很多理工背景的优秀男生，英文真的是罩门。
3. 工作经历：大部分的男生，可能还是理工背景居多。若没有早些对自己的career有所规划，三五年的纯technical background 在申请过程中的确较难凸显自己。相反的女生相较之下往往有稍多的不同的经历跟课外活动，所以也会在申请中占有优势
4. 最後这点比较属於我自己的看法，如果所有条件都一样，基於学校会尽量收一定比率的外国学生跟女生来diversify student pool，收了一个国际女学生可以同时将两个比例拉升，如果我是adcom，同样优秀的申请者，如果我只能选一个，我想女生可能还是占优势
1. 年龄的问题：就我的观察，蛮多男生还是倾向大学毕业读个研究所，一方面可以先不用去当兵 (在台湾)，二来可以让自己找工作更加有竞争力。想想如果念个研究所丶当个兵出来工作三五年，男生已经将近三十岁，这时候男生好不容易稍稍有点积蓄工作稍微稳定丶可能有些人也考虑成家。这时候能够有决心去准备跟有远见看到top MBA的价值的人真的比较少。反之，女生因为年龄的考量多半会想要早点去念书，很多人也因此从early 20's就开始准备，所以在top MBA我的感觉是女性的申请者比男性多。而这几年被Wharton录取的台湾男生当中，碰巧的好像只有一两位有当兵。
2. 英文：不讳言的说，这几年我看到女生的英语能力还是普遍比男生好些。尤其是很多理工背景的优秀男生，英文真的是罩门。
3. 工作经历：大部分的男生，可能还是理工背景居多。若没有早些对自己的career有所规划，三五年的纯technical background 在申请过程中的确较难凸显自己。相反的女生相较之下往往有稍多的不同的经历跟课外活动，所以也会在申请中占有优势
4. 最後这点比较属於我自己的看法，如果所有条件都一样，基於学校会尽量收一定比率的外国学生跟女生来diversify student pool，收了一个国际女学生可以同时将两个比例拉升，如果我是adcom，同样优秀的申请者，如果我只能选一个，我想女生可能还是占优势
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