The St.Gallen MBA Student Blog

The Power (and Beauty) of the German Language

elitsaslaneva — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:27:20 +0000

You might have been wondering where we have been hiding. Well, since the Electives phase started in late February, we are pretty much all over the place. The beauty of Electives is that you get to make your own schedule. Hence, if you are lucky enough, you can end up with a month`s break in between classes or manage to be done with the Electives phase by late April. Another plus of the Electives is that we get to do them together with the Part-Time class, which ultimately makes for interesting discussions, group works and new contacts. The one drawback of this phase is that we hardly ever get to see the whole Full-Time class together any more (this has been referred to as a positive by some, including myself at times , but let`s see how sentiment develops as graduation approaches).

Apart from vacationing all over Europe, eating delicious home-made food and enjoying the gorgeous weather outside of Switzerland …, this class has also been busy looking for that perfect post-MBA job. We had the MBA Lounge (as part of the HSG Talents Career Fair) on March 6, 2012. Since then we have been busy following up with potential employers, drafting cover letters, fine-tuning CV`s, interviewing and pretty much running around like chickens with our heads cut off. While there have been some notable successes in this domain by some of our classmates, the rest of us continue to persevere with the job hunt. And perhaps work on our German-language skills in der Zwischenzeit. Although you can land a good job without speaking German, fliessendes Deutsch opens up a whole new area of possibilities in German-speaking Europe. Trust me on this. So get your textbooks out and get down with it, would be my advice.

Bis bald und viel Glück,

Elitsa

Second half of the MBA journey in full speed!

TuuliLaakso — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:34:30 +0000

The second half our MBA is in full speed. After returning from Christmas break in January, it has been a whirlwind. I had the idea that after the 4th, and final core block, was finished we would be have a little “breather” in the curriculum. Wrong! We went straight into our Learning Assessment Week (more or less affectionately known by its acronym LAW), which was a 90 minute oral exam testing our knowledge of the MBA material thus far, presentation skills and current events in the business world. There was not a day that went by prior to LAW that every student in the class was deeply engrossed in world developments chronicled in the Financial Times. The students organized small discussion groups on what was in the FT that day, and during coffee breaks everyone was glued to the newspaper. The assessment itself was a fantastic experience (though I know I definitely was biting my nails just a few minutes before, trying to figure out what was waiting for me on the other side of the door where Simon Evenett, one esteemed professor, and two corporate panelists were waiting for me- but I am happy to report that it really was not as bad as it sounds), and I think this should be a mandatory assessment for all MBAs graduating from programs around the world.

I feel like I have been starring in my very own fast forward movie called the life of an MBA, as we are already now nearly in the middle of March! Job search and interview season is in full swing. This past Tuesday all the MBAs took part in the HSG Talents Conference, with a special treat for us MBAs with extensive prior work experience: the MBA Lounge. Many of us had interviews arranged with companies such as Zurich Financial, BASF, Glencore, Deloitte and many more, and we were able to discuss work opportunities with representatives at the Lounge and make new contacts. Outside of the Lounge, which by the way was located on a balcony above one of the large halls and the rest of the HSG students at the OLMA conference center, were many more companies looking to hire graduates from all the programs at HSG in the coming year. It was a great opportunity to see what is out there, and practice your 90 second pitch. Pressure is definitely mounting to find a project and/or full time job, but the Career Services Office is working hard to find us opportunities. Rarely a day goes by when we are not forwarded opportunities in various industries by Career Services.

So, with only 12 more weeks of elective classes left, I am trying to slow my life down a little bit (though it seems impossible) and also enjoy some time with my classmates because I know once it is all over, I will miss them the most out of this MBA. Spring is also making its way back to Switzerland, and although the winter has not been that bad (really, I promise) I am excited for the warmer and longer days and everything that comes with them. But for now, I need to get back to my job applications and mounds of assignments….

Google – Losing Testosterone?

nitinmisra — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:50:43 +0000

There was a time when Google had no profits. It was madly searching for sources of revenues. Then in 2003 they hit upon the AdWords gold mine and as of Dec 2011, Total Ad revenue stood at $ 36.5 Billion (Google’s total revenue was $ 37.9 Billion).

As per Google’s 2011 SEC Filing, “The goal of AdWords, our primary auction-based advertising program, is to deliver ads that are so useful and relevant to search queries or web content that they are a form of information in their own right. Most of our AdWords customers pay us on a cost-per-click basis, which means that an advertiser pays us only when a user clicks on one of its ads. We also offer AdWords on a cost-per-impression basis that enables advertisers to pay us based on the number of times their ads appear on our websites and our Google Network Members’ websites as specified by the advertiser.”

So should we say Google is an IT company or a Media company? Although core competency remains ‘Search’ but it has become an enabler for AdWords and AdSense programs rather than a key revenue generator. Boys are Men now; It’s been 8 years since Google went Public and it looks like Google is losing testosterone. I believe it’s time for them to transform their Business Model. Switching costs of consumers in Internet industry is 0. In addition, the switching time is in minutes, if not seconds. In such a scenario, as a CEO you would like to save the hard work you have put so far.

As more and more powerful gadgets are falling into people’s hand, the hunger for content is increasing. And so will increase the demand for ‘Intelligent Information’. And this explosion of ‘Intelligent Information’ will pace up every cycle – product, information, financial or even Bubbles. So closely placed network effects will be the new normal. In such hyper world, Google needs to do much more than search and Ads to keep itself fresh for people who have very-very small attention spans. In this regards, Apple should be the role-model for Google – The first transformation was around 1998 with iMac (PC was the core business), then moved to media (iPod) and then came the iPhone. And the latest foray is in tablets which are not at all performing badly. Google has been trying out several of these options but only to catch up.

So what are the options with Google?

Forget about Social exploration – Leave Social part to Facebook; With Zuckerberg and Sandberg, they’re doing pretty good.
Focus on core strengths – Rather than pursuing too many options, focus on what they are good at. Innovate Search. Strengthen the mobile value chain; Leverage Motorola and Android (Why keep Chrome?). Expand Google Wallet.
Cloud – I will also be interested in Google collaborating with Apple to focus on Mobile Apps over Cloud
Device a concrete plan for ‘Smart Mobility’. Google has already been awarded patent for technology for self-driving cars. Cities and transport on clouds!
Buy Twitter before it’s too late!

Technology sector is one of the very few which appreciate talent without huge capital investments upfront. I hope Google Guys have that in mind to keep them on their feet.

PS: “ If you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful…”

Mad men

mhuynh — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:56:37 +0000

Now I get your attention, no I’m not mad. Mad Men is the name of the tv show which I have been watching. It’s about the life of marketing and advertising managers in the 60s in New York. I like to see the motivations of each individual (especially manager) in corporate life and how they meet those challenges. The show also gives insights into how much society has changed in the span of 50 years. The show did bring back to life the classic corporate look and the fashion of the 60s. If you have time to watch it (such as commuting on the train like I do) then it is a highly recommended.

I also have other thing to share: my year plan has already been shapping up in, from professional career to volunteer to personal life.

Global project management

My professional work also starts to take off a little bit. I have signed a longer term contract with Sulzer and take on more responsibilities and will eventually take on the full responsibility for the global e-HR project. I am quite excited about the prospect because it’s an opportunity for me not only to prove myself but also to build network with people working at Sulzer in all corner of the world. I will potentially make business trip to one of the subsidiaries of Sulzer and learn about local business. This is something I was dreaming of only couple years ago and something that the MBA prepared me for.

Sales Man skills

One thing new with me this year is that I start to invest more time in volunteering. I now have the role as Sponsoring and Advertising Director for the Project Management Institute (PMI) Switzerland Chapter. My main goal is to bring the revenue to the organization through maintaining and getting more sponsors. Judging by the balance sheet of the Chapter, sponsoring and advertising revenue contribute to almost 50% of the Chapter budget. It will be a great challenging opportunity to try and sharpen my sales skills, which is something out of my normal professional work and I have never experience before. I believe that, if anything, volunteering is a safe space where I can try and explore different traits and probably lead to future career prospect.

The Swiss Travel Journey

For your enjoyment pleasure, I have posted here few pictures from my journeys in Switzerland in the las couple of months. The pics from Solothurn was the trip that my coworkers and I went to have our Raclette at my manager’s house, including a visit at the Armory Museum.

The last pic was taken in Fribourg, Switzerland where I went to the Annual Assembly Meeting of the PMI Swiss Chapter. I was only 10 minutes in the old history town but I fell in love with it. I felt like I went back to hundreds years ago and walking down a medieval town. See you again soon Fribourg.

Solothurn

Fribourg

Currently on mp3 player: we are the people by Empire of the Sun.

Beyond the Classroom

simonwolpert — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:17:46 +0000

Given the mounting pressure to perform academically, the ambition to find gainful and purposeful employment, the fleeting daylight hours spent in lecture halls, and the frigid Siberian air descending on our quaint, valley-nested town, it is perhaps shocking that the St.Gallen MBA class has never been more active in extracurricular activities.

Since returning from Christmas break there have been many initiatives stemming from all facets of the MBA establishment. Even alumni have been chipping in by organising events such as ‘Dress for Success’, a fashion tutorial led by a local stylist and fashion consultant. While many of us left the event lamenting our hastily chosen wardrobes, we all learned quite a bit about how presentation matters, and where we could improve.

The program administration hasn’t been slouching either, with management challenging both themselves and the students to engage in various forms of thought leadership, and organising open discussions about the program structure in which everyone is encouraged to give valuable feedback about how the program can be improved.

Finally, I should give a well-earned nod to my classmates for undertaking a variety of useful endeavours. My fellow blogger Nitin Misra has been chairing a particularly pragmatic Case Club that he created both to review some of the material we’ve learned thus far and to prepare ourselves for the requisite quick-thinking the coming onslaught of interviews will demand of us. Other increasingly popular initiatives include the Presentation Club, the Financial Times Discussion Group, The Entrepreneurial Group and, my personal favourite, the Multilingual Mock-Interview Group. The latter, which includes myself, met last weekend to allow some non-native speakers of a plethora of languages the opportunity to be interviewed by native speakers. It was a fantastic way to take advantage of the multicultural makeup of our class. By the end of the day I had played interviewer and interviewee for mock-interviews in Spanish, French, English, and German. Bis la prochaine vez, Cheers!

Being Social – A Business Must!

nitinmisra — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:00:20 +0000

“In the long history of humankind those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” – Charles Darwin

My fellow MBA students by now know that I am a big fan of Social Media and believe in its impact on businesses. ‘Social’ and ‘Web 2.0’ are ubiquitous terms which have entered dining-table talk. I even have heard people saying – “I’m totally gonna tag you, you are such a Facebook material ”. In this ever shrinking world, Six degrees of separation has been reduced to 3^rd degree contact on LinkedIn.

Whether people like it or not, Social Media has changed the way people collaborate and way people adopt the ideas. Who can forget the Burger King’s “Whooper Sacrifice” Facebook campaign or Google’s ‘Parisian Love’? And then there was ‘Old Spice Man’ and ‘Dove Evolution’ video on YouTube. The ‘Dove’ video got more than 11.4 million views and $150 Million worth of exposure. Not a bad promotion huh!

But Social Media is such a fast changing environment – every month a star is born (new website comes up) which turns into white dwarf a year later and then becomes a black hole. Thus an MBA who is studying Marketing, should understand the nuances of new technologies and innovations in social media marketing. Equally important is the need for ‘freshness’ in Social Media campaigns. Attention spans of customers are reducing daily and marketers are getting frustrated. On the other hand Google and Facebook are still able to attract customers due to new products / services they are bringing out frequently (not judging the quality of services). It need not be an out-of-the-world idea; rather there should be incremental innovations to acquire and retain customers’ interest. Fortunately Web 2.0 provides numerous ways to bring out disruption in the way people work and socialize. As the interest for getting a ‘Like’ on social page increases, I am sure the time is not very far when most of the B-Schools will recognize the power of Social Media in Marketing and will introduce this subject in core curriculum.

Back in our daily life, as put by Elitsa in her blog, we are now heading for Learning Assessment Week (LAW). Identified stakeholders grilling each of the MBA 2012 participants for 90 minutes on our courses so far, general business awareness and a case that will be handed a night before. All the best Co-2012 and FB (for market’s response to the IPO)!

PS: “I am learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma.” ~ Eartha Kitt

For further information on Social Media adoption - http://www.bain.com/publications/articles/putting-social-media-to-work.aspx

Learning Assessment Week

elitsaslaneva — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:36:33 +0000

For the first time this academic year, the HSG-MBA will conduct a “Learning Assessment Week” (LAW) for its Full-Time MBA Class. The Learning Assessment Week will take place between February 13 and 18 – at the end of the Core modules and right before Electives start. During this time, each student will undergo and hour-and-a-half individual “oral exam.” Every MBA candidate will get to present his/her solution to a real-life business case distributed 24 hours in advance. The students will get to demonstrate their understanding and ability to apply theories and concepts taught during the Core modules phase. The case presentation will be followed by a discussion of current business, economic and political developments – focusing on their relevance to corporate strategies – between the student and a five-member jury. The jury itself will include the MBA Program`s Academic Director, Prof. Dr. Simon Evenett, two external professors from other MBA Programs and two corporate partners. The goal of this Assessment Week is to ensure that each and every HSG-MBA candidate is adequately prepared to address real business challenges upon graduation.

It`s a New Year and the pressure is on. Wish us luck, fellow HSG-ers, and we will do our best to do you proud!

Ringing in 2012

mhuynh — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:48:23 +0000

2011 proved to be an eventful year with lots of up and down in my MBA journey, but it is still a positive year. 10 highlights of the year, in no particular order or priority:

Graduated from HSG – MBA
Awesome internship term (at Sulzer)
Got my Swiss work permit (though short-term) and got to work at Sulzer again
Sold my condo in Toronto
Met my parents again as well as the crew in Toronto over the summer
Acquired new friends in Switzerland (classmates, colleagues and social network) and had wonderful time with them
Started with my volunteer work as Sponsoring Team Lead with the PMI Switzerland Chapter
Got my Swiss Driver License
Featured in Sulzer employee videos, which is expected to be publicly posted on Sulzer’s new Career site by mid 2012 (I will post the link once the site is launched)
Started my German class at B1 level

Overall, things have happened as I expected at the start of the year, though the uncertainty of the work permit did throw things off a little bit. This success was contributed much in part by the support of friends, family and colleagues. Thank YOU!!

My top 3 priorities of this year: having a permanent job, fixing a place to stay (preferrably Zurich area) and visiting Vietnam.

Say Hello to 2012! Wish all of my blog readers a new year with lots of laughter and successes.

Current song on MP3 player: I’m Here by David Pfeffer (winner of X Factor Deutschland)

As a HSG-MBA student

tammytay — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 01:59:05 +0000

As a HSG-MBA student, you…

Have a million things to do (no further elaboration needed).

Keep odd hours: You have classes Monday to Friday from 9.30am till 5.00pm (3 days a week, the day starts at 8am for German classes). Some days you have group assignments; some days you have company presentations; some days you just want to linger over a glass of wine. And almost every week, it’s a colleague’s birthday. In between all these, you fit in the x-thousand-word essays, presentations, essential readings, financial times, examinations and so on. You will stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning to finish an assignment. In the morning, you will wake up and look at the clock and be shocked, for some reason. You’ll say “What’s wrong with me?”

Take notes: And you will be excited that your great note-taking skills and quirky handwriting finally pays off.

Have some real good times: Coffee on a Saturday morning is a cherished moment, especially when it is a moment shared with some wonderful colleagues. You will hang out at each other’s apartment and watch silly movies and forbid the talk of schoolwork. You will go to bars and you will all be drunk (some will even sing!) and you’ll feel good.

Can feel overwhelmed by very small tasks: Your days will be so unstructured that when you have something to do outside of reading and writing, it will feel like the biggest event ever. On a day when you do not have class, you will decide to finally go to the post office to send some postcards. You will plan your entire day around this errand. When something else comes up—a last minute company presentation—you will panic silently. But everything falls into place eventually.

Do not eat regularly: You will be penniless and you will have no time to cook proper meals. Your dad will call and ask what you ate that day. Your mom will say: “Please get something with protein, and buy some calcium supplements too.”

Network: You will meet company representatives at many company presentations, events organized by the Swiss Association of MBA, Credit Suisse Private Banking/Zurich Financial Services consulting workshops etc. You will meet fellow MBA students from top business schools across Europe and end up having such a great time when you least expect it.

Feel smart: Not smarter than anyone else, mind you, but smart in general. You will stare at your computer screen when writing your papers, and feel a headache building as you see the tight knots in the theories you’re trying to unwind. You will realize that you actually understand some of this stuff and feel ever so slightly proud that you do.

Feel dumb: Not dumber than anyone else, mind you, but dumb in general. You will constantly wonder if there’s something you’re just not getting when doing your reading.
Do not do laundry often: You will never have enough coins. The washing machine is normally located in the basement and you’ll lug your hamper down the stairs, and realize you forgot the detergent. You’ll walk back upstairs and then back downstairs and realize you forgot the coins.

Will make some life-long friends: Some of us are kind and gentle. Some of us are passionate and strong-willed. And some of us exude quiet strength. You will find those few individuals you wish you’d met even earlier. Sometimes you find yourself telling them things you have never told anyone else. And when the going gets tough, you lock eyes with them in class, and suddenly everything is all right.

Feel like everything is just the beginning: You will talk on the phone with your friends scattered across the world. They all have real jobs, or are in serious relationships, or are off on some grand adventure. Everyone will sound happy and you will remember the history you’ve had with these people and realize how you never knew that one day, you’d be sitting on this bench wearing this coat in this city talking to them. You will realize that you have absolutely no idea what will happen next. But you will not be worried.

Fooled by Randomness…

nitinmisra — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 21:26:29 +0000

Not really! I have not read that book. If you really want to read those 300 pages to understand that life is a function of random events, go ahead.

We have been given a gift by MBA office today – the gift of Sunday being off (this is the end of Core Block II) and so I have some time to reflect on the randomness in MBA’s life so far. On one hand, it feels good to live in a valley with a high quality of life and in proximity to a financial hub; On the other, in close proximity of highly intelligent professors and dynamic students ensures that you are always working out your grey cells without caring much about the place. A small class but with 20+ nationalities is a huge boon. Never thought of having so many encounters in such a short span.

While developing the Business Model Canvas, I was lost at sea when my blue ocean turned red. I almost drowned had it not been for my Spanish roomie, who saved my life by throwing the very innovative thought of selling nail-paints in Africa (He understands market forces better than I do). The epitome of grace came when a UK based Indian consultant threw his idea to exploit institutional voids in Libya to make his world a better place.

During ManCom classes, I came to know that the other Indian has a small entrepreneur inside him. His grand plan is to leverage Child Labor to earn himself free jet miles and a shack in Kerala! But since the course was on communications, he stopped short of telling us the expected top and bottom line. And the presentation from Canadian on music industry (ok, those were only rock bands!) has forced me to work even in the washrooms on filling my pregnancy pauses.

I also realized that though we MBAs are full of ideas, we often are on lookout for the source of inspiration. While discussing the case with my neighbor in the class, I am sure that I overheard professor whispering that for water companies, profits start to erode if their source is situated more than 100 km from the plant. University pub owner must have understood this strategy very well. That’s why he has ensured that MBA students are close to the source of their inspiration (beer). No wonder I very often see ideas being humbly offered & dissected and brains being blown off with new insights.

Without any doubt, we have been challenged, made to stretch our limits, expand our comfort zones and being forced to think of the complete picture. As days are going by, I am understanding the concept of ‘drinking by hose’. Every person has a story to tell and every story has a learning. Everyday cracks so many stories that I only hope I will be able to remember most of them. So as I continue in this MBA journey, I think I need to go with the flow – After all this is the experience I paid for!

PS: Going to watch ‘Margin Call’ tonight!