We first-years are gearing up for our second-year capstone project, the Applied Management Research (AMR) Program. Per the syllabus:
The Applied Management Research (AMR) Program is a two-quarter, 10-unit course (MGMT 444A, 444B &
444C) that provides a unique educational experience for second year MBA students and fulfills the
comprehensive examination requirement of the MBA program. It is the capstone of the UCLA Anderson MBA
program. It matches teams of MBA students with companies or organizations to develop a comprehensive
business strategy that will enable the organization to move to the next stage of its organizational
development.
In other words, it is a two-quarter management consulting project that is our Master's Thesis.
A field study is not the only way you can fulfill your Master's Thesis requirement; you can also create your own business or do an actual Master's Thesis with a faculty advisor.
My team and I are looking to work on an international microfinance project. A team member and I went to Chicago for the 10th Annual Zell Center Chicago Microfinance Conference. Thanks to the generosity of the Center for Global Management, our trip was subsidized. We learned a lot, hearing the President and CEO of the Grameen Foundation speak to hearing about the impact microfinance will have on entrepreneurship.
Definitely recommended for next year's incoming first years to go to. A great learning experience.
The two highlights for me was 1) watching a Anderson team present its AMR project and 2) watching Anderson professor Bhagwan Chowdry moderate the session "Funding Microfinance: Financing the Financiers.
(In an aside, Professor Chowdry has a very interesting idea. From the Anderson website: "Professor Chowdhry has recently proposed Financial Access at Birth (FAB) initiative in which every child born in the world is given an initial deposit of $100 in an online bank account to guarantee that everyone in the world will have access to financial services in a few decades." You can even see his TED talk too.)
Without further ado, some pictures:
We went from 70s in California to 40s in Chicago. Makes you appreciate living in California more!
The Conference was at the University Club of Chicago. Awesome venue. Had a great view (see next picture).
We had to go see the Bean, didn't we? F for our jump though.
What's a trip to Chicago without deep-dish pizza?
I love the Chicago skyline. It's beautiful.
Went to Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea. I did a case study competition with some friends fall quarter so it was cool going to see it!
Was able to go to The Art Institute of Chicago before I left. Saw American Gothic!
That's all for now folks.
Dwight Asuncion, MBA/MPH '15
