The MBA Student Voice

Learning about the economic crisis

I've been meaning to post for quite some time about one of my classes that I am currently taking, called The Crisis. Taught by one of my very favorite Anderson professors, Romain Wacziarg, this class has focused entirely on the economic recession of 2008-09. The class has been taught in a workshop style, so that it is more of a conversation between the professor and students than a 90-minute lecture. Another unique aspect of the teaching style is that Prof. Wacziarg has maintained a blog with links to current events surrounding the crisis, using this to complement the class discussions and also stimulate further back-and-forth outside of class.

Interestingly enough, this is one of two classes I'm taking this quarter that is being taught for the first time, that was essentially created for us, this year. I'll write about the other one -- "The CMO Experience" -- in another post soon.

Traveling to Africa

Next Saturday, I'll be leaving LA to spend a week in Accra, Ghana. This is part of my AMR (Applied Management Research) project, about which I have previously posted. As a refresher, or if this is the first of my posts you have read, I'm working with a team of four other second-year students on a consulting project for a hospital in Accra called Korle Bu. We are working specifically with the surgical department, with the goal of our project being to improve the efficiency of the operating theater. 

We originally thought this would be a simple "process flow" analysis, where we would try to find the bottleneck in the surgical process and then come up with a solution for how to relieve the bottleneck. If you're interested in learning a little more about what I'm talking about, visit the webpage of Anderson's Operations Department. Or, try reading this -- it's a novel that is, believe it or not, required reading for the core operations class at Anderson. 

When half of our team visited Accra in November, they discovered that there were too many variabilities in the the daily operations of the surgical department at Korle Bu for us to use a simple process flow tool. Although we were frustrated at the time, in retrospect it was a great educational experience for us to be forced to think (way) outside the box. In fact, this hiccup led to a much more complex and comprehensive solution to the surgical department's problem. Although operational analyses remain at the core of our recommendations, we layered human resources over that core, designing a complete and comprehensive performance management process that will allow the department to continually improve in the coming months and years.

Applied Management Research -- my project

In the second your of your MBA experience at Anderson, you will be required to complete a two-quarter thesis project, referred to as AMR (Applied Management Research). Although there is an option to create a business (aspiring entrepreneurs, email me if you'd like more information about that opportunity, and I'll put you in touch with friends who are going the BCO -- business creation opportunity -- route).

My project has been amazing. On top of getting work with four talented, brilliant classmates, I've been getting valuable real-world consulting experience. Our field study engagement is focused on improving the operational efficiency of a Ghanaian health care facility called Korle Bu. Korle Bu is the largest provider of medical services in Ghana, and is the teaching hospital associated with the University of Ghana. It's located in the capital city of Accra, and three of my teammates were there last week doing extensive research on the current practices employed by the hospital. In January, I'll have a turn to visit -- by then, we will have a set of recommendations and will take advantage of another week on the client site to test them out and put on the final touches. The project will conclude with a final presentation in early March.

Straight From Freshman to Senior

It's funny -- I thought it was going to get easier second year.

It definitely hasn't, but there is a big difference this go-round. I'm doing a lot more things that I've chosen to do, as opposed to things that are mandatory parts of the program. That's not say the mandatory stuff last year was anything less than fantastic (see any of the posts from the 1st-years this fall), but it's definitely a different mentality going into Year 2. 

In this sense, Anderson definitely has a Senior / Freshman culture, and it's actually a great way to have this b-school experience since there is such a strong sense of camaraderie among all the students here. The "Seniors" really take care of the "Freshmen" here -- I got the benefit of it last year, and am proud to have the opportunity to give back now that it's my turn.

Second-year provides a ton of opportunities for leadership at Anderson, and I'm trying to take advantage of a few of them. First, I am co-Partner of the Anderson Strategy Group, which is the student consulting firm. Anuradha Kumar, the other partner, and I have hired 10 first-years to join the group, and have them staffed on seven different strategy projects this fall.

Second is that I am a TA for the core Economics class. This is a great way to get to know the first-years, since I spent 3 hours a week in class with them, give review sessions, and hold office hours. I also get to make a good connection with a professor -- in this case, Victor Tabbush, who is an accomplished and gifted professor here and specializes in Economics and Health Care Management. (I'll write about my awesome AMR project in a future post). 

Third, I am the Coordinator of the Management Communications TA program, which provides communications consulting services to students preparing for presentations.

These are just a few of the many leadership opportunities that exist here. You can also be on the board for a club (such as the Marketing Association, the Public Speaking Club, or the Investment Finance Association, just to name a few). You can be an ACT coach and help first-years prep for recruiting. You can help with Orientation. You can be on the student government. The list goes on ...

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Out of sight, out of mind? Not so much. A week after we officially finished our first year of business school, I'm already missing it. I miss my amazing classmates, the fascinating classes, my awesome profs, and just the general sense of camaraderie and community that pervades the daily experience at Anderson.

Now ... am I glad to have a few months off from homework? Yeah, I admit I am. I am also excited about my summer internship, a strategy project for Princess Cruises. This was a tough year for recruiting -- not just at Anderson or at business schools in general, but everywhere in this economy. But as a testament to our Parker Career Management office, quite a few of us have found excellent jobs this summer. In fact, I owe my own internship largely to Parker, since one of the counselors, Jennifer Bevan, is the person who made me aware of this opening. She and Amanda Durrant, another of Parker's spectacular counselors, coached me on my resume, my interview answers, and general job-search strategies for most of this year. I owe them quite a bit!

Despite my exciting internship opportunity (which starts tomorrow!), I will certainly miss Anderson over the summer. I'm just glad that I have one more year left, more time to soak in the education and friendship thaty the school is afffording me.

I look forward to meeting many of you this fall. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about Anderson or about b-school in general.

Trip to wine country

Having worked in the wine industry before coming to business school, I definitely had the chance to taste a lot of wines and visit a lot of wine regions. One of my favorites, the Santa Ynez Valley, just happens to be 90 minutes away from the UCLA campus.

I took a day trip up there with some family last weekend (pic here). We went to five wineries: Brander, Epiphany, Qupe, Fess Parker and Foxen. Qupe is always a favorite of mine -- we poured a lot of their wine at the restaurant I used to manage outside Chicago. The great thing about taking a wine-tasting trip to Santa Barbara is that you don't really have to like wine in order to get a lot out of it. The terrain is stunning up there, so it's a great way to get away from the city and see some natural beauty. And what's even more amazing is that just an hour southeast of SB, you can see snow!

This is just one off the million ways to have fun while you're at Anderson! 

Decisions decisions ...

This is the time of year where some of you are having to make some tough decisions. Maybe you got into your top two choices and you have to choose between those. Maybe you are being offered a significant scholarship from a lesser school but you also got into your "reach" school. Or maybe you're deciding whether to go to b-school at all. A legitimate question, given the economy we're in.

I was faced with this decision last year as well. My memories of the period are intense -- it was a stressful time for me; I was fortunate enough to have a choice between three great options. 

I was deciding between three schools. Let's just call them A, B and C. A and B were my co-top choices; similar academic reputation, both in great locations in major metropolitan areas, phenomenal faculty at each. C was one of my backup schools, but had given me a very generous scholarship offer (significantly more than either A or B offered me).

The first thing I did was eliminate C. Even though it is also a very strong school, I knew from the outset that I wasn't in this to save money. The difference in 2 years of tuition would be dwarved by the difference in the experience I would have; and even if you want to get picky about the numbers, then the increase in expected salary upon graduation makes up for the difference, anyway. I have never regretted this decision.

The much more difficult choice was between A & B. In situations like this, I usually like to trust my "gut" -- and so I visited each school and really tried to channel my instincts. But even my instincts were undecided. Both schools felt good.

How did I end up choosing A(nderson)? The people. The students. Having visited a number of b-schools and knowing people from a handful of others, I feel confident saying that this school has the most outstanding student body of any in the country. In my class of 375, there are people representing every continent (ok, not Antarctica, but I'd stake something large on the fact that someone in my class has spent time there), every type of work background, dozens of races and cultures, dozens of mindsets and perspectives, many dozens of industries and job functions ... to call this a "network" is a vast understatement. To call it a "family" is a little gushy, but still an understatement. You know that trust game where you fall backwards and trust that your coworker will catch you? I'd jump off the Anderson roof and know someone would catch me. Ultimately, the students here are in it as a team, and that manifests itself everywhere from the classroom to recruiting to the bars, after-hours.

If you have a tough decision on your plate, just remember that you're going to b-school to get a job, sure, but that you're choosing a culture, too. If this sounds like the type of place where you want to spend two years of your life, Anderson is the right choice.

Anderson Strategy Group

I've mentioned in at least one previous post that Anderson is putting a lot of effort into improving its strategy program. This is occuring not only on an administrative level (on the part of faculty) but also among the student body.

This year, a second-year MBA student founded the Anderson Strategy Group, an in-house consulting firm run entirely by students. I'm one of the "managers" for the group, which means that I (will be) lead(ing) 4-6 person project teams. All of our work is pro-bono, and our goal is to give students a chance to hone their strategy skills on real cases for Anderson, UCLA, Los Angeles non-profits, and even some for-profit businesses owned by Anderson grads.

Several other top-10 business schools have similar clubs. It's important to us to get Anderson students on more invite lists for consulting firms and landing more offers, and we think this is a great way to get there. By the time you are here next year, ASG will be in full swing and you will have a chance to be a part of it!

I really should be studying right now

Ah yes, it's that wonderful time of the quarter ... finals week. Next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I'll be at school barely after the sun rises to spend 2-3 hours trying to remember and regurgitate all the cool stuff my profs have been teaching me for the last 2 1/2 months. Overall, finals at Anderson seem pretty fair (based on my one week of experience). None of them last quarter seemed grotesquely difficult or easy and were fair representations of what we learned. That said, it's always hard to synthesize data and focus for that short time period.

But actually, the hardest thing to do is to stop procrastinating and get down to studying! This morning I have been trying to go through my 650 pages of Operations PPT slides (as a side note, the profs here make ridiculously impressive Powerpoint presentations for class ... email me if you want to see some and I'll get back to you with an example), but I keep distracting myself. First it's March Madness, then it's my academic internship (for a boutique consulting firm in Sherman Oaks), then it's reading emails, then the weather ... I'm sure you know how this is. 

What usually brings me back and into focus is the fact that I love what I study here. For me, the most amazing thing about business school is the opportunity to learn applicable and fascinating things (with cool people and from talented profs). So, as soon as I start reading about the newsvendor model, I think I should be ok for a few hours ... until I drift to ESPN.com for a few minutes or get hungry.

Case competitions

Anderson is becoming more and more well-known for its strategy education, and part of the reason for that is all the extracurricular opportunities there are in that area. I will write about several of these in the future, but today I'd like to tell you about one of the many case competitions Anderson is involved in: the Net Impact Case Competition.

Last weekend, five of my classmates and I participated in that competition. The way that most case competitions work is that a team of students are given a client and a problem that client is facing. They are then given either several hours, several days, or several weeks (depending on the competition) to find as comprehensive and feasible a solution as possible.

In the Net Impact Case Competition, I teamed with Leaat Dulberg, Anuradha Kumar, Madeline Dewey, Teddy Ho and Sam Kang in establishing a growth strategy for Project GRAD. At the competition, we presented a 20-slide Powerpoint deck to a group of 12 industry judges, with a 10-minute limit (which, after 150 hours of research over 10 days, was probably the most challenging constraint).

For an aspiring consultant such as myself, it was an amazing learning experience and a ton of fun to get to work with an actual client, solving a real problem they have. On top of that, it was extremely satisfying to help a nonprofit. And even more fun was the fact that we won the competition. :)

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