The MBA Student Voice

Reflection on Switching Cost

As you may already know, my prior background is medical research in biotech industry.  Upon joining UCLA Anderson, one concept I learned is switching cost, which has appeared repeatly in the Marketing course and Economy course.  This concept describes the cost that a consumer needs to pay in order to switch to using a new product and A marketer’s effort is to help the consumer makers the transition.  At a higher level, I think switching costs describes very well many aspect of my daily life and thus I want to share with you.

All my classmates at UCLA Anderson say that there are too many things to do in school, which I agree.  However, I do not feel like I have learned or accomplished as much.  I have heard from my classmates: “I did not do much today in school. But I feel tired.”  In my opinion, the reason for the contradiction is switching cost.  In the beginning of my day, I need to switch from home to school.  It takes at least one hour to make the switch washing up and commuting and another hour to go back (that is 2 hours of good time to switch).  Then it is my classes, which include marketing, fiancé, accounting, statistics and economy.  Students have various backgrounds so the professors try to take care of everybody, that means the least advanced.   I did not learn very much in statistics until half way into the semester. Here is half a semester of switching cost.  My accounting is the opposite and my lack of background makes the course hard to understand sometimes and I need to spend a lot of extra time to understand.   

After the class, there are school events.  There are events from Healthcare Business Association,  Marketing Association, Investment Finance Association, Entrepreneur Association, and the Strategic Operations Management Association.  I do not have prior business background and all these events are potentially useful for my future career.   However I cannot attend all the events and many events are in conflict with each other so I have to decide which one is ranked higher.  In the beginning of the semester it takes as much time to decide and manage the events as attending in the events.  Fortunately there is google calendar that is a huge help.  But of course learning how to use the google calendar, reading the emails announcing all the events, and entering all the events to attend into the google calendar is a big switching costs too.

There is switching cost in networking with my new people.   Breaking ice is the necessary step of meeting with any new people before knowing what is in people’s mind.  Our 2011 class spent almost two weeks of the orientation time to break the ice.  In other words, paying the switching cost to be comfortable and know the new group of friends.  Moreover,  the switching costs or the time to break the ice is a lot higher for international students than for domestic students because of the culture barrier.

In a nutshell, I want to learn new knowledge, knowing new people at UCLA Anderson  but in order to reach my goals I need to be patient. Only after paying the hefty switching cost will I be able to get what I want.  After all, my whole purpose of coming to UCLA Anderson is to pay the switch cost which including $120000 and 2 years of time to switch from medical research to business.  UCLA Anderson is realizing a value from students’ switching cost.  And consulting industry is making money off a company making a switch to a new business direction. 

Thus switching cost is a general phenomenon in life and in business and to study switching cost is of great significance and value to everyone.

My first 2 months at UCLA Anderson

Today is Nov 2.  I arrived in Los Angleles on Sep 2.  Two months went by like a snap.  But it is one of the most fulfilling two months.  I came to UCLA Anderson to change my career--- I have a PhD degree in biochemistry and been doing biomedical research in academia and the biotech industry.  I am an international from Chinese.  Here is what I observed and thoughts along the way of the two months:

1. UCLA and LA are truly a melting pot.  As a Chinese who has studied and worked for about 10 years in the US, mainly in Missouri and North Carolina, I know better to say that nowhere is more melting than LA. People in other states I have seen do not melt but keep distance. I guess the difference is because more than 30% international students are at Anderson plus the American citizen born in foreign countries. Thus it is fair to say that more than 50% of the Anderson students  either welcome or belong to international cultures.  

2. Compare to other states, LA is crowded but extremely enjoyable. Too many bars that are fun.  Mild and balmy weather are so nourishing and calming to my body and soul that I sleep way better than anywhere else.  However, as with all good things, there is always a negative side: 1.the outbreak of so-called Anderson cold last month brought down more than 30% of my classmates 2. Highways (especially 405) being constantly jammed, which is extremely hateable, reminding me of the crowded mice cages that I used to do research on at UNC.  

3. UCLA MBA students are smart but surprisingly friendly and cooperating.  I am totally comfortable at UCLA even with a different culture and career background.  It is common to see my classmates go out of their way to help each other.  A few examples:  Our section A academic VP sends out reminders every week to remind the class of the upcoming homework and assigned readings for the following week; Students who have cars offer ride to those who have no cars. Such a helping and giving culture is not coincidence but took shape since the first day of orientation--two 2nd year MBA students, Vee and Brian, set a good role model and volunteer to lead our section through the two week long orientation.  It was a totallly awesome experience.

Leadership, which is recognized as the center piece of any business school learning, sounds empty to me who is used to the black and white solid subject in science.  But on second thought, what is leadership and who has leadership?  My definition is that anyone who understands and can interact with every kind of people any time and anywhere is a leader.  A place to melt into everybody else is what UCLA Anderson provides me, an international students, for developing leadership.  That is priceless!