Archive for the ‘MBA’ Category
Adding MBA after name? Think twice.
Saturday, August 28th, 2010A few days ago, a whole new world looked at me from the pages of the advertising section in a local newspaper in Toronto, Canada. Mortgage brokers and real estate agents add "M.B.A" after their names in ads. My first reaction was that it was totally out of place like sand ...
Continued involvement at Wharton/Lauder
Friday, August 6th, 2010Yesterday, I was among several alumni present at a Wharton admissions event in Sunnyvale, CA that was kindly hosted by Yahoo! Inc. Needless to say, the event was organized and led by Wharton alums from start to end. About a hundred prospective candidates attended the event, and today, some of ...
Is there Wharton/Lauder life after Wharton/Lauder?
Sunday, July 25th, 2010First, there is not necessarily "after" Wharton/Lauder -- it can be a permanent involvement. The good news is that the two years at Wharton and Lauder start a soft revolution in one's life, and it is up to the individual what to do with the change. It has been ...
Done and done
Sunday, June 13th, 2010I graduated, and I am now a Wharton/Lauder alumnus. The graduation ceremony took place in Philadelphia on May 16. It was a busy and long day for me, my little family, and a couple of very good friends who came for graduation. Everything went according to schedule: all cohorts, clad ...
Beach Week
Thursday, May 13th, 2010Wharton cherishes its many good traditions. One great tradition is for the graduating MBA class to spend a week after the exams and before graduation on the beach in Miami Beach, Florida. This time is referred to as "Beach Week". Our Beach Week was tons of fun: pool side parties, fun ...
Last day of classes
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010Today was the last day of classes. I cannot believe the two amazing years at Wharton are over. Bittersweet.
My final classes at Wharton/Lauder
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010Today I had my final Chinese class at the Lauder Institute. It is symbolic that the note I wrote right at the moment when the Prof. called it a class was an idiom 不遗余力, which means "to spare no effort" or "tirelessly". It does sum up all the hard work ...
Wharton Dance Studio
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010I have posted some pictures from the Dance Studio performance (click on the tab above). It was a magnificent show, and the turn out was impressive. Allegedly, about 800 tickets were sold.
Wharton Dance Show
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010Tomorrow is a big day for my little family: my wife has been preparing for the Wharton Dance Show for the past three months, and finally tomorrow is THE day. They will have two performances at the Annenberg Theater: one tomorrow and one the day after. Lots of Lauder students ...
Sad day
Monday, March 29th, 2010Moscow is once again a place of a disaster. I am sad, sad, sad. If you have any thoughts on what should be done to solve Russia's insurgence and terrorism problem, please share with me in the comments.
Lauder Chinese Track Potluck
Sunday, March 28th, 2010Chinese Track first and second years had a potluck today. We have these activities several times a year, and it is always fun, but I have never seen a full turn out. Today's potluck was not different. This is a general trend at Wharton/Lauder: scheduling is a huge problem. So many ...
Wharton MBA babies
Saturday, March 27th, 2010Today, our very good friends were having a baby shower - they are expecting any day now. The party was great: many people came to congratulate them. It was a happy, wonderfully delightful time. Many married couples at Wharton decide to have children while at school. In my view, if a ...
MBA Colloquia at Wharton
Friday, March 26th, 2010Wharton is a very dynamic place, and the opportunities for learning here are truly endless. For example, today right after Prof. Diamond's Negotiations class (He is exceptional!), I decided to go and check out the speakers invited to the MBA Colloquia forum. It was a fantastic way to learn about the ...
Graduation speaker for Wharton MBA class of 2010
Friday, March 26th, 2010Dean Robertson sent a class-wide email last night announcing that our graduation speaker will be Robert S. Kapito, W’79, Co-Founder, President and Director of BlackRock. I think this is a good choice: many of my classmates aspire to be in Mr. Kapito's position one day, and the school certainly wants more ...
Wharton Studio 54 Party
Thursday, March 25th, 2010[caption id="attachment_359" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Organized by Wharton Gay And Lesbian Club"] [/caption] This 70's-inspired party is one of the annual massive parties at Wharton, and it is tonight. The idea comes from the legendary Studio 54 - this is arguably the most bizarre and wild party at Wharton. Actually, for some strange ...
Wharton encourages student participation in BusinessWeek b-school survey
Thursday, March 25th, 2010Today, our class got a school-wide email from Anjani Jain and Kembrel Jones, Deputy Vice Dean of Student Life, that started like this: "Dear Class of 2010, We are writing to you because BusinessWeek is about to conduct their annual survey of MBA Programs and we wanted to provide you some relevant ...
Inventor of mobile internet at Wharton
Thursday, March 25th, 2010Takeshi Natsuno, Wharton Graduate '95, talked with Wharton students today on the current state of things, and the future of mobile internet in the world. The email sent out to the school introduced him as: "Takeshi Natsuno, Professor of KEIO University, former Senior Vice President of NTT DoCoMo, developed the business strategy ...
Toyota troubles explained at Wharton
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010Yesterday was yet another exciting learning opportunity. Takahiro Fujimoto (Professor, Faculty of Economics, the University of Tokyo, Executive Director, Manufacturing Management Research Center) came to Wharton to share his view on the exact reasons why Toyota has got in trouble in the first place, and what awaits this marvelous corporation. [caption ...
Magic Johnson at Wharton Social Impact Conference 2010
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010Last week I got to see, listen to and talk with Magic Johnson. He was a keynote speaker at the Wharton Social Impact Conference - his connection to Wharton is through his business partner, Bobby Turner, an active Wharton alumnus and a successful businessman. Magic's message was simple: concentrate on doing ...
Wharton Follies 2011
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010Life has been very dynamic and busy at my end, but I finally have a little time to publish all of the drafts I was making for the blog. So a lot of the posts will be about stuff that took place 3-4 weeks ago. First, to follow up on my ...
Wharton Winter Welcome
Thursday, February 4th, 2010Last week was awesome! There were quite a few events that would go down in history as key events of 2010. Wharton Winter Welcome: the newly admitted Wharton students roamed around the campus in great numbers (they were easily identifiable by the tell-tale easy-to-read name badge on a bright red lanyard). What's ...
Good luck, Abby Sunderland!
Monday, January 25th, 2010Check out the blog by Abby Sunderland: I am amazed that she at the age of 16 is braving the big seas around the world alone! Good luck, Abby!
Prof. Diamond’s Negotiations Class at Wharton
Friday, January 15th, 2010I was lucky to have gotten Prof. Diamond's Negotiation class this semester, and today was the first class. I had heard the class was good, but I would have never guessed just HOW good the class is. Prof. Stuart Diamond is a legendary professor at Wharton, and his expertise and fame ...
Second Year Drinks tradition at Wharton
Friday, January 15th, 2010Wharton has a number of wonderful traditions. I will try to cover some of them here. Wharton Second Year Drinks is an informal event for second-year MBA's - it is another opportunity to meet friends and meet new people: the school's size leaves an opportunity to meet someone new virtually every ...
Parties in the fall
Sunday, January 10th, 2010The third semester was extremely busy. In 2008, when the program started, I heard some people say that it gets less busy in the second year, and the further you, go the less there is to do. None of this is true. What happens is you get more efficient at managing ...
It was a great semester
Saturday, January 9th, 2010This past semester was super. I loved every course I took - all of my professors exceeded my expectations and I learned a lot of new skills and knowledge. On the other hand, I had more time to enjoy the social life at Wharton and Lauder. The magic sum of ...
Lauder Distinguished Lecture Series – a recent innovation at Wharton/Lauder
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009The Lauder Institute is constantly on the forefront of innovation in education. In spring 2009, Prof. Mauro Guillen organized a hugely successful Wharton course on the recent crisis: the idea was to invite several professors from different departments to lecture on an issue that is related to the meltdown. It ...
Summer internships in the downturn: Wharton/Lauder advantage
Saturday, November 14th, 2009Summer internship search is never easy, but it was especially tough to be hunting for a summer job in the midst of the worst recession of the century. Fortunately, for those b-school applicants who are wondering if it is worth paying extra for the joint degree from Lauder, I have a ...
Watching Chinese TV on PC and Mac
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009One of the best ways to watch Chinese TV on Windows machines is via an program called CCTV Box available for free from China Central Television: http://cctvbox.cctv.com Windows application brings Chinese TV to your laptop All the channels are built-in, and the number of available TV channels is impressive. For Mac users, ...
Why Wharton? Why now?
Friday, October 16th, 2009Throughout my time at Wharton/Lauder, quite a few people have approached me with questions about their applications to business schools. I have never refused to offer advice and help, but what I have noticed is that a large number of people with very strong profiles actually do not know or ...
Two books on China I disagree with
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009In the recent weeks I have observed two conflicting views on China: one is the look at China by an ethnic Chinese from the US, and the other is by a group of Chinese authors from Mainland. Although, it is clear that both views have some truth in them, I ...
Today’s speech at Wharton: CEO of Nissan & Renault
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009Wharton's Speaker Series is superb and I enjoy listening to some of the best business minds in the world. Earlier today, the CEO of Nissan & Renault, Mr. Carlos Ghosn was talking about his view of what cars will one day become (electric and battery-powered) and how the new technology will naturally ...
Chinese language learning resources for OPI and beyond
Monday, August 10th, 2009How does one prepare for the OPI test? I hear that preparation for different languages could be a little different, but in general, one needs to hit the following bases: 1. Practice structured responses. Every time you answer a question, have a simple logical outline in mind and follow it step ...
Interview with German Sterligov
Sunday, July 12th, 2009I was procrastinating today and the interview on Russia.ru with German Sterligov - a strange guy, but a marvelous entrepreneur - brought memories back. The video in its entirety is in Russian: Mr. Sterligov is interviewed by this correspondent who obviously has no idea about business or how it works. ...
A cool Lauder photoalbum
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009I stumbled upon a very thorough and organized online photo album by a 2004 Wharton/Lauder grad. This is an awesome depiction of the excitement and fun that the Wharton School and the Lauder Institute continue to be. http://public.fotki.com/DengKohno/ I am amazed at the diversity of places and activities these guys ...
Lauder Summer immersion: Chinese language learning
Sunday, May 24th, 2009At the Lauder Institute one has to fulfill stringent language proficiency requirements: first, in order to be admitted all applicants have to show an advanced level as measured by the Oral Proficiency Test administered by Language Testing Intenational; then once admitted, a rating of Superior on the OPI is required ...
School rings
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009A couple of days ago, while talking to a good friend of mine from Jamaica, I noticed an MIT class ring on her necklace. I have never seen anyone wear a Wharton school ring - it is just not something people do here. I hear, at other business schools it ...
The First Year is Over
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009Finally, I have some time to write about Wharton and Lauder! All the exams are over, tickets booked and bags packed - the summer internship awaits. It is an exciting time, indeed. I stopped by the Lauder Institute today to pick up a few things at the office, and I saw ...
Article in China Economic Review
Friday, April 10th, 2009Googling my name leads to an article China Economic Review has published about foreign managers' employment prospects in China: http://www.chinaeconomicreview.com/cer/2009_03/Need_not_apply.html The article is realistic and at places pessimistic, but it is nevertheless flattering to read that some employers may see me as a dream MBA hire. Hmm... Since I am on the ...
Patagonia: Part 2
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009Our venture was in two countries: our "comfortable" base was in Ushuaia, Argentina, but most of the hiking, rock climbing and kayaking was done on the Navarino Island in Chile. In the morning of the first day the main task was to cross the Beagle Channel, transfer to the base camp ...
Wharton Leaderhip Venture in Patagonia, 2009. Part 1
Sunday, April 5th, 2009The leadership venture in Patagonia was absolutely awesome! From my side, a lot went into the planning of the trip as I had to get in shape, buy/borrow all the gear, arrange two visas and somehow finance it all. Getting in shape had been in my plans for over six months. Unfortunately, ...
New students
Monday, March 30th, 2009It has been a while since I last updated the blog, and out of all the news related to the Wharton/Lauder program to share with the world, the most exciting to me is that the Lauder Institute's incoming class of 2011 will be composed of super diverse and incredibly achieved ...
More updates and changes
Friday, January 30th, 2009It seems that anything China does outside its borders attracts a lot of attention. A few journalists approached me regarding the Shanghai Government Job Fair in New York. Most of them seem to be interested in exploring the reasons why very few non-Chinese candidates attended the fair. While my ...
Back to blog
Thursday, January 29th, 2009The past several weeks surely moved fast! Lots of things are happening right now as I am in the middle of the Designated Interview Period (DIP). I am constantly adding bits and pieces to the long-promised post about my attempt at career change, but I realize it is still ...
Unfair Job Fair
Thursday, December 18th, 2008Early in December, 2008 the organizers of the '2008 Shanghai Overseas Job Fair for Financial Professionals' advertised the event at Wharton through the Wharton's Greater China Club. A bunch of people, including myself, went to New York on December 13 specifically for this job fair that should have been called ...
Why Wharton MBA’s work for free
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008At Wharton it does not take long to realize that one has to prioritize. There are many events in the making all the time so it is important to decide whether you want to participate as an organizer because the opportunities to get involved on the organizational side of ...
Innovating résumé
Sunday, December 14th, 2008In the past few weeks, most students at Wharton have been filling employers' email boxes with their cover letters and résumés. I have been creative: there must be several dozen different versions of my curriculum vitae and an equal number of cover letters on my hard drive now. Internships will ...
Language and job search: it takes two to tango
Friday, November 14th, 2008At Wharton, you quite often hear hiring managers at Employer Information Sessions (EIS's) say something like 'If anybody here speaks [your language of choice], please talk to [name of a person in charge of international recruiting]'. At the same time, clusters of eager Wharton/Lauder students are quite often spotted ...
Speakers: America’s fluency vs. China’s stiffness
Saturday, November 8th, 2008Speakers Modern business world is an environment where communicating one’s thoughts in a clear and compelling way is a must. During the past several weeks I have observed a whole lot of different types of speaker here and while most presenters tend to be OK, some are definite outliers: either super ...
Lauder students get extra exposure to employers
Friday, October 31st, 2008Yesterday was a mad day from the very beginning to the very end. I had to wake up around 5AM to finish up some work for my Accounting class, and it turned out that I had underestimated the amount of work a little so I had to work super fast ...
Q1
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008Quarter One is in the past: the exams are over, the team projects done, the Walnut Walk, the White Party, the Foam Party are all but a memory, as is the warm summer weather. The first quarter has been a very intense, challenging and exciting time, and the most exciting part ...
Research project: graduation requirement at the Lauder Institute
Thursday, October 16th, 2008The major innovation of the Lauder present curriculum is the Research Project and Paper. Here is what the description of the course from the official webiste: "INTS 991 Research Project and Paper Students work in cross-language teams on research-oriented projects throughout three semesters of their degree program. The projects are designed ...
Language, language, language
Thursday, October 9th, 2008My background is not so traditional--if there is such a thing as a "typical" pre-MBA background at Wharton :). Nevertheless, even the most nontraditional MBA's are very rarely challenged with the same type of problems as me--I am married and have a four year old daughter who is trilingual, i.e. ...
Lauder makes all the difference
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008Now, due to a crazy course load, I have been unable to post here more often, and improving this situation is one of the things I will work on during my two years here. I truly believe in sharing experiences with the world. After all, the ancient Chinese believed that ...
Excitement and Fatigue
Friday, September 12th, 2008Wharton is an amazing place, where activity never stops. There are so many things one can do here: from the bizarre, yet richly cultural, lion dancing to the classic b-school consulting with a million of things in between the two. Initially, I wanted to write about the mandatory team-building that ...
To Waive or Not To Waive
Sunday, August 31st, 2008A question that is not so easily answerable at Wharton is what core courses could be waived if any. The first-year curriculum is called The Core. It is a well-structured intensive one-year program that mainly comprises full-credit Management, Accounting, Finance and Economics courses. As the course load ...
MBA events
Thursday, August 14th, 2008I am well aware that the audience of this blog consists mainly of aspiring MBA applicants, and since the first round has already started, many people are wondering whether they should visit a world MBA tour event or some other event to get a better understanding of the schools they ...
Unbelievably incredible
Friday, August 1st, 2008Just a week ago, all of the Lauder Institute's Chinese trackers sang karaoke in Beijing (We have a couple of singers with world potential, I am sure. I love hearing their rendition of Frank Sinatra's "Unforgettable": I heard it a couple of times now, and I am certainly their devoted fan!) ...
Farewell Beijing
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008Friday is when I leave the Underheaven. Our Summer Immersion here has just come to an end, and I am already contemplating the whirlwind of activities that awaits me in Philadelphia, and honestly, it worries me a bit. The Admissions have long sent the schedule for August which ...
On GMAT
Thursday, July 17th, 2008People have been asking me about the GMAT test, and in as much as I do not really think it is an exciting topic to talk about, here is my view on this test: 1. It is fun. 2. It is objective and fair: even post-test, even post-MBA. 3. It can be ...
A week in Beijing: July 7-13
Monday, July 14th, 2008I have been in China for the past 6 weeks doing the summer immersion program -- a signature feature of the course at the Lauder Institute. Overall, it has been an exciting and fulfilling experience, and in this blog I will try to cover bits and pieces of the many activities that my classmates and I ...
Some thoughts on the modern Chinese subculture and press
Wednesday, July 9th, 2008I have been reading a book called 'Give Me a Cigarette' （给我一支烟）by a Chinese author whose alias is 美女变大树, and it made me think of the following: 1. It seems that the new generation is somewhat lost in the maze made of the traditional values, the modern ultra materialistic view of the ...
My ultra-short bio
Wednesday, July 9th, 2008Just to clarify my background, and to tell the world a few nice words about myself, here is an exerpt about myself from the Lauder student bio book. The 2010 bio book has not been published online, yet, but to get an idea about the amazingly diverse and exciting Lauder community the 2008 and 2009 bio books ...
Get set. Go!
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008This feels good! I have finally set to blog about the exciting world that is the Wharton-Lauder MBA/MA joint degree program. This blog is intended as my first and very modest contribution to the Wharton School and to the Lauder Institute, though I hope that this is just the beginning, ...