Dear Students,

Post your class diaries here as comments. 

This is an open discussion blog for brand management at mbaxchange.com

 Students, please post your thoughts in the comments section

Hi Umass Boston and welecome to the MBA Academy Blog - a global pltform of thougths sharing. say all you want.

Dr.Mohan Agarwal

Please put in your Course Evolution diary in the comments.

Regards,

Prof. Mohan Agrawal

Indians can help the US tide over the depression like crisis that the world’s largest nation faces. At least this is what the noted writer and New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman, believes. He writes in his latest post on the newspaper’s website - "Leave it to a brainy Indian to come up with the cheapest and surest way to stimulate our economy: immigration."

He further quotes Shekhar Gupta, editor of The Indian Express - "All you need to do is grant visas to two million Indians, Chinese and Koreans. We will buy up all the subprime homes. We will work 18 hours a day to pay for them. We will immediately improve your savings rate - no Indian bank today has more than 2 percent nonperforming loans because not paying your mortgage is considered shameful here. And we will start new companies to create our own jobs and jobs for more Americans."

A wonderful mantra for survival indeed! But whether it will find favour within the US is highly doubtful given Obama’s rhetoric regarding saving American jobs by putting restrictions on offshoring. Friedman has indeed long believed that the developed world cannot maintain or improve productivity by closing their gates to immigration and offshoring. In viewing the American immigration laws as too restrictive and damaging to economic output, he said a few years ago - "It is pure idiocy that Congress will not open our borders - as wide as possible - to attract and keep the world's first-round intellectual draft choices in an age when everyone increasingly has the same innovation tools and the key differentiator is human talent."

Friedman argues against opponents of free trade that by exporting low-skill and low-wage jobs to foreign countries, more advanced and higher-skilled jobs will be freed up and made available for those displaced by the outsourcing. And so, he writes in his latest article - "Dear America, please remember how you got to be the wealthiest country in history. It wasn’t through protectionism, or state-owned banks or fearing free trade. No, the formula was very simple: build this really flexible, really open economy, tolerate creative destruction so dead capital is quickly redeployed to better ideas and companies, pour into it the most diverse, smart and energetic immigrants from every corner of the world and then stir and repeat, stir and repeat, stir and repeat, stir and repeat."

Enjoy our first newsletter. Feedback is most appreciated. 

MBA Jan 09 Newsletter.pdf (148.61 kb)

 

Dalal Street MBA.pdf (365.94 kb)

Came across a very intersting article for MBA aspirants in the current downturn

The global financial meltdown is a much talked about issue. Indian economy is slowing down too. In such times, is MBA a good option, or not?

(Source: http://www.mbauniverse.com/innerPage.php?id=ne&pageId=1805)

A mail from Greg- another wonderful MBA student from UMass, Boston USA

Hello sir,

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to study with you in India. It was an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I learned many things, and my outlook of the world and of business practices has been changed for the better.

In regard to the recommendation, I will answer your questions below:

1.)International exchange programs in MBA education are not only important, but also essential to developing the type of mind that is necessary to excel in international business. Only through cross-cultural and cross-border interaction can a student gain the type of exposure and experience that will help them develop an academic and career path that will lead to success in the International Business world. The lessons and assignments of International exchange programs provide students with learning that is more valuable to anything that can be taught in the classroom. Being placed in a completely foreign situation, and having to work collaboratively with International students teaches you to remain calm, stay open-minded, be patient, and to act quickly to achieve goals and tasks effectively. It is true that you will be forced to do group work with unfamiliar people within your Institute; but only through traveling and intimate exposure with International students and businessmen will you be able to accurately duplicate a real life business situation that involves you being prepared to share your thoughts and use rhetoric to sell or market your ideas.

2.) India is an extremely important place to visit as an exchange destination. It is a country rich with diversity, making the cultural exposure even greater and more significant. The peoples of India share many similarities and many differences, and to witness the interaction among Indians, while taking part in this interaction is an added benefit that can further enhance a westerner's perspective of how to listen and work in the International business arena. India is also an economy that is growing at a rapid pace, and its citizens are becoming more educated and prepared for business interaction. In India there is a refreshing energy, and the students and businessmen are ambitious and enthusiastic about all levels of work. The students at Indian Institutes are well prepared and competitive, but also aware of their strengths and weaknesses, which makes them push harder to learn as much as they can from every individual they meet, and from every assignment they might have. These qualities are also seen in the work force. India has many levels of workers, from those in an assembly line, to those running the major divisions of International Companies. From an exchange program perspective, India provides an opportunity to witness the capabilities of each level of worker, and analyze how they fit within a company. As one of the worlds fastest growing economies, studying in India should be a priority for any business student who hopes to work at globally.

3.) The course format of this exchange program is well designed, in that it combines cultural and business lessons parallel with each other. The course does not revolve around structured classroom work, but focuses on creating levels of interaction between the exchange students and the students and businessmen of India. The homework assignments include reading case studies that are specifically written to inform the reader about a company, and what change it is going through. Some key information is left out of each case, and this is a good design because it then allows the student to think critically and form his or her own course of action to help the company. The cases include work in marketing, branding, and sales. Students are also required to present their theories and findings, and this is the most important part of the course design. By pairing the exchange students with each other, and then again pairing them with Indian students from Indian Institutes, a real life simulation of a business meeting is created, where cultural differences and actions need to be put aside so that the common goal of completing the presentation can be achieved. Being placed in this situation is the most valuable part of the course structure. This interaction will teach students to think quickly, and work well with peoples who they do not know and who are from different backgrounds. The incorporation of Cultural visits and Company visits is also one of the benefits of this course design. Being able to see some of the temples and markets of India, along with the visiting the major companies and their executives provide value added to the exchange students. The experiences gained by the visiting major companies and cultural sites can be used when trying to find a bond with the Indian students and other people that the exchange program guests will meet. These lessons are also translated into the case study presentations.

4.) My overall evaluation of this exchange program is very high, I regard this course a 10 out of 10. Excellent. The mentor and host in India was most gracious and patient with the visiting students. He also was diligent in finding comfortable living conditions and eating conditions to make the transition very smooth. The text for the course was well written and designed so that students would be given plenty of room to be creative and learn by trial and error in formulating ideas and business plans. The selection of companies we visited, and the lectures we heard from their executives was a priceless aspect of this trip. Being able to get an up-close and personal look at major companies like LG, Dell, and the Amrapali Group are sure ways to create lasting impressions of the correct ways of doing business. The cultural visits are very beautiful and peaceful. Places like the Taj Mahal and Lotus temple provide an opportunity to reflect on what you are doing while you're in India, as well as think about what it is you want to do in the future.

Some recommendations for this exchange program would be to: Be more organized with the execution from the UMass side. Much of the planning and preparation for this course was done last minute. Be informative about how the students should arrange their own flight, or provide and earlier meeting so students can get together and plan to fly together. Also, be more descriptive of the living conditions. Let students know that wi-fi might not always be available, that the infrastructure is strained in India, and showers might not be readily available. Describe the course in detail, as far as what types of assignments and requirements are expected of the students, provide course readings by email attachment early for review, tell students to bring the course fee in cash. Travelers checks are very inconvenient and hard to redeem in India. I also feel that the number of students should be limited in this course. I think it is important to expose as many people as possible to this trip, however, I think that it would be difficult for more than 9-12 students to attend the course because of logistical issues; such as car services to transport the students from the hotel to the school and to all the other sites we visit. Also, I think it would be difficult for one mentor to manage too many students without more assistance.


I thought this trip was an excellent experience and I had a wonderful time. It was everything I was hoping for and more. It would be my pleasure to continue working with both parties on this exchange program, and I would strongly encourage anyone pursuing an International career to take this course and any other course that involves overseas travel.

Thank you again, and please do not hesitate to ask for anymore assistance from me. It would be a pleasure to help in anyway I can.

Best,

Greg Messina

20 years ago businesses with foreign partners were only occasional and the companies’ units dealing with foreign partners were not of a great importance. However, today the situation is drastically different as the search for new human, natural, technological resources is vital to the survival of many companies. A demand for managers, who are prepared to make decisions of a global level, is highly increasing. Therefore, MBA programs have to be constructed in the manner, which would be the most effective in preparation of international business managers. International exchange programs are the most efficient tools to reach this particular goal of the MBA programs, as they give MBA students a chance of a real “hands – on” experience of what it like to run a business in a foreign country. Such experience is not to be found in textbooks and lectures.

India is a hub of the world’s intellectual human resources, as very many outsourcing, technological decisions of foreign companies are conducted in India. Therefore, India as an exchange destination of international MBA programs is naturally one of the most important in educating future international managers. Couple of years later many of them undoubtedly will come back to Hyderabad, Bangalore, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai as representatives, directors of international companies.

The joint international exchange program between University of Massachussetts Boston and Multinational Business Academy is a perfect balance of daily classes, 4 to 5 visits to major international and local companies in India, constructive 4 case discussions  with Indian students of various business schools and visits of well – known speakers, presentations by students not only in front of the academia but also real professionals. The program not only educates American students on the peculiarities of Indian businesses, but also introduces students to Indian culture, traditions and people. This aspect is of a great importance, as many misunderstandings in the world of international business develop from not knowing the culture of the foreign partner.

As a participant of the joint international program, I would like to think that I learned many aspects of how to run business with Indian companies. I also had  a chance to experience the wonderful hospitality of Indian people and made life-long relationships with Indian students and perhaps my future business partners, bosses (?).

Professor Mohan Agrawal not only was a great instructor, but also a great organizer of the educational, cultural trips, accommodation and transportation. Due to his contacts in the business world, we were able to visit major Indian companies, which do not open their door to everybody.

I highly recommend this international program as I gave been able  to experience many benefits of it.

Ms. Goda Kalila

Current student of UMASS Boston MBA program