MBA Podcasts by topic - GMAT, Online, PartTime, Fulltime, Executive MBA Programs
> MBA podcaster is one-stop site that features different podcasts helpful for students preparing for GMAT and also for those who got into an MBA program.
Here are some of the podcasts by topic that I like -
General MBA - Part Time vs. Full Time - MBA , MBA Salaries,
, Online MBA Programs, Executive MBA, Tips for International students seeking MBA
GMAT - About the test, B-Schools that don to require GMAT , Compare GMAT Test prep Companies
Explore more from MBAPodcater which will help you in your MBA pursuit.
Here are some of the podcasts by topic that I like -
General MBA - Part Time vs. Full Time - MBA , MBA Salaries,
, Online MBA Programs, Executive MBA, Tips for International students seeking MBA
GMAT - About the test, B-Schools that don to require GMAT , Compare GMAT Test prep Companies
Explore more from MBAPodcater which will help you in your MBA pursuit.
Labels: GMAT, MBA, MP3, Podcasts
written by Kalyan @ 1:05 AM,
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Increase Verbal vocabulary for Free - Helps in GRE, SAT, ACT & GMAT tests
Becoming efficient in Verbal Vocabulary is difficult for even native english speakers. Entrance tests like SAT and GRE has a devoted section that test verbal vocab skills.
VerbaLearn is an online learning system for students to build their vocabulary skills. Students learn improved word usage and pronunciation. Here is video demo of Free "verba Learn".
VerbaLearn is an online learning system for students to build their vocabulary skills. Students learn improved word usage and pronunciation. Here is video demo of Free "verba Learn".
written by Kalyan @ 1:08 AM,
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Indian MBA 2008 placements & Salaries - IIMs and others
MBA is a sought-after graduate program because of its demand even in slump times like in 2008. Here is a good data from MINT - A WSJ publication Indian site.
If you are MBA graduate or an a student deciding to join B-schools in India, this analysis gives some idea of what schools to join based on the salaries or placements or the industry wise.
Here are my few observations :
Salaries
> Except IIM-A, The highest Indian salaries rose for all B-Schools meaning MBA grads got paid highest record salaries in year 2008.
> The highest salary of Indian 70 laks and US- $360K is paid to IIM-A graduate
> The average salaries in all top Indian B-Schools were around 17 laks where as US is around $80K
Placements in US companies
> One in four students placed at overseas
> IIM Bangalore tops the list with 52% placements overseas.
Note : The data is from May 2008. I'm looking forward to see what happened to MBA placements data when the financial meltdown happened around July/August of 2008.
If you are MBA graduate or an a student deciding to join B-schools in India, this analysis gives some idea of what schools to join based on the salaries or placements or the industry wise.
Here are my few observations :
Salaries
> Except IIM-A, The highest Indian salaries rose for all B-Schools meaning MBA grads got paid highest record salaries in year 2008.
> The highest salary of Indian 70 laks and US- $360K is paid to IIM-A graduate
> The average salaries in all top Indian B-Schools were around 17 laks where as US is around $80K
Placements in US companies
> One in four students placed at overseas
> IIM Bangalore tops the list with 52% placements overseas.
Note : The data is from May 2008. I'm looking forward to see what happened to MBA placements data when the financial meltdown happened around July/August of 2008.
written by Kalyan @ 1:46 AM,
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Going Back to B-School during Recession
The jobs landscape is changing daily with numerous layoffs, cost-cutting (slashing employee benefits - 401K, Pension plans, No bonuses or salary hikes) in businesses and increasing Bankruptcy filings. The current economic situation is compared to that of 1920's great depression. With NBER officially declaring that US is in recession since 2007, What are some of the hide-out places during this recession ? This is the time to take steps to make career changes and one option is going back to B-School.
These are some goodies from my B-School experience :
- No shortcuts, Going to B-school is a long term commitment
- School gets added to "Life - Work" balance. Be prepared and make spouse (family) understand and ready for 2, 3 year long B-school process.
- Weigh-out options - time and money. Money can be earned but the time is referred as most valuable of two. "Opportunity Cost" - Time one spends in MBA class may be put to better use by doing something useful. That's why they say MBA is expensive.
- Education (or a degree) is never a waste.
- Networking, Helps a lot as you team up with different background professional in doing MBA class projects
- Career Counselors at MBA schools - It depends on school but would give some direction towards job hunting
- Change in thinking. As most individuals are pigeonholed in the same vertical Industry knowledge , B-School gives you fresh horizontal view of industry wide knowledge.
These are some of beneficial psychological things. I'll take time to cover some material things ("Show me the money") like MBA placements and salaries in different industry.
If you have tips to share, please do so via comments.
These are some goodies from my B-School experience :
- No shortcuts, Going to B-school is a long term commitment
- School gets added to "Life - Work" balance. Be prepared and make spouse (family) understand and ready for 2, 3 year long B-school process.
- Weigh-out options - time and money. Money can be earned but the time is referred as most valuable of two. "Opportunity Cost" - Time one spends in MBA class may be put to better use by doing something useful. That's why they say MBA is expensive.
- Education (or a degree) is never a waste.
- Networking, Helps a lot as you team up with different background professional in doing MBA class projects
- Career Counselors at MBA schools - It depends on school but would give some direction towards job hunting
- Change in thinking. As most individuals are pigeonholed in the same vertical Industry knowledge , B-School gives you fresh horizontal view of industry wide knowledge.
These are some of beneficial psychological things. I'll take time to cover some material things ("Show me the money") like MBA placements and salaries in different industry.
If you have tips to share, please do so via comments.
Labels: MBA
written by Kalyan @ 7:55 PM,
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India IIM-A Sets Record for Highest Average GMAT scores ever in EMBA admissions
One year executive EMBA admission GMAT scores are becoming very competitive year over year in India raising the bar for the applicants. The one year programs require five to seven years of work experience and is most sought after post graduate (PG) course for working professionals who want to change careers.
For 2008-2009 batch, The IIM Ahmedabad Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX) has set a record of average GMAT score of 728 - the highest for any one-year management executive programme in the world (see table). Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad's one-year programme ranked #3 with GMAT score of 714.
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For 2008-2009 batch, The IIM Ahmedabad Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX) has set a record of average GMAT score of 728 - the highest for any one-year management executive programme in the world (see table). Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad's one-year programme ranked #3 with GMAT score of 714.
written by Kalyan @ 8:12 PM,
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Free Executive MBA EMBA Admission tips & preparation material
Accepted is offering a six day free email lessons for those preparing for Excective MBA (EMBA) courses. It is benefical to person's applying to Wharton or Columbia or Duke's Global or any other leading EMBA program.
This I believe will help to get started with GMAT and other basic stuff and then plan seriously in getting admission into one of Ivy League EMBA program.
Here are the descriptions for six day email course -
This I believe will help to get started with GMAT and other basic stuff and then plan seriously in getting admission into one of Ivy League EMBA program.
Here are the descriptions for six day email course -
# The Expanded EMBA Profile.
# Sponsorship & the GMAT.
# Program Variety.
# Employment & Career Services.
# Qualifying Factors.
# Differentiating Yourself.
written by Kalyan @ 2:49 PM,
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Technology company layoff numbers tracker
In last three months the number of layoffs occurred in tech companies - 60,000 with Hewlett-Packard leading the pack with 24,000 layoffs. Wired is tracking the list on a daily basis which gives how the tech is affected in the sinking economy.
Here is the list of top tech layoffs in September, October, November months of 2008.
Other similar tracker for tech layoffs -
> CNET Tech layoffs scorecard
Here is the list of top tech layoffs in September, October, November months of 2008.
| Company Name | Layoff Number | Date | Source Link |
| Hewlett-Packard | 24,600 | 15-Sep | mercurynews.com |
| Sun Microsystems | 6,000 | 14-Nov | AP |
| Motorola | 3,000 | 1-Nov | PC World |
| Gannett | 3,000 | 28-Oct | NYTimes |
| Xerox | 3,000 | 23-Oct | reuters.com |
| Micron Technology | 2,850 | 9-Oct | The AP |
| Virgin Media | 2,200 | 11-Nov | Worldscreen.com |
| Nokia | 1,850 | 11-Nov | Reuters |
| Applied Materials | 1,800 | 12-Nov | PC World |
| Yahoo | 1,500 | 21-Oct | wired.com |
| Nortel Networks | 1,300 | 10-Nov | Vancouver Sun |
| eBay | 1,000 | 6-Oct | wired.com |
| Yahoo | 1,000 | 29-Jan | Cnet |
Other similar tracker for tech layoffs -
> CNET Tech layoffs scorecard
Labels: MBA
written by Kalyan @ 7:36 PM,
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Free IIT Bombay Engineering Video Courses
Learn for free - IIT Bombay Engineering Video Courses online now.
IITs are India's premier graduate , post graduate engineering and sciences schools and consistently ranked above other engineering colleges in India in engineering education surveys. From Wikipedia- The THES (Times Higher Education Supplement) also ranked 5 IITs in the top 100 globally for technology with IIT-Bombay ranking the highest at 36th.
Notable IIT Bomaby alumni is Nandan Nilekani - an Indian software entrepreneur. He is currently the Co-Chairman of Infosys Technologies Ltd, of which he is also a co-founder, along with N. R. Narayana Murthy and others.
IIT Bombay is webcasting their courses for free. The Spring (January-April) Semester 2009 will start on January 2, 2009. If you are interested then you can see the class schedule and the courses offered for the spring 2009 semester at this location.
The only requirement for receiving these courses is to have a personal computer with 100 kbps bandwidth. View these live courses absolutely free of cost at the schedule time.
Previously : Free-online-university-courses-list
IITs are India's premier graduate , post graduate engineering and sciences schools and consistently ranked above other engineering colleges in India in engineering education surveys. From Wikipedia- The THES (Times Higher Education Supplement) also ranked 5 IITs in the top 100 globally for technology with IIT-Bombay ranking the highest at 36th.
Notable IIT Bomaby alumni is Nandan Nilekani - an Indian software entrepreneur. He is currently the Co-Chairman of Infosys Technologies Ltd, of which he is also a co-founder, along with N. R. Narayana Murthy and others.
IIT Bombay is webcasting their courses for free. The Spring (January-April) Semester 2009 will start on January 2, 2009. If you are interested then you can see the class schedule and the courses offered for the spring 2009 semester at this location.
The only requirement for receiving these courses is to have a personal computer with 100 kbps bandwidth. View these live courses absolutely free of cost at the schedule time.
Previously : Free-online-university-courses-list
written by Kalyan @ 9:14 PM,
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False MBA degree of Mirage CEO caused his resignation ?
Terry Lanni MGM Mirage submitted his resignation as CEO. There are news that his MBA from University of Southern California is not valid and his stepping down at the same time is raising doubts of his MBA degree.
MGM Mirage owns casinos including the Bellagio and the MGM Grand.MGM Mirage is the largest landholder on the Las Vegas Strip, with significant undeveloped landholdings in both Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
Some other notable things of Mirage casino - Roy Horn was attacked by one of the white tigers used in the show. The Mirage was the first casino to use security cameras full time on all table games.
MGM Mirage owns casinos including the Bellagio and the MGM Grand.MGM Mirage is the largest landholder on the Las Vegas Strip, with significant undeveloped landholdings in both Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
Some other notable things of Mirage casino - Roy Horn was attacked by one of the white tigers used in the show. The Mirage was the first casino to use security cameras full time on all table games.
Labels: MBA
written by Kalyan @ 9:25 PM,
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Top 10 international MBA schools Rankings - 2008
Business week published the list of top 10 international MBA schools Rankings for 2008. Canada tops the list with three spots in top 10 rankings.
Here is top 10 list :
> Queen's: Canada
> IE Business School: Spain
> INSEAD: France
> Western Ontario (Ivey): Canada
> London Business School: Britain
> ESADE: Barcelona
> IMD: Switzerland
> Toronto (Rotman): Canada
> IESE: Spain
> Oxford (Saïd): Britain
None of the top Indian business schools like ISB and IIMs did not get into even second tier b-schools in BW's rankings
Here is top 10 list :
> Queen's: Canada
> IE Business School: Spain
> INSEAD: France
> Western Ontario (Ivey): Canada
> London Business School: Britain
> ESADE: Barcelona
> IMD: Switzerland
> Toronto (Rotman): Canada
> IESE: Spain
> Oxford (Saïd): Britain
None of the top Indian business schools like ISB and IIMs did not get into even second tier b-schools in BW's rankings
Labels: MBA
written by Kalyan @ 9:08 PM,
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MBA : University Of Chicago name changed
MBA IVY League School - University of Chicago will change its name to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. David Booth donated $300 million, the largest ever donation to the University of Chicago's business school. David Booth is 1971 b-school alumni and is chief executive of the Dimensional Fund Advisors mutual fund.
Booth is a value investor who made money invested in group of individual stocks that represent overall market. As all funds in this troubled economic times Dimensional has mixed returns as noted in WSJ article. The strategy for Dimensional funds are ideas based Chicago Alumni - Fama and French finance models.
How University of Chicago is using these funds ?
According to their press release -
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Booth is a value investor who made money invested in group of individual stocks that represent overall market. As all funds in this troubled economic times Dimensional has mixed returns as noted in WSJ article. The strategy for Dimensional funds are ideas based Chicago Alumni - Fama and French finance models.
How University of Chicago is using these funds ?
According to their press release -
The school plans to use the money for several new initiatives, including aggressively attracting and retaining star faculty. Other uses being considered include developing new faculty groups in academic areas not normally associated with business schools, expanding existing research centers, and launching ambitious programs to better leverage the school’s intellectual capital.
The gift may also be used to expand the school’s international presence beyond its existing campuses in London and Singapore.
Labels: MBA, University Chicago
written by Kalyan @ 1:08 PM,
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Top 10 MBA Undergraduate rankings list for 2008
Business week's top 50 undergraduate MBA rankings are available here -
No. 1: University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), Philadelphia
No. 2: University of Virginia (McIntire), Charlottesville
No. 3: University of Notre Dame (Mendoza), South Bend, Ind.
No. 4: Cornell University Ithaca, N.Y.
No. 5: Emory University (Goizueta),Atlanta
No. 6: University of Michigan (Ross),Ann Arbor
No. 7: Brigham Young University (Marriott), Provo, Utah
No. 8: New York University (Stern), New York
No. 9: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan),Cambridge, Mass.
No. 10: University of Texas (McCombs), Austin
Some surprises compared to 2007 list and many that made it to top 2007 slide in their 2008 rankings.
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No. 1: University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), Philadelphia
No. 2: University of Virginia (McIntire), Charlottesville
No. 3: University of Notre Dame (Mendoza), South Bend, Ind.
No. 4: Cornell University Ithaca, N.Y.
No. 5: Emory University (Goizueta),Atlanta
No. 6: University of Michigan (Ross),Ann Arbor
No. 7: Brigham Young University (Marriott), Provo, Utah
No. 8: New York University (Stern), New York
No. 9: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan),Cambridge, Mass.
No. 10: University of Texas (McCombs), Austin
Some surprises compared to 2007 list and many that made it to top 2007 slide in their 2008 rankings.
Labels: list, MBA, Rankings, undergraduate
written by Kalyan @ 9:21 PM,
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$200 worth Google AdWords free for students - Google Online Marketing Challenge
For MBAs I feel this is a good chance to use Google's free money to get hands-on experience. The goal is to make use of Adwords to effectively imapct marketing compaigns for a business. If I were a full time MBA student I would make a good case with my MIS (Management Information Systems) prof. to sign and use this challenge as a project.
As the website notes :
For Google this is like promoting their advertising cash cow to the heights. For students FAQ suggests that in order to choose business - "If you have a local Chamber of Commerce or Small Business Development Office, they always have businesses looking for assistance from smart people like you" . Professors will mentor and work with students and make them understand in online marketing and the Challenge.
To Sum up, I feel this is good project at Google expense for students who want to have web presence for their own business or the business they work for.
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As the website notes :
The Challenge works like this:
1. Students divide into groups of 3-6, and then receive free online advertising vouchers for Google AdWords worth US$200.
2. The groups recruit a small-to-medium business, under 100 employees, who has a website but doesn’t currently use AdWords.
3. Each group works with the business to set up an AdWords account and structure an effective online marketing campaign.
4. During a 3-week competition window, the groups optimize and refine their campaigns. They must submit two competition reports – one before they begin and one after the campaign ends.
5. Google and a panel of independent academics from all over the world select the winning teams based on the success of their campaign and the quality of their competition reports.
For Google this is like promoting their advertising cash cow to the heights. For students FAQ suggests that in order to choose business - "If you have a local Chamber of Commerce or Small Business Development Office, they always have businesses looking for assistance from smart people like you" . Professors will mentor and work with students and make them understand in online marketing and the Challenge.
To Sum up, I feel this is good project at Google expense for students who want to have web presence for their own business or the business they work for.
Labels: Advertising, AdWords, free, Google, MBA
written by Kalyan @ 10:22 PM,
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Free online university courses list
All ivy league schools are publishing their course ware for free which otherwise would cost fortune. MIT is early adopter and made popular the free online courses with its OpenCourseWare (OCW) offering. Following the MIT way, other premier schools Carnegie Mellon, Tufts, Berkley, Utah , Stanford and Yale published courses free on their websites. Open university from UK is world free university with huge free courses database. Australia's southern queen's land is another option.
Interested addition lately is of India's #1 engineering schools IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) and IISc (Indian institute of Sciences, Bangalore) in association with GOI (Government of India) started their online offering for free. Here is IITs Free Online course link
LectureFox is worth mentioning here as it is kind of aggregator of all free online universities course offerings with links to videos, mp3 podcasts and notes. A very good easy to use website with simple design and good search functionality available for faster access to study material. One drawback or advantage as you see it, the lecturefox covers ONLY physics, chemistry, computer science, mathematics
Here is list of all free online courses
IIT
Lecturefox
MIT
Stanford
Yale
UK Open University
Carnegie Mellon University
Tufts University
University of California, Berkeley , Berkeley You Tube Channel
Utah State University
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Southern Queensland
Irvine
Do you have any other free online courses from other universities that I missed in this post ? Please share them with other users via comments.
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Interested addition lately is of India's #1 engineering schools IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) and IISc (Indian institute of Sciences, Bangalore) in association with GOI (Government of India) started their online offering for free. Here is IITs Free Online course link
LectureFox is worth mentioning here as it is kind of aggregator of all free online universities course offerings with links to videos, mp3 podcasts and notes. A very good easy to use website with simple design and good search functionality available for faster access to study material. One drawback or advantage as you see it, the lecturefox covers ONLY physics, chemistry, computer science, mathematics
Here is list of all free online courses
IIT
Lecturefox
MIT
Stanford
Yale
UK Open University
Carnegie Mellon University
Tufts University
University of California, Berkeley , Berkeley You Tube Channel
Utah State University
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Southern Queensland
Irvine
Do you have any other free online courses from other universities that I missed in this post ? Please share them with other users via comments.
Labels: free, list, MBA, online
written by Kalyan @ 1:06 AM,
,
India MBAs concerned Lehman Brothers & Merrill Lynch meltdown
Lehman Brothers is one of the largest MBA recruiters for students who are finance majors with investment banking focus. IIMs, ISB and premier MBA institutes will be effected with ongoing US financial crisis that saw billions and billions of dollars write downs because of bad mortgage bets done beween 2004 and 2007. Some say this is just one wave of crisis that is result of home loans taken in 2004 and 2005. In the later years 2006 and beyond the lending standards were further made easy making non credit worthy people have access to jumbo mortgage loans. This is the second huge wave that has yet to hit the financial world. This financial collpase bought terrible news to all those who have got placement offers in year 2008.
Here is CNN IBN Video of MBAs getting effected because of Lehman's collapse.
Needless to say there are number of H1-B employees at their US location whose jobs are in danger now. Times of India ran a post highlighting the Lehman's employees troubles here.
Hope the situation stabilizes soon.
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Here is CNN IBN Video of MBAs getting effected because of Lehman's collapse.
Needless to say there are number of H1-B employees at their US location whose jobs are in danger now. Times of India ran a post highlighting the Lehman's employees troubles here.
Hope the situation stabilizes soon.
Labels: Job Growth, MBA
written by Kalyan @ 1:04 AM,
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Duke Fuqua opens India New Delhi business school campus
Image via WikipediaDurham, North Carolina US based MBA school Duke Fuqua business is prestigious institute with its MBA rankings below 20 in almost all major US publications that ranks b-schools. Fuqua announced its global expansion plan and New Delhi will be one of its five satellite campuses. This is good news for India MBA applicants who will have option to go for Delhi campus besides IIMs and ISB.Fuqua global expansion news :
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University's Fuqua School of Business will announce on Monday an innovative expansion plan that will establish a network of campuses around the world to conduct research and deliver programs.
This network will embed and connect Duke's research and teaching activities in key economic and cultural centers of the world: New Delhi, India; St. Petersburg, Russia; Dubai, UAE; London, UK; and Shanghai, China, as well as on Duke's campus in Durham.
US News reports that the five sites (New Delhi, India; St. Petersburg, Russia; Dubai, UAE; London, UK; and Shanghai, China) will be part of Duke's Cross-Continent program, which will send M.B.A. students starting August 2009 to each of the five sites for a week or two at a time as part of their business school education.
2009 India MBA applicants can start applying for this new school in India.
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Labels: Duke University, MBA
written by Kalyan @ 12:26 AM,
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Dubai work permit MBA degree attestation process
Pradeep an IESE MBA graduate writes painstaking MBA degree attestation process to get work permit to work in Dubai. IESE Business School located in Spain's Barcelona and Madrid is ranked as a top 5 business school in Europe and is renowned for its MBA and Executive MBA programs.
Here are some of highlight's from Pradeep's blog to get work permit in Dubai.
Getting attested the original MBA certificate -- Done by UAE consulate. a) Notarize the MBA graduation certificate. b) Authorize the notary signature from notary organization . c) Justice ministry authorizes notary org. signatures. d) External affairs ministry approves Justice ministry authorization. e) Finally UAE consulate attests MBA degree certificate.
Wow !! what a cumbersome process to get a work permit in Dubai but I guess it pays off well with the salaries that MBAs earn in rich city like Dubai . Looks like concept of transcripts are not used which is universal I thought all these days. But most of this procedure we will not know if we apply for H1-B visa as all the degree attestations are done by employers for us with the help of their lawyers. US Consulates (say in India) have extensive shared university databases that will make it easy for them to verify and grant visas on the spot.
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Here are some of highlight's from Pradeep's blog to get work permit in Dubai.
Getting attested the original MBA certificate -- Done by UAE consulate. a) Notarize the MBA graduation certificate. b) Authorize the notary signature from notary organization . c) Justice ministry authorizes notary org. signatures. d) External affairs ministry approves Justice ministry authorization. e) Finally UAE consulate attests MBA degree certificate.
Wow !! what a cumbersome process to get a work permit in Dubai but I guess it pays off well with the salaries that MBAs earn in rich city like Dubai . Looks like concept of transcripts are not used which is universal I thought all these days. But most of this procedure we will not know if we apply for H1-B visa as all the degree attestations are done by employers for us with the help of their lawyers. US Consulates (say in India) have extensive shared university databases that will make it easy for them to verify and grant visas on the spot.
Labels: Dubai, IESE, MBA, workpermit
written by Kalyan @ 4:58 PM,
,
GMAT Tutors from EduFire charging $69 - $12 hourly
EduFire is web 2.0 tutoring site making easier for GMAT test takers to find tutors and learn with them. EduFire started as a language learning site, based on video tutoring and conversations. Say if you are in India and is preparing for GMAT, EduFire has tutors from around the world, it is easy to find the tutor who matches your criteria. If you are a tutor you can make some decent money that your students pay and Edufire collects 15% service fee. Tutors can set their own prices. Other similar tutoring sites focus more on K-12 education, EduFire focuses on the 18 to 35-year-old students.
The tutoring rates for GMAT as of writing this post varied from $12 to $69. The fee is based on hourly rate. After a session (may contain multiple hours) is finished, a student will receive an invoice to pay the tutoring fee. Student pays EduFire, and EduFire send the funds to tutors via PayPal within 48 hours.
How good the service will be compared to that offered by Kaplan or Princeton Review ? My opinion EduFire needs more time to build a database of tutor ratings as students take these lessons. Once this model catches up I feel it will compete strongly against Kaplan, Princeton Review, GMAT Manhattan and Veritas in online GMAT tutoring space. One more observation I have is when GMAT tutors compete among themselves in EduFire then there is a good chance that hourly rates may come down drastically.
Business Model is good that a medium/channel is provide by Edufire to bring tutors and students together. It is just not GMAT they have other tests too -- ACT, CPA, DAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, NCLEX, PSAT, SAT, TOEFL and TOEICIf it clicks or disappears in vacuum is to be seen.
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The tutoring rates for GMAT as of writing this post varied from $12 to $69. The fee is based on hourly rate. After a session (may contain multiple hours) is finished, a student will receive an invoice to pay the tutoring fee. Student pays EduFire, and EduFire send the funds to tutors via PayPal within 48 hours.
How good the service will be compared to that offered by Kaplan or Princeton Review ? My opinion EduFire needs more time to build a database of tutor ratings as students take these lessons. Once this model catches up I feel it will compete strongly against Kaplan, Princeton Review, GMAT Manhattan and Veritas in online GMAT tutoring space. One more observation I have is when GMAT tutors compete among themselves in EduFire then there is a good chance that hourly rates may come down drastically.
Business Model is good that a medium/channel is provide by Edufire to bring tutors and students together. It is just not GMAT they have other tests too -- ACT, CPA, DAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, NCLEX, PSAT, SAT, TOEFL and TOEICIf it clicks or disappears in vacuum is to be seen.
Labels: Education, Edufire, GMAT, Kaplan, MBA, online, PrincetonReview, SAT, Tutor, Veritas
written by Kalyan @ 4:08 AM,
,
DePaul MBA Entrepreneurship ranks #2 in Entrepreneur rankings
Entrepreneur released 2008 MBA rankings in Entrepreneurship for both undergrad and graduate programs in US. In Graduate programs Babson took #1 spot where as DePaul University took #2 honors. I'll be graduating from DePaul MBA, Entrepreneurship in 2009 and its good to see that the school is ranked on top in the 2008 list. University of Illinois, Chicago also made to it to this years top graduate list with #6 ranking.
In Undergrad programs University of Houston is #1, Babson college is #2 and DePaul is #6.
The rankings are based on these surveys and graded accordingly -- Enrolled students, % of them who started a business, Percentage still in business, Faculty who are entrepreneurs, Recent grads who started a business, Percentage still in business,Scholarships,Number of entrepreneurship clubs, Mentorship programs and Business plan competition
Here is how Depaul University fared from the survey results :
Here is the top 10 list from both the programs as ranked by Entrepreneur
Undergraduate:
1. University of Houston
2. Babson College
3. Drexel University
4. University of Dayton
5. University of Arizona
6. Temple University
7. DePaul University
8. University of Oklahoma
9. University of Southern California
10. Chapman University
Graduate:
1. Babson College
2. DePaul University
3. University of Southern California
4. University of Arizona
5. University of South Florida
6. University of Illinois, Chicago
7. University of California, Los Angeles
8. Drexel University
9. Chapman University
10. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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In Undergrad programs University of Houston is #1, Babson college is #2 and DePaul is #6.
The rankings are based on these surveys and graded accordingly -- Enrolled students, % of them who started a business, Percentage still in business, Faculty who are entrepreneurs, Recent grads who started a business, Percentage still in business,Scholarships,Number of entrepreneurship clubs, Mentorship programs and Business plan competition
Here is how Depaul University fared from the survey results :
Here is the top 10 list from both the programs as ranked by Entrepreneur
Undergraduate:
1. University of Houston
2. Babson College
3. Drexel University
4. University of Dayton
5. University of Arizona
6. Temple University
7. DePaul University
8. University of Oklahoma
9. University of Southern California
10. Chapman University
Graduate:
1. Babson College
2. DePaul University
3. University of Southern California
4. University of Arizona
5. University of South Florida
6. University of Illinois, Chicago
7. University of California, Los Angeles
8. Drexel University
9. Chapman University
10. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Labels: Depaul, DePaul University, Entrepreneurship, list, MBA, Rankings
written by Kalyan @ 12:34 AM,
,
GMAC completed Scoretop.com GMAT test takers investigation
The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) on its website announced that it completed initial investigation of GMAT test takers using Scoretop.com. Good news for many GMAT test takers who are the members of Scoretop is that only 84 test takers scores are canceled. Out of which 12 test takers will not be able to retake GMAT for 3 years as they posted GMAT live test questions on Scoretop. 72 test takers scores had been canceled because they said they saw live questions appear on Scoretop.com.
GMAC in its FAQ web page clarified many questions that was bothering GMAT test takers.
1) More than GMAT test compromise, GMAC stressed that ethical behavior of the canceled scorers is taken seriously in the whole process.
2) GMAC went to extent of comparing the questions posted by canceled scorers on Scoretop.com and the GMAT questions they answered when taking the test.
3) It is not just US test takers all geographic areas are affected.
4) GMAC has completed and suspended its initial investigation. The users who are in doubt of their possible score cancellations can relax.
5) For further questions contact Ashok Sarathy, director of the GMAT Program, at asarathy@gmac.com.
6) GMAC has sent letters on Friday, September 5, 2008. to all the affected test takers informing them the cancellation decision.
Related articles from kalyansuman.com
-> GMAC sues GMAT forums/Users over "live" questions
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GMAC in its FAQ web page clarified many questions that was bothering GMAT test takers.
1) More than GMAT test compromise, GMAC stressed that ethical behavior of the canceled scorers is taken seriously in the whole process.
2) GMAC went to extent of comparing the questions posted by canceled scorers on Scoretop.com and the GMAT questions they answered when taking the test.
3) It is not just US test takers all geographic areas are affected.
4) GMAC has completed and suspended its initial investigation. The users who are in doubt of their possible score cancellations can relax.
5) For further questions contact Ashok Sarathy, director of the GMAT Program, at asarathy@gmac.com.
6) GMAC has sent letters on Friday, September 5, 2008. to all the affected test takers informing them the cancellation decision.
Related articles from kalyansuman.com
-> GMAC sues GMAT forums/Users over "live" questions
Labels: cancel, Cancellation, Controversy, GMAC, GMAT, Graduate Management Admission Council, Graduate Management Admission Test, MBA, scoretop.com, Test, US
written by Kalyan @ 3:12 PM,
,
Doing MBA Free from Ivy League business schools tips
Devin Griffin got accepted into Wharton business school with two year tuition of 80,000 per year for his MBA paid. Business Week writes a letter to the admission committee by Devin made that possible to consider him for the school's scholarship.
Business schools are an expensive affair with students taking loans and pushing themselves into serious debts of $100,000 and more in the economy where jobs are uncertain after an MBA.
Tips to get free MBA:
1) Students who start their own business and have shown excellent community outreach programs.
2) Some schools automatically select students for scholarships.
3) Think ahead (2 or 3 years) before you start your MBA.
4) Apply for scholarships in the first round of MBA applications.
5) Target scholarships that aim for only Women, country based, and diversity.
6) Demonstrate leadership and highlight the cause.
7) Write out Fellowship that you are seeking.
8) Go to business school where your grades and GMAT score is above average that other students. And
9) Do part time MBA where your employer sponsors Tuition reimbursements. (Remember this type of free MBA comes with a price that a) Some corporations require that employee stay one-year with them after completion of MBA or pay back the tuition. b) May not be getting the full tuition reimbursement and have to pay taxes.
Any other tips you know of to do MBA for free and avoid huge debts ?
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Business schools are an expensive affair with students taking loans and pushing themselves into serious debts of $100,000 and more in the economy where jobs are uncertain after an MBA.
Tips to get free MBA:
1) Students who start their own business and have shown excellent community outreach programs.
2) Some schools automatically select students for scholarships.
3) Think ahead (2 or 3 years) before you start your MBA.
4) Apply for scholarships in the first round of MBA applications.
5) Target scholarships that aim for only Women, country based, and diversity.
6) Demonstrate leadership and highlight the cause.
7) Write out Fellowship that you are seeking.
8) Go to business school where your grades and GMAT score is above average that other students. And
9) Do part time MBA where your employer sponsors Tuition reimbursements. (Remember this type of free MBA comes with a price that a) Some corporations require that employee stay one-year with them after completion of MBA or pay back the tuition. b) May not be getting the full tuition reimbursement and have to pay taxes.
Any other tips you know of to do MBA for free and avoid huge debts ?
Labels: Business school, BusinessWeek, free, GMAT, Kellogg School of Management, MBA, tips, United States, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
written by Kalyan @ 10:58 AM,
,
Harvard Business Publishing interviews Life Hacker Gina Trapani
Lifehacker.com is popular productivity blog and Scott Berkun from Harvard asks grilling questions of how MBAs can benefit from Lifehacker's productivity tips. As Gina puts it MBA teaches structured learning with problem-solving and case studies and gives less importance to manage one's own time in an effective way.
The advice I like is how to choose from multiple productivity systems ? Choose one system that best fits you and stick to it.
Question #4 about working in teams is the best answer I feel Gina gave :
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The advice I like is how to choose from multiple productivity systems ? Choose one system that best fits you and stick to it.
Question #4 about working in teams is the best answer I feel Gina gave :
I think there can be a huge amount of value in cross-pollinating people's work styles. A few years back I did a fair amount of pair programming, and while it was at times frustrating and awkward, I learned a lot from seeing how someone else does things and thinks.
The key is finding and working with the people who help you and don't slow you down. My racquetball coach always told me to "play up" -- meaning, always try to play against an opponent who's better. No matter how bad getting beaten by that person feels, it still raises your game. I think that's true at work as well.
Labels: Case study, Colleges and Universities, Education, Harvard University, Lifehacker.com, Massachusetts, Master of Business Administration, MBA, United States
written by Kalyan @ 1:49 AM,
,
2008 MBA applicants number highest in five years
GMAC in its latest survey reported that 2008 MBA applications are highest in the last five years. Specially in full-time programs where 77% of the survied people said they saw application levels increase compared to 2007's 64%. Part-time and executive MBA has applications rise but not at the same level as full-time MBAs.
Here is GMAT trends from GMAC survey :
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is administered by GMAC and is used
by approximately 4,000 graduate management programs at some 1,800 business schools around the world to screen MBA applicants.
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The 2008 Application Trends Survey includes responses from 521 graduate management programs at 273 educational institutions in the United States, Europe and other parts of the world. About two-thirds of the respondents are U.S.-based.
Here is GMAT trends from GMAC survey :
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is administered by GMAC and is used
by approximately 4,000 graduate management programs at some 1,800 business schools around the world to screen MBA applicants.
Labels: Applications, GMAC, GMAT, MBA, United States
written by Kalyan @ 12:06 PM,
,
Google "App"titude challenge for India's Engineering and MBA colleges ends September 15'2008
A new innovative challenge from Google to increase the user base for Google apps in engineering and MBA colleges.
From India's GoogleApp team :
Here is video of Kellogg ( Northwestern University, Chicago, US) director of technology talks about how they have benefited using Google Apps for their intranet IT solutions:
This in my opinion is good for colleges as Google will assign one Google employee to each team to help answer questions through out the challenge. Drawback is that they are targeting only Engineering and MBA colleges. Google is trying hard to push collaboration tools like its "Google Talk" , "Google Mail" to compete with "Microsoft Instant Messenger", "Outlook" as Microsoft dominates the corporate as well university accounts.
To learn more about GoogleApps watch this video from google - Googleapps Youtube video:
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From India's GoogleApp team :
1. Sign up for the challenge by September 15, 2008.
2. Get approval from your college's administration to implement Google Apps by October 15, 2008.
3. Work with your IT department to implement Google Apps by December 15, 2008.
4. Achieve the highest level of Google Apps usage amongst all participating colleges by January 31, 2009 to be declared the challenge winner!
Here is video of Kellogg ( Northwestern University, Chicago, US) director of technology talks about how they have benefited using Google Apps for their intranet IT solutions:
This in my opinion is good for colleges as Google will assign one Google employee to each team to help answer questions through out the challenge. Drawback is that they are targeting only Engineering and MBA colleges. Google is trying hard to push collaboration tools like its "Google Talk" , "Google Mail" to compete with "Microsoft Instant Messenger", "Outlook" as Microsoft dominates the corporate as well university accounts.
To learn more about GoogleApps watch this video from google - Googleapps Youtube video:
Labels: Gmail, Google, Google Apps, Google Talk, Googlemail, India, MBA, microsoft, Northwestern University
written by Kalyan @ 11:35 AM,
,
GMAC sues GMAT forums/Users over "live" questions for MBA preparation ?
R.P Singh - young Indian cricket bowler wants to do MBA : "He must be careful with GMAT forums and test preparation centers :-)". Source RP Singh's MBA plan video
This poses a risk to some students' scores and their careers though there is no fault of their own as they were allowed to practice on a test questions with other students in the forums. These kinds of actions of copyright infringement may divert all the attention to the growing GMAT test preparation online centers. This is a good move and I agree it gives some back door test preparers an unfair advantage on GMAT.
As a general thumb of rule If GMAT questions are from material approved by GMAC that's either in a book or some other form, then it's probably OK. Remember as a test taker one agrees that they will not disclose GMAT questions after the test. It's not a good idea to disclose questions from actual GMAT's and they may have some dire consequences.
One forum posted on this topic back in 2007 :
GMAC is also threatening to (a) find out who posted the live questions, ban them from taking the GMAT, AND reporting the names to b-schools, and (b) potentially finding out who looked at or discussed items labeled "live" (that is, people who knowingly looked at live questions) and doing the same to those users."
Here are some forms of GMAC copyrighted material reported in one test prep forum.
GMAT Sets these are upto 20 plus sets that seems to be having live test questions, Gmatter Software has software download that reportedly uses some "live" questions, 1000SC is related to sentence correction part of GMAT which is popular and heavily circulated over internet for practicing sentence correction part of GMAT. Similarly there are 1000RC - Reading Comprehension packages and finally Official Guide or OG is official GMAT tests and practice tests that is bit vaguely mention not to discuss or distribute such material.
GMAT official guide is available for purchase from popular book stores and is a must-have if you prepare for GMAT.
To Sumup all this information is from some forums and websites and though their validity is in question but every test taker signs an agreement not to post exam questions this is just not with GMAT tests but take for example Microsoft certification tests too.
sources:
Don't post copyright questions
Don't post scoretop questions
Labels: GMAT, GMAT TEST RESOURCES, MBA, OG
written by Kalyan @ 11:30 AM,
,
Using SCAMPER business creativity tool
SCAMPER is an acronym for • Substitute • Combine • Adapt • Magnify • Modify • Put to another use • Eliminate • Rearrange • Reverse
SCAMPER: This tool helped me to think of changes I can make to an existing problem ( What to do with my MBA?) to create a new/modified one. I used these changes either as direct suggestions or as starting points for lateral thinking. Using SCAMPER here has helped me define new possible career paths. Many of the ideas may be impractical or may not suit the career in Entrepreneurship. However some of these ideas became good starting points for finding solution to my problem.
Demonstration of SCAMPER:
SCAMPER gave me this summary of good points:
• Substitute - use of internships, substitutes experience? Prior-Experience? Domain Knowledge?
• Combine - integrate MBA and previous technical degree? Career plus promotion (combining purposes)? New Business or Acquisitions? Assortment of Industries – Tech, Manufacturing and Banking?
• Adapt – Copy what other my school Entrepreneurs are doing? Is my company R&D best fir for my entrepreneurial career? Emulate Technological evangelists?
• Magnify – Become a CEO? Unique skills? Use MBA School’s rankings reputation card? Duplicate successful entrepreneurial CEO’s resumes?
• Modify – To fit my personality traits? Income stream from many sources? Convert passions into income?
• Put to another use – Copy one passion idea to other ideas? Name, Recognition, Create jobs for others?
• Eliminate - Eliminate the BIG ideas, start with small ideas? Simple ideas break it into small ideas?
• Rearrange – Get degree first and launch career later or vice versa? One idea implementation per day?
• Reverse – Positive – autonomy with ladder of success, Negative – Bankrupt, Stress and No life?
SCAMPER: This tool helped me to think of changes I can make to an existing problem ( What to do with my MBA?) to create a new/modified one. I used these changes either as direct suggestions or as starting points for lateral thinking. Using SCAMPER here has helped me define new possible career paths. Many of the ideas may be impractical or may not suit the career in Entrepreneurship. However some of these ideas became good starting points for finding solution to my problem.
Demonstration of SCAMPER:
SCAMPER gave me this summary of good points:
• Substitute - use of internships, substitutes experience? Prior-Experience? Domain Knowledge?
• Combine - integrate MBA and previous technical degree? Career plus promotion (combining purposes)? New Business or Acquisitions? Assortment of Industries – Tech, Manufacturing and Banking?
• Adapt – Copy what other my school Entrepreneurs are doing? Is my company R&D best fir for my entrepreneurial career? Emulate Technological evangelists?
• Magnify – Become a CEO? Unique skills? Use MBA School’s rankings reputation card? Duplicate successful entrepreneurial CEO’s resumes?
• Modify – To fit my personality traits? Income stream from many sources? Convert passions into income?
• Put to another use – Copy one passion idea to other ideas? Name, Recognition, Create jobs for others?
• Eliminate - Eliminate the BIG ideas, start with small ideas? Simple ideas break it into small ideas?
• Rearrange – Get degree first and launch career later or vice versa? One idea implementation per day?
• Reverse – Positive – autonomy with ladder of success, Negative – Bankrupt, Stress and No life?
Labels: Entrepreneurship, MBA
written by Kalyan @ 10:25 AM,
,
Using Mind Map creativity business tool
I used Mind Mapping creativity tool to apply to the problem at hand -"How my MBA in Entrepreneurship/Change Management prepare me for a career in Entrepreneurship".
Reasons for choosing this creativity methods:
Mind Mapping - By using Mind Maps, I can quickly identify and understand the structure of a subject and the way that pieces of information fit together. Mind Maps also provide a structure which encourages creative problem solving, and they hold information in a format that my mind will find easy to remember and quick to review.
Also Mind Maps are more compact than conventional notes, often taking up one side of paper. This helps me to make associations easily. Also If I find out more information after I have drawn the main Mind Map, then I can easily integrate it with little disruption.
Mind Maps are also useful for:
* Summarizing information;
* Consolidating information from different research sources;
* Thinking through complex problems; and
* Presenting information in a format that shows the overall structure of my subject
Remembering the shape and structure of a Mind Map can give you the cues you need to remember the information within it. As such, they engage much more of your brain in the process of assimilating and connecting facts, compared with conventional notes.
Demonstration of Mind Mapping:
Hope this helps some one who is struggling to decide what to do with their MBA.
Reasons for choosing this creativity methods:
Mind Mapping - By using Mind Maps, I can quickly identify and understand the structure of a subject and the way that pieces of information fit together. Mind Maps also provide a structure which encourages creative problem solving, and they hold information in a format that my mind will find easy to remember and quick to review.
Also Mind Maps are more compact than conventional notes, often taking up one side of paper. This helps me to make associations easily. Also If I find out more information after I have drawn the main Mind Map, then I can easily integrate it with little disruption.
Mind Maps are also useful for:
* Summarizing information;
* Consolidating information from different research sources;
* Thinking through complex problems; and
* Presenting information in a format that shows the overall structure of my subject
Remembering the shape and structure of a Mind Map can give you the cues you need to remember the information within it. As such, they engage much more of your brain in the process of assimilating and connecting facts, compared with conventional notes.
Demonstration of Mind Mapping:
Hope this helps some one who is struggling to decide what to do with their MBA.
Labels: Entrepreneurship, MBA
written by Kalyan @ 11:30 AM,
,
Free web Bibliography : Easybib
What is the difficult and tedious process in writing school or professional papers ? Bibliography and generating the citations for all the referred sources in the paper.A bibliography is a list of the sources you have used and cited when writing your paper.Even a great written paper is nothing without a annotated bibliography.Sure writing an annotated bibliography for research paper requires great experience and professional advice.
PC Magazine selected EasyBib as site of the week in August'2007, EasyBib is a website dedicated to helping writers create bibliographies. Students provide the easybib.com site with information about sources, and with a couple of clicks, the site automatically creates a bibliography in the correct format and it quickly turns out accurate citation lists.It takes the info and puts it into MLA format for you? A huge help for students or researchers.Moreover Easy Bibliography is free and most used advanced bibliography maker on the Web.It cuts down bibliography creation time from one half to two thirds.All in all, Easy Bib is very useful, you can format any MLA bibliography, whenever you want for free.I was happy to come across Easybib Pro an internet based tool that will format my references, export them as a word document, and has a handy wizard to help with in text citation.
Other Free Bibliography products and info:
Bibliography info
BibMe is another web 2.0 style cool free bibliography generator, offering citations in MLA, APA, and Chicago styles.
Bibdesk: A free bibliography management application.
BibBuilder 1.3 (Free MLA-Style Bibliography Builder)
PC Magazine selected EasyBib as site of the week in August'2007, EasyBib is a website dedicated to helping writers create bibliographies. Students provide the easybib.com site with information about sources, and with a couple of clicks, the site automatically creates a bibliography in the correct format and it quickly turns out accurate citation lists.It takes the info and puts it into MLA format for you? A huge help for students or researchers.Moreover Easy Bibliography is free and most used advanced bibliography maker on the Web.It cuts down bibliography creation time from one half to two thirds.All in all, Easy Bib is very useful, you can format any MLA bibliography, whenever you want for free.I was happy to come across Easybib Pro an internet based tool that will format my references, export them as a word document, and has a handy wizard to help with in text citation.
Other Free Bibliography products and info:
Bibliography info
BibMe is another web 2.0 style cool free bibliography generator, offering citations in MLA, APA, and Chicago styles.
Bibdesk: A free bibliography management application.
BibBuilder 1.3 (Free MLA-Style Bibliography Builder)
written by Kalyan @ 8:06 AM,
,
Entrepreneur career : Defining "How my MBA in Entrepreneurship can prepare me for a career in Entrepreneurship?"
This post is all about clearly defining the problem statement for "Career in Entrepreneurship"
Generic Problem Statement:“I wish I knew how my MBA in Entrepreneurship prepare me for a career in Entrepreneurship”
Now to choose Entrepreneurship career I may think I need to start my own business. The most significant reason I believe for considering a career in entrepreneurship is the personal satisfaction that often comes with owning your own company, right? Starting ones own business is how to start career in Entrepreneurship? Well, I think I better look a little more deeply at this problem before I instigate a huge effort requiring lots of resources to start a business because I’m going to be very disappointed if that’s not the solution.
Forming a Problem Statement:
Answering the following questions will help me look at my problem more deeply, and will probably help me get at the root causes.
Who? [People who currently are facing this problem or been in this situation before] – Those who wish to start a business and to implement decisions about their Entrepreneurship career. People who create new opportunities that generate benefits for the organization. Entrepreneurs who are likely to be involved in novel startups, and with fast-growing businesses. A student who wants to capitalize on their accumulated skills and experience. A hobby driven student: to enable them to keep doing the thing they enjoy most. A student who wishes to stay in a specific geographic area, or to have flexible hours. A person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for a business venture. Individuals who score highly on these measures - need for achievement, need for autonomy, drive and determination, creative tendency and risk taking.
When? [Timescales to start a career in Entrepreneurship] Start a business straight after graduating or later in the career when I have built up more knowledge, skills and credibility?
Where? [Where to start a career as Entrepreneur?] With Current or New employer, Self start or Franchise a business, Existing or in New technology, Targeting Niche or Industry wide markets, or in an early stage venture.
What? [What can I do with a degree in Entrepreneurship?]
Entrepreneurs recognize and evaluate opportunities and thus become venture capitalists, investors, attorneys and marketing specialists.
Why? [Why a career in Entrepreneurship?] Become part of the decision-making and empowerment, it's about following ones passion and doing something to make the world a better place, It is feeling of greatness to know that my contributions have a positive impact on the company.
The answers generated make me reconsider the problem. After I look more closely at the issue, it appears that just starting a business is not one of the main options for starting career in Entrepreneurship. This makes me think that starting own business and succeeding is not easy: Risk is bigger (about 70% of new businesses close down within 3 years. Risks are higher ). I think the problem can be found in the where and the why. Start off in employment to build experience. It is possible that one problem has multiple roots. Fortunately, I don’t have to make that decision just yet. The information gathered now will prepare me for applying creative tools later on.
“I wish I knew how my MBA in Entrepreneurship prepare me for a career in Entrepreneurship” “I wish as an MBA student in Entrepreneurship I was more aware of the challenges in creating my own business to succeed , starting off in employment to build experience and networking to increase skills and knowledge, when combined may help me in preparing my career in Entrepreneurship” My new problem statement will help me come up with solutions that address the root of the cause not just the symptoms.
I'll discuss in future articles of how to apply creativity tools to this problem and solve the question in hand "How my MBA in Entrepreneurship can prepare me for a career in Entrepreneurship"
Problem or Opportunity Identification
Generic Problem Statement:“I wish I knew how my MBA in Entrepreneurship prepare me for a career in Entrepreneurship”
Now to choose Entrepreneurship career I may think I need to start my own business. The most significant reason I believe for considering a career in entrepreneurship is the personal satisfaction that often comes with owning your own company, right? Starting ones own business is how to start career in Entrepreneurship? Well, I think I better look a little more deeply at this problem before I instigate a huge effort requiring lots of resources to start a business because I’m going to be very disappointed if that’s not the solution.
Forming a Problem Statement:
Answering the following questions will help me look at my problem more deeply, and will probably help me get at the root causes.
Who? [People who currently are facing this problem or been in this situation before] – Those who wish to start a business and to implement decisions about their Entrepreneurship career. People who create new opportunities that generate benefits for the organization. Entrepreneurs who are likely to be involved in novel startups, and with fast-growing businesses. A student who wants to capitalize on their accumulated skills and experience. A hobby driven student: to enable them to keep doing the thing they enjoy most. A student who wishes to stay in a specific geographic area, or to have flexible hours. A person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for a business venture. Individuals who score highly on these measures - need for achievement, need for autonomy, drive and determination, creative tendency and risk taking.
When? [Timescales to start a career in Entrepreneurship] Start a business straight after graduating or later in the career when I have built up more knowledge, skills and credibility?
Where? [Where to start a career as Entrepreneur?] With Current or New employer, Self start or Franchise a business, Existing or in New technology, Targeting Niche or Industry wide markets, or in an early stage venture.
What? [What can I do with a degree in Entrepreneurship?]
Entrepreneurs recognize and evaluate opportunities and thus become venture capitalists, investors, attorneys and marketing specialists.
Why? [Why a career in Entrepreneurship?] Become part of the decision-making and empowerment, it's about following ones passion and doing something to make the world a better place, It is feeling of greatness to know that my contributions have a positive impact on the company.
The answers generated make me reconsider the problem. After I look more closely at the issue, it appears that just starting a business is not one of the main options for starting career in Entrepreneurship. This makes me think that starting own business and succeeding is not easy: Risk is bigger (about 70% of new businesses close down within 3 years. Risks are higher ). I think the problem can be found in the where and the why. Start off in employment to build experience. It is possible that one problem has multiple roots. Fortunately, I don’t have to make that decision just yet. The information gathered now will prepare me for applying creative tools later on.
New Problem Statement:
“I wish I knew how my MBA in Entrepreneurship prepare me for a career in Entrepreneurship” “I wish as an MBA student in Entrepreneurship I was more aware of the challenges in creating my own business to succeed , starting off in employment to build experience and networking to increase skills and knowledge, when combined may help me in preparing my career in Entrepreneurship” My new problem statement will help me come up with solutions that address the root of the cause not just the symptoms.
I'll discuss in future articles of how to apply creativity tools to this problem and solve the question in hand "How my MBA in Entrepreneurship can prepare me for a career in Entrepreneurship"
Labels: Entrepreneurship, MBA
written by Kalyan @ 12:03 PM,
,
Finding math factors of 121 - Do you know what they are?
No brainer if you are in school but out of school and if some one asks you this question, can you answer it?
Finding factors:{If you are preparing for GMAT this should give you a quick review of what factors are?}
One easy way is through prime numbers as they make it easy to find the factors of a number.
What is a prime number : A number is prime if it cannot be divided evenly by anything except itself and 1. For example, 5 is a
prime number, because the only factors of 5 are
1 * 5 = 5
Let's consider a number like 121:
how many factors does 121 have?
121 = 11 X 11, 11 is prime number
So prime factors of 121 are 1, 11 and 121
Let's consider a number like 72 that you want to find factors of It's even, so it's divisible by 2:
72 = 2 * 36
Now, what about 36? That's also even, so it's divisible by 2:
72 = 2 * 2 * 18
What about 18? That's divisible by 2:
72 = 2 * 2 * 2 * 9
What about 9? That's not divisible by 2, but it is divisible by 3:
72 = 2 * 2 * 2 * 3 * 3
And 3 is prime. So what we've done here is find the 'prime factors' of
the number 72.
How does this help us find all the factors of 72? Well, if a number
is a factor of 72, and it's not one of these prime factors, then it
must be a product of two or more prime factors. So we can find all the
factors of 72 by looking at all the ways we can group these prime
factors:
2 * 2 = 4 pairs
2 * 3 = 6
3 * 3 = 9
2 * 2 * 2 = 8
2 * 2 * 3 = 12 triplets
2 * 3 * 3 = 18
2 * 2 * 2 * 3 = 24 product of four prime factors
2 * 2* 3 * 3 = 36
So the factors of 72 are
1 A factor of everything.
2, 3 The distinct prime factors.
4, 6,9 Products of two prime factors.
8,12,18 Products of three prime factors.
24,36 Products of three prime factors.
72 Product of all the prime factors.
Now
1,2,3,4,6,8,9,12,18,24,36,72
Factors vs Multiples basics
Factors
Finite number of factors for any whole number
Most factors are smaller than number – largest is number itself
Multiples
Infinite number of multiples
Most multiples larger than number, smallest is number itself
Here are some online links you can use some of the Math formulas
Finding prime factors online
Online Math calculators - A very good resource for all math calculations online.
Finding factors:{If you are preparing for GMAT this should give you a quick review of what factors are?}
One easy way is through prime numbers as they make it easy to find the factors of a number.
What is a prime number : A number is prime if it cannot be divided evenly by anything except itself and 1. For example, 5 is a
prime number, because the only factors of 5 are
1 * 5 = 5
Let's consider a number like 121:
how many factors does 121 have?
121 = 11 X 11, 11 is prime number
So prime factors of 121 are 1, 11 and 121
Let's consider a number like 72 that you want to find factors of It's even, so it's divisible by 2:
72 = 2 * 36
Now, what about 36? That's also even, so it's divisible by 2:
72 = 2 * 2 * 18
What about 18? That's divisible by 2:
72 = 2 * 2 * 2 * 9
What about 9? That's not divisible by 2, but it is divisible by 3:
72 = 2 * 2 * 2 * 3 * 3
And 3 is prime. So what we've done here is find the 'prime factors' of
the number 72.
How does this help us find all the factors of 72? Well, if a number
is a factor of 72, and it's not one of these prime factors, then it
must be a product of two or more prime factors. So we can find all the
factors of 72 by looking at all the ways we can group these prime
factors:
2 * 2 = 4 pairs
2 * 3 = 6
3 * 3 = 9
2 * 2 * 2 = 8
2 * 2 * 3 = 12 triplets
2 * 3 * 3 = 18
2 * 2 * 2 * 3 = 24 product of four prime factors
2 * 2* 3 * 3 = 36
So the factors of 72 are
1 A factor of everything.
2, 3 The distinct prime factors.
4, 6,9 Products of two prime factors.
8,12,18 Products of three prime factors.
24,36 Products of three prime factors.
72 Product of all the prime factors.
Now
1,2,3,4,6,8,9,12,18,24,36,72
Factors vs Multiples basics
Factors
Finite number of factors for any whole number
Most factors are smaller than number – largest is number itself
Multiples
Infinite number of multiples
Most multiples larger than number, smallest is number itself
Here are some online links you can use some of the Math formulas
Finding prime factors online
Online Math calculators - A very good resource for all math calculations online.
Labels: MBA
written by Kalyan @ 12:27 AM,
,
Book Review : Myths of innovation by Berkun, Scott
  | In the book ‘the myths of innovation’, Scott Berkun debunks common myths about innovation. This book opens with a chapter that talks about - "Is it really that Newton found 'laws of gravity' when he saw apple falling to the ground" - Author gives explanation of why this is a myth that sold very well for ages.These myths are mostly human short cuts or quick fixes our minds take to help to transmit (promote) the information to other people. Innovation is not something that can be processed and manufactured and I felt Berkun did a great job in describing these realities in the book.This book should not take you long and can be finished in one sitting of 3 to 4 hours. Myths of Innovation by Scott Berkun  |
Some of the Book’s key messages for managers:
Decision making: How does a manager know whether a hot new technology will succeed or fail? How managers commercialize an idea? These and other questions essential to producing thoughtful marketing/new product decisions and approaches are considered in the history of innovations and most importantly how they became successful. Examples come from the history of technology, business and the arts and tell how knowledge/ideas convert to commodities. Business managers will find this an important key to understanding and aids them in their decision making.
Collaboration: Good managers facilitate collaboration that has a huge impact on the success of innovation in the corporations. The best ideas derive from a mix of self-awareness and the ability to recognize and explore opportunities when they arise. Berkun talks about how good managers set up an environment which fosters creativity and innovation, how innovators are able to build off their prior experiences and a number of other critical factors. Political shielding: the appropriate role of managers in innovation; in the chapter #7, "Your boss knows more about innovation than you", Edison provided his team of researchers with the political shielding they needed in order to do their jobs to the best of their ability.
How does this can book help you plan or reconsider your own personal creative journey in your work or career?
Whether we work or not at creative companies like IDEO or Google, myths described in the Berkun’s book provides a set of practical insights that will help anyone come up with ideas or combination of ideas that can be applied to one’s own settings. I always thought creativity is something to be born with but Berkun has done a great job by debunking many of cherished myths that hold many people like me back from innovating. This book made me rethink and question the stories of innovation that have become part and parcel of our culture and society. Once we solve this riddle, then I believe it's possible to truly understand how innovation occurs, and how we all can play a part in that.
Two significant “take-aways” from the book.
Berkun captures thought provokingly the difference between what we've been led to believe about innovation as opposed to how it actually works. For each myth, Berkun uses the actual stories behind a variety of innovations, using innovations whose stories we think we know. The examples I took away from the book include the following:
Edison and the invention of the light bulb: Berkun uses Edison and the invention of the light bulb throughout the book to support several points. In the chapter #9, "Problems and solutions", Berkun points out that city had just invested millions of dollars in gas lighting. Realizing this, Edison did not frame his problem as "make a working light bulb," but "make an electricity system that cities can use to adopt my lights.” Framing the problem in this way properly identified the challenge that Edison needed to overcome to make the light bulb successful and that it's rarely a single person that is the source of innovation. In chapter#5 - "The lone inventor" Berkun points out that many inventions are created by different people relatively simultaneously. Edison was not, in fact, the first person to invent the light bulb. Two other lesser known inventors have that distinction.
Newton and his inventions in field of physics: Newton is credited for many advances in the field of physics. But he's as much a product of his location and time as he is of his studies. Born in a different country or 100 years earlier, Newton doesn't exist as the key figure. But that's not to say that his ideas would have never been uncovered. Others working in the same field with the same surroundings could likely have traveled the same path. Innovation is hard work, and it's a process, not a moment in time.
Summary:
Innovation is unpredictable. Berkun suggests ways that it might be cultivated. One should strive to define a problem precisely. Perhaps advantage is that no one else sees it as a problem or where it is believed that a solution exists for the problem. Then, try to tackle it. How some inventors got their ideas? As Berkun puts it, sometimes, clarifying a problem starts you on the road to innovation.
Click me Myths of innovation text book
Video: Book Author Berkun talks about his latest book
Much of what we know about innovation is wrong. That's the bet this talk takes, as it romps through the history of innovation, dispelling the mythologies we've constructed about how we got here. This talk, loosely based on the upcoming O'Reilly book (May 2007), will help you to recognize the myths, understand why they're popular (even if you don't believe in them), and how to use the truth to help you innovate today.
Labels: Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, MBA
written by Kalyan @ 11:02 AM,
,
10 best MBAs read magazines for business and finance
Use these magazines to pick up all investing ideas and to increase business and finance knowledge. These are the 10 most popular magazines that you will find business grads reading.These business and finance magazines will keep you MBA focused, streamline your investments, and hopefully improves your entrepreneurial skills.
Here is top 10 best magazines:
1. Money
2. The Economist
3. BusinessWeek
4. Fortune
5. Consumer Reports
6. Entrepreneur
7. Kiplinger's Personal Finance
8. Forbes
9. SmartMoney
10. The Wall Street Journal
Here is top 10 best magazines:
1. Money
 | Description - Combines practical personal finance advice, calculators and investing tips with business news, stock quotes, and financial market coverage from the editors of CNN and Money Magazine. Website - money.cnn.com Alexa Rank: 84 (This is CNN rank) |
2. The Economist
 | Description - Authoritative weekly newspaper focusing on international politics and business news and opinion. Website - economist.com Alexa Rank: 3668 Notes : Chicacgo Tribune says : The Economist - The no-nonsense font and rigid layout style make it look like a class handout on the first day of an MBA program, but don't be dismayed. This magazine features the most succinct, globe-encompassing wrap-ups of politics and economics on the market. Even often overlooked cultural features such as book reviews glisten with insight. |
3. BusinessWeek
 | Description -A renowned business publication. Business news, trends and profiles of successful businesspeople. Website - BusinessWeek.com Alexa Rank: 1352 Notes : Business Week. Consistently the best business magazine, more timely than the biweeklies Forbes and Fortune. One strength is international reporting, as in the cover story on India and outsourcing. Click me for audio version of Business Week - Audio version I found useful in long commutes where all of BW can be downloaded to MP3 player. |
4. Fortune
 | Fortune magazine's home page with current business and finance news. Website - Fortune.com Alexa Rank: 51815 |
5. Consumer Reports
 | Information, ratings, and advice on products, services, and decisions. Website - consumerreports.com Rank : 5329 |
6. Entrepreneur
 | Description - Online and print small business publication. Information to help start, grow or manage a small business. Web Site - Entrepreneur.com Rank : 3894 Notes: Check out top 10 colleges at http://www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges/ It has much information for those looking to start their own business. Entrepreneur publishes the “Franchise 500”, which lists the top franchise opportunities for business people.Each issue offers numerous articles presenting the guidance you and your business need. Monthly columns in the technology department include “Digital Edge”, “Net Profit” and “Snapshot.” The financial section consists of columns including “Dollar Signs”, “Raising Money” and “Tax Talk.” Other regular features include “Sell”, which deals with marketing, and “Money”, which deals with financial management. Additional columns include “Breakthrough”, “Sales Force”, “Smart Moves”, “Insurance”, “Capitol Issues” and “Staff Smarts.” |
7. Kiplinger's Personal Finance
8. Forbes
 | Notes : Information about companies and the people who run them. Forbes success lists including the Platinum 400 best-performing U.S. big companies, the Private 500 largest U.S. private firms, and the world's richest people. Website: Forbes.com Alexa Rank - 484 |
9. SmartMoney
 | Notes:Offers daily stock and mutual fund recommendations, hourly market updates, personal finance investing research tools and advice. Website : SmartMoney.com Alexa Rank - 15461 |
10. The Wall Street Journal
 | International and national news with a business and financial perspective. WallStreetJournal.com ALexaRank - 1096 |
written by Kalyan @ 1:54 AM,
,
Free GMAT Practice tests from Kaplan
Kaplan's free online GMAT services
Click me for Free GMAT Practice test from Kaplan
Other GMAT test resources
Here are some other GMAT test resources I got it off internet that may help all GMAT test takers : (May not be free but are good GMAT test resources)
Click me for Free GMAT Practice test from Kaplan
Thank you for your interest in Kaplan's free online GMAT services.
To preview the online components of our GMAT classroom, premium online and private tutoring programs, including a free full-length GMAT practice test, get started here.
Simply purchase your free course (you will not be required to enter credit card information) by clicking on the "Sign up" button above and completing the registration and purchase process. After completion, the course and practice test will be accessible from the syllabus located on your own, personalized student home page.
Good luck!
Other GMAT test resources
Here are some other GMAT test resources I got it off internet that may help all GMAT test takers : (May not be free but are good GMAT test resources)
- PowerPrep GMAT CAT
- Ascent Education
- Arco
- Axxent
- 800 Score
- English Test
- GMATBuster
- GMAT Cram.com
- GMATExams.com
- GMAT Practice Tests
- Gorilla Test Prep
- Manhattan GMAT Tests
- R&B Consulting Prep Software
- Realtestquestions.com
- ScoreTop Online Verbal-Quant Tests
- TestMasters
- TestPrep New York
- Upstart Raising GMAT Simulator
Labels: free, GMAT, GMAT TEST RESOURCES, Kaplan, MBA
written by Kalyan @ 9:00 AM,
,
To boost productivity - worship the work and adopt style
Shyam's style of work is different from Tom's.Style of work differs from person to person.One has to develop ones style of work out of his/her own experience to boost ones productivity.Is worship work? or Is work worship?
Shyam is sales executive.His boss appreciates him,the reason is his act of tactfully convincing the consumer.The consumer behavior is important.Some consumers says Shyam's approach is boring.Then he leaves them.He selects other consumers and spends his energy.Thus he earn profits for his/her boss.
Everyday Milk lesson : For instance milk is the product.Even though it is perishable it is the main food item to majority of the consumers.Suppose if a person does not like milk, Shyam leaves them.Only few persons are left out.He used to explain the quality of the product, date of expiry and the advantages in keeping ones good health.He suggests his boss about the title of his product in improving the quality with less cost and any other suggestions on the basis of his study of the consumer behavior.
Health is wealth lesson: Take another example , Tobacco products caution about health is essential.Reduces the span of your life, temporary joy leads to permanent damage - such cautions are necessary to protect the health of the consumer.Then the Shyam's consumer limits his consumption and ... the product.
In another case, Tom is a teaching professional.His style of work is different.He has to acquire adequate knowledge to teach his students. His area is limited to students only.He has to extract the best output from students to make them tomorrows leaders.The responsibility of profession is more as education is continuous process. Some students may like him.Some may not.He should not leave the students who do not like him.The professional has to concentrate more on them and has to analyze the reasons and has to change style of work to attract them.Then he earns name for his institution and thus he keeps cent percent students in his grip.In the process his boss appreciates him.
As such , the style of work plays vital role in development.It depends on the nature of work performed.The main ingredients of 'Style of Work' are
Shyam is sales executive.His boss appreciates him,the reason is his act of tactfully convincing the consumer.The consumer behavior is important.Some consumers says Shyam's approach is boring.Then he leaves them.He selects other consumers and spends his energy.Thus he earn profits for his/her boss.
Everyday Milk lesson : For instance milk is the product.Even though it is perishable it is the main food item to majority of the consumers.Suppose if a person does not like milk, Shyam leaves them.Only few persons are left out.He used to explain the quality of the product, date of expiry and the advantages in keeping ones good health.He suggests his boss about the title of his product in improving the quality with less cost and any other suggestions on the basis of his study of the consumer behavior.
Health is wealth lesson: Take another example , Tobacco products caution about health is essential.Reduces the span of your life, temporary joy leads to permanent damage - such cautions are necessary to protect the health of the consumer.Then the Shyam's consumer limits his consumption and ... the product.
In another case, Tom is a teaching professional.His style of work is different.He has to acquire adequate knowledge to teach his students. His area is limited to students only.He has to extract the best output from students to make them tomorrows leaders.The responsibility of profession is more as education is continuous process. Some students may like him.Some may not.He should not leave the students who do not like him.The professional has to concentrate more on them and has to analyze the reasons and has to change style of work to attract them.Then he earns name for his institution and thus he keeps cent percent students in his grip.In the process his boss appreciates him.
As such , the style of work plays vital role in development.It depends on the nature of work performed.The main ingredients of 'Style of Work' are
- Choice of profession
- Plan of action
- Performance of tasks
- Consume less time of your bosses - so that the precious time of boss is saved and he can utilize such time in concentrating other important aspects.
- Do maximum work in minimum time.This depends on nature of work selected and experience gained out of it.
Labels: MBA, Productivity, Work
written by Kalyan @ 10:55 PM,
,
Exams - The life-long villains
“Why Study For Exams.... Are they not about what you know, not about how much you can cram into your head the night before?” - quoteExams are life long villains (Pic to left - courtesy [jointtortfeasors]). When I took my bachelors finals I thought that was end to my academic exams but knowledge upgrade to new degrees and proving that knowledge in exams are lifelong never ending tasks.
The final exam day is usually a "happy experience"...at least until the grades are posted.
As common as it is tried diligently to make prof. give us open book or take home for accounting course and of course he did not buy our selling and the reasoning is quite interesting.Prof says" You are in a executive numbers meeting and your executive VP asks you to calculate some cost with some efficiency.Do you tell your VP you will get the book or open Google to search for the answer?"
Probably he is true , reality check - Are really open book/take home exams improve grade any better than traditional exams? Many myths that Open Book exams are a breeze that we don't have to study.Just copy straight from the book and the more materials the better the exam will go.The bottom line is we don't study if its a open book.
As the date for finals approached, One can easily see that stress levels are higher than usual.Some times positive, helping to stay motivated and focused. However, too much stress can be unhelpful, the side effects of feeling tired,broken sleep,overwhelmed and confused.And with recent other avagations like blogging, social networking sites there is a now a reason not to study and hang on those sticky sites further making oneself vulnerable to low grades.This is all self injected pain.
Do we know where we stand in exam ? Hell..yes..in most cases...public exams might be a bit different but for academic exams like MBA courses it is very well known where you stand and what grade you can get in finals.
Most part of academic exams is you study the line of thinking of prof and you know what you can expect in the test.Barring extremities they ask what they teach unless you get an outlier prof.This psychology reading should put you somewhere in B grade range.Basically we are training our self to the exam system to get grades of course with the course knowledge.It goes without saying if one puts decent extra effort one is in A-class pool.
Adding to these grade techniques are superfluous exam sentiments.
Exam sentiments ? Are there any ? I guess plenty..highly customized..totally differentiated unique in nature from one test taker to the other and got to appreciate that creative weird reasoning that we come up with sentiments to mask some of those grade pressures.
Common one is dress sentiment wearing the same dress (some people avoid black or red dress) for all exams.Probably this one starts when someone wore a dress that gave a good grade.Other Exam sentiments are a plenty, many being common to all like using 'lucky' pens, cap (wearing torn unwashed probably as Sa Re Ga Ma Pa fame Himesh Reshammiya does with his cap..As he says the cap has been lucky for him. All his success he owed to his torned cap, Reports says a blessing bestowed upon his by a deity which has promised him success as long as he wears it.) etc. etc. but this one made me laugh out.This friend he would not take 'good luck' exam wishes from his one close dear friend as he believes the last time around when checking in to the exam room this friend guy wished and hence he reasons his exam was ruined. As this blog says on 'Prayer Before An Exam' about an prayer card at university that has as a prayer on one side, and there’s a number two pencil taped to the back. Ad that reads
"Father, as I enter to take this exam, I ask You to help me. Grant me wisdom and show me how to take the test, so that I gain the most points and make the best grade I can make…"
Well .. If you have finished your exams..eNjoy and If you haven't good luck for your exams.you done it before and you will do fine this time.
written by Kalyan @ 11:46 PM,
,
MBA and Salaries in 2007
"Bitterman! Do you want to double your salary?"
"Yes sir!"
"Then open that door!"
- From movie Arthur (1981)
This conversation on how to increase salaries talks about opening that door and the door in year 2007 very well can be an MBA door.
Imagine you completed your MBA and are out of that MBA door , Those MBA's looking to get into the high-salary world would definitely need to have a road map to do it.The first road map I believe to high MBA salary is Job categories.Most MBA's will go for a career change that lands them in different Job categories either passion wise or for monetary benefits or some thing else.Rather than passion if you want to jot down job category by salary here is the chart for median salary by Job categories for year 2007 from pay scale. If you analyze the pay by Job - 'finance' industry is a top payer."Make the numbers and get the numbers".
If a degree is from a top ranking school then that pays off way more than the industry average salaries. As Economic Times reports this year Wall Street took MBA pay to new heights - "Competition for MBAs from banks like New York-based Citigroup and Goldman Sachs may push starting-pay packages above last year, when graduates averaged a record $186,174 in total compensation at Harvard Business School and $183,000 at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business."
Executive Career Guide for MBAs
"Northwestern’s Kellogg School reported average total compensation of $150,942 for its graduates last year. The Wharton School reported $167,607, and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business in New York, $169,194" .
With the strong job market that is adding more and more Jobs, Year 2007 seems to be rocking salary year for MBA graduates.
"Yes sir!"
"Then open that door!"
- From movie Arthur (1981)
This conversation on how to increase salaries talks about opening that door and the door in year 2007 very well can be an MBA door.
Imagine you completed your MBA and are out of that MBA door , Those MBA's looking to get into the high-salary world would definitely need to have a road map to do it.The first road map I believe to high MBA salary is Job categories.Most MBA's will go for a career change that lands them in different Job categories either passion wise or for monetary benefits or some thing else.Rather than passion if you want to jot down job category by salary here is the chart for median salary by Job categories for year 2007 from pay scale. If you analyze the pay by Job - 'finance' industry is a top payer."Make the numbers and get the numbers".
If a degree is from a top ranking school then that pays off way more than the industry average salaries. As Economic Times reports this year Wall Street took MBA pay to new heights - "Competition for MBAs from banks like New York-based Citigroup and Goldman Sachs may push starting-pay packages above last year, when graduates averaged a record $186,174 in total compensation at Harvard Business School and $183,000 at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business."
Executive Career Guide for MBAs
"Northwestern’s Kellogg School reported average total compensation of $150,942 for its graduates last year. The Wharton School reported $167,607, and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business in New York, $169,194" .
With the strong job market that is adding more and more Jobs, Year 2007 seems to be rocking salary year for MBA graduates.
Labels: 2007, Job Growth, MBA, Salaries
written by Kalyan @ 6:56 PM,
,
GMAT
Now that you know about MBA so how to get admission into a good MAB program in US.
The first stop is to know about GMAT and then MBA school rankings.
What is GMAT ?
What is GMAT's format?
GMAT tips :
About Essays:
Offical Guides (OG) , Kaplan and Princeton books are preferred by many GMAT test takers.
I'll dedicate one post of all the resources that will be required to prepare for GMAT.
The first stop is to know about GMAT and then MBA school rankings.
What is GMAT ?
The GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) is a 3-1/2 hour standardized exam designed to predict how test-takers will perform academically in MBA (Masters in Business Administration) programs. GMAT scores are used by graduate business schools to make admission decisions.
Do I need to take the GMAT for admission to an MBA program?
To gain admission to an MBA program, chances are you’ll need to take the GMAT. About two-thirds of the 1,300+ graduate business schools around the world require GMAT scores for admission. Schools that do not require GMAT scores nevertheless welcome GMAT scores to help access an applicant’s qualifications.
NOTE: Schools that do not require GMAT scores generally have relatively lenient admission standards and/or are located outside of the United States.
How important are GMAT scores in the B-school admissions process?Each graduate business school develops and implements its own policy concerning the use of GMAT scores in making admissions decisions. Many schools screen applicants by combining GMAT scores and undergraduate GPA (each school determining for itself their relative weight), then ranking all applicants in their initial pool accordingly.
In addition — especially after the initial screening of applicants — admissions officials consider subjective factors such as work and other relevant experience, recommendation letters, application essays (personal statements), and reports of personal interviewers. In making difficult decisions between two or more similarly qualified candidates, admissions officials rely less on GMAT scores and GPA and far more on these other, more subjective factors.
What is GMAT's format?
GMAT tips :
About Essays:
Assuming a very good application aside from a sub-average GMAT score, great essays might carry your applicationPractise and practise:
DO TONS OF PROBLEMS until you tend to recognize what they want quickly.GMAT resources:
Practice catching your mind slowing down
ALWAYS keep your mind SHARP, especially in the Reading Comprehension sections
Offical Guides (OG) , Kaplan and Princeton books are preferred by many GMAT test takers.
I'll dedicate one post of all the resources that will be required to prepare for GMAT.
Labels: 700, GMAT, Kaplan, MBA, OG
written by Kalyan @ 5:14 PM,
,
From zero to hero
I wrote in one of my previous blog of how team India went from heroes to Zeroes, Here is the total opposite of it , a person who is zero or negative image for all Indians is now a big hero.
Indian Railways abbreviated as IR, is the state-owned railway company of India. It is one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, transporting just over six billion passengers and almost 750 million tonnes of freight annually. IR is the world's largest commercial or utility employer, with more than 1.6 million employees.
Lalu prasad yadav, minister of Indian Railways played key role in turning loss-making entity to a profit-making one. Lalu Prasad Yadav is now credited with engineering the financial turnaround of Indian Railways, that was on the verge of bankruptcy before his appointment to the office. What makes his performance commendable is that he has left passenger fares untouched and has found several other profitable sources of revenue for the Railways.
And with this success has come immense recognition to Lalu that IIM-A has taken the railways success as a case study.
said Professor G Raghukumar of IIM-A quotes "I feared the worst when he took over, but he has proved every one wrong. This turnaround is because of the political leadership being in sync with the professionals of the railways. We think this model could be replicated in other PSUs"
This Lalu's wisdom bits of Indian railways turnaround gave him business star status not only in India but also abroad - GE chief Jeffery Immelt wants a tete-a-tete with him; HEC International Business School, Paris, wants research done on him; a Harvard University seminar scheduled in New Delhi, wants him to shed light on Laloonomics; and most of the management gurus feel that no star, be it a filmstar or a sportsstar, sells like Lalu.
Recently when speaking to business school students , Lalu gave his insights and some of these important points that should be the role model or templates for some of the largest corporations that are on the verge of bankruptcies with costs and competition.
Lalu in a very humble way admits "it all happened because of the hard work of his 1.4 million employees ".He Offered global MBA students to work in Indian Railways to know its culture and wants these grad students to be part of the success of Indian railways.This reflects his on-going commitment by introducing global business ideas to improve financials of Indian Railways.When asked about the steps taken by the Railways to cut down emission and his reply was 'electrification,' switch over from coal engines to bio-diesel ones and planting of Jatropa saplings.What is different he did for his employees - "the 65 days bonus given to railway employees, special Holi allowance of Rs 400 distributed to Grade D workers and facilities given to field workers".
This in my opinion a simple strategy that Lalu simply attacked the grass root problems that largest corporations are facing today.We need thousands of Lalu's who can save companies and eventually people whose livelihood is dependent on those companies.
All India ridiculed Lalu for his fodder scam (950 crores) which costed his chief ministry in Bihar is now sought after person by Business and Administration professions.
Indian Railways abbreviated as IR, is the state-owned railway company of India. It is one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, transporting just over six billion passengers and almost 750 million tonnes of freight annually. IR is the world's largest commercial or utility employer, with more than 1.6 million employees.
And with this success has come immense recognition to Lalu that IIM-A has taken the railways success as a case study.
said Professor G Raghukumar of IIM-A quotes "I feared the worst when he took over, but he has proved every one wrong. This turnaround is because of the political leadership being in sync with the professionals of the railways. We think this model could be replicated in other PSUs"
This Lalu's wisdom bits of Indian railways turnaround gave him business star status not only in India but also abroad - GE chief Jeffery Immelt wants a tete-a-tete with him; HEC International Business School, Paris, wants research done on him; a Harvard University seminar scheduled in New Delhi, wants him to shed light on Laloonomics; and most of the management gurus feel that no star, be it a filmstar or a sportsstar, sells like Lalu.
Recently when speaking to business school students , Lalu gave his insights and some of these important points that should be the role model or templates for some of the largest corporations that are on the verge of bankruptcies with costs and competition.
Lalu in a very humble way admits "it all happened because of the hard work of his 1.4 million employees ".He Offered global MBA students to work in Indian Railways to know its culture and wants these grad students to be part of the success of Indian railways.This reflects his on-going commitment by introducing global business ideas to improve financials of Indian Railways.When asked about the steps taken by the Railways to cut down emission and his reply was 'electrification,' switch over from coal engines to bio-diesel ones and planting of Jatropa saplings.What is different he did for his employees - "the 65 days bonus given to railway employees, special Holi allowance of Rs 400 distributed to Grade D workers and facilities given to field workers".
This in my opinion a simple strategy that Lalu simply attacked the grass root problems that largest corporations are facing today.We need thousands of Lalu's who can save companies and eventually people whose livelihood is dependent on those companies.
All India ridiculed Lalu for his fodder scam (950 crores) which costed his chief ministry in Bihar is now sought after person by Business and Administration professions.
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Labels: Indian Railways, lalu, Lalu Prasad Yadav, MBA
written by Kalyan @ 6:10 PM,
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Why MBA ?
Everything that we do on a daily basis is somehow related to business.Some people have strength in some business skills while being weak or vulnerable in others. As a computer engineer who is involved in technical activities day in and day out but not yet managed or productized ideas, I desparetely need business side of the equation. Exceptional people like Bill Gates can do with out a degree but for an average person MBA may serve a good ship to break the barriers and an entry into the business side of a corporation.
In searching for a broader set of business skills I started exploring various options like taking the one- or two-day management
training courses offered by my employer and shadowing managers who are good business leaders to observe their leadership qualities. These learning opportunities have helped me to some extent, but I realize the need to complete an MBA program to help me shape my business skills to the fullest extent possible.
The change is what I felt MBA provides that opens up to wealth of oppurtunities.Here are very few important ones -
- Building up a successful portfolio of business knowledge and skills
- Learning people skills, especially around communication and teamwork
- Getting used to working under stress.
- Learn from a group of fellow students with a very diverse background (not a software or IT tunnel vision that I have)
- Build network of colleagues, MBA alumni
Is MBA worth the time, effort and cost ? MBA provides training in the theory and practice of business management and certifies a person of general competency in all the major functional management roles.What MBA (part time, full time or accelarated) to get is difficult question to answer and totally depends on situation of the degree seeker.There is the question of the economy too. Some people think it's a good hedge to get an MBA during an economic slowdown a safe haven rather than face the tough job market; however, when the economy is bad, even having an MBA is no guarantee of obtaining a lucrative job offer. The best advice? Talk to recruiters and MBA career placement counselors and read the current trends in magazines such as Business Week, Success, U.S. News and World Report.
Regardless of the type of MBA, the core topics you'll encounter include:
# Accounting
# Quantitative analysis
# Economics
# Marketing
# Organizational behavior
Specialized MBAs offer more advanced study in a particular area of business (such as marketing) or a particular industry (such as higher education).
To sum up - Don't jump into an MBA program without doing all the necessary research and introspection that best suits you.
Next topic I'll be writing on how I went about getting admission into business school that suited my requirements.
Good luck for your career change if it is with MBA. You may one day meet Laloo
Pic to the right from rediff - A group of MBA students from the University of Texas and University of Virginia met Railway Minister Laloo Yadav in New Delhi on Friday.
In searching for a broader set of business skills I started exploring various options like taking the one- or two-day management
training courses offered by my employer and shadowing managers who are good business leaders to observe their leadership qualities. These learning opportunities have helped me to some extent, but I realize the need to complete an MBA program to help me shape my business skills to the fullest extent possible.
The change is what I felt MBA provides that opens up to wealth of oppurtunities.Here are very few important ones -
- Building up a successful portfolio of business knowledge and skills
- Learning people skills, especially around communication and teamwork
- Getting used to working under stress.
- Learn from a group of fellow students with a very diverse background (not a software or IT tunnel vision that I have)
- Build network of colleagues, MBA alumni
Is MBA worth the time, effort and cost ? MBA provides training in the theory and practice of business management and certifies a person of general competency in all the major functional management roles.What MBA (part time, full time or accelarated) to get is difficult question to answer and totally depends on situation of the degree seeker.There is the question of the economy too. Some people think it's a good hedge to get an MBA during an economic slowdown a safe haven rather than face the tough job market; however, when the economy is bad, even having an MBA is no guarantee of obtaining a lucrative job offer. The best advice? Talk to recruiters and MBA career placement counselors and read the current trends in magazines such as Business Week, Success, U.S. News and World Report.
Regardless of the type of MBA, the core topics you'll encounter include:
# Accounting
# Quantitative analysis
# Economics
# Marketing
# Organizational behavior
Specialized MBAs offer more advanced study in a particular area of business (such as marketing) or a particular industry (such as higher education).
To sum up - Don't jump into an MBA program without doing all the necessary research and introspection that best suits you.
Next topic I'll be writing on how I went about getting admission into business school that suited my requirements.
Good luck for your career change if it is with MBA. You may one day meet Laloo
Pic to the right from rediff - A group of MBA students from the University of Texas and University of Virginia met Railway Minister Laloo Yadav in New Delhi on Friday.
The minister talked to the students on the 'Turnaround of Indian Railways'
Labels: Career Change, MBA
written by Kalyan @ 12:18 PM,
,
Cost cutting ...
Its time of the year for layoff news from Chrysler,Pfizer,Motorola,...
It is best time as an individual to look into monthly cost cutting measures on recurring expenses - Some expenses are that we pay more and use less like cell phones, my case peak time minutes of 250, As a full time employee how often are these cell phone peak time minutes used in a day ? Very rarely. Consider this with two cell phones for a family - expense multiplies.
Monthly Phone Expenses = (154$)
Two Cell Phones Plan expenses - 75$ - family plan with Verizon.
These expenses are difficult to cut down on , I always keep checking Verizon if they have lowered their family plan prices.They never -:(
I've tow CDMA cell phones , My options are limited in selecting the carriers so I have to go with Sprint ? Can I still be able to use same phones and just change the monthly family plan to see if there are any savings ? So there is an opportunity window to save few bucks here .... any other ideas?
Land line - 9$ (Paid 199$ for two years for SUNROCKET - VOIP)
This worked out good initially had lots of static issues with the service but it settled down now and call quality is much better.Also I get 3$ free of international minutes.There is no way I can get out of this contract as it is prepaid in full.I keep hearing most people (read it as family people) are now not having any landlines and are just using their cell phones for everything.
International calls to India - 70$
Airtel came for rescue with 8cents/minute with promotional one month it was 4cents/month.International call rates to India keeps dropping and I wish with Reliance and Airtel fighting for the customer base I hope will further lower their call rates.This is wait and watch but are there any other cheaper options to make this cost lower? I should make it a discipline to use Internet skype 'computer to computer' talking whenever possible.
So 154$ in recurring expenses on communication. At least a 10% off of this cost could significantly increase my savings.I should work towards this savings and will post If I find a way to realize these savings.I'll do a follow up blog on TV/Internet expenses to find wayd of minimizing those expenses.If any of you who is reading this blog knows of any other ways post your thoughts please..
It is best time as an individual to look into monthly cost cutting measures on recurring expenses - Some expenses are that we pay more and use less like cell phones, my case peak time minutes of 250, As a full time employee how often are these cell phone peak time minutes used in a day ? Very rarely. Consider this with two cell phones for a family - expense multiplies.
Monthly Phone Expenses = (154$)
Two Cell Phones Plan expenses - 75$ - family plan with Verizon.
These expenses are difficult to cut down on , I always keep checking Verizon if they have lowered their family plan prices.They never -:(
I've tow CDMA cell phones , My options are limited in selecting the carriers so I have to go with Sprint ? Can I still be able to use same phones and just change the monthly family plan to see if there are any savings ? So there is an opportunity window to save few bucks here .... any other ideas?
Land line - 9$ (Paid 199$ for two years for SUNROCKET - VOIP)
This worked out good initially had lots of static issues with the service but it settled down now and call quality is much better.Also I get 3$ free of international minutes.There is no way I can get out of this contract as it is prepaid in full.I keep hearing most people (read it as family people) are now not having any landlines and are just using their cell phones for everything.
International calls to India - 70$
Airtel came for rescue with 8cents/minute with promotional one month it was 4cents/month.International call rates to India keeps dropping and I wish with Reliance and Airtel fighting for the customer base I hope will further lower their call rates.This is wait and watch but are there any other cheaper options to make this cost lower? I should make it a discipline to use Internet skype 'computer to computer' talking whenever possible.
So 154$ in recurring expenses on communication. At least a 10% off of this cost could significantly increase my savings.I should work towards this savings and will post If I find a way to realize these savings.I'll do a follow up blog on TV/Internet expenses to find wayd of minimizing those expenses.If any of you who is reading this blog knows of any other ways post your thoughts please..
Tags:
written by Kalyan @ 3:05 PM,
,
You get what you pay for...
Pay matters and employees does what they are paid for, Examples cited in this learning are Green Giant and Sears Automotive.These examples illustrate the fact that how employees finds different way to work around the system to meet the expectations of the pay.
Green Giant - Many years ago, when Green Giant discovered too many insect parts in the pea pack from one of its plants, it designed a bonus plan that paid people for finding insect parts. Green Giant got what it paid for: insect parts. Innovative Green Giant employees brought insect parts from home to add to the peas just before they removed them and collected the bonus.
Similar stories can be found in The book Compensation, 8/e by George T. Milkovich, Cornell University and Jerry M. Newman, State University of New York
Sears Auto Care centers: The Sears Auto Centers focused on undercar services, which consisted of brake repair, replacement of mufflers, shock absorbers, and struts.Sears cut the hourly wages of their mechanics, installers, and tire changers at their Auto Centers and put them a commission based system. They were required to meet certain product specific sales quotas such as a number of alignments per shift and dollar volume quotas based on the value of goods and services sold per hour.The Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) received 669 complaints against Sears. In response to the complaints, The Bureau of Automotive Repair of the DCA investigated Sears 38 times from December 1990 to December 1991. According to BAR, Sears employees recommended and performed unnecessary service or repairs in 34 of the instances and averaged an overcharge of $223 each. Their focus was on braking system repairs to get more commissions.
So creating a compensation with out these loopholes is challenge for HR personnel.This was discussed this week in my MBA HR course – compensation and thought it is intersting to blog these true compensation facts from the big corporates.
Green Giant - Many years ago, when Green Giant discovered too many insect parts in the pea pack from one of its plants, it designed a bonus plan that paid people for finding insect parts. Green Giant got what it paid for: insect parts. Innovative Green Giant employees brought insect parts from home to add to the peas just before they removed them and collected the bonus.
Similar stories can be found in The book Compensation, 8/e by George T. Milkovich, Cornell University and Jerry M. Newman, State University of New York
Sears Auto Care centers: The Sears Auto Centers focused on undercar services, which consisted of brake repair, replacement of mufflers, shock absorbers, and struts.Sears cut the hourly wages of their mechanics, installers, and tire changers at their Auto Centers and put them a commission based system. They were required to meet certain product specific sales quotas such as a number of alignments per shift and dollar volume quotas based on the value of goods and services sold per hour.The Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) received 669 complaints against Sears. In response to the complaints, The Bureau of Automotive Repair of the DCA investigated Sears 38 times from December 1990 to December 1991. According to BAR, Sears employees recommended and performed unnecessary service or repairs in 34 of the instances and averaged an overcharge of $223 each. Their focus was on braking system repairs to get more commissions.
So creating a compensation with out these loopholes is challenge for HR personnel.This was discussed this week in my MBA HR course – compensation and thought it is intersting to blog these true compensation facts from the big corporates.
Tags:
Labels: MBA
written by Kalyan @ 6:14 PM,
,
Best selling business books of 2006
Business Week published this list recently, Find below the same list for quick reference (The bold font ones from below are either I read or listened to an audio book).These audio books are best to listen if you have a long commute.Check your local library or work place library, You should be able to get most of these as audio CDs.
·Why We Want You to Be Rich
By Donald J. Trump, Robert T. Kiyosaki, Meredith McIver, and Sharon Lechter
·The World Is Flat
By Thomas L. Friedman
·Freakonomics
By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
·Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell
·Jim Cramer's Real Money
By James J. Cramer
·Tough Choices
By Carly Fiorina
·The Long Tail
By Chris Anderson
·The Starbucks Experience
By Joseph A. Michelli
·The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read
By Daniel R. Solin
·Beyond Basketball
By Mike Krzyzewski with Jamie K. Spatola
·Total Money Makeover
By Dave Ramsey
·Little Black Book of Connections
By Jeffrey Gitomer
·The Fred Factor
By Mark Sanborn
·The Tao of Warren Buffett
By Mary Buffett and David Clark
· The Little Book of Value Investing
By Christopher H. Browne
Labels: MBA
written by Kalyan @ 4:30 PM,
,
Best Business Movies
These are my best business movies that I have watched recently ...
1) Devil Wears Prada - Nikamma blogger's extensive review linked.
2) Clerks 1 & 2
3) Waterworld
4) Rogue Trader
5) Glengarry Glen Ross
6) Boiler Room
7) Wall Street
8) Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
1) Devil Wears Prada - Nikamma blogger's extensive review linked.
2) Clerks 1 & 2
3) Waterworld
4) Rogue Trader
5) Glengarry Glen Ross
6) Boiler Room
7) Wall Street
8) Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Labels: MBA
written by Kalyan @ 2:57 PM,
,
I'm Kalyan from Chicago, Illinois, United States. I write articles about Cricket matches and their reviews, Money saving Deals and tips, Immigration info related to Green Card or EAD or AP or H1-B, Road to MBA degree and afterwards. I'm writing in hope and passion that one person will be better because he or she benefits from these posts.
