BW Online | July 19, 2002 | John Seed: Reflecting on the First Year of B-School

JULY 2002

MBA JOURNAL: FIRST YEAR REVIEW

John Seed: Reflecting on the First Year of B-School

"My values and perspectives have certainly changed as a result of the MBA. I feel that I have climbed out of a rut and can now see the wider picture."

John Seed: Reflecting on the First Year of B-School^"My values and perspectives have certainly changed as a result of the MBA. I feel that I have climbed out of a rut and can now see the wider picture."^^^John Seed: Reflecting on the First Year of B-School

John Seed
The Judge Institute
Cambridge University
Class of 2002

JOHN'S JOURNAL
Introduction
Admissions
Preterm/Orientation
Mid-Term Review
First Semester Overview
Second Term Update
Year-End Overview

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The lectures part of the MBA course is finally over and most Cambridge MBA students are spending their time either completing assignments, punting down the river in the glorious sunshine, or recovering from the famous Cambridge University May Balls. These were traditionally held in May but are now held in June as the weather is better and class participation doesn't suffer too much as the Balls now come at the end of term. We have until the end of August to complete our 15,000 word dissertations but most of the class is taking a break to relax a little before starting research for these.

This last eight-week term has seen us studying for three core courses (Entrepreneurship, Corporate Governance, and IT & Industry Dynamics) and four electives. Whilst Entrepreneurship and IT were interesting for me, I found Corporate Governance both engrossing and relevant. Guest speakers included Sir Adrian Cadbury (CEO of Cadbury Schweppes and chairman of the Cadbury Commission which produced the Combined Code on Corporate Governance) and Bob Monks (Founder of Institutional Shareholder Services and Corporate Governance guru). We learnt about the importance of social and environmental responsibility, as well as about the relationship between the board, the management, and shareholders. We formed into groups to simulate the hostile takeover of a publicly owned firm and stayed in the same groups to analyse corporate governance in a country of our choice prior to a class presentation. The course also looked into ethics, globalisation, work-life balance, and gender equality in management.

The electives I chose from a list of 24 available were Risk Management, Privatisation & Regulation, Computer Aided Decision-Making, and Strategic Alliances. The Judge Institute staff advised us before we commenced electives that we could sit in on as many different classes as we wanted so as to make the final choice a little easier. I was very pleased with my choices as every class was well taught and very relevant to the work I will be doing after the MBA. I believe that there was quite a broad range of electives offered and that the difficulty students had was not with finding subjects they were interested in but in choosing just four from the excellent choices provided. The only complaint voiced was that perhaps one or two of the electives should actually be core courses and hence taught in more depth. Of course, it is impossible to suit everyone.

Having secured a good job back with my original employer, I have been able to focus my studies on the new management role I will be playing when I return to work this coming September. I have now worked for the consultancy Mott MacDonald (MM) for 13 years, initially as a civil engineer and more recently as a Project Manager. MM sponsored me by paying my MBA fees and I have felt a loyalty toward the company throughout the course. However, I will admit that there have been times when I've wondered if the grass might be greener on the other side of the fence, especially as I've been surrounded on the course by management consultants and finance specialists. Some of the courses I've taken this last term, particularly Corporate Governance, have helped me to realise that I have actually been working all this time for a moral and ethical organisation that values its stakeholders, has a strong culture and respects its staff. The position I have accepted involves managing three hospital Private Finance Initiative projects and helping with the running of a large UK regional office. This is an ideal position for me as it not only draws on my past project management experience but gives me an excellent opportunity to put into practice what I've learnt on the MBA.

Fady and Thomas crossing a stream In Dovedale in the
English Peak District

My values and perspectives have certainly changed as a result of the MBA. I feel that I have climbed out of a rut and can now see the wider picture. I am certainly more confident, not just in talking about business and finance but also in talking to peers and management. I once viewed people with MBAs as arrogant and really hope that I do not come across that way when I finally complete mine. I certainly do feel more assured, however, and can see how this could easily manifest itself as arrogance. For me, the greatest value in the MBA has been learning about the softer issues like organisational behaviour and human resource management. My dissertation subject is relationship management in partnering agreements and I'm looking forward to the ten weeks I will spend looking into the sociological and psychological aspects of management, change and partnering.

Chao rapidly escaping a farmer's field in the
Peak District

I must now get down to completing my Corporate Government assignment on the Enron scandal. My subscription to BusinessWeek has come in very handy for this topic (I thought I'd better get the plug in now, as this may be my last journal). Thinking about Enron and Andersen and watching the FTSE100 drop like a stone over the past few days makes me think of the challenges of the future. The construction industry in the UK and in many parts of the world is currently very buoyant and promises to remain so for the next few years at least. Privately financed capital projects might prove to be a more attractive option to putting money into a volatile shares market for investors, especially when the Government is paying the bills. This could be more good news for the construction sector. Whatever happens, with the MBA nearly secured, I am confident that I am now much better prepared for these challenges and look forward to getting back to work (and earning a wage) again.

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