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NOVEMBER 1998 MBA JOURNAL: MID-TERM REPORT Raghu Ponnapalli: The First Seven Weeks of B-School
As I've said previously, there are 240 people in the class of 2000. However, the class is split into four "streams," or blocks, of students. I was in the group of 60 students that make up Stream A. These 60 students are the ones I will be going to class with for the entire first year. At LBS, all the first-year courses are required, with only one to two electives allowed. Surprisingly, after we were broken up into our streams, we hardly got to see the other students. The schedules just didn't allow it. The atmosphere during the first few weeks was pretty relaxed and casual. We were warned that things would accelerate quickly, however, and that the workload may become unmanageable by the middle of the term. Hearing this, some students decided to front-load a lot of cases. I didn't really want to use that strategy because I found that the details of the cases are much fresher if you prepare them the night before class, rather than weeks before. Here's a brief description of the classes for the first term: Managing Organizational Behavior (MOB): This class was mostly about dealing effectively with individuals and groups, and how this affects the organization. It started out with a few surveys and personality tests, which were meant to guide us in assessing our own personalities. The course provided a good balance between theories and management practices (e.g., we had speakers visit from companies like Shell and 3Com to talk about reward systems, control systems, selection, management of change, and building high performance teams.) Operations Management (OM): This class introduced me to an area that I had hardly given any thought to previously. Here we discussed the importance of good operations and its role in the profitability of a business. It was definitely an eye-opener. I hadn't realized how crucial a role operations plays in the success of a company. A highlight of this class was a field trip to a massive Ford plant in Dagenham (near London), where we observed the assembly-line process of building a car from beginning to end. Understanding Financial Analysis (UFA): I had thought that we did enough accounting analysis in the pre-term and wasn't looking forward to this class. However, it turned out to be a favorite of mine. We got into much more in-depth analysis of balance sheets and cash-flow statements, and picked apart common accounting practices (such as write-offs to R&D during acquisitions, and restructuring charges). Moreover, the concepts I learned were relevant because of all the recent newspaper articles about accounting irregularities and SEC investigations. Managerial Economics (ME): This was basically an economics course with heavy emphasis on business strategy. The focus was on the economic choices that businesses can make (e.g. price discrimination, monopolistic competition, and game theory.) The discussions on cartels were particularly interesting. Corporate Finance (CF): This class started more than halfway through the term and will continue through all of the second term. Before winter break we covered basic NPV (net present value) concepts, some valuation examples, and some basic bond math. CF is my favorite class, hands down, and I'm waiting for it to get more challenging (which it will in Term Two.) All the courses had some component of assessed group work. LBS requires us to work together to complete some very challenging projects. For instance, in MOB and OM, we were required to get ourselves into a company and observe real-life work situations. The reports for each class were based on observations and recommendations that we could make to improve the MOB or OM issues we discovered. This was no easy task, especially starting off. We first had to cold call and get ourselves invited into a company. Our visits added a lot more realism to the courses. We actually got firsthand experience to go along with some of the theory we had learned in the classroom. For MOB, we reported on a franchise restaurant which was in the midst of a major management change. Previously, the restaurant had been underperforming and a new manager had been brought in to shake up the employees and practices. For OM, we visited a massive printing plant that was responsible for printing up to 10 different daily newspapers, including the Financial Times. Classes throughout the term were scheduled for about three days a week, while the Career Management Center (CMC) events and some interpersonal skills classes took up a day here and there. We usually took about three hours of each class each week. Most of the real work (papers, research, preparation) have to be done on your own or with your group. We also took courses provided by CMC. These dealt with handling presentations, interviews, networking, and more. The CMC also made professional counselors available for those students who needed career or general advice. The MBA office also helped out by scheduling stress-relief days, which proffered free back-rub, foot massage, and aromatherapy sessions, as well as all the chocolates you could eat! In additon, they provided general tips for handling the workload and for making sure we were on top of our schedules. A notable social event, nicknamed "Sundowners," occurs every Thursday evening. This event is sponsored by a different company each week. Free alcohol is provided, and everyone lets themselves forget the deadlines, and relax. Sundowners also turn into a quasi-recruiting event, since the companies who are sponsoring are also interested in employing the students. These companies come from every sector: the banks, the consultancies, and industry. There were also several parties during the year. Some celebrated specific cultural or religious events, like the Indian Diwali (religious New Year) party, complete with a fireworks show on campus. Other parties were for general events (e.g. Halloween). Some students also got together to arrange "International Nights," where a sizable portion of the class would get together and all go out to sample London's best ethnic restaurants. By the end of the first six weeks, work started getting more intense. Our Corporate Finance classes had started, and our final exam was about to be given in our UFA course. Overall, the term is going well. The classes are engaging, and that's a real relief. I'm glad that I'm not being exposed to dry lecturing, but I'm already looking forward to a relaxing winter break!  Raghu Ponnapalli  | | [an error occurred while processing this directive] Learn about your online education options |
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