MBASA in the mood for change – new website, statutes…

MBASA is revamping itself and there is a lot of energy it seems. I like what I am seeing. The new team has taken the leads and is really pushing forward with change. I first noticed that the communication with the students has become more professional with a new newsletter format and frequent surveys and drop-in sessions.

Then I  noticed that there is an increased link between MBASA, the student body and the program mangement. MBASA is now entitled to join and participate in the monthly program management meetings and therefore is now able to contribute the student’s views and feedback and direct them directly to the program directors and the Dean. This is a great move forward from the past and it is good step forward for a closer collaboration.

Today I get an email from MBASA informing students that they would like to change the constitution with more modern and flexible statutes in order to allow for implementing changes more rapidly. This is very proactive and I am glad to see that the change process starts at the core. In addition they sent out a survey asking for the students’ opinion on the proposed changes and this leads me to my next point.

MBASA revamped its website. The survey was conducted on their website, which I didn’t know was relaunched recently. Great way of promoting the new website that hopefully will become the center of information. What I like is that there you can also find there the archived newsletters that I mentioned earlier. The clubs are also now being migrated to the same MBASA address so the online representation of the clubs becomes more uniform.

In addition on the right you will find a calendar for all the MBASA and student related events. This is a long awaited move and I am glad to see that it is finally online. Now we just need the calendar link so that we can import it into our calendars and that it becomes automatically updated on our computers as well.

The next thing that I suggest you start a little online shop for MBASA and ESADE merchandise so that we can buy the products all year around. I truly like the ESADE merchandise and I hope that we get to see more ESADE t-shirts, hoodies, caps, etc. on campus. You might want to use the Abacus technology of the current ESADE shop website.

Good job MBASA and keep it up. I like what I am seeing!!!!

Article Recommendation: Inventing an Identity – Brasilata

The family business “Brasilata” of a fellow One Year MBA classmate from Brazil has made into the news and it is definitely worth reading it. McKinsey Quarterly (March 2010) interviewed “Chip Heath” the author of a book called “Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard”, where he mentions Brasilata as a model for suggestion programs as well as some of its innovative management tools. 

Congratulations Brasilata and keep making headlines like this. The following is an excerpt (full article here):

Excerpt from Switch: Inventing an identity

Brasilata — a $170 million Brazilian producer of steel cans—actually invented the identity that became the engine of its success. Can manufacturing is a relatively mature industry—not much growth or excitement. But Brasilata defies the boring, stuck-in-its-ways stereotype. In fact, it has one of the best reputations for innovation of any company in Latin America.

How does a metal can company become known as an innovator? Brasilata’s founders were inspired by the philosophy of Japanese car manufacturers like Honda and Toyota, which empowered their frontline employees to take ownership of their work. In 1987, the founders launched their own employee-innovation program.

A new identity was its core. Employees became known as “inventors,” and new hires were asked to sign an “innovation contract.” This wasn’t just feel-good language. Employees were challenged to be on the lookout for ideas on how to create better products, improve production processes, and cut costs. Systems were developed that made it easy to submit ideas. The program succeeded beyond reasonable expectations. In 2008, a total of 134,846 ideas were submitted—an average of 145.2 ideas per inventor!

These suggestions often led to new products. In late 2008, for instance, the company came up with a new approach for a steel can designed to carry flammable or otherwise dangerous liquids. To meet UN standards, such cans must withstand a drop from about four feet. Most companies had solved this problem by thickening the metal layers, which used up more raw material. And even the reinforced cans were prone to split if they landed on an edge. Brasilata’s inventors suggested a new design, inspired by car bumpers that collapse on impact. The new cans deformed slightly on impact, reducing stress on the critical seam. They resisted falls better while also reducing the amount of steel in the can.

Inventors have also led the company through emergencies. In 2001, a severe energy crisis forced Brazil’s government to give businesses a strict quota of electricity. In response, Brasilata’s employees dreamed up hundreds of power-saving ideas. Within a few weeks, Brasilata’s energy consumption had fallen by 35 percent, reducing it below quota, so the company could resell the extra energy.

Let’s remember something: this inventor identity, which has fueled the company’s business success and employee satisfaction, was made up. None of Brasilata’s employees was born an inventor. This identity was introduced to them, and they decided it was a mantle worth wearing—a source of pride and strength.

Most successful companies have a distinctive identity in our minds. I can picture the identity of a Wal-Mart or a Southwest or an IBM employee. I have a harder time picturing the identities of some of their competitors. Intel recently has been running a national ad campaign that features its own employees. It’s called “Our rock stars aren’t like your rock stars.” Ajay Bhatt, one of the coinventors of USB, is shown walking into a company canteen and being surrounded by adoring employees. The point is that what they value at Intel may be different from what’s valued in the outside world, but if you’re the next Ajay Bhatt, you want to work for Intel, where your talents will be respected. Another great example of a company that motivates employees by giving them a sense of identity is Brasilata.

ESADE’s network and what to do with it?

There can only be one answer to that: grow it! ESADE’s corporate network is already extensive, especially in Spain, however I think that it could grow further. (Find a full list of Partners and recruiters here). In this regard I would like to emphasize the importance of this large network in relationship to career opportunities.

I thought about this over the last couple of days and I was wondering how large our corporate network must be by just considering the previous employers of every student? I would assume that every MBA student has worked on average for 2-3 companies x the 330 MBA students (rough estimate) currently at ESADE, which means that the network of the current students alone is enormous.

Being a fierce opponent of complacency and idleness I figured that it also might be up to the students to be more proactive and initiate a contact between ESADE and the previous employers. Take the network building in your own hands, produce leads, monitor the progress and communicate. Imagine the network we could have if every student shared his connections with his fellow student!!!!

My contacts are already contributed. Why don’t you share yours?

Today 10.000th view! MyESADEMBA.com insights and statistics

10.000th view of my blog “My ESADE MBA“*! Who would have guessed that? I am celebrating a little :) Thank you very much for your support and readership!!!

I started to blog about my ESADE experience in Feburary 2009 in the wake of my application for a scholarship.  However once the scholarship application was rejected I decided to continue the blogging nevertheless because I enjoyed doing it.  (btw. some of those who received the scholarship are blogging on the ESADE blog)

Considering that today I have finally reached the 5-digit-views for MyESADEMBA blog I decided that I would give you some more insights about this blog and ESADE in general through my statistics. The statistics give you a very good overview of what people are interested in and what they like to read about ESADE.  Let’s see what we’ve got:

Top Posts

1. Home page
2. After Career Week = Before Career Week
3. About My ESADE MBA
4. Career Services’ reactions and promises.
5. My ESADE MBA: Statistics and insights
6. The Economist – FT MBA Ranking 2009
7. Pre-MBA Readings
8. About ESADE
9. Barcelona – Insider Tips
10. ESADE vs. IESE vs. others – my choice
11. FT MBA rank 2010 – ESADE #19 (#18 in ’09)
12. 2nd Place in the Elevator Pitch Contest
13. FT European Business School Rank 2009
14. ESADE MBA Directory (impressive considering its date)
15. My ESADE MBA Admission Interview
16. Good luck for the first exam!
17. ESADE MBA Class of 2010 graduating 2012
18. Rugby Iberia Cup: ESADE vs. IESE vs. LBS

Busiest day: 285 — Sunday, January 31, 2010
Busiest month: 2565 – January 2010

Top Search queries on my blog (last week)

roland berger interviews,  myesademba unhappy student,  iese mba tournament 2010,  some images of top mba university in singapore,  oxford mba ranking

Search Engine Terms used to find my blog:

1. entrepreneur
2. roland berger interview
3. esade mba
4. my esade mba
5. myesademba
6. esade
7. esade mba blog
8. esade blog
9. roland berger interview questions
10. mba rank
11. tobias caldeweyher
12. esade entrepreneurship club
13. roland berger interviews
14. cavaria barcelona
15. esade 2012

Google Search Engine Ranking for following search terms (?)

1. ft mba ranking 2010 (#8)
2. mba.com  (#12)
3. nexus esade (#7)
4. esade (#14)
5. ft mba ranking (#9)
6. ft mba rank (#7)
7. ft mba (#10)
8. mba ranking 2010 (#22)
9. cerebration 2010 (#6)
10. ft 2010 mba rankings (#9)
11. esade nexus (#6)
12. ecch cases  (#4)
13. ft ranking (#8)
14. ft european business school rankings (#8)
15. nexus.esade.edu (#8)
16. nus cerebration 2010 (#9)
17. esade 2010 mba gmat club (#2)
18. bcg barcelona (#7)
19. aibc lse (#8)
20. nexus esade alumni (#4)

Most clicked links:

1. blogs.esade.edu/blogs/mba/mbablog/def…
2. thembaexperience.wordpress.com
3. itemsweb.esade.edu/mba/items_gestion/…
4. economist.com/business-education/whic…
5. economist.com
6. delicious.com/myesademba
7. morgans-musings.blogspot.com
8. twitter.com/ESADENews
9. bornliving.com/services/graduate
10. linkedin.com/in/tobiascaldeweyher

There are tons of more interesting stats such as these but that might be a little too much. What fascinates me most is the interest, almost obsession, in the rankings, comparisons against other schools and interview questions. What I don’t understand is that so many people are obsessed with the rankings and placements of ESADE students but why do I see so few candidates visiting the campus and enquiring about the life as ESADE students? Is that all there is to a school? Visit the campus, speak to the students, attend lectures… Ask me ;) I am looking forward to seeing you all on campus and happy readership :)

*my own visits are not counted obviously

FT MBA rank 2010 – ESADE #19 (#18 in ’09)

The Financial Times MBA rank 2010 has just been published (full rank here). ESADE’s rank is #19, one down from 2009 (#18) with a 3-year-rank of 19. The top 3 MBA school in 2010 are again London Business School, Wharton and Harvard.

Source: FT.com

10th anniversary of global roaming

Today is my 10th anniversary of having left my hometown in Germany and of roaming around the world. I left Germany on the 23rd of January 2000 to move to Australia to study at The Southport School. Since then I have lived in Australia, Singapore, China, India, France, Spain and Germany. I had spent 1.5years in Germany in this time however life 1/4 of that time in Paris. What a great experience it has been. So what will the next decade bring?

ESADE donates €60,000 for Haiti

Besides the student initiatives, it seems that the top management of ESADE has reacted to the earthquake tragedy in Haiti. They have just transfered €60,000 to four NGOs (ICRC, doctors without borders, Intermon and Caritas) to support their help and relief efforts! Congratulations and hopefully Haiti will get all the help they need, guidance and quick recovery!

Entrepreneurship Club Calls to Help Haiti

a message from the entrepreneurship club:

Dear Classmates,

As you all are aware, January 12, 2010 marked a series of earthquakes devastating Haiti. There are currently at least 300, 000 people without shelter, thousands of families separated from each other, the injured are countless!

Let us recognize once again that an MBA is not there only for personal advancement but also stands for servicing humanity. ESADE Entrepreneurship Club encourages you to help the emergency relief and recovery efforts in Haiti by donating money to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

We kindly hereby request your cooperation and contribution of a small donation of at least 1 euro (<1 cup of coffee) as we believe small gestures can make a difference. Please donate in the next 48 hours; representatives of the Entrepreneurship Club will be gathering money on Planta 2 at lunchtime on Monday and Tuesday and making the bank transfer. Apart from these time slots, you can hand your donation to Christian and Zorina from Section A, Ahmed and Rahul from Section B and Saurabh and William from the 2nd years.

Your contribution can help save lives and give emotional support to real people in despair!

Yours truly,

The Entrepreneurship Club

Hans Rosling: Asia’s rise – how and when

Government Bonds not risk-free?

I just read a very interesting article in the Financial Times, written by Michael Gordon the former CIO for Fidelity international, which questions the risk-free nature of government bonds. This is quite fascinating as government bonds were the last investments that were considered “risk-free” or at least so we have been taught. However with the recent near bankruptcies of Greece and Dubai this reputation of investments in governments to be “risk-free” is now seriously threatened.

In relation to my previous article (here) about the need for new investment and financial theories because investors obviously do not act rationally in reality, the news about government bonds is quite stunning. I had already expressed my interest in alternative banking systems like “Islamic banking“, which has been gaining significant attention lately.

Considering that two of the most important underlying notions for the current financial theories are invalid, I am extremely curious what new schools of thought will come out of this crisis. Does ESADE have the capabilities to come up with alternatives? I truly hope so and that I can still experience it. What do you think?

Article Recommendation: MBA salaries in Asia

Original Article here.

Source: QS TopMBA.com International Recruiter Survey 2009

ESADE’s IT Improvement Projects

With the ever-growing needs for a better IT infrastructure, ESADE figured it is time to use the Christmas holidays to work on the IT. This is great news as it seems that our IT improvement roundtable in November is bearing fruits.

In the month of November the  staff members who are related to the IT as well as 8 students (4 with IT background and 4 without) sat together and held an IT improvement workshop. We raised all the pressing issues, prioritised them and started working on them.

Throughout the month of December on of the most pressing issues of wifi signal strength have already been attacked and new, stronger wifi routers have been set-up all over the campus. Hopefully this will have effect as of next January, as there was no noticeable improvement as of December 16th, the last time I was on campus.

In addition the printing services have been upgraded. Now the student ID, which can be topped-up with money, replaces the printing cards and simultaneously makes the log-in process to the print jobs more efficient. (Insider information: soon there will be a major push for using the student ID for paying in the canteens instead of using cash. That makes the serving a lot faster and therefore everbody should have the caffein level boosted much faster in the morning. There will also be top-up facilities outside the canteens, as I have heard from reliable sources ;)

The internal social network NEXUS has been launched in the recent days, which also indicates new ways of communication and networking among the students, professors and alumni. This is a great move and hopefully the communication becomes easier and does not need to be hosted on external networking services such as LinkedIn and Facebook. Tip: Nexus could also become a better meeting place for ESADE candidates, newly-recruits and applicants with current students.

Apparently there is major work being undertaken on the Intranet, as the new Intranet “Moodle” is undergoing maintenance as I write. Hopefully the ergonomy of the Intranet improves and the Moodle replaces the old Intranet in total.

As I am part of the think-tank I can assure you that there are many more issues being improved on and that ESADE is working hard on making student life easier from an IT point.

Insider information: there is a good chance that the ESADE application process will improve and that soon there will be an online submission facility of the recommendation letters. This would make the applications a lot easier. It seems that the ESADE is one of the last MBA schools that still has the paper-based only system but that hopefully should change in the coming months.

Javier Solana joins ESADE

ESADE announces that Javier Solana, the former “High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Secretary General of both the Council of the European Union (EU) and the Western European Union (WEU) for ten years (1999-2009)”* is joining ESADE in 2010. He will be the President of the new Centre for Global Economics and Geopolitics at ESADE’s Business School.

This is great news and we are looking forward to receiving him in 2010.

Source: Wikipedia

ESADE in the APAC Region – January/February trip

A message from Mary Granger, the Associate Director of the ESADE Admissions and Career Services, APAC Region:

Dear all,

I am pleased to let you know about ESADE’s upcoming trip to the APAC Region for Information Sessions, Interview Days and Company Visits. Please let me know if you are able to attend the nearest Information Session, have company contacts, or want to attend an Alumni dinner…

Information Events/Interview Days

I hope to see you in January/February!

Mary Granger

Linkedin Profile

FT European Business School Rank 2009

The Financial Times has published the ranking of the European Business Schools  2009. ESADE has gone up in the rankings from 11th in 2008 to 8th in 2009 in the overall rank. The overall rank is established as a combination of the MBA, EMBA and Masters in Business rankings.  The ESADE MBA ranks 7th in Europe  in 2009,  the EMBA is not ranked and the Masters in Business is ranked number 8.

This reflects another steady increase in the rankings of the ESADE Business School and I am anxiously looking forward to seeing the MBA rank of 2010.  For the last 4 years ESADE has steadily increased by 3 ranks every year, which is reflected again in this ranking, and therefore we all hope that this trend continues. Touch wood!

The following are the top 5 business schools in Europe. For the full listing click here (download).