MBA Humour: video linkdump

As a change of pace this Tuesday, we thought we’d share some of the slightly funny MBA-related videos we’ve come across.

The Effect of an MBA:

Even though MBAs are far from reknowned for their acting ability or sense of humour, YouTube is awash with skits from the ‘Follies’ of several tier 1 schools. Mostly campy and strictly for insiders, here are a couple of the better ones that may elicit an immature chuckle or two:

Fuqua’s 24 Parody

Wharton’s Sixth Sense Trailer Parody

UPDATE: Great article over at the Huffington Post: ironic ads from before the bailout.

Washinton Mutual (biggest bank failure in US history)

Countrywide

“Everyone of them was turned down by three different lenders…I got them all approved” Nice work!

Regional Job Market: Mexico

View from the Latin American Tower of the Palace of Fine Arts, Mexico City

For this week’s regional market post we spoke to Ricardo Dadoo, Stern MBA ’84. Ricardo founded and runs Logistics Dadoo in Mexico City, and is a member of Trace International, a Washington D.C.-based organization that specializes in transparency and ethics compliance training for international commercial agents and consultants.

Ricardo was kind enough to field our questions about the MBA in Mexico, and has some great advice for recent graduates who are having trouble planning their career in light of the recession.

CareerMee: How enmeshed is the MBA in Mexican business culture, compared with the US? Have you noticed any trends?

Ricardo: MBAs are part of the business culture and Mexican nationals with a top ten foreign university MBA, and from the top 3 local schools are very much in demand and are considered highly desirable status symbols. They are also better compensated than other MBA degrees.

There are proportionally less MBA holders in Mexico as in the USA, but it is always interesting to participate in discussions between professionals in both countries as to the real value brought by an MBA versus the practical experience of a top college degree holder. In my opinion an MBA provides a fast track in the corporate world here and in the USA, but its value for an entrepreneur is debatable unless, as in my case, one takes the route of paying dues in the corporate world as a way to gain experience prior to starting one’s first business.

MBAs are much sought-after degrees by college kids in Mexico and the country generates highly competitive candidates that get admitted to top schools the world over. Perhaps this is because, in general, they are put in positions of responsibility at a younger age than their foreign counterparts – partly because the Mexican custom is for students to work while they go to college. So there is an edge in terms of practical experience of several years versus, say, US students.

CareerMee: Can you share any insight on the differences between working in Mexico and the US; cultural differences, work conditions, life style?

Ricardo: Mexico’s business culture varies widely among regions. In general, North Mexico, Monterrey and environs is more formal than south Mexico (including Mexico City). Also, working for a serious multinational is better rated than many local companies, publicly-traded included. MBAs coming back home are faced with several dilemmas as starting salaries are substantially less than for MBA graduates that stay in the USA. Also, ethically speaking, there is great pressure to succumb to just the type of behaviour that the program instilled in you to avoid. Productivity is hampered by excessive regulations, lack of rule of law in settling disputes, collusion between politics/businessmen and bureaucrats that have no prior business experience and can’t relate to your legitimate business problems and arguments.  If you deal effectively with these and many other issues then Mexico is a good place to do business in, as it’s a huge market and quite sophisticated. And let me add, one can do business ethically in Mexico, and many do. That separates prestigious groups from simply successful ones. In many areas, such as logistics, it is world-class – automobile production and others as well.

• Culturally, we tend to over-commit and under-deliver and finally are poor at meeting deadlines and accepting mistakes. We are friendlier than the US and have a rich cultural legacy that is exemplified by our hospitality and warmth in our business relations. We don’t accept to be corrected in public and our pride/honour can make us walk away from opportunities as a result of shallow misunderstandings.
• Our lifestyles are family oriented and security obsessed, we like to both entertain and enjoy eating out.
• Mexico City is the culture and gastronomical capital of Latin America – that is quite a statement, and I’ll back it up any day: we have the finest restaurants, theaters, museums, concerts of all kinds  and we have a liberal culture that is very warm and hospitable. Expats just like it here very much, caveats included.

CareerMee: Can you give us a quick rundown on how the financial crisis has hit Mexico?

Ricardo: The financial crisis hit Mexico in several ways:

1) It lost competitiveness suddenly when major structural reforms were stuck in Congress – not a good follow-up to all the Free Trade Agreements signed

2) Security issues took a toll on certain investment flows

3) It became inward-looking and failed to recognize achievements of countries like India and China as not affecting Mexico

4) No president has a 20 year plan; they stick to their 6-year length of their presidential term so there is little continuity

5) Domestic market grew on credit, not on investment in education and access to a healthy labor market

6) There is an overreliance on the US Market

7) Major areas of the economy are taking a hit: tourism, energy as reserves are diminished, exports, autos, you name it – we are suffering it.

8) Further, we have the lowest growth rates of any major Latin American country, or for that matter of any of the top 15 world economies – in Mexico, GDP will shrink in 2009 by 6-8%.

9) We also have the highest % drop in Direct Foreign Investment Flows in 1st Qtr 2009 among BRIC countries (plus Mexico).

CareerMee: Do you think Mexico could potentially offer better job prospects for class of ’09 MBAs, compared with the US/Europe?

Ricardo: As in all countries, Mexico will always take in a pool of MBAs each year for major corporations in all sectors. As for ‘09 in particular, there are less openings for Mexican graduates and less pay so I would encourage recent Mexican graduates to try and obtain foreign work experience before returning here.

On the flip side, there are relatively few non-Mexican MBA holders that come here in search of jobs, and while supply of jobs is down, I would still encourage them to get their overseas work experience in Mexico, particularly in the tourism, industrial and financial industries where they could then return for a better position in their home countries. This is especially valid if you can find a position in a foreign-based company which has its HQ in your home country. For example a Frenchman with an MBA from a top European or US school could try to find work here with L’Oreal, an American with Starwood or P&G, or a Canadian at ScotiaBank.  All I know is that top executives of companies similar to those are assured a top slot at HQ after excelling at their job in Mexico. Sometimes even the CEO job itself for Mexico provides an excellent training ground, and a microcosm of how a MNC functions worldwide – from the sophistication of top-level finance, to how to deal with a complex supply chain, to how to protect yourself, your family and your employees from security mishaps.

Foreign-national MBAs need to be sponsored by a company whether a local or a foreign-based MNC. It’s not difficult; it just has to comply with work visa bureaucracy, and is very similar to USA’s immigration rules.

Thanks a lot for the great insight and advice, Ricardo! Readers – have you considered heading to Mexico for work? Any questions you’d like to ask Ricardo?  Let us know in the comments or you can contact him directly “rdadoo/at/logisticsdadoo/dot/com”.

Pic courtesy of flickr user tinou bao

Business Ethics: An Alumnus’ take on the MBA Oath

Dennis Custage, Wharton MBA ’67, weighs in on the Oath, ethics and the financial crisis.

MBAs have been getting trashed in this crisis. They lost their jobs, their savings and a good chunk of the respect the three letters used to elicit.  Blamed by many as the root problem, business schools have tried to prove the bad apples were exceptions – that worms didn’t run rampant over the whole grove. Last month, a group of Harvard students created the MBA Oath, in an attempt to improve and encourage ethical conduct amongst graduates (check out the site and story here). Opinions have been popping up in dailys, weeklys, blogs and impromptu dinner discussions.

In the first of this series, we speak with Dennis Custage, Wharton MBA ’67 about MBAs, the financial crisis and the oath,

CareerMee: Thanks for talking with us, Dennis. Do you view the oath as unnecessary/misguided or a noble/good idea?

Custage: I find this a fine idea – when the statement is clear as it is in the case of the oath used at Columbia. I find that the Harvard oath, that speaks in ambiguous terms such as the “common good” as questionable.

CareerMee: Do you think the business culture of your country has changed significantly in the last 20 years, and is this related to what graduates are learning at business schools?

Custage: I think the culture is, in the majority of cases, the same. Unfortunately the media, as it has evolved in the last decade, in its effort to highlight what the “bad actors” have done, creates the perception that a large part of our business community has lost it ethical roots. The truth is that a small percentage of players have been bad actors in any age. I do not believe there has been a major swing in the past 20 years. When you speak of a “country” specifically, you also bring up the fact that business practices vary from country to country and cannot be measured by a single yardstick. As our economy has become more global in nature (i.e. Lehman Brothers), it becomes harder to define ethical behavior across borders.

CareerMee: Are a lack of business ethics a major part of what led to this financial crisis?

Custage: Certainly the ethics of people who falsely filled out mortgage applications (who were not all business people) were a great part  of the problem. The government encouraging home ownership among inappropriate segments of the population was also to blame. The Fed holding interest rates too low was also at fault. The inefficiency of oversight agencies was also at fault. Yes, there were also those business people who were unethical and took advantage. However, I believe the crisis would have happened even if the business people were ethical in all cases.

CareerMee: That being said, does business school have a very big role in/should it assume responsibility for the ethical conduct of its graduates?

Custage: I believe that a business school that could show that its graduates are less likely to have been involved in a scandal should be able to get a higher rating from Business Week or the U.S. News and World Report. However, I believe that statistically the schools would be indistinguishable one from the other since such a small percentage of their graduates are ever involved in scandal. I dare say more non-business school graduates (lawyers, economists, etc.) have displayed poor ethics than business school students.

Thanks, Dennis! Readers – do you agree with Dennis? Take issue with a point or two? Let us know in our comments. Just click on the post title and rant away!

pic courtesy Flickr user lumaxart

Der MBA Eid: the MBA Oath (German Translation)

There’s a lot being said about the MBA Oath lately. It’s been covered by BusinessWeek, the Financial Times, Forbes, the Economist, and most other high profile publications with a business education section. There have been calls for translations into German, Spanish, French, Icelandic and Norwegian.

For those who haven’t come across it yet, here’s the short version: a group of 2009 Harvard MBA students (lead by Max Anderson), and with the help of Professors Rakesh Khurana and Nitin Nohria, created a managerial-equivalent of the Hippocratic oath that Doctors have been swearing for centuries. The idea is, that in this climate of widespread ethical vacuity in the corporate world, and considering the spreading public contempt for ‘the management class’, graduating MBAs can state and swear their commitment to remain morally and ethically righteous throughout their careers. So far 1,100 MBAs from around the world have signed up.

Naturally, the oath has brought a huge amount of detractors and supporters and heavy debate has ensued. This is MBA Blame Game part II: Masters of the new Business Awakening.

The debate found its way into the CareerMee.com office as well, and whatever our throughts in the affirmative or negative, we have agreed that it is a noble idea and a positive effort to address what the Grand Financial Circus has revealed to be a serious problem.

Deutsche Übersetzung: Der MBA Eid

With this in mind, and because we’re a mostly German-speaking team, we decided to provide the German translation that has been requested. It’s still unofficial until approved by Max and his team, so if you see any obvious mistakes or have some suggestions for changes let us know in the comments!

What’s your opinion of the MBA Oath? Let everyone know in the comments!

Der MBA Eid – die Kurzfassung

In meiner Funktion als Manager diene ich in erster Linie dem gesellschaftlichen Gemeinwohl. Durch die Verknüpfung von Menschen und Ressourcen schafft ein Manager gemeinschaftliche Werte, die von einzelnen Individuen nicht hätten erbracht werden können.

Deshalb werde ich einen Weg einschlagen, der langfristig den gesellschaftlichen Nutzen meines Unternehmens steigert. Mir ist bewusst, dass meine Handlungen weitreichende Konsequenzen haben können, die sich sofort und in der Zukunft auf das Wohlbefinden von sowohl unternehmensinternen als auch –externen Personen auswirken können. Da ich als Manager zukünftig die Interessen verschiedener Seiten vereinbaren muss, ist mir bewusst, dass mir schwierige Entscheidungen bevor stehen.

Deshalb gelobe ich:

• Ich werde stets mit größter Rechtschaffenheit handeln und in meiner Arbeitsweise ethischen Prinzipien treu bleiben.
• Ich werde die Interessen meiner Aktionäre, Mitarbeiter, Kunden und des Unternehmensumfeldes sichern.
• Ich werde mein Unternehmen nach bestem Gewissen führen und mich vor Entscheidungen und Verhalten hüten, die lediglich meinen eigenen egoistischen Zielen dienlich sind, aber dem Unternehmen und seinen Mitarbeitern Schaden zufügen.
• Ich werde alle Gesetze und Verträge einhalten, die mein persönliches Verhalten und das meines Unternehmens betreffen.
• Ich übernehme volle Verantwortung für meine Handlungen und präsentiere Unternehmensleistungen und Unternehmensrisiken akkurat und wahrheitsgerecht.
• Ich werde mich selbst beruflich weiterentwickeln und auch die berufliche Entwicklung mir unterstellter Manager fördern, damit meine Profession weiter wächst.
• Ich werde danach streben weltweiten nachhaltigen ökonomischen, sozialen und ökologischen Wohlstand zu schaffen.
• Ich erkenne meine Rechenschaftspflicht gegenüber anderen MBA-Absolventen an, nach diesem Eid zu handeln und erkenne ihre Verantwortung mir gegenüber an, selbiges zu tun.

Diesen Eid lege ich freiwillig ab.

Der MBA Eid – die Langfassung

Präambel

In meiner Funktion als Manager diene ich in erster Linie dem gesellschaftlichen Gemeinwohl. Durch die Verknüpfung von Menschen und Ressourcen schafft ein Manager gemeinschaftliche Werte, die von einzelnen Individuen nicht hätten erbracht werden können.

Deshalb werde ich einen Weg einschlagen, der langfristig den gesellschaftlichen Nutzen meines Unternehmens steigert. Mir ist bewusst, dass meine Handlungen weitreichende Konsequenzen haben können, die sich sofort und in der Zukunft auf das Wohlbefinden von sowohl unternehmensinternen als auch –externen Personen auswirken können. Da ich als Manager zukünftig die Interessen verschiedener Seiten vereinbaren muss, ist mir bewusst, dass mir schwierige Entscheidungen bevor stehen.

Deshalb gelobe ich:

Ich werde stets mit größter Rechtschaffenheit handeln und in meiner Arbeitsweise ethischen Prinzipien treu bleiben. Im Privaten verhalte ich mich integer und handle nach genau denselben Werten, die ich öffentlich vertrete.

Ich werde die Interessen meiner Aktionäre, Mitarbeiter, Kunden und des Unternehmensumfeldes sichern. Ich werde mich bemühen, die Interessen von einflussschwachen Gruppen zu schützen, deren Wohlbefinden von meinen Entscheidungen abhängt.

Ich werde mein Unternehmen nach bestem Gewissen führen und mich vor Entscheidungen und Verhalten hüten, die lediglich meinen eigenen egoistischen Zielen dienlich sind, aber dem Unternehmen und seinen Mitarbeitern Schaden zufügen. Die Verfolgung von Eigeninteressen ist der Motor, der das kapitalistische Wirtschaftssystems am Laufen hält, jedoch kann grenzenlose Gier das System zerstören. Ich lehne Korruption, Diskriminierung und Ausbeutung ab.

Ich werde alle Gesetze und Verträge einhalten, die mein persönliches Verhalten und das meines Unternehmens betreffen. Ich werde keine Gesetze brechen, auch wenn sie ungerecht, überholt oder nutzlos sind, sondern werde staatliche Hilfe suche, um sie zu reformieren.

Ich übernehme volle Verantwortung für meine Handlungen und präsentiere Unternehmensleistungen und Unternehmensrisiken akkurat und wahrheitsgerecht. Ich werde eine wahrhaftige Darstellung der Unternehmensrealität widergeben. Von meinen Unternehmensentscheidungen betroffene Personen werde ich offen erklären, auf welcher Grundlage diese Entscheidungen gefällt worden sind.

Ich werde mich selbst beruflich weiterentwickeln und auch die berufliche Entwicklung mir unterstellter Manager fördern, damit meine Profession weiter wächst. Sollte ich Hilfe benötigen, werde ich Kollegen und andere Personen zu Rate ziehen und werde kontinuierlich bemüht sein, mir neues Wissen anzueignen und offen für Innovationen zu bleiben. Als Mentor werde ich für die Ausbildung der nachkommenden Managergeneration sorgen.

Ich werde danach streben weltweiten nachhaltigen ökonomischen, sozialen und ökologischen Wohlstand zu schaffen. Nachhaltiger Wohlstand entsteht, wenn das vom Unternehmen geschaffene Ergebnis langfristig größer ist als die Alternativkosten sämtlicher  Investitionen.

Ich erkenne meine Rechenschaftspflicht gegenüber anderen MBA-Absolventen an, nach diesem Eid zu handeln und erkenne ihre Verantwortung mir gegenüber an, selbiges zu tun. Ich erkenne an, dass meine beruflichen Privilegien von dem Respekt herrühren, den mein Berufsstand als ganzes genießt. Ich nehme mich der Verantwortung an, die Standards meiner Managementaufgabe zu leben, zu beschützen und weiter zu entwickeln, um Vertrauen und Respekt aufzubauen.

Diesen Eid lege ich freiwillig ab.

[Anmerkungen und Korrekturen der deutschen Übersetzung sind uns jederzeit willkommen und können im Kommentarfeld hinterlassen werden.]

pic courtesy Flickr user Samuel Mann

Monday MBA Newsdump

B-Schools’ Big Challenge: Developing Leaders, Not Just Managers by Matt Symonds at Forbes.com

On the difference between management and leadership.

…At its best, leadership thereby achieves much more than simple management can. In a survey of 50 global companies, the research firm ISR found a direct link between effective leadership and the bottom line. In organizations whose employees gave their superiors an “average” leadership rating, sales improved just over 6% within a year. In organizations where they rated them more highly, sales rose more than 10%…

A New MBA’s View: The Sorry World We’re Entering by Umaimah Mendhro at Forbes.com

One of the MBA Oath’s organisors takes a good hard look at corporate America, and how to address its flaws. I just can’t get over that an MBA interviewed Noam Chomsky!

“A corporation is about the closest thing to a totalitarian institution that humans have ever contrived,” Noam Chomsky said to me in his cool, matter-of-fact way when I interviewed him for this article. “It is designed to be so.”

I shifted in my seat. “In fact, one of the main business techniques of control is to ‘engineer consent’ so the ‘intelligent minority’ can rule,” he said.

That sounded rather extreme. Corporate America, like America itself, is built on the solid pillars of democracy and freedom. We enjoy free markets where consumers have the power to make rational, informed decisions in their best self-interests. And where corporations compete to earn our business.

Right?

Jobless MBAs Opt for Entrepreneurship by Alison Damast at BusinessWeek

It’s been said a lot, but BusinessWeek looks at MBAs going into entrepreneurship in more detail.

Giovachino is not alone in her entrepreneurial ambitions. The new business bug has bitten both graduate and undergraduate business school students hard this year. Typically, only a handful start businesses after graduating, with most choosing to go the more conventional route by securing a full-time job offer. This year, the number of business students launching companies after graduation, or even while still in school, has skyrocketed. Business schools from Harvard Business School(Harvard Full-Time MBA Profile) to NYU’s Stern School of Business(NYU Stern Full-Time MBA Profile) are reporting a surge of interest from students who have decided to strike out on their own.

Top Indian CEO: Most American Grads Are ‘Unemployable’ by Rob Preston at InformationWeek.com

Some interesting comments from Vineet Nayar, CEO of HCL Technologies. Evidently controversial.

Many American grads looking to enter the tech field are preoccupied with getting rich, Vineet said. They’re far less inclined than students from developing countries like India, China, Brazil, South Africa, and Ireland to spend their time learning the “boring” details of tech process, methodology, and tools–ITIL, Six Sigma, and the like.

Become a Chief Executive Officer by Carol Lewis for TimesOnline.com

Some tips for those with their eye on the top seat, including some words of warning and interesting stats.

You need to be sure you really want the job. About half of the 150 chief executive officers that were interviewed for the book The Secrets of CEOs said that they found the role “intensely lonely,” that the hours were long and that the responsibilities were huge, with international travel playing havoc with any social life that they might have had.

The business of going solo by Della Bradshaw for FT.com

Another look at MBA Entrepreneurs, via FT.

When Abhishek Mitra and Chandrani Chakrabarthi left their jobs in the Californian information technology industry to return to India, they were looking for an opportunity to set up their own business. So just a couple of months after the husband and wife team enrolled on the Indian School of Business MBA in April last year, they decided there was a real opportunity to be had in developing healthy drinks for the Indian market.

M.B.As Swearing in Vain by Alan M. Webber at Forbes.com

Mr Webber points out some flaws he sees in the MBA Oath.

It’s a nice gesture, and the kids are definitely all right. Charmingly naive, but all right. But their pledges to uphold business ethics are likely to prove as successful in changing America’s business culture as high school virginity pledges are at changing America’s sexual culture.

Back to Old School Values by Jean-Pierre Helfer for TimesOnline.com

Jean-Pierre Helfer, Dean of Audencia Nantes School of Management defends  business schools against calls for sweeping overhauls inlight of the crisis. A very good read.

In the most extreme cases, calls are coming for a scorched-earth policy that will allow MBAs and other business education programmes to be rebuilt from scratch. The argument is that the old order has crumbled and that something fresh is needed to break with the past.

The idea is tempting but the problem with such a drastic approach is the question of what this brave new model should be. In such uncertain times, no one can predict when the current crisis will end let alone what the new business landscape will look like. Redesigning MBAs for post-crisis times is simply too tricky today.

And that’s it for today. We wish you all a great start to the week!