Having begun the home stretch of my accelerated MBA, it was nice to reconvene after the Christmas holidays with classmates who had just returned from a study trip to China.

In summary, it seems China  has done a tremendous job with its commercial, public transport and educational infrastructure.  While I didn't have the first hand experience of going on the trip (a year of travelling through Aus, India, Dubai, London and across Canada had more than satiated 2009's appetite for travel!), I was struck by the reaction of my Canadian colleagues to the experience, in some ways a more telling indicator than one's first hand experience.  The sheer scale of industrial and urban development in Shanghai and Shenzen mezmerized people who had lived all their lives in large metropolises like Toronto, New York, Dubai and London, England.  The intelligence and hospitable nature of students at the prestigous Tsinghua university was also a welcome experience at their joint University dinner.  The scale of manufacturing  (Shenzen, for example, is home to a steel mill spanning an area of 25 km) shows that China is serious about meeting its raw material needs, as well as that of international export markets.

In short, China has arrived and is impressing young business leaders, many of whom knew of China's growth, but not of its sheer scale.  While Beijing, to Western eyes, seems like a traditional capital city a la Canberra or Ottawa, and perhaps a bit grey to experience (metaphorically and literally, due to smog!), Shanghai and Shenzen are bustling to a degree not comprehensible for many first time visitors.  Both cities are physically large and ultra-modern..  The overall experience is still a touch rough, as some Westerners still have to adjust to the food, the constant 'encounters' in haggling for merchandise or in being immersed in day to day life with no English spoken amongst hpopulation.  However, all the 'brand name' clothing and accessories they've been sporting around school seems to have more than compensated for any inconveniences on the trip!

Normal0falsefalsefalseEN-CAX-NONEX-NONE http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/17/AR2009111704225.html?hpid=topnews

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/11/16/harper-india-mumbai-trade.html

Dear Yumcha Team,

I like to compose blogs in letter form, a) to ensure an audience of at least one reader and b) to aim for clarity and conciseness that is sometimes missing from such posts on the Internet.

We saw an unprecedented 'matching pair' of bilateral visits to China and India by the leaders of the US and Canada respectively, nations who themselves share the largest two-way trade relationship anywhere in the world.  President Obama and Prime Minister Harper made their visits on a parallel schedule immediately following the APEC Leaders' Summit in Singapore.

What are the implications for Australia of these visits?  Some may suggest that 'competing nations' are making headway into the world's two fastest growing markets, potentially precluding Australian opportunities in both markets and reducing the advantage of its geographic proximity in the Asian region.  Having worked in international trade for a few years, I believe this argument is not entirely accurate, as value is not finite, and can be created infinitely as long as human commercial acumen exists.  Furthermore, the economic world is now segmented less along national borders, and more along 'developed' and 'non-developed' designations.  By this classification, Australia, the US, Canada and others are generally viewed as being on the same team of developed economies who believe in free trade. They also cooperate very closely on cross-border economic matters, either on a government to government basis, or through international platforms such as APEC.

The more engagement China and India have with developed economies, and ideally the broadest possible range of developed economies, the faster their business infrastructure and systems will evolve to match those sought out by prospective commercial partners in developed economies such as Australia.  It's wonderful to see proactive engagement by the US and Canada in Asia, bolstering, perhaps, future support for Australia in its talks with China and India around global warming, technology research transfer, and crime prevention.  In recent times, Australia has generally carried these talks out alone due to the reticence of the previous American political leadership to engage comprehensively in the Asian region beyond a select few bilateral energy and security agreements.

There are also numerous non-commercial benefits that are gradually accruing to the people of developed economies, as a result of their nation’s further engagement with China and India.  I’ll save these thoughts for a future post.

Sincerely,

RB

This is a copy of an article I wrote for Yumcha.com.au but I thought it would be of benefit to include it here in the blog section as well.

As a contribution to Yumcha members, I felt it would be helpful to write about my current experiences as an MBA student in 2009.  I left a senior position in Sydney to return to my home country of Canada, with the objectives of getting a Masters degree and also using the MBA program as a platform to look at new career options.

Many MBA schools now offer the option of a 1-year program, a change from the 2-year standard MBA.  Based on my undergraduate credentials, I was offered an option to complete an 8-month accelerated MBA at the Richard Ivey School of Business, in London, Ontario.  Joining in September, most of my classmates began in June as part of the Ivey 1 year MBA.  To promote Ivey for a moment, it is traditionally acknowledged as the #1 business school in Canada, although in recent years, competition has been spirited from schools at the University of Toronto and York University.  It has previously held the #1 rank for an MBA program outside the US.  Its undergraduate program has amongst the highest entrance requirements in the world, and is acknowledged as an elite program amongst all business schools internationally.

There are mixed reactions in the market to the MBA designation, particularly in recent times, where many CEO’s of firms involved in causing the global financial correction were MBA’s, drawing questions as to whether it truly qualified someone to lead a successful business.  Many MBA’s were found wanting in skills that the market actually valued, unable to transition from class knowledge to applicable knowledge.  Many firms also hire non-MBA or non-business students, and train them in-house on various business methodologies, preferring diverse backgrounds as an ingredient to solve complex, multi-faced business issues. 

However, the reality is a top MBA school like Ivey offers you immediate access to recruiters, world class business professors and driven, determined, and generally high-performing colleagues.  If your objectives include finding a job, building your business network with accomplished professionals and working with top level faculty, a good MBA provides all of these to you.  Less than a month into the program, this had proved to be true for me.

Lifestyle

The mindset of most MBA’s, roughly in priority order, is as follows: 

1. Get a job  ASAP

2. Do well at school by working hard

3. Play hard to release the stress of studies, exams and reports

4. Meet new people

5. Get involved with activities around school.   

At $60,000 tuition fees, there is definitely a priority on finding a means to pay off tuition loans after the program.  The interest of the MBA program is generally to help you find a job, as it reflects well on their ability to place graduates, as well as marketing average starting salaries.  In a 1-year program, it is important to ensure the Career Management section of the school is well resourced, as ultimately, the principal objective of getting an MBA is to take you career to a new level.

Classes usually take up about 4-5 hours a day, followed by meetings related to group projects, clubs, or MBA sports teams.  Most nights a week outside of exam periods usually have an evening social program.  At the end of the program, we are told it is more our involvement and interaction with colleagues outside of the classroom that we are remembered for, rather than strictly our academic work.

September-October is recruitment time, so coursework is balanced with a rush to write up resumes and cover letters for the firms advertising at the business schools.  Firms are on campus with information sessions about their organizations, so this often takes a couple of hours in the evening, as you meet and network with staff from firms that take you interest.  Most firms at my school tend to be Investment Banks, Consulting firms, Investment Funds, Commercial Banks and Marketing companies.  I am told these firms tend of offer the highest entry-level salaries for MBA’s.

Summary

In conclusion, after a month of the MBA, seeing the number of jobs posted in what is supposed to be a weak economy is truly encouraging.  An MBA provides very tangible benefits in terms of network, job avenues and working with leading academics.  To view taking an MBA as a business decision, If you are comfortable making the investment, it truly is a memorable professional experience with an appropriate payoff at the end.  Good luck.

The Richard Ivey School of Business' website can be found here.