[Career Explorer]Please Gui de :Supply chain mgmt MBA

http://forums.businessweek.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=bw-bschools&tid=74332

Q:

Hi ,I have got admission in 2 B schools.I wanted to MBA in Supply Chain management.But yesterday i was searching in google Supply chain jobs in USA i could se only Truck transporation and very local (non reputed ) companies in my search results.Now i have two doubts:One is if i do Supply chain MBA what type of profile i will get after grad. I wanted to be in strategic consulting in Supply chain domain. I have 3 years expeience in IT Consulting.What are he companies which take supply chain grads.Second is the type of comanies i cud see in my google i was confused if such coimpanies do sponsor the H1B job for international students . In other words, leaving finance and IT does the US copmanies sponsor fo r H1B for SCM doamin?Thanks

A:
Supply chain has very broad application in real-world operations. Sourcing, procurement, logistics, transportations, lean productions, inventory management, assembly line...etc., you name it.
Basically from the manufacturing line til market, everything from outside the factory are related to supply chain. Automobile industry is a typical field to go. Also manufacturing industries. IT industry need it too.
You can go IT industry to consult them the efficiency inhancement on supply chain management.
For the H1B issue, it really depends on what specific skills or advantages over American MBAs you've got and what specific position and functionality the recruitor needs from you.
You may have some cultural or language advantage to help your future company grow. The American companies are more likely send you back to your country, while you can try the companies from your country but now based in the U.S. might be easier.

[Program Fitting]How good are these schools?

Q:
Hi,i am an international college senior looking to do an mba straight out of college.Ive applied to many schools but its my backups that i want some feedback on:How do you think the university of alabama (manderson), the university of missouri-columbia (Crosby MBA) and Claremont Graduate University (Drucker) fare as a decent place to get an mba and expect a job after graduation?i dont care that much about regions, would be happy to stay within the region, just want to know how good are these programs to actually pursue them............(given i expect to receive great financial aid offers)i know they are great regional programs......just wanted everyone's opinions of them.....Thanks.Gus


A:
Hi
No big difference among these 3 schools for your future job
no matter what fin aid they offer you
and generally speaking, MBA are more effective for 3+ yr work experience pro-managers
students with more solid experience can extract more from the MBA learning
and you can also contribute more in your classes
with several experience can significantly help you apply for more competitive schools
Cheers!
dave

[Personal Branding]Georgetown MBA (McDonough) in person interview

[傷咖]:
大概問題如下, 不按次序:
Why MBA Why Georgetown Short-term/ Long-Term goals (這題我是包含在我Why MBA + Why Georgetown裡回答, 然後她再問一些她比較想知道的)
Your contribution to the class
Negative leadership experience
Which activities do you like (因為某題答了backpacking travel, 我就多答了reading, 她有問我最近念完那一本書, 我...開始free的回答了@_@") 再來就是問問題時間, 但我只夠問兩個問題...

解析:
樓主被問到一題相當關鍵 Negative leadership experience
這題的重要性將比positive leadership還要高出好幾倍
可以看到潛力領導人的許多人格面向與改進方向
有強勁領導慾望卻又有過negative leadership將會像困獸一般
想盡辦法擺脫失敗經驗
但也要看潛力領導者如何自我檢討與學習
如何體驗領導的奧義
這是領導學的真意
Leadership is love

[Career Explorer]什麼人適合去美國讀MBA (v)

MBA是為了個人的生涯發展念的，每個人要的不一樣。

有人要錢，有人要瞭解如何經營事業，有人要用興趣工作，也有人只想找個人嫁了......

有人家裡事業錢多到不行，只是想出來逛逛，看別人念自己也來念一個; 

有的為名利，名校出來別人會刮目相看，或是有個響亮頭銜......等。

問題是你過的快不快樂？

快樂是用錢買不到的。

尤其在事業上，不管再強的名校畢業出來，

後面三、五十年餘生，你每天將有一半以上的時間要花在工作上。要是工作本身無法帶給你快樂，那後半餘生將會在痛苦中度過。

無論如何，MBA是個綜合管理課程教學。

不管誰念了出來，即使名校，也不一定讓你找的到工作。

只有一步步體驗，瞭解自己的生涯熱情與需求，結合MBA的各項細部課程，如:行銷, 財務, 生產管理, 供應鏈, 領導學, 組織行為學......等。

畢業出來之後，面對餘生三、五十年，要如何每天開開心心過日子？

做自己想做的工作，賺取所需，經營家庭度過理想的生活......等，

只有自己的快樂，才是別人搶不走的。

古今中外的成功者，絕大多數都是因為找到自己的生涯熱情，靠著興趣與熱情，一步一步經營事業，才會名留千古。

也只有不斷嘗試、不斷朝自己的事業熱情趨近，再來配合MBA的商業學問模型，來增強自己事業經營的能力與規模，最終能同時獲取事業成就;

並且能快快樂樂地度日，實現非你不可的熱情生涯使命，脫離一切競爭，以獨特的方式貢獻世人，創造出爐火純青、登峰造極的傑作，活出自己的價值;

並且因為物以稀為貴的經濟規則，而能突破財務自由。

[Career Explorer]Why MBA??? (v)

賺高薪, 換行業, 有面子, 掙學歷, 長見識, 交朋友, 職業發展, 夢想, 喜歡學習, 生活平淡, 將來成立公司, 其他?

答:

MBA是綜合管理訓練，是設計給平均工作五年的經理或儲備經理，進行系統化管理訓練。

為的是在累積了硬式技術能力與工作經驗後，再進階訓練軟式管理與溝通能力，目的是幫企業達成利潤最大化，並完成個人生涯興趣與目標。

企業以道德地營利最大化為目的。

一方面必須要從市場需求、科技趨勢、與競爭動態分析出發，另一方面需要以企業的獨特品牌定位與獨佔式的技術研發優勢，雙向震盪後，以產品為獲利核心，來統籌營利活動最佳化。

因此一切會從市場營銷開始。

在分析出自身企業以技術及品牌特性，相對於市場與競爭動態下的定位策略後，進行開放式產品設計。

將技術優勢依消費者需求，轉化為能實際解決問題的產品功能，然後打樣試產;

並預估市場規模、競爭優勢、獲利結構與目標佔有率，進行訂價、通路策略，與損益平衡分析;

同時籌措資金，並統籌一切原物料供應鏈、國際生產管理與策略，來進行生產與配送;

並訓練業務人員、通路人員、技術維修人員等，來進行全覆蓋式服務。

而後，後期宣傳的廣告設計，及公關與事件行銷執行，會牽扯到IMC整合行銷傳播;

前、中、後期市調也要結合業務端的業績比對;

還要有售後服務的CRM顧客關係管理......等。

而隨著產品週期的推移，大量生產後，配合產品生命週期PLC的產品成熟期與衰退期，來調整global operations端的lean production，以削減成本，並做generation upgrade與dynamic pricing的定價競爭......等。

如此複雜的營運流程，需要強大、有魅力，且具備超群溝通協作能力的領導人，來將如此龐大複雜的營運流程一以貫之。

而中間每個細微環節都是錢，所以會一直有個會計跟在你旁邊，你要聽的懂他的語言，不然他會一直咬你耳朵。

又由於市場是瞬息萬變的，錢不夠要找老闆要;

若老闆沒錢，或是根本不想給，就要找人想辦法去生錢出來。

另一方面，為了看懂競爭廠商、瞭解未來走向、跟整體市場動態等，所以就要瞭解財務。

而中間任何一個環節都要遵循法規，並且以道德與人性出發。

這些龐大而複雜的營運流程，需要有精密而深奧的領導管理專業訓練，才能將龐大的國際團隊潛能發揮到極致，因而成為經典品牌，並實現盈利目標。

行銷方案很簡單誰都會寫，照著framework 123就生出來了，閉著眼睛都有。

但若不符合市場情況，就等於瞎子摸象; 

而寫半天後端生產做不出來，就是天馬行空不切實際，廠務跟外包廠會例行性地來找你complain;

即便做出來了，若不符合客戶要求，前端業務就會來找你打架，說你在亂搞。

尤其在寫方案時，每行字都是預算，所以一直要跟會計勾心鬥腳......等。

基本上，這些昏天黑地的實務操作，若工作經驗不足，會很難想像。

即便念完回來，怎麼覺得奇怪一天到晚跟公司同事處不好？

業務來吵架、生產來堵人，會計咬耳朵、外包壓低價、產品有瑕疵......內憂外患不斷。

等工作經驗夠了以後，更覺得奇怪～ 明明學過，怎麼又都串不起來？

為什麼總是有人跳出來幫你串？

等到發現原來人家已經有了這個學位，且是人家工作好幾年以後，才發現全盤情況--原來整個全球市場是一個大圓圈，而我們看到的只是裡面一小塊拼圖。

而這整個串起來的實務學位，叫做MBA。

[Program Fitting]my visit to OSU Fisher

CDer發言:
I visited OSU Fisher the day before yesterday. It is a great school. The faculties are awesome and the harmony of the community really touches me a lot. Besides, the stadium is amazing. The campus is near downtown and the airport. Columbus is a nice city. And it was not as cold as I had expected. Another thing I like about Fisher is that you can take courses of any other schools of OSU without extra pay. Of course, the condition is that you are able to manage your time well.

解析:
OSU的营销管理与价值链前后端整合
课程非常坚强完整令人震蹑
从市场前端导到后端生产环环相扣
前端市场领导的业务营销
与中端的物流供应链整合
到后端的生产品管全部一以贯之
为满足市场需求而进行行销结合
供应链与生产才能产生最大企业利润

而硬体知识具备后
结合团队的软性领导训练
前后完整贯串并完全呼应
几乎没有赘课
是相当经典的营销管理学校

Logistics and Operation也相当完整
Customer Driven Manufacturing in the Global Market
与Strategic Design of Operations/Logistics Systems
以及Implement/Managing Lean Processes 是相当经典的课程
是能将企业后援配合市场需求最佳化的背后主力

[Career Explorer]进退两难，恳请前辈们指教

問:

本人大四应届毕业生，经济类，本来有出国打算，本科国内算的上TOP10吧，GPA，GMAT都还不错，申请的是金融硕士，现在的情况是，有几个一般的offer, 剩下的还在等。说来真是好笑，申请前是满腔的热忱和投入，申请完后冷静下来思考之后居然犹豫了。。。

现在的想法是，如果没有拿到心仪的offer暂时不打算出去了，因为考虑到这对家里来说是一笔不小的开支，要么不去，去了就要物有所值。眼下工作方面有个银行的offer, 我想问问各位过来人，如果在银行工作1，2年后觉得有必要的话再申请金融硕士或MBA的话会不会学的更加有针对性，吸收的更好，同样的一笔教育投资更加值得？还有本科的学历在职位提升时会受到限制吗？

父母认为花了那么大的心血考试，申请，就算不是dream school 也值得出去长长见识，以后年纪大了牵绊的事情多了不一定还有决心出去

实在是痛苦啊，一想到这个抉择就好几晚的失眠，很想聆听前辈们的看法。。。欢迎任何真诚的意见！

答:

楼主现在主要问题不在申请什么学校

而是为什么要念

原则上MBA是给累积了五年左右工作经验的准经理阶层来念的

工作经验没有四年以上念了都几乎没有效果

目前不论任何内力外力影响所产生的留学想法

很可能都是揠苗助长

毕业后会很没竞争力

因为原本根基工作经验就少

为何而念的动机与方向不清

念了无法消化

各大核心竞争力都不太会提升

出来又晚了人家两年

跟工作两年的人竞争

没有实战经验学历再高也用处不大

又由于MBA是设计给五年以上经验来念

雇主对MBA毕业生的要求非常高

若想待在美国都是跟五到八年左右的白人经理竞争

今年美国九成以上公司不发工作签证

大家都找不到工作几乎全数回国

每年MBA数万人都回国求职

竞争空前巨大

若因为工作经验浅MBA无法学以致用

空有学历没有应用执行能力

许多MBA毕业回国工作找不到

即使找到薪水也相当低

被当大学生来用

不如工作几年后经历过工作磨练后再出来

才会知道MBA的工具模型该如何实用

[Personal Branding]面试时候如果被要求walk him through my resume

問:
面试时候如果被要求walk him through my resume,一般是从现在开始讲起好还是从大学毕业开始讲起好?

答:
you'll only have about 90 second to explain your career
so you need to articulate it very precisely,
or the committee will mark you as less efficient in communication
or even not clear in career ladder.

First thing is "sign-posting"
use one concise sentence to tell the committee what your overall career is about
e.g. "I have 5 years marketing experience in telecommunication industry."

Your career should be objective-oriented
when they say "walk through," it means chronological. It'll be more clear for them to start from your first job or even the college major.
Second step is you need to tell them the logic why you built your career like this, and where is your future goal.
just like "since I love marketing, so I majored in marketing, and expanded my scope step by step, from marketing assistant, to marketing planner, and finally to marketing manager."
If your career is not logical, you should tell them why you switched your career like that, sometimes it was due to some inevitable reasons, but it should still be reasonable.

Third thing is to show them your career highlights, and it should have some signs of growing.
"I acquired marketing communication skills and dealt with some small clients in my first job, then I dealt with Motorola in my second job, and finally I led the marketing team as a manager."

The final thing is to tell them the reason you are here.
"But since I had some obstacles in dealing with supply chain and finance, so I need an MBA."
That's why the resume are for. It's your career record. They need to see the logic and the sign of growth in it, and also need to know your future goals and motivations.

[Program Fitting]IESE & Georgetown MBA

Question:
Hello everyone,
I would love to have your advices on my school choosing. I am admitted by IESE and Georgetown. It is a hard decision for me to choose the right school between IESE Business school (Spain, ranked #11 globally & #5 in Europe by Financial Times.) & Georgetown McDonough Business School (US, ranked #38 globally & #19 in US by Financial Times.) I took all of my efforts to apply both of them and now I suffer to give up anyone. I love to study in US but I can't ignore the future niche strength if I study in the prestigious Spanish bilingual MBA, on the other hand, I believe the fact of location is everything so that studying in US, in DC, will help me to broaden my life experiences. If it’s available, I would like to have your and advices from an objective prospective, please kindly share your thoughts and I would be more than happy to have your advices. Thank you so much and may all the best be with you.

Answer:
It's a critical decision since it's not only about the curriculum and rankings
but about the whole learning environment, culture, community...everything
and the outcome you're aiming at for your career

personally I studied in Europe before so I can share with you that it's a totally different planet there
economy, culture, business environment, legal structure, languages, value system, holidays, union system, recruiting process, people...etc.
especially you're going to study business, it's a big trade-off decision you'll have to make
I have friend study in IESE now, you may probably get more understanding about the school and the environment there

In terms of ranking, IESE is higher, one reason is the curriculum is more sophisticated than in Georgetown McDonough,
but not much since McDonough is also quite competitive on program design and the well-roundness. It seems IESE has a big bet on case studies that may affect in learning process, but it depends on how you value this approach for your study.

generally the curriculum itself now only plays a small part
since too many issues you need to juggle
although Spanish is quite a useful tool
it really depends on your future career, your learning capacity on language, and which part of world will you spend mostly on your career
you can have a general understanding about Spanish, but quite hardly to learn a fluent Spanish in a 2-year study
since most of your time will be dedicated in English
and your study quality on MBA might decrease too since you need to spend time on another language

for the rest are mostly outside the school
the business environment is almost upside down from in the U.S.
Fortune 1000 are mostly in the U.S.
and you'll see only rare global companies in the Europe but they're dominating the market
the most likely reason they are not that large in global scale but can avoid the U.S. competition
is due to the extremely complicated political economy environment in Europe as a whole
that the U.S. companies are reluctant to enter with such complex accommodation process
it'll be a very strange but cool experience
and that's another privilege to study in the U.S.
you're learning not only from the classes but from your live observation

feel free to shoot me email if you have questions

[Personal Branding]请问申请学校时要不要如实填写还同时申请了其他学校？

問:

请问申请学校时要不要如实填写还同时申请了其他学校？

解答:

要

许多申请人采取被动的避重就轻或顾左右而言他

打个太极拳乾坤一挪就推开了问题

当然也不会被追问

不过也错失了一次能够展现申请人专业度的机会

水能覆舟亦能载舟

这些问题是危机也才有转机

目的是为了了解申请人到底功课做多少

对自身有多少了解

对学校的适切性有多契合

又申请人的策略思考与分析能力为何

有做深度功课的申请者光这题就能拿到interview

再直冲admission

申请人对自我了解够深入就会发现

不是不愿意多选学校

而是真正能适合自己各面项能力,

性格兴趣,未来发展路线,课程切合性,

产业声誉与邻近性

选来选去不会超过五间

而这几间都是精挑细选并有高度的同质性

审核委员每天看动辄上百份申请资料

对同质学校一清二楚当然每间学校都有多重竞争领域

如行销财务创业...等等

但每个领域都有特定的竞争对象

申请人若生涯发展清晰

审核委员只要看申请人有没有填这几间学校

就知道申请人功课做的够不够

方向清不清晰, 又到底是不是真的要走这样的生涯路线

另一方面也会成为一项重要的谈判筹码

有高度竞争力的申请人能将各校特质与自身特性做完整剖析

不同学校依细项特质不同而采取个别策略

对招生学校而言会是一项取舍决策

甚至不惜运用奖学金诱因吸引具竞争力的申请人

两年前就有会计高手运用此项策略

运用会计第二与第三名校的奖学金来牵制会计第一学府

最终成功进入会计UT Austin第一殿堂就读