Stacy Blackman’s Weekly Roundup of B-School Intelligence

Will and Beverly O’Hara have pledged $16 million to the University of Texas McCombs School of Business, the largest individual gift to the school since Red McCombs donated his name and $50 million eight years ago. It may be small potatoes next to David Booth’s recent endowment to the University of Chicago business school,  but their gift will create scholarships for the school’s business honors program, more fellowships for doctoral-level research in accounting and a pool of money to help fund new methods for teaching today’s students.

In a new FT Management podcast, Tim Cullen, Director of the Oxford Programme on Negotiation at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, talks about how to negotiate in the climate of mistrust engendered by the current financial downturn. The key to effective negotiation, he says, is to fully explore the interests on both sides. Information gathering in advance is essential, and getting to know the people involved is also highly desirable. To listen to this podcast, click here.

Thunderbird School of Global Management and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies have announced a new strategic collaboration in executive education. Both schools will also expand their menu of offerings in executive education, through collaborative open enrollment programs and the development of a joint certificate.

Thunderbird has also launched “Doing Business in Russia” — a comprehensive, online certificate program on the dynamics of Russian business. The new four-week program offers working professionals the tools and knowledge they need to work effectively within Russia’s business, political and cultural environment.

People are willing to perform the most menial of tasks, even for little pay, as long as they consider the work meaningful or are recognized for their contributions, according to new research from Fuqua School of Business professor Dan Ariely. Ariely’s findings contain important lessons for managers, and result from a series of novel experiments, including one that literally turned play into work by paying participants to assemble Lego figurines.

In a new podcast from London Business School, associate professor of management practice in entrepreneurship John Mullins answers key questions about entrepreneurship and investment that are even more important to new businesses in the current economic climate. Mullins comments that, “broadly the credit crunch is good news for entrepreneurs, but it’s not a time for the faint of heart,” going on to explain that in a downturn bigger companies become more conservative, leaving new business opportunities open to entrepreneurs.

Spain’s IE Business School now offers open access to its multimedia materials for individual use under a Creative Commons license. The main advantage for users is that they can access high-quality content free of charge. According to a press release, the move is in line with IE’s philosophy of innovation and knowledge-sharing and has led the school to develop 200 teaching materials covering all areas of management.

And now, a glimpse into the crystal ball…

Harvard University Business School will be closing its doors following an unprecedented drop-off in applications this fall, New York Times reports. The school will be renamed the Harvard University School of Integrity, and students will receive Masters in Integrity and Compassion, or M.I.C.s. “We believe that the recent increase in visibility of progressive movements and ideals, coupled with the demotion of free-market capitalism as a viable belief system, has led students away from training in accumulation for its own sake and into fields where they can advance peace and justice,” said Harvard spokesperson Susan Morrison.

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A fair number of folks find that romance and hook-ups are a natural by-product of B-school. But, says The Times of London, most postgraduates prefer to separate their management education from matrimony.  It’s no wonder that rarest demographic, the couple taking an MBA together, generates such open curiosity.

How do business schools view couples who aim to study on the same MBA course? “It is not unusual to have at least one couple apply,” says Karen Siegfried, MBA executive director at Judge Business School, which admitted four couples this fall who are profiled in The Times. “However, it is unusual for both members of the couple to be equally strong candidates, as we had this year.”

Sharing this major life event on a day-to-day basis may give couples the chance to grow closer together, but is it really the best way to pursue an MBA?

Why it works

• MBA couples have tossed the adage “familiarity breeds contempt” out the window. Having a study partner on hand, especially if you are good at different subjects, is useful.

• Sharing study problems with your spouse, rather than with a stranger, is a huge plus. You trust that person 100 percent, so there’s no vulnerability in letting your partner know when you’re finding something difficult.

• Many spouses find it difficult to relate to each other when one is back at school and the other remains at home or in the workforce. But a couple going through the experience together can lean on each other to survive the ups and downs of MBA life.

• Also, school gives you the opportunity to see other sides of your spouse, says Michele Martin, who attended Kellogg School of Management with her husband Brian in 2001. “We’ve realized we work well together because of our different personalities. We have totally opposite work styles. But we seem to complement each other.”

Why it doesn’t

• In a word: poverty.  If you are studying for an MBA together, there will be some testing times with the switch from two incomes to no income, with two big tuition bills to pay. Couples must be committed to saving money and sticking to a budget, or the financial stress could spell doom.

• Enticing offers usually come through at the end of the program, but what happens when the offers come from different corners of the globe? Compromise, a word most couples are overly familiar with, will be key to navigating those tricky post-degree waters.

• When you commit to study for an MBA at the same time and on the same course as your partner, inevitably your home life is taken over. Maintaining your identity as a couple amid the all-consuming MBA experience is a delicate balancing act.

So, does the couple that studies together really have more fun? Drop us a line and let us know what you think.

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IESE is an international MBA program based in Barcelona. Along with the traditional full time MBA, IESE offers a range of executive programs, including the Global Executive MBA. The Global Executive MBA program operates across several continents with sessions in Barcelona, Madrid, Shanghai, India, Silicon Valley and New York City. To learn more about the Global Executive MBA, you may want to attend one of IESE’s events.

The nice thing about this set of essays is the specificity of the questions. That is also the difficult challenge you will have as you apply your overall application strategy, with the strengths and accomplishments you wish to communicate. Many of the situational questions ask for examples within the last two years, which may be a challenging direction. While you may be attached to situations that are further behind you, remember that the key to any situational question is a clear and concise example that you can extrapolate larger learnings from.

The situational essays in this set allow you to approach the question from either a professional or personal perspective, and it will be important to choose wisely. Think about the correct balance of personal and professional, and which activities you want to particularly highlight.

Essay 1: Please describe your short term professional goals (post MBA). (200 word limit)
Essay 2: Please describe your long term professional goals (post MBA). (200 word limit)
These first two essays are the key components of every career goals essay, and should work together in the same way that a more typical career goals essay would while also remaining two distinct essays. Make sure your short and long-term goals are cohesive, and that your short-term goals lead naturally to your long-term goals. While not explicitly part of the question, you should certainly work in why you need an MBA, and specifically why the IESE MBA will be important to achieving your career goals.

Essay 3: Describe two substantial accomplishments and one failure in a professional or private endeavour. (600 word limit)
This essay question is very similar to the HBS question asking for three accomplishments , with the substitution of a failure for one of the accomplishments. It’s difficult to explain three distinct situations in 600 words. Focus on quickly recapping the accomplishment, making it very clear what the accomplishment was, and take some time to reflect upon the accomplishment and its larger meaning to you in your life or profession.
For the failure section of the essay, you will want to find a failure that can be described succinctly, that you learned from, and that you were able to ultimately redeem yourself through. Whether you turned the failure into a success in that exact situation, or faced a similar situation later than you were able to succeed in, ending on a positive note will be crucial for this question.

Essay 4: Describe a recent situation (within last two years) in which you used a contact from your network to achieve a personal or professional objective. (200 word limit)
Limiting the situation to the past two years may be frustrating to you, but the important part of this essay will be demonstrating that you are able to build and maintain a strong professional network. If you haven’t faced a major situation that required help from your professional network, like a job hunt, think about times that you may have reached out to your friends or co-workers to seek a new perspective on a problem, or to tap into their vocational expertise. The question also allows the use of the network for a personal objective, which may be a more common occurrence day-to-day.
Whatever situation you choose, this is an ideal opportunity to demonstrate how you work with others, your collaborative approach to problem-solving, and how you may behave in a team situation at school, or as an alumna or alumnus of IESE.

Essay 5: Describe the most difficult project (personal or professional) that you have faced recently (within last two years). (200 word limit)
Difficult projects are a great learning experience, and you will want to be able to communicate clearly what you learned from this particular difficult project. If you were ultimately successful, that is a great result, but even if the project never reached completion in a satisfactory way, you hopefully learned a lesson that could be applied in subsequent projects. Though the word count is restrictive, be as specific as possible about the situation and how you approached it.

Essay 6: Describe a recent situation (within last two years) in which it was difficult to convince others. (200 word limit)
This essay is a great opportunity to demonstrate your leadership, teamwork and/or communication and negotiation skills. You will want to find a situation that was difficult, but where you were ultimately convincing. Clearly describe what was difficult about convincing others, and how you were able to ultimately succeed.

Essay 7: I wish that the application had asked me… (200 word limit)
This essay is a gift for all of the extra material in your application strategy. If you had an important situation in your life that occurred more than two years ago, this is an opportunity to highlight it. If you have an interesting personal story, explanation for any weakness in your application, or other material that will help your candidacy, this is the ideal place for that material.

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For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.

Despite having some of the world’s top business schools, Europe’s MBA programs just haven’t had the same level of penetration as their U.S. counterparts.  That will likely change when the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) comes into existence in 2010, making higher education degrees much more compatible, comparable and portable among the 46 countries signed up to it.

Known informally as the Bologna Process after the city in which the original declaration of intent was signed in 1999, the EHEA has adopted a single three-cycle structure that is based on the Anglo-Saxon model of bachelor, master’s and doctoral degrees. For the first time, European students will have the choice to leave higher education after a three- or four-year bachelor degree, stay on for a master’s, or work for a few years and return to do a post-experience qualification such as the MBA.

According to Nunzio Quacquarelli, director of QS World MBA Tour and editor of topmba.com, the effect on the European MBA market could be profound. “In terms of the penetration of the MBA the disparity between Europe and North America is staggering, suggesting there is still significant room for growth in MBA numbers in Europe.”

At a recent leadership conference hosted by IESE business school in Barcelona, IESE dean Jordi Canals agreed.  “The MBA in Europe is still at an early stage of development and Bologna can be the stimulus for a rapid expansion in take up.”

So what can we expect to see when the Bologna Accord takes effect?

A surge in demand for English-language master’s, pre-experience master’s in management and in MBAs.

Tens of thousands of graduates across Europe are going to be looking for new options once they complete their three of four-year bachelor degree. This Bologna generation will look for opportunities to improve their language skills, gain some international experience and improve their awareness of the global economy.

The average age of European MBAs is going to drop while the number of people taking the qualification is going to rise.

Undergraduate degrees in Europe have traditionally lasted much longer, often six or seven years, which discouraged people from going to the workplace and then returning to education to do an MBA. In the US, the average age of MBA participants is 26.5, and in Europe it’s 29.5.

Quacquarelli believes that Europe may not go as far down the MBA path as the United States, and no one can predict whether European companies are going to embrace it to the same extent. However he believes that a balance will be reached at some point.

“Once a certain volume of people is taking an MBA, it feeds into HR processes as an easy way to screen and select people. As soon as it gets embedded in HR processes you will start to see the large-volume MBA recruitment schemes beginning to appear. When this happens, the momentum for more people to take an MBA becomes very strong. This hasn’t happened in Europe yet, but with the Bologna generation about to come through, I believe it will.”

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We are now on Facebook - please join the Stacy Blackman Consulting group, or become a friend of Stacy Blackman. I am posting news about MBA related events, job listings, and of course MBA news.

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For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.