FULL TIME MBA

 

New Year – Newer Opportunities – Newer Challenges

As is typical of the Cox School, a lot of exciting events happened during Mod B. We pursued an eclectic mix of courses that included Finance, Marketing and Accounting. This module was the first one where we were truly introduced to the case method of teaching in class. The coursework in Marketing required that we work in groups to solve 7 cases over the period of the 7 week module. You could typically notice marketing group meetings happening almost everyday during Mod B. These group discussions typically stimulated your thinking because everyone chipped in with newer ideas and ways of approaching the case. However, even when our group has brainstormed for a few days and come up with our way of solving the case, we would be completely blown off by the Professor who would typically provide us with an entirely different way of solving the case. It is such discussions within and outside the classroom that make the experience in a B School different from any other graduate program. These discussions motivate even the most conventional and orthodox of thinkers to think ‘out-of-the-box’. One other exciting aspect about such cases was that they were based on different industries and hence provided students with a fair understanding of the dynamics across sectors. Prior to coming to the B School, I wouldn’t have imagined that I (An Engineer) would work on case studies ranging from beer distribution to artificial insemination. While the other courses were quantitatively engaging, they provided us with strong fundamentals on which we could build our knowledge. Apart from the academic coursework, first year students also had to participate in fun events such as spending a day at the stony ranch enjoying activities such as rock climbing. We also participated with our respective groups in a compulsory marketing case competition within the Cox School. This was intended to provide us with exposure in solving and presenting cases within a short timeframe so that we are all prepared for inter-college case competitions to be held during the spring semester.

 
Now that the first semester is done, I believe all of us are in a better position to balance the rigorous schedule with all other activities happening on campus. The primary focus of first-year MBA students at this point in time is on landing a summer internship in their company and area of choice. Typically, companies here use the August to January timeframe to hire second-year MBA students for full-time positions. Once they have completed their hiring for such full-time positions, they gauge their internal requirements and post openings for summer internships. There are quite a few students in my batch who have landed internship positions based in and out of Dallas and even as I write this blog there are students who are interviewing with Exxon Mobil and Frito Lay. From the feedback that I have received from second-year students, I gauge that we have managed to attract a lot more companies on campus this time around as compared to the previous year. While our career management centre does its best in attracting companies on campus, it requires a lot of effort from the student’s side to network with alums and company recruiters to ensure that their resume gets a ‘look in’. From my experience, I could write a book to emphasize the sort of help I have been receiving from Cox alums. In many cases, alums have called me in response to my emails and go out of the way in helping us out. While students have mentors allotted to them, I would go further and mention that every Cox alumnus is like a mentor to us. On the CMC’s side, they have been helping out students by organizing mock interviews conducted by Cox alums within large companies. These interviews provide students with the experience of a real interview but at the same time provide them with an opportunity to practice their interviewing skills and benefit from the valuable feedback. You won’t believe, I had a Cox alum last week for my mock interview and he was running high temperature yet he was here and was scheduled to conduct mock interviews running back-to-back for 3 hours. This clearly exhibits his commitment in helping the Cox School and in providing students with some great insights from a recruiter's perspective.  

One other aspect of the program that we are excited about this semester is the Global Leadership Program (GLP). We had our locations allotted based on our choices and we are now in the initial planning phase where we would research about the companies, work culture, business environment and the financial situation in the cities that we would be visiting. I am told that no other business school apart from Cox has such a program that involves business trips as a compulsory requirement. The key aspect here is that it is completely sponsored by American Airlines. This speaks volumes of the network the Cox School has built with the business community in Dallas and the extent to which companies are willing to go to ensure that Cox students receive the best education that is current with the global business climate. I am set to go on the East Asia trip that includes visits to Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. We will be required to take specific language courses in our next module based on the region that we are assigned. This is no vacation jaunt and hence requires detailed research and preparation before we embark on the trip and meet with executives from various executives within large companies based out of those cities. I will keep you posted as and when we really get into the GLP groove during the next module.

 
This semester also marks the first time in our MBA career that we would be allowed to take electives. Most of the students have taken courses in line with their interests and academic concentrations. Most of these courses would be prerequisites to other electives that we would be choosing over the course of the next year. Apart from the above rambling, it is the same usual MBA life – tests, quizzes, assignments, more tests, more quizzes and more assignments …. This story never ends and the MBA student never gets to sleep!