Monday, April 30, 2007

First day @ Ivey MBA

Today was the first day of Ivey Preparatory Knowledge Program (PKP). The MBA is finally starting to feel real.

I flew into London, Ontario around noon yesterday (April 29, 2007). Despite its small size London has its own airport, which is very convenient. My first surprise came as I boarded the direct Winnipeg - London flight to discover the plane surprisingly full. After getting into London and taking couple of minutes to unload my stuff at the Bed and Breakfast, I ventured out for the rest of the day exploring the neighborhood. So far, I’m left with a very favorable impression of London. The city definitely has a university town feel to it. Considering that there are 350,000 permanent residents in London and 60,000 seasonal students the city feels much larger than it is just by the shear number of young people that you see around the city. At least that’s my first impression. Starting in the summer MBA Cohort we get the unfortunate part of seeing the tale part of the student body (to my disappointment that also includes the better looking part of the student body) migrate back to the places of their permanent residency outside London, at least until September.

OK, now a little bit about the Ivey PKP program: it is designed to ease students back into the study routine while reinforcing the foundation of skills necessary to hit the ground running when the actual program starts. The PKP program consists of three modules, first four days are Quantitative Skills, the next two days we will live and breathe Economics, and the last three days focus on Accounting Skills. The classes run from 8am to 5pm with couple of breaks in-between. The 8 hours of classes a day will definitely take some getting used to. My second surprise came when a saw the number of people that are attending the PKP, according to the rough count there was 52 of us out of the class of 69. As the result, one of the bonuses of the PKP program is a chance to meet and work with majority of your classmates before the start of actual classes.

The material taught today consisted of a morning session which started to build on the fundamentals of statistics. For me that was a much appreciated refresher. The afternoon session dealt with modeling a case problem using MS Excel. We’ve learned number of Excel tricks that will most definitely come handy in couple of weeks when we will start analyzing actual cases.

With that in mind I’m off to doing my homework for tomorrow,

Till next time,

George

“MBA as a life for school, or school of life”

So here I am, sitting at yet another Starbucks in yet another city. But somehow this feels different… oh yes, I landed in London, Ontario this morning, the Preparatory Knowledge Program starts tomorrow, and the actual MBA program begins in two short weeks.

Let me start by explaining the meaning behind the opening statement. How does an MBA differ from any another graduate degree? MBA is designed to arm its graduates with a knowledge toolkit that will help the transition into the middle management positions. What its not, is another research based graduate degree. At its best, it’s a much more practical degree than anything else out there.

The majority of potential students look at an MBA as a program that will give them the skills necessary to contribute to their future success by helping to accelerate the career while contributing to their personal development. When researching programs I looked for a slightly different angle: a program that would provide me with a learning environment I would be totally immersed in, and hence become an accelerated school of life.

Why an MBA journal?
Before writing this journal I did a quick search of MBA students’ insights. Reading those insights, I came across a large number of amazing stories of accomplishment and luck. Unfortunately, there is a fine line between the motivational pull of high accomplishment and mildly discouraging push of overachievement. I will be absolutely honest, one of the main reasons for writing this journal is to share the fact that you don’t have to have a stellar past in order to get into a prestigous MBA program. For a lot of students the MBA becomes a life changing experience by helping them to realize their full potential.

I don’t think I would be doing anybody a favor if I used this journal to self-advertise. I’m writing this journal with the following goal in mind: share my MBA and pre-MBA experience to help future students with difficult decisions associated with committing to pursue an MBA. My hope is that this journal will at least partially alleviate anxiety associated with the whole MBA process.

Who am I?

I’m a strong believer in the fact that people are at least partially products of their past and it plays an important role in shaping our values and thinking.

With that in mind let me tell you a little bit about my own past. I was born and raised in Moscow, Russia. One of the most vivid memories of my younger years was tanks on the streets of Moscow in early 90’s during the days of “Putch” and enormous lineups of the “Prestroika” era. It was a period of a fundamental transformation for Russia from a Planning Communist economy to an Entrepreneurial Economy driven by opportunities. I remember starting my first business in Moscow in my early teens and seeing it grow rapidly in a short couple of months. I carry that experience with me as a fundamental lesson about taking advantage of an opportunity at a right time and right place.

I moved to Canada with my father in late 90’s. I earned my undergraduate degree from one of the provincial universities. In my undergraduate degree I majored in Computer Engineering and also took Business as a minor. One of the most valuable lessons that I took away from my undergraduate days was the fact that I get excited by challenges and I do my best learning through personal interaction.

Why MBA?
I view an MBA as a truly life changing experience. Like many of my colleagues, the primary goal of pursuing an MBA is the career enhancing aspect. And as the result I hope to gain a job in consulting. However, it would be too narrow to look at an MBA as only a career tool. MBA, much like a Swiss Army knife is so much more than it appears. And if you look at it as only a knife you would be missing out on the number of other significant aspects. For example, there are very few other opportunities out there to become a part of such a diverse network of business professionals. I’ve heard again and again how powerful those MBA alumni networks can be in both personal and professional respects. Moreover, the enormous challenge of an MBA that you put yourself through really helps one to discover new things about themselves. You also get to build a close relationship with your classmates that are all going to be in senior management positions in the next 10 years.

My path to an MBA started during the third year of my undergraduate degree. I started to realize that focusing on technology rendered a relatively narrow view of the word. Moreover, even though I did get good grades in technical courses they didn’t challenge or excite me. Through extensive research I realized that the MBA would be an extremely important tool to add to ensure future career success. The more I researched the MBA programs the more I became excited about it. With MBA I also found a direct relevance to my short and long-term career and personal goals.

Why Ivey?

I want to narrow down why I picked the Richard Ivey School of Business, based out of London, Ontario as the school of choice for my MBA program. It was quite an involved process, as you might have seen from my blogs on Business Week, so here I will give a condensed version of the journey that lead me to Ivey.

I started my search by identifying the main variables between different MBA programs and relating those back to why I decided to take an MBA in the first place. The frustrating part of the program search process spans from the fact that it’s a two way selection process, which is meant to ensure the closest fit between students and the MBA program. In retrospect, it not that different from a dating game, with students having to court the programs they are interested in and the programs trying to get the best students for their classes. As in any dating there’s lots of disappointment, anxiety and rejection, adjustment of expectations, and finally excitement of moving through the process and being accepted by the school of your choice.

After compiling the list of factors that I was looking for from an MBA program I tried to apply it to the group of selected MBA programs to try to narrow it down to a manageable size. I’ve started with a group of 20 schools and was able to narrow it down to five schools through extensive research. I followed with in-person visits to get a feeling for each school’s culture and to get an appreciation of value of a particular school.

The factors that attracted me to Ivey were that it definitely was one of the top business schools in the world. It is also only second to HBS in the number of cases produced. Another major factor that appealed to me about Ivey was program’s steady placement track record for the field of Management Consulting that I found immensely appealing. Moreover, students and alumni were giving the school their highest praise. The one year format is also a really attractive option, minimizing opportunity cost my saving a year of lost salaries and time away from work, while maximizing the use of living expenses.

What do I want YOU to take away from this journal?

I would like for this journal to become part of your MBA research toolkit. In particular, if you are considering top international schools outside US. I also know, based on my own experience, that GMAT+MBA Admissions can be experiences full of anxiety. I want you to feel at least a little bit less stressed out about the whole process. Each one of us is and individual with our own unique strengths and weaknesses and there is a program out there for each one of us that is a perfect “fit” for our background and goals.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions,
George

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Why Ivey?

by: Khalil (Kevin) J. Mouchantaf - MBA2008

When I first started researching schools, the Richard Ivey School of Business was not even on my list. However, after investigating MBA schools thoroughly, the Ivey MBA quickly rose to the top of the list.

I am a Canadian of Lebanese origin in my early 30’s. I am currently a practicing physician in Boston, US. However, over the course of my career I had become drawn to management. In addition, I was drawn to an international career. At this point in my life, an MBA makes the most sense in terms of helping me switch careers and aim for the international career. While my background is slightly different from most prospective MBA students, my aspirations were similar, I wanted to change one or all of the following: function, industry and country.

I researched and visited countless top MBA programs in the US, Canada and Europe. It was hard work to sift through the endless marketing campaigns which schools use. No wonder many students just decide to apply to a program based on reputation or rankings. I concluded that when comparing Canadian MBA programs to the ones in US, the ones in Canada have very solid and competitive curriculums but lack their counterpart’s full blown marketing machines. The latter was probably the reason why I had not heard of Ivey during my initial MBA research.

After visiting a number of US programs, I was disappointed with the low percentage of International students (around 30%), and the relatively sparse discussion of non-US businesses. I was also disappointed with the schools’ limited ability to place graduates globally, despite their powerful brands. Lastly, in today’s busy world the two year program is starting to became a less attractive option.

As a result, I started looking into European programs. Over the last couple of years, those programs have come a long way with their global reach. However, I found their respective curriculums uneven (in terms of balancing out the soft and hard skills) and placement outcomes inconsistent (each school has a reputation for focusing on one type of industry but not all three out of finance, consulting, and industry)

So what is so special about the Ivey MBA (in no particular order)?

1) Ivey’s revamped Cross-Enterprise Leadership curriculum putting increased emphases on both the soft and hard skills. The program uses the case method as a starting point, looking at each business as a complex matrix enterprise. Not to mention, that more than 35% of the cases are international. A lot of those cases are written by Ivey faculty, the second largest producer of cases after Harvard. Concerns about the case method not being best suited for teaching finance and accounting turned out to be not well founded, since a number of the Professors who teach using the case method are well published finance writers.

2) Ivey’s brilliant professors. During my class visit to Ivey, I had the chance to hear the new program director, Tony Frost. I was blown away by his assertion that the mission of the Ivey MBA is to “change our lives.” I also attended the finance case led by Professor Jim Hatch, an equally accomplished finance professor with significant experience in entrepreneurial and biotechnology finance.

3) Ivey’s admission’s office was by far the most personable and professional I had encountered. Unlike a certain top UK program, where I encountered dispassionate approach towards potential students, Ivey staff treated me respectfully. My first encounter with the admissions office was through sending my resume in order to get feedback about potential fit for the Ivey MBA. Following that, I had multiple phone conversations in order to learn more about the program. I was interviewed by a relationship manager from the career office which helped me jumpstart the process of thinking about a post MBA career. I also had a face to face interview with a member of the admissions’ committee. Everyone displayed utmost professionalism.

4) Ivey’s career placement office has come a long way in helping students locate their dream jobs, surpassing their Canadian peers. I hope they continue to do that and attract recruiters from more countries. Ivey boasts more than a 92% placement rate, with graduates entering very competitive fields, including I-banking and management consulting.

5) Ivey’s participants come from diverse backgrounds, are articulate, well accomplished, independent thinkers, self starters, and are future global leaders.

I can go on and on about my positive experience even before setting foot on campus. The above reasons sum up my decision to attend Ivey. If you were to ask me about the one negative so far, I would have to say, the school’s limited brand name, at least where I currently live in the Northeastern part of the United States. I hope this blog that George started will at least play a small role in getting the word out about our “hidden gem.”

Khalil (Kevin) J. Mouchantaf
Ivey MBA- Fall 2007 cohort

Monday, April 23, 2007

Globe and Mail - MBA articles

Here's a link to the "Lessons Learned" article by Richard Bloom, published in Globe and Mail on Friday, April 20, 2007. The article talks about the Schulich MBA program and tries to identify couple of the most important "focus points" for students in an MBA program:

- Choose teammates carefully
- Don't forget party time
- Find a mentor
- Never stop networking
- Don't be afraid to fail
- Take risks

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Another interesting G&M article: Report on MBA schools by Marjo Johne. This article identifies number of possible specializations for students pursuing an MBA in Canada.

Friday, April 20, 2007

10 days to Pre-MBA

The floodgates of information have been opened - we have been assigned our Ivey MBA email addresses. We have also been granted full access on the ezone (Ivey web portal). With loads of information including career related info and full access to such websites as Vault and Career Leader, its bound to keep you busy for countless hours.

The past couple of months flew by so fast that it still doesn't feel real that the pre-MBA program starts in 10 days. The only thing that reminds me of the big upcoming change in my life is the increasing number of both good bye lunches with co-workers and friends and correlated to that the number of Ivey information emails.

Networking @ Ivey

Ivey Network:

•18,000 alumni
•1 in 4 alumni are in a senior management position
•Global
•Loyal

How to Start the Conversation:

•Re-assess your goals and how this individual might help
•Research their background, their industry, the firm and, of course, their role
•Email to set up meeting time – short, concise and clear on what your goals are with the meeting
•Be prompt with “meeting” time
•Structure some solid questions around industry, firm, role that will help you feel confident, comfortable and get you real information (probing is expected)

Monday, April 16, 2007

Class stats - May '07 Cohort

Total number of students: 70
Percentage of female students: 17%
Percentage of Int'l students: 25%
Percentage of students born outside Canada: 52%

Of those who filled-in their career section, listed... :

50% - Consulting
25% - Finance
15% - Entrepreneurship
10% - Other

... as their area of interest.

Friday, April 13, 2007

Ready, Set, ...

Yet another week flew by, bringing me closer to the start of my MBA program. Two weeks left until the start of the Pre-MBA and four until the start of the actual program. I almost cannot believe that I’m about to start it. The torture of GMAT and the uncertainty of the application process still fresh in my mind.
Car is sold, student loans are lined up, and apartment is ready. I do have to say that it went much smother than I originally expected. Only two and a half months ago I was submitting my application to Ivey and anxiously awaiting the verdict. Then came the challenge of the interviews and the excitement of acceptance. So for the past two months I have been running around trying to balance finishing/handing off projects at work, getting though the project management courses that I decided to take for “fun” back in January, and getting things lined up for the MBA program.
To add a bit more excitement to the mix I’ve decided to email all of my future profs and ask for the book recommendations (some of which you can find in the right menu). Needless to say I sometimes wonder if employees at Starbucks ever get tired of me, I think by now they simply view me as a part of the store interior.
Now that I have a second to reflect on the past couple of moths, I realize that I’m about to open a new and exciting page in my life, the MBA for me is full of unlimited possibilities. At the same time I'm keeping in mind the fact that an MBA is not a silver bullet that will get you the dream job, but it’s an enabler that if used as prescribed will help your optimize your efforts to get that job. But non the less it brings me a step closer to realizing my goals.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Ivey MBA Admissions questions

Email exchange between George Kesselman and Scott Walker (Director, MBA Recruiting & Admissions for Ivey MBA)

GK:
I want to pursue a career in Management Consulting. If I chose to go for the May07 intake, does that mean I have a lower chance to find a job after I finish in the spring '08?

SW: Actually, the May cohort is perfectly aligned for the consulting industry and you would be able to maximize your consulting opportunities in the May cohort.
[also true for the financial sector jobs]

GK: I'm applying to number of MBA programs and was wondering how long does the decision process take after the completed application is submitted to Ivey? Do you have any suggestions as far as coordinating the application process for multiple schools?

SW: Once we receive a competed application, your file is reviewed and a decision to move to the interview stage is made. Once the two admissions interviews are complete we are trying to get back to applicants within 3 to 4 weeks. So depending on your availability for the interviews, the entire process could take as little as 5 weeks although it could be as much as 8 weeks. Let us know if you have a specific time frame and we will do our best to work with you.

As far as coordinating your applications, I would only suggest that you keep them straight. We read every file and more than you would expect declare that some other school is the right one for them in our application. Don't try to copy the answers, even if the questions are similar between schools. It shows when someone has not taken the time to really think about their answers to the essay questions on the application.

I hope this was helpful. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions about the Ivey MBA program or the admissions process.

Warm regards,
Scott Walker
Director, MBA Recruiting & Admissions

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Thursday, April 5, 2007

MBA '07 Curriculum

Module1:
Developing Leadership Competencies (8 weeks)
Focus on the development of personal leadership competencies.

Module2:
Developing business skills and executing strategies (16 wks)
Examine an organization’s key structures and processes, and how they are aligned with strategy.

Module3:
Competing Successfully in a Global Environment (8 weeks)
Analyse how an enterprise can compete successfully in a global environment.

Module4:
Excelling Through Cross-Enterprise Leadership (12 weeks)
Electives in key sectors such as, investment banking, consulting, entrepreneurship, marketing, operations and the health sector.

Key Dates May 2007 Cohort

DATE

EVENT

Week of April 30th

Pre-Ivey Program

Week of May 14th

Orientation Week

Monday, May 21st

Victoria Day Holiday (Observed)

Week of May 21st

- Leading People and Organizations
- Making Decisions under Uncertainty
- Managing Your Career
- Communicating Effectively

Monday, June 25th

LPO Report

Tuesday, June 26th

- Managing Financial Resources
- Accounting and Control for Managers
- Designing and Executing Strategy

Monday, July 2nd

CANADA day (Observed)

Week of July 3rd

Career Management Industry Week (Toronto)

Monday September 3rd

Labour Day Holiday (Observed)

Tuesday, September 4th

Report

September 5th - 7th

Recruiting Trip Week (Optional)

Week of September 10th

Electives Period

Week of September 17th

Electives Period

Week of September 24th

Recruiting Prep Week (No Classes)

Week of October 1st

Global Environment of Business

Monday, October 8th

Thanksgiving Holiday (Observed)

Week of November 26th

Electives Period

Week of December 3rd

Electives Period

Week of December 10th

Electives Period

Week of December 17

International Trip (Optional)

Week of December 24th

UWO and Spencer Closed

December 31st – January 1st

UWO and Spencer Closed

January 2 - January4th

UWO and Spencer Reopen

Monday, January 7th, 2008

- Marketing Products and Services
- Managing Operations
- Leveraging Information Technology
- Ivey Consulting Project

Week of February 18th

Ivey Consulting Project Week

Week of March 10th

SABRE Marketing Simulation

February 5, 2007

Elective Period

February 28, 2007

Good Friday Holiday (Observed)

February 12 – April 3, 2007

Program Culmination

April 6, 2007

Convocation

April 18 – 20, 2007

China Teaching Project and LEADER Project

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

An Inside Look at Ivey :

Ivey B-school Acting Admissions Director Scott Walker looks for enthusiastic applicants who will "contribute meaningfully to the class"

Scott Walker is the new acting director of MBA admissions at the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario (No.2 in BusinessWeek's 2006 ranking of full-time MBA programs outside the U.S.). Walker joined the Ivey school in the spring of 2002 as manager of marketing and recruiting. But he's no stranger to the London, Ontario B-school, having completed his MBA there in 2001.

Prior to getting his MBA, Walker worked for high-end pen retailer Mont Blanc in marketing and sales. He recently spoke with BusinessWeek Online reporter Mica Schneider. Here's an edited transcript of their discussion:

Q: Applications to Ivey dipped about 20% in 2004. How did the smaller applicant pool affect your selection of new MBAs?
A: It didn't...though we did interview 100% of our admitted applicants this year [up from 85% in 2003.] We've been pleased with the quality of the applications.

Q: Is the class that's arriving in September already full?
A:
Pretty much. [But] if we get a good applicant this summer, we'll be able to find a place for them.

Q: Ivey has seven admissions rounds. When is it too late to apply?
A:
It's never too late. Next year, we'll probably move toward a rolling [admissions] process.

Q: Which part of the application do you tend to review first?
A: Ultimately, we look at the whole application. But we tend to look at the essay questions first because that gives us the most insight into an individual. The essays are an applicant's way to tell us what they'll provide to the class and what their expectations are for the MBA.

Those things are further explored in a personal interview. The GMAT score and work experience are quick reference points, so [even] if you've got a 760 GMAT and four years of work experience, you won't automatically get in.

Q: Which attributes are important to show in an Ivey application?
A:
One is interpersonal skills, the ability to communicate clearly and effectively. Another is a demonstrated potential for leadership...at work or in extracurricular activities.

http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/jul2004/bs20040726_1537_bs037.htm