We are now at the doorstep of Hilary term. Even as I begin to recount the first term of my MBA at Oxford, it dawns on me that it has been one of the most enriching periods of my life. The Michaelmas term of the Oxford MBA, as it is called, was a roller coaster ride. It all began with the welcome addresses, motivating speeches from the Dean, Principal and the Director alike, the study group formations and a host of speaker events and parties. Even before we could adapt ourselves to the unusually fast pace of things around us, we were in the thick of the classes. The classes are of 3.5 hours and a lot of ground in covered including subject matter and case study discussions. For someone like me having got used to the semester system in my under-graduate degree, a 10 week term seemed really swift. Of these we attend classes for 8 weeks interspersed with a lot of individual and group assignments, revision in the 9th week and get ready to take exams on the 10th week. The marks scored in the assignments are counted towards the final grade and so we do it very religiously.

                There were a lot of invaluable lessons that I learnt during the course of the term. Foremost, for the record, making choices. In a new setting, where there are umpteen events happening at the School, not to mention the parties (aka Bops), events at University, College etc, it becomes incumbent that we choose rightly and appropriately. There was always an urge to be at all places and participate in all events. That was when it became important to discern and choose those that may actually make a difference in the long run. There are times when I had to give up on an entertaining Bop to be at a seminar, attend one speaker event instead of another equally interesting one and so on. The making of choices is something that I have cultivated now and seem to be comfortable. Secondly, amidst the din and roar I had to make time for myself too. This helped me peacefully cogitate and recreate myself often. It was important to be able to make the most of my days and not digress. Another lesson was in listening, which is an art that I developed. In a class setting and in group discussions we are enriched by peers from diverse backgrounds and rich experience. If we could listen carefully and understand them from their world, the perspective it offers to the subject is immense. Finally, the chance to be among a group of highly accomplished peers who are all motivated and looking forward to creating even brighter futures, should be taken as an opportunity. Classmates can be some of the best resources as we enter into a new arena. I realise that I have to spend so much more time to connect with each of them before the end of the year.

                On the studies front, there were 6 core subjects (Strategy, Marketing, Finance 1, Managerial Economics, Decision Science and Financial Reporting) that we were taught. All of these were new to me. So, I designated myself as a ‘poet’ as I began a humble journey into Finance, Strategy and Economics. The experts among my classmates who had previous degrees in Finance or work experience in Marketing or Strategy were always available to clarify and teach. This attitude to collaborate was something that I admire about the culture here at Oxford. There were some professors that left an indelible mark on the psyche of us students. One such was Tomo Suzuki. A highly accomplished person, he also serves as Tokunin Professor at Osaka University for Sustainability Management. He taught us Financial Reporting and more importantly the essence of Accounting. He never lost an opportunity to teach us the importance of questioning, the larger impact of business on society and to be ethical in our professional careers. In his last class he showed us excerpts from the documentary on the Enron Scandal and we followed it up with discussions. As he left us with some great advice for our professional life, we were on our feet applauding his efforts and the impact he had on us.  

Tomo Suzuki – Our Financial Reporting Prof.

                Strategy and Marketing were subjects that had a good mix of concepts and case studies. Case studies are an important and integral part of the curriculum. All our assignments were case study based and each of these cases threw light on various aspects of strategy and marketing. They were carefully selected to represent varied geography and industries and provoked us to use the concepts and frameworks to analyse and make recommendations. Decision Science taught us application of statistical methods to the process of decision making. Finance-1 laid a sound foundation of financial concepts in the context of a firm and its interactions with the market. Capital budgeting, risky investment decisions, bonds, dividends et al were overwhelming to begin with, but turned out to be very interesting as I saw the larger picture and started connecting the dots. Managerial Economics taught us macro-economic principles and its application to business decisions. We began with supply and demand theories and covered a breadth of topics from competition to auctions. Some classes were designed with guest speakers or with games to help us learn the concepts better. In particular I enjoyed the game designed to learn how Oligopolistic markets operate and how firms compete in such a market place.

Oligopoly game results

                We have now completed our Michaelmas term exams and the Christmas break and ready to embark on the Hilary term. Writing exams in a full academic dress was an experience in itself ! A real Oxford experience Rebecca has done a nice write up on it in her blog on Examinations week.

                Last word – Former IBM CEO Louis V. Gerstner, looking back at his Harvard Business School life is believed to have said that for him, nothing was particularly useful at the School. He thought he could have learnt many things more efficiently from textbooks. But he found it useful to learn the ways in which he survived the busy school life, and to learn how to associate with many different people. I totally agree and its very true that our attitudes to life and people around us are moulded during our MBA alongside the skills that we learn in class. 

                I hope to write about MBA admissions in one of my next blog entries as I have received a handful of questions on it. Until then Ciao.