Séan Rickard Director Full-time MBA Programme

Snow, students and more snow

Just returned from a trip to Washington and New York where I visited MBA alumni and met prospective applicants at various MBA fairs.   Prior to my leaving the UK, Washington was hit by a severe snow storm but by the time I arrived on Tuesday 23^rd traffic and pedestrians were moving freely even if temperatures hovered around freezing and snow was piled feet deep at the road side.   The first night I hosted a dinner for Washington alumni in Georgetown.   Meeting alumni and seeing how their careers are progressing is always a pleasure but I had an ulterior motive; namely to fix up some visits when I return with a group of MBA students in June.

On Wednesday I attended a one-2-one session with a number of prospective applicants at the Columbus Club in Union Station.   As the session did not start until early evening I had the day to visit the new Newseum which provides a fascinating experience that blends five centuries of news history with contemporary technology and hands-on exhibits.   One-2-one sessions have the advantage that prospective students are screened and this is particularly important as we are looking for people who: have several years’ experience; have a track record of success; and who recognise the importance of people skills for effective management.

On the Thursday I attended the QS MBA Fair at the Ronald Regan Building.   Prospects seem generally younger at US Fairs but over the course of the evening I spoke to some very interesting, more mature people seeking information on the Cranfield MBA Programme.   Following the Fair and a late dinner, I went to bed with the knowledge that New York was about to suffer a heavy snow storm and sure enough, in the morning when I checked the status of my flight, I discovered that it had been cancelled.   I then started a frantic race to beat other erstwhile plane travellers in obtaining a rail ticket to New York.   I was lucky – even if I did have to pay a high price – I got a seat on the Accela express and by the time I arrived at Union station with my e-ticket it was being announced that all available tickets to New York for the day had been sold; thus allowing Amtrak to prove the idiom that it is an ill wind that blows no good.

Courtesy of a fellow passenger, who spent almost the entire journey on his cell phone, I learnt quite a lot about operating hotel groups in the States on the two and a half hour journey.   When I arrived in New York the snow was piled high on the road side but after a long wait in line at Penn station I got a taxi up-town to my hotel.   Friday night was free so it was off to the New York ‘Met’ to see a fantastic version of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia.   The following morning I hosted a breakfast meeting with a number of New York alumni and a prospective student.   As is always the case when alumni gather, there was a great deal of reminiscing but the conversation also produced an interesting and particularly apposite discussion on globalisation and how ‘small’ the world was becoming.   

One Danish alumnus was living and working in New York whilst his Canadian wife – whom he’d met at Cranfield – was with him as she is currently on maternity leave from her London based employer.   Another, also based in New York, was from India having worked in Japan and Hong Kong, whilst yet another – a Russian based in London after her MBA –  was in New York attending a conference.   Yet another with triple nationality – Irish, British and now American – is starting his own business advising finance houses on risk management.   To the other breakfasters the meeting must have seemed more like a family reunion, even though most of those at the breakfast meet regularly in New York through the Cranfield social and brainstorming alumni group.

On Saturday afternoon I attended a one-2-one session with prospective applicants at the Warwick hotel – whose claim to fame is hosting the Beatles first American press conference in 1964.   The meetings with prospective students were a little less lively but much more informative for myself and hopefully the attendees.   The sessions started at midday and finished after 6pm so the evening’s meal and particularly the drinks were very welcome.

And so to Sunday and the final MBA Fair held in the New York Hilton.   A busy afternoon, again with a selection of potential applicants that were both varied and enthusiastic.   At the end I gathered my things and dashed to JFK to catch my flight home.   It seems that every time I’m at JFK I run into someone who knows me and Sunday night proved no exception but it proved a pleasant way to conclude my business in the US. 

Winter sunshine

Some might say I’m very lucky. Having just returned from holiday in St Lucia I discover that while I was enjoying the sunshine and the many delights on a Caribbean holiday the UK suffered its heaviest fall of snow for many years. Consequently students returned to their studies at Cranfield after the Christmas break to find the University covered in crisp, deep, virgin white snow. For many MBA students, probably the majority, it was the first time that they had experienced snow and the issues it gives rise to.

Fortunately most students live on campus and could therefore walk to the School – a case of enjoying the winter landscape without incurring the difficulties of driving in heavy snow. Students will be students and many took the opportunity to participate in snow-related activities such as snowballing and sledging. And for those students whose families are with them, their children – in many cases for the first time in their lives – built snowmen and just enjoyed the experience.

Having just returned from holiday I missed the start of Term 2 which traditionally is devoted to the Project Management module. This involves, inter alia a simulation exercise which requires the students to work at a very rapid pace within their learning teams – a very good way to get them back into a learning mode having taken the opportunity to relax over Christmas. Talking of getting back into work mode, one of my first chores was to analyse the students’ feedback from Term 1. One thing we do a lot of here at Cranfield is collect – and where appropriate respond to – feedback. The response rate this year was 97 per cent – it is a similar percentage each year – which reflects the seriousness with which students take the process. Nevertheless with twelve questions per module to be either ranked or commented on the analysis of the feedback requires a lot of work.

I am pleased to say that overall the feedback was very good; a result that to my mind is enhanced by the fact that our students are more mature - with an average of nine years work experience – than is the case in other business schools. Such students are very demanding and fortunately judge our lecturing, learning support eg portals and casepacks and assessments to be of a high quality.

The next thing I must prepare is the briefing for students on their elective choices in Part II of the programme. Over the next week they will receive brief presentations from the individual faculty responsible for each elective and then they will then make their choices. This year we are adding a new elective on commercial negotiations and all electives – as is the case for core modules – must embed corporate responsibility into their curriculum.

Finally, I delayed this blog so that I could include the FT’s ranking of Cranfield’s Full Time MBA Programme. We have been placed 26th in the world which is good but I do not think it accurately reflects our standing. Forty per cent of the ranking comes down to salary and the percentage increase in salary post the MBA. By taking on mature students they already have a reasonably high salary before starting so our percentage increase is always smaller than many other schools. Though interestingly given the salaries some schools say their students are earning post their MBA and the large percentage increase, it appears their students were earning very low salaries before taking up their studies? The other category that is adverse for Cranfield is the number of faculty with doctorates. The proportion for Cranfield is 76 per cent compared to many other schools where it is around 100. But we pride ourselves on recruiting academics who have worked in industry and not just spent their lives in academia. And our students value the experiences and knowledge such people bring to the classroom. It all goes to show that a wise person considering studying for an MBA will carefully examine what lies behind the published rankings.

Management expertise

I am writing this blog as I wait to make a presentation to a group of fund managers at a meeting in a private bank in Geneva. Last night I attended a dinner where most of the guests were fund managers and at some point during the dinner the conversation turned to management or to be more correct, the rather poor state of management in professional firms. Typically, expertise in the firm’s knowledge base, eg, fund management, and longevity are the credentials for a senior management role, a recipe for bad management in all its forms.

It goes without saying that I have a vested interest in this subject, but I never cease to be amazed by the rather arrogant belief that a professional expertise and a track record of success equips a person to manage people. Determining strategic goals, aligning a company and its workforce to strategies designed to meet those goals, and consistently achieving a productive and focused performance from employees calls for a very different type of thinking and skills that are rarely acquired performing a professional function. Of one thing I am sure, they can never be obtained solely from books; some may have the correct instincts and attitudes but these can only be honed within a structured learning environment.

To my mind, indeed in the view of the Cranfield School of Management, this is the prime purpose of an MBA programme. The acquisition of the people skills necessary to understand, motivate and lead subordinates to higher levels of performance is what good MBA programmes deliver. Of course people skills can never be the sole outcome of studying for an MBA. A good MBA will also inculcate a strategic mindset; the ability to think of an organisation as the sum of its parts, to understand how its external environment is changing and the knowledge to know how to bring about change. And fundamental is a good grounding in business functions so that as a senior manager you can talk knowledgably to experts, eg, accountants, marketeers.

What an MBA should not be about – but all too often is these days – is providing an excessive focus on a functional area. It strikes me as the worst of all worlds to offer an MBA specialising in say finance or marketing. The first concern is that if a large proportion of the programme is devoted to say finance then less time and effort must necessarily be devoted to other areas, eg, management. Another concern is that students graduating from such a programme will have to compete with specialist MSc finance graduates who will have a greater grounding in the concepts and theories for functional jobs in the financial sector, eg, trading, and be less qualified than graduates from traditional MBA programmes for senior management roles.

But my greatest concern about such hybrid MBA programmes relates to the fact they are torn between enrolling newly graduated students and those who have the experience necessary to take advantage of an MBA programme. As traditionally conceived, an MBA is a post experience qualification; maximum benefit is obtained by people who seek to build on several years’ business experience and by being taught alongside such people, their learning is both deeper and richer than is the case when fellow students have little or no business experience.

Sitting alongside the fund managers at last night’s dinner only reinforced the concerns set out above. How foolish, I thought, to imagine that an MBA will provide the skills for fund management that are better provided by a grounding in finance or economics. And how foolish to imagine that an excessive focus on finance or marketing is sufficient to deliver what is needed to operate successfully as a senior manager. Dinner in Geneva reinforced my belief in the Cranfield MBA programmes. Our focus on management is good: for the clarity of learning; for the reinforcement of our students’ experience; and good for our graduates’ careers.

Getting into the swing of things

I am writing this blog as I sit in a studio waiting to do a BBC radio interview on the state of the economy. It appears from the data that the economy is on the mend and that is good news for business including business schools.

A lot of rubbish is talked about business schools doing well in recession and it is true that Cranfield saw a rise in MBA applications last year, but the very best climate for business schools is one of economic growth. In times of growing affluence, students who come to us have done so as part of a longer-term plan to improve their careers. Redundancy can be the trigger that changes someone’s life for the better, but overall I believe students get more out of their studies, applying themselves more diligently and knowing what they are looking for from an MBA if it is all part of a well thought out strategy.

Having said that we are now four weeks into the new MBA programme and the students are at that stage where they are coming to terms with a very intense workload. I know from experience that this period will last for much of this term but when it ends we will witness something of the magic of a Cranfield MBA. When students emerge from the other side of their exposure to high pressure they will be much more confident. They will know that they can put up with pressure; they will know that they have been able to cope by working with people from very diverse backgrounds and finally they will believe that no problem is beyond them. Arguably one of the most important things that we can impart to our MBA students is the confidence to believe that despite being confronted with a wide range of business problems, a diverse group of colleagues and limited time, they can deliver sensible and appropriate solutions.

Last evening saw one of my social duties as Programme Director. The occasion was the celebration of Trafalgar Day. Unfortunately I was delayed owing to a motorway accident – I was caught in the ensuing jam – and could not get there but by all accounts a great time was had by all. That’s one of the great strengths of the Cranfield MBA Programme, despite the pressure of work students find time to have fun and enjoy themselves. Long may it continue.

Another year begins...

October is always a busy if exhilarating month. It coincides with the arrival of the new MBA class who bring with them a cornucopia of personalities, the buzz of many nationalities and a smattering of issues. As I write this I am preparing for the first day of term which always starts with a welcoming ceremony at which the students are introduced to not only the administrators who will guide and support them over the coming year, but also to the orienteers who will facilitate their first week. The orienteers are tasked with helping the new students to become familiar with Cranfield and accustomed to our teaching methods. We owe much to our orienteers who, from the very start, instil in the students the collaborate team approach to learning that is the hallmark of a Cranfield MBA and something that no other leading school can replicate. Who says this is so? The students we play or compete against from other schools during the year.

Studying for an MBA is a serious business and a lot of hard work, but it should also be an enjoyable experience. And the fun starts early in orientation week. The international reception for students, their partners and families – partners and families are a consequence of focusing on experienced students – is followed the next evening with a student cabaret; always a chance to witness the range of talents students bring with them. From my perspective, the cabaret is the first opportunity to assess who might become a member of the MBA band – a Cranfield tradition – and who are likely to be the comedians and jokers. I have a good feeling about the coming year. We have exceeded our target in terms of students, GMAT scores and nationalities and with the Wall Street Journal ranking us third in the world for one year MBA programmes we are starting on a high. But starting on a high is one thing, of far more importance to me is that by the end of the year the students will all agree that they have had a fabulous time, a life changing experience and are leaving us for an exciting well-paid job.

A memorable year

August is a strange month. It is a month of expectation as my thoughts turn to the new cohort of MBA students who will be arriving towards the end of September. It is also a month of sadness. Everyday two or more students come into my office to say goodbye. They are leaving for jobs all over the world. Today alone I bid goodbye to someone going to work in San Francisco, another is leaving for Stockholm and yet another is going to Singapore.

All are excited at the prospect of a well paid, challenging job but all are also sorry to be leaving CSM. And while I am naturally pleased that students are leaving having achieved their aims in coming to CSM, I am also sad to be saying goodbye to a group of students I have come to regard as friends. Over the months I have watched them develop from nervous newcomers to confident, self-aware individuals comfortable with their business skills – a tribute to the CSM’s emphasis on leadership and people skills.

Last week the formal teaching came to an end with the students putting on a two day conference to showcase their learning before rounding it off with a ball lasting well into the early hours. Students now have three weeks to finish outstanding projects, but once they complete their projects many choose to leave.

All in all it’s been a memorable year. The class of 2009 have gained a reputation from faculty for hard work and I can attest to a reputation for playing hard. Less than a month ago they were at Portsmouth taking part, with 20 other European business schools in the CSM Regatta. Two weeks ago the MBA band rounded off their year with a concert – joined on stage by the School’s new Director, Frank Horwitz.

I am very pleased to see that the departing students are carrying on the tradition of producing a record of their year together. This takes the form of a professional looking brochure which is distributed to themselves and potential students. And the piece de resistance is a spoof-film they made about the origins of the CSM.

The American International Business Experience

Saturday 6^th June 2009

We arrived in Washington courtesy of Virgin Atlantic a little later than planned only to find the mother of all queues at immigration. Despite the delays and long day’s travelling, after a quick wash and brush up, we set off for the delights of Georgetown. After a much needed beer or two in one of Georgetown’s American bar-restaurants we settled down for a typical American meal and an opportunity for the students to reflect on their first impressions. For most this was their first time in America and for those from Asia and the Middle East it was something of a cultural shock. Americans are gregarious, a little loud and seriously in pursuit of fun. All of this underpinned by a service culture and this was something that the students remarked on as well as the large size of meals.

Sunday 7^th June 2009

The first day of our IBE was a Sunday and therefore we had a free day for sight seeing. After the mandatory visit to the White house there followed a day of visiting the Smithsonian museums and art galleries interrupted only for a very pleasant lunch – well one or two beers – made all the more enjoyable by the hot, sunny weather.

Monday 8^th June 2009

We got down to the first of our visits. The day was spent at George Washington University business school where we had lectures on the causes and consequences of the ‘credit crunch’ and corporate social responsibility, all from the perspective of the US. I was very proud to watch Cranfield students engaging in discussion and debate with the lecturers, not only regarding the financial and economic aspects of the recession but also the many issues and claims raised by CSR. The sessions were greatly enjoyed by the students, much detail, a brief case study and all highly relevant. All in all we agreed that it had been a good first day.

Tuesday 9^th June 2009

Woke up to sound of thunder and heavy rain but fortunately the rain had cleared as we set off for the World Bank. Once through the rather tedious security checks we were taken to the spacious and well appointed ’junior’ board room where we were treated first to a fascinating presentation on the world bank and the issues it faces. Then it was the student’s chance to ask questions and they did not disappoint. It was at this point that the benefits of a multinational cohort came into play. Most questions regarding issues such as poverty reduction came from people who had direct experience of the countries concerned and the outcome was a very lively discussion. The next presentation featured the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business Project’ which is essentially a ranking of the world’s nations on the basis of how easy it is for an entrepreneur to start a business. Lots of detailed information and microeconomics in this presentation before it was opened for questions.

After a very agreeable lunch in the World Bank and a quick visit to my favourite bookshop next door, we set off to the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The IFC had put together a programme of presentations regarding its investment projects and advisory services as well as issues such as the environment and technology. We also had a twenty minute talk on careers in the IFC and I could see there was interest on both sides. Again the students produced a barrage of questions eliciting interesting answers from the presenters and making me feel very proud of the experience and insights that lay behind their questions. Walking back to the hotel afterwards we all agreed it had been a cracking day before a peel of thunder sent us scurrying into a bar and a round of drinks to pass the time until the rain passed. For me my day concluded with a dinner with some alumni and a few of the students. It was great to hear how our MBA graduates are doing in America and it was also rewarding to hear past and present students swapping stories about their Cranfield experiences.

Wednesday 10^th June 2009

A little more pressure today as we need to check out and store our bags ready for the trip to New York. Once completed we set off for our meeting with Bingham - a multinational firm of attorneys specialising inter alia in the telecoms industry. At a time when the Obama administration is setting about changing the way the industry is regulated the visit proved interesting and insightful. Right on time our coach arrived at Bingham and having retrieved our luggage from the hotel we settled down for the six hours to New York arriving there shortly after 7 in the evening. A much needed drink in O’Reilly’s followed by a meal in Brendan’s and it was off to bed via a trip to Times Square.

Thursday 11^th June 2009

Our first visit took us to Brooklyn and one of America’s leading, if not the leading, micro-brewery. After a humid metro ride followed by a much needed breakfast we arrived at the Brooklyn Brewery. This was a new visit for the American IBE and our feelings as we approached the entrance were like the sky, uncertain. But what a surprise, we were met by the founder Steve Hindy who held us enthralled for more than two hours telling us of his experiences in launching what is now, after twenty years, a very successful and widely respected brewery. The visit finished with a tour of the brewery – unfortunately no time to sample the products – before we retraced our steps to the metro and uptown New York for our afternoon visit.

Our afternoon visit was a complete contrast. Whisked by high speed lift to the 56^th floor of the Citicorp building we arrived at the New York headquarters of Siemens. Unfortunately the clouds had closed in and instead of a magnificent view of New York all we could see from the window was clouds. But the presentation more than made up for the grey exterior. Siemens has a fascinating tale to tell of its experiences in the US which involved a large corporate fine, followed by a change of CEO and the implementation of a cultural change programme. The presentation also covered Siemens’ CSR programme and a discussion regarding its response to the current recession. We left the Citicorp skyscraper around five and most of the students set off for some sightseeing and shopping. I returned to the hotel with a small group of students to meet some prospective students. We returned to Brendan’s for a meal where I’m pleased to say I was able to leave much of the talking to the students.

Friday 12^th June 2009

Our last full day, started with a 7.30 breakfast meeting at J P Morgan. We all met in the hotel lobby at 6.30 and again, via the delights of the New York metro system, we arrived at our appointment precisely on time. After a breakfast of fruit and pastries we were given, in rapid order, a number of presentations on aspects of J P Morgan’s business which lasted about two and a half hours. Presentations included expert views on currency and economic developments as well as insights into the company’s investment policy and culture. All in all a very interesting visit and particularly for those students (still) interested in a career in financial services.

Our early start meant we had time to visit Wall Street before our afternoon visit so twenty minutes later – thanks again to the metro – we all stood outside ‘ground zero’ and for a few minutes contemplated the events that had brought us to the site. Then it was a brief walk to the New York Stock Exchange and Wall Street. No visit to Wall Street is complete without visiting Harry’s Bar and after modest refreshment we set off for our afternoon appointment with Towers Perrin.

It has become a tradition to finish the American IBE with a visit to Towers Perrin. A really insightful and thought provoking series of presentations demonstrating why TP is the best in the field of talent management. The three hours sped by helped by a significant array of questions from the students. It had been a long day but all agreed that it had been very worthwhile. For me the day was not yet over. Joined by two students we sampled first the delights of Palm’s – my favourite NY steak house – and then on to Greenwich Village and Café Wha where can be found one of the best rock ‘n’ roll bands in NY. It was well into Saturday before we returned to the hotel.

Saturday 13^th June 2009

For me the morning of the last day provided the opportunity for some shopping but most of the students set off sight seeing, the Statute of Liberty being particularly popular. At 3pm we met back at the hotel, our shuttle to JFK was waiting and one hour later we were checking in. The previous year our flights had been cancelled at short notice forcing us to make other arrangements at the last minute but our only problem this year was two hours of taxing around JFK before takeoff. The flight was far from full and all those who wanted to were able to stretch out on the fight home.

Reflection

I have been going to America with students for more than ten years but each year the visits, indeed the experience, seems to be getting better. Perhaps it is that Cranfield’s experience in organising the visits is improving or perhaps it is the welcome we receive from the companies we visit. Whatever the causes, all agreed that this trip had been a great business experience, hugely enjoyable, and a highlight of their year at Cranfield.

Friday 17 October 2008

The new MBA cohort have reached the milestone of the end of the first week of the Programme. To be more correct it is their second week as their first was spend under the ‘guidance’ of the orienteer’s; namely, a chosen group of graduating MBA’s who devised and administered a week of activities designed to prepare the new cohort for the rigors ahead.

Orientation week is a mixture of fun and the imparting of a lot of information, not all of which is about studies and assessments. Each night of the first week involves a fun or social activity and the official, the international student reception on the Tuesday evening – national costumes being the required dress – and the cabaret night where the streams compete to put on an entertaining show for their peers are the highlights. The serious side of orientation week involves getting students to start thinking of themselves as a member of a team, adjusting to life as a student and understanding what it is that is expected of them over the next year.

A very important event during orientation week is to elect student representatives for the streams, diversity, sports and social activities. Fortunately we are never short of volunteers despite the heavy academic workload. The streams and diversity reps do a really great job in helping to ensure the smooth running of the programme and the involvement and integration of students from many different countries and cultures.

The sports and social reps are focussed on extra-curricular activities thought it sometimes feels that their main activity is extracting money out of my budget. As I write I see posters going up for this Thursday’s MBA social evening which will take the form of a mexican party and already venues have been booked for dinners, dances and balls throughout the year. The sports reps also have a full agenda arranging sports activities that mostly take place at Cranfield by including a number of events in other parts of the world which give Cranfield students an opportunity to mix with students from many different schools.

It is around this time that my door is darkened by students who want to tell me what they are enjoying on the programme or how hard they are working or how they are missing their sleep. Others seek advice or help and yet others just want to talk. Behind it all is a degree of uncertainty regarding their ability to cope, their level of performance and a fear of failure. At this stage they require little more than reassurance, the promise of help if they find they need it and a reminder that their learning team is there to help.

Of one thing I am sure, once they have received their marks for the first bloc of assessments they will begin to relax. Once they are satisfied that they have the intellect and stamina to successfully complete the programme their outlook changes quite dramatically. Once term one is out of the way, throughout the rest of the year the number of social events, sports fixtures and kitchen parties increase exponentially. Despite the more relaxed stance of the students from term two on, the numbers darkening my door show little decline but as noted above the focus switches to obtain funding or some other element of support for their activities. Some things in life are highly predictable, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.

29th February 2008

Friday evening and I’m seeing off the team who will represent the School at the European finals of the Venture Capital Investment Competition to be held in London tomorrow.   Despite a busy week the team is in good spirits and they will gain enormously from the experience and the networking opportunities that arise from these events.   As the minibus taking them to their London hotel departs from their hall of residence into the dusk, I walk back to the School with Stephanie, who lectures on the Entrepreneurship and Value Creation elective.   Stephanie has all the characteristics of her German nationality, she works very hard and is utterly committed to helping students who want to establish their own business or undertake a project for a small company.   In the two years since she joined Professor Andrew Burke in The Bettany Centre for Entrepreneurial Performance and Economics, she has been instrumental in setting up the Entrepreneurship Club which, inter alia, regularly hosts talks by successful self-make entrepreneurs at the School.   She has also leveraged the Cranfield (Small) Business Growth Programme to enable students who are so minded to undertake projects for one of the 600 plus small businesses where growth plans are linked to the School through this programme.

Friday also marked another significant event; namely, the appointment of two Deputy Directors for the Full Time and Executive MBA Programmes.   Catarina Figueira, who lectures on the Strategic Decision Science module, has been appointed to help myself and Graham Clark, the Director of the Executive MBA Programme to undertake projects relating to the MBA programmes and admission.   David Simmons will use his role as Deputy Director to expand our MBA recruiting activities around the world and he is going to involve, to a much greater extent than before, our 11,000 alumni in our recruiting activities.

One issue I am dealing with at the moment is the extent of the support I give to the students wishing to attend the MBA Football World Cup to be held in Boston in May and those wishing to attend the MBA sports tournament in Paris shortly before.   As if that wasn’t enough, I am being pressed to find funding to help out with Cranfield’s MBA Regatta – where many of the leading business schools compete in races around the Isle of White for two days – and to subsidise a table at the Sportsman’s Dinner – an event organised by Cranfield MBA students to raise money for the Colin Javens Spinal Injury Trust.   This year it is to be held at the Emirates Stadium, the home of Arsenal Football Club.   In the best tradition of leadership I have decided to invite all the sports and social reps to a meeting where they can hone their negotiating skills with one another and come up with reasonable solutions.

I have one last task before I head off for the weekend: a photo call with the MBA students who are running this year’s London marathon.   It must be clear by now that a large part of my time is taken up with these extra curricula events.   The students are raising money for a charity that trains dogs to help people who are deaf and consequently they run the marathon inside a large dog – only their heads and feet are visible – a sight that owes more to a centipede than a four legged canine.   Last year they raised about £25,000 for the Charity and I’m sure they will do better this year.  Did I say head off for the weekend?   Tomorrow I’m attending the QS MBA fair in London, so a busy afternoon is in store and a somewhat truncated weekend.

Term 2

Following the intensity of Term 1 and the trauma that always accompanies its ending with exams, there is always a tendency for students to relax a little at the start of Term 2.   The first three or four weeks of Term 2 have traditionally been a period when a lot of planning goes into the fund raising activities that will take place over the coming months.   The focus for fund raising is the London Marathon and for many years the School has fielded a team of runners who last year ran inside a dog costume – a rather elongated dog that bore more relationship to a centipede than a canine –  to raise many thousands of pounds for a charity providing dogs for the deaf.

One student was so anxious to start the fund raising that he volunteered to be publicly waxed from the neck down during the Burn’s night celebration.   Perhaps he hoped that under the influence of the other excesses of Burn’s night the waxing would not be taken too seriously.   If so, he couldn’t have been more wrong.   We now have one very shiny, smooth student – if a little sore – and the charity that is £1,100 richer as a result.   But its not all fun.   As I write, the students are preparing for their second assessment of Term 2: the Finance WAC.   WAC stands for Written Assessment of a Case Study and this form of assessment is a Cranfield tradition.   Over the year, students will undertake several WACs.   In essence the WACs are all about training students to cope with pressure.   The case study will raise complex issues for which there may be no obvious answer and students have only a very limited time to complete and hand-in their report.   WACs are always given out at one o’clock on Friday and the report dealing with one or more issues raised in the case study must be handed in by 4pm on the Saturday.   Marks are deducted for even a few minutes lateness.   The students work together in teams to prepare answers and appendices, but the final report – which attracts penalties if it is longer than 1,500 words – must be their own work.   As a training for writing business reports, the WACs are very hard to beat.   As an exercise in sleep deprivation they are also hard to beat.

One of my tasks as Director of the Full Time MBA Programme is to chair bi-weekly meetings with student representatives.   These meetings deal mainly with items that behaviourists would describe as hygiene factors, that is, they contribute to the smooth running of the programme and the students’ engagement.   It never ceases to amaze me as to the number of ‘events’ that the students would like subsidised in the furtherance of building a cohesive, hard-working cohort.   Items that have appeared recently on the student reps agenda include funding for musical instruments for the student band, a mini orientation at the start of Term 2 and food for international week events.

International week is a highlight of the MBA year.   Over the course of a week the students, who this year come from 37 countries, have the opportunity to introduce their fellow students to the life and culture of their countries.   Groups of countries from the same region put up their displays for a day and in the evening there is food and frequently drinks from the region.   It is all very interesting and colourful though I must admit that some of the national drinks – at least that’s what they told me – I was inveigled to taste left a rather distinct taste in my mouth and a less than clear head the following day.   International week ends with a cabaret – each region entertains with music, song and comedy – which I thoroughly enjoyed, and again, I awoke the following day with a less than clear head.