Robert H. Smith School of Business
January 10th, 2012 by Alissa under General EMBA News, Uncategorized. No Comments.
Next week the 12th cohort of EMBAs will embark upon a life-changing journey at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business!
We are excited to introduce a new EMBA student blogger who will chronicle her experience throughout the program.
Visit Rebecca’s blog here: http://blogs.rhsmith.umd.edu/rwinner
October 3rd, 2011 by Greg Hanifee under Uncategorized. No Comments.
Chamberlain's Stand
That’s the question a friend of mine has posed to me over the past several weeks: she’s incredulous that the Smith School of Business has invested time in building experiential programming around a three-day battle fought nearly a century and a half ago, where the dead and wounded number in the tens of thousands. My friend is no slouch, by the way, when it comes to leadership and understanding history – so it’s not as if she struggles with the connections that could be made, it’s perhaps this single bloody event in our country’s young history that makes it challenging for her healthy skepticism to see the rewards at the end of the program.
So, with that constructive challenge in my head, I entered into last Friday’s Executive MBA Alumni Trip to Gettysburg with a different lens – is this something I just feel good about because I’ve been involved from the outset of this program, or are there real lessons? Having worked with Dr. Hugh Courtney, Vice Dean of Programs at the Smith School, in forming the partnership with the Gettysburg Foundation in 2010, this was not the first time I had brought a group of executives to Gettysburg National Park, so I knew the lessons we taught can be impactful. Yet, as we know in life and business, sometimes if we are too close to a program or project, we fail to see any inconsistencies or short-comings … so, I was invigorated to view the one and one-half day experiential program at Gettysburg with fresh eyes.
And this was a new kind of group – an Alumni life-long learning event for our Executive MBA program (a huge shout out to entire group that joined us, especially Fernando coming all the way from Mexico!). My prior trips to Gettysburg were with corporate clients where we integrated the Gettysburg lessons into custom leadership development programs. The programs designed for CSX Transportation (CSX), Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Force 3, for example, typically bring groups of future leaders together and the themes covered during the battlefield tour and de-briefs afterward are customized and targeted to the company’s specific competencies. This past weekend’s program was specifically designed for our Executive MBA Alumni, as both a reunion/networking event, as well as a life-long learning opportunity.
Preparing for Pickett's Charge
From viewing “A New Birth of Freedom,” through the day-long tour of the battlefield with uber-guide Sue Boardman from the Gettysburg Foundation, to the viewing of the beautiful Cyclorama at the end of the day – it was an active and engaging experience. We rested for a while, then gathered again for a fantastic dinner at the Cashtown Inn (home of Robert E. Lee’s pre-Gettysburg headquarters prior to the battle) for informal discussion and more networking. Saturday morning we de-briefed the prior day’s lessons as a group, led by our Distinguished Tyser Teaching Fellow, Dr. Joyce E.A. Russell. It would be easy to declare “victory” against my friend’s skepticism by sharing the glowing post-program survey results and comments (which no matter what group we have worked with, scores have always been at the highest levels). What I would say, is that each time I experience the battlefield tour and post-tour discussions, inevitably someone in each group discovers and owns a new lesson. Buford’s decisiveness and ingenuity; Reynold’s micromanagement style that gets him killed; Lee’s winning record – did that lead to hubris that causes him to press on the offensive?; Longstreet’s inability to convince Lee not to attack; Meade’s “Council of War” which shows inclusive decision-making skills; and of course, Chamberlain’s charisma and leadership skills, combined with his desire to learn military tactics over the course of the war, which he knew was his weakness. That’s what I love about this kind of experiential learning, there’s always more to learn and connect to our own lives.
And speaking of connecting, the other consistent benefit for organizations and individuals I’ve seen is the ability of the participants to build relationships within organizations or, as with our recent weekend, to grow networks outside your workplace.
The bottom line for our Executive Education team is to always provide exceptional, value-driven education experiences that move people and companies forward. The Gettysburg Leadership experience, I’m proud to say, has once again provided an emotional, stimulating and rewarding experience for yet another group of executives. This time I came away with a strong feeling that what we’re doing is impactful, but the lesson for me is clear – don’t take success for granted – be proactive and ask your skeptics to question what you do, you may find something to improve upon.
EMBA Alums with Lincoln (gift of Robert Smith)
So, in the end, perhaps the lesson for me is simply I just need to be a better salesperson and get my skeptical friend into one of our programs …
If you’d like to learn more about the Smith School of Business’ Executive MBA program or custom executive education, contact Greg at ghanifee@rhsmith.umd.edu. He may be on the phone trying to convince his friend to join a group in Gettysburg, so email is probably the best alternative.
September 15th, 2011 by Alissa under General EMBA News, Uncategorized. No Comments.
The Economist’s Which MBA? Executive MBA Fair is being held Sept. 21-22.
You can meet admissions officers from Executive MBA programs around the world at this FREE online fair.
Gain insight into the Smith Executive MBA experience by chatting with alumni, watching webinars and videos and downloading resources
Sign up free or learn more online now: http://registerembafair.whichmba.com/?source=smith
August 1st, 2011 by Alissa under Uncategorized. No Comments.
Smith EMBA Class of 2011
On July 28, 2011, the 10th cohort of executive MBA students celebrated the end of their 19-month journey at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. The 35 executives joined in Van Munching Hall’s Frank Auditorium with family, friends and members of the Smith School community for a recognition ceremony to honor their accomplishments.
Smith School Dean G. “Anand” Anandalingam, who has taught in the Smith EMBA program, said the program is a great learning experience not just for the students but also for the faculty members because of the quality of exchange that takes place in the classroom. He urged the new alumni to continue to focus on issues surrounding globalization, entrepreneurship/innovation and social value creation in their professional and personal lives. Don’t just do your job, give back to the community, he said.
Adored by the students, cohort director Progyan Basu addressed the class in a heartfelt salute, honoring them for their dedication and perseverance. “It seems like a long 19 months,” said Basu. “But it also seems like it was just the other day that you started. Well, which is it?” He asked. All of the students chimed in: “It depends!” If there is one thing a Smith EMBA student learns from Basu, a Tyser Teaching Fellow of Accounting, it’s that the answer is always, “it depends!”
Josh Weiner, student speaker, gave a humorous and entertaining presentation that helped encapsulate the Smith EMBA experience in a PowerPoint slideshow, using the “B-School Translator 12” for the non-business minds in the audience.
Greg Hanifee, assistant dean of executive programs, closed out the ceremony by encouraging students to stay connected with each other and the Smith School. “My connection to you is special and I believe in the power of music to translate and transcend emotions,” said Hanifee, who also has an MBA from the Smith School. He recited these words from the REM song “I Believe,” with great impact:
Trust in your calling, make sure your calling’s true
Think of others, the others think of you
Silly rule golden words make, practice, practice makes perfect,
Perfect is a fault, and fault lines change
The students had just finished up a weeklong capstone business simulation project prior to their ceremony. Adam Bell, the president of one of the winning teams in the competition said, “Special thanks to all of the faculty, staff, executive coaches, and all those who helped design and execute the best EMBA program in the region. Additionally, thanks to Cohort X for making the learning experience so valuable through their contributions and perspectives.” Bell also gave some words of wisdom to prospective EMBA students: “Immerse yourself in the program and enjoy the ride. Use the program to really expand yourself professionally and personally. You truly do get out of the program what you put in,” said Bell.
The Smith School launched its Executive MBA program in the U.S. and Beijing, China, in 2003. The Smith School also partners with SAIC to offer an executive MBA program for its employees. For more information about the Smith EMBA program, visit: www.rhsmith.umd.edu/emba.
July 28th, 2011 by Alissa under General EMBA News, Uncategorized. No Comments.
 Venture capitalists look on to see which company to invest in during the VC fair portion of the BizSim competition |
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 Students present to VCs for funding |
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 Venture capitalists look on in the VC fair portion of the BizSim |
It’s just a game, but the bragging rights last a lifetime. The capstone project for the executive MBA program at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business is a business simulation game (BizSim for short) that allows students to put all of the business skills they learned over the 19-month program into play. The game, called “Marketplace,” from Innovative Learning Solutions, has strict deadlines and requires rapid decision making – it makes for a very exciting and intense final week and is always a highlight of the Smith EMBA experience.
“We instituted the simulation with the first EMBA cohort in May 2004 and it has been a success as a wrap up capstone project ever since,” says Joyce E. A. Russell, distinguished Tyser Teaching Fellow and faculty leader of the business simulation. “It requires EMBAs to integrate all the functional content they have learned in the program in a challenging, competitive fashion. It also enables them to test out their leadership and teamwork skills under intense pressure. It’s amazing what the teams are able to accomplish – truly impressive.”
Adam S. Bell, EMBA ’11, echoes Russell’s sentiments. Bell, president of winning team Xtreme Technology Computers, says the game integrated the various subject matter topics he learned throughout the program. “The game also emphasized leadership and teamwork, as there was a lot of work to be done in a short period of time, and having the right team was key to success,” says Bell, director of strategic planning in Corporate Strategy and Development at Constellation Energy. “It felt good to win, but more importantly, it felt better to have fun as a team with some laughs throughout the capstone experience.”
In the simulation, students are teamed up to form a company and compete against each other in a virtual universe selling microcomputers. Each firm introduces new lines of microcomputers into 20 international markets. The goal is to build a profitable company. There are five market segments to serve in the PC market. Each segment has different needs and each requires a different marketing strategy.
During the eight quarters of the game, teams are provided with market research and a balanced scorecard, which is the most important measure of the firm’s total performance. It evaluates performance in all areas of business to produce a total score. The changing economic and political situation affects the attractiveness and cost of business in each market. Each student takes on a different role in the company – president, manufacturing, sales, marketing, human resources, market research, accounting, and finance – and each are responsible for making decisions related to their business function. Decisions include everything from product design and R&D development to sales force allocation and ad placement.
“The capstone business simulation provided a good synthesis of the EMBA approach taken at Smith,” says Lauren Good, EMBA ’11 and president of winning team Ocean Computing. “Smith’s leadership focus requires a certain level of competency across all business disciplines, with the understanding that executives are not experts in each. In the simulation, using the balanced scorecard as the measurement metric reinforced our need to balance often-conflicting demands as we allocated our limited resources, and resource allocation should be directly aligned with the overall organizational strategy. Our team recognized this early, and aimed at being in the top quartile in every metric, understanding that the exercise didn’t require that we lead in each to perform the best overall.”
In the middle of the game, teams pitch their business plan to a group of venture capitalists in the hopes of getting up to $5 million in funding. The venture capitalist (VC) role is played by former alumni of the executive MBA program, professors and real-life VCs. The teams give a 15-minute pitch to the group and then during a VC fair are able to negotiate stock price and investment value. Each VC is given approximately $2-3 million to invest in one or more teams. The VCs are also competing against each other to get the best return on investment. Russell notes: “This is one of the most exciting parts of the simulation experience. The VCs (especially the EMBA alums) fight pretty hard to see which of them will get the greatest ROI. They also provide excellent insights to the teams and help to build the Smith EMBA community.”
Chris Wolske, EMBA ’06, is a specialist master at Deloitte and member of cohort 5. He’s been back to serve as a VC multiple times since he graduated. “I keep coming back to meet people from the new cohort, and to welcome them into the Smith EMBA alumni community – hopefully setting an example that they will want to follow,” says Wolske.
Sol Ross, EMBA ’05, is a member of cohort 2 and he keeps coming back as a VC, as well. He’s often won the greatest ROI among VCs and says, “It’s fun to get negotiation experience with absolutely no downside. I want them to do an alumni version! It’s a good capstone project – holds your feet to the fire for five straight days.”
Wolske says he uses his own BizSim experience to help him with his VC picks. “I look for the team that is well-positioned to dominate the biggest markets, and committed to that focus and not distracted by the lesser markets. Our team didn’t focus on the big markets, and we could never catch up to those who did.”
For Chris Hiltbrand, EMBA ’07, AVP and deputy HR director at SAIC, it was his first time as a VC. “I really enjoyed being on the other side of the fence,” says Hiltbrand. “My strategy was to listen and take good notes. I was looking for a team who really seemed to understand the elements of the game, so I looked at adjustments made from Q1 through Q4.” It served him well. Hiltbrand was declared one of the most helpful VCs by the students and earned a great ROI in the game.
Sudhakar Jale, EMBA ’10, senior marketing manager at W.R. Grace, had the best ROI in the competition and was also rated as one of the most helpful VCs. “I was looking more into the future strategy of the company rather than where they were at that stage and more importantly the chemistry among the team members,” says Jale. “I picked the team during the presentation and was able to grab the opportunity to invest all.”
Jale won the competition last year as a student in Cohort 9. “We had a great team,” he says. “I was fortunate to be part of the team with whom I had good relationship during earlier assignments. We often talk about the game when we meet.”
The Smith EMBA BizSim experience is something that sticks with you – win or lose. Russell says she continues to hear from previous EMBAs about the BizSim experience their cohort had, and “what might have happened if only they had one more quarter to play.”
“I still contend that if we had two more quarters, our team/strategy could have pulled ahead,” says Wolske. “It’s become a running joke with some of my classmates. They remember the espresso machine I kept in the team room. I believe coffee worked as leverage in one of our licensing negotiations.”
Ross said his team was awarded a lightsaber for the firm with the greatest investment in the future and most likely to come back to win. “I still have it. Of course we still talk about the game, I won’t let it go.”
The Smith School launched its Executive MBA program in the U.S. and Beijing, China, in 2003. The Smith School also partners with SAIC to offer an executive MBA program for its employees. For more information about the Smith EMBA program, visit: www.rhsmith.umd.edu/emba.
April 26th, 2011 by Alissa under Uncategorized. No Comments.
Read about the latest news in the spring issue of Smith Business Magazine:
http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/smithbusiness/Spring2011/
Feature Stories:
| Dingman’s Big Birthday The renowned entrepreneurship center has made a big impact— not just on students, but on the whole mid-Atlantic region. |
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| The Godfather of Entrepreneurship Rudy Lamone  |
March 26th, 2011 by Alissa under Uncategorized. No Comments.
Check out the spring issue of Research@Smith for news on faculty research.
Predicting—and Preventing—Turnover
Research by Gilad Chen
Changes in job satisfaction are a good predictor of an employee’s turnover intentions.
Conference Calls for Merger Announcements
Research by Michael Kimbrough
Conference calls around merger announcements help companies gain credibility and favorably influence stock prices, but only if your CEO is well-spoken and well-prepared.
Public-Private Institutions in Emerging Markets
Research by Rafael Corredoira
Argentina’s government-sponsored institutions helped the wine industry thrive.
Supply Chain Management Center
Managing cyber supply chains in a risky and volatile world.
February 15th, 2011 by Alissa under Uncategorized. No Comments.
Smith EMBA Community Event
The Evolving Healthcare Landscape and Its Implications: A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective
Thursday, March 10, 2011 from 6 to 8 p.m.
St. Gregory Hotel 2033 M Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20036 [ map ]
www.stgregoryhotelwdc.com
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| Professor Ritu Agarwal was recently named 2011-2012 Distinguished Scholar – Teacher by the University of Maryland |
Please join us for an EMBA community networking reception on March 10 at the St. Gregory Hotel in Washington, D.C. This free event is a great opportunity to reconnect with former classmates and your favorite faculty. Vice Dean Dr. Hugh Courtney and the newly appointed Assistant Dean of Executive Programs Greg Hanifee will be in attendance to meet and reconnect.
Smith EMBA alumni and current students along with your guests are invited to attend. If you’re considering the Smith EMBA program for next January, this is an excellent opportunity to learn about the program and meet former students.
The event will include a brief discussion and Q&A led by distinguished faculty member Dr. Ritu Agarwal, Dean’s Chair of Information Systems and director of the Center for Health Information and Decision Systems (CHIDS), with a panel of smith EMBA alumni. The healthcare system in the United States is undergoing a radical transformation. The controversial healthcare reform bill has raised concerns on a number of significant issues. Among these issues are healthcare quality and access, a push to digitize healthcare, and an increasing national healthcare cost burden. How are various stakeholders responding to these challenges? What are the implications of the impending changes for the government, the military, the medical profession, and different types of business organizations? Join us for a night of networking and stimulating discussion as we attempt to define the new healthcare landscape.
Panelists include:
Cost of Event: Free
Dress Code: Business Attire/Business Causal
Valet Parking: Available for $5
For more information, please contact: smithevents@rhsmith.umd.edu.
January 15th, 2011 by Alissa under General EMBA News. No Comments.
Most people are pleased and impressed with the quality of classmates they meet in the Smith School’s Executive MBA program. But Rajiv Jain, MBA ’09, credits his EMBA cohort with helping him get his company through the recession.
Jain, a technology entrepreneur, is co-founder and CEO of A2Zinc., which produces software for managing and marketing tradeshows and conferences for organizations such as the National Association of Broadcasters and the National Restaurateurs Association.
Jain had worked for a trade association after graduating from Clemson with a masters degree in textile engineering. “When I put their trade show online, I thought, ‘if I can do it for this company, I can do it for any company. I could do it for many companies,’” says Jain.
Full Story in Fall 2010 Smith Business Magazine
January 3rd, 2011 by Alissa under General EMBA News, Hugh Courtney. No Comments.
“Will 2011 be the year you become a volunteer? I’m not talking about working for free, but rather going above and beyond at your place of employment. The late, great management pioneer Peter Drucker believed that organization leaders should always think of their employees as volunteers. There is a big difference for any worker between what he or she has to do to “succeed” and what he could really do if he was fully engaged in work. It’s those truly engaged employees who are almost always volunteering — giving their all not because they have to, but because they choose to. There is incredible untapped potential in all those who could be volunteering at work.”
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