Queen's MBA: Going the Distance

Two Years After Completing My MBA

2011-04-25T18:19:00.006-06:00

It has now been two full years to the day since I completed the MBA at Queen's. I find myself in the same apartment after a day at work three years after starting the MBA, two and a half years after the worst financial crisis in my memorable history and two years after completing the MBA. The economy is improving, slowly, and it is much stronger than when I graduated. The good news for me is that my chosen industry, oil and gas, is doing better than most. “A rising tide floats all ships,” as they say, and I feel like I have chosen the right tide indeed.

Right now I am working in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. However, I am not in the role I took originally. After six months in my previous position, as a Market Analyst with a manufacture of tubular products for the oil and gas industry, I conducted a self review. I took stock of where I was at, where I was going, how I was fitting into the organization I had joined and where I would fit in the future. The tough truth was that it wasn't the right fit.

After taking time to figure out exactly where I wanted to go, I started talking to friends, colleagues and recruiters. In the end, a friend referred me to a position that I absolutely love.

I am currently an Exploitation Engineer with a large Canadian exploration and production company in their Acquisition and Divestment team. As professional engineer with a background in reservoir engineering and evaluation engineering I have a solid understanding of the technical and economic aspects of oil and gas. With my MBA I am able to go through the financial and corporate materials of small companies we are assessing for acquisition opportunities. It is the perfect place for me to be since it satisfies my desire to learn more about the corporate finance side of the business without necessarily having to take on a banking role, while at the same time allowing me to maintain my professional engineering status I worked so hard to get in the first place.

In addition, this role is definitely helping me advance toward my long-term goal of assembling a skill set that will allow me to be a member of a senior leadership team within an oil and gas exploration and production company in the future. Also, this position came with a raise that has put me above my pre-MBA earning level. It took bit of time with the downturn, but everything is looking up now.

This past year has seen some of my MBA colleague move into new positions as they found their dream jobs. In addition, the last few people who were holding out for the perfect job were successful. With those changes, I would say that the majority of my class has been successful in pursuing the dreams they set out to achieve when they started the MBA.

The class has drifted significantly apart in the past year. I see the one classmate here in Calgary about once a month, but I only hear from my other classmates about every six months and then it is only a few select people who make the effort. This is completely understandable as people move forward with their lives. From what I have been able to tell it is the same even when there are a lot of them in the same city (i.e. Toronto).

I have been attending a few of the alumni events for the business school and for the MBA program. It is here that I stay in touch with the administration staff and meet past as well as new grads. Through the administration staff I am able to hear about what my other colleagues are up to and what is new with the program. Also, I am able to help with information sessions when the school comes to town to promote the program and the school. It is during these visits as well that I have been able to learn that the placement level of the current class has returned to pre-crash levels.

Overall, my decision to complete an MBA has been a good one. It is taking a little longer for my career to get moving again than I had anticipated, but that is to be expected with what happened in the economy. However, I can definitely see where the MBA is already helping me advance and where it will help me in the future.

Well, that sums it up for my two year entry.

Until next time,
Appleseed

One Year After Completing My MBA

2010-04-25T15:12:00.005-06:00

It has now been one year to the day since I completed the MBA program at Queen's and I find myself sitting in my apartment enjoying the weekend re-charging for another week of work. Twelve months, gone. It is hard to believe so much time has passed. Even more strange is contemplating that almost exactly two years ago I was just starting the MBA program at Queen's. So, one year later, what has the MBA done for my career, would I do it again and where is the class? Hopefully I can answer these questions with this posting.

Right now, I find myself working back in downtown Calgary,Alberta, Canada. I'm in a role as a Market Analyst for a large multinational corporation that manufactures pipe and sells it to the oil and gas industry. The role I have been hired to fill uses both my engineering and industry experience as well as my MBA. The organization is very MBA "friendly" as there are people with MBAs throughout; even a few with the MBA/engineering combination I have. I did, however, have to take a slight pay cut from my pre-MBA salary, but that is to be expected with the economic downturn. In addition, it took me seven months to find this position. Also, I am working with my supervisors to expand my role as I am finding I could take on more responsibilities.

Overall, I am very happy with my decision to return to for an MBA. Although it took me seven months to find a position and I had to take a pay cut afterwards, I count myself lucky. I believe both of these can be attributed to the economic downturn, which I would have needed to navigate regardless since I couldn't have stayed in my pre-MBA position for much longer. I look at where I would have been if I had not returned for my MBA and I am very glad I did return to school. Without my MBA I would have had to try to find a different purely engineering position in an environment filled with more qualified people, with no additional skill set to offer and I would have had to take a pay cut since I would have been leaving the lucrative world of consulting. The MBA allowed me to leverage my previous experience and find a rewarding job with future growth potential with only a minor pay cut despite the economic downturn.

The summary, bullet point format, of where I am one year later:

In an MBA role that uses my previous experience
With a company that values both my MBA and previous experience
With a company that has long term career growth potential
Slight pay cut, but this can be attributed to the economic downturn
Took seven months to find this job after graduation, but again this can be attributed to the economic downturn

As for the class, there are still a few people looking for jobs. However, it seems that the biggest barrier for these people is there limited work experience prior to completing the MBA and/or their commitment to staying focused on just one type/segment of work (e.g. only want to work for bio-tech start-up firms in a business role). As a whole, almost everyone has found employment. I'm sure the employment statistics are not pretty for my graduating year, but that holds true for MBA grads across the board.

The class has managed to say in touch somewhat, but some people have disappeared. My wife and I have returned to Toronto once for a classmates wedding reception, which was great since we got to see a lot the class. Also, there are a lot of weddings happening now that the program is complete. These are couples that were met while in the MBA as well as people who had been together prior to starting the MBA. Overall, a lot our classmates have lost touch as their post-MBA jobs and lives take up their time. However, since we all know each other so well, because it is a smaller program, there is never any hesitation to pick up the phone or drop someone an e-mail to say "hi" or to meet up if they are passing through town. I have met up with several of my colleagues as they pass through my town on business and I suspect I will continue to do so as the years go by.

Another interesting aspect of the post-MBA life is being invited to attend information sessions to answers questions from perspective MBA students. It is strange since I know I was once in their shoes. Also, it is a nice way to stay in touch with some of the faculty that travel to put these information sessions on. Furthermore, it has been interesting to become a member of the Queen's University and Queen's School of Business alumni community in my city.

That about covers my one year entry. If you, as a reader, have questions please feel free to write, but be aware that I don't check this e-mail as frequently as I once did. I may write a one and a half year or two year entry if the mood strikes me, but if not, this is likely my final post. It has been fun to write this blog and I hope others have enjoyed reading it.

Until next time,
Appleseed

Hired!

2009-11-25T11:39:00.006-07:00

Well, it has been over 7 months since my last test at Queen's and over 300 CVs sent out, but I now have a job. It has been a struggle to find opportunities as the economy is down and even harder to secure interviews as there are a lot of qualified people looking for work too. However, by persisting, using all the tools available to me and being able to show some adaptability it all turned out in the end.

I will be working as a Market Analyst for a company in Calgary, Alberta, Canada that manufactures and sells drilling pipe. This is not where I saw myself when I entered the MBA program, but the company is a great fit and the position require both my oil and gas engineering background as well as my MBA education, which is exactly what I was looking for. In addition, this will put me back in the heart of Calgary and if for some reason this doesn't workout, which I don't see why it wouldn't, I will be in a good place to see what else is around.

The main job hunting method that helped me get this job was networking and my school's alumni network. By attending a Queen's School of Business event I was directed to contact an alumni relations person who in turn forwarded my resume to this company. As it turns out, this company has a strong relationship with the school and that helped too.

All the other methods were very helpful too, but this was the one that got me the opportunity I signed on with. Sending resumes to specific advertised position worked. Sending resumes to companies "cold" worked, but only if the timing coincidentally happened to be right. Sending resumes through recruiters (a.k.a. headhunters) worked. However, it was through face to face networking that I found this opportunity.

Most positions I found were advertised on company websites. Although eluta.ca and indeed.ca were helpful, I found that they were not as thorough as going though the company websites myself. They will likely improve in the future, but at this time they seem only to find jobs posted on larger companies' websites or jobs that have been posted for a few weeks. Their major weakness was finding jobs posted by smaller companies. Sometimes these companies don't post a html job description and instead opt for a PDF of a scanned print of the job description. A bit low tech, true, but effective none the less. These PDFs, however, do not get "crawled" by the job search engines and as a result you do not see them in the results. So I recommend going through a list of specific companies once a week to check postings as well as using job posting search engines.

Because I found this job so close to Christmas, my start date has been delayed to the new year. By the time the company can get all the required IT and HR items in place, a lot of people will be gone on vacation and the company doesn't think there will be any point in my starting prior to the new year. So, I am unemployed for another month, but it will give me time to look for a suitable place to rent and spend some time with my family.

Overall, the hardest part has been keeping my moral up. Nobody wants to interview or hire someone who is "down in the dumps", but it is hard not to feel that way when you graduate from an excellent MBA program and can't find a job for months. Talking with the career counsellor at Queen's, working out regularly and getting out to network were the three major things that I did to stay positive. Having a supportive wife, family and a group of understanding friends were major factors outside of my immediate control that helped me through this tough time as well.

My advice to anyone going back for an MBA is to make sure you "plan for the worst and hope for the best". Make sure you have your support system in place prior to entering the program just in case you need it. With luck, you won't, but it sure helps to have it there if you need it.

Six Months After Completing My MBA

2009-10-26T11:36:00.005-06:00

Six full months have passed since I completed my MBA at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. I find myself sitting at the kitchen table of my in-laws. When I returned to school, I definitely did not think I would find myself still looking for employment six months after completing my degree. I am very thankful for the support my family has given me during this trying time. It has not been completely without opportunity, it is just that none of those opportunities have turned into job offers.

I have been fortunate enough to be included in an article in Canadian Business magazine that was just released and is centered around MBA degrees. I am one of several people they profiled. The Business Career Centre and Marketing Department at Queen's University recommended me as a potential candidate when asked by the magazine. This may turn up some leads, but it might also not. Great exposure to get during a job hunt and I'm thankful for the opportunity.

A lot of my classmates have found employment. I'm not sure what the exact numbers are, but next month the school is due to publish the class stats. Although I have been counting the days since my last test, the career centre counts them from graduation. Their"six months" employment stat count is a month further away. Speaking of the career center, the career centre saw two of their most experienced people depart. A loss for the students, for sure, but the opportunity for new people to try a new approach perhaps. Should be interesting to see where things go.

There has been a lot of opportunities since my last post three months ago. One alum I met with contacted me to see if I would work on contract for his newly forming oil and gas advisory service. However, after this initial contact I have heard nothing. After tracking him down, it turns out that he is doing okay, but there is no room to take someone on with no experience. Although it was flattering to be contacted regarding this opportunity, there is no way it will actually result in a position, which is frustrating.

I have also been exploring traditional engineering jobs that would not make use of my MBA. A recruiter that contacted me had a client who was looking for an A&D/Exploitation Engineer and I was the first name that came to mind. Again, however, this turned into months of delays. First it was that they were "taking their time to review candidates". Then it was "the VP is on holidays for two weeks". Next it was "they are very busy". Then I hear they bought another company. All of these delays are understandable. After all of these delays, they went with another candidate and I never even got a call for an interview. I was a perfect fit for the job description, but with the economy the way it is, there is a lot of highly qualified people in the market making competition tough. Once again, it was flattering to be thought of for this opportunity, but very frustrating it hasn't turned into anything substantial. Following this same stream of job hunting I have found a Development Engineering position with a great organization in Calgary, but I still need to see if anything happens with this position after meeting with the recruiter trying to fill it.
Yet another opportunity came from the Queen's Business Career Centre (BCC). A former alumni asked the BCC , in confidence, to provide a few candidates for a potential position. They did not want to post an advertisement and they had not been happy with the results of the internal recruiting process they had almost completed. So, myself and one other classmate were recommended. I met this individual for coffee. It seemed like a dream fit and that everything should be a "go". This was just after the middle of August and the next round of interviews were promised for the first week of September. Then it was that it would take four to six weeks for HR to get things going and get an official interview. Next it was that he had been "too busy to start the process". After that it was that he would be on vacation for the next week. Then he gets back to me only to tell me he has been too busy with merging different division to start the process so it should be another four to six weeks. Then I get a message that a job posting has been sent out that closed on Oct. 7th and I will find out on Oct. 13th if I make it to the next round. It was delayed, again. Now interviews are supposed to be happening on Nov. 11th, but with a track record like the one this potential opportunity has, I won't be holding my breath. I was fortunate enough to discuss this with a career coach at Queen's and the conclusion I have come to is that all I can do is keep being "nice" and find other jobs. Yet again, it was flattering to be thought of for this opportunity, but very frustrating it hasn't turned into anything substantial.

The opportunity with Hatch that I mentioned earlier has dried up. They sent a few e-mails delaying the process and now they have just gone silent.

One of the best things I have done is contact and meet the Queen's University alumni in Calgary as well as attend a Queen's School of Business alumni event in Calgary. Both of these have resulting in strong leads. I couldn't believe that Queen's University has a person in Calgary that they pay to stay in touch with alumni and put them in touch with each other where appropriate. Contacting and meeting this single individual has resulting in an excellent opportunity I would never have found on my own. I have already had a first round of interviews for a position in the Marketing Division of a Multi-national company that sells pipe and the second round is for next week. This could be the opportunity I have been waiting for.

On another note, there have been some interesting consequences of expanding the class. The class size is 111 people. However, there are only a maximum of 80 people per class allowed in the electives. As a result, when it came to choosing electives there was a line-up of people outside the office at 6:30 AM, which opens at 8 AM, as people tried desperately to get the classes they wanted. I'm sure with different students having different goals and people going on exchange that everyone will get what they want for the most part, but its still tough on the students.

All that aside, I have strengthened my resolve to simply find a position that uses my skills and has decent compensation, whatever that may be. I am casting my net as wide as possible, applying for anything that I could even plausibly think of doing and that my skill set could fulfill, even if it is a long shot. From all business (i.e. Investor Relations or Financial Analyst) to all engineering (i.e. Exploitation Engineer or Development Engineer) and everything in between. I have designed myself a business card and put a three bullet point "mini-CV" on the back so I could network like never before and continue to look for and attend any possible alumni or professional event as I can. This "new" approach is starting to bring in a number of opportunities to apply for. 28 in the first week alone. Will this new approach work compared to the careful targeting of individual organizations and positions encourage by my career councilors? Who knows? Only time will tell...

Three Months After Completing My MBA

2009-08-02T12:37:00.015-06:00

Three full months have passed since I completed my MBA at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. I find myself sitting at my in laws still without full-time employment. I split my time between my in laws and my parents living in subsistence as I job hunt. I'm very thankful I have this safety net to fall back on as I don't know what I would do if I didn't have it. The previous few months have not been completely without opportunity, but none of them materialized into a full-time position. As a result, I remain on the sidelines as the economy continues to improve and my bank account continues to empty.

I have not heard what the official class employment stats are, but from what I have heard through the the people I have been talking to, I am guessing we are more than 25% but less than 50% placed. (Aside: one of my readers wrote me and said they asked about this in their entrance interview and they says it is close to 65%) Many people have found and started jobs, but some have had to return to their previous employers which I know was not their first choice. Additionally, I have heard of one person who had signed on with a consulting firm last fall and had their position put on hold. As a result they are now looking for other opportunities as this may no longer pan out.

I understand that this year is by far the exception with the economic downturn, but it doesn't help ease the situation for those of us caught in the thick of things. If this had been next year, or two years earlier, most of the class would have been hired by this time. I'm curious how long it will take until everyone is employed. The only saving grace seems to be the work experience we brought with us into the program.

Through my face-to-face networking, I was able to secure an opportunity to interview with the business consulting practice of Deloitte with their Calgary practice. After countless hours of case interview prep and two interview session of three hours in length each, Deloitte informed me they had decided to go with another candidate. This is what I disliked about the "consulting" route from the outset. The enormous investment of time and energy just to hear "no". However, that isn't what really got to me about this process. Deloitte didn't pay or offer to pay for the expenses I incurred to travel to these interviews. I have interviewed with many different companies in a variety of industries in the past and all the companies, except the very small "ma & pa" outfits, offered to pay for the expenses incurred. Deloitte is not a small company and for them to pick-up a few dollars of gas wouldn't affect them, but it would make the world of difference to an unemployed MBA saddled with debt. Other than this factor, Deloitte was very professional and the interview process was an excellent experience. I would advise others considering this route to keep the time, energy and capital requirements in mind at the beginning.

Another consulting opportunity that has been slowly working through the process is with Hatch Management Consulting. Hatch has traditionally been a technical consulting company providing engineering, construction management and project management for very large mining, metal and infrastructure projects on a global scale, but they are looking to add management consulting to their other offerings. Although the company has been taking their time to launch their projects and hire people, they do seem to mean business and I'm interested to see where this opportunity could lead.

Additionally, I have been seeking out business development opportunities related to my previous oil and gas background. When I find an opportunity, I look for alumni who are in the ranks of the companies I have been targeting via the alumni database. Through these contacts I have been able to learn a lot about the position(s), people and future outlook of the organizations I'm hoping to join. Furthermore, these conversations often lead me to other opportunities. One specific case led me to a finance position with CIBC under a top energy analyst as a research associate. As luck would have it, one of my former classmates from my undergrad was working in a similar capacity with CIBC. After discussing with him the details, I decided this position would not work for me. Research associates are expected to work 12 to 14 hours a day, starting at 5 AM, 6 days a week and potentially more during "peak" periods like quarterly reporting. They spend half their day finding data and crunching financial models in excel for the companies they are covering. The other half of their day is spent writing research reports on the data and correcting the reports after their analyst has reviewed them. When I asked my friend about life out side of work, he didn't have one. No time to workout. No time for a relationship. No time. The compensation isn't even that good. Most of these positions start at 80,000/yr salary, no overtime and the "potential" for a bonus of 100% of your salary. The hourly rate on these jobs just doesn't seem worth the HUGE sacrifice required and the career path is simply to move up the ladder one rung to do slightly less work for more money or to move to managing a portfolio for an investment firm. As I am married and would like to stay that way, this is not the path for me, but for someone who was willing to sacrifice this much for a few extra dollars, there are opportunities to do so in the way of Equity Research.

Other opportunities I have been considering have been more in line with my previous background in oil and gas engineering. These positions wouldn't specifically make use of my MBA, but I need work and I figure if I brought the skill set to the table it would get used as I proved myself. More importantly, there are positions being posted in this area, but these positions have only been showing up in the past month and not nearly in the same quantity as when I left industry. Although the economy is "improving" and the Bank of Canada has declared the recession "over", things are still limping along. Yes there are more positions being posted, but when I discuss with recruiters about being considered for these positions, I am told that companies are waiting for individuals with significantly more experience. As many companies went through downsizing, mergers and acquisitions, there are highly experienced people displaced by these events available to fill these positions. This makes the job market very difficult. I have heard this all before when I graduated from my undergrad. "If you just had five more years experience...". Well, if over five years of experience, a professional engineering designation and an MBA doesn't cut it, then nothing ever will. I can't think of a better candidate to hire into an organization. So, I continue to persist and ask simply for the opportunity to be presented as a potential candidate.

At this time I have been reduced to looking for any opportunity that offers fair compensation and a chance to expand my knowledge while providing a reasonable work-life balance. I am no longer holding any grand delusions that I will find my "dream" MBA job right out of school. That will have to wait for the next position I take down the road or perhaps the one after that. I have invested a lot of time, money and energy into my education and I need to start seeing a return on that investment. The loans and lines of credit I used to finance my education will need to be paid back and sitting on the sidelines unemployed will not accomplish that goal. To top it off, I'm bored. I want a challenging job that requires me to use my skills and knowledge to solve difficult and dynamic problems.

Overall, the best method of seeking out information and potential positions has been contacting alumni and either conducting informational interviews via phone or over a cup of coffee. Meeting for coffee has by far been the best. This method has worked so well that I have received an e-mail concerning a potential opportunity that I would never have found on my own from one of these previous contacts a few months after our meeting. Moreover, during a different meeting my contact provided me with a different perspective and list of ideas to continue looking for opportunities when I thought I had exhausted all avenues. Also, sending "thank-you" cards after these meetings is essential. These people are taking time out of their busy schedules to meet with me and I really appreciate it. In addition, I think they like to be recognized for the gift of their time and it sets me apart from anyone else they meet. Meeting with them has also helped boost my moral and keep me in a positive state of mind. Both essential when conducting a full-time job search. In addition to this method, I keep checking eluta and indeed as well as the school's job website and many company career websites for postings. This is my holding pattern for the moment until I find employment.

In summary, most of the class still does not have a job. I have seen good results using the methods encouraged by our career center, but it still has not resulted in a full-time position. I have explored the traditional "consulting" and "finance" avenues taken by MBAs to no avail and I don't think I would find them especially rewarding. My expectations have been significantly reduced and I'm curious to see where I will find work as well as how long it will take for my cohort to do the same.

One Month After Completing My MBA

2009-05-31T22:22:00.006-06:00

A full month has now passed since I completed the full-time MBA program at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. I now find myself sitting alone in my parent's house at this keyboard in Alberta, Canada and have had a lot of time to reflect on the past year.

After the program I took a fairly substantial road trip to see the Maritime Provinces as well as some of the major eastern US cities. The trip was a good way relax after the program. When the trip was over, I was back in Alberta and three weeks had passed.

I know that I should feel pretty good about life right now. After all, I'm a a professional engineer with a MBA from a top business school. However, I don't feel that way. I'm actually kind of down since I don't have a job and I have no idea where I might end up. The only comforting fact is that I have felt this way before, when I completed my engineering degree.

Right now, though, I am of the opinion that going back for the MBA at Queen's was a great decision and a solid investment. I learned so much about business, myself and others. After discussing just few of the topics we covered with friends and former work colleagues, I know that what I learned is of HUGE value. The MBA will definitely position me well for my future career aspirations.

I heard that convocation was a good time and a lot of the class attended. However, I did not return and only two of my six team members were in attendance. As I currently do not have a job lined up, spending the funds to return to Kingston for a couple days did not seem wise. The day after convocation, the school took out a whole two page spread in the Globe and Mail to post the photos of all the MBA graduates this year. This included graduates from all Queen's MBA programs (i.e. Exec, Accelerated, etc.). I remember how stoked I was last year to see that and know that I would be in there in a year. Seems a year has come and gone.

Just after the convocation ceremony, I received several text messages and even a phone call from my classmates congratulating me on our graduation. It was nice to know I was missed and even nicer to hear the familiar voices. That is one thing I miss the most - the people. I miss being part of a community of so many smart, driven, positive and fun people. You are often fortunate enough to have a few friends of this nature, but to be with 74 others is something else. I hope I get to see them again soon.

Other than the odd e-mail letting me know about a job prospect, I really have not heard much from my former classmates. The "water cooler" (i.e. online web portal space for posting messages) has gone quite. Only the odd e-mail from the Business Career Center staff.

As I mentioned earlier, I am without a job. To my knowledge, the employment stats one month after the program are pretty much the same as when we all left. This is likely due to the fact that a lot of people were moving, needed a little time to rest up after the end of the program and haven't had a chance to really further their job search, but I haven't heard from anyone, so this is just my speculation.

Now that I am in Alberta, I am ramping up my search for full-time employment. I have found positions to apply for through company websites, the Queen's career website, recruitment agencies and other industry career websites. In addition, I am arranging to "network" with past work colleagues, friends, and alumni that I have been in touch with over the past year. This is all part of the strategy imparted on us as we went through the program. It will be interesting to see how this job hunt compares with my previous ones. The economy is quite different from a year ago, but I am confident that I will find a job with in two or three months. All that being said, I didn't necessarily anticipate that I would be in this position. I really believed that I would find a job prior to graduation.

On another note, I still find myself with a kind of "highway fever" after going so hard. You get conditioned to ALWAYS being busy with learning, socializing, planning, studying, etc. that you find yourself constantly "chomping at the bit" when there is nothing better to do but enjoy a sunny day.

That is all I have to report one month out of the program. Hopefully in my three month posting I will have good news to write about. In the mean time, I will keep watching the blogs of the new cohort to see how they are fairing...

One Week After Completing My MBA

2009-05-01T07:12:00.003-06:00

It has now bee one full week since I completed my MBA at Queen's. This past week has been filled with sad "good-byes" and promises to visit people in the future. We have also had several dinner gatherings. One of these was after spending a day cruising the country side in a pair of SUVs loaded with classmates to seek out local foods which we then cooked and ate. This particular activity has been done a few times and has become known as "super-happy-fun-day". It is amazing what you can find around Kingston.

I thought that one week would be enough time to reflect on the past year and write some key insights, but, alas, it hasn't. I will try to do this in a later entry. There is just too much going on with everyone moving and my search for full-time employment going strong.

A lot of the people who will make up next year's class have arrived in Kingston. Some have made contact with a few people in this year's class and some have managed to meet-up with their fellow classmates. From the few that I have had lunch with, during their trips out to the school, as well as those I have traded e-mails with, I can tell next year's class promises to be a fun group with many great minds. Very similar to this year's cohort. I wish them all the best.

Several people are planning to stay in Kingston as they help with "transition". This is an afternoon/evening full of events where our class passes along the student council to next years class as well as introduces them to Kingston. Since Queen's is a one year program, there is no second year students that can serve as a "knowledge transfer". "Transition" is our answer to this challenge. If all goes as planned, "transition" should happen on the 16th of May.

Convocation is on May 26th and quite a few of my classmates are planning on attending, but several will still be on exchange or will be travelling and they won't be attending. Although I am not planning to attend, as I will have just arrived back in Alberta, I may reconsider since it will be a last chance for us to see everyone together. Apparently convocation is really a spectacle at Queen's and more importantly I could see all my friends again.

After saying "good-bye" to many others over the past week, it was my turn yesterday. My wife and I finished packing and left Kingston yesterday. Today we are in Quebec City and will be in New Brunswick by this evening as we continue our trek to the east coast of Canada. We drove this far out from Calgary, so we figure a few extra days to complete the trip to the Atlantic is well worth the time and money. After that we will turn south and visit a few key US locations before heading west. Since we drove through Canada out here, we are driving back through the US. Should be a good trip.

My "team", team 426, from the program has dispersed to the four corners of the earth. Two of them are in Brazil on exchange, one has gone to Hong Kong and China to visit family, one is headed to India to visit family, one is headed to Toronto to look for work and I am headed back to Alberta.

The blog. It has taken on a life of its own. It has been very useful to help me keep track of time as it flew by and to help me appreciate just how much I was learning. However, it was started with a purpose, written with a purpose and will end with a purposed as I stated when I started this blog. Therefore, I will only be making a few more entries and all of them will be focused on the MBA and my experience at Queen's. I will write one month, three months, six months and one year post-MBA entries. There may also be the odd entry to update employment stats, when I find a job and if other significant events occur, but only if they are relevant to the purpose of this blog.

On a final note, I would like to thank the many readers who have taken the time to comment or e-mail me about the blog. It was great to know that people were finding this information. Even if it wasn't necessarily useful, I surely hope it was entertaining. I hope it has provided those looking at MBA programs with some of the answers they were seeking and I hope it has provided alumni with chance to reflect on their own MBA experience.

Week 51: Electives - Block E (t-minus 0 week)

2009-04-24T09:38:00.003-06:00

Week 51 is over and I have completed my MBA! It has not sunk in, but I know this is something special. Here is what happened this week:

Classes ended this week.

Sales Management had a final and "sales call" with the professor.

Corporate Finance had a final.

Project Management did not have a final exam, but they did do a PERT exam in class.

Now everyone is packing up their various binders. A lot of extra stuff is getting thrown out. A lot of sad faces and happy faces. Sad to be leaving, but so happy to be done!

Enough said. I'm off to join some of my classmates for a last pint at the Grad Club.

Graduation Dinner and Valedictorian Address

2009-04-18T22:44:00.006-06:00

Saturday the class had our graduation dinner at Ban Righ Hall. Everyone showed up dressed to the nines. Quite a few of our professors came out and the entire administration was there. A nice meal served and some nice words said were said by Dr.Bill Blake, Director of MBA programs at Queen's, and Dr.Scott Carson, Director of the full-time MBA program at Queen's.

After dinner the class president and valedictorian addressed the class. The Elizebeth Hand and Team awards were also given out. Finally, there were the "fun" awards with a slide show (i.e. who was voted most likely to get arrested, kicked-out of cricket match, lick their own belly button, etc.). Once all that was done, the class headed out to the Joy Supper Club for a night of fun and dancing. All and all it was great, but at the same time bittersweet as we realized the end is very near and soon we will be saying good bye to many of our friends.

Our Valedictorian, Adam Grahn, really hit a note with his address to the class. I am posting it here, with his permission, so that our class can have access to it in the future.

First, I’d like to say a couple thanks you’s. I’d like to thank all of you, first for nominating and then for selecting me to represent you as valedictorian out of 75 people who could just as easily be standing up here.
I want you all to know how much I appreciate this, so I thought I’d give you a 30 second snippet to help you understand how much this means to me. I grew up in a very small town in BC as the third eldest in a family of 12. If asked what they wanted to be when they grew up, kids from that town dreamed about 3 things: heli-logging, driving a truck, or winning the Stanley Cup. I can tell you I only shared one of those dreams with the other kids, but I never could have dreamed that I might one day graduate as valedictorian from one of the most prestigious programs at one of the most prestigious institutions in Canada.
I can tell you that this moment, being able to stand up here, is the thing I am most proud of in my life… with one exception. That being getting married to my friend,
partner, supporter, and champion, Deedra. She is just as much a reason for me being up here as anything I’ve done, so thank you Deedra!
Almost exactly one year ago, 75 people gathered in the atrium of Goodes Hall. If you’re like me, it feels more like 5 years ago but what I recall of that gathering is how awkward I felt and how I kept repeating a mantra in my head… “What the BLEEP am I doing here?” I then recall Drs. Carson and Blake speaking about Queen’s and teamwork and what a transformational experience we were going to have… I have to admit, I was still a little unsure…
Then, over the next few weeks we were teamed up, bombarded, psycho-analysed and introduced to that wonderful team-building exercise known as 0.4. Over the course of the next 8 months, we worked our asses off and our teams became more than just a part of a marketing brochure… They became a part of who we are. Through the course of the year, through our efforts, our struggles and our triumphs, we HAVE been transformed. Of course we have learned the technical knowledge required to be considered an MBA… I think we’ve all seen enough 2x2 matrices and Discounted Cash Flows to validate that…
but what we’ve learned is how to lead and be led, how to take a group of people from different nationalities and with different personalities and turn it into a well-oiled machine that can tackle near any challenge. These are not skills that can be learned on-line or through a text book, but only through trial and experience. We, each of us, now has the ability to step out from here, this safe place, and walk confidently into the “real world”, comfortable in ourselves and our abilities. Comfortable working with, for and leading others, and, perhaps most importantly, with the knowledge that should the time come that we need help, there are 74 others standing behind us, ready with a shoulder to cry on, an arm to lean on, a joke to pick up our spirits or a smile to share. We have 74 friends.
And in my estimation, it is friendship that has been the ultimate benefit of our time here. If you do the math, we’ve essentially spent $60,000 and come away with 74 friends. That’s just a little under a $1000 a friend. Friends that have shared experiences and shared understanding. A very good investment, I assure you, especially given the economic uncertainty we are facing. I am sure that a year and a bit ago, when we all signed up for this program, none of us thought that we would be graduating into a market where jobs are scarce and the value of MBAs had been called into question. Yet, that is the situation, and at times like these, the value that friends provide may be the difference between success and failure.
So I’ve never performed a valedictory address before and hadn’t had the opportunity to hear one either, so I did what anyone would do in that situation, I looked it up on Wikipedia. While I was doing that, I discovered an interesting thing about the roots of the word. It turns out, that Valedictorian comes from the Latin “vale dicere,” which means – To Say Farewell… So I thought to myself, that’s pretty depressing… It sounds like I’m saying I’ll never see you all again. That would make this valedictorian address more bittersweet than sweet… a bit like the difference between marmalade and jam… So I’ve chosen to break with tradition a little bit and to say “See you soon” instead of Farewell, since I’m sure it is more accurate and since it’ll just make me sad to think otherwise.
So in a little over a week, as we venture out and each of us makes our mark on the business world and the world in general. As we work to better the lives of ourselves and our families. Think back now and then to the times we have shared here at Queen’s and conduct yourself with the grace, dignity and ethical standard expected of a Queen’s MBA grad. And above all, if ever any one of you should need a friend, you know where to look…
Thank you and See You Soon!
Links to youtube videos in parts (1), (2), and (3 w/ speech).

Week 50: Electives - Block E (t-minus 1 week)

2009-04-17T12:37:00.003-06:00

Week 50. Just one week to go! Summer has arrived, or at least it feels like it. Most days are sunny now and its fairly warm during the afternoons. However, the evenings still get quite chilly.

Project Management continued with the class covering PERT and critical path. Everyone in the course seems to be enjoying it and the team teaching style seems to be working well. Students cannot miss even a single class or they will not complete the required 35 hours of classroom instruction required by the PMI to earn the PMP designation.

Marketing of New Ventures had a few guest lecturers. Topics covered were public relations, advertising and market entry strategies. People also seem to be enjoying this course.

Sales Management is still ongoing. I don't have an update on the class material covered as I'm not in this elective and I haven't had a chance to talk with anyone taking it. This is typical of the situation the class finds itself at the moment. We are all in different classes, some people are not even taking classes, and as a result we are rarely all in the same place at the same time.

Corporate Financing and Capital Budgeting Decisions has been interesting. The professor, Alex Faseruk, is here from Memorial University in St. John's Newfoundland for the 2 weeks required to teach the course. Material covered has been Real Estate project selection, Economic Value Added, Biotech/technology company valuation along with a review of pretty much all the finance material we have covered (i.e. different kinds of debt and equity, WACC, NPV, etc.). The professor is quite entertaining and realizes that we are all pretty tired after what we have been through. Students have assembled themselves into groups to complete a case analysis and 2 abstracts on other cases. The case a group analyzes is also the case they present to the class. Overall this is a very useful course as it really brings all the different pieces of the finance puzzle together.

This week we had a final class session with the BCC. They will be offering some basic consultation until mid-May when the next class starts. After that they will try to assist us, but their priority will be focused on the new class.

Also, there is a series of items we have been given to complete to graduate:

Update mailing address on Alumni site
Update mailing address on QCARD
Meet with BCC for 5 minutes one-on-one
Return keys & swipe cards
Complete MBA exit survey
Pay outstanding debts to the University and return all books to Library

All of these need to be signed-off by various people to ensure we can graduate

This week was the final point four. It was held at the Toucan and a lot of people came out. I'm sure there will still be gathers occurring, but the official "point four" has been put to rest.

Tomorrow we have our graduation dinner. This is a formal dinner being held in Ban Righ Hall and the results of the various awards the class had to vote on will be revealed. Should be a good evening and a great way to cap off the year.

This weekend will be filled with packing and some homework. Perhaps I will find some time to hangout with my peers. Only one week to go.

Week 49: Electives - Block E (t-minus 2 weeks)

2009-04-10T18:05:00.003-06:00

Week 49. Gone. 2 weeks to go. 2 weeks is only 14 days or 336 hours or 20,160 minutes. That is all that is left of my MBA experience. It is hard to believe it has gone so fast, but as I look back on this blog and all the entries that I have made, it become apparent to me that the end is near.

This week we started off with rain followed by more rain and then topped off with a little more rain. Then it was snow with some more snow. All this with over cast grey skies. Very cheerful weather. You would never know it today, as the sun has come out and everything has dried off and melted. Who knows what next week will hold.

This week the last block, Block E, of electives started. Project Management has a fairly full class. This class will allow students to complete the class room requirements for a PMP certification from the PMI. After writing a test and submitting the appropriate work experience you can have a PMP designation. The class is being team taught by two professors. One is covering the actual PMI material. The other is covering more of the practical implementation of project management. So far everyone seems to be enjoying the class.

Marketing of New Ventures also started this week. Again the students seem to be enjoying it, but I'm not quite sure what they are covering. The course is supposed to be focused on marketing management challenges faced by tech start-ups with a major component to get new ventures "sustainable".

Sales Management has also started this week. This course is supposed to help students develop key skills, behaviors and strategies needed to succeed in sales. Specific issues included are prospecting, pre-approach, approach, presentation, trial close, determining objections, meeting objections, closing and follow-up.

Corporate Financing and Capital Budgeting Decisions will start next week. This course is 3 hours every day for the next two weeks and is based entirely on cases. The focus is exactly what the name states: bank credit, corporate financing policies, shares, convertible securities, optimal debt, dividend policies, project analysis, optimal investment decisions, hurdle rates, capital budgeting procedures, etc. Should be intense.

Most Consulting Project papers have been submitted. This was the course where students picked a project/organization to do consulting work for and completed a paper with their final recommendations and work.

The New Venture Project is coming to a close. I am only aware of one group who has taken this course. This project course paired students with mentors/advisers who helped them through the creation and review process of a business plan. After a few official stages of preliminary review the final business plan is due either this week or next.

Lots of people have started to pack-up their desks. I have no idea where I am going to find enough boxes for all my binders and textbooks.

This week's point four is a gathering at a fellow MBA student's pad to play some "Rock Band 2" prior to heading to "The Royal Tavern" for a pint. The Royal Tavern is supposed to be the bar that Sir John A. MacDonald, Canada's first Prime Minister, purchased as no other bars would let him in. Rumour has it they have a copy of the original deed inside. Also, this bar is rumoured to be very unfriendly as it is a biker bar. Should be an adventure.

A lot of people are headed out of town this weekend on some last excursions. My wife and I are headed to Toronoto to see all the sights as we are headed back to Calgary after the program. We have been meaning to do this all year and only now are we actually getting it done. Hopefully we will be able to see the AGO, ROM, Casa Loma, CN Tower and the Bata Shoe Museum. We are also going to see a Raptor's game if everything goes according to plan.

Photo tour of Goodes Hall

2009-04-05T16:53:00.023-06:00

Since not everyone can come and visit Queen's in person, I thought I would post a brief photo tour.

Here is Goodes Hall, home to all business programs at Queen's University:

Just inside the main entrance you enter an atrium which can be transformed for different occasions. It can be emptied and filled with chairs for speakers, caterers and tall tables can be brought in for a "wine and cheese" social event or tables can be set-up to have banquets.

Second angle from just above the main entrance:

At the far end of the atrium there is a stair case that takes you to MBA territory. Looking back down into the atrium:

The landing this staircase arrives at also leads to the hallway with the majority of the team rooms:

Now lets take a look at a typical team room. Each door is locked, but it is up to you and your teammates to keep it closed to ensure nothing gets stolen. Everyone has a key and the admin staff and security guard have an extra should lock yourself out. It is up to you and your team to decide what sort of stuff to "decorate" your team room with. This team here has decided on a nice plaque mounted team photo and seems to use the pin-up board to post interesting and insightful news clippings on current events.Opening the door reveals 6 work stations inside and a window on the far wall. Not all team rooms have window, but most do.

A look from the far side of the team room looking back. Note the team room on the other side of the hall:

Here is a look at a typical desk or work area. This is near the end of the program, so there are a lot of different binders and textbooks. Each course has a binder of material. During the core of the program these materials seem to just "appear" as the staff puts them together and delivers them as they are needed. There is room for all this stuff and lots of "pin-up" room as well. Naturally, there is also a LAN connection and plug-in for your laptop. Is that a case interview prep book I see there on the desk?
Each team room is equipped with a black and white bubble jet printer, mini-fridge, coffee maker, recycling bins and various stationary items. It is up to your team to make sure this area is kept neat and tidy. Otherwise you could find your fridge filled with mould...
Lets not forget the coat rack. Handy for storing suits or blazers for those unexpected networking opportunities. Also a good place for those bulky winter jackets needed to survive a Canadian winter. And, as you can see, each team gets a white board to use during team work sessions. Nice city skyline on the wall!
In addition to the team room there is the resource lounge, which most students refer to as the "E-bar" (a.k.a. Energy Bar). The E-bar is stocked by the student government and charges a small premium on the goods sold to fund various MBA activities. The main activity it was used to fund this year was MBA Games. The resource lounge has a couple of fridges, 3 microwaves, fax, phone, scanner, photocopier and laser colour printer. The sports equipment the program provides is also stored here (i.e. frisbees, soccer balls, cricket stuff, tennis stuff, squash stuff, etc.). This is also where the daily papers, other periodicals and magazines are displayed/stored for students to access.
Look from the other end of the room back:
Here is a look at the classroom. Every student has a name plate that has their name on the front and back. This makes it easy for your classmates to refer to you by name even if they are sitting behind you. After a couple of months you know every ones name, but the name plates still help professors who are coming in to start a new course. There are two projectors that show the slides on each side of the room so every student has a good view.Of course the progam would not be what it was if it wasn't for the tireless support of the staff. Here are the real stars of the program: From left-to-right we have:

Kim Delaney, Program Assistant
Kerri Regan, Program Manager
Scott Carson, Professor and Director of Queen's full-time MBA program
Lori Garnier, Associate Director of Queen's full-time MBA program
Juanita Smith, Program Administrator
Ruth Sherboneau, Administrative Assistant

That ends this brief tour. Hope this has been helpful for perspective students and nostalgic for alumni.

Queen's wins UCLA and Boston Tech Case Competitions

2009-04-05T08:05:00.007-06:00

So, we have had several teams go to case competitions since our class has had a very keen interest this year. There has been a lot of internal rivalry to get on these teams as well as to be the team selected to go. As a result some pretty good teams have been sent out to competition.

We have had teams that went to:

L'Oreal E-Strategy Challenge (Online) (Marketing)
CSR Case Competition (November - hosted by University of Toronto) (CSR Strategy)
Financial Executive International "Best in Class" (November - hosted at the University of Toronto) (Finance)
Tata Consulting Case Competition (October) (Strategy)
John Molson International Case Competition (January - hosted by John Molson School of Business in Montreal) (Everything)
Boston Tech Strategy Case Competition (April) (Strategy)
UCLA Global Leadership Competition (April - hosted by UCLA Anderson School of Business) (Strategy/Everything)

Last week the Queen's team that went to Boston Tech won first place! You can check it out on the blog for the event. First place got them $25,000 they got to split between the 4 team members

Just yesterday the Queen's team that went to the UCLA Global Leadership Competition won first place! Here is the official event website. They also won $25,000 to split between the 5 team members. Last year Queen's came in second and there was quite a bit of pressure for this year's team to perform. The competition is invitational only and the schools that attend are some of the best in the world:

Fudan University School of Management, China
HEC School of Management, France
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School, Hong Kong SAR
Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM), Mexico
London Business School, England
National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore
Peking University Guanghua School of Management, China
Queen's School of Business, Canada
Seoul National University, Korea
Tel Aviv University (Recanati), Israel
University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management, USA
University of Chicago Booth School of Business, USA

To be asked to attend is an honour, but to win...wow. Congratulations to all the teams and I hope next year's class will embrace case competitions the way our year did. They are fun and you learn a lot.

Week 48: Electives - Block D (t-minus 3 weeks)

2009-04-04T10:55:00.007-06:00

Week 48 is over...finally. Only 3 weeks to go. As spring approaches the skies are pretty much constantly overcast and it rains quite a bit here in Kingston.

Managing Innovation ended last week, so there is no update for that course.

Consumer Research ended yesterday. From what I could tell everyone was in groups completing some sort of group assignment/analysis with the professor going from group to group.

International Finance ended today with a Saturday morning exam. Everyone found it quite difficult and everyone was up late last night trying to study and get their formula sheets finalized. As much as I am going to miss my classmates and this time at Queen's, I am NOT going to miss the late night cramming and Saturday morning exams.

Either last week or this week the students in the Consulting Project course had to submit a 75 page paper. No word on what has been happening with the New Ventures Project course, but I will post something next week once I talk to some people in the course.

This week's point four was at Fanatics, a sports bar, where the class was able to reserve an upstairs area that comes complete with it's own bar, big-screen TV and a Nintendo Wii. Also, this weekend there is a big party/social gathering to see several of the exchange students off. A lot of them are leaving in the next week.

While all this has been going on I am busy booking a moving company and filing my taxes. Also, the job hunt continues, but it is difficult while studying full-time. Guess I should get some boxes this next week to start packing.

Next week, to kick-off Block E electives,"Marketing of New Ventures" and "Sales Management" courses start to the final block of electives. The following week the "Corporate Finance and Capital Budgeting Decisions" and "Project Management" courses start. Now that I have completed my required 5 elective courses I find myself presented with the decision of whether I should take anymore courses.

Week 47: Electives - Block D (t-minus 4 weeks)

2009-03-27T15:00:00.005-06:00

Week 47 is over. Only 4 weeks to go. It is absolutely awesome outside and there are so many other things I would rather be doing. Therefore this will be a short entry.

Managing Innovation ended today. The class wrote their final exam at noon. This class had a series of individual memos for each class in addition to the final. I got the impression that people enjoyed this class, but that it might not have been as useful as it could have been. Also, the professor was not enthusiastic.

Consumer Research had the class complete an in-class assignment where the students analyzed survey results using the Systat12 program mentioned previously. The final is next Thursday.

International Finance covered more on exchange rates, hedging strategies and a little on accounting methods. The professor has been summarizing the chapters assigned for reading as well as providing updated readings and articles. A lot of the time students are not quite understanding what the professor is expecting of them when we review in-class examples. Also, groups have started presenting their cases. This is part of the marking scheme. Each group is responsible to analyze and present a case that represents a particular topic in the course. Furthermore, there is a problem set due for each group next week and a final next Saturday.

This weeks point four was trivia night at the grad club. One of the exchange students is leaving tomorrow and several others will be leaving in a couple of weeks. It feels like they just got here. Also, some of our fellow classmates will be back from their Mannheim exchange in Germany this weekend.

Scott Carson, the director of the full-time MBA program, hosted a wine and cheese event to talk with the class today. It has been confirmed that an extra lecture hall will be added. It is looking like there will be 17 teams of 6 to 7 people with a total class size of 110 (55 students per lecture hall).

With only 4 weeks left people have started to discuss their plans to move away. Also, there is some discussion on the upcoming transition week for the incoming class. I wonder what kind of hazing our class will decide to put them through...

Week 46: Electives - Block D (t-minus 5 weeks)

2009-03-20T14:41:00.005-06:00

Week 46 is over and spring has pretty much arrived. There is barely any snow left, but the temperature still continues to hover just above or below zero. This week I heard the familiar sound of Canadian Geese returning from their hiatus to warmer climes, which has always been a sign of the changing seasons for as long as I can remember.

With only 5 weeks left a lot of us are trying to coordinate our move out of Kingston and some people have started to pack-up their desks. The end seems to be coming way to quickly.

This week saw the class complete the first week of the penultimate block of electives. The courses offered are International Finance, Consumer Research and Managing Innovation.

The International Finance course this week has covered foreign exchange rates and international trade. Topics included how countries measure trade, decide on currency exchanges and the underlying arbitrage laws that keep everything in check. Although the math is very simple and the concepts are fairly straight forward, it is amazing how complicated this topic can get very quickly. The professor is pretty dry, but very knowledgeable and passionate about the topic. The workload is quite light compared to other finance courses. Couple of chapters and some cases to read for every class.

Consumer Research started off with a lot of bland theory, but has since picked up now that the class is focusing on the analysis of the data. Initially the course focused on how to design questionnaires (ie yes/no questions vs. pick one of five options vs. 1 to 7 scale for strongly agree to disagree questions). Then it focused on applying statistics to this kind of information with a lot of statistic theory. Now the class is bringing laptops to class and using a program called Systat12 to analyze the data. The professor is entertaining and has a dry sense of humour that the class is finding engaging.

Managing Innovation also started this week. I haven't been able to get an update from someone in this class, but I will and either edit this post or just include it in next weeks posting.

This week the point four was at Tir Nan Og, an Irish pub, for karaoke night. This was also the last evening with one of our classmates who is headed to France on exchange. A lot of the exchange students have taken this block off and have decided to travel. Some are going out to the west coast to Vancouver and others are headed to New York City. This weekend the MBA hockey team has their first playoff game and fit-to-lead has arranged a trip and tour of a "sugar bush", which is a maple syrup production site.

There are still a few prospective students coming for interviews. It is close to the start date, but apparently there is still room for a few more students. Strange to think that all of us in the program were in their shoes only a year ago.

On the job front, I am aware of two of my classmates that have received offers and are in the process of negotiation the final details. Both are good offers that represent a step-up from their previous positions with good compensation. This has been encouraging to a lot of us and is proof that even in economic conditions such as these there are opportunities to be had.

Queen's expands program for class of 2010

2009-03-18T16:03:00.003-06:00

A note from the director of the full-time MBA program, Scott Carson, has been circulated confirming that the class size will be larger for next year along with a few other changes.

Here are the changes that have been made:

First, Queen's is going to be piloting a three day pre-MBA in the week before the orientation begins. It will take place over three days, one day on each of statistics, accounting and finance. The objective is to help students to become familiar with the subjects and get a head-start before courses begin.
Second, the MBA Curriculum Committee is going to strike a subcommittee to review the electives section of the program to see what changes could or should be made.
Third, the class size will be increased to 110 students. The benefit is that some employers who currently don't recruit on campus would find it attractive to come if there were more candidates for them to meet. Also, bringing senior business people to the School to speak would be helped if they could be assured a somewhat larger audience.
Finally, if the class could be split for teaching purposes, the class size could be lowered. Having 75 students in class is not a problem, but having two classes of 55 could create a more intimate setting. In order not to lose the community feeling that students enjoy at Queen's the administration will ensure that each student and team has the experience of working with all of the others. One way of doing this is to rotate one quarter of the teams between the two classrooms every second module.

Week 45: Electives - Block C (t-minus 6 weeks)

2009-03-13T11:51:00.011-06:00

Week 45 ends and so does Block C of electives. There are now only 6 weeks left till the program is finished. Spring is definitely on it's way and the wind never seems to stop blowing, even when its raining. I imagine soon there will be green grass showing in the parks and leaf buds on the trees, but my focus on school, seeking employment and planning my move home seems to occupy all my time and as a result I likely won`t notice these changes.

Advanced Topics in Marketing was concluded with a series of presentations on Wednesday. Each group was responsible for pitching a mode/aspect of tourism in Canada (i.e. air travel, road travel, etc). This was the final assignment and with no final exam, this marked the completion of the course. Overall people really enjoyed this course and most got quite a bit out of the material.

Services Management finished with no really big events. Everyone completed their required papers and projects. My understanding is that people enjoyed the course, but many people who were taking Advanced Topics in Marketing enjoyed that course more.

Investments was the toughest course this block. This seems to be a common theme for the finance courses in the elective blocks. Friday morning was the final exam and everyone agreed that the test was nothing like what the assignments or the lectures had made us believe it would be like. It was very difficult and very demanding. Almost nobody left before the time was up, including the "finance" people who seem to enjoy this topic. Hopefully the professor is kind on the part marks.

This week the Business Career Center set up some one hour sessions on a variety of topics. One was on case interviews with an individual who used to work with BCG pre-MBA and had an offer with Bain post-MBA before turning it down to pursue other career options. Another was with Peter Copstake, the Executive in Residence and former Senior Vice President and Treasurer of Manulife Financial. Peter's session was more centered on how to really come across strong in an interview and more on his take on seeking employment. These sessions were smaller, 5 to 10 people, and therefore offered people more of a chance to get the information they wanted.

Also, the MBA office has arranged a special tax session for the international students in the class. This session was designed to help familiarize people with the Canadian tax system who have never filed taxes in Canada. Many people assumed that if they are not a permanent resident (PR) or citizen that they do not need to file taxes, but that is incorrect. Simply being in Canada for a certain period requires that you file an income tax statement whether you are a PR/citizen or not.

In other news, two of our classmates are in Pittsburgh this week as they were accepted to a business plan competition. So far things are going okay for them as they have made it past the first round. The idea they are pitching involves gold from tailings. 1st place is supposed to be a significant amount of money with part of it in cash and part of it in professional services (i.e. lawyer fees, marketing, etc). In addition, there is another pair of students finishing up a tour of 4 business plan competition through the US. Not sure how they are doing, but I hope it has gone well for them.

The MBA hockey team managed to get a much needed win this week to allow us the chance to make playoffs. People continue to meet-up to play squash and workout. Wednesday the exchange students had a gathering to celebrate a birthday and a good portion of the class showed up. Also, this weeks point four will be at the Merchant. Finally, Brian Adams was in town and some people went to check out his performance at the K-Rock center. As it turns out, Brian Adams was born in Kingston.

People are continuing their search for full-time employment. Some of my classmates are negotiating the details of offers recently received. Others are taking the next block of electives off to focus purely on their search. In addition, people continue to contact alumni to get advice and see what opportunities might be out there.

There is a rumour that the class size has been expanded for the incoming cohort. This is in response to the overwhelming demand for spots this year. In the next couple of weeks there is supposed to be an official statement released by the program director. I will be sure to post the details so that the incoming students that follow this blog can see the details.

Surprisingly there are still a large number of perspective students coming to the school for interviews. I met a few this week over lunch and will likely meet some more this coming week. Most seem nice and they really appreciate the opportunity to discuss the program with the students.

Finally, a few official administrative e-mails have been sent out. One is for convocation concerning who will be attending and how many seats they want to reserve. The other is for awards as voted by the class for who should be given the instructor award, team award, valedictorian and individual leadership award. Nominations are due the end of March with voting taking place sometime soon after. These awards will them be bestowed during the graduation dinner on Saturday, April 18th.

Next week Block D of electives starts. This weekend will be filled with some much needed RnR, while getting any prep work for the next set of electives out of the way.

100 Best Blogs for MBA Students

2009-03-11T21:59:00.004-06:00

Today I received an interesting e-mail informing me that my blog, and many others, had been included in a “100 Best Blogs for MBA Students" list. Looks like I made #35. This looks like it could be a good sources of information for people considering an MBA.

Week 44: Electives - Block C (t-minus 7 weeks)

2009-03-06T12:21:00.004-07:00

Week 44 is ending leaving one week left in Block C of electives and 7 weeks left in the program. Also, the weather has started to warm up (e.g. it is currently 6 degrees C in Kingston as I write this), which means spring is on the way. This also means rain and continuously grey, overcast skies.

Investments was focused on Equity Valuation techniques. Specifically, using dividend discount models, free cash flow to the firm and other methods to establish what a good price for a stock should be. Today we have a guest speaker. Brian Shaw, the CEO of CIBC Capital Markets from 2005-2008, will be talking to the class. Also, we are all working on evaluating the company we chose as the assignment is due Monday morning at 8 AM. After that assignment there is just the final next Friday.

Advanced Topics in Marketing continues to be a course focused on marketing more difficult products/services (e.g. hybrid cars, solar panels, etc.). This week the class had a speaker from Proctor and Gamble, who was the brand manager for Olay in Canada. She discussed her efforts for online marketing and various issues surrounding brand management. Today is a class focused on Canadian tourism. One of the main group assignments is for each team to present an aspect of Canadian tourism sometime next week.

Services Management continues to be based on discussions surrounding different cases that present issues surrounding services in a variety of industries (e.g. Hotels, pharmacies, etc.). Throughout the course there are 7 cases. Each student is expected to complete a write-up on any 2 of these cases. In addition, each case is presented by a certain group to the class. Overall people seem to be enjoying this course and the work. A few people completed the very first 2 cases for their individual write-ups and had their group present one of the first few cases. As a result, all they have left to do is to attend class to get participation marks.

This week the hockey team played their 3rd last game. It corresponded with this week's point four, so the stands were full of rowdy MBA students cheering the team on. This weekend will likely be filled with work as people push to get any final assignments complete.

Julia Blackstock has been having a series of smaller sessions to assist people with preparing to continue their search for full-time employment after the program. The good news is that there are still people managing to secure interviews and offers. I just heard of a friend of mine who has been made an offer.

As for myself, I have been taking advantage of the alumni network to continue to learn more about other areas I had previously thought my skill set would not apply. As it so happens, the management consulting companies in Calgary may like my credentials and not all of them focus on IT and telecom, despite my original impressions. This means that I need to begin getting ready for a potential "case interview". At first I was a little hesitant, but preparing for a case interview will make me that much better at interviewing in general. With any luck I will find myself in an interview with a management consultant that values my oil and gas experience and background.

Week 43: Electives - Block C (t-minus 8 weeks)

2009-02-27T10:18:00.007-07:00

Week 43...gone. Another week passes and we are have completed the first week of Block C electives. That leaves 8 weeks of classes until the program is finished. Also, it is raining hard today and as a result I suspect the vast majority of the remaining snow will disappear. Unfortunately this also means the outdoor rinks are going to go with the snow.

A Facebook group for the incoming 2010 class has been established. Only accepted and confirmed students are allowed to join. A number of us from the current class have been asked to join this group and answer any potential questions the incoming students have to help make the transition as smooth as possible.

Nothing new with the Tri-Colour Fund, New Venture Project, or Consulting Project courses. They are still in limbo and working pretty much on a self-directed basis. A couple of our classmates were in Louisiana for a business plan competition (I think this is the one, but could be wrong). In addition, a couple of our classmates are out in Vancouver trying to see if their plan to find gold will pan out.

Investments is the finance course this block and the one I am enrolled. The professor, Sean Cleary, is very knowledgeable, but lacks the enthusiasm and passion some of our previous professors have exhibited. The text for this course is selected chapters from the CFA "investment series" (ie "Managing Investment Portfolios" and "Equity Asset Valuation"). This week is on portfolio management for individuals and institutional investors. Next week is focused on the asset valuation material. Today we had Peter Jarvis as a guest speaker in class. Peter is the Executive Director of Toronto CFA Society and has held a number of very senior roles with various investment and retirement boards.

Services Management, the consulting&project management course, has also started. From what I have heard it is a fair bit of work, but all of it rather fun. People are working in groups to present and it looks like there are some individual memos that need to be completed for the cases/material covered in the classes.

Advanced Topics in Marketing, the marketing&sales course, is the final course. This course has started off on a good foot and there is a group presentation involved. I will find out more for my next posting.

I would like to again mention my classmates blog on his experience in India at ISB. His experience may not be representative of all exchange experiences, but it does bring to light some of the challenges that studying abroad can present.

This week the point four was at "Fanatics", a sports bar. We are also having a mixer with the law and medicine students this evening at "The Joy Supper Club", but prior to that a bunch of people are planning to attend a local OHL game. Saturday is a "scrabble" party where attendees wear a letter and go around trying to make as many different words as possible. Also, fit-to-lead has arranged a ski trip to Calabogie. The MBA hockey team also had a game this week and a few people are still making time to play squash.

Not much else to report on. The BCC has been helping me to continue to find opportunities to apply to. In addition, I have been contacting alumni for informational interviews to see what potential opportunities may be available both now and in the future.

I'm still having trouble believing there are only 8 weeks left.

Week 42: Electives - Block B (con't)

2009-02-20T14:20:00.007-07:00

Week 42 comes to an end and so has Block B of electives. The weather took a turn for the worse this week and we are back in the heart of Canadian winter. The tease of almost spring weather, combined with the slight reprieve in workload, has only made the sudden onset of renewed cold, snow, tests and papers at the end of this week seem more dubious than usual.

Global Strategy has ended, but it still lingers. There is a large research paper due and the deadline has been graciously extended into the weekend. We formed groups for this assignment. Almost all of the groups have some members that have not been able to focus on this particular assignment, given the workload from other classes. As a result most of us will be making use of the extra time given. Also, those of us in the class have been invited to join the professor's "listserv", which he uses to send out current global strategy and management papers that he finds from time to time.

Risk Management ended today at noon with a final exam that I'm sure everyone is glad to be finished. Louise apparently has been a very good professor, but that doesn't make the material covered any easier.

Dynamic Pricing (aka Revenue Management) also ended with a large project being completed today. Apparently the groups also had to give a presentation on their final models. I haven't heard much concerning this course since everyone taking it has been far too busy to discuss it.

No news on the Tri-Colour fund, Consulting Project or New Venture Project courses.

People continue to seek employment. The BCC continues to do what they can for the students who are still looking, but the fact remains that the economy is sluggish and continues to slow down. Last week we had a brief Q&A with the BCC Director, David Edwards, and the BCC Manager, Julia Blackstock. Both have been excellent to work with and continue to do their best for us. They revealed what we all already knew; numbers are down from previous years. This is true across all business schools, but nobody is willing to talk about it between schools (aside: as one professor put it "the moose in the room"). What's interesting is that the school has actually seen more positions posted at this time than for the same period last year. What appears to have been happening is that a lot of employers have been putting candidates on "hold" prior to the first actual interview or just after the first interview. This is likely because of the deteriorating business conditions they find themselves. With that being said, the class still remains optimistic and people are re-doubling their efforts. What else can you do but remain positive and keep looking?

This week some people found time for a game of "shinny" on one of Kingston's many outdoor rinks. The point four was moved from Thursday to Friday to accommodate all the Risk Management and Dynamic Pricing students and will be at "MyBar". Also, the Kingston Canadian Film Festival is coming up next week. The weekend should be filled with some much needed R'n'R while people prepare for Block C next week. Now back to that Global Strategy paper...

(Aside: One of my classmates has started a blog about his exchange experience to the Indian School of Business)

Week 41: Electives - Block B (con't)

2009-02-14T08:08:00.004-07:00

Week 41 has ended and I find myself in Quebec City on Valentine's Day. My wife and I decided to take a trip to this frozen wonderland to see Carnival (2nd link), the ice sculptures, the ice castle and get a picture with Bonhomme. Also, this weekend is a long weekend. With most people caught up on their assignments and reading they have decided to use the extra time to take a trip or continue job hunting.

The Strategic Leadership paper was due this past Wednesday. Finally that course has been put to bed.

Global Strategy saw us involved in several in class discussions on how subsidiaries should be run and what the roll of the home and host countries plays. The professor also came back with the results of a feedback exercise for use in the class about what was going well and what was not. This was very helpful and I think other professors should look into doing something similar. This week we submitted the final individual case analysis assignment. This just leaves the final team research paper due at the end of this next week.

The Dynamic Pricing course has been a fair bit of work. This past week has seen a lot of work put in by the students. In addition, I here the classes are bit overwhelming for some as the professor makes everything seems quite easy, but when they go to do it themselves it is actually quite complex.

Risk Management continues to be very similar to the Finance Strategy course. One individual has found the material quite similar to the level 2 CFA material he is studying. Combined with the other finance courses this will likely compliment his studying well and put him in a good position to write the exam this June.

Not too much has changed with the project courses, Consulting or New Venture projects. In addition the TriColour Venture Fund was supposed to be getting going, but it seems as though the professor, Elspeth Murray, is a little busy. The students are hoping for some sort of syllabus and timeline in the near future.

This week for fun the class had the point four at the Grad Pub so we could compete in Trivia Night. Some people are taking trips this weekend and those staying behind are looking to take in some curling. Because of the very warm weather in Kingston this past week all the outdoor skating rinks are pretty much melted. Also, we said goodbye to two more of our classmates as they are headed on exchange to the Indian School of Business.

One more week down and one more week until this block of electives is over.

Week 40: Electives - Block B

2009-02-07T09:34:00.008-07:00

Week 40 has seen us start the next block of electives, Block B. The weather remains cold, but we have had a few "warmer" days. In addition Kinston has "feb fest" on, which is the city's winter festival with a wide variety of activities to take in (ice sculpting, figure skating, old-timers hockey game, etc.).

Although Strategic Leadership ended in Block A, most of us are still finishing our interviews to write our papers. My colleague found a particularly interesting person right here in Kingston to interview thanks to an article in the local paper. James Hultquist-Morrissey purchased "Zoom" airlines and plans to turn it around. He was a pretty interesting person to meet. The paper is due by the middle of next week and then this course will be done. It is nice to have the extra time, but it has added to the work load of all the new courses.

Risk Management is being taught by Louis Gagnon who is one of Queen's more popular professors with the media as of late. He specializes in derivatives, credit swaps and other forms of financial risk management, which is what the course is about, and given the current economic crisis these topics have been of interest in the media. Everyone is liking the course a lot, but there is quite a bit of work if you don't understand what is being taught since you need to spend extra time studying. From what my sources tell me this course has been a deeper look at the topics covered in the Financial Strategy course in the core of the program.

Global Strategy is being taught by Doug Reid and it is challenging. His teaching style is a little more toward the Socratic method where he helps facilitate a discussion and the works to pull the content out of the students. The professor expects a lot of readings to be completed for each session and you need to have them done to ensure you can follow the topic of discussion. In addition, this is also my first class with a large number of our new exchange students and I am finding their unique perspectives very interesting and educational.

It is also my understanding that the two project courses, New Venture Project and Consulting Project, are also underway. These courses are a little more "self directed" and have students work on an idea they have once the professor running the course approves it. I have also heard of a few students submitting their business plans for their new ventures to competitions. If they win they will have some seed money to see if they can grow these ideas into viable businesses. Some of them seem like they are really strong ideas with good business plans to back them up. Last year a student was able to win several of these competitions and use the money to continue moving her idea of starting a caviar farm closer to reality (see this news story for more information).

Fun stuff going on...this week a large group from the class went skiing at Tremblant for a few days. The point four this week was at "the Ale house" and was a joint venture with the grad student society for a valentine's day themed party. (Aside: There has been a lot of talk about the class leaving the AMS and joining The Society of Graduate and Professional Students.) Last Sunday's "learn-to-curl" outing was so popular there are plans to return next weekend. There are also a couple of networking events this week where our full-time class has had the opportunity to meet the Cornell-Queen's MBA students.

The search for full-time employment has been ramping up for everyone. A lot of us are feeling a bit under the gun with graduation just over 3 months away. The current economic condition is not helping, but there are still people getting interviews and finding jobs. However, our numbers are definitely down from pervious years.

I had a conversation with the director of our program and spots for next years class are filling up fast! 64 spots are filled compared with 32 at this time last year! There has been some talk about how to accommodate more students (ie 2 classes of 50 students), but who knows what the administration will decided. I do know that they will not let anything compromise the quality, which is good for the students, but it puts the administration in difficult situation. I think expanding the program to that size would be ideal. It would still be small enough that everyone would know each other, but the increased size would allow Queen's to attract speakers and employers that require a larger audience before they will come a school. Only time will tell what they decide. (Update: article from The Star (Toronto) on rising MBA applications in general)

(My apologizes to the visiting student whom I talked to on Friday. I did try to find you afterwards, but you disappeared. If you have any other questions please e-mail me and I would be happy to answer them to the best of my ability.)

Week 39: Electives - Block A (con't)

2009-01-30T14:26:00.009-07:00

Week 39 has ended and so has Block A, the first block of electives. It has been snowing quite a bit this week. Feels like at least 2 feet has fallen in the past couple of days.

The Marketing course is over. Most people seem to have liked it. It was nicknamed "story time" since the professor liked to share his learnings with the students through stories.

The Strategic Leadership course is over. It was pretty good, but most of us felt a lot of the topics covered would have benefited all and should have been covered in some of our career planning sessions earlier in the year. The course was nicknamed "group hug" since the instructor like to frequently reference the "good" feeling of hugs.

The Financing New Ventures course is over. Everyone I talked to seemed to have a different opinion, but overall people liked it. The biggest comment was that the course was an interesting split between structured and unstructured delivery. The course required a structured curriculum, but the guest lecturer who delivered it was a very unstructured teacher. Mainly because he was a VC from industry and not a professor from the halls of academia.

The Corporate Valuation course is over. Everyone found this course to be extremely demanding, but we all agree we learned more than a ton. Last night almost everyone was working in their groups well past midnight to complete the final case. There was even a few individuals who did not sleep at all and still made it to class at 8 AM. As if that wasn't enough, we still have a review session tomorrow and a test on Sunday morning. Looks like those of us in this course will not be letting loose this weekend.

The school has also picked the team to attend the UCLA case competition. Queen's placed in this competition last year and is returning again this year at the beginning of April. To ensure a solid team is ready, the faculty hand picked the team.

The class is still planning several fun events coming up. Fit-to-lead is going to be taking a bunch of us curling on Sunday (yes, this is during Superbowl, but you can't have everything). Furthermore, there was a winter BBQ at the Dutch exchange students' place last night, a social gathering at another classmates pad tonight and likely an "I'm done Corporate Valuations" gathering on Sunday. This might seem excessive to those on the outside, but really it is about getting together with some of our colleagues who are leaving us for exchanges next week. In particular our Social Coordinator is headed to Mannheim and I'm sure everyone will miss her.

Next week we are starting Block B of the electives. There is some work and reading to be completed, but it all seems very reasonable after the workload that Corporate Valuations required.

Week 38: Electives - Block A (con't)

2009-01-24T10:07:00.002-07:00

Week 38 has ended. Winter is still in full swing, but it did warm up for a few days. However the temperature has dropped again.

All the courses are in full swing. As we are all discovering some are more work than others. The finance course on corporate valuations is more than a lot of work. This week saw us put in some very serious hours with a lot of people working on their team assignments until 2 AM to hand them in at 8 AM on Friday. I definitely know CAPM, DCF, Consultant's, FSASVM and many other valuation methods better than I ever thought possible after completing this assignment.

The Marketing course seems to have a lot of reading, but almost all the learning takes place in class. I'm not in the course, but from what I hear most people are enjoying it and the work load in fairly low when compared to the finance course.

The Strategic Leadership course is the other elective I'm taking. It is pretty good, but there is a fair bit of reading if you want to stay ahead of it. In addition we have had to do some self reflective assignments which aren't necessarily difficult, but I have always found these types of exercises challenging and therefore have had to invest significant time.

The Financing New Ventures course started with a bang, from what I have heard, but since the drop date it hasn't been as engaging. Apparently the instructor for this course is also teaching the cohort of students from the "Cornell-Queen's MBA" program and therefore hasn't been able to properly prepare material for the students taking this class in the "Full-time MBA" program. I haven't been able to confirm it, but some of the students mentioned that earlier in the program they were told the "Cornell-Queen's MBA" program gets priority for professors and resources because the school is trying to ensure the quality perception of the students graduating from that particular program. The end result is that other course for other programs suffer. I will have to keep asking around to see if this continues.

The class is still keeping up with point fours. This week we hit up the outdoor skating rink at Victoria park. Those of us with skates brought them and everyone else when and rented skates. A lot of people came out and I was very surprised to see how many "first time skaters" were out! We also had some sticks and pucks around to get a shinny game going. To day one of our classmates has secured his parents house just outside of Kingston for a day of skating and tobogganing. Should be a blast even if the temperature has dropped.

Overall people are finding the course load not as heavy as the first part of the program, unless they are the small minority of us who decided to take the finance course. Also, people who have not secured a job are starting to get a little concerned. I know a few people who are starting to consider if they should be taking up their former employer's offer to return if they have one, despite the fact they entered the program specifically to make a change. With the economy on a downturn who knows where we will all end up working. All is not lost though, there is still several months until we graduate.

Week 37: Electives - Block A

2009-01-16T08:51:00.003-07:00

Week 37 is ending and we are seeing the end of our first week back in classes. Kingston has taken a turn for the colder as temperatures have been dropping to -25 C (-13 F). I'm guessing the exchanges students, all 21 of them, that have joined us are finding the temperature a little surprising.

The electives that are currently being offered in this first block are:

Corporate Valuation & Mergers and Acquisitions
Marketing Strategy
Financing of New Ventures
Strategic Leadership

I'm currently in Corporate Valuation & Mergers and Acquisitions (taught by Bill Cannon) and Strategic Leadership (taught by Tina Dacin). Both are good courses. The Corporate Valuation & Mergers and Acquisitions course is quite a bit of work, but I am learning a lot. The Strategic Leadership course is a little more relaxed, but there is still reading that needs to be completed.

From what I have heard the Marketing Strategy course taught by Ken Wong is pretty good. People are enjoying it and the work required isn't too demanding. The same is true of the Financing of New Ventures course taught by Elspeth Murray.

The exchange students seem to be friendly and settling in nicely. Not all of them are from other MBA programs and therefore are only taking certain select courses. I'm sure they all had a blast at this weeks point four which was at a local bowling alley.

In addition, I have heard that some of our classmates have had some interesting adventures already. One in particular had to vacate the dormitory they were living in when a fire was started in the parkade.

Overall the work load is considerably less compared to the pace prior to Christmas. A lot of people are looking forward to taking some of their free time to look for work. In addition everyone seems happier and more relaxed.

Week 36: Holiday Break and the John Molson International Case Competition

2009-01-10T16:10:00.004-07:00

Week 36 has ended and I find myself in Montreal representing Queen's at the John Molson International Case Competition. It has been an interesting week filled with ups and downs, but overall a very valuable experience.

The cases are written for the competition and therefore some of them need a little additional work before they could be published. However, since they are not published there is no way the people competing could have seen them before and this ensures a level and fair playing field. The judges are different for every round and come from the business community of Montreal with a few special representatives from abroad. Although the rubric for judging is standard it is ultimately up to the panel of judges to interpret it and therefore results can vary significantly. Although our team did not make it to the semi-finals to compete, I do believe that we had a very strong team and the training Queen's has given us to date allowed us to be excellent competitors. I firmly believe we had a team that given different circumstances could have been finalists.

It has been very interesting to meet all the different schools at the competition and to represent Queen's on such a public forum. There is too much to discuss in this posting, so I will write a more indepth posting at a later date.

Classes start again this Monday. We have an additional 21 students joining our ranks from international schools. In addition we will be missing several of our classmates that have departed to study aboard. Friday was a special "orientation" for these new students to help them integrate to our team-based learning style and our social culture.

Furthermore, there is already studying that needs to be completed for Monday's classes! From the looks of the electives I have chosen, the workload will be demanding. Time to dive back in and roll up my sleeves to get back to work!

Finally, there is unofficial information circulating that applications for next year's program are way up and the school is ahead of filling the positions available compared with previous years. This will make it tougher for late applicant's compared with previous years.

Week 35: Holiday Break (con't)

2009-01-02T08:29:00.005-07:00

Week 35 ends and Canada finds itself in a deep freeze! The West Coast is shaking off from huge dumps of snow. I'm back in Calgary visiting friends before catching my flight back to Kingston and the temperature is -24 C, -32 C with windchill (i.e. -11 F & -26 F respectively), which is pretty representative of the prairies in general. Ontario and Quebec find themselves hovering around 0 C in the south and a little colder in the north, which probably means the roads are skating rinks. Finally eastern Canada, in particular Halifax, finds itself warmer at - 10 C (14 F), but with tons of snow. I only hope the people headed to Halifax for the MBA Games this year are able to make it. From the looks of it they may not be able to. I wonder what some of my classmates from warmer climes are thinking at this moment. (Aside: Here is the link to the video introducing Queen's to the other schools and the video for a CSR event)

No more grades have been posted. We are still waiting on 3 more courses to be posted.

I feel like I have had a long enough break that I am ready to get back to work to finishing this degree. 4 more months to go and I need to find a job in an economy that isn't exactly rosy. Classes resume in a week from Monday so I had better make the most of the time I have left.

Week 34: Holiday Break (con't)

2008-12-26T23:56:00.003-07:00

Week 34 ends and Christmas has passed. No new grades have been posted. A few Christmas greetings have been passed around.

Received a sample case from the organizers for the John Molson International Case Competition coming up in Montreal. I should get around to reading this before returning to Kingston, but there is plenty of time yet.

Not much else going on with respect to the program. I am starting to get bored, which is a good sign that I may finally be rested after going so hard for several consecutive months. Also, I am beginning to formulate different job hunting alternatives and wondering how to proceed with my search for employment.

Week 33: Holiday Break

2008-12-19T09:02:00.002-07:00

Week 33 ends and so does our first week of break. Nothing much to write about, just a few more grades posted.

Week 32: Capstone Simulation (Module 8)

2008-12-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

Week 32 has ended and with it so has the week long Capstone Simulation. Wow! Hard work, but very awesome. To sum it up in two words: LIFE CHANGING.

Everyday this week we have entered our decisions into the LINKS Enterprise Management Simulation and awaited our results. 2 decisions were due everyday: one at 12:30 PM and one at 5:30 PM. Results were made available from the previous quarter at 7:30AM and 1:30 PM everyday. This was to allow people the luxury to sleep. Also, 2 memos were due everyday detailing your teams strategy and decisions with references to all of your MBA courses and learnings. A final 5 page report is also do tonight at midnight.

Basically the 13 teams were separated into 2 "industries" with 7 teams in industry A and 6 teams in industry B. Both industries were identical, but separate (ie they did not interact with each other). The basis was that you were manufacturing "set-top boxes" for TVs. You could conduct research, request market studies and many other information gathering actives. These in turn would help you set your price, marketing budgets, choose distribution channels, choose regions/countries to sell in, take out loans, increase capacity, change product configurations, etc. Overall it is impressive the level of complexity that can be simulated. It is also impressive how competitive MBA students can make an activity such as a week long simulation.

Industry A was won by team 417 who came from the mid-field with an impressively well thought out strategy to sell high volume low quality products. They blew the competition out of the water, pretty much literally. This industry had people all over the place: low end, high end, mid end...everywhere.

Industry B was won by team 407 who excelled at making and managing margins to maximize profits. This industry was tightly clustered for the entire game with everyone locked in a price war.

Congratulations to the winners who will have their teams immortalized on the Capstone Simulation plaque.

With the end of this module we are also seeing the end of our teams. We have been in these same teams since May and now we find ourselves saying good bye. In addition there are several people that will not be returning after the holiday break. Some of these people will be away for a few months and some are gone to finish their degrees abroad on exchanges. To celebrate we are embarking on the "twelve pubs of Christmas". Should be fun, but it is still bittersweet.

We have from today, Dec 12th, off until Jan 13th when classes start-up again. Finally some time to spend with my wife. Also, the first week of January is MBA Games in Halifax! I'm not going, but a good portion of the class will be there and I hope they do Queen's proud.

Well, I'm now off to practice a case for the upcoming John Molson International Case Competition starting on Jan 5th 2009 in Montreal. Afterwards we will meet up with the class. This is a long week...

Week 31: Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Module 7)

2008-12-05T14:22:00.002-07:00

Week 31 saw us start and finish module 7 which was comprised of a single course: MBA 843 Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This course was taught by Dr. Kelley A. Packalen. Kelley's background and her unique teaching style made this a great course. Although we covered a lot, the course was as nice to us as it could be.

Topics covered:

Why Entrepreneurship matters even if you aren't an entrepreneur
Are you an entrepreneur?
Creativity & Innovation In-action
The entrepreneurial process
Capitalizing on sources of innovation
Corporate innovation
The business plan
Getting the deal done
Growing the venture
Making the pitch
Meeting the entrepreneur
Putting the pieces together

We had several guest speakers. One notable one was Dany Battat of Battat Toys. In addition we had a local entrepreneur pitch his idea to us, which we had to evaluate using the framework we created. Also, each team had to pitch their "top" idea to the class as though the class were a group of angel investors. There was a few computer simulations too, which were neat to learn from and we did a lot of discussion centered learning in class.

We also had a the president of Barclay Capital, Jerry del Missier, come in and give the class a talk on the financial crisis. He is a Queen's MBA alum from '87.

This weekend we are having a "festivus"! Should be a blast!

Next week is the capstone simulation. It promises to be a very difficult week. There is 107 page manual to read prior to Monday's class. One more week...

Week 30: Finance Strategy, Managing IT, Negotiations&Conflict Management, International Business and Strategic Implementation (Module 6 cont.)

2008-11-29T15:53:00.003-07:00

Week 30 and module 6 is over. This week we had the IT Management test on Monday and papers due on Wednesday for both International Business and Negotiations and Conflict Management.

Thursday and Friday a large portion of the class headed to Toronto for a couple of days of info sessions the Business Career Center had arranged. These sessions were to help put students in touch with organizations that might be hiring MBAs every year or could not justify a coming to on campus recruiting.

I'm not sure how these events went since I got a call late Wednesday to go to Calgary for an interview with a major Oil & Gas Producer. So, I was off to the races Thursday to get to Calgary for a Friday morning interview. The company took care of all the details via a travel agent and I can submit all additional receipts for food and taxis. I took full advantage of the event and visited a few friends and dropped in on my former place of employment to say "hi". Good to see them all again!

Now I am back in Kingston getting ready for our winter gala! This is our big event the class has planned to celebrate how far we have come. In addition there are people that will be leaving on exchange after the Christmas break that we will not be seeing again since they will be completing their required credits on exchange. Bitter sweet, but it promises to be fun.

Next week we are starting and completing module 7! More on that in next weeks entry.

Queen's MBA Class of 2008 "preliminary" placement statistics

2008-11-22T12:56:00.003-07:00

These are preliminary numbers. The official ones will be published on the Queen's Business Career Center website very shortly.

Percentage of students placed (6 months after graduation) 93%

In Canada 77%
Outside Canada 23%

Locations in Canada:

Vancouver, BC
Calgary, AB
Edmonton, AB
Toronto, ON
Ottawa, ON
Waterloo, ON

Locations outside Canada:

India
United Arab Emirates
UK
USA

Employment by sector, average salary:

Finance 35%, $78,000
Management Consulting 20%, $94,500
High Tech/Telecom 25%, $74,500
Manufacturing 4%, $80,000
Bio-Pharm 2%, N/A
Other 14%, $77,000

Salary Info:

Average $80,000
Median $81,000
Top $122,000

Placement by citizenship (some cases by region of origin and not citizenship):

Overall 93%
Canadian 88% (note: this is lower because of a trend for Canadian students to take a period of time to "decompress" after the program prior to looking for work)
Indian 100%
Chinese 100%
African 100%
European 100%
South American 100%

Week 29: Finance Strategy, Managing IT, Negotiations&Conflict Management, International Business and Strategic Implementation (Module 6 cont.)

2008-11-22T10:13:00.006-07:00

Week 29 is ending and the website is up for us to "apply to graduate". In addition the weather is now consistently below zero, we have a light dusting of snow that is staying on the ground and all the leaves have fallen off the trees. Shouldn't be long now until we see a good dumping of snow.

Although most of the courses/classes are finished, here's what's up with the program this week:

MBA 853 Strategic Implementation & Change:

Completed. Just waiting on final grades for team assignments.

MBA 822 Finance Strategy:

Final exam was this week. Most people were very relieved when this was finished. This course is now complete.

MBA 840 IT Strategy:

Final exam on the afternoon of Monday Nov 24th. Will be our analysis of a case and the write up in the format for all the assignments (ie 250 words, problem statement and 2 recommendations).
Not much anyone can do to study for this except review the professor's requirements for these "mini-case" write-ups.

MBA 851 Negotiations & Conflict Management:

Individual Final Paper due by midnight Wednesday Nov 26th
10 pages, 1 inch margins, 1.5 spaced, 11 point font
Pick a past negotiation, preferably from your work, and analyze it using course concepts

MBA 854 International Business:

Individual Final Paper due Wednesday Nov 26th
10 pages
Choose one of two questions to answer
Q1: A student will choose one (1) country in the world. The country is your choice, and more than one student can do a single country. The student will write a paper that examines how well the country is positioned to withstand and eventually recover from the current global financial crises
Q2: This course has examined many international organizations to illustrate their capacity to impact business strategy in the international arena. Some of the organizations we have mentioned or examined in some detail include the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, the International Labour Organization, and others

There were various career talks yesterday on how to start our off-campus job hunt now that on campus recruiting is over. In addition, a large portion of the class is headed to Toronto on Thursday/Friday next week to listen to info sessions by companies that do not make the trip out to Queen's for on campus recruiting. This is something new the Business Career Center is trying out in an effort to place graduates with companies that either can't afford to come to on campus recruiting or do not need MBA graduates every year, but are interested in hiring a few people this year.

It is becoming very apparent that our tight knit community of 75 students is about to be shaken-up. In three weeks the "team-based" portion of the program is coming to an end. After we return from Christmas break several people will be on exchange and other students on international exchange will arrive. There are some people who will not be returning since they will be completing all their course requirements abroad. It is definitely bitter-sweet; good to be at this stage after working so hard, but sad to know our "MBA" community will be breaking apart.

As I mentioned earlier the website for applying to graduate is up. It is weird to be applying to graduate since it still seems like I just started the program. In addition team photos were completed this week and we all need to have our grad photo selection submitted by next Friday. Most students have finalized their electives. Things are just humming along.

The team I am a part of for the John Molson MBA International Case Competition has been getting stuff finalized. An alternate has been selected and we are in the process of finalizing a coach. The organizers need bio's and a team photo by next Friday. We are going to need to practice before Christmas break to be ready for this competition when we return. This is a week long competition with teams competing twice some days. Should be intense!

The MBA soccer team lost out in the semi-final's and the waterpolo team went out with a splash during their final game. The hockey team played their last pre-Christmas game, but they will be playing more after the break. The basketball and volleyball teams are finished as well. Hopefully everyone is practiced up for MBA Games.

MBA Games is in Halifax this year and from what I can tell the plane tickets have been booked. I'm not going as it would require me to come back early and I'm just heading out to the John Molson Case Competition right away. This way I get an extra "business day" back home with which to try to catch-up with various friends and hiring agencies.

There is a big gala being organized for next week. We are doing a masked ball to celebrate our year to date before the break. From my sources it promises to be a night to remember.

Okay, enough procrastinating with this blog. Back to writing my papers...

Week 28: Finance Strategy, Managing IT, Negotiations&Conflict Management, International Business and Strategic Implementation (Module 6 cont.)

2008-11-14T14:27:00.004-07:00

Week 28. Classes are pretty much at an end for this module except for a few days next week. Then the final exams and final papers. I can't believe it is still so warm here. It was actually raining yesterday. Registration for specialization courses after Christmas was this week and the Business Week rankings came out.

Without further ado, here is what went on this week:

MBA 853 Strategic Implementation & Change:

Lectures on culture change levers, influence and persuasion
All day change simulation. Check it out at http://www.experiencepoint.com/. A lot of business schools use this simulation. It was pretty cool. You read the "change model" and "players guide" then, as a team, we planned out our change strategy and which "tools/tactics" to use to implement them. Each tactic required money and time. We had $500,000 and 78 weeks to reach a better than 60% buy-in for our changes strategy.
Team assignment based on learnings from the simulation. In addition each team must create their own framework for change.
Individual assignments returned
Our prof was a little disappointed that the class didn't prep the case for one of our lectures, but we are just loaded to the hilt and it couldn't be helped
The books used for this course were " The Heart of Change" by John Kotter and "Execution" by Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan

MBA 840 IT Strategy:

Lectures on delivering IT solutions and developing IT leaders
More team presentations on a emerging technologies. Every class we have 2 of these presentations. The topics covered by the end next week will be: Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Mashups, Web 2.0, Blogs, Location-aware technologies, Grid Computing, VoIP, Social Computing, Electronic Ink/Digital Paper, Paper Batteries, Speech Recognition, Biometrics and Wearable Computing.
Every class has a mini-case associated with it that must be equal to or less than 250 words

MBA 851 Negotiations & Conflict Management:

Lecture on the Cuban Missile Crisis Negotiations
Another "live" negotiation assignment. Everyone received an envelope a few days prior and had to prep their side. Then we are given 40 minutes to negotiate with a pre-arranged partner to see what we come up with. This time we weren't supposed to get a settlement, but almost the entire class did, meaning they didn't honour their client's wishes.
Session where each team presented the business negotiation styles and practices of a country of their choice. Countries discussed were: South Africa, Japan, Israel, China, Switzerland, South Korea, Russian, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Iran, Germany, Turkey, and Spain.
Text for this is "getting to yes" and "essentials of negotiation, 4th edition"
Submission of topics for the final paper where each student must analyse a past negotiation with the concepts and methods taught in the class

MBA 854 International Business:

Lecture that had a team present the "Life, Death, and Property Rights: The Pharmaceutical Industry Faces AIDS in Africa (HBS 9-702-049)" case and whether IP rights should be changed. Every lecture a team presents the case assigned and frames the topics the professor wishes to be discussed.
Students should have chosen a country to write their final paper on by next week. This research intensive paper is on how the student thinks the country will be effected by the current economic crisis and what will be the future ramifications.

MBA 822 Finance Strategy:

No more lectures, but there is a tutorial session next week that Dr. Wang has been kind enough to put on
Final next week.

This weekend there is an internal case competition to decide the team that will represent Queen's at the John Molson Strategy Case Competition in January 2009. In addition there are various working sessions for team work. Of course everyone will be starting to study for exams and beginning their final papers.

Queen's Ranked #1 Non-US MBA Program by Business Week

2008-11-13T19:38:00.003-07:00

Well, it is official. Queen's has kept their #1 non-US MBA program position! Everyone is definitely happy about the results!

http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/rankings/

Top 10 Non-U.S. MBA Programs (2008, Nov 13)
1 Queens University
2 IE Business School
3 INSEAD
4 Western Ontario (Ivey)
5 London Business School
6 ESADE
7 IMD
8 Toronto (Rotman)
9 IESE
10 Oxford (Saîd)

Registering for module 9 electives

2008-11-13T16:45:00.002-07:00

Today students had the option to start registering for their module 9 electives. Students are required to take 2.5 units of course weighting over the course of module 9, which basically translates into 5 courses. However, students may only take as many as 7 courses. In addition they are not allowed to take more than 2 courses per block and no auditing of courses is permitted due to past experiences (i.e. they don't want to taking to many resulting in the student failing and auditing doesn't require the same level of commitment on the part of the student which affect the other students who are actually registered in the course)

Here are the courses and their blocks:

Jan 12-30 Block A:

MBA 823 Corporate Valuation & Mergers and Acquisitions (instructor: Bill Cannon) (Finance)
MBA 832 Marketing Strategy (instructor: Ken Wong) (Marketing & Sales)
MBA 871 Financing of New Ventures (instructor: Elspeth Murray) (New Ventures)
MBA 882 Strategic Leadership (instructor: Tina Dacin) (Consulting & Project Management)

Feb 2-20 Block B:

MBA 826 Risk Management (instructor: Louis Gagnon) (Finance)
MBA 881 Global Strategy (instructor: Doug Reid) (Consulting & Project Management)

Feb 23-13 Block C:

MBA 824 Investments (instructor: Sean Cleary) (Finance)
MBA 873 Services Management (instructor: Barry Cross) (Consulting & Project Management)
MBA 833 Advanced Topics in Marketing (instructor: Michael Darling) (Marketing & Sales)

Mar 16 - April 3 Block D:

MBA 835 Consumer Research (instructor: Peter Dacin) (Marketing & Sales)
MBA 872 Managing Innovation (instructor: Lib Gibson) (New Ventures)
MBA 828 International Finance (instructor: TBC) (Finance)

April 6-24 Block E:

MBA 825 Corporate Financing and Capital Budgeting Decisions (instructor: Alex Faserak) (Finance)
MBA 844 Project Management (instructor: Kathryn Brohman) (Consulting & Project Management)
MBA 870 Marketing of New Ventures (instructor: Rob Woyzbun) (New Ventures)
MBA 837 Sales Management (instructor: Shannon Goodspeed) (Marketing & Sales)

Entire Module Courses:

MBA 890 New Venture Project (instructor: Shai Dubey) (New Ventures)
MBA 891 Consulting Project (instructor: Barry Cross) (Consulting & Project Management)
Students can also participate in the "TriColour Venture Fund", but must take the associated New Venture courses to qualify.

Here are the actual course descriptions:

Queen’s MBA Elective Course Descriptions
Winter/Spring 2009

Finance

MBAS 823: Corporate Valuation & Mergers and Acquisitions
Topics covered in this course include: introduction to stock valuation; real economic income and risk; security valuation in efficient capital markets; the CAPM, leverage policy and valuation; dividend policy and valuation (including the Gordon model); discounted-cash-flow-(DCF)-based valuation models; the fundamental securities analyst's common stock valuation model; valuing private and public companies; share valuation; share-exchange merger valuation; and divestiture valuation analysis.

MBAS 824: Investments
The purpose of this course is to examine valuation, risk assessment, and strategic management of financial assets, as well as the markets in which these assets trade. The major focus of the course will be on practical applications, with frequent reference to capital markets. An understanding of the underlying theory will make this approach meaningful. The course assignments involve hands-on investment decisions, designed to make you use the concepts in the real world.

MBAS 825: Corporate Financing & Capital Budgeting Decisions
Topics covered in this course include: bank credit policies and assessment; the choice and implementation of corporate financing policies; bank credit assessment; preferred shares and convertible securities; corporate financing decisions; optimal debt and dividend policies; strategic aspects of capital budgeting and cost of capital estimation; project analysis; optimal investment decision rules; hurdle rate estimation; capital budgeting procedures; & hurdle rate determination.

MBAS 826: Risk Management
This course offers you a unique opportunity to learn about derivatives and their applications as risk management and yield enhancement tools for financial institutions and non-financial corporations. We develop the key relationships of derivatives valuation (the cost-of-carry model, risk neutral valuation, binomial trees, and the Black-Scholes model). We analyze standard derivative instruments (futures, forwards, FRA’s, swaps, stock options) as well as more recent ones such as exotic options and credit derivatives. We explore best practices in the area of market and credit risk management and address topical issues pertaining to the use of derivatives, including capital requirements for regulated financial institutions and strategic issues associated with corporate risk management.

MBA 838: International Finance

Topics covered in this course include: multinational corporations; international trade; exchange rates; balance of payments; foreign exchange market; parity conditions; currency futures & options; international portfolio investments; currency swaps; Euromarkets; hedge funds; translation & transaction exposure; economic exposure; and cross-border valuation.

Marketing

MBAS 832: Marketing Strategy
This course has a simple objective: to help you (and your company) make money. Specifically, we work off the philosophy that we make money by creating value for customers; we keep making money by sustaining or enhancing that value over time; and we lose making money when we cease creating value. In keeping with that philosophy, the course begins by examining how marketing can create, destroy or lose customer value. We’ll then explore the central organizing paradigm - a framework entitled “Mission Critical Marketing”[1] (MCM). In the process, we’ll touch on each of the four variables that define profitability: price, cost, market share and market size. We’ll dedicate another class to a methodology called “market profiling”. Two final classes are directed at “sustaining and enhancing customer value over time”

MBAS 833: Advanced Topics in Marketing
This course is designed to provide students with a view of complex contemporary marketing situations and the solutions that marketing leaders have designed for these situations. The course builds on top of the knowledge gained during the Marketing Strategy course (MBAS 832). Advanced marketing topics are hard to define per se; however, in today’s increasingly complex business environment marketing can be viewed in many different ways. The underlying philosophy of this course is that marketing connects the organization to the marketplace. A second pivotal assumption is that there is no neutral ground and that all marketing activities either contribute positively or negatively to the development of business, the protection of business or the brand equity. The third theme element is the rapidly changing nature of marketing. [Prerequisite MBAS 832]

MBAS 835: Consumer Research
This course deals with various aspects of the collection and use of consumer/customer information for the purpose of making marketing decisions. This course provides you with skills to use information to translate conceptual understanding into specific operational plans. Using market data, this course requires you to take marketing information and develop specific marketing-based interpretations in various decision contexts. [Prerequisite MBAS 832]

MBAS 837: Sales Management
This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of sales management by developing the key skills, behaviors, and strategies necessary to succeed in sales. Specific issues include prospecting, the pre-approach, the approach, the presentation, the trial close, determining objections, meeting objections, closing the sale, and following up.

Entrepreneurship & Innovation

MBAS 870: Financing of New Ventures
This course will focus on the practical and real issues associated with the funding of an early stage company. The objective of the course is to provide students with the knowledge, skills and tools to strategize, plan and execute a funding strategy for an early stage technology or biotechnology company. Both the entrepreneurial start-up and the investor perspectives are explored in order to fully appreciate the dynamics, tensions and issues associated with funding early stage enterprises. The course content is based on the assumption that a mix of theory and contemporary practice provides the most insightful information, relevant facts and helpful pedagogy in studying early stage financing with all its temporal nuance and historic mystery. A series of guest speakers, each expert practitioners in their respective fields, has been organized to provide the students with a mix of real-world exercises, simulations, and briefings.

MBAS 871: Marketing of New Ventures
This course will focus on the unique marketing strategy and marketing management challenges faced by technology start-ups. The objective of this course is to provide students with the knowledge, skills and tools to prepare them for marketing management within a technology-driven new venture. Our definition of new venture includes new business ventures within existing or mature organizations as well as “start-up” new enterprises. Our definition of success is “sustainable” enterprises – not “get rich quick” or liquidity events favouring founders or VC’s. The course content is based on the premise that new venture marketing is a unique yet familiar subset of big “M” marketing as practiced by mature, proven enterprises. The course will be divided in two topic areas. Part 1: New Venture Crash Avoidance: Strategies for Reducing Risk and Getting to Market Part 2 will focus on New Venture Marketing Planning and Management: Unique Considerations and Techniques.

MBAS 872: Managing Innovation
This course will explore such topics as: individual vs. group creativity, innovation inspired by research; innovation inspired by the customer; sustaining product innovation; disruptive Innovation; and the innovative organization.

Consulting & Project Management

MBAS 881: Global Strategy
Most influential companies are global. Few companies who aspire to superior profitability are able to do so within the bounds of a single country market. For an increasing number of businesses, competing internationally is no longer an option. Moreover, the actions of non-North American multinationals means that today more than ever, competitive activity must have a strong defensive element as well.

Success in international markets is not a matter of luck, but of skill and persistence. Developing proficiency in international strategy translates into competitive advantage. Building competence in this area means understanding, at a sophisticated level, how companies succeed in the most demanding competitive arenas, which are usually found beyond their borders.
The approach we will take in this course is practical and problem-oriented. It is intended to enable you to acquire proficiency at strategy formulation and implementation in an international context. The course will do this by developing and applying concepts, analytical frameworks, and intuition to the strategic issues that face real-world multinational corporations, regardless of their industry.

MBAS 882: Strategic Leadership
This is a management skills course that is designed to enhance professional effectiveness, career development (promotions, salary, and job satisfaction), and quality of life in general. Through a variety of readings, self-assessments, videos, simulations, learning logs, and class assignments, you will develop a wide range of ideas, tools, and best practices that will help you bring out the best in yourself, others, and your organizations.

MBAS 873: Services Management
Students will develop a general management perspective of the typical service business for those looking to take leadership roles in a service organization or consult for those companies. Students will understand the systems and processes necessary in creating service breakthroughs, with a key focus on the involvement of a customer in a service, employee & customer loyalty, and their role in the service profit chain.

MBAS 844: Project Management
The purpose of this course is present the basic foundation concepts in project management to fulfill the Project Management Institute educational requirement for PMP certification. The course content is designed into five specific modules: a) Initiating the project, b) Planning the project, c) Completing the core functions, d). Facilitating the project, and e) Closing the project

"Best In Class" FEI Invitational Case Competition 2008

2008-11-10T19:09:00.000-07:00

The team I joined was fortunate enough to earn the right to represent Queen's at the 3rd annual "Best In Class" case competition sponsored by the Financial Executives International Canada Chapter and hosted by the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Ten schools were invited to send a team of four students to participate. (Queen's, Rotman, Schulich, Ivey, HEC-Montreal, McGill, St.Mary's, Sauders, Alberta School of Business and Haskayne) Here is a brief synopsis.

Thursday Nov 6:

Rent a vehicle, leave Kingston at 11:30 AM, drive for 3 hours to Toronto, check in at the Delta Chelsea
Arrive at Rotman just prior to 4 PM for the 1 hour tech. session to get laptops set-up for the wireless network. We were also given swipe cards and a tutorial on the information services available.
6 PM-7PM a meet and greet in the atrium

Friday Nov 7:

9 AM the live case is rolled out. The CEO and several executives presented their company. This year it was Pacific & Western Credit Corp.
9-10 AM teams retired to their working rooms to review annual reports and other information and prepare for question period
10-11 AM all teams assembled and each takes a turn asking a question of the company's CEO. We managed to get in 60 questions.
11 AM onward teams are expected to remain sequestered in their assigned work areas and not interact with other teams.
11 AM-1PM Lunch with case organizers and company execs.
6 PM Pizza supper provided
Teams work as long as they like researching and analyzing publicly available data

Saturday Nov 8:

Our team was working until 2:30 AM. Then we went to the hotel to practice our presentation. Got to bed at 3:30 AM.
Up at 6 AM to get showered and to look "fresh" for the judges
7 AM at Rotman, grab some coffee and fruit provided by the competition, also assigned an proctor who is responsible for escorting us around to ensure we abide by the rules
7:45 AM all team must have submitted a paper copy of their slide deck as well as an electronic copy on a USB key provided. Slide decks much be in black&white (gray scale allowed) with no animations. However, a team did get away with some colour in their deck. I mention who since it is all in the past.
7:45 to 8 AM all teams in the atrium while judges are introduced and the order of the presentations was drawn randomly
8 AM to 1:30 PM each team presents for 15 minutes with 10 minutes of questions. Judges are given 5 minutes to finish evaluation while the next team sets up. Teams are not allowed to see other team's presentations, but must be waiting in the staging area 5 minutes prior to their set-up time. Anyone who is late is disqualified.
1:30 PM the CEO of the case company roles out a "surprise" crisis. This time there were two independent problems: loss of access to major source of short-term liquidity and Shoppers Drug Mart whats to purchase company at a premium through a share swap.
1:30 PM to 3 PM Teams sequestered in working rooms while they analyse and make a new solution to the crisis.
3 PM Teams submit their decks and power point presentations as before and then it is revealed who the top 4 teams are that will get to move on to the finals. The first team sets up right then while the remaining 3 are sequestered again. All remaining teams are allowed to watch the finals. In addition, a new set of judges is assembled and introduced.
3 to 4:30 PM Final presentations
4:30 PM Teams clean out work rooms and make their way to the reception at Osgood Hall in downtown Toronto
5 PM cocktails and mingling with organizations, case company execs., and other schools
6 PM dinner
7 PM awards (1st place HEC-Montreal, 2nd place Rotman, 3rd place Haskayne)
9 PM all is done. Contestants leave for home or the hotel
11 PM go out for a drink with my team member

Sunday Nov 9th:

Up at 7 AM to leave by 8:30 AM
Back in Kingston at Noon-ish. Unload and return the rental vehicle
Dive into team meetings and course work to catch up on all the material I have missed

Overall it was a really unique experience. I hope next year's Queen's team does better and I hope the organizers a least sit the team all at the same table. Every other school was seated as teams, but the organizers saw fit to split the Queen's team up at 2 different tables on opposite sides of the dinning hall. They couldn't have put us further apart if they tried.

All that aside, the event was meticulously planned and it is a great experience for MBA students to get a taste of what it is like to be in the "hot seat" that many executives find themselves. This experience has definitely made me want to participate in more case competitions and I would recommend others try them out as well.

Week 27: Finance Strategy, Managing IT, Negotiations&Conflict Management, International Business and Strategic Implementation (Module 6 cont.)

2008-11-08T06:12:00.003-07:00

Week 27 has ended and I find myself sequestered in a small meeting room awaiting my turn to present at the "Best in class" FEI invitational case competition. This year the "live" case company is Pacific & Western Credit Corp. As I write this post we are practicing a few more times before our allotted "semi-final" presentation time slot. I will post a separate entry on the competition. I will say that to avoid bias based on school name, we are not allowed to refer to our school. Therefore we are "Team Da Vinci" as the theme this year is great thinkers.

Classes have been in full swing this week. There were a two major assignments due, one in Strategy and one Finance Strategy. The Strategy assignment was a 40% individual paper where each student was expected to apply course concepts to a case and focus on a strategic plan as well as an implementation plan. The Finance Strategy assignment was a 20% team assignment based on the "Marriott" case. Each team had to calculate the WACC for the company, but a lot of assumptions was required.

Although we are away from class, things are still rolling on. There is a 75% attendance requirement for all courses in this particular program. Luckily all of my teammates and myself are above this requirement even with the time we were missing to participate in this case competition. The classes are being taped with the professors miked, but I doubt I will find the time to watch 9 hours of lectures. In addition the Financial Strategy quiz weighting was moved to the final since the policy of the professor was not to allow make up exams.

Finally, the other course are proceeding as planned. Nothing unusual there as the workload continues to ramp-up.

Week 26: Finance Strategy, Managing IT, Negotiations&Conflict Management, International Business and Strategic Implementation (Module 6 cont.)

2008-11-01T23:39:00.002-06:00

Week 26 ends and I can't help but notice that the year is now officially half over. It is now downhill to the finish...if it only felt that way.

We had our first MBA 853 Strategic Implementation & Change course this week with Tina Dacin. Tina is the professor whose course I sat in on when I came out for my interview last year. The course promises to be engaging. Tina's quick wit and keen observation skills makes it hard for anyone to get away with attempting to do other work in her class or to just "coast" by.

In Finance Strategy we had a quiz. It was just a quick 30 minute test. Pretty simple, but everyone studied like crazy for it. A lot of people were feeling worried because of the experience they had with the previous finance professor.

The class had a Halloween party last night that was a blast! Lots of fun. Some of the teams took the opportunity to dress as a team. One team was a troop of smurfs, another a gang of Mexicans and yet another was Hugh Hefner and his bunnies (the guys were the bunnies and the girls were Hefners).

Today has been a massive drive to complete work. I have been too busy to update this blog as I usually do because the workload is getting heavy. Just managing to squeeze this entry in at 2 AM, as daylight savings kicks in to buy me an extra hour of sleep, after spending the last 12 hours hammering out the 80% draft of the Marriott Case for Finance Strategy. Prior to that it was a team meeting to kick off yet another assignment. Lucky for me my wife was willing to show up with some dinner so we could visit for half a hour. Not sure what I would do without her. Okay, I'm outa here. Tomorrow promises to be just as busy.

Week 25: Finance Strategy, Managing IT, Negotiations&Conflict Management, International Business and Strategic Implementation (Module 6 cont.)

2008-10-24T18:10:00.007-06:00

Week 25 is over and the weather is definitely getting colder. Those members of the class that are used to warmer climates are already sporting winter coats. What are they going to do when winter actually arrives?

Campus is busy, but quite. The undergrads are busy studying for their mid-terms. They have also made it very hard to schedule meeting rooms less than a week in advance as they too are working on various group assignments. The libraries are full as well, which makes me all the more thankful we have our team rooms. At least we have some space to work in.

Business Week came to campus and did a photo shoot with various hand-picked students. This is a good sign since it means Queen's likely ranked very well again! We all have our fingers crossed hoping for the number 1 spot! We should know in a couple of weeks.

We had a guest speaker on Tuesday evening. Bill Bamber, Queen's MBA'94 alum and co-author of the just released book, "Bear Trap: The Fall of Bear Stearns and the Panic of 2008" gave a talk on his first-hand witness to the carnage on Wall Street. It was quite interesting.

We also had another guest speaker on Thursday at noon. Thalia Kingsford, Senior Investment Advisor - Vice President, with BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. in Calgary, Alberta came to talk to the "women in business" club, but everyone was invited. Very interesting woman who shared her experience and advice with us.

A number of internal case competitions were run during the few days we didn't have class this week. Teams for the Tata CSR and Financial Executives International Canada (FEI) competitions have been selected. Also, the team from Queen's that submitted an online case for the Thunderbird case competition was selected as one of the top ten entrants. That team is going to Phoenix, Arizona to participate in the final round and could win $25,000!

My team for the FEI was the team selected to represent Queen's at the competition on Nov. 7th & 8th held at the Rotman School of Management. Most case competitions are 3 hours of frantic work followed by a presentation to a panel of judges. The FEI case is a 24 hour case, which means it is going to be a lot of work. One good thing about these competitions is that they want the entrants resumes, so you know the sponsors will probably look them over!

A lot of prospective students are starting to visit the class. I had the privilege of joining some of them for lunch today. I know I was in their shoes this time last year, but that seems like eons ago. If the information I have found is correct, business schools will see a bumper crop of applications this year since the economy is taking a turn for the worse.

Grad photos were also this week. Weird to be taking grad photos when there is still a lot left to cover. It just serves as another reminder of how quickly the time is passing. By November I have to select the specialization courses I want to take. We also have to "apply to graduate" for spring 2009 in November!

People who have accepted international exchanges are in the process of finalizing flights and other paperwork required. They need to have all this completed to ensure their position is held.

A lot of people have had second round interviews with various consulting firms and banks. Some people have even had offers. Some have accepted and others have declined. On campus recruiting has come to a close and there are currently no more info sessions. I have been lucky enough to receive an invitation to interview for a job I applied for with Imperial Oil on Monday. It took them quite a while to get back to me, but I am excited about the opportunity nonetheless.

The work load has been picking up steadily over the week. We are now under the gun again to complete various team projects as well as a mountain of reading while preparing for quizzes and writing individual essays. Time management has become key to balancing homework, class, case competition teams, interviews, home-life and many other activities.

Class has been interesting. Lots covered and all of it interesting. Managing IT has been the strangest because it has pretty much reversed who speaks in class. People who rarely ever spoke are now involved in the class discussion more than ever. It probably helps that a lot of the class comes from an IT background. There were a couple of inventive individuals who came up with an "odds" table for who speaks during class. They place wagers on who will speak out in class as a way of adding an element of excitement to their day. I imagine this change might have them re-writing their "odds" table.

All is not lost though! We are still finding time to have fun. The hockey, ultimate frisbee, soccer and waterpolo teams all played this week. This weeks point four was at the Tir Nan Og for karaoke and if it doesn't rain the class will be going paintballing tomorrow afternoon! (Note: it did end up raining so we didn't go paintballing. It rained hard. The fallen leaves have this way of clogging the drainage inlets, so there were parts of streets that were flooded all over town. Also, it rained pretty much the entire day. I'm not used to that from where I come from. Kind of depressing/annoying since you get the grey skies and you get soaked.)

Well, another blog entry completed. Now back to the Finance Strategy assignment...

Week 24: Finance Strategy, Managing IT, Negotiations&Conflict Management, International Business and Strategic Implementation (Module 6)

2008-10-17T23:44:00.004-06:00

Week 24 has us starting module 6. The courses for this module are:

MBA 822 Finance Strategy (taught by Wei Wang)
MBA 840 Managing IT (taught by Jim McKeen)
MBA 851 Negotiation & Conflict Management (taught by Rick Jackson)
MBA 853 Strategic Implementation (taught by Tina Dacin)
MBA 854 International Business (taught by David Detomasi)

Finance Strategy is going to cover Derivative Securities, Options, Capital Structure, Cost of Long-Term Debt and Corporate Restructuring. Dr. Wang seems like a good prof so far, but it is hard to say since we have only had one class. Long puts and short calls are definitely going to be haunting a few people's dreams this week.

Managing IT is going to cover the role of IT, IT planning, leveraging the business with IT, investing in IT, managing technology, delivering solutions, developing IT solutions and knowledge management. Dr. McKeen seems like a good prof, but again we have only had one class. This class is going to make extensive use of cases to help us learn. Originally I thought this was going to be all about the technical aspects of IT, but it is anything but that. This course is all about how IT and technology can be appropriately used and maximized to further the business. Whether it is a calculator or a full blown SAP implementation, if the business isn't fully utilizing the resource then it isn't getting the full benefit. Should be interesting to see where this course goes. With so many people from IT backgrounds the are a lot of people interested in this course.

Negotiations & Conflict Management is going to cover preparation for negotiations, positional bargaining, styles, interest-based and principle-based negotiation, framing, mediation, intraorganizational bargaining, ethics in negotiations and cross-culture negotiations. Dr. Jackson has a unique presence in the classroom and I think this is going to be a very interesting course. The course relies heavily the teachings and a text by the prof, but also on "getting to yes" (ISBN 978-0-14-015735-2).

Strategic Implementation is going to cover crafting strategy, change frameworks, binders, resistance&inertia, change levers, building your team, building urgency, culture, selling the change, influence&persuasion, and networks&social capital. Haven't had this course, but Tina's class was the one I sat in on last year and I remember her being very exciting and energetic. Have to wait till next week to find out if my memory is correct.

International Business is going to cover business-government relations, competitiveness and globalization, country risk, emerging markets & global opportunities, the market & politics of oil, trade & protectionism, WTO & NAFTA, national standards in a global economy, social & legal responsibility of multinationals and the future of the global economy. Dr. Detomasi is a very engaging lecturer. This course is relying on the students to present the cases for each class. In addition everyone needs to do quite a bit of reading in advance. Also, one of the final projects is to pick either Obama or McCain and write the inaugural speech they would deliver should they become president. That should be interesting.

In addition we had a guest speaker on Tuesday. Neil Weinberg, Senior Editor at Forbes, came to give a talk on corporate governance and responsibility. He co-authored the book "Stolen Without A Gun" with Walter Pavlo Jr. which details Walter's slide into white collar crime. Neil was also able to give us his view on the recent events happening on Wall Street. Overall it was very interesting and kind of neat to get to hear first hand from someone at the epicenter of the "credit crisis".

This weekend we are headed to the corn maze on Wolf Island. Should be fun. Also, there was a change to visit with the AMBA program on Thursday evening. We have met them before, but it was good to network a bit more. Also, there is quite a bit of reading that could be completed this weekend, but no rush. We are just a week into this module and already the work is pouring on. This is the last major module prior to the Christmas break, so hopefully that will provide some extra motivation.

Week 23.5: Brief dialogue on job hunting and employment opportunities at this time.

2008-10-12T07:38:00.004-06:00

After a comment on the "Week 23" post I have decided to re-post my response here to allow others to view it easily.

I only want it to be clear that this is my opinion and the opinion of a few others I have discussed this with in the program. What is really happening will only be told by history. It is very likely I'm wrong, if not in entirely than in part.

From what I have heard, many companies are being a little more selective on who they are interviewing, particularly the consulting companies and the banks. In addition there are fewer positions available (e.g. 3 instead of 5) compared to previous years. Also, some of the "rumoured" offers are a little lower for some positions compared with other years, but these are "rumours" and I have no way of knowing what are the facts. (Pure speculation is dangerous, but I'm human and can't help my curiosity and to fill that curiosity with speculation when fact is not available.) All of this is a result of things slowing down and other qualified people entering the labour market.

I have been looking closely for a position related to oil and gas in Canada and I can tell you that all seems to be well in "the patch". Lots of jobs of all types. In fact the french giant Total just moved into Calgary and is looking to drop billions into building an oil sands project despite the downturn. There is also rumours that these times of lower oil and gas prices will result in consolidations. This of course means work for all the financial and supporting services for these acquisitions and mergers. So, it seems Alberta and "the patch" are a little bit more shielded.

One clear distinction should be made between Canada and the US. From what I have heard Canada is still relatively strong even if things are slowing. Some firms in the US have come to a grinding halt. In other word, although Canada may be slow, at least we still have job opportunities. Not a lot of people were looking to go to the US after the program, so this shouldn't affect too many of us. Most the international students were looking to work for a Canadian company and see where that took them since visas to work in Canada are available where as the same visa in the US is all but vanished. (If a US reader had further insight please feel free to share via posting a comment)

In addition, one person I talked to was a tad bit concerned since they were thinking of going to the United Arab Emirates for banking. However, one of their contacts mentioned that there were a large number of applicants from Europe and the US. A lot of them ex-bank employees and looking for work as a result of certain closures and downsizing. This could be a serious issue for this individual should the situation not change over the next 6 months. I haven't heard much regarding other international employment environments. (If readers from other parts of the world has any insight please feel free to share via posting a comment)

However, all is not dark! I distinctly remember a particular CEO who talked with us a few weeks ago (although it seems like eons). Bruce was quite confident that getting into these firms, both banking and non-banking, was difficult in these times, but the effort well worth it. He has seen many a career made by someone entering industry in a downturn and watched as they have been catapulted to the top during the ensuing recovery and boom. This makes sense, but only time will tell if this particular dip will rebound in a similar fashion or some other random fashion. Also, it may have just as much to do with the individual in question as the circumstances. It all sounds a lot like luck to me...

As my father always used to define luck when I was younger, "luck is when preparation and opportunity meet". So, getting the education and a key position is the preparation allowing you to take advantage of the opportunity when it arises. Hopefully I can take care of my "preparation" now and get ready for my "opportunity".

Week 23: Week off between modules.

2008-10-10T15:39:00.003-06:00

Week 23 has been filled with a lot of nothing. Getting a few resumes out, filing some notes from the last module, sleeping in, reading a book and just a whole bunch of other miscellaneous stuff. It has been good to just relax.

Had some family come to visit for the week. Took them to see "Fort Henry" and the lookout deck at "Thousand Islands". Dropped in on the Penitentiary Museum and Sir John A McDonald's house. All and all, just a lot of stuff I haven't had time to take in since arriving here in Kingston.

Quite a few people who are from this part of Canada have taken the opportunity to return home for Thanksgiving (i.e. Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, London, etc.). That still leaves those of us from other areas here to spend the holiday in Kingston. So, I have taken it upon myself to organize a Thanksgiving potluck dinner. Not only is it going to be fun, but it will allow some of my classmates who are from out of country to experience the holiday as it was meant to be experienced. I say "some" since I'm not sure how many of them are planning to attend.

That's all for this week. Back to relaxing.

Week 22: Business Decision Models, Operations Management, Marketing Fundamental, Finance Fundamentals (Module 5 con't)

2008-10-03T12:05:00.002-06:00

Week 22 marks the end of Module 5. Just finished the last final exam and I am looking forward to having a week off. Lots of tired people today since last night most of us were burning the midnight oil to get up to speed for this morning's 8 AM finance exam.

This week saw a lot of people going for interviews with the various organizations that have been on campus for the past several weeks. Some people had to write tests at alternate times to accommodate these interviews and the faculty made it possible via a non-disclosure agreement. There were even a couple of people that went to a BioPharma conference in Quebec city to scope that out for potential job opportunities.

Other than filling out a survey for the upcoming negotiations class and submitting a few resumes I should pretty much have the entire week off. This is good since some family is coming to visit and I will have time to see them. Plus I will definitely enjoy the opportunity to recharge.

Week 21: Business Decision Models, Operations Management, Marketing Fundamental, Finance Fundamentals (Module 5 con't)

2008-09-26T14:05:00.007-06:00

Week 21 is ending. There is just one more week to go until we get a break for a few days. Also, fall has "officially" arrived. In addition the mornings and evenings have started to get a bit "chilly" and some of the leaves have begun to change. Nothing like a brilliant red maple leaf to remind you that you are in Canada and that winter is coming.

Monday through Wednesday I was attending various information sessions in the evenings for oil and gas companies that came to campus. It seems like most of them were willing consider my prior experience and education. The companies I went to were Shell, Nexen, Imperial Oil and Total. Imperial is coming back Wednesday of next week to give a MBA specific session.

Classes have been busy. Lots of late nights reviewing various team term projects. Lots of very early mornings to get in just one more rehearsal/practice before a presentation to the class. All teams had to give presentations for Operations Management, Marketing Fundamentals and Business Decision Models.

Operations Management presentations were on our final reports for the projects we did analyzing the locations we did our field trips too. Ours was on Amey's Taxi here in Kingston. Other groups did them on: Cancoil Thermal Corp., Dofasco, The County Cider Company, Hotel Dieu Hospital and many others. With the completion of this report and presentation we are pretty much done this course since there is no final exam.

Marketing Fundamentals presentations were on each teams product re-launch. Our team did the zeppelin and proposed launching a small fleet of these giant floating hotels to offer luxurious cruises to the very wealthy. Other teams chose: Clear Pepsi, Dodge LeFemme, Britney Spears, Concorde, iCam, Kindel, Electric Sports Car by GM, Segway and many others. In addition we had to submit a very substancial report.

Business Decision Models presentations were of each teams choosing, but a lot of teams decided take advantage of their field trip in Operations Management and modelled the business they visited. Our team modelled the call center and taxi allocation of Amey's Taxi. Other teams did: Cancoil Termal Corp, Dofasco, "Match Maker" for the class based on surveys the class filled out (by far the funniest, hopefully other classes do this as well to "maximize" happiness), Personal Interactive Meal Planner (Pimp...lol), eBar (this optimized our MBA student lounge snack offerings), class seating arrangement (this "broke" solver as it was too complex), Cell Phone Plan Optimizer, NHL team chooser to beat the Maple Leafs, Traffic Light and a few others.

Homecoming is also this week. There is a big football game that everyone is going to and there will definitely be some social gatherings. The police banned the sale of kegs earlier this week in an attempt to try to curb the over enthusiasm expressed by some of the undergraduates, but I think they will just succeed in covering the roads with broken bottles since undergrads will be undergrads. The class has created some interesting t-shirts we hope to sell at the game to make a profit! (Note: Turns out this went very well. We broke even and made quite a health profit to contribute towards the class' trip to MBA Games. The party was something else...)

I also had an appointment with Julia Blackstock. She is definitely one of the better business career center people available to the students. Very knowledgeable, to the point and friendly.

David Edwards from the business career center gave a lecture on salary negotiation. A lot of people have been getting calls to interview for positions with the companies that they applied for on the Career Services Network, so the timing is about right. Although I am familiar with a lot of what David presented, it was good just to be re-familiarized with it so I have a clear understanding of this topic. After all, I'm hoping I will be in a situation where I need to do this sometime in the near future.

Case competition teams are beginning their practice sessions where they can find time. We need to have a series of internal competitions to see who is going to represent Queen's MBA at the various case competitions before Christmas.

All the sports teams are now in full swing. The hockey team is playing on Monday! Point fours are still going strong! Everyone is tired, but I still see a lot of smiling faces. This post has been somewhat random and poorly written, but that only reflects the tired and fatigued state I'm in. One more week...

Week 20: Business Decision Models, Operations Management, Marketing Fundamental, Finance Fundamentals (Module 5 con't)

2008-09-19T17:44:00.011-06:00

Week 20 and the pace is picking up...as if that was possible. I have been getting up at 7 AM (tried 6 AM and it was a "no-go") and working straight through till 12 PM (some later) every night for what must be the past 3 weeks straight. Weekends are those prized days that I get to sleep in to 8 AM (sometimes even 9 AM! OMG!). My only solace is that pretty much every other person in the program is in the same situation and is feeling the same pressure and fatigue. Just a couple more weeks and we get a few days off!

This week I attended On Campus Recruiting sessions for Cormark Securities, Secor Consulting and Petro-Canada ("retail locations/lubricant divisions"). All were interesting, but I don't think any of these companies are "me". I will stick to my original plan to look for work more closely related to upstream oil and gas.

Classes have been tough this week. Although we had Wednesday off, it was just used to attempt to catch-up on all the work we have due. There was also a finance test on Friday morning. I certainly hope the school addresses the issue of the professor teaching this course for next year. He is not being very effective and a lot of the students are somewhat frustrated by the situation. A lot of people needed to skip class the day before the test, myself included, just to attempt to get prepared because we have been too busy to find the time in the past few weeks. As if that wasn't enough, recently I just discovered the finance text we are using for this class is used in a commerce undergraduate course. They do cover the text in 4 months and we do it in 3 weeks! But what the hell, we can take it...after all we are MBA's, right?

(Strange that the one of the central themes of the Organizational Behaviour and Leadership courses was "work-life-balance", yet all MBA programs pretty much throw that to the wind.)

Friday afternoon we played "the Beer game" in operations management! What a blast. It was played with different teams sitting around tables and operating a "supply chain" of "beer" symbolized by poker chips. This game definitely taught us all a good deal about the "bull whip" effect using a fun and hands-on approach. Everyone "bet" $2 up front. This "all-or-nothing" prize was awarded to the team that succeeded in keeping up with supply while minimizing inventory and backlog costs (i.e. achieving "the goal"). I would post more here, but it would only ruin the experience for others.

We also had another prospective student join our class for a day this week. It is that season again when the next year's class is busy submitting applications, coming out to be interviewed and sitting in on lectures. Weird to think I was in that position just under a year ago. Now I'm clinging to a coffee cup to fight off sleep so I can complete the endless stream of assignments. Yep, livin' the grand life...sigh.

Even with everything going on there are still people managing to find time to fit in some exercise. Yesterday evening I was in the pool with our "inner-tube" water polo team during our first intramural match. Other people have found time to play some basketball and soccer. Still others are making time for running and swimming regularly. All of this is supported and encouraged by the programs program who supply equipment, entrance fees and "fit-to-lead" trainers where needed. It is a good way to begin training for this year's MBA Games in Halifax. (checkout the video Dalhousie has put up on YouTube for more info.)

This weekend is going to be filled with editing reports and team work sessions to continue the Business Decision Model "field trip" presentation and Marketing "product relaunch" presentations now that the "lead/second" pairs have brought them to "95%".

Also, I have information sessions for Imperial Oil, Nexen, Total and Shell next week. That is only going to add to the workload...

(now I really have to get back to work and stop procrastinating by writing on this blog. It is amazing what seems interesting and "uber" important when you have so many other things that need doing)

Week 19: Business Decision Models, Operations Management, Marketing Fundamental, Finance Fundamentals (Module 5 con't)

2008-09-12T12:53:00.010-06:00

Week 19 started with a presentation from Bruce M. Kagan, CEO of Blackmont Capital Inc. This was an interesting presentation from an individual who has risen quickly through the ranks for the banking world. Afterwards, a few of us that signed-up were able to have lunch with Bruce and spend some additional time talking with him. One word of advice that he gave was to be the guy that "shines". If you can choose between taking on a significantly larger job that you will do an "okay" job at or a job that is smaller that you will "excel" at, then you should choose the job you "excel" at since you will stand out. Standing out is how you advance in the banking world.

What was really neat was that Blackmont was in the news for the next two days after, on the front page of the business section, as various rumours were circulating about a possible deal between CI Financial and Canaccord regarding the fate of Blackmont. It was really neat to meet a key player in this real world drama as it unfolded.

Monday to Wednesday were regular classes, but on Thursday and Friday we had a quick 2 day course on Business Communications (MBA834 Business Communications). This course was taught by two instructors from Ottawa who have 70 odd years of experience in television journalism between them. In addition, they have assisted executives with communicating better for the past several years. Several teams and individuals volunteered to present to the class. They picked a presentation they had done previously in the program, or created one based on a personal subject, so that they could be analyzed and suggestions made on how to improve. I definitely think this course was useful, but I wish it had been included earlier in the program. We could have benefited more from having it earlier in the program and used these learnings in all the subsequent presentations.

For fun the class is still keeping up with the weekly "point four" and various sports teams are still being formed up: volleyball, basketball, hockey, inner-tube waterpolo, etc. It is hard to commit to these since I find myself very busy and don't know where I would fit them in.

This weekend is going to be brutal for workload. There isn't enough hours in the day anymore and without the team working together this would never be achievable. We are approaching the end of the module quickly and there are larger "term" projects due. In addition there are the usual smaller assignments due. On top of both of those are the ever looming mid-terms and final exams. As if this wasn't enough, people are still busy signing-up for and attending evening info sessions for On Campus Recruiting as well as applying for jobs that have been posted on the career services network. The only real "light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel" is that this will all be over in a few weeks...and then the next module will start.

I need to keep reminding myself that not only did I voluntarily sign-up for this craziness, but I competed for the opportunity and paid for it too.

Week 18: Business Decision Models, Operations Management, Marketing Fundamental, Finance Fundamentals (Module 5 con't)

2008-09-05T16:42:00.003-06:00

Week 18 saw the undergrads return to campus in droves! Frosh week is in full swing with all the first year students being put through the paces by their second year overlords. Lots of craziness on campus. Although it is amusing and their presences adds a much more human feel to campus, the downside is that we now have to compete with the undergrads for meeting rooms, space in the cafeteria, space in the library, etc. In addition they are kind of noisy. Last night they turned Goodes Hall into a dance hall and the music was loud enough I gave up on trying to do any reading whatsoever.

This week has been full of half days. Most of this additional time outside of class has been taken up by assignments or extra studying. In addition the on campus recruiting (OCR) events will kick off next week so a lot of people are busy making final preparations. They need to do this now since next week's workload looks like it could be much more demanding.

OCR for the next few weeks is mainly information sessions hosted by various companies looking to hire grads from all of Queen's. Quiet a few are coming, but not all of them are targeting MBAs. Then certain companies will be returning to interview students they are interested in during the week allocated in October.

Lots of teams have found places to go and tour for their MBA 841 Operation Management project. My team decided to approach a local taxi company, Amey's Taxi, and we did our tour today. The owner was very open and happy to answer our questions. Should make for an interesting project.

Lots of sports teams are getting organized for intramurals. Looks like the MBA class will have a volleyball, soccer, badminton, basketball, and hockey team. I haven't been on skates for over 5 years, but I'm still going to sign-up for the hockey team. Now I just need to find equipment.

This weekend will be filled with more homework, a few team working sessions and hopefully some fun. Looking to watch the first year engineers try to climb the greased pole to remove the "tam" and to attend a free concert by the Arrogant Worms.

Week 17: Business Decision Models, Operations Management, Marketing Fundamental, Finance Fundamentals (Module 5 con't)

2008-08-29T11:08:00.007-06:00

Week 17 is over. This marks the halfway point of the team based portion of the program. Time is flying by.

The week has been a continuous steady pace, which has resulted in a lot of work to be completed over the long weekend. Luckily we have Friday afternoon off to get a head start on the work. Overall the class is much more subdued than previous modules as people buckle down and get back to serious work.

In addition this was the last week we have campus to ourselves. The undergraduates are returning next week and that will make booking various meeting rooms much more difficult. A lot of them are already here. Next week is their "frosh" week, which means they will basically just be partying. The MBA's on the other hand will be working our butts off.

Business Decision Models is launching into simulations. This is a little bit more complex than the linear programming models from last week. They pretty interesting, but playing with Excel to get the models to perform just right could take some extra time.

In Operations Management we had a guest speaker from Shouldice Hospital. This was after we had completed the Harvard Case Study. It was really cool to be able to talk with the guy who runs this facility and get his responses to different issues and solutions you considered while studying the case. The teams are also expected to find a plant location to tour and complete an analysis for this course. A lot of business have turned down groups. I hope my team is able to secure a location soon.

Marketing has been interesting, but it is mostly just discussing all the readings and concepts. Each team needs to pick a product or service to "re-launch", design a marketing strategy and present it to the class. The guest speaker we had in this class was from MXI Technologies. It was interesting to see how the theory we have been learning is actually implemented to allow companies to aggressively grow their revenue.

Finance started off slow, but has just kicked in today and yesterday. We are now neck deep in bond valuation and next week will be stock valuation. I am very glad I took the professors advice and purchased the TI BA II PLUS (financial calculator). The slides include explicit instructions on how to properly use the thing, avoiding unnecessary confusion on my part. I'm going to have enough to learn without fighting a calculator.

On top of all the courses the class had high performance team reviews with our team facilitators. Each individual filled out an anonymous online survey about various performance aspects for all of their team members. These results were then reviewed one-on-one for each person in the program with their team facilitator. Afterwards the entire team met with the team facilitator to discuss how they could continue to improve and what they could learn from their reviews. I definitely think this helps since it let people gain a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. Overall this is a very good thing to have in the program.

The MBA Games and Case Competition teams are finally getting moving after a month of organizing and planning. It will be interesting to see how it all goes. I am hoping to be able to compete in a few Case Competitions and the MBA Games. This year's MBA Games are in Halifax and start the day after New Year's (Jan 2nd). Ouch! The plan is to fly out and back to help with the commute, but each individual will need to cover their flight.

Finally, while all this other stuff is going on, as if that wasn't enough, people are still ramping up their prep and practice for On Campus Recruiting. Mock interviews are going on and people are sizing up which info sessions to attend in September.

Basically it comes down to one thing:

September is going to be a very busy month.

Week 16: Business Decision Models, Operations Management, Marketing Fundamental, Finance Fundamentals (Module 5)

2008-08-22T14:38:00.006-06:00

Week 16 has ended and I feel like I just updated this blog yesterday. This week we started Module 5 which is comprised of MBA861 Business Decision Models, MBA841 Operations Management, MBA831 Marketing Fundamental, and MBA821 Finance Fundamentals. We have had classes in all but Finance Fundamentals this week.

MBA861 Business Decision Models is taught by Yuir Levin and will cover optimizations models, simulation models, decision analysis and revenue management&dynamic pricing. So far this course has been comprised of symbolic logic with basic math that we then turn into models in excel and use "solver" to complete. Yuir is quite interesting and has a very strong understanding of the material.

MBA841 Operations Management is taught by Paul Roman and will cover decision making, process design, service processes, plant evaluation, change management, supply chain, knowledge management, inventory/consulting, synchronous manufacturing and operations strategy. This course relies heavily on cases with textbook reading which are used in team and individual assignments. This material is then used by the professor to facilitate discussion and teach in class. In addition each team is responsible to organize a field trip to a manufacturing facility and complete an analysis of the plant. Paul is an awesome down to earth professor who knows the theory, but insists on relating things to "real life" and how solutions would be implemented.

MBA831 Marketing Fundamentals is taught by Rob Woyzbun and will cover marketing function, marketing analysis & objectives, core marketing strategy, brand strategy, marketing "mix", product strategy, pricing strategy and trends. This course has quite a bit of reading, but is mainly focused on the discussion and learning that occur in the class room. Rob is an entertaining and fun professor with a strong grasp of the subject material. Moreover Rob is a Porsche enthusiast.

MBA821 Finance Fundamentals is taught by Naceur Essaddam and will cover time value of money, interest rate and bond valuation, stock valuation, NPV and other investment criteria, capital and investment decisions, risk analysis, real options, capital budgeting, return/risk&CAPM, return/risk&capital budgeting. We won't have our first session in this course till next week, but it look like it will be fairly technical with a lot of number crunching. (Note: After the first class we discovered a financial calculator is a requirement for this course. The professor recommends the Texas Instruments BA II Plus since it is the one he is familar with and can assist the students with using it, but any financial calculator will do.)

Already this week has seen more than a few late nights as the course load has come on full blast. I skipped the "point four" social gathering last night to figure out why my excel model was telling me that it wasn't "linear" even though it clearly was "linear".

This weekend some of us are headed out to go white water rafting near Ottawa and the MBA games sports teams are having their first practices tonight. I plan to participate in both of these activities and still get all my require work done.

In other news, the consulting club had an alumni from a previous MBA class who is with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) come in and give a presentation on what it takes to get hired with BCG. There was also a presentation by "MBAs without boarders" earlier in the week.

Next week I have my "mock interview" with the Business Career Center. These are just pretend behaviour interviews designed to help students get in top form for On Campus Recruiting.

I have also been presented with the opportunity to apply for a potential position back in Calgary thanks the help of one of my colleagues here in the program. Of course I have reciprocated by putting him in touch with people I know in the asset management field. Guess networking really does work sometimes.

(Note: The rafting turned out to be absolutely awesome. We went to River Run Rafting and the operations and facilities were top notch. I would definitely recommend this to others.)

Week 15: Corporate Social Responsibility (Module 4)

2008-08-15T14:21:00.010-06:00

Week 15 had ended and so has Module 4 on Corporate Social Responsibility. The class is pass fail and the grade is 50% for the in class presentation and 50% for the individual paper. This week has mainly been each team presenting their topic in one hour segments.

One thing that I found surprising was how our presentations have really improved since the program started. Everyone feels compelled to take it to the next level since they know everyone else will be doing the same.

Some of the topics covered:

Meaning of CSR
Duties, rights and best practices
Basic Framework
Strategic Framework as it relates to CSR (i.e. Michael Porter and Triple Bottom Line)
Corporate Governance as it relates to CSR
Shareholder Activism as it relates to CSR
Stakeholder Relations as it relates to CSR
Hypocrisy as it relates to CSR
Volunteering as it relates to CSR
Fair Trade as it relates to CSR
Diversity as it relates to CSR
Philanthropy as it relates to CSR
Profit as it relates to CSR
Corruption & Bribery as it relates to CSR
Human Rights as it relates to CSR
Science and Technology (i.e. cloning) as it relates to CSR
Sex (i.e. as used by corporations in marketing) as it relates to CSR

The paper requires each student to pick a company that was not used in one of the case studies presented in class and evaluate how their corporate strategy compares to their corporate social responsibility strategy. To give people time to prepare their presentation, the paper is do Sunday evening. So the weekend is pretty much shot.

Overall I have learned a lot and I recognize that it is these softer skills that will differentiate between a good manager and a great one.

This week's point four has been moved to this evening and it will be a Karaoke cruise on the lake! Should be a blast! In addition some of the MBA administration staff are coming too.

Next week we dive into another 4 course monster module that will see us take Operations Management, Business Decision Models, Marketing Fundamentals and Finance Fundamentals.

Week 14: Career and placement prep week

2008-08-08T11:53:00.006-06:00

Week 14 was a pretty easy week, but still busy. Monday was a holiday so we only had a four day week. In addition, Tuesday started off with a continental breakfast. That made for a nice easy return to school after having a week off.

The week was complied of different sessions to prepare the students for the events surrounding the On Campus Recruiting (OCR) week in October. We had:

"mock interviews" sessions
"finance" and "case" interview sessions
"finance" and "case" customized resume sessions
a dinning and etiquette session
a cover letter session
an effective communication session

There was also a trip into Toronto on Thursday evening where students attended one of four events:

IBM Global Business info session (directed at those interested in strategic and IT consulting)
ACQUIRE (directed at those interested in investment banking and private equity)
TD Women in Finance (directed at the women in the class interested in finance careers)
BMO info session (directed at people interested in knowing more about specific finance position with a major Canadian bank)

The school bussed the class to and from Toronto. For some of the events undergraduate commerce students were also invited to attend.

Attendance was mandatory for pretty much everything with the exception of a few students who already had jobs secured. Also, if students wanted to make arrangements to meet with particular people regarding employment they were allowed to skip out on certain sessions.

On the whole it was good and I definitely feel more prepared for OCR and job hunting in general.

This weekend will be taken up with some R'n'R while reading the text book and cases for next week.

Week 13: A break at last

2008-08-01T23:51:00.002-06:00

Week 13 is at a close and I find myself in New York City.

Monday was the final test, which I completed in 2/3 of the time. This was unnerving since I seem to take up the majority of the time given to write tests. This was made stranger since just as I returned to my team room, my cell phone started to ring from the drawer I had left it in prior to heading to the test. As luck would have it, the head of oil and gas trading for a major Canadian bank based out of Toronto was calling me. Seems that their HR people were going through the online CVs that were posted and my background was of interest to them and they would like to discuss what their program has to offer successful candidates. Got to hand it to Queen's, they did a good job getting our CV's up there at least a month before anyone else. I was excited at getting the call, but since I wasn't at my best, I asked if we could delay the conversation until a later time.

After checking my schedule it seemed that meeting in person on August 7th would be the best option. Queen's is busing the class to Toronto for various events concerning employment in consulting and banking on that date, so it would work out. After a few e-mails everything is set-up. As luck would have it the bank in question has offices just a few blocks away from where the event I chose to attend.

In addition, we all returned to our desks in our team rooms after the final test to find a book that needs to be read for the module after this next one called "The Goal". On top of that we still have prep work to do for next week's workshop on building our full customized resume. Even when we get a few days off there is still stuff to do.

Tuesday the class headed to the beach near Picton. It was awesome. Beach volleyball, laying on the beach and swimming in lake Ontario took up most of our time. Everyone who went really enjoyed their time.

Wednesday my wife and I drove to New York City. On second thought, it would have been better to drive the hour and a half to Syracuse, NY and fly, but for some reason I got it in my head that driving would be a welcome break from the stresses of studying and a chance for us to spend sometime together.

Whoops.

Driving in New York City has got to be one of the more stressful experiences of my life. After fighting to get into the Lincoln Tunnel, I mistakenly missed a turnoff and ended up driving through Times Square at night. There is a reason people take taxis everywhere in New York and now I know why on a very personal level.

So, after fighting the crowds and touring around the city for a few days I find myself updating this blog. Classes resume next Tuesday and I am enjoying the time away from Kingston, even if I'm finding New York a little too involving.

Week 12: 3rd set of finals continues (Module 3 con't)

2008-07-25T12:59:00.003-06:00

Week 12 gone and finals are still going on for Module 3. Monday the Organizational Behaviour individual assignment paper was due, worth 50% of the final grade, and this morning was the Management Accounting exam.

All the teams are also working on finalizing the team Organizational Behaviour assignment that is due next week. Then there is the final exam for Microeconomics on Monday. It is all done after Monday. This weekend will be filled with studying. Then we get the rest of next week off.

Today the "point-four" is back on as people take brief break from studying. Should be fun.

I was going to head to the library to start hitting the books for Microeconomics on Monday, but it is absolutely amazing outside after having rained for almost the entire week. This is the kind of Friday afternoon that begs you to find some friends and a sunny patio to enjoy a pint. There is tomorrow morning to start studying and my brain could use a 16 hour break. However, I should get studying...ah, what the hell, I'm outa here for the day.

Week 11: 3rd set of finals begins (Module 3 con't)

2008-07-18T16:52:00.005-06:00

Week 11 has seen a lot happen. Classes are finished and we wrote out first final for Module 3 today. Next week the final papers for a couple of classes are do and there are more finals. It was hard to get anytime to study for the Financial Accounting exam we had today with everything else that we had to due. As a result I was studying until midnight yesterday and then up with the birds today to continue.

Earlier in the week the teams presented their solution for the case in Management Accounting. It was centered around a local sky diving business. Some of the people involved in the business were in attendance to see if our class's input could help with the business. It was neat to be presenting your ideas to the people who lived the case.

The class is looking pretty much tapped out. Moral is okay, but energy levels are dropping. Hopefully some sleep this weekend will help.

Also, we are into our second round with the Business Career Center. Now we need to start preparing for the workshop to help us put together out "customized" resume. The previous sessions were just to get our "online" resume put together, which Queen's posted online this week! In addition we receive our business cards!

That is all I have time for this week. I have to get back to writing the "written analysis of the Harvard Business School case Cigarette Wars (A) and Cigarette Wars (B)" for the team Microeconomics assignment #3 due next week. If I hustle, I might get done in time to join up with a few others for a pint at one of the local establishments.

Week 10: Financial Accounting, Organizational Behaviour, Management Accounting (Module 3 con't)

2008-07-11T09:31:00.006-06:00

Week 10 has been one of the most intense so far. There has been no break or let-up in the workload. Week 9 was busy, but the weekend that followed was just as busy, if not more so, since there were no classes to get in the way. Week 10 has been even busier since the additional time needed to keep up on all the work needs to be placed around class time. This has meant coming in early and staying really late. (7 AM to 12 PM at school and anytime additional you can squeeze out while your at home)

The real casualty has been my gym schedule and the time I once spent with my wife. I hope I can get my back to the gym this weekend. Making peace with my wife on the other hand will likely be more difficult and take little more work and time, but that will need to wait until after this set of exams. If all goes as planned we should be able to make a quick trip together to get away for a few days after exams finish and before the next wave of work begins. That should help to smooth things over.

Basically between now and next Friday there is a major assignment due every other day with some small assignment due in between. This is a generalization, but I don't have the time to write all the details here. Next Friday sees us start writing final exams. Then there is a test or major paper due every few days. From now until July 28th there will be no letting up. Basically the last 2/3rds of July are going to be very intense.

Other activities that went on:

point four had a very low turn-out, but some of us did show up
the 2nd canoe trip was a big hit
those people involved in the student council have seen even more of their time disappear
our "class norms" have been a big issue and we have pretty much been put on notice that we should show up to class on time or the administration is going to do something about the situation (this is for returning to class after short breaks)
somehow various clubs have still managed to squeeze out time to meet (the consulting club even managed to do some one-on-one case practice)

Okay, that is all the time I have allocated to this activity. Time management is key. On to the next task: reading that case for management accounting...

Week 9: Financial Accounting, Organizational Behaviour, Management Accounting and Canada Day (Module 3 con't)

2008-07-05T08:26:00.004-06:00

Week 9. It is finished. I apologize for being brief, but I really shouldn't have the time to update this blog.

Monday saw a bunch of the class go skydiving. Everyone made it back, including the 2 professors that went with the students. I hear it was a blast and I will have to consider going if a 2nd excursion is arranged.

Tuesday we went to Ottawa for Canada Day! It was awesome. Everyone met for lunch, a few brews at a pub, Darcy McGee's, and to enjoy a few "Smiling Jerrie's". Afterwards we all wandered. My wife and I ended up having a nap under a tree at the Jazz festival. Then we all met up infront of Parliament to watch the concert and fireworks. Some people went to a nightclub instead. After the fireworks we boarded the bus and were back at Goodes Hall by 1:30 AM. Everyone was tired, but we all made class at 8:30 AM the next day!

We have had a few half-days this week, but that only seems to allow us just enough time to attempt to complete everything that has been assigned. This weekend will be filled with assembling the "Annual Report Project", at least for me since I'm the "lead". My team will have the wonderful task of editing it next week. On top of that I have at least 3 or 4 other projects I need to complete my portion of and get to other project "leads".

The point four went ahead again this week. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

I would write more, but like I stated earlier I have too much to do. More next week.

Week 8: Financial Accounting, Organizational Behaviour, Management Accounting and Canoeing (Module 3 con't)

2008-06-27T20:31:00.005-06:00

Week 8 has come to a close. More Financial Accounting, Organizational Behaviour, Microeconomics, and Management Accounting. All the courses are in full swing. The work required before the class combined with all the assignment work is definitely keeping me busy...all the time. This weekend is going to be packed with lots of work.

We were going to go on a class field trip to a local Kingston business for our Management Accounting class to do a "live" case study next Monday. However, it was a sky-diving business and a few of the students decided to make use of the opportunity; they got some people, including the professor, to sign-up to go sky-diving the day of the trip. Since the school cannot be associated with such a high-risk activity, the field trip had to be cancelled. Now the rest of the class doesn't get a field trip and they still have to find their own transportation to the sky-diving location. Doesn't really seem fair to the rest of the class, but I guess there will be other opportunities for field trips.

Friday we had our first of four "speechcraft" sessions, which is an introductory course to "toastmasters". About half the class has signed-up for these sessions and I really think they are going to help us become better public speakers, which should help given the amount of presenting we are likely going to be doing.

This week's "point four" tried to incorporate a non-drinking activity, "movie in the square", to include those members of the class that don't drink. Unfortunately almost no one showed up and the people who did were people who participate regularly regardless of the venue. Hopefully we are able to find a way to get everyone coming out since it is always a welcome break, especially since the weekends seem to be filling up with homework.

Next week the class has organized a trip to Ottawa for Canada Day! That should be AWESOME. Spending Canada Day in Ottawa was on my list of things I had to do while in Kingston for this year.

Week 7: Financial Accounting, Organizational Behaviour, Management Accounting and Canoeing (Module 3 con't)

2008-06-20T15:46:00.004-06:00

Week 7 has come to a close. Just got back from a perfect afternoon of canoeing! Paddling around a beautiful lake with nothing but the sounds of nature is exactly what I needed after this week.

The week started with a half day off on Monday morning, which I had to use to take care of some business at the bank and to do some additional reading for courses. At noon we had a presentation on the international exchange options that are available for Module 9, the module after December, if people want go on one. There are a lot of really good schools and they cover pretty much every continent.

We also had a couple of very long days since we had to stay for an additional 3 hour session with Doug Reid in the evening on Monday and Tuesday until 9:30 PM. The 2 sessions were on how to complete business case studies and they definitely helped me understand this particular method of teaching much better. To top it off Dr. Reid was excellent.

We had our first couple of classes for MBA852 Organizational Behaviour. The course is taught by professor Jana Raver and focuses mainly on human resources. Dr. Raver is interesting and the material seems intriguing, but there is a ton of reading. The course is supposed to cover human resources management, organizational effectiveness, designing high-quality jobs, recruiting and hiring, managing employee engagement and withdrawal, employee stress and well-being, employee motivation and compensation, performance management, employee development and learning organizations, and strategic alignment for HR and organizational culture.

Similarly we had our first couple of classes for MBA812 Management Accounting. The course is taught by professor Clinton Free. Dr. Free is from Australia and was definitely able to get on the students good side when he launched into an unexpected 10 minute presentation on Australia at the beginning of the first class. So far the course seems to be okay, but I'm waiting to see how the next few lectures go before I decided if I like it or not. The course is supposed to cover cost fundamentals, cost-volume profit analysis, costing systems, activity-based costing, budgeting, variance analysis, decision-making with relevant costs, management control systems, capital budgeting, financial modeling, performance measurements, balanced scorecards, financial performance appraisal, transferring pricing, pricing and target costing, management accounting for entrepreneurs, and ethics.

This week also contained our first class of MBA801 Microeconomics with professor Bo Pazderka. As the name of the course suggest we will be learning about all the details surrounding microeconomics.

Furthermore we had more MBA811 Financial Accounting with John Moore. It is interesting, but the main assignment, an analysis and comparison of 2 annual reports, is looking like it is going to take more than a little work.

In addition I had my second appointment with the Business Career Center to work on my online resume. I think I have managed to narrow some stuff down, but it is tough. Nobody wants to shut doors on opportunities, but I am quickly realizing some of the career options just aren't a good fit.

This week's point four gathering went well. It also doubled as a fund raising event to help the 2 teams from our class heading to Montebello, Quebec this weekend to participate in an adventure race. The funds are going to support cancer research and the teams should have a blast as they complete 8 hours of hiking, canoeing, and biking.

Finally, we had the afternoon on Firday off and, for those of us that signed up, we went canoeing. The canoeing trip I just returned from was the perfect activity for an afternoon where one is recovering from "socializing" too much the evening before at the point four gathering. I am feeling rejuvenated as a result and should be able to dive into an intense weekend of assignments and readings.

Week 6: New Venture Tour, Career Stuff, Financial Accounting (Module 3)

2008-06-13T15:45:00.007-06:00

The week started off with each group doing a full day of touring 3 of the 13 businesses selected by the school. All were new ventures that were started and are currently in Kingston. This was arranged by both the business school and KEDCO. Every team was given the use of a rented van for the day to drive around Kingston. Each team spent approximately 2 hours at each company learning about the business and collecting information for the competition that evening. The competition was to give the best "pitch". Each team created a 90 second "pitch" and selected an individual to deliver it in front of a panel of judges. The judges then selected a winner and awarded a trophy and prize which was a gift certificate for a team dinner at Chez Piggy.

The companies my team was selected to tour were B-KIN, Transformix, and Tri-Art. All were really interesting and I definitely learned a lot. We were also exposed to the many benefits of starting a business in Kingston. There are several grants or awards available to help start businesses here and the city is close to several major markets while offering the lifestyle of a smaller community. Perhaps some of this years grads will chose to stay and start up companies? One grad did a few years ago and started JetDirect.

This week also included a lot of career related events. Tuesday afternoon we had a panel of Queen's alumni from a variety of industries who had graduated in the last few years to discuss their companies. Friday morning was working on getting the current class to really breakdown their previous experience to try to recognize all the skills and abilities that they could put on their resumes for the online resume the Business Career Center is helping us create. Friday afternoon was dedicated to "dressing for success". The owner from Sir Gawain's clothing in Kingston spoke to the men about what to wear, how to construct a wardrobe, how to shave, how to pack for business trips, etc. Overall a lot of very good information was given on resumes, careers, job hunting, and business dress/etiquette.

In addition, we launched into MBA811 Financial Accounting. This course is based on similar material to the financial accounting workbook that was distributed with the pre-study material. The professor, John Moore, is an absolute blast. His quirky sense of humour and quick wit keeps the class entertained as he runs us through the basics of balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements. These topics could be dangerously boring, but with the use of the "Q-T sheet" and an excellent professor this course has quickly become quite popular with the class.

Finally, the fun is still going strong. Last night's "point four" was at "MyBar" for a little karaoke.

Week 5: Acquisition & Analysis of Information for Management, Global Environment of Business and lots of reading (Module 2 con't)

2008-06-06T15:50:00.002-06:00

It's the end of week five and that brings module 2 to an end. A tough few weeks, but we have completed the entire intro statistics curriculum for undergraduate business students in 3 weeks and a basic introduction to microeconomics. This week saw us write finals in both subjects.

This weekend everyone is either taking it easy or heading "home" if "home" is close enough.

Also, we had a guest speaker who addressed business ventures as they related to his particular situation. What was rather interesting was he sold his business quite a few years ago after growing it and has been retired since he was 38.

After our final test today we had an additional presentation to get us ready for Monday when we will tour Kingston and visit several of the ventures that have started up here. Should be interesting to see and I'm guessing I will learn a lot too.

I would write more, but I am just beat at from this last week. Hopefully a little R'n'R this weekend will get me ready for Module 3 which starts on Wednesday next week.

Week 4: Acquisition & Analysis of Information for Management, Global Environment of Business and lots of reading (Module 2 con't)

2008-05-30T13:41:00.009-06:00

Another week as blown by. In a word I would summarize it as "intense".

This week we only had MBA860 Acquisitions & Analysis of Information for Management (a.k.a. statistics). A few days were morning and afternoon sessions, which made for some really long days. However, if you are going to cover an entire undergraduate statistics course in 3 weeks you need the time to move through the material. I'm kind of feeling like "Neo" in the first "Matrix" movie when they plug him in and "upload" Kung Fu to his brain only for me it is statistics and microeconomics.

We also wrote our first midterm test in MBA860. A 90 minute, 3 question, open book test that was constructed in such a way that it covered all the topics covered so far. We were allowed to bring books, notes, and laptops into the exam. After the test we had a 20 minute break and then we were back in class continuing to push through new material.

In addition we had a team assignment due in both MBA860 and MBA800.

With the jump in workload compounded by our first test, the team structure was definitely tested. Although things didn't necessarily happen in the most efficient way, I don't think there is anyway we could have completed the work required individually. I'm beginning to wonder if they purposely shovel so much work at the students so they must use the team to complete everything. Between completing assignments, studying for the test, completing pre-reading and reviewing course material all your time is gone. I don't know how we're supposed to find time to participate in the clubs and extra curricular activities let alone find time to exercise.

Last night's point four was great. We went to the "Queen's Pub"(a.k.a. "QP"), which is the pub here on campus. To make things even better a lot of people from last years class were there since they had returned to Kingston for their official convocation today. After a rather trying week, I think everyone appreciated the opportunity to cut loose and it provided a great opportunity to talk to the previous class about their experience and where some of them have found employment. The down side was more than a few tired eyes in this mornings statistics lecture. The fatigue of the week coupled with a late night definitely is having an affect most of us. I can't wait to sleep in tomorrow.

Today I had my first appointment with the Business Career Center (BCC). It was a good session and I definitely think the guidance they are going to give me will result in a great covering letter and resume. It was good to revisit the skill set I'm bringing with me and to review where I might see myself going after completing the program.

In addition I had my first call from my strengths coach, which is associated with the Gallup Strengths finder test we completed as part of the pre-study material. Although it was nice to review my strengths again, I don't think the call really helped all that much. Need to wait and see how the next session goes to see if these one-on-one calls will be of use. Kind of hard for a person you have never met to just call you and have a meaningful impact on you through a telephone.

This weekend will be filled with more studying since the statistics and microeconomics finals are next week. I also need to complete my part of the team statistics assignment and work on my talking points for the team presentation in microeconomics next week. Then there is the additional work on my resume the BCC needs me to complete. To top that off I still need to find some time for "me", spend time with my wife (who is probably wondering if I'm still alive), exercise, do laundry, watch the Stanley Cup finals and go grocery shopping. Oh ya, I need to update my blog...wait I'm doing that now!

Week 3: Acquisition & Analysis of Information for Management, Global Environment of Business and lots of reading (Module 2)

2008-05-23T10:16:00.004-06:00

As week three comes to a close I am becoming aware of just how unaware I am of the time passing. I find myself so busy most of the time I don't even know what day of the week it is.

This week saw us start Module 2 which is two courses: MBA 860 Acquisition & Analysis of Information for Management (a.k.a. statistics) and MBA 800 Global Environment of Business (a.k.a. microeconomics). Below in brief are some of the topics covered and items of interest:

MBA 860 Acquisition & Analysis of Information for Management:

Professor Jeff McGill is excellent. He knows how to move through the material at a pace that is "just right". Fast enough to be interesting, but slow enough to get the important points across. He also seems to have an excellent handle on making the material mean something, by using real examples, so it is easier to understand.
Intro to stats, binomial distributions and normal distributions
Where information can be found, what do do with it, how it is collected
A little bit of reading, but not too bad if you have taken a statistics course before, which I have

MBA 800 Global Environment of Business:

Professor John McHale is quite entertaining. He is excellent at his topic and definitely able to go much deeper than what we are currently covering.
Intro to microeconomics
supply & demand curves (aside: the most useful 4 lines you will ever use)
market forces (a.k.a. "the invisible hand")
effects of tariffs, subsidies, world prices, etc.
how "dead weight loss" comes into play regarding inefficient markets
Several team based presentations on a variety of topics (e.g. Price of oil, carbon emissions, wikinomics, the "next" industrial revolution)
Lots of reading from a well written text book, but I should have done more reading on the previous weekend

Although we are continuing to work in teams for some assignments and presentations there is an individual component for the final exams.

Other stuff:

The "point 4" club is now going strong
Fit-to-lead is continuing to assess student fitness and start running groups
Student elections are this week to elect the student exec. Some position were award by default, but most have a few people running so there will be speeches and voting
Various student clubs are getting set-up (e.g. finance, consulting, etc.)

This weekend promises to be busy since I need to complete my duties as "lead" on my teams statistics assignment, hit the gym, spend time with my wife who has just arrived back in Kingston, prep for next week and hopefully catch the game opener for the Stanley Cup finals!

Week 2: The Role of the General Management, Leadership and Guest Speaker (Module 1)

2008-05-15T18:05:00.006-06:00

Week 2 is nearly complete and I can barely believe I'm surviving. We have been working in our teams to complete some group assignments. Most of us barely got the last one in before the midnight deadline.

This will complete module 1 on The Role of The General Manager and Leadership. Lots of interesting case studies and in class debate. I would post more, but the real value comes from being in the class and participating in the discussions.

The Role of The General Manager course has seen us not just gain an understanding of general management, but we have also been introduced to strategic planning. On Saturday each team will present their strategy for the latest case study.

The Leadership course has definitely challenged everyone. Although it didn't have the same requirement that we present, the content definitely ties in strongly with The Role of The General Manager course. We have been challenged on our definition of leadership, what it does, and how to apply it. There has also been a strong ethical component. I have definitely learned a lot from my classmates since they all come from such a diverse background.

We also had our first guest speaker. The individual was a CEO of one of the companies in the case studies we had investigated over the week. Very cool to meet the man behind the actual case. His presentation was on General Management and Leadership, but we barely got past the first couple of slides before the class eagerly starting questioning him on multiple topics.

I originally wanted to update this blog once a week on Friday's, but this week's entry needs to move to Thursday so I can put in another intensive evening of teamwork tomorrow evening. Not expecting to get home until at least 12:30 AM if tomorrow is the same as yesterday. (Note: this actually turned out to be 3 AM)

This evening we are kicking off "the point four club". The myth goes that a professor at Queen's once calculated that if you take one evening off to socialize it will only affect your GPA by 0.4%.

Well, off to cook some dinner while continuing to read. The shear volume of reading has kept me completely occupied when combined with class and group work. At the moment I have almost no free time and what little I have had I have used to call my parents to let them know I still exist or to go to the gym.

Overall I'd say we are off to a good start.

Week 1: Introduction, Teambuilding, Transition and Fun.

2008-05-09T17:51:00.001-06:00

The first week is finished.

Wow.

It feels like it went by so fast and yet, because of the intensity, it feels like we have all been here for a month and known eachother for most of our lives.

I am very tired from this demanding week and looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. That way I will be well rested for the "transition" activities that are planned for tomorrow as members from the MBA class that just graduated hand over the reigns to the clubs and student executive as well as other learnings and rituals. It promises to be a night everyone will remember.

A few of the the things we did this week:

Were introduced to the program, the faculty, and the staff
Assigned to our teams
Given extensive teambuilding training
Given extensive self evaluation and strength building material
Introduced to the Career Centre
Introduced to the IT staff and assisted with setting up and using the tools provided

Everything so far has been incredibly well organized. All the material required has just "magically" appeared on my desk or at my seat in the lecture theatre.

Finally, I am really impressed with how strong all of the members of the class are. I am looking forward to learning from all of them and sharing my knowledge with them. I can definitely say at this point, the end of week one, I made the right decision returning to school to get an MBA and choosing Queen's as the school to do it at.

Day 1

2008-05-05T23:00:00.000-06:00

In summary the first day was awesome.

Everyone showed up in formal business attire (i.e. suit and tie) for 9 AM.

We were all greeted by the staff for the MBA program and a complimentary continental breakfast was served. After hanging my coat and stowing my laptop in the room provided I joined the others who were already mingling. Everyone was just l standing around enjoying breakfast in the beautiful atrium of Goodes Hall and introducing themselves to their fellow classmates. Various staff members were mingling with the students and they all knew us by name.

Once the class was called to order and we all sat in chairs set-up in the atrium where Dr.Scott Blake delivered an introduction speech. Bill Blake and Lori Granier addressed the class and discussed the program and the journey all the students are about to embark on. Also, introduction to the various different staff members for different aspects of the program (i.e. “fit to lead” fitness instructor, career centre people, various administration staff, etc.). We were also given the breakdown of the class for 2009. 77 students that were picked from 1,500 applicants. The average age is 28 years old, the average GMAT score is 674, and the average years of work experience it 4.5 years. Approximately half the class is comprised of international students. Academic backgrounds are as follows:

Engineering& technology = 52%
Science = 27%
Arts = 12%
Other = 9%

The students were then ushered into the lecture theatre where we were made aware of the many opportunities to participate in various organizations on campus and in international exchanges are available. However, to take full advantage of these opportunities depends on how much effort we are willing to invest as is the case with so many other things in life. “You will get out of the program what you put in to it.”

There was a brief mid-morning break for more mingling and coffee in the atrium at approximately 11 AM for 15 minutes.

Following the break we were introduced to a few members from the class that had just graduated. They discussed their experience and the upcoming “hand-off” of various clubs and student executive functions that would happen later in the week. They also discussed etiquette rules that would help us all get along (i.e. not coming in late, no eating meals in class, no cell phones turned on in the lecture theatre, etc.) . I won’t list them all here, but they all made sense and I definitely think that they will help such a diverse group of people function well together.
A buffet lunch was served from 12:15 PM to 1:30 PM and we were all given the task of completing a trivia sheet on our fellow students. The exercised definitely helped us all get to know each other better.

Following lunch we were introduction to the IT department. After a powerpoint presentation on the various computer and printer facilities and support available the class brought out their laptops to install Lotus Notes with assistance from the IT staff. We were given a student copy of Microsoft Office 2007 as well as access to the server and instructed to download and install various software programs on our own.

At 3:30 PM there was an optional tour of campus that took approximately 45 minutes.
After the tour there was time to make a quick trip home to change before heading off to a casual meet and greet scheduled for 5:30 PM at “The University Club” where the families of the candidates were invited. 2 drinks and a buffet were provided. Lots of good conversations and fun were had by all.

After the meet and greet I wandered on over to the Kingston Yacht Club with a couple of my new friends with a shared interest in sailing to see what could possibly happen to make arrangements for willing participants from the MBA Class of 2009 to take advantage of sailing either in larger “sharks” or in smaller “420” dinghies.

Back home to continue unpacking and to get ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow is “dress casual” (i.e. dress shirt, pants, and shoes, but no jacket and tie) and goes from 8:30 AM to 10 PM. The rest of the week will see us heavily involved in team building, personal strength building, “fit to lead”, IT, and registration. Almost every evening promises to run later therefore Queen’s is supplying lunch and dinner this week. This will not be the case next week.

Although the rest of the first week promises to be very intense, but next week looks like we will settle into an 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM routine with a break for lunch and the evenings to do group work or homework.

Travelling: Arrived and settling in.

2008-05-03T11:48:00.004-06:00

So, we have made it to Kingston and we are settling in. Kingston is a very beautiful city. All the stuff we shipped by Grey Hound seems to have made it in one piece. Tonight is the "Mixer" that fellow students have arranged via Facebook. Should be fun.

Our old house is well...old. Not as super new as we are used to, but that goes with the territory. It does have charm though and it is only for 12 months. We are both finding the humidity makes it seem much colder here in the evenings and early mornings. There is bell tower that chimes off the hours. Nice switch from the constant traffic and sirens of downtown Calgary. We are on a street with families so we are definitely not in the middle of the "undergrad" "student ghetto".

Managed to get some dress pants from "Dover's" on Princess St. So, I am all set for "business formal" attire on Monday. Got the cell phones re-zoned to Kingston. Getting a landline and Internet next week from "Cogeco". They could have come earlier, but the school has me booked from 8:30 AM to 10 PM almost every evening of the first week. So, it will have to wait till the following week when the schedule backs off to 9 AM to 4:30 PM.

For now there are tonnes of WiFi locations in coffee shops. Right now I'm in "the sleepless goat". Quite nice. Reasonably priced and good food to boot! If you come to Kingston come check it out.

1st Day: Preparations

2008-04-30T08:32:00.005-06:00

So, I am still travelling across Canada to get to Kingston. Currently I am in the city of Sault St. Marie and I just happened to check the student portal. A notice had been posted notifying students of the need to show up for 9 AM on Monday May 5th in "business formal attire". I have no issue with this requirement, but I am a little surprised that the notice has come so close to the start date of the program. I have pretty much everything, but I do need to acquire a new pair of dress pants since all of the ones I currently have in my wardrobe I was wearing for quite a while and are looking pretty much finished. I thought I would have a few weeks until this was needed and I could make a trip into Toronto, but I guess not.

Is this some sort of weird test? SURPRIZE! We changed things on you. Now lets see if you can jump through this new hoop!

Now I need to navigate the single lane undivided TransCanada highway while trying to think where I'm going to find men's wears stores in Kingston. To top that off I will still need to settle in, unpack, and complete some more pre-study statistics review. I really wish they would have made this requirement known a few weeks ago.

I shouldn't have any issue meeting this new requirement, but I'm not impressed with the late timing of the notification.

Travelling: finally we depart for Kingston.

2008-04-26T10:05:00.002-06:00

So, we are finally off today. After continually pushing our departure date and working like dogs we are ready to leave Calgary for Kingston. I am again reminded just how much both my wife and myself are investing in this opportunity. Quit our "good" jobs, leave our apartment, leave our families, drive across Canada to a strange place, and then spend lots of money, time, and effort to earn an MBA. I am pretty sure this is going to be worth it, but if there is one thing life has taught me it is that life writes no guarantees.

Bunch of us are arranging to meet, through facebook, sometime on May 3rd at a pub in Kingston. Should be a blast! Look forward to meeting some of my future classmates

Well, without further ado I'm off. Good by Calgary...Hello Kingston.

Travelling: Finally get to start the long drive.

2008-04-26T09:57:00.004-06:00

So, after much hardwork and continually pushing our departure date we are off to Kingston. If we plan to leave today an arrive on May 1st. I am really glad that I have completed all the pre-study material that was sent. I still have to complete the excel tutorials and the statistics review, but I'm sure I can do a little of that along the way.

I am again reminded just how much I am investing in this program. Both my wife and my self have quit our "good" jobs. We are liquidating our apartment, driving across the country, and then spending lots of money, time, and effort to complete this MBA. I'm pretty sure that this will pay off, but if there is one thing life has taught me todate is that there are no guarantees.

Bunch of us are arranging to meet, through facebook, at a pub in Kingston on May 3rd. That should be a lot of fun! Plus the drive across Canada should rock! It will take us 6 days.

Well, without further ado I am off. Good bye Calgary...Hello Kingston.

Preparation: The schedule for the next year

2008-04-09T21:03:00.004-06:00

Here is what the schedule for the next year is looking like:

Between April 23 to April 25th Depart Calgary
Drive across Canada (Calgary to Regina to Winnipeg to Thunder Bay to Sue St. Marie to Sudbury to Kingston)
April 29th or 30th Arrive in Kingston
Setup new living accommodations
May 5 Classes START. The 1st Day of Classes
May 19th Victoria Day (no classes)
July 1st Canada Day (no classes) Hope to go to Ottawa for Canada Day
July 28th to August 1st EXAM WEEK
August 4th Civic Holiday (no classes)
September 1st Labour Day (no classes)
September 29th to October 3rd EXAM WEEK
October 6th to 10th BREAK/INTERVIEW WEEK
October 13th Thanksgiving Day (no classes)
October 16th "University Day" (don't know what this is)
November 11th Remembrance Day (Tuesday so don't know if they will have classes or take a different day off)
December 1st to 5th EXAM WEEK
December 13th to January 11th BREAK (4 WEEKS OFF)
December 13th to December 20th Visit my family
December 21th to December 27th Visit my wife's family
December 28th to January 11th? Take a trip to somewhere else for 2 weeks?
Must be back in Kingston on the evening of January 11th at the latest
January 12th Classes start again
February has "Carnaval" which is held in Quebec City. My wife wants to check this festival out, but I don't think I will be able find the time to go with her.
April 24 Classes END. This is the end of the specialization classes. The program is finished!
May Convocation TBA. Probably will not attend since I'm not planning on being in Kingston at this time.
Take an extra 2 weeks to drive to PEI before going back to work? Return to Calgary? Move to Toronto? Move to Paris? Move to New York? Move to London? Who knows...
Probably try to start work for the start of June or July?

That is looking like a pretty busy year. There is still a lot that isn't on there. I know there is going to be various activities through out the program that are going to make this even more entertaining!

Preparation: Things are gearing up

2008-04-07T22:56:00.006-06:00

Things are now getting busy. I am into my last 2 weeks at work and they want every productive second they can squeeze out of me.

My wife and I are busy packing. With all the packing our apartment is a disaster and there are boxes everywhere. Already we have made a trip to both of our respective parent's houses to store items there while we are away. We were going to rent a storage locker, but I don't really know where I will end up after the program so that could have ended up being costly and inconvenient. A special thanks goes out to my parents and inlaws as they are providing crucial support to make this possible.

After receiving the letter that my student loan was approved most of the details surround the financing of this great adventure have fallen into place. So glad this has finally been sorted out.

I am still slogging through the last 1/3 of the accounting textbook sent as part of the pre-study material that needs to be completed prior to the program starting. It is hard to find time in the evening to work on it when I'm not already tired from everything else. I haven't even tried to review any of the statistics that were mentioned for one of the other courses. However, I have completed all the other pre-study material. The draft of my resume in the template sent by the Career Centre is complete, the personality testing is complete, the career quiz is complete, and the personal strengths finding material is complete. To top that off I have read most of the "career profile" material provided through the web portal for the various investment banking, venture capitalism and consulting positions that a lot of grads go onto after completing their MBAs.

I have purchased and received my laptop. I still need to get a carrying case and perhaps some other items for school yet. Just more items to add to an already long list.

Still don't have a possession date for our suite in Kingston. We need this date so we can commit to a departure date and book accommodations along the way ahead of time. We are already planning to drive 8 hours a day and I don't really want to have to drive around each town searching for a place to stay if it can be avoided.

That reminds me I need to call the utilities, phone, and cable companies to cancel all our services at the end of this month.

On top of that we are trying to see all the friends and family we can before we leave.

With all this going on I have pretty much given up on trying to go to the gym.

I have also been getting in touch with more and more of my future classmates. Turns out there is even a facebook group started for "Queen's MBA 2009". If you are reading this and you are part of "the Queen's MBA class of 2009" and haven't already looked the facebook group up, do so and join!

Okay, back to being busy.

Financing: Student loan secured

2008-04-07T22:01:00.001-06:00

Finally got my student loan straightened out with Alberta Learning Information Systems. Originally I applied online and it was processed within 2 weeks. However, the online application only had December 2007 and June 2008 start dates available to choose from among the choices for "program". Of course I needed "May 2008", but pick the date of "December 2007" since "May 2008" wasn't in the menu.

HUGE MISTAKE!

The result was a very lengthy cancellation procedure and an even more drawn out "re-application" by filing out a paper form.

All done and said I got a student loan! The amount I received is the same as what I was assessed automatically online. I get about 2/3rds for May 1, 2008 and the remainder form November 1, 2008. These funds combined with what I have saved and the line of credit available through RBC from Queen's should allow me to complete the year.

Pre-Study: MBAS 860 Acquisitions and Analysis of Information for Management (a.k.a. Statistics)

2008-03-31T20:57:00.005-06:00

Received some more pre-study material from Queen's regarding preparation for a Module 2 course called MBAS 860: Acquisition and Analysis of Information for Management. This will will be background for a subsequent course called MBAS 861: Business Decision Models and for other Finance and Accounting courses.

The material is in a letter from Jeff McGill, the instructor, and encourages students to prepare for the course by reviewing some basic statistics and statistical functions of Microsoft Excel so they get the most out of the course. A link to an Excel tutorial spreadsheet is provided and students new to, or experienced with, Excel are encouraged to work through it to either familiarise themselves with Excel, or to have a refresher while gaining a stronger understanding of what will be expected.

The letter also explicitly states that, "the course will emphasize the application of statistical techniques in the following areas:"

use of descriptive statistics to explore data;
elements of probability (including Normal, Binomial, Uniform, and Exponential distributions);
statistical inference: estimation of means and proportions, Hypothesis Testing on means and proportions;
models of association: correlation, and simple and multiple regression models;
time-series analysis and forecasting.

It goes on:

This is an extensive agenda for a single course; however, our interest will be in the use of these techniques to model and solve business decision problem rather than on theoretical development. The course text is not available for this mailing, but if you have access to text materials from a previous statistics course that you have taken or can obtain such materials from friends or colleagues, we encourage you to spend time reviewing the ‘basics’ in items 1), 2) and 3), above. We will cover these items in class, but we will move quickly! A relatively inexpensive alternative is the following 'outline’ text that contains many solved problems: Kazmier, Leonard J. SCHAUM'S OUTLINE OF BUSINESS STATISTICS, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY (latest edition). This book is available in most campus bookstores, or can be ordered online. [Warning: Schaum's Easy Outline of Business Statistics is not adequate.] The more preparation you can do ahead of time, the better. If you are concerned about your preparation for quantitative analysis in your MBA program, we can also recommend an online quantitative analysis preparation package offered by Harvard Publishing. The price for this course with an academic discount is approximately $65.00 . Here are some instructions from Harvard regarding logging in to the site.
Please register at http://elearninghome.hbsp.org/. Click on the ‘Sign up here link’ under New Users and fill out all required information to be properly associated with the Queen’s account.
Organization ID#: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Organization Name: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
New User Information: HE
Once you are registered, it may take up to 2 business days for you to have access to the course. If you experience technical difficulties, please e-mail techhelp@hbsp.harvard.edu, or call (800) 810-8858.

I will definitely be pulling out my old engineering statistics textbook and looking over these topics, but I don't think I need to try to complete the extra Harvard course since being an engineer I have a fairly good grounding in Excel, math, and statistics. Besides, I don't have the time. Between packing, doing the other pre-study material, working, and meeting up with family/friends one last time I am finding ALL of my time is taken up.

Employment: Interperting Placement/Employment Statistics from Universities.

2008-03-25T21:54:00.003-06:00

I have encountered several people researching and exploring MBA programs. Inevitable "placement" statistics enter into the discuss and I am surprised how little most people know about what is being put in front of them. Therefore, I am posting this excerpt from a document I found on the Queen's Career Centre website. Hopefully it will help people to start asking the right questions about what is being presented to them. Statistics can be very useful, but they can also tell many different versions of the "truth"; some of them misleading.

Reporting Guidelines and Statistics – a few comments.
1. READ INFORMATION CAREFULLY - ESPECIALLY THE FINE PRINT!
Many schools may report information on their web sites differently from the guidelines set out by the MBA CSC – this is perfectly acceptable as long as the institution clearly sets out for you the basis of their reporting.
2. What does the placement (employment) rate mean?
Placement or employment rate is the percentage of students in the class with employment at a given date.
It is the percentage of students with offers of employment based on the number of students reporting back to the university and actively looking for work. This means that if there are 100 students in the graduating class, 80 have reported back to the university and 60 of the 80 have job offers, the placement rate is 75%, not 60%.
Active job seekers -Further to the above, if 20 of the 80 reporting back are continuing to further their education, not in an active job search or otherwise not looking for work (extended travel for instance) then the placement rate is 100% : 80-20 = 60 of which 60 are reporting having received an offer.
Offers count as placement. If a student receives a bona fide offer for a suitable MBA level job but declines it, they are nonetheless considered placed as they had the opportunity to accept meaningful work.
3. Timing of placements;
a. At Graduation – means offers received on or before the official graduation date at the school.
b. Within three months of graduation means offers received on or before the three month anniversary of the official graduation date at the school.
c. Placement reports can include dates beyond three months depending on the type of program and profile of the average graduate. Graduates with more work experience often are more targeted in their job search and may elect to take longer than three months to search for the right job.
4. Source of placements:
Placements facilitated by the University are not just those offers received through formal on campus recruitment programs. University-facilitated placements may include offers received as a result of networking events, alumni connections or other university sponsored, arranged or facilitated sources.
5. Timelines and transparency:
Look for schools that report several years’ worth of data. Economic conditions play a significant role in placement and salary statistics. You should want to see how well an institution fares in both strong and weak conditions. Further, consider how stable and how consistent the salaries are from year to year. Some years a few outliers may take the numbers look very good but may not reflect the total picture of salaries over a long run.

Pre-Study: MBAS 850 Leadership, MBAS 876 The Role of the General Manager and MBAS 811 Financial Accounting

2008-03-15T12:32:00.010-06:00

I have had the pre-study material for few weeks and although setting up the web portal and completing online personality tests are fun, the real work has been doing the prep material for MBAS 850 Leadership, MBAS 876 The Role of the General Manager and MBAS 811 Financial Accounting.

MBA 850: Leadership

Letter from Peter R. Richardson welcoming us and explaining that MBA 850 Leadership is one of a quite a few courses on "the role of the general manager". Although it sounds as though he will be involved with us in this aspect, MBA 850 will be taught by Bill Blake. He refers to the selected reading that have been sent.

MBAS 876: The Role of the General Manager

Course outline from Professor Peter Richardson. He refers specifically to a few of the selected readings while outlining the course and discussing the topic at some length. This outline goes on to specify the first assignment and it's due date of May 14th! I haven't even started and I feel behind, but it is exciting that this is ACTUALLY happening!

The selected reading that were sent for both of these courses are:

The Manager's Job: Folklore and Fact (by Henry Mintzberg. Published by Hardvard Business Review ("HBR"))
What Leaders Really Do (by John P. Kotter. Published by HBR)
Blue Ocean Strategy (by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. Published by HBR)
Strategy as Revolution (by Gary Hamel. Published by HBR)

MBAS 811: Financial Accounting

A brief memo detailing "preparing of the first accounting course" and the "Finance and Accounting Workbook: 6th edition" from Queen's Executive Development Centre were sent. The memo, from Professor John Moore, discusses how to use the workbook and the specific chapters that should be focused on. At the moment I am about half way through the workbook and plan to complete all of it. After my discussions with the candidates I chose to have lunch with during my interview trip, one of their two suggestions of what they would do differently was to, "complete all the prep material in advance." The other suggestion was show up a week in advance of classes to get settled since the program starts off at an aggressive pace right from day one.

The workbook is excellent since it starts with the assumption that the reader knows absolutely nothing about accounting. Although parts of the first chapter are obvious to the point of being boring, I know that it is covering everything I need to know so that the professor can assume all the students have this basic knowledge level and can build off of it.

One criticismI have is that there are quite a few obvious typo's that simply reading the workbook, prior to publishing, would have found. It doesn't affect the clarity of the information or my ability to understand it, but it is annoying. Someone should suggest they have a graduate English student read it and circle all the items that could be fixed. That way it would be someone totally unfamiliar with the text and the mistakes would stick out!

The later chapters quickly become more interesting as tools, techniques and more complicated topics are introduced. My biggest struggle so far has been adapting to the "accounting speak" given my engineering background. Being an engineer I expect a certain type of logic, but the wording of certain accounting actions sometimes seems to contradict this logic. I'm sure it is just a matter of getting a better understanding of accounting and the language used to describe it so that I can correctly interpret the various transactions in the practice quizzes.

Enough! Back to the books!

Correspondence: more on web portal from Queen's IT

2008-03-13T22:09:00.004-06:00

I have been setting up the web portal and exploring all the features of it for the past few days. Each student gets a "queen's faculty of business" e-mail account that is accessed through the web portal and has functionality similar to outlook. A few of the features this online resource includes are a list of resources for each class, assignment schedule, meeting room booking tools, online file storage, housing links, and a student roster. There are others items, but this is just a few. Most of them are blank since a lot of the web portal hasn't been setup.

Also, it appears as though I may have a second e-mail account associated with my registration as a student with Queen's "university" that is separate from my "business" e-mail account. From what I have read the university will exclusively use this account to communicate with students. You can forward it to another account, but all information regarding tuition, schedules, and other notifications will be sent directly to this account. Not sure if I have this correct, but I will find out for sure in approximately 53 days...not that I'm counting.

I had setup my "student roster", but wasn't seeing any other students. After e-mailing Queen's IT, I was informed that the web portal will not become fully functional until the program starts. I can see why they might do that, but at the same time I think it would be useful to put students in contact with each other prior to the program via bulletin board or chat group. That way they could assist each other or share information regarding housing or student visas/study permits. This wouldn't help me since I have housing arranged and I'm a Canadian, but for some of the other individuals that have contacted me through this blog it could be useful.

For now I will just have to focus on the pre-study material sent.

Accommodations: Info from Queen's

2008-03-11T22:00:00.002-06:00

The web portal is up and on it are some links to various websites to assist incoming students in finding a place to live. Here is what they posted:

Your biggest priority at this point in time is undoubtedly securing your
accommodations for your year of study at Queen's. You have your choice of
staying in our graduate student residence - a mere 1-minute walk from Goodes
Hall - or securing a nearby apartment or house. Generally speaking, most
of our students live within a 10-minute walk to Goodes Hall.
Here is a list of some resources that will help you find your new home away
from home:
Check out the 'housing' section under the Quick Links section of this
portal. There you will find information re: properties that are being
occupied by current members of the Queen's MBA class.
Graduate residence information may be found at https://housing.queensu.ca/residence/
Queen's Accommodation Listing Service http://notes.queensu.ca/ALSWeb.nsf
Below are links to four prominent property management companies in the
Kingston area:
Homestead Land Holdings Limited
Keystone Property Management Inc.
Kincore Holdings Limited
Panadew Holdings
If you are unable to find suitable accommodations through one of the above four means, please contact the Queen's MBA office at 888.621.0060, 613.533.2302,
or queensmba@business.queensu.ca

Correspondence: Official IT Requirements

2008-03-06T12:24:00.009-07:00

Queen's replied to my e-mail inquiring about IT requirements and the delay in the web portal being opened up. The web portal is expected to be up and running by the end of this week. They also sent me the official IT requirements for the Full-Time MBA Program for the Class of 2009. Below is what they sent me.

Notebook Computer Requirements
A notebook computer is a requirement for the duration of your Queen’s MBA program. The attached table (edited into a bullet form list for this blog posting) outlines the minimum requirements for any notebook that you wish to use and also outlines the minimum specifications you should be seeking should you need to purchase a notebook.

If you plan to bring to the Program a notebook computer that you already own, not only should it meet our minimum specifications, but you should ensure that it can be serviced conveniently and quickly in Kingston. Nationally-known brands such as Dell, Lenovo and Toshiba HP should present no problem but it may be difficult to find service for lesser-known systems. You would be well advised to purchase extended warranty coverage for the duration of the program to avoid any unpleasant surprises. It is also wise to ensure that you have a copy of the original invoice should warranty service be required.

Queen’s School of Business Technology Helpdesk stands ready to assist you in any way possible with regards to any computer-related problems or issues that may arise throughout your studies. Our specialists are available from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday to Friday to help you with any of your computer-related needs for your various courses. Service is available by phone, email, website, walk-in or even team-room visits. We will act as a “first contact” point in troubleshooting system problems, providing simple diagnostic procedures and possible suggestions toward the fastest possible resolution. Should it be necessary to contact your vendor or manufacturer we can direct you to your nearest service depot as well as provide you, when possible, with the appropriate phone number or web address.

Should your notebook computer require service we maintain a limited stock of notebook computers that are available to you for short-term loan.

Our helpdesk staff members are fully trained in all of the software applications required for your studies including Microsoft Office applications, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Norton Antivirus, and Lotus Notes/Domino applications. We support Windows Vista and Windows XP Professional/Home operating systems. Unfortunately there is no support for MAC OS. We cannot guarantee full functionality of MAC computers with the Queen’s MBA portal or Domino-based email and collaboration services.

We will do our very best to relieve you of any worries or concerns surrounding the technological component of Queen’s MBA program allowing you to remain focused on the course material.

Minimum Notebook requirements
If you have purchased a computer within the last year or two then you can pretty much be guaranteed that it will meet at least the very minimum requirements for the Queen’s MBA Program.

The following chart will give you an idea of what specs to look for when evaluating either your current notebook computer or purchasing a new one. Although Microsoft has minimum requirements both for their Windows operating systems and Microsoft Office suites, you would do well with at least meeting if not exceeding the recommended requirements. The main concern for the purposes of the Program is that your system runs well with the following:

• Internet Explorer 6 or 7
• MS Office Pro 2007 (which will be supplied to you)
• Windows XP Home or Pro or Windows Vista

To achieve this we would suggest at least the following computer
Configuration

• Processor of at least 1GHz
• 1GB of RAM memory (2GB if running VISTA)
• A hard disk with at least 10GB of free space
• Video of at least an XGA resolution (1024 x 768) and 256MB of video
memory if running VISTA

If you have any questions or concerns regarding either your current notebook computer or wish advice on purchasing a new system please do not hesitate to contact the QSB Technology Helpdesk.

1.866.622.2667
helpdesk@business.queensu.ca
(Attached table edited into a bullet point list shown below to facilitate posting)
Feature: Processor
Minimum: 1 GHz
Recommended: 1.8GHz or better
Comments: The processor is the "engine" of the computer. Intel has three types of processors currently available, The Celeron, the Pentium M or Centrino and the newly released “Core Duo”. The larger the
number (GHz), the faster the processor within each specific type. Choose the Celeron if there are budgetary concerns. If your interests tend to anything involving multimedia applications, web authoring, games etc. then the Pentium M or Core Duo would be better suited. They offer faster processing technology and allow for much longer battery life in a smaller, lighter package.
Feature: Hard Drive
Minimum/Recommended: 20 GB AVAILABLE FREE SPACE
Comments: Hard drives currently range anywhere from 40GB to 160GB in size. You should have available for the Program at least 10GB of free space to be devoted solely for program purposes. Generally a 40GB drive is more than enough for general applications but if you do wish to save any type of multimedia files then the larger the drive the better. The cost between an 80GB drive and a 100GB or 160GB drive is not significant when compared to the overall cost of the system.
Feature: Memory
Minimum: 1GB
Recommended: 2GB
Comments: Memory (or RAM) is very important in determining system performance. The more memory, the better the performance. Memory allows you to have multiple applications open concurrently and reduces the frequency that the system needs to access the hard drive. Again, as memory is fairly inexpensive at the moment, seriously consider going with at least 1GB. Microsoft recommends a minimum of at least 512MB for its soon-to-be released Vista operating system but advises 1GB and even 2GB is preferable.
Feature: Screen
Minimum: Your Preference
Recommended: 14” ACTIVE (TFT)
Comments: As the user interface with the computer, this choice is critical to a user's satisfaction, and long with processor speed is a major determining factor in the cost of the notebook. Screen sizes range from 12.1” to 17”, but sometimes it is difficult to find cases for notebooks with larger screens and they are relatively heavy and fairly power intensive limiting battery life.
Feature: CD ROM
Minimum: DVD/CD-RW
Recommended: DVD-RW
Comments: Traditionally the CD ROM was solely used to load programs, the higher the speed, the faster the load time. Now there are options to include DVD players (Digital Versatile Disk) or CD-RW's (CD riters or "burners"). A DVD allows you to play DVD movies and software on your computer or TV (with the necessary connections). A CD-RW or DVD-RW will allow you to save large amounts of data (700MB-7GB) to a CD or DVD for back-up in addition to creating music CD's or photo albums etc.
Feature: Portable Storage
Minimum: 1GB Memory Key
Recommended: 4GB Memory Key
Comments: The traditional 3.5" floppy is largely not available any longer on new computer systems. Many will find the very economically priced USB memory keys much more convenient with far greater capacity for storing and sharing files. They are useful for backing up information and for porting presentations to other computers.
Feature : Modem
Minimum/Recommended: 56Kbps V.92
Comments: Most modems are internal in notebooks and are included as a standard component. This is the fastest connection you can achieve on a regular dial-up connection and is necessary if you do not have an Internet connection using DSL (eg. Sympatico) or cable. It is also required if you are traveling for use in hotel rooms where high speed is not available.
Feature: Ethernet
Minimum: 10/100 BASE-T PCMCIA
Recommended: 10/100/1000 BASE-T Internal
Comments: Also known as a NIC (network interface card) and is standard on all, but the most very basic systems. It allows connection to corporate networks as well as DSL and cable modem connections.
Feature: Wireless LAN
Minimum: IEEE 802.11b
Recommended: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g
Comments: Queen’s School of Business in Goodes Hall offers a wireless Local Area Network as a supplement to the wired Ethernet. Wireless LAN capability is commonly offered as a standard feature on current notebook computers. If your notebook does not have built-in wireless then a wireless PCMCIA card can be added to most notebook computers.
Software: Operating System
Minimum/Recommended: Windows XP Home , Professional or VISTA
Comments: Keep in mind that if you intend on using your notebook in a corporate environment Windows XP Home edition does not allow connecting to a domain and therefore you will not be able to join the company network.
Software: Office Suite
Minimum/Recommended: Office 2007 Professional (Supplied free of charge by Queen’s)
Software: Web Browser
Minimum/Recommended: Internet Explorer 6 or higher
Software: Viewer
Minimum/Recommended: Adobe Reader 8 (Supplied via free download through Queen’s)
Software: AntiVirus
Minimum/Recommended: Symantec AntiVirus (Supplied free via Queen’s Packman)
(Note: After the first MBA821 Finance Fundamental class in late August we discovered a financial calculator is a requirement for this course. The professor recommends the Texas Instruments BA II Plus since it is the one he is familar with and can assist the students with using it, but any financial calculator will do.)
(Update: Checkout what the requirements are on this Queen's 2010 Candidate's blog)

Correspondence: Pre-study material arrived from Queen's

2008-02-21T12:30:00.005-07:00

Today I received a package from Queen's. It wasn't exactly a surprise since I had been sent a notice by FedEx that it was enroute. Contained within were the much anticipated pre-study materials.

Items included:

Memo outlining payment of fees and a copy of my registration that has my student number. (This was the only document with my student number)
Memo from the registar concerning my student ID card. I am required to complete the form and mail it back with a "passport" style photo in the pre-paid envelope included.
Sessional dates showing all the start and finish dates of the upcoming classes I will be taking as well as the very few days I will have off.
Estimate of living expenses for the next year.
Memo from the Career Manager outlining several assignments to be completed through the "web portal". Appears to be self administered personality testing, brain dominance testing, and career direction assignments. This will probably play a big part in the selection of teams we are being place in as well as assisting the Career Centre to get a better understanding of where the students may want to try to find employment. It also requires students to create an on-line resume through the "web portal".
Perp material for the Finance and Accouting class including a very thick workbook.
Prep material from one of the professors comprised mainly of "selected" readings. Basically, from what I can tell at a glance, just copies of articles or other material they want us to read.
Off-campus housing website info and info concerning University residenses and accomodations. (See comment on this by a current student. They are recommending this residence http://www.science44co-op.com/ and say the meal plan is great!)
Info on food service plan, which is manditory for residence.
Guide to some Kingston activities.
Guide on relocating to Kingston and a map showing approximate walking times for the area immediately surrounding the University to assist with selecting potential accomodations.

The introductory letter was signed off by the Associate Director who is looking forward to welcoming the incoming MBA students at 9 AM on Monday May 5th with a continental breakfast in the atrium of Goodes Hall!

Correspondence: More from Queen's on IT

2008-02-08T12:17:00.000-07:00

After shopping around I noticed that it would be cheaper to purchase a laptop/notebook with the software bundled with it than to purchase it separately. So, I decided to ask Queen's what software was going to be provided.

After a little back and forth I have been told that at the start of the program students will be given a copy of MS Office 2007 professional, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher, and Access. I'm not sure if this copy is downloadable off of a server or if hardcopies will be distributed (A comment made on this entry has informed me that you will recieve a hardcopy disc). This software is for the students to keep and use indefinitely. However, it has been licensed through an academic license, which means it is not to be used in a business or "for-profit" setting.

At this time I think I will utilize the software provided by Queen's, since I don't anticipate needing a fully licensed copy on my personal laptop for a business setting after completing the program. If that changes I can upgrade later and turn it into a "business expense".

Correspondence: more from Queen's

2008-02-07T18:04:00.000-07:00

More on my phone conversation from Lori Garnier, the MBA Associate Director at Queen's, who called today in response to my e-mail regarding the status of scholarships, laptop requirements, and the study package.

I have already discussed the scholarship information here.

The only information I confirmed was that the laptop had to have a current windows operating system and that it could be either Windows XP or Vista. I didn't have the presence of mind to inquire about other software that may be included. The webpage for Queen's School of Business Commerce Program students laptop/notebook requirements states that MS Office 2007 professional will be provided to students once they are on campus. I don't know if that applies to MBA students, but I have written to Lori to ask and will post the answer should I get one. I'm sure the packages to be sent to the students will contain this information.

The packages containing the study material to be completed prior to starting the program should be sent near the end of February. These packages will contain login information for the online resources and materials Queen's is assembling.

Furthermore, it looks like approximately 30 students have been confirmed for the upcoming program. Apparently this is inline with admissions from previous years. There is still ongoing admissions and they expect to fill the class up this year.

Finally, the percentage of placements for the current students is ahead of where they have been in previous years. This is encouraging since it looks like I am leaving the work place while the economy slows. If companies are hiring MBAs now when things are looking like they are slowing down, then it is likely they will be hiring MBAs when it picks-up again, which will hopefully be when I'm graduating.

Financing: more on Scholarships

2008-02-07T12:15:00.001-07:00

Lori Garnier, the MBA Associate Director at Queen's, called me today in response to my e-mail regarding the status of scholarships. It is nice to have an actual phone conversations rather than a quick e-mail. Much more personable and even though I know I am one of many students I really got the feeling that Lori gave a damn. This is very much the complete opposite of my undergraduate experience where they almost seemed to want me disappear.

From our conversation I learned that the 1st round of scholarships has been completed. They are now moving to the 2nd round. By the end of February, they expect all the scholarships to be awarded. My initial guess was correct about these items.

I was wrong about not still being considered. I am still on the list for a possible scholarship in the 2nd round. There is no guarantee I will get one, but there is also no guarantee that I won't. I am really glad that I applied early to ensure both my spot in the program and that I was well ahead of the deadline for applications that would be considered for scholarships.

Again, I will post the other scholarship I applied for since the deadline has passed. It was the Engineers Canada-TD Meloche Monnex scholarship for professional engineers in Canada returning to school to study a subject other than engineering. There is also a scholarship for professional engineers in Canada returning to school to study engineering futher.

Financing: Scholarships

2008-02-02T10:13:00.002-07:00

Through one of the people that has contacted me I have learned that Queen's recently awarded them a scholarship for $15,000. They were contacted by e-mail and will recieve the official paper work by courier. The scholarship is to be paid out in two installments; one at the start of each semester. Also, this person seems to be a very highly qualified candidate from what I can deduce from the information they have shared with me. Therefore, it seems Queen's may be using the scholarships in part to keep highly qualified candidates from going else where. This strategy makes sense and I don't doubt everyother school is using a similar strategy.

Prior to hearing this information I had taken an educated guess that approximately 2 weeks after the deadline is when they would start awarding the scholarships. Queen's had stated only applications recieved by January 15th would be consider for scholarships. So, hearing about a person recieving a scholarship at the end of January or beginning of February makes sense. Furthermore, it can't take more than 2 to 4 weeks to notify the recipients and confirm their acceptance. Therefore, I'm guessing that if you don't hear from Queen's by about the middle to end of February concerning scholarships, you won't.

That being said I still haven't heard from Queen's regarding a scholarship, which very likely means I won't.

Also, I had previously mentioned another scholarship. Since the deadline has come and gone I can post it here. It was the Engineers Canada-TD Meloche Monnex scholarship for professional engineers in Canada returning to school to study a subject other than engineering. There is also a scholarship for professional engineers in Canada returning to school to study engineering futher.

Acceptance: Student Visa to Study in Canada

2008-01-30T20:23:00.001-07:00

Recently I was contacted by someone who was also accepted to the program and questioned about student visas for Canada. Although this doesn't pertain to me in particular I thought it would be helpful to post the information I found here to assist others. As I found out, a student visa is actually officially referred to as a "Study Permit" here in Canada.

Before I go on I would like to encourage all students accepted to the MBA program at Queen's who want to know more about student visas to get in touch with Queen's. They have been very helpful with everything I have contacted them about and they assist a lot of students every year.

On the Queen's application process website I found the following excerpt concerning student visas:

International Students
If you are neither a Canadian citizen nor a permanent resident of Canada you must apply for a Study Permit from the Canadian government in order to enter Canada to enroll in this program. Depending on your country of citizenship you may also be
required to have a Temporary Resident Visa to enter Canada. You should begin
the application process as soon as you receive your offer of admission from
Queen’s. To determine your student visa requirements and to apply for a
student visa go to Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Note: Acceptance into Queen’s MBA does not guarantee nor imply acceptance of your application for a study permit. You should not take any final steps, such as moving to Canada, purchasing plane tickets, or quitting your job, until your Study
Permit is approved.

It was explicitly state in the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website that you must have an acceptance letter prior to applying for a visa. You can read through all the specifications for the application process on their website as there are way too many for me to discuss in detail. However, I thought I would post links to the guide, application form , and document checklist here.

Thank you for your e-mails. I hope someone finds this information useful.

(Update: Found this other blogger at Ivey who has detailted the PR process and passport stuff in much greater detail. Suggest those interested in this information check it out)

Accommodations: Pictures of the suite arrived

2008-01-28T20:20:00.001-07:00

Today we final got some pictures by e-mail of the furnished suite we have rented. It is the main floor of an older house not too far from campus, but definitely not in the "student ghetto". I made contact with the current tenant during my trip to interview for the program. Since then I have been in contact with them concerning the suite via e-mail.

The pictures have definitely alleviated a lot of the anxiety my wife and myself had about moving to Kingston. It looks like a nice place with high ceilings. After reviewing the pictures we were able to ask a few clarifying questions of the current tenant to get a better understanding of what is included and what we should plan to bring with us.

With this out of the way I can focus on work again. At least until I have to start packing up this place to move.

(Queen's Housing Website)

Correspondence: Feedback from Career Centre

2008-01-21T18:28:00.000-07:00

After writing a follow-up e-mail the Queen's Career Centre replied with the sample material they mentioned during my phone conversation with them. It was comprised of 5 job posting from this past year for various "finance" and "strategic consulting" positions. This material was quite helpful and in line with what I had discovered before from the websites of the top firms involved in these industries.

I still don't know how these options might suit myself, but at least I have some idea what they might be like if I should be presented with the opportunity to pursue a career in one of these directions. I won't really know until I get into the material at Queen's.

Financing: Government Student Loan.

2008-01-17T18:13:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered that as a mature student I might qualify for a government student loan. So, I filled out an application on line. I was pleasantly surprised at the automatically assessed amount. Now I have to wait to see if this will get approved.

Financing: Scholarship and Loan Information

2008-01-16T22:38:00.000-07:00

Found the following on Queen's FAQ site:

FEES & FINANCING QUESTIONS
Q: How much does the program cost?
A: The program fee for the Class of 2009 is $58,000(CAD) for domestic students and $63,000 (CAD) for international students. This fee includes tuition, books,
cases, learning materials, photocopying, printing, and other program-related expenses (such as participating in case competitions and conferences).
Q: What is an estimated cost of living for a student in Kingston?
A: CAD $27,000.
Q: What financing options are available to me?A: Queen's School of Business and RBC Financial Group have teamed up to offer qualified Canadian citizens and permanent residents a tuition loan plan which allows you to borrow your full tuition fee and an additional CAD $15,000 for living expenses. Queen's covers the interest costs on the entire loan while you are in the program. Your personal RBC banker will work with you to establish a manageable repayment schedule. You have a maximum of ten (10) years to re-pay the loan. Please see the full details. Foreign residents and nationals should consult the numerous financing options.
Q: Are scholarships available?
A: Yes. Scholarships are awarded on merit. We look at a candidate’s GMAT score, GPA, and work experience equally in determining who will receive a scholarship. For the Class of 2007, the value of scholarships ranged from CAD $5,000 - $30,000. Separate applications are not required; all candidates who receive an offer of admission from Queen’s will be considered for a scholarship. Scholarship decisions are typically communicated within a month of the final application deadline.
So, some scholarships are available. The real question is do I "merit" one? I hope so.

Employment: Found some options

2008-01-15T19:09:00.001-07:00

Came across the "Fortune" list of the top MBA employers for 2007.

Top 25 list. Has brief breakdown and profile of each company.

Top 100 list. Just a list that includes the top 25 list.

I found the lists very heavily weighted to the US, but it was good to take a look at the individual companies websites. I was able to get a feel for what kind of opportunities might be available after graduating. The recruitment pages for numbers 2, 3, 4, and 5 (McKinsey&Company, Goldman Sachs, Bain&Company, and Boston Consulting Group respectively) were insightful as to where these organizations would try to fit you and what your career path for the first 5 years might look like. The interview process for all of them seems very rigorous and there seems to be a lot of competition for a limited number of spots with these big names.

If you do check out these companies, make sure you also check them out at wikipedia. I found it to be a little more transparent. It lays the corporate structure and culture out in a much more logicial manner that allows you to see the benefits and drawbacks to these orgnaizations. For example McKinsey&Company has an "up or out" policy that isn't mentioned in the recruitment site. That could make the environment a little bit more competive than one would initially assume from all the smiling faces.

I'm not assuming I will even try to get into these organization or that I would even be able to, but I'm sure that there are other organizations I might find an opportunity with that would be similar in corporate structure, function, and experience. I'm not even sure if I would want to move my career in this direction, but looking at these organizations did give me a better idea what the "finance" and "strategic consulting" opportunities, mentioned by the Queen's Career Centre, might be like.

(Aside: also found this website that seems to have information on salaries at different organizations)

Financing: Take what you can get.

2008-01-09T21:58:00.002-07:00

Well, it is finally done. The paperwork for the line of credit that Queen's will pay the interest on during and for 12 months after completing the program is on the way. Queen's is covering tuition plus fifteen thousand dollars. I tried to get more, but to no avail. That is as high as the bank is willing to loan on this particular "product". I also had to have a co-signer since I have zero assets.

Nothing reminds you how poor you are like asking the bank for money.

We provided a detailed breakdown of the years expenses to the banker. After reviewing it, the picture the banker painted for me of my financial situation upon graduation was pretty bleak. I got pretty depressed about the whole thing and was almost ready to pull the plug and cut my losses at that point. I had to sit down and crunch some numbers. I also took yet another look at what prospects might be available after graduation for employment. If I manage to find a job that pays well while I'm in school and I can start right after graduation I might be okay.

As if that isn't worrisome enough, the finances I have set up won't be enough to cover my expenses for the whole year, but I figure with the little bit I can save, a good tax return, and taking what little I have in RRSPs out through the "lifelong learning program" I can make it to September. Maybe December if things really stretch. At that point I will have to look for an additional line of credit for the final four to six months. I feel like I'm calling "all in" with a pair of tens pre-flop and I haven't even reached the final table.

I really need some sort of entrance scholarship, but I don't know if that is going to happen. From my conversations with the students during my interview it sounded like scholarships were few and far between. Still, I can hope!

I'm also going to apply for another scholarship I found, but I'm not writing about the details here until after I have found out if I get that one or not. I don't want extra competition.

(This deadline has come and gone. It was the Engineers Canada-TD Meloche Monnex scholarship for professional engineers in Canada returning to school to study a subject other than engineering. There is also a scholarship for professional engineers in Canada returning to school to study engineering futher.)

I've even started to "pay the stupid tax." By that I mean purchase lottery tickets. If I ever needed a small financial windfall, now is the time, but I have a better chance of getting hit by lightning.

It is unnerving to be setting out on this kind of venture with two thirds of your financing in place. Everyone keeps telling me that, "this is a great opportunity," but who really knows? It's not them climbing out on the thinnest tree limb hoping it doesn't break. Is "the fruit sweeter further out on the limb?"

For now I will take the tuition plus fifteen thousand that is on the table and hope for some kind of scholarship to help, while continuing to look for other ways to make this work. I'm either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. The only difference between the two is the result. Time will tell since I'm jumping in with both feet.

Correspondence: Talking with the Career Centre

2008-01-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

David Edwards, the Director of the Career Centre for Queen's School of Business, called me today. I had requested someone from the Career Centre contact me so I could find out where a Canadian professional engineering with oil and gas experience could ended up after the program. I wanted this information for two reasons:

1. To find out if there were any career possibilities I could research now to ensure I was better informed to make a decision should one present itself while I'm in the program and busy with course work, and

2. Find out what type of compensation I might expect after graduation so I could see if I would be able to pay off the massive amount of debt I'm about to take on. Especially since it will add to the debt I'm still carrying from my first degree. (i.e. will I be able to afford a spacious fridge box or just a small computer box to live in afterwards...)

David mentioned that most graduates either head to finance or consulting. Neither of these mean too much to me. He tried to explain, but it all seemed very high level and vague. No specifics. He mentioned it was hard to get into specifics since most of the answers I wanted I could only get by taking a class on "finance" or the such. I agree with him, but that still doesn't help me with my anxiety concerning the uncertainty that is my future.

He did mention that they like all students to "keep an open mind" and to consider all the possibilities that present themselves. He also mentioned that from day one in the program the staff at the Career Center work with the students to help them find what they might like and to assist them with finding a job.

Overall I was still left with a lot of questions, but I am encouraged that I will have a strong support network from the Career Centre. Also, David said he would send me some literature to try to help give me a better feel for a few of the opportunities I might be presented with. I'm looking forward to what he sends.

Accommodations: Lease is finalized.

2008-01-08T21:12:00.001-07:00

Well, sent back the lease today with my deposit. I am now committed to a fully furnished 2 bedroom suite in Kingston, ON from May 1, 2008 to April 30, 2009 for $1125/month. A little pricey, but it means not moving or purchasing furniture and it provides the space my wife will need to take her correspondence course. It is also a short walk to campus and not in the notorious "student ghetto".

I still haven't seen any picture of the place.

However, from my conversations with the current tenant, whom I lucked out in meeting during my trip for my interview, and with the landlord I'm sure it is as good or better than any other place I would find.

In addition, I have been assured it is rat free. My wife is a little apprehensive about moving to a place with rats. Here in Alberta the whole province is rat free, but that is not the case in Ontario. My friend who took his engineering degree at Queen's has had more than a few stories concerning rats to share with us.

Oh well, it is nice to have this issue out of the way. Now how to raise the funds to pay for all this crazyness...

(Queen's Housing Website)

Correspondence: Queen's sent me a chirstmas card

2007-12-18T22:28:00.000-07:00

Received a christmas card from Queen's today! The entire MBA office staff took the time to sign it. I'm sure they pump these cards out, but it was nice to receive it. It was a pleasant reminder of my upcoming adventure!

Focusing at work has been difficult lately. Not only have we been extra busy, but I have had to keep working on all the paperwork to get things ready. This combined with the anticipation of starting the program in 4 months and the excitement of not knowing where I could be in 2 years from this date makes my day to day tasks seem rather dull.

On another note I got a reply to my e-mail inquiring as to why I hadn't been re-imbursed for my trip out as promised and why my cheque for my deposit on tuition hadn't been cashed yet. Turns out I was just lost in the paperwork and they will process my re-imbursement immediately. Also, the cheque has found it's way to the bank finally. It just took time for it to be processed on their end.

Financing: Line of credit paperwork submitted.

2007-12-18T22:24:00.001-07:00

Submitted the required paper work for the line of credit that Queen's is willing to cover the interest on for the duration of the program and the 12 months following completion of the program.

Now I just need to assess my additional expenses and request a second line of credit.

This is going to be pricey. I am again reminded that most people use this kind of money to put a decent down payment on a house. I just have to keep reminding myself this is worth it. After all, I did crunch all the numbers.

Accommodations: Lease arrived

2007-12-18T22:19:00.001-07:00

The lease for the suite has arrived. Now I have to fill it out and return it with a deposit. It will be nice to have this place finally secured.

I will be renting a fully furnished 2 bedroom suite for $1,125/month. That may seem a little steep for a student, but my wife will be using the second bedroom as a study room since she will be completing a distance ed. program while I do the MBA.

The landlord has assured me it is in the quiter part of town and the other units are occupied by serious students.

I still haven't even seen a picture of this place.

(Queen's Housing Website)

Contemplation: Is An MBA Worth It?

2007-12-04T21:20:00.001-07:00

(Addition: Just found an interesting article on "Is an MBA worth it" from the Globe and Mail in March 2008 and thought I would edit this post to include a link to this site.)

Is an MBA degree worth it? After lost wages and tuition does this opportunity payout? Would you be better off just sticking to your current position for the next decade?

The majority of us will work to earn a our living. In today's society you could be working a long time. Although I am attempting to quantify the monetary advantages of an MBA, I cannot even begin to assess the emotional, intellectual, and social rewards of an MBA. Can you really put a price on enjoying your employment? If you are like me then you had to suffer through countless student summer positions that redefined boredom and uselessness firsthand. Perhaps you had a position that tried your patience to the point of driving you to the brink of insanity? If you have, then I'm sure you can agree that finding enjoyable employment is PRICELESS. I believe an MBA will help me with this, but it may not do that for everyone.

With that stated, let's continue with the analysis of this opportunity.

To test the value of an MBA I assembled a few scenarios. All of these involve certain assumptions, which anyone can criticize, but as they were used in all cases I would argue much of the error caused by incorrect assumptions cancels out.

To provide a sufficient time scale I chose to look at 10 years. All of the scenarios started with 1 year of employment at my current position. After that they explore a variety of paths. I then compared them to the base case of staying at my current position. All cases assumed an 8% pay increase every year, but it doesn't matter as the affect is irrelevant as I explain further down.

Scenario A: Base case. Do not return to school. Work at your current job with steady pay increases every year.
Scenario B: Work in previous position for 1 year, return to school, enter new industry at a slightly lower salary, but receive a 50% one-time increase after 3 years in after gaining experience. (Note: This increase would either come from changing organizations or being recognized for your new expertise within your current organization)
Scenario C: Work in previous position for 1 year, return to school, enter previous industry at same salary with potential to enter management position, but never get the chance.
Scenario D: Work in previous position for 1 year, return to school, enter previous industry at a higher salary with potential to enter management position.
Scenario E: Work in previous position for 1 year, return to school, enter previous industry at a higher salary with potential to enter management position and extra compensation
Scenario F: Work in previous position for 1 year, return to school, enter previous industry with a much higher salary with potential to enter management position and extra compensation

The specifics of these scenarios are interesting, but the detail is too heavy for this venue.

Results:

Scenario A: 1.00 times base case since this is the base case
Scenario B: 1.09 times base case
Scenario C: 0.87 times base case (the only case that was worse than not taking an MBA)
Scenario D: 1.34 times base case
Scenario E: 1.34 times base case
Scenario F: 1.68 times base case

For specific values I looked at my current position and where I could reasonably be in 10 years if I didn't go back for an MBA. Fortunately for me I have my professional association's salary surveys to consult (APEGGA Salary Survey Page) (2006 Results). For post MBA positions I checked various Canadian business schools placement statistics. All the MBA information I found was similar to what is posted at Queen's. (Site with stats) (2007 Results)(2006 Results). All of the results were discounted to today's dollars. If possible, I would recommend all people contemplating an MBA to complete a similar exercise so you can really see the effect.

I ran sensitivities on the influence of discount rates and inflation rates of salary. The discount rate had no effect. The inflation rate of salary directly affected the magnitude of the difference between the cases, but the cases always ranked the same.

The only scenario that didn't workout for the better was the case where I returned to my previous employment position and nothing changed. Even taking a pay cut to switch industries was beneficial provided you are able to see a large, one-time increase in your salary after 3 years.

In other words, don't take an MBA and go back to doing the exact same thing you were doing before.

None of these scenarios considered the substantially rewarding situation of starting a business that becomes incredibly successful or catching that one-in-a-million opportunity that is out there if people are really willing to dig for it. Those opportunities would be much more rewarding. Perhaps a senior management position?

In conclusion, financially an MBA is worth it. You should easily be able to get the MBA to payout. The magnitude of financial benefit is a directly proportional to what you do afterwards. How much and when? Well, that lies squarely on your shoulders.