tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37161472011-04-21T22:10:54.050ZMBA ExperienceA year long blog describing what its like to take an MBA at a top business school. From application to graduation..martinnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4021100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1069928947557244772003-11-27T10:29:00.000Z2006-08-27T10:08:14.553ZWelcome to the MBA ExperienceFor a year this is the blog where I documented what it was like to apply for and take an MBA at Said Business School, Oxford University. As the blog says I chronicled it all, from application to graduation. The site contains information about applying for an MBA, revision notes for many of the courses I did and the complete archives of the posts I wrote during my timemartinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1092385983226046672003-11-26T11:26:00.000Z2004-08-13T08:33:03.226ZNeed a beer?A friend of mine is working on the launch of a new .co.uk company. Near.co.uk to be precise, the idea is to provide local search services. First on the list is a service to help you find a pub.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1063618278289992652003-09-15T09:31:00.000Z2003-09-15T09:43:10.086ZThe end of the beginningFollowing Friday's dinner at Christ Church Saturday was given over to our not quite graduation ceremony. In Oxford you actually graduate some time after your degree is conferred at a ceremony organised through your college but conducted by the university. As a result graduating the whole class together is impossible.
So we have our not quite graduation ceremony. There aremartinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1063389187783770032003-09-12T17:53:00.000Z2003-09-12T17:53:07.626ZFarewell dinnerJust about to head off to the farewell dinner at Christ Church college. Doesn't half seem a long time since the welcome reception at Said Business School. The class yearbook came out today - I've been sceptical about these things before but I have to say the guys responsible have done a fantastic job and it's something I'll be hanging onto. Just one more example of the really cool martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1063371983103937642003-09-12T13:06:00.000Z2004-02-15T11:42:14.000ZSo long Johnny
I fly a starship across the Universe divide
And when I reach the other side
I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain
But I will remain
And I'll be back again, and again and again and again and again..
Farewell to the Man in Black just about the only country singer I ever had any time for, martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1063282622935160472003-09-11T12:17:00.000Z2003-09-19T09:30:21.350ZSBS Secure Final Victory
Following a season of hard work and scarce reward the Said Business School football team registered their first victory of the season against University opposition last night. On a wet and windswept Mansfield Road pitch the team came out in competitive mood for the first half, Jeroen Ariens marshalling his back line with impressive authority. Even so, a break away goal martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1063126760149675202003-09-09T16:59:00.000Z2003-09-10T11:58:40.420ZFantasticGotta love this Fedex advert
while you're at it take a moment to read this too.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1063093095392577432003-09-09T07:38:00.000Z2003-09-09T07:38:15.276ZBlogging isn't always free and easySalaam Pax answers all those questions about how he avoided arrest under Saddam in this article from the guardian.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1063041769145569432003-09-08T17:22:00.000Z2003-09-08T17:22:49.160ZCaught up : The Final PresentationToday was the day for final presentations. In ten minutes you have to explain what you did on your summer project and why, and then field questions for twenty minutes. Since your summer project is done in a team of four over eight weeks that works out at 1 minute 15 seconds for every man month of work!
So we presented, and it was good. One of us though got the martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1063040423433163742003-09-08T17:00:00.000Z2003-09-09T17:00:30.786ZCatch up : The Proteus EnsembleI think it's symptomatic of spending time in Oxford that when you leave you wonder why you didn't do more things. Last night I headed out to see the Proteus Ensemble, a classical group performing at the Hollywell Music Room. (oldest purpose built music room in the world you know, once graced by Mozart...)
Anyway, the reason for turning up was that one of our martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-10630401407760312003-09-08T16:55:00.000Z2003-09-08T16:55:40.783ZCatch up : Case study examI'll start with the case study exam. Twelve sides on the Clarks shoe company's turnaround proved to make for a fairly easygoing case exam. No detailed financials to pore over and nothing too complicated. Instead lots of consideration given to corporate strategy and positioning, a little bit of marketing and some operations issues to look at. I think it's some evidence ofmartinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1062778817310284882003-09-05T16:20:00.000Z2003-09-05T17:10:57.376ZWhere cases come fromHalley Suitt has just published a HBS case on weblogging. I hate to say this since she runs such a good blog, but it looks from the abstract like yet another piece of hack fiction which will be pored over by students hoping for insight into the exciting world of blogging / business. It's at times like this that I'm sure case studies aren't the answer.
Ahha, I've just martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1062765522729795642003-09-05T12:38:00.000Z2003-09-05T12:38:42.643ZFresh from Harvard Business ReviewI'm not sure what point Rageboy is trying to make here, but it's pretty funny none the less.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1062659440175559352003-09-04T07:10:00.000Z2003-09-04T07:15:00.856ZRed Carnation DayOne of the nicer traditions at Oxford is of colour coding your exams with carnations (flowers worn in your buttonhole). Traditionally it's a white carnation for the first one, pink ones for the ones in the middle and a red one for the end. Ignoring the fact I've got a thirty minute SBP presentation to get through today is a red carnation day - the final walk in, sit down, write martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1062506963127137272003-09-02T12:49:00.000Z2003-09-02T12:49:23.116ZPlaying catch upI've been a bit remiss on the updates in the last few days. Things to tell you about...
The entertaining five a side football game at Templeton (great little pitch)
The final presentation of our SBP work to Cisco (went OK, client happy, some job prospects...)
The impending case study exam (no-one can bring themselves to revise seriously)
Mostly though these last few days have martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1062154562770206792003-08-29T10:56:00.000Z2003-08-29T10:56:02.573ZMaking an ImpactI've just signed up to six weeks of marketing the business school. This is a fantastic opportunity to reintegrate myself into a working environment, get some projects completed and have a bit of an impact on the school which has spent the last twelve months educating me. martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1061904064823501582003-08-26T13:21:00.000Z2003-08-26T13:21:06.470ZThe MBA GuideI can't vouch for the quality of this stuff since I haven't read any of it, but a former SBS alumni has put together a set of studyguides for MBA students everywhere. He's still looking for a publisher but he has posted a full glossary online, which may well help when it comes to revising or making sense of lecture notes. Read all about this at The MBA Guidemartinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1061896730985707312003-08-26T11:18:00.000Z2003-08-26T11:21:53.200ZUseful article on usabilityTaking time off from telling us how we could save jobs and increase profits if only things were easier to use Jakob Nielsen has published a handy introduction to usability. Well worth a read for anyone wondering how their website could be made better.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1061896158624864542003-08-26T11:09:00.000Z2003-08-26T11:09:44.203ZWriting for the webI feel like a new labour speech writer. I've been looking at some of the copy on the SBS website and thinking about how to optimise it for search engines. One of the tricks is to work the phrase you care about into the copy repeatedly, but hopefully in a way that means it doesn't jump out at anyone. Like the way when the chancellor gives a budget speech he says 'prudence' over martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1061810955730339972003-08-25T11:29:00.000Z2003-08-25T11:37:30.740ZBank Holiday Weekend in CornwallThis Monday is a bank holiday in England, which means that those people with jobs have a three day weekend to enjoy. The August bank holiday is something of an institution here, the whole country decides to go somewhere and do something - often that somewhere is Cornwall and that something is sit on the beach. Those who are not prepared to sweat for hours in martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1061805676553118492003-08-25T10:01:00.000Z2003-08-25T10:01:16.376ZMore Iraqi CommentaryAnother Iraqi blogger, this time a woman from Baghdad. Riverbend is taking steps to conceal her identity and it's pretty easy to see why. For Iraqi women there is a chance that liberation is about to turn into a whole new repression.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1061465732361487912003-08-21T11:35:00.000Z2003-08-21T11:40:26.473ZEmail Tony BlairAfter months of hard graft Tim Ireland has finally succeeded in forcing Tony Blair to set up an email service. While some cynics out there might say that it was bound to happen sooner or later and the campaign made little difference here are a few points
The first questions asked in the house of commons about this were inspired by the campaign
Tim actually got hold of Cherie martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1061386827604021682003-08-20T13:40:00.000Z2003-08-20T13:40:27.616ZGooglatorThis is a very cool feature indeed.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1061385318261506912003-08-20T13:15:00.000Z2003-08-20T13:16:33.093ZLegal InsanityTony has gone mad in far shorter order on his law course than I did on my MBA course. It was a good week of classes before I was envisaging MBA themed movies. However on day one Tony came up with Freddy vs Jason, the verdict....
Those looking for academic themed blogs to read once I've finished up here could do worse than consider adding Tony to their regular readings. Watching my martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1061384666368918732003-08-20T13:04:00.000Z2003-08-20T13:08:22.113ZCatching up with the worldWith the summer project almost done the team has voted itself a day or two off. I've just spent half an hour catching up on the baghdad blogs that sprang up after the war, things are getting wierder and wierder over there.
Salaam somehow made it to the funeral of Uday and Qusay, his role as translator / fixer for various journalists and armed forces seems to be sending martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1060771141441908972003-08-13T10:39:00.000Z2003-08-13T10:47:12.200ZPresents - get it while you canMy much better two thirds is very good at buying presents. Some months ago - I think around January - I read an article about Howard Tate, a legendary soul singer who'd gone off the rails and vanished for twenty years with just a single album to his name (Get it while you can). The more I read the more I wanted to buy his new record - sadly it wasn't out and the martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1060770843823862842003-08-13T10:34:00.000Z2003-08-13T10:38:53.873ZThe increasingly English Mr Lloyd (part 2)What better way to spend an evening in Oxford than to punt leisurely up and down the Cherwell watching the wildlife and greenery go by in blissful Oxford weather?
That was the plan, and at times it almost seemed like that. When we weren't getting in the way of rowing eights, being threatened by swans (local swans have learned that if you terrorise a martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1060770602556511082003-08-13T10:30:00.000Z2003-08-13T10:34:52.670ZThe increasingly English Mr Lloyd (part 1)
This weekend was a friend of mine's stag do. Forgoing the usual destinations of Dublin or London the chosen destination was Oxford - scene of his juvenile crimes. Well actually it's kind of hard imagining him committing any crimes but that's by the by. A comfortably intoxicated evening occurred followed by the main attraction on Sunday - Cricket.
Now I martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1060340906410271072003-08-08T11:08:00.000Z2003-08-08T11:08:26.366ZSummer project right on scheduleI can only assume we're heading toward a cliff at speed on this project, because so far absolutely nothing has gone wrong. The only other alternative is that somehow during the course of this year the four of us have developed a godlike ability to organise large projects and run them to time.
By this afternoon we will have a complete version 0.1 of the final martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1060252671224236532003-08-07T10:37:00.000Z2003-08-07T10:38:16.863ZMust go to HMV
Damnit, nothing like a personal recommendation to sell a CD is there? Although the other person who's told me about this described it as average mopy goth / new metal stuff.
Oh, must do some work too. First recommendations to the client on Friday.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1060251431976116862003-08-07T10:17:00.000Z2003-08-07T10:17:11.960ZGood DesignThis piece on the Register about Konika Minolta's new logo reminded me of something I read a long long time ago. Dmitry Kirsanov's fantastic columns at webreference.com make very clear just how different to art design is. A must read set of essays for anyone who is ever going to work in the design field.
Much to my surprise in Dmitry's latest writing on Logo's he talks about having martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1060085297521646462003-08-05T12:08:00.000Z2003-08-05T12:08:17.526ZThe truth about PAMPAM, the Pentagon's bizarre market for trading information about terrorist attrocities was even wierder than previously thought. Over at the Register Andrew Orlowski has produced a piece of spectatcularly meandering journalism to explain just where the ideas came from in the first place.
The bottom line on all this is of course that markets don't work half as efficiently as martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1060015358576813632003-08-04T16:42:00.000Z2003-08-05T12:12:30.593ZT3, Rise of the Computer GamesI'm not even sure if there is a computer game to accompany T3, Rise of the Machines, but there should be. Moments in the film come straight out of something like Deus Ex or Halo. How do you fight a flying thing with guns? Stand in a corridor (it can't manouvre) and keep shooting it as it rushes toward you. If you and the game designer have done your job right it'll martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1060003863979157482003-08-04T13:31:00.000Z2003-08-04T13:31:03.930ZPre-emptive book reviewBusiness the Cisco way by David Stauffer. There's a word for rose tinted biography - it's called hagiography. I'm not sure what the equivalent is for business writing, so I'm just going to call it garbage. This book is a badly researched collection of hype and overzealous writing that should have been pulped by the editor to avoid embarrasment.
I know this despite having martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1060002101770247702003-08-04T13:01:00.000Z2003-08-04T13:01:41.636ZOn MarketsDoc Searls has written a piece on markets, and what exactly we mean when we say market, as he points out it's a very flexible word indeed.
This piece also got me thinking. Doc and other business writers like him come up with a lot of very sensible stuff, none of which is considered academically sound by the powers that be. That's fine, the powers that be have a duty to make sure we're martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1060000855509217242003-08-04T12:40:00.000Z2003-08-04T12:40:55.406ZSummer EscapeThere really should be a rule against forcing students to spend their lovely summer days labouring over an assignment looking at pictures of fantastic holiday retreats. Sadly there isn't and so I spent Sunday hard at work for i-escape.
Having spent a bit more time on the site I'm still really impressed. I'd guess that as soon as the traffic starts to come in they'll be fine because martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1059925078022769122003-08-03T15:37:00.000Z2003-08-03T15:37:57.883ZMore lyrics
At the tender age of three
I was hooked to a machine
just to keep my mouth from spouting junk
There are those who think this should have been done to me. Indeed there are probably people who think I still need it.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1059666731729117172003-07-31T15:52:00.000Z2003-07-31T15:55:35.586ZThe brochure has landedThe new brochure has arrived and 10 000 copies are awaiting distribution. You don't have to get one of them to read it though, you can download a pdf of the brochure (2 MB) from the business school website.
The brochure was a pretty serious piece of work, as well as the copy it needed editing and co-ordinating, people needed to pilot it through the SBS management system, martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1059650259992338482003-07-31T11:17:00.000Z2003-07-31T11:17:39.960ZThe brochures are coming, the brochures are coming!The new MBA brochures should be arriving in the next hour or two. Since this is the biggest bit of copywriting I've ever done (30+ pages) I'm really keen to see the results. The marketing department are already sick of me turning up asking if they're here (they were meant to be here on Tuesday, but there was a delay). It'll also be interesting tomartinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1059581899451953452003-07-30T16:18:00.000Z2003-07-30T16:18:19.430ZMoney in the bank...As part of a summer campaign to bring in some funds I'm doing a few bits of freelance work. As well as some more bits and bobs on behalf of the school I'm going to be helping i-escape with their search engine rankings. It's a small piece of work, but you've got to start somewhere.
Incidently if you're planning a holiday you really should take a look at i-escape's site. martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1059561619259692572003-07-30T10:40:00.000Z2003-07-30T10:40:19.130ZMeeting the readersYesterday I met up with Rani, who has been reading this website for the last eight months. I'd write more, but she promised to send me a picture of the two of us which she took over coffee and I thought it would be nice to include in the write up. Only it isn't here yet, presumably becuase I imagine she's very busy at the moment. So the write ups on ice for now.
If any other martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1059561487653116972003-07-30T10:38:00.000Z2003-07-30T10:38:07.530ZBalanced viewsThere is a moment at which you realise that your bit of the SBP may well revolve around suggesting a balanced scorecard approach. At this point you are confronted with the realisation that this afternoon and tomorrow may well be spent reading about accounting systems and performance metrics.
Its a moment I'd suggest people try to avoid.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1059496801358220042003-07-29T16:40:00.000Z2003-07-29T16:40:01.236ZFootball cancelledHonestly, just because it's pouring with rain (awful weather for July) tonights game of footie is cancelled. Still, as part of my current health kick I will do some exercise tonight. See, if I write stuff down it will happen...martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1059427327107493592003-07-28T21:22:00.000Z2003-07-28T21:33:33.500ZAmazon on the blinkWorth mentioning only because it's the first time it's ever happened to me in dozens of purchases, but Amazon's server is up and down like a yo-yo at the moment. Have to imagine they've got some kind of back up system that isn't working 100% or an intermittent fault or something.
At this stage I've got enough faith in their customer service that even were my orders to suddenlymartinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1059422263114301812003-07-28T19:57:00.000Z2003-07-28T19:57:42.903ZSite UpdatesI've now finished adding course reviews for Hilary term along with accompanying revision notes. Click on the 'doing the MBA' section in the navigation above.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1059420419432874352003-07-28T19:26:00.000Z2003-07-28T19:28:42.600ZLOLIt's a long time since anything on the radio has made me laugh out loud. I guess they just don't play enough Billy Bragg. Here's the lyric responsible
She said it was just a figment of speech
And I said you mean 'figure'
And she said no 'figment' because she could never imagine it happening
But it did
When we first met, I played the shy-boy
When she spoke to me for the first time, my nose martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1059407221426946282003-07-28T15:47:00.000Z2003-07-28T15:47:01.266ZThat's the way to do itCheskin have just given most of their top management, and probably everyone else who wants one too a blog. They're a very good marketing research / innovation firm in Silicon Valley. I know this cause I met Davis Masten at the Oxford Business Forum and he was bloody good, and when the guy who used to run the company is good it's reasonable to expect the same of the rest of martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1059395067146800732003-07-28T12:24:00.000Z2003-07-28T15:31:39.366ZGaps in the marketThere seems to be a gap in the market for a competent search firm for jobhunting. I've called 8 this morning, two small ones actually managed to put me through to a consultant who told me 'when we say we do sales and marketing we actually mean sales'. Of the other six only one has managed to get back to me while the other five have all told me that the person I need to speak to martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1059300123325955182003-07-27T10:02:00.000Z2003-07-27T10:02:03.310ZNearly thereDon't know the paper by paper marks yet, but I passed all last terms courses. I've now got 19 out of 23 credits toward my MBA. Still to go are two credits for the summer business project, and two credits for the final case study exam. Meanwhile the job hunt goes on.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1059127106655651582003-07-25T09:58:00.000Z2003-07-25T09:58:26.610ZNo longer in BetaWith their usual lack of fuss Google have taken the Beta signs off their Froogle e-commerce service. I imagine that in a few years we'll wonder how we lived without it. I'll try a few tests later, the beta was interesting rather than useful. Be keen to see how much that has changed.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1059121447170473562003-07-25T08:24:00.000Z2003-07-25T08:24:07.120ZDIY MicropaymentsIts not a big VCfunded thingumy, its just a little homemade service I think, but Bitpass is a functioning micropayments service. Worth a look.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1058959159757467352003-07-23T11:19:00.000Z2003-07-23T11:19:19.703ZFirst job offerApparently some vestiges of my professional reputation are still thrashing about and doing good things on my behalf. I just got approached with a view to 'sounding me out' about a potential position. Sadly it was in London which is something of a no no. I hadn't even applied. Sounded interesting though, so if you can write, know a lot about the internet business in the uk and havemartinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1058441230244611402003-07-17T11:27:00.000Z2003-07-20T18:48:51.746ZStupid label guyThere's a Dilbert cartoon about ISO 9001 and it's requirement that everything be labelled. The joke is that the guy doing the labelling has a label of his own declaring that he's the 'stupid label guy'. He seems to have started work at the business school.
Apparently everything in the school is to have it's own bar code. These are being attatched to things with little plastic martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1058383853140111292003-07-16T19:30:00.000Z2003-07-16T19:30:53.043ZDe Ja VueNext years class are starting to get themselves together at their Yahoo! group. They'd got up to about 25 members through networking before the school sent out an email to all the new admissions pointing them to it.
If you're coming to SBS next year follow the link on the left and sign up for the group. They're sorting out accomodation, arranging meet ups and doing all that good martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1058370910990098262003-07-16T15:55:00.000Z2003-07-16T15:55:10.966ZAnd I so wanted to be dangerousAccording to this quiz I'm a morally deficient threat to Bush's America.
Threat rating: Medium. Your total lack of decentfamily values makes you dangerous, but we cancount on some right wing nutter blowing you upif you become too high profile.
What threat to the Bush administration are you? brought to you by Quizilla
Not really the kind of thing I was hoping for.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1058367749446265622003-07-16T15:02:00.000Z2003-07-16T15:02:29.440ZThis is damn goodIt's not often I come across a piece of internet marketing and can't work out how to improve it, but the Howard Dean campaign is awesome. No clever technology, whizzy animation or anything else, just killer content, a genuine voice and enough interactivity to get people involved. It's awesome, and we've got to hope he wins the Democrat nomination just so he can refine these martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1058359022335566542003-07-16T12:37:00.000Z2003-07-16T12:37:02.300ZHow open to business is Oxford?There's been a recent report, followed up by the press suggesting that Oxford isn't sufficiently open to business. I think they're being a bit harsh, Isis, Oxford's arm for spinning out companies has been responsible for firms with a market cap of $2BN and of 40+ spin outs to date none had folded as of January this year. Thats a frankly amazing result for any martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1058350687743887502003-07-16T10:18:00.000Z2003-07-16T10:18:07.713ZTough job market?This article about unemployment suggests that maybe things aren't as tough out there as people thought after all. If a recovery starts soon we'll be building the next business cycle from a very strong base - with all the attendant risks of inflation, but still its better than a nation on the dole.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1058251150001571572003-07-15T06:39:00.000Z2003-07-15T10:01:52.330ZBack to the drawing boardThe Infernal Tony sent me a link to this article a while back through my comments system, but I only just got round to following it up. I'm not sure things are as black for the online job search as this suggests, but the more time I spend on these sites the more I realise that they're badly built and hard to use.
Not to sound like Jacob here, but the first one of these martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1058215086238239932003-07-14T20:38:00.000Z2003-07-14T20:38:06.133ZThings to readIf anyone ever tells you there's a more popular, influential or just plain incredible sport than football get them to read this. Then hope that Rwanda can build on this.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1058202715308340222003-07-14T17:11:00.000Z2003-07-14T17:13:59.206ZStuff to readIt all started with an attempt to read every single episode of Doonesbury (thwarted only by a few missing years in the online archive) but lately I've been reading *a lot* of online cartoons. I thought I'd post a list here of my current reading.
From the broadsheets
Doonesbury
Dilbert
Boondocks
Online daily reads
Scary go Round
Goats
Wigu
Diesel Sweeties
Somthing Positive
martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1058171028396084842003-07-14T08:23:00.000Z2003-07-14T08:24:29.623ZFootball crazyManchester United have signed a goalkeeper with Tourettes syndrome. Bound to make for some interesting post match interviews...martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1058170614277661502003-07-14T08:16:00.000Z2003-07-14T08:16:54.260ZLazing on a sunny afternoonThis weekend it was time to enjoy the heatwave, hire a car and head into the English countryside. Saturday was a drive to Stonehenge followed by a sightseeing visit to Bath. Sunday was falconry at Batsford (a manor house about 30 miles from Oxford) and then lazing about at Borton on the Wold, which was about as English a village as you can get, icecreams, cream teas, a martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1057911559582776252003-07-11T08:19:00.000Z2003-07-11T08:19:19.550ZChilling outIt has been very hot in Oxford lately. Uncomfortably so at times. So it was with great relief that I finally managed to get myself into Edamame on sushi night. (Edamame keep wierd hours which have thwarted my previous attempts to eat there).
Believe me, when its hot like this there is nothing quite like fresh sushi, cold Ashahi beer in little frosted glasses and chilled Edamame beansmartinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1057833488814034402003-07-10T10:38:00.000Z2003-07-10T10:41:54.313ZTo the barricades!In best Oxford tradition Queens college have just announced rent increases well over the rate of inflation, at the time of year when the students are least well placed to respond. (its summer, and most people are elsewhere). As an undergraduate I was heavily involved in trying to organise rent strikes, demonstrations and other such resistance. Its worth pointing out that it onlymartinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1057758855484330202003-07-09T13:54:00.000Z2003-07-09T13:54:15.443ZSBP picks up steamPhase one of our SBP is essentially a benchmarking exercise. That means conducting a lot of interviews, and giving people marks across a whole range of criteria. (24 according to the sheet in front of me). We've now finished our first two interviews and we've got another ten in the pipeline. We're targetting 30, so I think we're more or less on track for now.
We're also gettingmartinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1057606633744087632003-07-07T19:37:00.000Z2003-07-07T19:37:13.710ZJob hunt begins in earnestA month ago I trawled monster.com for marketing jobs and found *none* that were interesting. Yesterday I turned up ten in the right salary / responsibility bracket, and two were ones that really got my attention. I'd reckon that most of the jobs I'm looking at are long shots - 10-1 or worse odds, but those are winnable odds.
I'm also of the opinion that companies find martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1057606466708924692003-07-07T19:34:00.000Z2003-07-07T19:34:26.670ZOpening thoughts on summer projectsSo what's an SBP like? Well so far the summer business project with Cisco has been a lot like doing a consulting job, but with extra academic theory and a less punishing schedule. My groups in favour of a steady 9-5 schedule (or 10-6 when we have to commute to London) and that's working out well.
Can't say too much about the details of the project, but so far martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1057138235267469432003-07-02T09:30:00.000Z2003-07-02T09:30:35.196ZSummer PlansAs well as putting in eight weeks of effort for Cisco over the summer there's a whole load of stuff I've got to be getting on with. Here's a summary.
Find a job - I keep putting this off, but I can't put it off much longer
Visit Cornwall for a weekend
Visit the Lake district for a weekend
Read Harry Potter
Learn options - never got them straight in my head, won't feel right till I domartinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1056996983777582372003-06-30T18:16:00.000Z2003-06-30T18:16:23.766ZCisco Day OneDay one of the Cisco Summer Business Project today. I'm not sure how much I can reasonably say about the project, so you're going to have to make do with generalities from here. It went well, Cisco were helpful and provided us with laptops and full employee access to their system.
Their system is very impressive, and really rather large.
Bit like the company really.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1056905387930849152003-06-29T16:49:00.000Z2003-06-29T16:49:47.896ZBallsKeble ball was fun, although for those not used to Oxford balls the comment was more 'this is more like a fair for grown ups than a ball' which is fair enough. There was a bouncy castle, there was a ferris wheel, there was a coconut shy. There was also (and I have no explanation for this) a table of plates which people were invited to smash by throwing cricket balls at them.
Now I don't martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1056712328789535012003-06-27T11:12:00.000Z2003-06-27T11:15:04.280ZExam surivivedDone and dusted. One hour of Global Comparative Business later and the prevailing thought among the class is 'what was all the fuss about'. I wrote good stuff on the IMF and a general 'what is globalisation' question. I was less convincing on the differences between the GATT and the WTO, but it was good enough.
Time to relax, and tonight, time to party. We've got a drinks receptionmartinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1056698779288925912003-06-27T07:26:00.000Z2003-06-27T07:26:19.276ZTodays Required LinkingRead this. Then go here.
If this turns out to be illegal something is seriously wrong.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1056661207609199272003-06-26T21:00:00.000Z2003-06-26T21:03:01.210ZThat'll do for nowI started this at 4 o'clock. It's now nearly ten o'clock and five and a half hours is enough for anyone. If anyone's just reaching this blog here's a brief explanation of what's been going on.
I have an exam tomorrow, for which I was underprepared. I've just written up revision notes for six of the eight weeks of the course online, as blog entries. A quick cut and paste into martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1056659978000665392003-06-26T20:39:00.000Z2003-06-26T20:57:53.600ZBack once again with the online revision. We're up to...
Week 6 : Foreign Direct InvestmentQuestions to think about for this are
What is the difference between ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ expropriation and how has the latter been interpreted in recent international investment disputes?
What are international investment treaties and do they matter?
Now I'm not planning on writing any essays on thismartinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1056657402768740362003-06-26T19:56:00.000Z2003-06-26T20:14:03.560ZNow for part II of our exciting look at the Washington Consensus
Week 5 : The Washington Consensus in ActionAfter seeing off the Latin American crisis the IMF was armed with a new ideology and a one size fits all solution to future crises. In retrospect this should have been alarming, but convergence was the order of the day - if all economies could be made like those of the capitalist west we'dmartinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1056656322525685562003-06-26T19:38:00.000Z2003-06-26T19:38:57.733ZWeek 4 : The Rise of the Washington ConsensusI'm not going to write too much about this as I'm reasonably confident I can remember this bit, partly because I went and saw Joseph Stiglitz lecture on it, and partly because its something that interests me. Plus it's easy to take up highly opinionated positions which makes life a lot easier. Anyway...
As you may remember from an earlier post in 1982martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1056654877085827502003-06-26T19:14:00.000Z2003-06-26T19:14:37.063ZWelcome back to the online revision session. And now for...
Odds and sods about tradeA few things worth mentioning about trade are...
1. In the Uruguay round of GATT the west managed to push for the introduction of trade in services. This was great for them, since it meant they could export the work of their consultants, ad agencies, engineers and so on more easily. It was less good for the martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1056652242787664602003-06-26T18:30:00.000Z2003-06-26T18:30:42.740ZIt's getting hot in hereSo hot that I'm now revising with my shirt off. Have to put it back on now though, time to go and get some food.
When I return look forward to more on trade and a potted history of the Washington consensus.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1056649948695703252003-06-26T17:52:00.000Z2003-06-26T17:59:57.200ZThank god for thatJeff Pittman, future nobel laureate and current student has just sent me his frameworks for this. As every MBA student and Management Consultant knows you can't go wrong with a good framework.
Fear me exam, for I have a diagram!
Second one looks must more impressive. Right, back to week three.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1056649851860462992003-06-26T17:50:00.000Z2003-06-26T18:22:41.106ZWelcome to the online revision session. Can I pass Global Coparative Business in a single night?
Week Three : International Trade / GATT and the WTO
For this our questions are...
What were the main consequences for businesses of the Uruguay Round of the GATT?
Does the WTO enforce ‘free trade’?
OK. I don't remember this lecture at all. Not even a little bit. Wonder if I was there.
GATT was martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1056646849986555222003-06-26T17:00:00.000Z2003-06-26T17:31:57.953ZWelcome to the online real time revision session
Week Two : Globalisation and it's causes
Sample questions for this week include
1. Is ‘globalization’ different from ‘international economic interdependence’?
2. What causes globalization?
3. Globalize or globalise?
OK, the basic argument here is between those who say that globalisation is nothing new and that we had similar levels of martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1056646645612295292003-06-26T16:57:00.000Z2003-06-26T16:57:25.436ZWelcome to the online real time revision session
Reasons to be cheerful
One : I went to all but one of the lectures
Two : I went to all Stiglitz' lectures when he visited
Three : I can always resort to babbling about Marxism just like when I was an undergraduate
hmm, only two reasons then
martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1056644660499541082003-06-26T16:24:00.000Z2003-06-26T16:55:44.406ZWelcome to the online real time revision session
Week One : Introduction to International Political Economy Big shout out to Andreas Rother for his excellent revision notes. Share and share alike all you b-school people.
Right, following WWII a three legged system was set up to prevent a repeat of the great depression. The three legs were trade, exhange rates and money. Each was the domain of martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1056643806279601502003-06-26T16:10:00.000Z2003-06-26T16:10:06.236ZTriageEd Yourdon's one word advice for project management is going to be handy here.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1056643767124848292003-06-26T16:09:00.000Z2003-06-26T16:11:20.076ZWhat we're trying to learnHere's the rubric from the reading list.
Globalization describes a transformation in the world economy. As economies become more interdependent and more sensitive to global markets, governments and corporations face a wider and more complex set of opportunities and challenges. This course investigates the phenomenon of globalization, its impact and the choices and martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-1056643494593844502003-06-26T16:04:00.000Z2003-06-26T16:04:54.550ZPublic revision experimentOK, I've got an exam tomorrow on Global Comparitive Business, but a combination of coursework, apathy, Summer Project distractions and assorted online gubbins has distracted me to the point that I am now in something approaching trouble. Why? because I haven't done enough revision.
Therefore I will be revising online, all night or at least until my will power gives out.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-960163772003-06-25T14:26:00.000Z2003-06-26T16:11:46.813ZAre you a future student?By my reckoning about 10% of next years MBA class have found their way to this site and sent me an email. If you are part of that class or know anyone who is please point them in this direction, I'm happy to answer questions.
I'm also trying to improve the quality of the information which reaches people before they get here and have floated a few ideas with the schools martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-960120232003-06-25T11:20:00.000Z2003-06-25T11:20:57.753ZDelayed bloggingI forgot to link to this magnificent comic when I found it. Check out the Crab City Series from Goats.com . Here's a sample
"I'm on a case, Knowledgeable Pete. The kind of case that takes your very soul and puts it in a tiny box and then puts a hamster on top of that box. And that hamster never moves, Pete. The hamster never moves again."
martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-959844012003-06-24T15:56:00.000Z2003-06-24T15:56:49.720ZCrisis Averted4950 words later, (plus footnotes) and I've got my leadership essay ready to hand in. That leaves tonight or tomorrow (probably tonight) to sort out the groupwork and then two whole days to revise. It's not a huge amount of time, but it's not nothing either.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-959748572003-06-24T08:32:00.000Z2003-06-24T08:33:07.000ZIf anyone feels advertising withdrawlHere's a little gimmick that shows the adverts which Google would serve here if I carried advertising via their blogspot hosting services.
Click for Adverts
Pretty accurate huh? Link courtesy of Adsensemartinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-959747722003-06-24T08:27:00.000Z2003-06-24T08:27:53.300ZFirst ever essay crisisEssay crises are traditional for Oxford undergraduates. Indeed the ability to knock out 2000 words on any subject in less than three hours, starting at two in the morning and having done no preparation is one of the main qualifications for studying here. Showing a woeful disregard for tradition I got through my entire undergraduate period without ever having one of these.
martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-959139672003-06-22T12:46:00.000Z2003-06-22T12:46:12.003ZMore from BaghdadWhat do you do when you are in a car with someone who asks you about the best place to hide a hand grenade? With reality crashing in through the windows Salaam Pax doesn't have much time for US policy these days.
Personally I'm surprised the whole having his street shelled by a US tank didn't radicalise him more.martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-958643492003-06-20T15:01:00.000Z2003-06-20T15:03:13.000ZThe last lectureI'm currently in the last lecture I expect to take as an MBA student. It's on leadership, leaderless groups and Al-Quaeda. Its odd to think that I've now been taught pretty much everything I'm going to be taught. From now on, I teach myself and learn from others. A week of exams (well one exam) assignment writing, an eight week project, then the final exams and I'm finished.
Its martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-957833322003-06-18T07:37:00.000Z2003-06-18T07:43:25.000ZBeckham sold for £25m?Following my how not to negotiate post (below) you could be excused for thinking that I might be a little embarrassed that Man Utd got £25m for Beckham after all. However as ever in the crazy world of football finance all is not as it seems. The headline figure is £25m but this is split into two chunks, part compulsary and part dependent on performance in the champions martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-957830942003-06-18T07:24:00.000Z2003-06-18T07:24:26.010ZSkeletons in closetsOr Arabs in cages, its all the same. Lock someone away long enough and even the world's media stops caring. Remember when this was front page news? No-one from CNN or Fox is covering this one. Once upon a time finding out what was going on in Guatanamo bay was all the news cared about - now its old hat.
I actually supported the war in Afghanistan (unlike the one in Iraq) butmartinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-957615582003-06-17T18:15:00.000Z2003-06-17T18:15:11.536ZMeanwhile on the other side of the worldLT-Smash is somewhere in a desert in Iraq, although from some of his recent posts he seems to have moved nearer to civilisation lately. I think he's bored.
He's also been thinking, which is interesting cause it gives the rest of us the chance to see what's going on inside a US soldiers head. As far as this US soldier goes it seems to be pretty martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-957492052003-06-17T11:11:00.000Z2003-06-17T11:16:02.000ZHow not to negotiateAs the Beckham transfer saga drags on one thing is becoming clear. Manchester United are going to get far less than they could have done had they negotiated right. A few months ago a figure of £38m was doing the rounds as Beckham's likely price. This was the price Real Madrid would have to pay to get Manchester United to release a star player they were committed to keeping.
martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-957489702003-06-17T10:56:00.000Z2003-06-17T10:56:40.016ZNow that's good businessToday's brand strategy class included some information about an absolutely fantastic project undertaken by Hindustan Lever Ltd, the Indian arm of Unilever. Most of the information is summarised here, but I love the way the company went out and created a market by doing things differently and exploiting the way things were rather than throwing their hands up and saying 'martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3716147.post-957482782003-06-17T10:12:00.000Z2003-06-17T10:12:21.716ZArghh doublethinkI'm not sure my head can cope with this. Rewriting history while accusing others of doing the same. One day someone will write a fantastic book about how the truth about the war (whatever that was) was negotiated between the media, politicians, armies, pressure groups and governments.martinnoreply@blogger.com