Greentech with a MBA twist
By Jacob | March 18, 2010
One of our former MBA, Eustace Furtado (MBA 2004-2005), is creating success for GE in Scandinavia and the company has recognized the team for their outstanding achievement. Read the article from GE Power & Water news.
Topics: Life after an MBA, MBA - a one-year investment in yourself | No Comments »
CSR challenges on the agenda of Maersk
By MBA | March 15, 2010
Annette Stube, Head of Sustainability at the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group and Knud Pontoppidan, Ambassador of the MBA Programme, visited our MBA class last week to share with us their perspective on the CSR agenda in A.P. Moller – Maersk.
It has been one of the most inspiring visits in class and the one that I expected the most. Having finished my PhD in CSR, I was looking forward to listen to Annette, who worked with pioneering the CSR strategy of Novo Nordisk and is now in charge of the Maersk CSR. For those that are hearing about CSR for their first time, I must tell them that Novo Nordisk has been leading the implementation of CSR as a true European role model and that Annette has now the challenge to update the CSR agenda of Maersk, one of the leading liner shipping companies in the world.
Her first message was clear: The world is demanding multinationals to respect the environment, to manage their social impact in the developing countries and to be transparent about it. No leading company will have sustainable growth if it doesn’t track and take responsibility of such trends. Although such an approach gives incentive to the companies to develop CSR strategies, it is still too reactive and close to a traditional model of risk management. In that sense, Maersk is taking the first steps to embrace a more compelling CSR approach by working on the principles of Global Compact.
I must recognise that, although reactive, it is a good starting point. The main reason is that the first six principles of Global Compact refer to the respect to the human rights, that is, the respect to the EMPLOYEES of global companies. In contrast with other many companies that started their CSR strategy by “selling” the environmentally friendly argument to the external stakeholders, it is gratifying seeing that multinationals like Maersk start their CSR compromise in-house. With offices in more than 130 countries and with over 115000 employees it is really a challenge to implement a CSR policy through such a company. Because of that, it was very interesting to review the new sustainable report (2009) of Maersk, in which the company challenges all their business units, for the first time, to achieve common levels of sustainability.
Annette also shared with us the consulting stakeholders’ process that Maersk has been through, being committed to their stakeholder’s engagement principle, and how the company has been working with NGOs and other institutions to respond to critics and demands about its presence in China. I would just encourage all companies to facilitate such communication with the key stakeholders continuously: any new annual report, any new measure, initiative communicated to them is an opportunity to get feedback to check the company is in the right direction. Why wait for being in trouble to communicate?
Finally, I would like to know more about other internal CSR challenges that Maersk is working on now, the supply chain. Due to the business magnitude of Maersk and its worldwide impact, the demand of CSR principles from Maersk to suppliers could have a tremendous impact, especially if Maersk takes the proactive initiative to work with those ones that are behind in CSR. Imagine if all main multinationals did the same, sustainable business management would have a multiplier effect.
Other challenges were suggested from our side, the MBA class, challenges that we will confront in our future positions, such us how to measure the effect of the CSR strategy in the bottom line, especially those initiatives related to social changes and human rights, or how to adopt a more proactive approach to CSR, going from risk management of key issues to CSR business integration. Without any doubt, Annette’s intervention made us to remember that companies live in a turbulent and changing environment in which we will be challenged to take responsibility, at least, in the same extent to which we impact the world.
Many thanks, Annette, for sharing with us what a challenging CSR-strategy is!
Maria Auxiliadora Alfaro Lara
CBS Full Time MBA Class of 2010
Topics: Events and networking | 2 Comments »
Impressive Novo Nordisk Guest Lecture
By MBA | March 9, 2010
Nick Adams, the director of corporate branding from the pharmaceutical company ‘Novo Nordisk’, gave us a fantastic presentation in our Corporate Branding class.
Nick’s presentation has been definitely the most outstanding one ever since I joined the MBA program. I am still excited and amazed about the power of Corporate Branding and to know how Nick’s team has managed Novo Nordisk’s corporate brand globally.
Frankly speaking, I didn’t know Novo Nordisk before I took the class. Novo Nordisk, one of the world’s leading healthcare companies in diabetes care, has a high market share also in my home country, Japan, but there Novo Nordisk is not well known to the people in general. One day before Nick’s presentation date, I checked the Novo Nordisk website to learn about Novo Nordisk.
Once I started seeing the website, I could not stop reading the statement in there because I was so impressed with Novo Nordisk’s activities perfectly well aligned with their vision. I could easily see that Novo Norsidk is really trying to change diabetes. I’m already totally convinced that Corporate brand is not just a marketing nor product brand. Hence, I couldn’t wait to see the corporate brand manager who had created such a strong Novo Nordisk’s corporate brand.
Nick’s presentation was extremely awesome. It was not just a general explanation of corporate branding but an explanation based on his real experiences. He successfully summarized his brand management works into four phases which covered all his activities. Starting from the strategic direction creation phase, the great journey of brand management was continued through to the brand building phase, the internal roll out phase and then the external roll out phase.
The presentation, divided into four phases, made it easy to understand the sequence of how brand management works. One hour passed by so quickly…
Since Nick’s magnificent presentation I have been thinking how I could improve my company’s corporate brand. In our company, we focused too much on the image and the visual identity. We didn’t spend much time for internal matters….well, I should stop now because this topic is for our final exam of Corporate branding.
Thanks Nick for sharing your experience and giving the precious presentation. Thanks Majken for organizing a great lecture with very interesting cases. I was inspired so much and the learning from the class would be valuable for my future career as a marketing manager.
Great MBA program in Copenhagen Business School.
I am happy to be a part of CBS MBA class of ‘10! an Exchange Student from Mannheim Business School
Toshi YOSHINARI
Topics: Events and networking, Exchange with Mannheim, Life after an MBA, Studying in an international environment | No Comments »
Career days at the DGI city
By Jacob | March 8, 2010
The career fair is in town. After having been traveling from the farthest North of Denmark the fair is now coming to Copenhagen.
Here you will find more than 100 Danish and international companies that are looking for talent that will boost their business. Some of the companies you might know but others are less well known brands that offer new opportunities that will broaden your career outlook.
As a MBA you have the qualities that companies are looking for. Especially when recovering from the financial crisis are companies looking for opportunities to consolidate and develop new opportunities, skills that you have learned at CBS.
If you have a few hours off on Friday take a tour around DGI byen I’m sure it will be worth the investment. Check out http://karrieredagene.dk/ to learn more. The site is in Danish but click on ”For Studerende” and then ”Deltagende Virksomheder” to check out the list of participating companies.
Topics: Events and networking, Life after an MBA | No Comments »
Does the MBA degree still guarantee a better salary? And what is the average return on investment at your school?
By Lee | March 3, 2010
In a ranking of one-year MBA programs by the Wall Street Journal in September 2009 our program was ranked in the world’s top 8 for return on investment. The graduating class from this September have already indicated that this is a continuing trend. However it must be stressed that different individuals take an MBA for different reasons. Not everybody takes an MBA purely for financial gain. It must be remembered that this is also a form of education. The obsession of rankings with the financial aspect of programs draws emphasis away from the aim of MBA programs to educate and develop individuals. A perfect example is one of our Norwegian students from 2008 who took the program to set up a non-profit organization helping women in the former Yugoslavia. This she has done very successfully. Does this make her MBA worth less than someone who has tripled their salary in two years? An MBA is undoubtedly a strongly recognized qualification which gives graduates the tools to increase their income, rapidly develop their career and equally as importantly themselves.
By Lee Milligan
Topics: MBA - a one-year investment in yourself, Preparing for your MBA | No Comments »
Full-time MBA at Talentia 2010
By Jacob | March 2, 2010
Lee and Maria were in Seville to present the CBS full-time MBA program at Talenia 2010. See the Spanish presentation videos here. (They might take some time to load so please be patient.)
Topics: Events and networking | No Comments »
Either you have it or you don’t
By Jacob | March 1, 2010
How do people become entrepreneurs? In times like these this is one of the key questions that nations and not least business schools have to ask themselves. Business schools are expanding their course curriculum to include entrepreneurship and the questions arise if you can teach somebody to be entrepreneurial? According to Fred Willson a venture capitalist and entrepreneur for the past 25 year the characteristics of entrepreneur are
1) A stubborn belief in one’s self
2) A confidence bordering on arrogance
3) A desire to accept risk and ambiguity, and the ability to live with them
4) An ability to construct a vision and sell it to many others
5) A magnet for talent
Well if you find a university course that teaches you that please let me know…
Topics: Life after an MBA, MBA - a one-year investment in yourself | No Comments »
Positive rain pours in our classroom!!
By MBA | March 1, 2010
Throughout this MBA year we have had different companies visiting our class room, most of which have been large corporations. New LEAN and mean; six sigma’s; debating with the class.
It seems all corporations do a high performance job, with a flash PowerPoint presentation, fancy slides, good one liners and feel good applause at the end.
Yesterday we had something totally different: An entrepreneur entered the classroom. No powerpoint, No Danish designer clothes and No perfect preparation. On the other hand a positive new story with a success!!
We had a full 2 hours of Q and A! After the 2 hours, Martin from Rainmaking asked for the tenth time: “who really felt ignored by not getting to ask his or her question?”
How can it be that Martin created the record for the most questions asked within an hour so far in the MBA of 2010 classroom at CBS?
My take would be: In the same way he runs the Rainmaking company, by being positive, fun, honest, and adopting a fresh approach.
Martin did not want anything from the class. By expressing this positive feeling he created a very good pull strategy of curiosity that created the wall of Questions fired up on him.
Lone, our Marketing manager at the MBA did a good Job in asking Martin to come and talk about his company Rainmaking.dk
I see the Rainmakers as a contemporary approach to entrepreneurship. Together they start up all kinds of different companies with a lot of fresh, positive energy that automatically attracts people.
People want to be part of success and by creating this pull of positive people he creates the wind in his back. His ambition is world domination. Well, I do not know about that, but with the approach he has he could come close to achieving this.
Besides that we had a great time in the class. I also think Martin had a good time. I think he got so many different perspectives fired at him that he also got stories to think about and discuss at his company.
All in all it was a win-win situation and a great positive rain time in our class.
Dolf Van Nie
Topics: A normal MBA day, Living in Denmark | 1 Comment »
The CBS FT MBA is unique!!
By MBA | February 28, 2010
Having spent nearly nine years as an officer in the Indian Army, I practically had no exposure to the business environment let alone a B-school. The military environment, although full of excitement and unique experiences, had its share of drawbacks. These limitations are more pronounced for someone like me who was looking for higher education and a shift in careers. At 31 years, time was of essence and I was very clear that I needed a fast-track MBA that would provide me with all the business essentials as well as give me a strong platform to make the shift that I was looking for. This important criteria made me look at Europe as most EU b-schools have a one-year MBA compared to 2 years in the US and Asia-Pacific region. Although I had been granted admission to 3-4 various MBA programs, CBS became the obvious choice because of its uniqueness (the others being EDHEC-France, St. Gallen-Switzerland and AIM-Philippines). CBS-FTMBA came across as the ideal program for me because of its high class faculty, relevant curriculum, higher average age and work experience of students and the small batch size; and of course, no other place can match the beauty and charm of Copenhagen and Denmark. Most other options available to me were found lacking in one or the other aspect that was extremely important for me if I were to learn and gain most out of my MBA.
I have no regrets. The CBS FTMBA has not been rated highly for nothing and although CBS may not be as globally popular as many other b-schools, it surely provides much better quality education and an experience that would make one stand out in whatever career path he or she chooses. I can say this because since graduating in August of 2009, I have come across a number of students and have interacted with a variety of colleagues who are alumni of a large number of b-schools from all over the world. As part of the analytics division of the world’s largest IT and PC/laptop companies, it may be appreciated that we demand a high standard of education and almost 80% of my colleagues have an MBA or equivalent advanced degree. Being my first ‘corporate’ job, one may consider me to be a ‘fresher’, which is not entirely incorrect. But looking at my current position, it makes me extremely proud that at work, I’m at par with most middle-level managers. Most of the ‘freshers’ here look up to me to guide them and to help them although they might be equally well-educated as I. The difference here is first created by my background and experience but more so because of my MBA. Considering that India has the largest number of universities and b-schools in the world, most MBA programs in India would be no more than just ‘routine’. Any multi-national company would look for diversity with quality in their new hires and the CBS MBA provided me with exactly what they were looking for.
I have little doubt that I would not have been as satisfied as I am today, had I joined a ‘routine’ Indian MBA program. I experience this feeling almost every day in my interactions with my colleagues. They do not have the maturity or the in depth knowledge that one would have gained from the CBS MBA program. Most Indian B-schools admit students who are fresh graduates or with negligible work experience. This also restricts the classroom interaction standards and sharing of practical experiences. My class at CBS averaged more than 8 years in work experience and more than 32 years in age. This, itself shows the amount of knowledge and experience contained within one class. Combine this with the diversity of backgrounds, culture and experience in an international group and the CBS MBA provides a nearly unmatched value that I am sure would not have been possible from any b-school in India.
Let me give you a few examples. The top B-schools in India are the Indian Institutes of Management (there are 6 IIMs in India) and they may be rated as high as any top b-school in the world. CBS also has an affiliation with the IIM for their management programs but surprisingly, when I met some of the exchange students from India, I found that they were not part of my MBA class. They were put with the undergraduate management classes. This was because; these exchange students would have been a complete misfit with the FT MBA class. They lacked the maturity, work experience and the knowledge to be part of our diverse MBA class. Neither would they have been able to visualise the class discussions nor would they have been able to make any value adding contribution to the class. The intense class discussions and the most interesting case studies make the learning experience extremely practical and it was up to me as a student to make it possible to learn as much as I wanted to. These class discussions and case studies have provided me with the kind of knowledge and insights that I now experience every day at work. Real life situations, cases of successes and failures and the experience of the faculty have combined superbly to make it a live experience for me, which now gives me a definite edge over my counterparts whose MBA education has been purely bookish and grade-oriented.
Having come from a military background, I would not have expected myself to be able to put up the strong performance that I been able to at my work. I have seen my past colleagues from the military who have taken up a corporate path and none have the same kind of knowledge or the business acumen that I have gained from my CBS experiences. Their transition from a military background to a corporate one has not been as smooth as mine and they are not as excited or satisfied about their new start as I am. This is not being proud or egoistic. This is being enthusiastic about the good decision that I made to join CBS; this is about the unforgettable experience and network that I have gained at CBS and this is about the seamless transition and integration that the CBS FT MBA has provided me in my search for a corporate career.
Bhooshan Parikh
26th February, 2010
Bangalore, India
Topics: Life after an MBA, Living in Denmark | No Comments »
Motorola takes quality to new dimensions
By MBA | February 24, 2010
“Quality starts with the guy who sweeps the floor.” Steffen Ring preluded, implying the indispensability of the right attitude of employees even at the low hierarchy levels of an organization. This week our class was lucky to welcome the Technical Director of Global Government Affairs at Motorola Denmark in our Operations Management class – an energetic gentleman, enthusiastic towards us students, with many anecdotes up his sleeves from his 34 years of experience with the company.
Motorola is not only world famous for the “flip phone” and the “walkie talkie”, but also for defining the quality standard “Six Sigma”. “It is because we can’t improve what we can’t measure” Mr. Ring continued. Indeed, Six Sigma has established itself as a respected quality approach based on the notion that 3.4 defects per 1 million items should be the goal if we wish to deliver as close to user expectations as only possible. This figure, re-calculated, implies a success rate of 99.9999997%. The interpretation of this rate is quite relative. “For instance, imagine a secretary making 3,4 typing errors in a text with 1 million words. That could seem as a lot.” Six Sigma has become Motorola company culture, and it starts with aspects such as a clean desk policy at work. “Disorder on your desk creates disorder in your head” some wise employee is supposed to have said.
Back in the 80’s Motorola benchmarked its quality management against Toyota. One of the learnings was about “perceived quality” – It’s often those simplest ideas “that don’t cost squat” that can make a huge difference, Mr. Ring continued. In terms of phones, small ideas like giving the phone that special clicking noise when opening it’s flip-lid, or a light dimmer upon shut-down, create a whole new quality experience and customer perception. But then there are also contexts where perceived quality is rather irrelevant and actual quality becomes the priority. In the UK, the lives of thousands of police officers can rely on the quality of their special frequency radios supplied by Motorola, which they carry on their chests. Here, Motorola tries to move to new dimensions of quality trying to imagine hardware stress scenarios that could occur, however unimaginable they at first might seem.
We can assume Six Sigma is here to stay as long as the human factor is involved in operations. And that the human factor can still cause even the best to fail can be seen from the recent Toyota scandal on jamming acceleration pedals. Also, companies that irrationally try to exceed quality expectations can be observed. They continuously improve even if the demand doesn’t follow proportionally, which eventually reduces the company’s contribution margin. Can you overdesign quality? It’s not the question whether you can. Sometimes you have to. But provided there is a demand, Seven Sigma will have its price. But as utopian Seven Sigma yet sounds, one thing is certain: As long as the human factor is involved, 100% quality will never ever be achieved.
by Michael Wrzosek
CBS Full Time MBA class of 2010
Topics: Events and networking | No Comments »