some nice cornbread with cranberry and butter...
Williams students were obliged to sing their College's song...
You can see that in addition to taking 6 courses during Michaelmas term (e.g. Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Microeconomics, Statistics, and Strategy), we also have 8 group-work assignments due. These assignments range from 1,500 to 3,000 words each with another few pages of charts and Excel calculations included in the appendices. These are huge undertakings that would not be possible without the combined efforts of our Study Group members: Babacar, Christoph, Emily, Mosima, and Keerti Prasad. Some other MBAs aren't so fortunate.
Our group has now submitted 5 out of 8 group-work assignments. There is no refuge, however. One assignment is due at 11pm, and before you have a chance to celebrate another one is due just 22-hours later...the onslaught continues. My advice to incoming MBAs would be to stand back and take a healthy perspective. For example, our iconic Accounting professor Tomo Suzuki said, "while it may be discouraging if a teammate is not pulling their weight, that is okay, provided they reciprocate later in other ways, such as with a job". Tomo is a very practical man!
Last year when I was first considering B-school, I remember leafing through the latest Oxford brochure and reading how they were different because MBA students were fully integrated into the University. Over the past five weeks I have come to realize what this really means. For example, during matriculation, our College 'Freshers' photo included both incoming undergraduate and graduate students, which is uncommon in the States. And of course there are also the University wide public lecture series, and recruiting fairs that MBA are also able to attend.
But perhaps most enjoyable has been my time spent rowing for the Exeter College Novice B team. Along with my fellow 'boaties', we row three times a week on the Isis, sometimes as early as 6am in pitch blackness. Rowing at Oxford is a big deal, in fact, 1 out of 3 students row at some point during their Oxford studies! And although the penultimate manifestation of rowing revelry is the annual 'Boat Race' that has been taking place between Oxford and Cambridge since 1859, students of all ages and abilities participate. 
New students take warning. When you are invited to a BBQ at the College boat house during 'Nought Week' you will be put on an erg machine and tested for 1-minute to see how fast you can row. After wolfing down my hamburger I managed to get on the erg machine and row about 38 strokes per/minute. Later I found out that this was good enough to put me on the Novice B team. Exeter had four boats this Fall: A, B, C, and D. It works similar for women's rowing, as well. Most of the graduate students rowed on the C boat.
For those of you already familiar with Oxford you may remember that the school year is broken up into Michaelmas (Oct-Dec), Hilary (Jan-Mar), and Trinity (Apr-Jun) terms. Michaelmas terms is dedicated to Novice rowers; those who have never rowed before. You train all term for the 'Christ Church Regatta', which is a 800 meter sprint where you row side-by-side with another boat trying to overtake them. The event takes place over four days (Thu-Sun) - weather permitting - beginning around November 27th. The more ambitious rowers can participate in the warm-up event, called 'Isis in Winter', which our crew participated in on Sunday, November 14th. The big difference between the two events is that Isis in Winter is 1400 meters long, and you are only racing against the clock. 
If you have rowed in the Christ Church Regatta, then congratulations - you are no longer considered a novice! Now you can go on and compete in 'Torpids' during Hilary, and finally 'Eights' during Trinity term to complete the Oxford rowing trifecta. But it's an incredible commitment of time and energy, so maybe I'll see how my job search pans out before the end of Michaelmas before I decide whether or not to continue on. Although I have lost 10lbs so far rowing, so maybe I'll stick with it a little longer to get into shape for my wedding next October.
England is a land of many unique, and sometimes perplexing traditions. Back in America, we usually celebrate Election Day during the first Tuesday of November, but here in Oxford we celebrated "Guy Fawkes Night" to commemorate a foiled plot by disgruntled Catholics to blow-up Parliament on November 5, 1605. Things didn't work out too well for the poor "Guy" who was subsequently hanged, drawn, and quartered. Now every year people light fireworks and burn effigies of Guy Fawke as they recite the poem: 
One of the best parts of being an Oxford MBA is the chance to meet new and interesting people. Only time will tell what these relationships lead to, what new businesses are launched, and who is running for President of which country (over 50 world leaders were Oxford students). Who knows what the future will bring for us all? All I can be sure of for now, is that Tommy will continue to keep me on my toes with his consistent tennis serve, Mike will protect my identity with RFID technology, and Bo will inspire me to go to an election party, an Oxford Union bop, and the Bridge nightclub all within a 12-hour period and still make lunch at the Eagle & Child the next day!
There are several things that I hope to accomplish through this blog. And one of them is to find my 'dream job during the worst recession since the 1930s.' Although I have only been living in Oxford for one month, I have already begun my job search. If you want to work in finance, then you better be prepared to hand in your applications by the end of November - at the latest. Even some consulting firms, such as McKinsey and Bain, have a deadline of November 1st. So, come to Oxford prepared with a polished CV, and a good idea of what job you want to target.
When I was studying for the CFA they talked about technology and globalization as the two biggest forces shaping the 21st century. Back home in New York, most MBA programs are split 75% American and 25% international. Here in Oxford that number is reversed. How can you succeed in an increasingly global world without an international degree? This year’s class of 244 Oxford MBA students comes from 48 countries with an average of six years work experience. Surprisingly, British students represent less than 5% of the class. Roughly speaking, one-third of the class comes each from North America & Europe, India, and Asia. This makes for a wonderful mix of cultures.
About 20% of this year’s MBA class comes from India, and they did a wonderful job organizing the event. Sumi was the MC and taught us some ‘Bollywood’ dance moves, although no one could pull it off quite like him. Nazneen and Archana did a wonderful job choreographing some dances for the men and women. Everyone practiced so hard to learn the traditional Indian dances. I was 
amazed to see the great job Emily did – my study group partner. Then Rahul proved that not only does he have a wicked one-handed backhand in tennis, but he also has pinpoint accuracy when choosing Bingo numbers through a computer Random Number Generator. Nice job! 
But the highlight of night was when Harpreet in a show of camaraderie and respect, gave me his stoll (scarf) as a gift. As we danced into the night, celebrating “the victory of good over evil; the uplifting of spiritual darkness,” I couldn’t help but think that I would never have experienced this had I stayed in New York.
...Finally, here are some finally pictures of me wearing 'sub-fusc' in the Exeter front quad during matriculation day...!
Students entering the top-MBA programs quickly learn how to multi-task, and prioritize their time. Beginning with the actual application process (which often starts a year in advance), and continuing along with finding financing and arranging accommodations, MBA students must be quick out of the gate. They learn to focus and formulate their personal goals early. Whether the goal is to do well in school, or to build an MBA network of friends & colleagues, all these goals ultimately boil down to getting a good job.
The Freshers' Pack also contained two copies of my housing contract ("Graduate Tenancy Agreement"), which is VERY important when you want to prove your UK address to the immigration officer when you first fly into Heathrow. By and large, the university does not send you an inordinate amount of paperwork, so it's natural to sometimes feel a little worried when you haven't heard from them in a while - especially because they're overseas, making visiting them or calling them difficult. As I poured over the Exeter materials I also read through the red-colored "Handbook for Students" that provides you with useful things, such as a staff directory, and when meals are served in Hall. I was also terribly relieved to find a "Letter of Introduction to UK Banking Facilities," signed by Exeter's Academic Secretary. The one thing I read over and over again in other peoples' blogs is that you want to have your bank account, and cell phone account, set-up as soon as possible. Otherwise you'll fall behind in class while trying to go through this frustrating process. *Important note* One needs a bank account BEFORE they can get a cell phone.
Even probability is a relative term, however, as anyone who watches ESPN's "Texas Hold'em World Series of Poker" knows. Time and gain you see a player dealt "bullets" down (the best possible starting hand in poker), he bets strategically, and winds up "flopping" yet another Ace for "trip Aces". His probability for winning skyrockets to over 90%. Nothing else is showing on the green felt table except a scattered mess of cards, until the final card is revealed on the "river." Your opponent miraculously makes his "inside straight draw," and clutches victory from the jaws of defeat even though they should have folded at the get-go. Those challenges, and how you react to such an improbable defeat, reveals a person's character. At times like these you have to stick hard-and-fast to the belief that over time there will be a "reversion to the mean," and that your best bet is to continue to play the percentages. And have enough liquidity to see you through! Everyone admitted into the Oxford MBA program is immediately granted online access to the incoming-student intranet site. As time passes, more content is added. The intranet site is the primary way that administration communicates with us regarding scholarship winners, college availability, and student Q&A. It is also the best way to learn what Facebook page(s) have been created for each MBA class, so that students can begin to network, and get to know each other more informally.
Roughly two-thirds (158/240) of the incoming Oxford MBA class is on Facebook. Over the summer, many students have posted pre-MBA “meet-up” events in London, Mumbai, and New York. In fact, I helped organize the event in New York where I met two other Oxford-bound MBAs. Between the three of us, we worked at Barclays, Goldman Sachs, and Smith Barney. In addition to working in finance, two of us owned our businesses (one of which has secured a patent). From meeting other alumni I have learned that there will be two others joining us. That makes five of us from New York, which is about 10% of the US intake!
Make good use of the networking while you can. Many good schools offer solid MBA programs, and some students even skip the MBA altogether, and instead study for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. The difference lies in the people you meet, and the relationships you build, especially at a school like Oxford, which sets a very high threshold for admission.
In some of my earlier posts I mention that Oxford is divided into three terms (Michaelmas, Hilary, and Trinity). The first term begins on October 5th, and consists of six mandatory core courses: Finance I, Decision Science, Financial Reporting, Strategy I, Managerial Economics, and Marketing. MBA Students, however, must arrive on September 30th for compulsory orientation. Unfortunately, college accommodations usually don’t start until October 1st, which means that early-arrivers will have to pay a modest £18 per diem to move in earlier.
Come Hilary term, students get to choose three electives, and six more electives for Trinity term. To give you a flavor of the different electives available, the following classes were recently posted on the intranet site for Trinity term (I’ve highlighted the ones I’d like to take). If you feel like a kid in a candy store, then maybe you should apply to Oxford:
Business History, Business in China, Capital Raising, Cooperative Strategy, Corporate Valuation, CSR & Ethical Marketing, Customer Insight, Derivatives, Design Leadership, Environment Organizations & Sustainability, Financial Risk Management, Leading Strategic Change, Managing Complexity, Managing High-growth Companies, Managing the Project Portfolio, Marketing Innovation, Mergers Acquisitions & Restructuring, Negotiations, Private Equity, Real Estate, Retailing, Social Finance, Social Enterprise Design, Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Taxation Finance & Business Strategy, and Trading & Market Microstructure.
Accepting that our resources are limited (aka factors of production: land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship), the fundamental economic questions become: (1) what do we produce, (2) how do we produce it, and (3) how do we distribute it. Market theory, as originally developed by Adam Smith (student at Balliol College, Oxford) in his book the "Wealth of Nations (published 1776)," posits that the independent market forces of supply and demand provide the most efficient answers to these questions. That which should be produced is that for which people are willing to pay for. The method in which it should be produced is that method by which the lowest price to the consumer, and highest profit to the producer can be achieved. Further, such a product should be distributed to the highest bidder; those most willing to pay for it.
Adam Smith, however, presupposes that all such markets for goods and services exist in an ideal state, one in which there are many buyers and sellers, no barriers to entry, perfect information, and equal and undifferentiated products where the seller is a "price-taker." This may be true in some markets, such as when you buy a loaf of bread at the supermarket, but definitely not so when you are searching for competitors to upgrade your computer's Operating System. Macroeconomics investigates this range of different markets that actually exist:
Earlier today US President Barack Obama nominated Ben Bernanke to a second term as US Federal Reserve Chairman after fierce controversy regarding his handling of the most severe economic recession in over thirty years. Obama had until January to make the decision. Previously, some speculated that Bernanke might be replaced by Larry Summers who had served in the Clinton administration, and later became President of Harvard University. So, to commemorate Bernanke's success I am posting a blog on monetary & fiscal policy.
Like a giant ship navigating through the ocean, the Fed uses monetary policy, accompanied by fiscal policy orchestrated by the US Treasury, to make constant minor adjustments to keep the economy on track. Unfortunately, incremental changes taken on a large ship often take a while before you can see a correction run its course and right the ship. Similarly, government policy often suffers from several time lags, including recognition (it takes time to realize something is wrong), law-making (it takes time to pass the necessary legislation), and impact (it takes time for the solution to work its way through the system). This brings us to the first, and most important, question of how we recognize and measure the economy, and hence, the effect of government policy on it.
While it may appear quite clear to us now what counts for money and how it is measured, this was not always the case. Roman soldiers used to be paid in salt (in Latin: salarium, or salary), hence the saying "that a man is worth his salt." And Native Americans used wampum beads as currency. Different cultures have historically adopted different forms of money believing it to be more efficient than a pure barter system. 
