Stacy Blackman’s Weekly Roundup of B-School Intelligence

Another business school expands with China campus — France’s CERAM Business School is opening a campus in Suzhou, west of Shanghai. Students will spend 90 hours studying Chinese culture to help them quickly become operational in the country’s working environment. According to a recent Financial Times story on Chinese schools in ascendancy, “made-in-China business education, with China- relevant case studies and China-focused courses as drivers, will change both the content of business education worldwide and the competitive environment for business schools in China.”

More women than ever taking up business school deanships — In the early 1990s, a female business school dean was cause for much media coverage and scrutiny. Today, a greater number of woman have shattered that B-school glass ceiling and are making the role work for their unique career trajectories, BusinessWeek reports.

Harvard lecturer tells entrepreneurs “Take heart” –HBS senior lecturer Bhaskar Chakravorti has an positive outlook for entrepreneurs paralyzed by the state of the economy. In this Q&A on creative entreprenuership, Chakravorti identifies reasons for optimism and shows how you can think differently about bad news. This echoes a recent post on the three laws for increasing performance…hint: it’s all in your attitude.

Marketing strategies in play at Greg Hawkins’ “megachurch” — The current issue of Stanford Business has a fascinating feature on what happened when Hawkins (MBA ’88), executive pastor of Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago, commissioned one of the nation’s foremost marketing experts to survey the church’s members. When the survey showed the surprising result that one out of four congregants was dissatisfied and thinking of leaving the church, Hawkins used the research to better meet the needs of disgruntled parishioners.

UK finds MBAs holding strong, especially abroad — Having an MBA is still a ticket to success, says The Times. Investment banks continue to recruit graduates, albeit more selectively, but what’s unsure right now are the bonuses that constitute a huge chunk of compensation in this industry. The paper also points to a new trend of business school graduates starting their careers abroad. In China, MBAs are in high demand and can expect a salary boost of up to 126%.

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For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.

This week’s GMAT challenge from PrepForTests.com is a data sufficiency question.

Work out which of the statements 1 and 2 are required to answer the question.

A circular archery target contains a circular bull’s eye, shaded grey in the diagram above. If an arrow is equally likely to hit any point on the archery target what is the probability that the point at which it hits the target is within the bulls eye?

1. The archery target has a radius of 75cm
2. The radius of the bull’s eye is one fifth the radius of the archery target

1. Statement (1) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (2) alone is not sufficient
2. Statement (2) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (1) alone is not sufficient
3. BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient
4. EACH statement ALONE is sufficient
5. Statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are NOT sufficient

Have a go at answering this and then review your answer.

After listening to president/orator-in-chief Barak Obama’s first congressional address earlier in the week, I found this tidbit from the latest Stanford Business magazine really intriguing. Together with Stanford University‘s vice president for public affairs David Demarest, senior lecturer of management JD Schramm used the 2008 presidential debates to help GSB students focus on the “power and pitfalls” of their own communication.

In a half-quarter elective called Political Communication, students dissected the candidates’ performances in the three presidential and one vice presidential debates. More than just an entertainment opportunity or current events discussion, “We challenged the students to consider the debates a prism through which they could reflect on their own communication abilities and apply lessons to their own lives,” Schramm writes. In their final papers, students applied what they’d learned to their careers.

So what did participants take away from the debates after scrutinizing governor Sarah Palin‘s winks and the references to Joe the Plumber, ad nauseum, from both parties? The professor sums it up rather succinctly: communicating to large, diverse audiences requires discipline, flexibility, honesty and rehearsal to make sure the points you want to make are actually what listeners take away.

One student, bound for private equity, drew comparisons between the debate setting and his future role “presenting to management, limited partners, and colleagues on the appropriate leverage level for a cyclical business.” In both cases, the salient lessons are the same: “Be myself, come prepared, spin a good narrative, and demonstrate flexibility and thoughtfulness.”

Although few students in this political communication class will likely run for public office, they can use the debate lessons to improve their communities and companies by being authentic, prepared, flexible, and compelling, Schramm says, adding that there is one major drawback to using presidential debates as course text. “I now have to wait four years for another opportunity.”

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We are now on Facebook – please join the Stacy Blackman Consulting group, or become a friend of Stacy Blackman. I am posting news about MBA related events, job listings, and of course MBA news.

I am on Twitter too…click to follow me on Twitter! www.twitter.com/stacyblackman

For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.

Check out this week’s professor profile in our Back to B-School blog on BNET.  Jeremy Dann spoke with Kellogg’s Professor Loffler about healthcare reform (a topic I am personally passionate about!).

View Part 1 and Part 2 of his interview.

For those of you contemplating applying to business school this Fall, this type of more in depth information is critical to your application.  When you tell a school why you want to attend, or why you are a good fit, you need to do more than quote their homepage!  So take some time to find out the unique research going on at target schools and leverage that knowledge when you apply.

A group of 25 entrepreneurs with ideas as diverse as an injectable beauty toxin that’s “better than Botox,” a pollution detector that uses zebra fish, solar “farm” equipment and an online platform for donations to teachers make up the 2009 Wharton Business Plan Competition. These semi-finalists will compete for more than $73,000 in prizes and the chance to present their business plan at the annual Venture Finals on April 29, 2009.

Perhaps the crippled economy had something to do with a 9% increase in participation this year over last; 366 students took part in the early phases of the competition. This year, the school says 38% of submissions were aimed at finding a solution to some social problem. For the semi-finals, judges from the business and venture capital community chose ventures–medical devices, regionally focused services, disease management therapies–that serve specific market niches. And, for the first time in the competition’s history, the judges selected a non-profit concept as well.

Here’s a look at some of the ideas in the running:

• Neuroderma: Injectable toxin formation for better cosmetic results with fewer side effects
• CuddleBots: Robotic toy and online community for kids and young adults
• Sustainable Solar: Devices for landowners to turn unused property into solar “farms”
• DocASAP: Online medical appointment scheduling service notifies patients of last-minute openings
• Zecotech: Patented zebra fish risk assessment tool shows water pollution as live fish change color
• Apples for Angels: Online system facilitating donations to teachers, who spend an average of $500/year out of pocket for needed supplies

The Wharton Business Plan Competition, which is open to any University of Pennsylvania student and managed by Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs, has seen numerous student teams go on to become successful businesses over the past ten years. It will be interesting to see which of these ideas becomes the Next Big Thing.

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We are now on Facebook – please join the Stacy Blackman Consulting group, or become a friend of Stacy Blackman. I am posting news about MBA related events, job listings, and of course MBA news.

I am on Twitter too…click to follow me on Twitter! www.twitter.com/stacyblackman

For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.

If you are planning to apply to business school in the fall, you may be wondering what you should be doing now to prepare. Aside from research into your career goals
andschools you might be interested in , you can take several actions to improve your candidacy now that will pay dividends in the fall.

Community Involvement
Now is a great time to deepen or establish your involvement with a community organization. Consider roles that will allow you to take a leadership position and create real impact before September. Offering to organize an event is a great discrete activity that will allow you to work in a team, have an impact, and show results. For more information on various opportunities to get involved, visit the Tuesday Tips archive post on extracurricular activities.

Academic Enhancement
Whether you had issues with your GMAT score or your undergrad GPA, you can take action now to improve your overall academics before the fall.

If you took the GMAT once or twice and did not receive the score you think you are capable of, consider a prep course to enhance your skills and remind you how to solve those high school math logic problems. We recommend Manhattan GMAT , because the company specializes in GMAT prep and focuses on knowledge rather than tricks.

An undergrad GPA hovering around 3.5 is generally considered fine. If your GPA is a 3.2 or below, or you majored in liberal arts, you may want to consider taking quantitative classes to enhance your academic profile. The MBA canon generally consists of Calculus, Statistics and Microeconomics. If you took any of those classes in undergrad and scored a C or below you should certainly re-take the classes now. Where you take the class is much less important than the course material and grade (aim for A’s!!). The local community college is a great option.

Leadership and Management Potential
Being promoted between now and the fall would be the ideal scenario, but you don’t have to wait for your boss to act in order to enhance your overall leadership and management potential for business school applications.

Volunteer for that cross-functional team or project, offer to help your boss with a tough long-term goal, or get involved with employee groups at work whether through volunteering in the community or promoting diversity in your company. Letting others at work know you are interested in developing your people skills may uncover more opportunities to go above and beyond, and provide great material for your resume and essays.

As you prepare for application season, make sure you are taking action that lines up with your passions and overall goals. If you are preparing for your long-term future with excitement, you will be far more effective!