GMAC and FBI expose test cheats

GMAC and FBI expose test cheats
by Della Bradshaw and Sarah Mishkin, published: July 9 2008

It has all the makings of a summer blockbuster....intellectual property theft, suspects fleeing the country, the FBI. But this is not the latest Dan Brown novel, but a tale of educational testing; to be more precise, the story of a gang who sat the GMAT test, the entry test for business school, in order to steal the questions and then sell them on to others.

The culprits in question worked for Scoretop.com, based in Ohio, which published the “live” questions on its website, a GMAT preparation site. It charged prospective MBA students $30 a month to have access to its VIP service. Those that took them up on the offer were then encouraged to memorise GMAT questions themselves so that they could be posted on the site.

In June GMAC - the Graduate Management Admissions Council, which administers the GMAT test - successfully completed a civil case against Lei Shi, founder of the site, and received $2.3m in damages. But the culprit, a Chinese national, appears to have fled the US altogether. The FBI has now to decide whether to follow up with a criminal prosecution.

Dave Wilson, president of GMAC, says the GMAT test incorporates “live forensics”, which enables the test centres to spot a potential fraudsters while they are sitting the test. An applicant interested in memorising the numeric questions, for example, will often skip through the verbal tests.

Mr Wilson believes that between 5,000 and 10,000 potential MBA students have visited the Scoretop.com site, many of whom will have been casual browsers who found the site through an internet search engine. GMAC is now evaluating the data on the hard drive taken from the company to assess the full damage. Just what will happen to the test scores of those who visited the site is still undecided, but Mr Wilson says he will discuss this with the business schools before taking action.

Bruce Delmonico, director of admissions at Yale school of management, says that in a worst case scenario the school might withdraw offers. ”Whether it was innocuously accessing the site or whether it was knowingly posting material they knew to be forbidden, it seems there was definitely a spectrum of conduct that could be implicated here and and our response would be calibrated appropriately. Certainly we would consider any actions that seem appropriate up to potentially rescinding offers.”

This is not the first time would-be MBAs have demonstrated that they are prepared to do whatever it takes to get a high GMAT score and so get into a highly-ranked MBA programme. In June 2005, the FT reported on professional impersonators sitting the GMAT to get high scores for their clients (Students hire impersonators).

The prison sentences served by five of the six impersonators in the 2005 scam does not seem to have entirely deterred others. In Los Angeles this year one female student tried to sit the test for a client who had received a low score on a previous test. The administrators at the test centre, where photographs are taken of all test-takers, realised that the two images of the candidate did not match and the impersonator fled.

News from the schools

Oct 25th 2007 from Economist.com

Heart of the matter
A new study has found that only a few business schools are adopting principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR), even though most claim to be doing so. The biannual “Beyond Grey Pinstripes” survey conducted by the Aspen Institute, an organisation that promotes “enlightened leadership”, ranks schools on how well social and environmental issues are incorporated into their programmes.

Aspen found that while the principles of CSR are attracting more interest from students and deans alike, most curriculums confine the subject to discussions of non-profit management, social entrepreneurship and ethics. “What we are not seeing in most schools is an examination of these issues through the lens of risk-management and strategy and the realisation that mainstream, for-profit business can be a force for positive social and environmental change,” said Rich Lemsider, Aspen's director.

Stanford topped the ranking this year (in full here), as it did when the survey was last compiled, in 2005. It was praised for the number of relevant courses it offered, and for the freedom it allowed its faculty to explore social and environmental topics in their research. Eight of the top ten schools were in North America, with Michigan's Ross school, the Schulich school at York University, the University of California at Berkeley and Notre Dame rounding out the top five. Spain's IE Instituto de Empresa Business School was the top-ranked European school, in tenth place.

Nothing ventured
The private equity industry is catching the attention of business schools in America. Several schools have recently targeted the sector, which, with bonuses that often outstrip even those offered by financial-services firms, is becoming ever more appealing to students. Goizueta Business School at Emory University has received a $10m gift to launch a centre for private equity and hedge funds. Klaas Baks, an assistant professor of finance, said that part of the donation’s rationale was to help students establish networks with firms. “Jobs in private equity are relatively harder to get, since private-equity funds are small entities and simply do not hire as many people as, say, consulting or investment banking”, he said.

Meanwhile, Columbia Business School has launched its own private-equity programme. The series of events includes a “private-equity master class” which tracks one company's evolution from Fortune 500 subsidiary to being taken private, and a conference on private-equity acquisitions in the telecoms industry.

Satellite campus
The International Space University (ISU) in Strasbourg—which, as its name suggests, focuses on training “the future leaders of the emerging global space community”—is branching into business education, with the launch of its International Institute of Space Commerce. The institute, to be located on what will initially be a virtual campus at the Isle of Man International Business School (IBS) will offer short courses, seminars and conferences on the business of space, as well as having a research centre. Among the issues it plans to explore are space tourism, the allocation of berths on satellites and extraterrestrial mineral extraction. Roger Carey, IBS's director, said he hoped the school's MBAs could soon specialise in space commerce.

The Isle of Man, a self-governing British territory (and tax haven) has its sights set on becoming a player in space—its government says it has earned around £23m ($47m) from space commerce over the last 15 months. A government spokesman said ISU had been encouraged to choose the Isle through an incentives package, which enabled it to fend off competition from the likes of Tokyo, Toronto and Washington, DC.

Songs of experience
An increase in business programmes over the past two decades has led to a potential shortage of professors, according to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the main international business-school accreditation body. Making matters worse is an expected wave of retirements from professors who earned their management-related PhDs in the 1960s and 70s. In hopes of alleviating the shortfall, the AACSB is beginning two separate training programmes meant to prepare people without management PhDs to teach in business schools.

Of the two “Bridge” programmes, one is aimed at late-career executives with substantial work experience, and the other, which has been offered at five different schools in America and in France, recruits newly minted PhDs from other disciplines, such as economics or psychology. The executive programmes last only one week, while the programmes for academics range from a series of three-day weekends spread over two years to a full-time eight-week programme.

Rocket to Russia
The Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School in Belgium has opened a third campus, somewhat distant from those in Leuven and Ghent—it is in St Petersburg. Having spent years collaborating with the International School of Management in Russia's second-largest city, Vlerick now offers both full- and part-time MBA programmes there. The new campus (where the full-time programme costs €8,000, or $11,400—just over half the Belgian price) currently has 30 students studying full-time. Classes are taught entirely in English, which makes it easier for the programme to recruit: almost 40% of the students enrolled during the past school year were from outside Russia.

Hispanic practices
A slightly different business-school ranking was released in September—Hispanic Business Magazine's 20 best American business schools for Hispanics. Stanford took top honours, even though only one among its 103 faculty is Hispanic, for its programmes which concentrate on increasing diversity in business. Other schools on the list benefited from being near centres of Hispanic business, such as the University of Texas's McCombs, Columbia University, the University of Miami and Florida International University's Chapman—also in Miami—where Hispanics made up 52% of MBA graduates over the ranking period.

Swiss miss
Peter Lorange is stepping down as president of IMD Business School. Dr Lorange became president of the school in 1993—three years after its establishment following the merger of two Swiss business schools—and has been credited for leading it from relative obscurity to its position as one of the world's most renowned institutions; it recently came fifth in the Economist Intelligence Unit's global ranking of MBA programmes.

IMD announced that John Wells—currently professor of management practice at Harvard Business School—will succeed Dr Lorange next spring. Dr Wells said that one of his first priorities will be to support and grow IMD's faculty, replacing senior members as they retire with “the very best of the next generation”. The school said that expanding its faculty will be essential to expanding its worldwide operations—it already has research centres in India and China.

Handle with care
The University of Washington has become the latest institution to rename its business school in honour of a generous donor. It is now home to the Michael G. Foster School of Business, following a $50m gift from the Foster Foundation. The foundation was set up by Albert Foster, a 1928 alumnus of Washington, who made his fortune in financial services. The bequest was made in memory of Albert's son, Michael, who died in 2003. James Jiambalvo, the school's dean, said he would use the money to “hire and retain top scholars and teachers, launch new programmes and provide scholarships to deserving students.”

Get 'em while they're young
Harvard Business School is going after undergraduates. In mid-September, the school announced its “HBS 2+2” programme, which aims to recruit promising young students. The programme will open for applications next February, looking for applications from students in their third year of undergraduate studies. Accepted students will be assigned an HBS “career coach”, in preparation for entering the MBA programme after graduation and two years of work at an “approved” job, which the school will help them find.

The new programme might bring down the average age of Harvard MBA students, but not by much: already a third of the students in its entering class are 25 years old or younger. Harvard's programme is similar to one called “Jump Start” at the University of Texas's McCombs School of Business, though the Texans work three years rather than two before embarking on their MBA training.

CORRECTION: Fuqua School of Business
In a story entitled “A question of honour”, dated September 13th 2007, we reported that appeals lodged by students involved in the honour-code violations at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business were ongoing. In fact, the last of the appeals was rejected on June 1st. We apologise for this error. The story has been removed from Economist.com.

Las escuelas de negocios salen a la conquista del Medio Oriente

La bonanza financiera impulsa la educación ejecutiva en la región
The Wall Street Journal (vía "La Nación" de Argentina)

El Insead siempre ha atraído a ejecutivos del Medio Oriente a sus escuelas de negocios en Fontainebleau (Francia) y Singapur. Pero muchos estudiantes de esa región tienen cada vez más dificultades para viajar por lo que han deseado que Insead abra un centro más cerca de sus casas.

Hace poco, su deseo se cumplió. El Insead ha transformado una antigua villa residencial en lo que es su primer centro educativo y de investigación en Abu Dhabi. El Insead planea ofrecer una amplia variedad de programas de educación ejecutiva, incluyendo uno sobre cómo dirigir a empleados en el Medio Oriente. La escuela de negocios planea algún día enviar a sus estudiantes de MBA en Francia y Singapur a Abu Dhabi para algunos cursos.

"Vimos que esta era una región con una economía en auge y donde no teníamos un perfil sólido", dice Peter Jadersten, director ejecutivo del centro. "Aprendimos que uno sólo se convierte en un centro realmente global cuando tiene presencia en muchas partes diferentes del mundo."

Mientras China sigue siendo uno de los destinos más populares para los nuevos programas de negocios, el Medio Oriente se está convirtiendo en una alternativa atractiva, especialmente para las escuelas de negocios europeas. A éstas les gusta la actitud cordial y de bienvenida de los líderes gubernamentales de la región y ven una demanda creciente por programas de gestión a medida que se expanden los negocios. Algunos decanos también aseguran que los candidatos árabes muestran un fuerte interés en los programas, dadas las trabas burocráticas que enfrentan para estudiar en Estados Unidos después de los atentados terroristas del 11 de septiembre.

La proliferación de escuelas de negocios es especialmente visible en Qatar, Abu Dhabi y Dubai en los Emiratos Arabes Unidos. Por ejemplo, la Escuela de Administración Lille, de Francia, ha anunciado planes de abrir un campus especializado en gestión de proyectos internacionales en la región del Golfo Pérsico, posiblemente en EAU, Bahrain o Qatar. Las escuelas también se están trasladando a otras partes del Medio Oriente. Insead inauguró el año pasado un centro de emprendimiento en Israel. Y la Escuela de Negocios de Grenoble, en Francia, dictó hace poco un curso en gestión de proyectos industriales a ingenieros del National Petrochemical Co. de Irán.

"Los gobiernos de la región han convertido la educación de sus líderes en una prioridad y le dedican más dinero a esta causa", dice Celia de Anca, profesora de diversidad global del Instituto de Empresa Business School de Madrid. Entre otras cosas, ha ayudado a establecer la beca Reina Rania en Jordania para mujeres interesadas en estudiar en el centro español.

También desarrolló junto a la escuela Effat College de Arabia Saudita un programa de emprendimiento para mujeres que dura tres días. Mientras la mayoría de las escuelas se ha metido de puntillas en el mercado con ofertas que enfatizan los programas ejecutivos más cortos, dos instituciones londinenses lanzarán simultáneamente programas ejecutivos de MBA en la región que empezarán a funcionar en unos meses en Dubai.

Cass Business School, parte de City University en Londres, ofrece un programa general de gestión, además de otros especializados por región, energía y finanzas islámicas. Cass espera atraer tanto a expatriados que trabajan en el Medio Oriente como a estudiantes locales. "Históricamente, muchos de los países del Golfo Pérsico han dependido de los expatriados", afirma Hassan Hakimian, vicedecano de Cass. "Ahora, hay un esfuerzo por mejorar las habilidades de negocios de la fuerza laboral local."

La London Business School exigirá que sus estudiantes tomen clases tanto en su campus de Dubai como en el de Londres. Eso es mucho más conveniente que estudiar en EE.UU., dice Roland Duerr, un alumno de la clase inaugural. Duerr dice que consideró escuelas tanto en Estados Unidos como Canadá. Pero al obtener su MBA de la London Business School, puede mantener su empleo como gerente de alimentos y bebidas del hotel Burj Al Arab en Dubai.

"Me di cuenta de que definitivamente iba a necesitar un MBA para avanzar en mi carrera y para completar mi educación previa, la cual se había concentrado en la industria de la hospitalidad", dice. "A pesar de que un MBA en EE.UU. puede ser lo más prestigioso, mi empresa quería que me quedara aquí y no quise renunciar a las oportunidades que me pueden ofrecer."

En el futuro, los residentes de Dubai podrían obtener un título MBA al estilo estadounidense sin tener que salir al extranjero.

Cada vez más escuelas estadounidenses exploran oportunidades en el Medio Oriente. La Universidad de California en Berkeley, por ejemplo, se asoció con una escuela local en Dubai para desarrollar un programa conjunto en "gestión de calidad total". La Escuela de Negocios Sloan del Instituto Tecnológico de Massachusetts (MIT) también estudia posibles incursiones en la región, pero no quiso revelar más detalles sobre sus planes. Y la Escuela de Negocios Queen en Kingston, Ontario, estrenó hace poco un centro educativo para ejecutivos en Dubai.

La Universidad Carnegie Mellon fue una de las primeras instituciones educativas estadounidenses en incursionar en la región. Abrió un campus en Qatar en 2004, que admitía a estudiantes de pregrado en administración de empresas y ciencias computacionales. Este año, Tepper, la escuela de negocios de la Universidad Carnegie, creó un certificado de emprendimiento ejecutivo con el objetivo de ayudar a la gente a comercializar su tecnología de investigación. El programa es de jornada parcial y dura nueve meses.

"Intentan establecer una nueva economía basada en el conocimiento y la innovación tecnológica, y necesitan una cultura más emprendedora", asegura Arthur Boni, director del centro de emprendimiento de Tepper.

Algunas escuelas de negocios dicen que prefieren moverse con cautela, ya que no están seguras sobre el panorama a largo plazo de la educación de negocios en el Medio Oriente. La IESE, de Barcelona, por ejemplo, está estudiando el mercado en Dubai, pero aún tiene dudas. "La cuestión para nosotros es si esto es sólo una burbuja, una oportunidad de unos cuantos años, o si podemos fundar algo que se extienda en el largo plazo", se pregunta Eric Weber, vicedecano de la escuela.

Por Ronald Alsop
The Wall Street Journal
Link permanente: http://www.lanacion.com.ar/944718

Hispanic Job Portal

Caros MBA Alumni,

Segue convite para responder ao survey do portal "ihispano.com".

You can view this letter online at http://www.ihispano.com/newsletter/iHispano-2007-06-20/preview.htm

--------------------------------------------------


Dear Hispanic Professional,

It is our mission to create as fertile environment as possible for the effective recruitment of Hispanic Professionals in America. We currently have over 100,000 job postings from United States companies seeking Hispanic Professionals. America's best paying career opportunities for Hispanic Professionals are just a click away.

In order to create the most effective career matching technology possible we are reaching out to Hispanic Professionals to learn more about their aspirations and general business information. We would very much appreciate your contribution to our desire to build the most robust Hispanic Career Portal as possible. We respectfully request that you take two minutes to provide us with some very general information.

For our results to be as qualified as possible we need as many Hispanic Professionals to participate. If you could please forward this email to as many Hispanic Professionals as possible it would help to us do the best job possible in providing the Hispanic Professional Community with the finest career matching portal possible.

It'll only take two minutes.

Thank you for taking the time to fill out our survey

Please forward this survey on to your friends!

Sincerely,

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iHispano.com



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Elias, um de meus colegas de faculdade, tinha desfrutado seus anos de juventude sob uma herança que recebeu do pai. Montou uma indústria têxtil que foi à falência no início desta década. Ele comentava que simplesmente não teve sorte na vida. E fazia referência ao Daniel, um outro colega nosso, e dizia que este sim teve sorte na vida. Eu perguntei: “Você acredita mesmo? Acredita que foi apenas sorte?” perguntei surpreso. “Você sabe a diferença entre sorte e Boa Sorte, com maiúsculas? Quando sua família recebeu a herança, vocês tiveram sorte. Esta sorte porém, não dependeu de vocês mesmos, por isso não durou muito. Só houve um pouco de sorte e é por esse motivo que agora você não têm nada. Daniel, ao contrário, se dedicou a criar a sorte. A sorte, sozinha, não depende de você. A Boa Sorte depende unicamente de você. Ela é que é verdadeira. Me arrisco até a dizer que a primeira simplesmente não existe. Ou melhor, é muito improvável que ela aconteça especialmente a você ou a qualquer outra pessoa... E, mesmo que aconteça, não dura muito, é passageira”. Você sabia que quase 90% das pessoas que acertam na loteria não demoram mais de dez anos para se arruinar ou voltar a estar como antes? “A Boa Sorte, ao contrário, é possível desde que você se dedique a ela. É por isso que é chamada de Boa Sorte: porque é boa, a de verdade.


Até a próxima edição!




Pedro Carvalho - Thunderbird Class of '94
Sócio - Authent Retainer Executive Search

Networking

Oportunidades de Networking ocorrem praticamente todos os dias, em quase qualquer lugar e hora do dia. Em geral temos a expectativa de gerar Network em eventos próprios, como câmaras de comércio, encontro de Associações ou eventos de grupos de colegas. Isto entretanto é só o começo. Oportunidades para conhecer novos contatos e clientes podem ocorrer em situações inesperadas. Ou nós até podemos pensar que a situação não é apropriada para Networking. Exemplos? Um Shopping Center, aeroporto, uma apresentação casual através de um amigo em uma festa, etc. Quantas vezes você foi a um encontro certo de que iria encontrar um potencial contato de negócios? Mas que você achou que iriam achar esquisito? Mantenha isto sempre em mente: Se você estiver fazendo networking corretamente, a outra pessoa nunca saberá que você está fazendo networking.

Pedro Carvalho - Thunderbird Class of '94
Sócio - Authent Retainer Executive Search

Analise de Mercado & Onde estão as Oportunidades - Junho 2007

A conjunção de câmbio valorizado, concorrência de importados e aquecimento do mercado interno está fazendo com que as grandes empresas aumentem seu peso dentro da estrutura do mercado de trabalho da indústria. 23,3% dos 147,3 mil empregos formais abertos estão concentrados nas empresas com mais de 500 funcionários. Em 2006, esse valor era de 10,6%. – Há boas noticias também proveniente de atividades relacionadas ao comércio exterior: os resultados do Brasil continuam caminhando na contra-mão da queda do dólar neste ano. O saldo da balança comercial brasileira chegou a US$ 3,404 bilhões no acumulado até o dia 27 de maio. Esse já o segundo melhor resultado do ano, atrás apenas dos US$ 4,203 bilhões registrados em abril. - A conjuntura econômica atual também provoca um grande aquecimento nas vagas de emprego do mercado financeiro, e com tantas estréias na Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo (Bovespa), a busca por especialistas que atuem nesse segmento supera sua disponibilidade.

Pedro Carvalho - Thunderbird Class of '94
Sócio - Authent Retainer Executive Search

Résumés in Motion

While traditional work histories still rule, the day may not be far off when video pitches become a standard supplement.
by Francesca Di Megliofrom Newsweek

A keyword search of "résumé" on the online video site YouTube turns up 5,180 results, including videos of everything from someone breaking into his boss's office to a young person who plays the piano and sings his own praises in the hopes of launching a career in public relations. With all the buzz around video résumés, the B-school student seeking that post-MBA job might think the paper résumé—or its online equivalent—is dead. But at least for this year's class of grads, the message is "think again".

Many career-placement directors at top B-schools are telling their students to steer clear of video altogether for now. The reason? While the YouTube generation—the so-called "Millennials" who were born after 1981—might be embracing video résumés, it's the Baby Boomers who are still doing most of the hiring. "Boomers aren't going to watch them", says Everette Fortner, director of career development at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration.

Business school career counselors are also wary because of the unprofessional tone of some videos. In the fall of 2006, Yale student Aleksey Vayner sent his video résumé, called "Impossible is Nothing," to investment bank UBS, and the video quickly found its way to YouTube, where it was mocked, spoofed, and made Vayner the laughing-stock of Wall Street. The lengthy video, which had Vayner waxing poetic about life, breaking bricks with his hands, and dancing with a half-dressed woman, became the epitome of how not to do a video résumé. It has led some people—especially those in B-school—to shy away from the medium entirely.

A Sense of Presence
One of the résumés on YouTube belongs to Allen Ulbricht, a 2003 graduate of Georgia Tech's undergraduate management program, whose video has him dressed in business casual attire and responding—as naturally as possible—to likely questions for a Web 2.0 gig to which he was applying in December, 2006.

Now the owner of Real Nice Software, which creates custom software for small businesses, Ulbricht says he pulled himself out of the running for the job but is sure his video, an adjunct to his traditional online résumé, would have given him a leg up on the competition. Video will become an expected part of the job application, says Ulbricht, even if it will never replace traditional, written résumés.

Still in their infancy, video résumés have caught on with the creative and with other young people who want to show off their skills—either because of the visual impact or to make up for lack of work experience. "Video résumés animate a job seeker in ways that traditional paper media can't", says Mark Oldman, co-president of the career site Vault.com in New York. "You can really get a sense of one's professional presence, poise, enthusiasm, and passion".

Old School Mastery
Recruiters are less resistant to videos than business-school administrators seem to think. In a recent Vault.com survey of employers, 31% of respondents said they would watch a video résumé if one was sent to them, and 58% said they might check out a video out of sheer curiosity. And many companies are using online-video technology to educate candidates about their culture and job openings, says Mareza Larizadeh, 2006 Stanford MBA graduate and co-founder and company president of Doostang, a social and professional networking site primarily for MBAs.

Technology companies seeking business-minded employees are among the first recruiters to consider video from applicants. Ray Schreyer, program manager of Internet recruiting for IBM (IBM) in Charlotte, N.C., says video, if done in a professional manner, is a welcome addition to a digital résumé but should come only after a candidate has been thoroughly screened. "Video résumés are icing on the cake," he says. "But we still need the cake" (see BusinessWeek.com, 5/7/07, "The Art of the Online résumé").

Many recruiters remain cautious, though. Cindy Fiedelman, vice-president of talent management at Avaya (AV), a company that designs, builds, and manages communications networks, says video is likely the way of the future, but first companies will have to create ways to standardize the material and ensure equal opportunity for all candidates. She adds that job applicants should first try to perfect the traditional résumé—show how much money you generated for the restaurant when you worked as a bartender instead of just writing that you poured drinks, for example—before moving on to video (see BusinessWeek.com, 3/13/07, "The Way to a Winning Résumé").

Expert Guidelines
Although there are still no official rules about what a video résumé should look like, career sites are slowly creating standards. Internet job search service CollegeGrad.com, which caters to undergrads and recent graduates, recently launched VideoSnapshot, a template that members can use to record a video to send as an attachment to their traditional online résumé.

Recently Vault hosted a contest for aspiring Wall Street analysts, who vied for a chance at a prestigious internship by creating a video résumé (see BusinessWeek.com's slide show, "Job-Winning Video résumés,"). The images from the contest reflect what most experts are saying about video résumés: Job candidates should dress professionally, refrain from scripting their words, speak clearly, stick to talking about their qualifications, and keep it short.

Both sides of the argument about video résumés are using time as a major factor in the debate. Those in favor of video say employers can save time by using video to replace the first round of interviewing. Those against video say this new technology just adds another step to the initial search for candidates. They add that the written résumé allows human resources staff to do keyword searches and quickly eliminate applicants who don't meet minimum requirements.

Some experts say video résumés could invite lawsuits, because employers would be able to discriminate on the basis of race, gender, and ethnicity in the screening process. However discrimination can happen during the face-to-face interview too, says Char Bennington, senior associate director of career management at the Chicago Graduate School of Business. But Bennington adds that employers want candidates to at least have equal footing during the initial stages.

Supplementary Materials
Others argue the exact opposite, and say that video résumés are the only way that candidates, regardless of their geography and B-school, can open the gates of opportunity. "Video résumés level the playing field for those who aren't at the Stanfords or the Harvards by eliminating the need for robust on-campus recruiting," says Vault's Oldman.

Most experts agree that technology will continue to change the job application. The written, online résumé will survive because the keyword search is a convenient screening tool, but it will be joined by things like podcasts, online portfolios, and of course video (see BusinessWeek.com, 5/7/07, "The Art of the Online Résumé").

Michael Lawson, a professor of economics and the senior associate dean at the Boston University School of Management, envisions a multimedia résumé that would start with a one-page online document covering all the basics—from work experience to education—with hyperlinks to video and other relevant Web content. He and his colleagues are creating templates for such résumés now, and plan to share them with the next incoming class of MBA students.

Eventually, say some, video will enhance the online résumé. "I can't see my kid one day applying for a job with only a black-and-white piece of paper saying, 'This is the best representation of me,'" says Nick Murphy, operations manager of WorkBlast.com, which offers a video-résumé option to its job-seeking members. In other words, MBAs could soon be joining undergrads in making sure that their Web cam captures their good side.

Di Meglio is a reporter for BusinessWeek Online in Fort Lee, N.J.

Entrepreneurship is a long, difficult word

Article published in Business Day’s Real Business of South Africa
by Prof. Herrington - University of Cape Town

Entrepreneurship is a long, difficult word. And like the word, the reality of the concept involves many differing viewpoints and definitions. The word, entrepreneur, comes from the French language and dates back to the 1700s. It’s a strange word, difficult enough to pronounce, let alone spell. Yet nowadays it’s a household word used by millions throughout the world.

However, ask 10 different people their understanding of the word, and you are likely to get 10 different answers. Some people think of it as a mad scientist working in his garage trying to invent something that is totally new to the world in the hope that he may well be able to commercialise it and make money from it. Others think of the housewife working in the kitchen who develops a superb sauce recipe. She gives this to her friends who think that it is fantastic. More friends ask for it and soon she thinks that if it is so good she could sell it.
Then a company is formed and a new growth venture starts up. Such an example is Ina Paarman in SA or Sara Lee in the US.

Whatever the definition, the process is undoubtedly critical to the well-being and economic development of a country. Jean-Baptiste Say, a French economist of the 1800s, said that an entrepreneur shifts economic resources out of an area of low productivity into an area of higher productivity and greater yield. The Oxford dictionary definition describes the entrepreneur as one who organises, manages and assumes the risk of a business enterprise.

In SA, large corporations are changing. They are undergoing what they call restructuring, downsizing, and reorganisation. The net effect is that large corporations are not contributing to the growth of employment in the country. It is up to the small businesses, and it is these businesses that should be encouraged to start and grow.

Modernisation is having its effect. E-commerce has had a pronounced effect on what is happening in the business environment. If one sits back and thinks about what profound developments have taken place, especially in communication, there are probably four major changes that have revolutionised communication worldwide, and these changes have taken place in the past 50 to 60 years.

The introduction of the cell-phone, the personal computer, television and jet travel has revolutionised the way in which we communicate. It has made the world much smaller as communication is now almost instantaneous and the latest news can be relayed live around the world. No more does the business person or government official have to wait days to find out what is going on. All this has tremendous advantages, but it also has brought its own inherent problems. Daily pressures have become enormous, time is of vital importance, globalisation has caused increased competition, and many other factors influence our day-to-day lives.

Nonetheless, whatever one may say, the importance of entrepreneurship within business, within governments, among nongovernment organisations in any country is crucial. It is definitely the chief agent of change that operates within the economic system. The most successful companies are those that engage in more entrepreneurial activity and innovation than others.

The need in SA for entrepreneurship is certainly greatest when companies face diminishing opportunity streams as well as rapid changes in technology, consumer needs, social values and political roles. Those organisations which stop innovating and do not practice entrepreneurship do not grow they often decline rapidly and eventually disappear.

If one looks at Fortune 500 companies, and compares those that were listed 20 years ago against those listed today, less than 25% are still operating. Multinational organisations have learnt this lesson the hard way. Pan Am was one of the largest airlines in the world about 10 years ago and no longer exists. Swissair ceased trading and there are numerous other examples of airlines that have followed the same sad demise. There are many reasons for this, but one may well be the innovation brought about by South West Airlines in the US.

They were the forerunners of low-cost air travel, an innovation which has been copied by numerous companies throughout the world including our own kulula.com, 1time and the more recent Mango. It will be interesting to see how the airline market develops over the next 10 years. The world is complicated, especially for modern companies.

Considerable turbulence is taking place, in which rapid changes occur within the economic, social, financial, regulatory, labour, and technology areas. The complexity of change is enormous and only those companies that are flexible, adaptable, aggressive and innovative are likely to sustain their competitive advantage.

Danny Miller, a renowned entrepreneur and writer, states that an entrepreneurial firm is one that engages in product-market innovation, undertakes somewhat risky ventures, and is first to come up with proactive innovations, beating competitors to the punch.

A non-entrepreneurial firm is one that innovates very little, is high-risk averse and imitates the moves of competitors instead of leading the way. On the other hand, George Bernard-Shaw says the reasonable man (or woman) adapts themselves to the world. The unreasonable person persists in adapting the world to themselves. Therefore, all progress depends on unreasonable men (and women). Michael Morris of Syracuse University in the US talks about two different types of entrepreneurship: frequency and degree.

The degree of entrepreneurship within an organisation relates to how big the innovation is, how risky it is to the organisation, and how often it is done. Many organisations innovate occasionally, but this level of entrepreneurship is so significant and has such an influence on the company, that it can sustain itself for many years into the future.

An example of this is the development of the A380 by Aerospace. It is a major innovation which could well have a profound effect on the industry, but if unsuccessful will certainly dramatically influence the well-being of the company. Mining companies fall into this category as mining exploration is a very costly affair and requires huge amounts of capital and long periods before economic payback is achieved. Anglo-Gold Ashanti is in the process of sinking new shafts a venture which requires considerable capital outlay and may not produce the returns required.

Naturally, considerable research has gone into the process to minimise the risk, but it is nonetheless risky. With frequency of entrepreneurship, it is important to measure how often and how many times an organisation introduces new products, processes or systems. This would apply particularly to those organisations that are involved in the manufacture of fast moving consumer goods. These companies introduce a number of new products each year.

Although the money required is considerable for a small business, it is nonetheless less risky, but necessary if the company is to keep ahead of its competitors. Companies can do both types of entrepreneurship and depending upon the levels in each category, will determine the intensity.

All progressive companies need to consider this and they do this via various means which can include traditional research and development, involving ad-hoc venture teams that are formed in an organisation to develop and complete a particular project.

Herrington is the director of the University of Cape Town Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the UCT Graduate School of Business, and one of the authors for the South African Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. This article appeared in Business Day’s Real Business in April.

Latin Trade realiza pesquisa anual sobre escolas de MBA

Prezados,

Acessem o link abaixo caso queiram comentar sobre sua escola.


LATIN TRADE, the leading pan-regional business publication serving Latin America, is conducting its annual MBA ratings. Please take a moment to consider this survey. It is short—about one minute. If you have any contact with an MBA-granting institution, whether as a student, alumni, recruiter or employer, please consider rating that school by clicking through on the following link. LATIN TRADE does not share or sell any information it gathers to anyone.

It will stay open until June 29. Thanks, and click below to begin:
http://websurveyor. net/wsb.dll/ 22103/LTMBAratin gs2007.htm

Greg Brown
Editor-in-Chief
LATIN TRADE

Ponderações sobre Carreira MBAAB

Prezado Colega MBA Alumni Brasil:

Frequentemente ouvimos histórias de pessoas que foram pegas mentindo sobre suas habilidades ou inventando algo sobre suas experiências profissionais, empregos ou vida acadêmica. Mas das centenas de pessoas que conheci procurando novas oportunidades apenas lembro-me de uma que exagerou sobre suas qualificações. Ele utilizava uma medalha dourada que dizia ser o número 1, e rapidamente mencionou que isto se referia a ele. Fora esta pessoa, todos que converso são educadamente modestos em me contar suas qualificações. Quase sempre descubro que as pessoas têm mais a oferecer do que eles inicialmente me contam. Isto me preocupa pois a falta da correta compreensão das qualificações pode fazer com que percam oportunidades de fazer algo maior, ou com que a procura por um novo emprego demore muito. Acredito que algumas pessoas têm duas razões para sub-qualificar-se. Primeiro, em conversações normais, modéstia é uma virtude. Segundo, muitos adultos tornam-se bons em fazer alguma forma de trabalho sem não perceberem-se disto. Conforme vão acumulando algumas experiências eles frequentemente não têm um nome a dar para estas habilidades. E podem assim não ter maneiras de galgar ou reforçar estas habilidades. Pessoalmente me oponho a mentir – na vida, ou na procura de um novo emprego. Também acho que exagerar causa mais dano do que ajuda. No entanto sou muito a favor de dizer às pessoas exatamente quão bom você é em fazer o tipo de trabalho definido no seu Objetivo Profissional.

Até a próxima edição!

Pedro Carvalho - Thunderbird Class of '94
Sócio - Authent Retainer Executive Search

-- Fiz coletânea de alguns artigos e notícias interessantes, para vocês colegas do grupo MBAAB. Vale a pena conferir...

Nossa sugestão de Informativos:

1........ Dez passos para o sucesso
2........ Avalie seu poder de expressão
3........ Lenovo vai criar empregos no Brasil
4........ “Os brasileiros precisam ter uma visão mais global”
5........ Ver os amigos “vale um salário de R$ 30 mil” diz estudo
6........ Reuniões com mais eficência
7........ Brasil escapa dos cortes no Citi e pode ganhar empregos
8........ Como dizer não ao seu CEO
9........ Especialistas X Generalistas
10...... Habilidades imprescindíveis
11.......Mudanças... Temer, por quê?

Detalhes dos eventos no Grupo do Yahoo:
Finance.Groups.Yahoo.com >> Group >>MBA_Alumni_Brasil
>> Files >> Anexos do Blog

Ou direto no link: Informativos

*nota: Para ter acesso completo ao conteúdo do link mencionado acima você precisa ser membro do Yahoo Groups MBAAB. Para tal envie um email à Patricia Volpi: pvolpi@alumni.indiana.edu

Analise de Mercado, Oportunidades e Vagas - Maio 2007

Setor de TI brasileiro cresce o dobro da média mundial: O mercado brasileiro de TI deve crescer 8,38%, mais do que o dobro do avanço mundial, estimado em 3,16%. De acordo com levantamento do Gartner, as perspectivas para o País superam as dos México, cujo orçamento de TI crescerá 4,73% e as do mercado latino-americano, com taxas de incremento de 5,44%. Soluções de inteligência de negócios (Business Intelligence – BI), aplicações empresariais (ERP, CRM, entre outras), tecnologias de storage, modernização de aplicações do legado e segurança encabeçam a lista de prioridades de investimentos mundiais. -*- A Produção Industrial cresce 3,9% em relação a março de 2006, mantendo uma seqüência de nove meses de taxas positivas. Nesta comparação, a maioria (18) dos 27 ramos, pesquisados pelo IBGE, assinala aumento de produção, sendo que os maiores impactos positivos sobre o índice global, por ordem de importância, vieram de máquinas e equipamentos (15,5%), veículos automotores (8,2%), metalurgia básica (10,5%), alimentos (3,9%), máquinas para escritório e equipamentos de informática (23,9%) e indústria extrativa (5,6%). -- Fiz coletânea de algumas vagas de maior interesse disponível no meu escritório na Authent®, para vocês colegas do grupo MBAAB. Vale a pena conferir...

Pedro Carvalho - Thunderbird Class of '94
Sócio - Authent Retainer Executive Search

Detalhes dos eventos no Grupo do Yahoo:

Finance.Groups.Yahoo.com >> Group >>
MBA_Alumni_Brasil >> Files >> Anexos do Blog

Ou direto no link: Vagas Authent para MBAAB

*nota: Para ter acesso completo ao conteúdo do link mencionado acima você precisa ser membro do Yahoo Groups MBAAB. Para tal envie um email à Patricia Volpi: pvolpi@alumni.indiana.edu