Reflection: Guatemala Trip

[Posted by Stephanie Hawkins, Public and Nonprofit MBA, Class of 2011]

If someone had told me a year ago that I would be traveling with 35 people I had yet to meet, I never would have believed it. But on May 9^th, I boarded a plane headed to Guatemala with other members of my BU MBA class. The idea was proposed by a classmate: a cohort trip, not only to celebrate the end of our first year together, but also to have the opportunity to give back. In addition to the social nature of the trip, we would be volunteering and raising money for the Primeros Pasos clinic outside of Quetzaltenango (also known as Xela). I’m not surprised that over 60% of our cohort decided to attend. My cohort has many students that are in the Public and Nonprofit Management program, the Health Sector Management program as well as former Peace Corps volunteers. In the months leading up to the trip, between studying, classes and group projects, students planned the logistics and raised money for the clinic.

We arrived at our first stop, Antigua, late Sunday afternoon. After exploring parts of the city, it was early to bed for most of us, since the next morning we departed early for a hike of Volcan Pacaya, an active volcano where we were able to get close to flowing lava and some classmates even roasted marshmallows over it! We proudly flew our BU flag when we reached the end of our hike. Afterwards, we set off for Xela where the group split into two volunteer groups that worked at the Primeros Pasos clinic (www.primerospasos.org) in separate shifts.

Over the two days we spent volunteering at the clinic, we were able to paint the entire outside of the clinic, build bookshelves, construct whiteboards, check-in children visiting the clinic, and deliver medicine and toothbrushes to local schools. I was among the group that walked to a local school to deliver the supplies. It was amazing to see the kids playing at recess just like kids do everywhere. They were fascinated by us, asking us if we were “gringos” and asking to see pictures we had taken of them. We had seen the unbelievable natural beauty of Guatemala, but volunteering enabled us to have a more human experience in the country. After Xela, the group traveled to Panajachel, a town on Lago Atitlan, where the group kayaked, ziplined, shopped, ate, and celebrated before boarding the bus back to Antigua for our last night in Guatemala. It was a quick and intense five-day trip that was filled with so many memorable experiences.

The hope is that this kind of trip, one that allows BU MBAs to experience a developing country and give back, will be an annual occurrence. For me personally, somewhere along the way, I realized something. I realized that somewhere between marathon team meetings and study group sessions, late night IMs from classmates offering help, and many meals and social outings, we had formed our own kind of family. Our trip was a great way to give back and experience Guatemala; it was an amazing way to celebrate our newfound family.

Kenneth W. Freeman Named Dean of SMG

When Kenneth W. Freeman was offered the School of Management deanship, the former CEO turned to an old and trusted advisor: his father. The 97-year-old Freeman père, who immigrated to Massachusetts from Nova Scotia as a teenager, told his son that when he came of college age, during the Depression, he’d hoped to attend BU, but his family couldn’t foot the tuition — “which he recalled was $100 a year,” says Freeman.

“My father said, ‘Ken, this is a gift for you, and for me. If I were you, I’d take the job.’” Freeman will start on August 1.

In another respect, Freeman, 60, has lived his father’s life, and then some. The elder Freeman, a self-made businessman, inspired his son to enter the business arena, where he’s best known as a turnaround expert, shepherding Quest Diagnostics from a problem-plagued upstart to the world’s leading medical testing company. The results of a study conducted by professors at INSEAD and published earlier this year by the Harvard Business Review rated Freeman the 67th best performing CEO in the world.

Freeman, now a member with private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., will replace Louis E. Lataif (SMG’61, Hon.’90), SMG’s Allen Questrom Professor and Dean, who has helmed the school for 19 years. Freeman is the trustee chairman of Bucknell University, his alma mater, and an executive-in-residence at Columbia Business School.

University President Robert A. Brown says the appointment meshes man and mission. “Management education faces unprecedented challenges in the years ahead as we prepare the next generation of leaders in the global economy, who accept their responsibilities to society, as well as to their firms," says Brown. "It is exciting to have Ken Freeman as our dean of the School of Management. His business experience, his intellect, and his values are the perfect tools to lead our faculty in shaping the future of management education and continuing the positive trajectory of the school.”

“I’m thrilled to join the Boston University community,” Freeman says. “The School of Management has great momentum. I look forward to doing a lot of listening and learning in the early days as we prepare to further distinguish the school by building on its unique strengths.”

While he says that detailing any immediate to-do list would be premature, he sees his role as “chief advocate.” Freeman intends to dedicate himself to building strong relationships: with the faculty, the staff, the students, and alumni.

Under Lataif, SMG leapt 15 spots in this year’s U.S. News & World Report rankingsof American business schools, to number 31. It was the largest improvement by any school in the rankings, which reflect academic quality, the mean starting salary/bonus of graduates and their employment rates, the quality of entering students, and reviews by peers and recruiters. SMG was among the five highest-rated business schools in New England, and in that group, it had the highest percentage of graduates placed in jobs within three months.

During Freeman’s four-decade-long career, the profession and practice of business has been transformed by new regulations, new investment vehicles, powerful new technology, and globalization. “I bring to the school an open mind and a keen interest in driving innovation in what we teach and how we teach, how our students engage in learning, and in scholarship. I hope to bring the ability to anticipate and lead innovative changes in conjunction with the faculty and students, who in the end likely know as much or more than the rest of us about technology.”

With business scandals dominating the news, Freeman says, business education “is at a crossroads. It’s not just about developing core quantitative and analytical skills. It’s about developing strong leaders who know how to effectively interact with each other around the world, treat each other with respect, and work in a team environment, having at the core a very strong value system.”

“I also see the opportunity and the need for us to be focused very heavily on procuring the resources that will assure that SMG has the talent, technology, and ethical standards that place it among the best business schools globally,” says Freeman. His efforts will build on the work of Lataif, who garnered significant resources for the school in the form of increased annual fund and capital giving and the establishment of a number of endowed professorships.

When Freeman took over the predecessor company to Quest Diagnostics in 1995, the business was part of Corning, Inc. At that time, the lab testing industry faced allegations that it had overbilled Medicare by charging for unnecessary tests. At the beginning of 1997, Corning spun off the business to its shareholders, and it took the name Quest Diagnostics.

Freeman, who had worked at Corning his whole career, led a dramatic transformation of Quest Diagnostics from an embattled company facing massive challenges on multiple fronts into the leading provider of diagnostic testing in the world. “The secrets of success,” he says, “involved relentlessly focusing on creating a strong company culture grounded in core values and satisfying the needs of employees and customers, driving organic growth through the development of an industry-leading esoteric testing capability, investing in continuous improvement in operations, and strategic acquisitions that dramatically increased the company’s market reach.”

The bottom line: under Freeman’s leadership the market capitalization of Quest Diagnostics increased from $350 million at the time of the spin-off to $9 billion-plus when he handed over the reins to his successor as CEO in 2004.

At KKR, which he joined in 2005, Freeman serves on the Portfolio Management Committee, which oversees all of the firm’s private equity investments around the world. He is a director of hospital operator HCA, Inc., medical device makerAccellent, Inc., and building products manufacturer Masonite Corp. After taking over as SMG dean, Freeman will continue his affiliation with KKR as a senior advisor.

Freeman earned an M.B.A with distinction from Harvard Business School in 1976. His nonbusiness passions are spending time with his family (married 38 years, he has two grown children and two young grandchildren), music (especially playing the piano), reading, watching sports, and keeping fit. He once considered a keyboardist’s career, but says he “discovered quickly that if I wanted to eat, I would need to do something other than performing music.”

What a video where Kenneth Freeman talks about building on SMG’s established strengths:http://www.bu.edu/today/node/11159

Video by Devin Hahn. Photo (above) by Kalman Zabarsky. Article by Rich Barlow, who may be reached at barlowr@bu.edu. Devin Hahn may be reached at dhahn@bu.edu.

First Year MBA's Guatemala Trip

We will have several student bloggers checking in this summer about their internships, summer travel plans, why they chose BU, transitioning to Boston and to simply share with you their thoughts and experiences! While they get settled, we thought we'd share a video and some pictures from the Cohort D trip to Guatemala.

35 First Year MBA students left after classes ended for the Spring semester and headed to Primeros Pasos Medical Clinic located in the Palajunoj Valley of Guatemala. These students worked as volunteers, donating their time and their newly acquired MBA skills to help make a difference for this organization. This type of service isn't new to BU, in fact it mirrors Link Day which you can learn about here.

One of our students will be blogging about the trip and all the amazing experiences they had, but in the meantime please enjoy this video of highlights/fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUKbDBmPb2I

Pursuing a Legacy

[Posted by Betsy Stiles, MS·MBA in Public and Nonprofit Management, Class of 2011]

I gave my last presentation of the school year on Tuesday, for our team project this semester. It was actually a really fun project, studying Palm, which has a lot going on right now. My team this semester was a fabulous, laid back but still hardworking group. It was really easy to work with them. That was probably helped by having a semester under our belts and learning great lessons from our teams in the first semester. (Or they might just be fabulous…) And, I think the presentation went reasonably well. Actually, all the presentations were really good, and it was neat to see how far our first year class has come in a year. A lot has been accomplished and it went by really fast. It is kind of surreal. There are still two exams and an individual paper left, but little by little the semester is coming to a close.

We are also starting to make plans for next year already and getting excited about the incoming class of students. The 2012 class is mostly formed. Conversations are already buzzing on Facebook, and get togethers for admitted students are being planned all over the world. It has been great to see many of the new faces at the Open Houses, and the enthusiasm everyone has. I think the first years will really bring a lot to the program, and boy have we got plans for them. With all the lessons we have learned this year, I think many of the soon to be second years are really interested in finding ways to help incoming students and make their business school experience even better.

While we are making plans for next year, the second years are in the midst of “disorientation,” wrapping up classes, participating in their last Thirsty Thursday, singing at the last kareoke night, nailing down jobs, and getting in the facetime they can with all of their friends. I have had a chance to see some of the activities for the outgoing second years this year, including a celebration luncheon where professors and staff reminded students of the amazing contributions they made to the program and one another. It will be a hard act to follow. The outgoing second years really left an inspiring legacy and they will be sorely missed. I remember the first couple of weeks I was at school, and all the advice and encouragement that the second years gave me. Their words and comraderie were really helpful.

And though there is hardly any time to think about it with finals coming up, but here and there are momentary thoughts, questions, and reflections on the year. “Halfway through…” “Have I done what I wanted to?” “What’s left?” “What do I want to make sure I still do?” “How can I leave a legacy too?” Hopefully, the summer will give some time to regroup and we will all hit the ground running in Fall. At any rate, we will give it our best shot. Thank-you to the outgoing second years for setting the bar so high. I’m sure we will appreciate the challenge.

[Posted by Alicia May, MS·MBA in General Management, Class of 2011]

I figured after first semester I could take on anything, so I decided that in addition to overloading on coursework that I would also train for the Boston Marathon. Training for a marathon is like a part time job, so on top of school priorities, team meetings and managing to have a little fun, 2nd semester has been very busy. For those of you who aren't from Boston, "Marathon Monday" is Patriots Day and all the surrounding schools have the day off. The marathon course runs right past several colleges: Wellesley at mile 13, Boston College at mile 20, and Boston University at mile 24. I may be a little bias, but comparing all the cheering sections, Boston University had an awesome turn out this year! As I approached Kenmore Square, I was looking for all my classmates that came to cheer me on and felt so lucky because I REALLY needed it at that point! I finished the marathon and celebrated with my friends and family. Now that the marathon is over and classes are winding down I am going to have to find another hobby to occupy my time....it looks like it might be sailing lessons over the summer. Gosh, I love this city.

3 Days From Now...

[Posted by Jesse Brooks, MS-MBA, Class of 2010]

3 days from now I will be done. Done with my MBA degree and done with my MSIS degree. Only one presentation and one final paper left before I can call myself a master.

These two years in Boston have gone by faster than I could have ever imagined. When I arrived in Boston in the summer of 2008, I was excited and anxious for what I was about to get myself into. Now, I am started to get those same feelings again.

It is a relief to think that any future team meetings or presentations I have to be involved with, will be rewarded with annual compensation. No longer are the days of SmartArt + Google Image Searches to create a presentation that will be deemed useless after given.

Though we were not compensated for our hard work with immediate monetary rewards, we will get the lifelong reward of being better businessmen/women. As MBAs, we are able to analyze problems in a way that the standard bachelor cannot compete with.

To all my classmates, I want to say that I have enjoyed these past two years and I look forward to keeping in touch. For me, I am off to California to enjoy some real weather and the flip flop wearing laid back lifestyle.

The Farewell Tour

[Posted by Tyler Altrup, MBA in General Management, Class of 2010]

Finishing up an MBA program is, in many ways, not so different from the last few weeks of any undergraduate program or even high school. The same hallmarks are there---making sure you spend all of your free time with your friends, trying to setup the next big thing in your life, and enjoying every second.

Boston University has undoubtedly setup one great farewell tour for all of us. In the next few weeks, we will have a Fairwell Party for Dean Lataif, the Talent Show, a Second Year Party, a Graduation Reception, and a full week of awesome known as Disorientation. That list, of course, does not include all of the "informal" events I look forward to attending.

I have enjoyed every minute of my time here and am looking forward to enjoying every piece of the Farewell Tour.

Team Learning at BU

[Posted by Fillip Saraiva, MBA in General Management, Class of 2011]

Everyone always told me that the first semester of business school would be the busiest, and it certainly seemed true when I started the program in August. In particular, our professors and the second-year MBA students were quick to point out just how much work was in front of me with the Integrated Project. As I started to spent more and more time with my team each week during the first semester as we raced to finish the project, it certainly felt like my work load was as busy as it could get!

Fast forward to the second semester. As I write this, I am now working on four different team projects due before the end of April. (Ok… I'll confess… I have one more than normal because I am taking an extra elective class.) While none of them are as complex as the Integrated Project, the combination of four different projects is keeping me just as busy as last semester. Yet, it just does not seem to feel as busy. I credit that to the team skills that we all developed working through the Integrated Project; it not only made us better communicators, but it also made us all much more effective in prioritizing and meeting tight deadlines.

The projects for this semester are varied and cover a wide range of topics. For Operations Management, we are working with a local Toyota dealer to help them identify methods to deal with the sudden surge in demand driven by the recent accelerator pedal recall. In our Strategy and Information Systems classes, we are analyzing a non-profit firm to see how they have used information technology to create a competitive advantage, as well as identifying opportunities to further leverage technology to expand their capabilities. I am also working with technology in my two Marketing electives-- one project is to conduct consumer research to determine what features are most important in their decision to buy a Tablet PC, and what combination of features would achieve the best combination of market share and profitability; in the other project, my team is working with IBM Cloud Computing to help them develop a web and social media marketing strategy to increase awareness of their offerings.

These projects all have several things in common. They are all related to real-world products or services that are of real importance to businesses and individual consumers today. They all offer the ability to put the management concepts that we have learned in the classroom into practice. Most important, however, is the fact that they have helped my various team mates and I become more effective managers and have helped us better understand how to work in diverse teams to identify and solve problems in a short period of time.

In reality, there is probably more work involved in these projects when compared to the Integrated Project, but learning how to effectively work in teams has made it manageable. Based on this experience, I can confidently say that improved team learning skills will be one of my biggest "take-aways" from the MBA program.