Berkeley Haas Fellow Talks Myopia in the Face of Information Overload
In an era of information overload, habits can turn primal, according to Berkeley Haas School of Business teaching fellow Maura O’Neill.
O’Neill, who is also the Faculty Director of UC Berkeley’s Executive Leadership Program, and the former Chief Innovation Officer of the U.S. Agency for International Development under President Obama, says that the “cognitive myopia” or narrow-mindedness that results from the sheer bombardment of sensory data flying at us every moment forces us to “rely heavily on our long-term memory to make decisions.”
O’Neill believes that these types of shortcuts—natural responses to over-stimulation—are where errors in judgment begin and “[sometimes] these decision-making errors can lead to catastrophic results,” she writes.
According to the article, “By blocking information that doesn’t fit with what we already know, or think we want to know, our brains enable us to make decisions quickly and efficiently. But often, we overlook key data deliberately or unconsciously.”
O’Neill cites governmental failures like pre-9/11 terrorist warnings the 2008 financial crisis, as well as industrial failures like the “taxi industry’s failure to recognize how smartphones could revolutionize ride-hailing services,” as well as “Uber’s belief that its treatment of workers and regulators would not impact its business reputation and growth.”
Many researchers and pundits are quick to point to big data to save the day but analytics have the potential to exacerbate narrow-mindedness if “statistics used to predict future events are based on past patterns.”
She points to an example where the state of Michigan discovered fraudulent claims for state unemployment insurance from a faulty big data algorithm and wrongfully terminated 20,000 human claims reps.
O’Neill writes, “If we don’t get the algorithms right, we’re setting ourselves up for failure.” Data notwithstanding, O’Neill says we need to take collective steps to reflect on our own unconscious biases.
O’Neill concludes, “Until everyone recognizes that we are all narrow-minded, we are not going to overcome it. And the remedies to the most pressing business problems or in government or in our own personal lives are going to require new innovative solutions.”
Searching for the World’s Top MBA Recruiters: Comcast
Ever year, new MBA graduates are entering the workforce, and companies throughout the world seek new ways to benefit from their educational experience and knowledge. Major companies like the Comcast Corporation seek young professionals to contribute their talent to the company in a number of different ways.
Based in Philadelphia, PA, Comcast is a telecommunications conglomerate that has been taking over the globe since its founding fifty-four years ago in Tupelo, Mississippi. From internet provider to producers of feature films through the NBCUniversal (another one of our favorite MBA recruiters) division, Comcast has an expansive number of markets it can reach.
Today, Comcast makes more than $19.7 billion in media revenue, 88 percent of which comes from its NBCUniversal division. The remaining revenue comes from its cable business and from ownership of the streaming service Hulu. As of December 2016, Comcast employed 153,000 people among its various divisions. Ever looking to expand its reach, Comcast offers a number of opportunities for ambitious MBAs to gain experience and start careers at one of the world’s top media conglomerates.
Why Work at Comcast?
The appeal of working at a company like Comcast can be seen in the numbers: close to one million people have applied for a job at Comcast or one of its divisions every year since 2012. One reason may be the diversity in the kind of work one can do at the company—from creating new television shows to creating new apps and innovative products. With roughly 2,000 positions available at any given time, Comcast is always seeking passionate and entrepreneurial individuals who will help shape the company as it continues to grow and change.
Comcast also offers employees a number of opportunities to grow in their careers and at the company. Valuing teamwork, creativity and entrepreneurship, the company is always looking to empower individuals that represent these features and provide opportunities for them to use their talents in more ways.
Getting Started
Current MBAs looking to get their foot in the door at Comcast have a couple of different ways to do so. Students in the first year of their MBA program have the chance to pursue an internship at the company’s headquarters in Philadelphia. The preferred candidate for this specific internship would be between their first and second year of an MBA program, and have more than five years of professional work experience. Internship focuses for MBA students can occur in a wide variety of fields, including:
- HQ Functions
- Video Business Unit Strategy
- Internet Product Strategy
- Sales & Marketing
- Marketing Intelligence & Insights
- Corporate Strategy
- Integrated Talent Management
MBA students in their second year may also pursue a slot in Comcast’s MBA Rotational Leadership Program, which offers individualized placement into career-accelerating positions after a two-year rotational period. Students will have the ability to work on critical business projects in a variety of areas within Comcast and NBCUniversal, receive exposure to senior leadership through projects and development sessions, and gain access to mentorship through the programs cohort structure and interaction with peer advisors, mentors and program managers.
The ideal candidate for the MBA Rotational Leadership program has more than five years relevant work experience and a track record of academic excellence. The perfect MBA for this role must be a self starter, communicate effectively, and be passionate about innovation.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Want To Work For NBCUniversal? An MBA Can Help
What Types of Jobs are Available?
MBA students and graduates applying for jobs at Comcast after earning their degree will find a number of opportunities available. Here are just a couple roles currently open for MBA students and graduates:
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Director of Contracts Management — Technical Operations
The Director of Contracts management will be responsible for the drafting, evaluation, negotiation, and execution of all types of contracts. The director will monitor all contract work to ensure progress, assist in the training and development of a qualified frontline staff and manage the outsourcing of contract drafting and negotiations. The estimated salary for a Director of Contracts Management is between $98,000 and $144,000 per year, according to user statistics provided by Glassdoor.
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Pricing Analyst
The role of Pricing Analyst at Comcast helps to provide insights to the finance and marketing departments to make decisions for pricing in the Comcast Business division. The person in this role will use business analysis to help gather data and create reports that can help provide business leaders with continued recommendation leaders. The role requires a deep understanding of operational processes, marketing strategy, and strong interpersonal communication abilities.
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Senior Business Operations Manager
Currently open for applicants in the Philadelphia and New York City metro, the Senior Business Operations Manager role with FreeWheel, Comcast’s premium distribution advertising company, is part of the team “responsible for monitoring and providing insights into the health of the overall business.”
The role typically requires six or more years of professional experience and an MBA degree is preferred for the specific responsibilities of the position. According to user statistics provided by Glassdoor, Senior Business Operations Manager tend to make close to or more than six figures per year in the U.S.
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Director, Strategic Analytics
This role, currently open in the Philadelphia metro, unsurprisingly requires a lengthy and comprehensive understanding of business analytics, down to requisite knowledge of tools like R, SAS, and SQL, as well as 10 or more years of professional experience in the fields of computer science, finance, marketing, statistics, economics, and other related fields. Like the Senior Business Operations Manager role mentioned above, an MBA degree is not explicitly required, but Comcast notes it is “strongly preferred” for the position.
Check out more of Comcast’s currently open positions for MBA students and graduates today.
Mays and Humana Partner for Healthcare Analytics Competition
The Texas A&M University – Mays Business School will serve as host for the university’s first-ever healthcare analytics case competition, partnering with Humana Inc. to showcase student’s analytic ability.
Rady Makes ‘Top 50 Best Value Big Data Graduate Programs’ List
Are you into big data? How about vivid sunsets? The Rady School of Management at the University of California at San Diego might be right for you, then. The school ranked 11th in the United States for Value Colleges‘ “Top 50 Best Value Big Data Graduate Programs” list.
The honor goes to Rady’s Master of Science in Business Analytics degree, in particular. Its first class graduated this year, so this ranking is also the program’s first, according to a press release. If you’re set on San Diego and data, Rady offers the only business analytics degree in the city.
Value Colleges writes:
Another of California’s Public Ivies, UC San Diego is a globally-respected research university with over $1 billion in research budget and faculty who have won every major academic award out there. Their computer science, engineering, and business graduate programs are recognized world-wide, as is their value. UCSD’s Rady School of Management offers a Master of Science in Business Analytics degree that focuses on data collection, analysis, and use for businesses of all kinds. Rady’s connections to the business world of San Diego can also be a major asset for graduates entering the job market.
Data experts are all the rage these days. Every successful business needs someone crunching the numbers and figuring out how to effectively communicate any patterns and outcomes. If trends continue, the numbers look bright: businesses will need 1.5 million more managers and business analytics by 2018, according to Rady reports.
Value Colleges says that big data is “the fastest growing job market you’ve never heard of.” It was sure to rank based on how the program balances technical computer skills, business and marketing knowledge, and statistical analysis. And of course, also on affordability and job marketability.
The universities included must be regionally accredited institutions with “proven reputations.” That’s UC San Diego, for ya’.
Harvard Business Enters Business Analytics Arena with New Certificate Program
Data driven. In today’s digital world, businesses that aren’t are quickly becoming passé. To help business leaders—including MBA grads—keep up with and leverage the explosion of data now available in every industry, Harvard Business School (HBS) and two other schools at the prestigious Boston university have partnered with 2U, Inc. to deliver a new online certificate program in business analytics. The program is expected to welcome its first cohort of students in March 2018.
The Harvard Business Analytics Program, announced yesterday, will bring together faculty from HBS, the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and the Department of Statistics in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to share the latest research on how data analytics play a role in everything from strategy to operations, marketing to people management. Through 2U’s leading online learning platform, participants will also hone fundamental analytic, software design and architecture, and data science skills—readying them to seize opportunities presented by today’s data-driven business landscape.
“By bringing together world-class faculty from Harvard Business School, the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Harvard Business Analytics Certificate Program will push the boundaries of innovation both in terms of scholarship and program delivery,” Srikant Datar, HBS Senior Associate Dean for University Affairs, said in a statement. “Business analytics is an exciting emerging field, and Harvard is uniquely positioned to collaborate across disciplines and geographies in pursuit of new ideas in this space.”
According to a press release announcing the new offering, the program targets “business leaders, including MBA graduates, seeking to modernize their analytics skills and learn new ways to analyze, interpret, and take advantage of increasingly complex data across all industries.” The 2U platform will facilitate live, interactive online classes that simulate the seminar-style setting Harvard is known for. Course content will be created by more than a dozen faculty members drawn from across the three participating schools. Though the vast majority of the nine-month certificate program is designed to be completed online, students will come to the HBS campus in Boston for two immersive two-day learning experiences, giving them a chance to meet face to face with their professors and classmates and help build their professional networks.
The program, which carries a $50,000 price tag, is a departure from the specialized data analytics master’s degree programs offered at other leading business schools, such as MIT Sloan School of Management. Harvard is hoping that part of its appeal will be the fact that it doesn’t require students to relocate or step out of the workforce to hone their data-diving expertise. To earn the certificate, students will complete seven courses offered through the three schools. The classes, held live in an online classroom, will cover hot topics in business analytics, including quantitative methods, business and financial statistics, big data, and data visualization.
Learn more about the new Harvard Business Analytics Program.
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from Clear Admit.
New York City MBA Information Technology Programs
Information Technology (IT) is critical to the business world. It allows organizations to work more efficiently and helps maximize productivity. IT also covers a range of areas from computer applications to remote access networks, security engineering systems, and communication. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that jobs for Information System Managers will grow much faster than average compared to all occupations. In fact, the job outlook for 2024 is 15 percent growth compared to 7 percent on average.
If you’re in the New York City area and you want an MBA in Information Technology, the following schools offer programs and concentrations for this fast-paced and growing career field. Continue reading…
