Friday News Roundup – Harvard Online Expanding and Joshua Harris Giving Back to Wharton
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from this week, including Harvard Online expanding its program.
Wharton School Receives $10 Million Gift from Josh and Marjorie Harris – Wharton News
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania recently announced a major gift that will strengthen the school’s programming in alternative investments.
The Joshua J. Harris Alternative Investments Program brings students, faculty, and leaders in the industry together to explore the latest advancements in hedge fund management, private equity, investment management, and venture capital. Named for 1986 grad Joshua Harris and his wife, Marjorie, the donation of $10 million will not only enhance the curriculum, but will also enable Wharton to sponsor multiple events on the latest developments in this class of investing.
“The Harris’ extraordinary gift … will significantly expand student opportunities, advance new knowledge, and meaningfully engage the University community, which are key priorities for Penn,” says University President Amy Gutmann.
Josh and Marjorie Harris are also founders of the Wharton Private Equity Professorship, and Josh is a member of Wharton’s Board of Overseers. The couple’s support of the school extends also to endowments for scholarships and Penn athletics. Josh Harris is founder of Apollo Global Management, a worldwide leader in alternative investment. His business ventures have brought him to the world of sports management. Currently, Josh is a majority owner of the nearby Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. He is also a current minority owner of Crystal Palace in the EPL.
Of his involvement at the school, Harris says:
“I know first-hand that Wharton students are creative, entrepreneurial, and eager for new challenges—attributes that the great leaders of the industry possess. I look forward to the Harris Program inspiring our students to pursue transformative opportunities and develop into future leaders of the industry.”
You can read more about the Harris family’s donation here.
The Future of Healthcare Symposium – Pepperdine News
On March 21, 2019, the Pepperdine Graziadio School will host its 5th Annual Future of Healthcare Symposium, which will address the growing presence of artificial intelligence and smart machines in healthcare delivery systems.
Keynote speakers are Jeff Stibel, Ph.D., author, USA Today columnist and Vice Chairperson of Dun & Bradstreet; and Professor Eric Topol, MD, Founder and Director of The Scripps Translational Science Institute and Executive Vice President of The Scripps Research Institute.
Dr. Stibel received an honorary doctorate from Graziadio, and is also the recipient of a brain and behavior fellowship from Brown University. His company, BrainGate, has employed AI to treat neurological disorders. Stibel is also a thought leader on methods of keeping the brain healthy in the digital age.
Dr. Topol’s presentation, Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again, will examine the ways in which smart technology can humanize medical treatments as opposed to distancing patients from their caregivers. He will also explore genomics and digital medicine in the training of medical staff.
Panelists will discuss the ways in which technologies such as AI have enhanced patient experience while improving business models at various organizations.
For more on the symposium, click here, and check out some highlights of last year’s event below.
Harvard Business School Online Announces Two New Courses, Leadership Principles and Global Business – Harvard Newsroom
Harvard Business School online will offer two new courses this spring, expanding choices for those who pursue the degree as they advance their careers.
The new Leadership Principles course aims to give students practice in developing a leadership style, or in honing an existing style for the best workplace outcomes. Students will have the opportunity to interact with their peers via case studies and presentations during this course.
In the Global Business course, professors who are also heads of global organizations will address macroeconomic indicators and the power of effective public policy.
Patrick Mullane, Executive Director of Harvard Business School Online, says of the new offerings:
“We’re pleased to offer these new courses to help leaders better drive their businesses and propel their careers during volatile times … Professors Joshua Margolis and Tony Mayo are extraordinary faculty who will instill confidence and strengthen leadership capabilities for professionals ready to take the next step. Forest Reinhardt is a world-class economist who will equip participants with the tools they need to anticipate and capitalize on global developments.”
Visit Harvard’s online course guide for more info on cost, dates, and program details.
Findings: Should I Extend My Brand? – Tuck News
Kevin Lane Keller, the E.B. Osborn Professor of Marketing at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business recently shared some knowledge on the concept of ‘brand stretching,’ in which companies known for one exceptionally popular product decide to diversify. His research was recently featured on Tuck’s news page.
Levis, for example, once attempted to launch a line of three-piece suits. Which, rather predictably, did not sell. The suit concept was too far a departure for consumers that were accustomed to Levis jeans. The company then launched Levis Cotton Dockers, which (for better or for worse) became such a huge-seller that Levis was able to drop their name from the brand now known simply as “Dockers.”
After the commercial disappointment of Levis’ ill-fated three-piece suit concept, the jean manufacturer learned the hard way that consumers do not typically respond well to major aesthetic departures.
Keller’s theory is that company’s can expand best into new product lines with small incremental steps.
“By introducing a series of closely related but increasingly distant extensions, brands can enter product categories that would have been much more difficult, or perhaps even impossible, to enter directly,” Keller notes. Another example of this is Crayola, which was known at one time for just crayons, but which then expanded ultimately to become the leading brand for kids’ craft-based products of all types.
This kind of brand expansion takes time, Keller cautions, and companies should be wary of expecting success at the outset of any new product venture. He offers three distinct elements for brand stretch success. An expansion must be desirable from a consumer standpoint, differentiated from a competitive standpoint, and deliverable from the company standpoint.
Keller points out the fact that most new products fail, so developer are wise to focus on the ‘differentiation’ part of brand expansion.
Double Victory for MBA Teams at UCLA Energy Competition – Haas Newsroom
Teams from Berkeley Haas School of Business recently earned both first and second place in UCLA’s 6th Annual Challenges in Energy Case Competition on February 8-10, 2019.
The teams were faced with the challenge of how to monetize the state of California’s race toward electric transit, particularly in light of the 2028 Olympic Games coming to Los Angeles. The teams were allowed to be involved at any part of the product supply chain, and they were allowed to model themselves as either new or existing companies.
The LA Cleantech Incubator is collaborating with local government and business, including the electric utility SoCal Edison to surpass the city’s goal by 25 percent for use of electricity for transportation. The first place team, Team Vinculara, proposed a blockchain-based platform that would aid in distributing low carbon fuel standard credits to owners of electric vehicle fleets.
Second place Team Metromile proposed combining Metromile’s (California’s pay per-mile auto insurance program) with a cash advance to encourage use of electric vehicles, while pushing the company to become the preferred provider of auto insurance.
“All the teams worked really hard and we were honored to be chosen as finalists … When the judges announced that both first and second teams went to Haas, I felt especially proud to share the stage with my classmates,” says CiCi Saekow of Team Metromile.
For the full press release, visit Berkeley Haas’ website.
The New Pepperdine STAPLES Center Classroom, and More – Los Angeles news
Happy Friday! Let’s take a look at some of the biggest news coming out of Los Angeles this week.
Want Better Growth? Toss Out The Marketing Playbook – CGU Drucker School News
Claremont Graduate University’s Drucker School Chair in Management and the Liberal Arts, Bernie Jaworski, suggests that to compete in today’s emerging markets, traditional ‘by the book’ strategies must take a back seat.
Jaworski recently co-authored The Organic Growth Playbook: Activate High-Yield Behaviors To Achieve Extraordinary Results – Every Time with Robert Lurie. In it, they explored the stories of four companies who achieved rapid growth by eschewing standard marketing approaches.
Through their research, Lurie and Jaworski discovered that a “more holistic approach to customers’ purchasing behaviors” leads to long term revenue increases. The authors believe that the underlying consumer behavior behind the success or failure of certain products is the key to making the right decisions.
Lurie is the current Vice President of Corporate Strategy at the Eastman Chemical Company. The Organic Growth Playbook is available now from the American Marketing Association.
Graziadio Forms New Classroom in the STAPLES Center – Pepperdine Newsroom
The Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) and Pepperdine University’s Graziadio Business School are teaming up to establish a classroom in the STAPLES Center. The class will serve as a hub of programming for Graziadio’s sports and entertainment management programs.
Students in this one of a kind classroom will gain the opportunity to hear a ‘best-in-class’ speaker series hosted by AEG, which will allow them a glimpse at the operations of one of the nation’s most popular sports and entertainment venues.
Pepperdine President Andrew K. Benton says of the partnership, “As the exclusive education partner of STAPLES Center … we look forward to providing our sports and entertainment students with a premier educational experience that will uniquely prepare them to shape the future of their industries.”
The new STAPLES Center classroom from Pepperdine Graziadio features seating for up to 30 students, and it can be converted into an event space for up to 50 attendees.
You can learn more about the brand new classroom opening here.
V For Victory – USC Marshall News and Events
USC’s Marshall School of Business offers Global Leadership Program (GLP) students a chance to see a side of business school that many aren’t accustomed to—the side occupied by veterans of the U.S. armed forces.
Ninety-five freshmen in the GLP joined with thirty-two Master’s of Business for Veterans (MBV) students for military-style exercises meant to enhance physical discipline while developing their leadership, strategy, and communication skills.
Professor Emeritus Robert Turrill, Academic Director of the MBV program, says, “We wanted our vets interacting with our freshmen. We thought there was a lot of sharing to take place … They hear a lot about corporate leadership, and I wanted them to hear about military leadership and see where the overlaps are. This group of veterans knows leadership quite well, and they have a lot to give.”
GLP students are just embarking upon their educational experience, but they were able to offer the vets a glimpse into their lives which was just as valuable.
Eugenia Hang (GLP ’22), says, “I think this is really important for the students to experience and reflect on these concepts, like integrity, [and] communication … One of the takeaways I got was sacrificing personal gains for the collective benefit.”
You can read more about the recent USC Marshall event here.
UCLA Anderson Coming Out Day, Digital Transformation, and More – Los Angeles News
Celebrate your Friday with MetroMBA and get familiar with the biggest Los Angeles business school stories from the previous week.
Out@Anderson Hosts Coming Out Day Anniversary Panel – UCLA Anderson
On Thursday, October 11, 2018, the UCLA Anderson School of Management marked the 30th anniversary of National Coming Out Day with an event featuring a panel discussion by MBA students, who shared their experience of embracing their LGBTQ+ identities both on campus and beyond.
Out@Anderson hosted the event, which took the form of a Fireside Chat. The organization prides itself upon providing a forum for students, faculty, and staff to gather safely to address issues relevant to themselves and their allies.
Coming out stories served as the jumping off point of discussion among the panelists, and a wide range of topics followed. One student, Diana Perez (MBA ’20) spoke of her time on active duty in the Air Force. “Although there has been significant progress on LBTQ+ issues in recent history, [such as the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’] … there’s still work to be done in the fight for equality,” Perez says in a statement released prior to the event.
Another student, Andrew Waldman, (MBA ’20), spoke of the need for vigilance in fighting for equal rights despite the liberal environment of UCLA’s campus and the city of Los Angeles itself. Discussions of revealing one’s identity at work, engagement with allies, and the nuances of LGBTQ+ experiences rounded out the event.
Digital Transformation and the C-Suite – USC Marshall Business Class Podcast
USC Marshall School of Business Professor of Management and Organization Bob Zukis recently spoke on an episode of the school’s podcast about the need for technologists at the highest levels of business.
Noting such factors as the influence of social media upon the U.S. presidential election (and the administration itself), Zukis warned that the necessary regulations and controls of social technology have not yet caught up with the technologies to the degree that they can generate positive outcomes.
USC Marshall School of Business Professor of Management and Organization Bob Zukis / Photo via marshall.usc.edu
If companies are to engage in true digital transformation, Zukis says, C-Suite leaders must be experts in the field.
“Only 14 percent of boardroom directors have any technology training … and even if someone on the board asks the right questions, they have a very low probability of understanding the answers.”
Director Richard Drobnick of USC Marshall’s International Business Education and Research (IBEAR) MBA program conducted the interview with Professor Zukis, which is available here for download.
Graziadio 50th Anniversary Endowed Scholarship – Pepperdine
Celebrating the business school’s 50th anniversary, Pepperdine’s Graziadio Business School revealed its open pledged drive to the “Graziadio 50th Anniversary Endowed Scholarship.”
In honor of our 50th anniversary, we’ve created a special endowed scholarship to support the next generation of Best for the World Leaders. Join us in creating a better future, and make your gift of $50 or more today: https://t.co/szf1HMzItt#Graziadio50 #B4TWL pic.twitter.com/GjaIfkP8Bb
— Pepperdine Graziadio Business School (@GraziadioSchool) October 10, 2018
Click here for more information on the brand new endowment.
How Much Do Trade Wars Matter for Business Owners? – Los Angeles News
Happy Friday! And for our U.S. readers, happy (soon) Memorial Day weekend! Check up on the latest business news stories coming out of the Los Angeles metro this week.
Survey Finds Trade Wars Do Not Rattle Business Owner Confidence – SC Now
A recent report published in part by the Pepperdine Private Capital Market Project at the Pepperdine Graziado Business School finds business brokers optimistic about the M&A market in 2018, even during a time of economic uncertainty throughout the country.
Since the early May announcement that President Trump would be delaying steel and aluminium tariffs, many throughout the country have been preparing for a trade war. However, the Q1 Market Pulse Report, put out by the Pepperdine Private Capital Market Project, M&A Source, and the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA), finds a majority of advisers unconcerned about any impact the tariffs might have on business. According to the report, 86 percent of advisers actually believe business owner confidence is better than where it was a year ago.
“The industry as a whole is keeping a close eye on the tariff situation, but right now we do not see the trade wars impacting buyer confidence,” commented Mike Camerota, the Founder of Touchstone Advisers. “Many businesses are taking a ‘wait and see’ approach as current economic growth could make an increase in raw material pricing tolerable.”
Learn more about the Market Pulse report and the Graziado Business School here.
A Data-Driven Road to Better Public Health – UCLA Anderson Blogs
The Anderson School of Management at UCLA recently took a look at some of the ways their MBA students and graduates are already making big changes in the world. For Arash Nasibi (’14), his work would begin while still an MBA student in his core strategy class with professor Philip Leslie. After a recommendation to search for opportunity in “sleepy niche markets,” Nasibi joined Leslie as a research assistant in the field of restaurant inspection data. Over time, his research evolved into the creation of a nationwide standardized database on food safety inspection.
Eventually, this work would become Hazel Analytics, a data analytics companies that works with restaurants and food retailers focus better on food safety. By the end of 2018, Nasibi expects that at least 100 of the country’s largest food retail brands will be using the technology platform created by his company.
To read more about Nasibi’s work and the work of other Anderson MBA alumni, click here.
The Fastest MBA You Can Earn in Los Angeles – MetroMBA
Yesterday, we highlighted five of the fastest MBA degrees you can earn in the Los Angeles metro, of which include the aforementioned UCLA Anderson School of Management, as well as USC Marshall, which offers a IBEAR MBA program that can be completed in just 12 months.
Find out more about the fastest LA MBA’s here.
The Aetna-CVS Merger, Graziadio Name Change and More – Los Angeles News
We’ve rounded up some of the top stories from business schools in the Los Angeles metro this week.
Will the Aetna/CVS Merger Transform American Health Care? – Mihaylo News Room
Xiaoying Xie, finance professor at the Mihaylo College of Business at California State University, Fullerton, weighed in this week on the potential upcoming Aetna-CVS merger. The deal, which was approved by both companies’ shareholders in December 2017, remains to be confirmed by the federal Department of Justice.
A specialist in insurance studies, Professor Xie believes there may be potential benefits to the merger. By combining insurance companies, medical providers and pharmacy services, Xie says, benefits will be passed on to the consumers in the form of convenience and lowered costs. “It may possibly lower the overall health care costs through offering a one-stop solution for minor medical services and helping members manage their chronic diseases more cost-effectively.”
To read more about the merger and Professor Xie’s research, click here.
Fishing for Profits: UCLA Anderson Field Study Team Dives Deep into Galapagos Tuna Supply Chain – UCLA Anderson Blog
MBA students at the UCLA Anderson School of Management recently gave their final presentations as part of the school’s Applied Management Research (AMR) program. AMR is the country’s first ever business school field study program, partnering students with top organizations to solve an important strategic problem. MBA students in the AMR program complete research projects in place of a thesis, and this year that included four Anderson teams partnering with Conservation International, an organization that connects student consultants with local experts and indigenous groups.
This year’s teams were sponsored by the Center for Global Management and included collaboration with Conservation International to develop sustainable solutions and boost economies throughout centers of environmental importance throughout the world.
UCLA ’18 MBA students Daniel Osorio, Traci Kuratomi, Will Berman, and Kevin Oswald (left to right) in the Galapagos / Photo via blogs.anderson.ucla.edu
“Going to the Galapagos Islands provided a wealth of information crucial to the success of this project, which would have been impossible to gather otherwise. At the same time, we greatly enjoyed meeting people in the local community and each of us has been left with memories we will take well beyond the conclusion of this project,” the group said.
Click here to read more about the Applied Management Research and the story of the UCLA Anderson team.
Pepperdine University Announces Business School Name Change – Pepperdine Newsroom
The Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University officially changed its name to the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, effective late last March. According to dean Deryck J. van Rensburg, the change reflects the school’s future, unifying under one consistent brand while enabling the business school to maintain its connection to Pepperdine.
The renaming of the business school is just one step in a comprehensive strategic plan for the school, which has been laid out in a document called ASPIRE 2025.
“As Pepperdine continues to set standards for progress and innovation, the renaming of the Graziadio School of Business and Management is an exciting part of the momentum that will propel the University into a new era,” said Pepperdine president Andrew K. Benton.
Click here to read more about the renaming and the future of Graziadio.
The Best Long Angeles MBA Return on Investment Bets
Return on Investment (ROI) is one of the most important factors a prospective MBA can take into consideration when choosing the right business school.
Of course, the true value of each MBA program may ultimately be something impossible to measure. The kind of connections made through professional networking, the soft skills that students attain which help them navigate through both their personal and professional life—these aren’t things that can be easily quantified. But, thankfully, factors like average salary increase, rate of post-graduate employment and the overall tuition of a program are. And these numbers can help students start to better see an overall picture of what each MBA is worth.
The Best Long Angeles MBA Return on Investment
The Marshall School of Business – USC
The Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California is consistently one of the top ranked MBA programs in the state of California and even throughout the country. Specific ROI aside, these sorts of honors should also be a factor when considering the overall value of the program: for example, Marshall has been named the third best program for “Most Satisfied Business School Graduates” by Forbes and sixth on The Economist’s ranking of “Best Alumni Networks.”
Based on tuition for the 2017-18 school year, the total expense (tuition, fees and living expenses included) to pursue a full-time MBA at Marshall would be $95,881 for the first year and $82,522 for the second, for a total of $178,403.
Now take into consideration the fact that the average salary for graduates of Marshall’s full-time MBA program within three months of graduation is $115,309, and that the large majority of job offers (38 percent) for MBA students came from on-campus recruiting or job postings through the university. The second highest source of employment (21 percent) came from internships held while in the MBA program. Furthermore, a number of top organizations—such as Apple, AT&T, and Walt Disney Studios—hired the graduates of Marshall’s 2016 MBA class. All of these factors boost the overall ROI of Marshall’s program, making it one of the top valued programs in L.A.—even with the high price tag.
Anderson School of Management – UCLA
The Anderson School of Management at UCLA is another program which offers a high ROI when considering the types of opportunities and salaries available to students after graduation. While the tuition cost is certainly high—roughly $194,220 (including fees and living expenses) for the the two years of the program, the benefits to students are undeniable.
A look at the full-time employment report for the most recent MBA class finds that 92.4 percent of students were offered full-time employment within just three months of graduation, with 87.7 percent acceptances. By far (72.2 percent) , students found their employment opportunities through Anderson-facilitated resources, such as internships, on-campus recruiting, or from UCLA Anderson alumni and classmates.
The salaries for graduating Anderson students also reveals a positive trend: the average post-graduate compensation was $118,150, with 70.6 percent of students earning signing bonuses of up to $89,500. The connections sewn by Anderson internships and alumnae also reveal a significant payoff in the types of organizations hiring Anderson alum: companies like NBC Universal, IBM, Barclays, Google, and other major corporations now have Anderson MBA graduates on staff.
The Paul Merage School of Business – University of California, Irvine
The UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business is one of the top business schools in the Los Angeles metro area, as evidenced by its consistently high rankings from various publications, such as the Financial Times and U.S. News & World Report.
With the program’s recognition for its high lifetime earnings combined with the relatively low cost the degree, it’s no surprise that that the program at UC Irvine produces a high return on investment. The estimated total annual cost of an MBA at Merage ranges from $67,422—$83,967, depending on if you whether or not you are a resident of California and whether or not you will be using campus. This is compared with an average post-graduate salary of $97,808 for the 2017 graduating class. About 50 percent of all students were employed by graduation, and 81 percent held full-time jobs within three months.
Graziado School of Business and Management – Pepperdine University
One of the reasons Pepperdine’s Graziado School of Business boasts such a high return on investment is the many different formats in which students can pursue a full-time degree. With the opportunity to take the full-time MBA over the course of 12, 15, or 20 months, the Graziado MBA typically costs less overall ($74,250 for the 12-month program, $99,000 for all others) and means less time away from a full-time paycheck.
Combine this with the success rate of 82 percent of students accepting job within three months after graduation and a $120,000 starting salary (at highest), and its understandable why Graziado graduates find incredible value in their degree.
