Top MBA Recruiters: IDEO
If you’re interested in international design and consulting, IDEO (pronounced eye-dee-oh) should be on your radar. Launched in Palo Alto, CA in 1991, the company is known for using design-thinking methodology to design its products, services, environments, and digital experiences. They’re involved in a wide range of consumer products (toothbrushes, computers, personal assistants, etc.) experiences (non-traditional classrooms), as well as management consulting and organizational design.
Known for designing the first manufactured mouse for Apple, IDEO leads the way for human-centered design. As their website says, “IDEO has long been at the forefront of creating change through design.” Continue reading…
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.”
What Are The Right San Francisco Executive MBA Programs For You?
There’s many a path up the corporate ladder, but one of the most efficient ways to climb from middle-rung purgatory to a cushy C-Suite position is by earning an Executive MBA degree.
Berkeley Book Discusses Leadership And Strong Personalities
“Who you are shapes how you build.” It’s the informative, overarching message from a pair of Berkeley Haas School of Business fellows in their new book Built For Growth, which explores how the personalities of successful entrepreneurs inform their empires.
Which Graduate Business School Students Have The Highest GMAT Scores?
Along with required work experience and undergraduate prerequisites, prospective MBA students also look at the average scores on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) for a certain school they are interested in applying to.
According the Graduate Management Admission Council, the exam is used as part of the admissions process for more than 6,100 graduate programs around the world. A GMAC study found that 261,248 GMAT exams were taken by prospective MBA students during the 2016 test year. The report also shows that less than 30 percent of scores were 650 or higher. The GMAT has a maximum score of 800. Continue reading…
Top Finance MBAs in San Francisco
When it comes to business, San Francisco is probably one of the first cities that comes to mind when one thinks of entrepreneurship or information technology. Nonetheless, students looking to pursue an advanced degree in business below the Golden Gate Bridge have a number of paths to choose.
Every startup needs someone who can crunch the numbers, and that’s why MBAs with a finance background can find endless opportunities out west. If you’re looking to pursue a Finance MBA in San Francisco, we’ve rounded up some of the best programs to get your finance career underway.
Edward S. Ageno School of Business – Golden Gate University
The Edward S. Ageno School of Business at Golden Gate University gives students the opportunity to earn an MBA with a concentration in finance. This analytical graduate concentration helps MBAs to prepare themselves for a wide range of careers- from consulting to corporate management and more. Through the study of finance, these MBA students will gain the skills necessary to maintain the financial well-being of their organization in a competitive global market. The unique approach to a finance education at GGU involves a combination of theoretical study with hands-on experience, utilizing the university’s real-life case studies and state-of-the-art computer labs to give each student a strong business foundation.
MBAs concentrating in finance will still have the opportunity to advance their general business and leadership skills through other aspects of the MBA program, including interaction with a highly experienced faculty made up of business professionals. Since the establishment of the MBA program, GGU has been a leader in providing flexible education opportunities for students to earn their degree at their own pace.
Haas School of Business – UC Berkeley
The finance group at Berkeley-Haas aims to be at the center of the business world within entrepreneurship, finance and technology. Through strong investment banking roots, the program focuses on a range of fields, from healthcare/biotech to seed investing and innovation financing. The finance curriculum at Haas includes three main streams: Corporate Finance, Asset Management and Entrepreneurial Finance. MBA students also have the option of taking additional quantitative courses from the university’s Master of Financial Engineering Program.
Students earning an MBA in finance at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business have the chance to join an extensive network of Haas alumni in financial centers around the country. With the support of alumni and the state-of-the art finance education at Haas, students have moved on to full-time jobs at companies like Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.
UC Davis Graduate School of Management
The MBA program at UC Davis allows students to create a customized educational experience ta a top ranked school. The full-time MBA, which has placed as a top 50 MBA program by U.S. News & World Report for 21 consecutive years, focuses on experiential learning, technical skills and leadership training. The Davis MBA environment is based on collaboration and developing relationships with both fellow students as well as a world-class faculty.
UC Davis offers a number of self-guided concentrations including Finance/Accounting, the “study of how financial assets are created, traded and valued.” The finance concentration at Davis allows students to focus on either corporate finance or investment management. Finance MBAs at Davis have pursued career paths in a wide variety of fields, including insurance, investment banking, security analysis and portfolio management.
University of San Francisco School of Management
The full-time MBA at USF is an immersive 22-month program, focused on delivering world-class content from an experienced faculty. With small classes of just 20-30 students and a diverse student body from around the world, the MBA at USF focuses on each student’s career goals and the best way to achieve them.
Students in the full-time and part-time MBA programs at USF can choose to focus on either a Corporate Finance or Financial Services path. Each elective within this program serves to guide and promote success in the student’s chosen course.
