Toronto or Montreal: Which City Should I Choose?
There are a multitude of reasons to consider Canada as a destination for your business degree. To name just a few—there’s the low exchange rate from the U.S. to the Canadian dollar; the relative ease of obtaining an educational or professional visa; and the overall openness of the country to international students and employees. Also, many regions in Canada are rife with opportunity for startups and small businesses in addition to already established firms in the finance, tech, engineering, and healthcare sector.
Continue reading…New Yorker Cites Rotman Professor in Nobel Story – Toronto News
This week, representatives from Canada’s best business schools have utilized their skills and knowledge to make valuable contributions to the greater community. We’ve laid out the highlights below.
The Nobel Committee Honors The Economics of Market Failure – The New Yorker
A recent New Yorker article about the 2018 Nobel Prize in economics winners cites the blog of University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management Professor Joshua Gans. Though the Nobel winners, Bill Nordhaus and Paul Romer, have not collaborated with one another, both have independently highlighted possible flaws and oversights of market economies. The article utilized Gans’s insight that the work of both winners provided a framework for economists to analyze and account for market failures.
According to thearticle, “In an idealized competitive market, prices equate the costs of producing goods with the benefits derived by consumers, and this equalizing mechanism insures that markets allocate resources and goods more efficiently than government diktat or other methods.”
Nordhaus’s research on fossil fuels and Romer’s research on goods that demonstrate advances in human knowledge suggest gaps in this narrative. Nordhaus’s work addressed that the cost of fossil fuels does not account for the damage incurred by their use, and consequent cost for future generations. This negative cost, importantly, is not accounted for in market transactions. Romer’s work explored positive spillover that is not accounted for in market transactions, such as advances in technology.
On news of Romer and Nordhaus’ awards, the Nobel Committee says:
“Both Romer and Nordhaus emphasize that the market economy, while a powerful engine of human development, has important imperfections and their contributions have thus offered insights into how government policy could potentially enhance our long-run welfare.”
You can read more about the Nobel Prize winners here.
Ryerson University Names Janice Fukakusa As Its New Chancellor – Newswire
Ryerson University has announced that Janice Fukakusa will take over as its Chancellor. Fukakusa, who received her MBA from York University’s Schulich School of Business, held senior roles at Royal Bank of Canada, including Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer. She is currently on the board of not-for-profits like General Growth Properties, The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, and Cineplex. Until recently, Fukakusa was Chair of the Board of Governors for Ryerson. Fukakusa will be Ryerson’s first female Chancellor.
In her 31-year career, Fukakusa has received a variety of accolades celebrating her achievements. American Banker named her one of “The 25 Most Powerful Women In Banking” in 2016. She was also inducted into Canada’s Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame.
On news of her new role, Fukakusa says;
“I am honoured to be Ryerson’s new Chancellor, and look forward to driving the positive educational and societal changes for which the university has become known. We are leading the charge on so many important issues, and I am eager to work with students, faculty and staff in this new capacity to further advance the impressive progress that has been made to date.”
You can find out more about Fukakusa and her new role here.
Competition for Great Talent Has Become ‘Intense’ Axonify CEO Says – The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail profiled Carol Leaman, Chief Executive Officer of Axonify Inc. to highlight struggles facing tech employers. Leaman, whose company provides training modules for employees of corporations like Walmart and Bloomingdales, expressed that it has been increasingly difficult to woo qualified tech candidates. Amazon, Uber, and other global companies have been infiltrating the Ontario market, employing massive numbers of developers and IT personnel. Moreover, companies like Terminal have been helping U.S. firms hire Canadian developers.
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Carol Leaman, president and CEO of Axonify / Photo via The Globe and Mail
According to Wilfrid Laurier University Professor of Organizational Human Behavior, Chet Robie, Leaman needs to offer stellar benefits and compensation in order to thrive.
“I would start working on making their compensation more competitive—and by doing that you don’t always have to increase base salary,” Robie says, alluding to benefits like work flexibility and upward mobility.
“What really resonates with this group of people doesn’t have to break the bank.”
Read more about competition in Canada’s tech market here.
McMaster DeGroote Offers New Minor, and More – Toronto News
This week, Canadian business school have done their share to nurture innovative thinking in students and the broader community. We’ve laid out some of the high points below.
The Startup That Makes Globetrotting More Affordable– Communitech News
Rob Evans, graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, is CEO and founder of Backpacker College, a startup that connects travelers with affordable places to stay (generally in university housing). Backpacker College allows universities to sell their unused beds during the summer, when students are on break. Through the app or website, travelers can access dorms at upwards of 115 universities, Laurier included. Speaking with Communitech News, Evans says:
“Now you don’t have to spend half an hour online judging how creepy your host might be, or what the best deal is on Google. We’ve already curated a set of great options that are affordable, we’ve ruled out the high-end and the low-end stuff and provided that mid-market that’s safe and affordable for families, sports teams, young travelers, retirees, as well as small groups and student accommodation.”
You can read more about the startup here.
New Minor In Innovation Gives Students A Head Start on Becoming Successful Entrepreneurs – DeGroote News
This fall, McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business and Faculty of Engineering will partner with McMaster’s startup incubator, The Forge, to offer a minor in innovation to students interested in becoming entrepreneurs. The minor is meant to teach students to turn their own ideas into businesses, as well as how to think creatively within an organization.
On news of the new minor, Sue McCracken, Associate Dean at DeGroote School of Business, says, “The future of work is changing, and many of our students will be starting their own businesses within their own innovative ideas. We need to give these students the entrepreneurial skills and knowledge to take the right steps and risks to develop their ideas and build successful businesses.”
The DeGroote minor is open to all McMaster students. Beginning in September, students will be able to take The World of Entrepreneurship, which consists of case studies and prominent guest lecturers, and Lean Startup, which will teach skills like establishing a business model and testing business ideas with customers and stakeholders. Additional courses such as Founders Startup and From Founder to CEO will become available over the next three years.
You can find out more about the new DeGroote minor here.
Lessons in Leadership from MBA Leadership Day – News@Ivey
In late July, the 2018 MBA Leadership Day was held at Western University Canada’s Ivey Business School. The day kicked off with a “Learning to Become Better Leaders” panel, featuring three Ivey alumni. The day concluded with a speech from Deepak Chopra, former President and CEO of Canada Post.
(Left to right) Pat Horgan, Barbara Stymiest, and Jon Hantho, attending this year’s MBA Leadership Day at the Ivey Business School / Photo via ivey.uwo.ca
The panelists offered important insights for the budding MBA’s. The panelists talked about the value of building a solid team, taking breaks, being humble, creating a strategy, and maintaining a big-picture perspective.
You can learn more about the key advice given to those in attendance at the MBA Leadership Day here.
Seamless Shopping, Work Authenticity, and More – Toronto News
Professors at Toronto’s premier business schools have been making headlines this week. Let’s see what they’ve been up to.
Phasing Out the Checkout Line: Retailers Race to Make Shopping More Seamless – CBC News
Walmart’s scan-and-go shopping option, which allowed customers to scan items themselves and pay for them with a phone app, has been removed from U.S. stores. Retail expert and professor at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management Steve Tissenbaum posited that scan-and-go was not actually more convenient for consumers, but felt it was important for businesses like Walmart to continue to innovate seamless shopping.
“They [customers] want it to be as quick and as seamless as possible when they’re ordering stuff online. Retailers certainly have to move forward. Otherwise they’ll be left behind,” Tissenbaum said in a recent CBC News piece.
The retail giant seems to agree with Tissenbaum’s view, and has launched the “check out with me” project, which will allow employees to use mobile devices to scan and charge customers for their items anywhere in the store.
You can read more about Walmart’s new project here.
How to Keep it Real at Work – Forbes
An HBR article from Wilfrid Laurier University social psychologist Vanessa Boute was recently featured in Forbes, highlighting whether employees feel authentic at work, and how this impacts their performance. Boute writes:
“One study found that the greater employees’ feelings of authenticity are, the greater their job satisfaction, engagement, and self-reported performance. We suggest, then, that the crucial point is finding a balance so that we can be true to ourselves while flourishing and finding success within the company.”
The Forbes article utilizes Boute’s findings while examining the balance between being genuine and making calculated, political moves in the workplace, and offers suggestions for leaders in the workplace to increase their authenticity. The advice included increasing transparency, truly listening to employees, being open about one’s own flaws and mistakes, and maintaining professional boundaries.
Read more about being authentic while advancing professionally here.
Choosing a Strategy for Your Startup – Harvard Business Review
The Harvard Business Review also recently interviewed Joshua Gans, professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, on its HBR IdeaCast. The Gans interview delved into the philosophy behind the HBR article Gans recently co-authored, “Do Entrepreneurs Need a Strategy?” Gans promoted researching strategic options before launching a startup, and choosing the strategy that best aligns with the company’s long-term goals. For example, entrepreneurs must decide whether their business will be collaborating or competing with existing businesses in the same market. Collaboration may allow a newer company to take advantage of the resources of more established businesses in the same market without being viewed as a threat, but competition leads to more autonomy for the fledgling company. The interview explored the merits and drawbacks of several entrepreneurial strategies. Gans says:
“One of the things we want to emphasize is that choice is choice. So, what we say is basically when you’ve done this process and you’ve got one or two, you know, got two or more options sitting there before you, you then go with your gut essentially, or you come up with a rationale saying why you are the right person; you feel better with one path and another.”
You can listen to the full interview with Gans here.
What Toronto MBA Can You Earn in the Least Amount of Time?
It’s easy to see why earning an MBA could be a huge boost to your career—but if the thought of putting those things on hold for two years while pursuing your degree is a source of great anxiety, you are not alone. Many who might otherwise have the ambition and skills to thrive in an MBA program may simply not have the option of putting their life on hold for two years and enrolling in school full-time. This can mean that many talented and driven individuals won’t have access to the kind of opportunities for advancement and growth that an MBA provides.
Not every MBA program requires two years of full-time work. But part-time and weekend programs can often have the opposite problem for individuals eager to earn their degree and reap its benefits. While such programs allow students to continue working full time while earning their degree, they can often take up to three years or more to complete.
For individuals driven to earn their degree quickly, there are a number of programs that allow students to earn an MBA in under one year, reducing the amount of time without an income and moving allowing for a quick path to the salary increase and advancement opportunities an advanced degree is likely to offer.
In Toronto, many top business schools offer accelerated or abridged versions of their MBA programs that can be completed in as little as eight months.
The Fastest Toronto MBA Programs
Ivey Business School – Western University Canada
The Accelerated MBA at the Ivey Business School is available for students who have recently graduated from Ivey’s HBA program, allowing students to earn their degree in just eight months—without needing to take the GMAT exam. This makes it not only among the fastest Toronto MBA programs you can find, but also among the most unique.
The program takes place over the course of eight months, building on the base of knowledge earned during the HBA program. The courses are designed to refresh students on business fundamentals, while also providing career-centered electives in fields like marketing, finance, entrepreneurship, and more. The program also allows students to pursue study abroad through an optional trip to China, South East Asia, or South America.
The benefits of Ivey’s Accelerated MBA are evident for graduates: 97 percent of students earned an offer of employment by within three months of graduating, reporting an average post-graduate salary of $107,116. About 65 percent of employment offers were also facilitated by the university, demonstrating the indelible benefits of the connections made while in school.
DeGroote School of Business – McMaster University
The DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University also offers an Accelerated MBA for students graduating from a Canadian university with their undergraduate degree in business. Attending full-time, the program can be completed in as few as eight months, making it one of the most time-efficient MBAs available to students in Canada.
By exempting students from the required first year MBA courses, students can earn their degree quickly while also cutting their overall tuition expenses in half and accelerating their path to employment. The program is designed for students who have earned their undergraduate business degree in the last ten years, and have at least one year of professional experience. Students may start the program in either September or January.
Wilfrid Laurier University – Lazaridis School of Business & Economics (Toronto Campus)
The One-Year MBA at Wilfrid Laurier’s Lazaridis School of Business & Economics is a unique program that immerses students fully in an integrated model of business education, asking students to constantly make use of the knowledge gained during the program through team projects, case study analysis, and as consultants for a real business. The degree is designed for graduates from any four-year university with at least two years of professional work experience.
Wilfrid Laurier University also offers one of the fastest MBAs you can earn in Canada, with the One Year Lazaridis School of Business & Economics MBA.
The Lazaridis MBA can be completed in just twelve months, offering one of the best return on investments of any Canadian MBA program. Located in Waterloo, a center of technology and finance within Canada, the One-Year MBA also allows students to choose from over 10 different MBA concentrations, such as entrepreneurship, strategic management, supply chain management, and organizational behavior.
Schulich School of Business – York University
The Schulich School of Business‘ Accelerated MBA allows students to bypass many of the Year 1 MBA requirements, cutting the time it takes to complete the degree by half. The program can be pursued either on a full-time or part-time basis, and can be completed within just eight months with the full-time option. The program is reserved for students who have earned a BBA or BCom degree in Canada within the past ten years. With 89 percent of all Schulich MBA students earning a job offer within three months of graduation from their respective programs, the Accelerated MBA gives students the chance to join the workforce much sooner and quickly reap the benefits of their education.
Rotman School of Management – University of Toronto
For prospective MBAs with several years of professional or managerial experience, another way to quickly earn an MBA is by pursuing an Executive MBA, designed specifically for senior managers and executives. Executive MBA programs, such as the One-Year EMBA at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, can typically be earned in 13 months or less and are designed to accommodate the schedule of a busy professional. While executive programs typically cost more than other MBA variations, the Rotman One-Year MBA stands out as the fastest EMBA you can earn in the Toronto metro.
Kings of the North: Should You Get a Part-Time MBA in Chicago or Toronto?
In many ways, Chicago and Toronto are very similar world class cities: Both are situated on a Great Lake, host an “Original Six” hockey team, and both metros suffer from “second city” inferiority complexes. Both metros also have plenty of competitive business school options for professionals who want to earn an MBA. Continue reading…
