4 MBA Trends to Look Out For In 2019
Recently, we discussed about most important numbers of the previous year. MBA application rates were declining, average salaries are on the upswing, gender equity took major steps, technology and products/services jobs are jumping, and GMAT scores continue to rise. But what does all this mean for 2019?
Are there any MBA trends to look out for in 2019 and what can you expect? Continue reading…
The Big Picture: The 5 Most Important MBA Numbers of 2018
Each year there’s a ton of new information that comes out about MBA programs. From new rankings to the latest GMAC news, there are a thousand little tidbits that can overwhelm applicants, students, and alumni. We’ve collected the most important MBA numbers of 2018.
To pare down the news into the information you need to know, we’ve taken a look at the big picture of the MBA for 2018 and outlined the five most important pieces of data you need to know. We’re talking about everything from the decline and U.S. MBA applications to the increase in female enrollment, the higher salaries and GMAT scores, as well as the increase in interest in technology. Continue reading…
Amazon HQ2 Reportedly Moving To Virginia, NYC
Nearly a year after the initial announcement of a new headquarters, Amazon has decided where it’s next move is. Well, sort of. According to new reports, the newest Amazon site will actually be split and perhaps not be a headquarters at all.
Even Business Schools Are Talking About Gritty
By now, you know Gritty. You may even love Gritty. It may not be yet understood, but Gritty is accepted. He is one, and all, and nothing at once. A true enigma of our times.
Gritty, of course, the brand new mascot of the Philadelphia Flyers, the city’s NHL affiliate team. In a city that already boasts the Phillie Phanatic, perhaps the most famous mascot in all North American professional sports, introducing a new one may seem a little perplexing. Especially when one considers the fact that the Flyers had not used a mascot since the mid 1970s. Oh, also, people think he’s some kind of existential nightmare monster.
Since debuting in late September, Gritty has caught a huge public wave, perhaps because it seems so unsettling. The mascot has already been riffed on the late night comedy circuit, including on a recent episode of Conan, which debuted the “man” behind the mask.
So, the question remains, why has the new mascot seem to have taken off so well? Drexel University LeBow College of Business Associate Clinical Professor of Sport Management Lawrence Cohen, talking with the Drexel news blog, says, “Everyone knows who Gritty is. Gritty was all over social media, local and national news, and was even on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The Flyers got millions of dollars worth of publicity for free.”
“All of the publicity has been great for the Flyers,” Cohen says. “Gritty has more than 119,000 Twitter followers—that’s more than any other mascot in the NHL. The Flyers got publicity during a month in which the team usually receives no attention due to either a Phillies playoff run or the start of the Eagles season.”
The root of it all, according to Cohen, are these four pillars:
• “Be a reflection of the franchise.”
• “Serve as an ambassador for the franchise.”
• “Provide entertainment beyond the game action.”
• “Be recognizable.”
Gritty, in an incredibly short span of time, managed to capture all of that and then some. The perplexing new figure has even caught the attention of political movements, which drew some ire from the likes of the Wall Street Journal. Because why not?
You can check out the rest of Cohen’s recent interview with Drexel here.
Yankees Draft Stevens Finance Student, and More – New York News
Let’s explore some of the most interesting stories that have emerged from New York business schools this week.
From Ducks to a Dynasty: Yankees Draft Stevens Ace, a Star on Field and in Business Classes – Stevens Institute of Technology News
For the first time in nearly half a century, a student from the Stevens Institute of Technology was selected in the MLB Draft.
Charlie Ruegger, a junior in the school’s Quantitative Finance program, was drafted by the New York Yankees in the latter rounds of the 2018 draft, going in the 33rd round, 997th overall. In the midst of a demanding QF course load, Ruegger managed to earn Pitcher of the Year honors in the Empire 8 Conference with an 8-2 record. Stevens Ducks coach Kristaps Aldins prepared Ruegger “for the professional scouts who traveled to Dobbleaar Field to watch the Ducks and their star pitcher in action.”
Ruegger notes, “I learned to not overthink or try to do something I wouldn’t ordinarily do just because scouts are watching. You have to stay within yourself and keep your focus.”
While Ruegger’s focus turns to the Yankees, he is still very much interested in pursuing a QF career down the line.
“The professional minor-league life can be long and taxing. It’s important to me that, when the time is right, I can walk away from playing baseball and be able to move right into the business world.”
You can read the full article here.
Putting a Business Idea to the Test – Rutgers Business School Blog
The Rutgers Business School‘s Sulis team, whose innovative solar-powered water purification system recently swept the Hult Prize regional competition, is now crowdfunding to “pilot the business in India this summer.”
Team member Anurag Modak was the catalyst for the idea, which he hoped would “address the global issue of water scarcity through technology.”
The article notes that the Sulis team hopes to “market the technology to parts of the world plagued by inadequate water supplies or lacking adequate water purification.”
You can read the full article here and learn more about Sulis and the team’s crowdfunding campaign here.
Professor Anindya Ghose Comments on Facebook’s Effectiveness as a Crowdfunding Platform – NYU Stern News
The Wall Street Journal recently interviewed NYU Stern Professor of Marketing and IOMS Anindya Ghose about value of Facebook as a platform to get the word out about crowdfunding initiatives.
“An average Facebook user logs in multiple times a day… and if [the campaign] is right up in your face every time you log in, the probability you see it is high. So, I give a lot of credit to a platform like Facebook for amplifying content like this.'”
You can read the full Wall Street Journal article here (paywall).
LA Small Business Growth, UCLA Time Management Advice, and More
Take a look at some of the top stories coming out of the Los Angeles business schools this week.
The Growing Role of the CIO – Wall Street Journal
Vijay Gurbaxani, professor of business and computer science at the the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine, recently sat down with Ben Fried, CIO at Google Inc., and the Wall Street Journal for a conversation on the changing role of the CIO in today’s companies. The conversation was led by Nikki Waller, WSJ bureau chief.
Gurbaxani discussed changing technology and its impact on business, particularly the importance of cultivating talent in machine learning. For companies to stay current and competitive, he says, they must perfect the art of gathering data and putting it to good use.
“If you fall behind your competitors in developing this new know-how and leveraging, you’re going to fall further and further behind,” Gurbaxani said. “So my message to you would be get out there in a hurry.”
To read more excerpts from the interview, click here.
Study: L.A.’s Small Businesses Optimistic About Growth – Los Angeles Business Journal
A recent survey, conducted by 1st Century Bank in a partnership with Beacon Economics, has showed positive signs for LA small business growth, which is projected to continue through the end of the summer.
The study, which surveyed 150 small businesses in 30 core industries, reported a number of findings that offer hope and a positive outlook for small business owners in Los Angeles. About 78 percent of businesses reported that they expected to see an increase in market demand, while 54 percent witnessed an increase in profit margins over the past six months. Nearly 56 percent of the businesses reported a boost in sales during that same period, and over 70 percent expected to see further increase during the next six months.
More than 70 percent of small business owners in LA are expecting even more growth within the next six month.
According to Beacon Economics research director Adam Fowler, small businesses are a crucial part of the Los Angeles economy and throughout the nation.
“If we don’t understand small-business sentiment,” he comments, “we can’t know the direction this important sector will be heading in … nor can we improve conditions for their success.”
Click here to learn more about the LA small business growth research and look at the complete report here.
Time Management for Startups: Entrepreneurs Act as if Future Hours Aren’t Worth Much – UCLA Anderson Review
While larger companies have become increasingly aware about the importance of time management in a hyper efficient work environment, the same may not be true for entrepreneurs. Upstarts in the business world are as notorious for breaking certain conventions as they are for cutting their teeth, putting in triple-digit hour work weeks to build companies from scratch. And the reason being, says UCLA Anderson‘s Charles J. Corbett, is that there isn’t enough research quite yet.
“I realized there wasn’t much out there,” Corbett said in a UCLA Anderson Review interview. “A lot of the issues that entrepreneurs face don’t come up in our core management studies.”
Alongside fellow UCLA Anderson and INSEAD professor Guillaume Roels, and University College London’s Onesun Steve Yoo, Corbett found that entrepreneurs have to think of time management in the terms of their future, rather than today. And the trick is to understand “net present value (NPV).”
“But, according to Corbett, Roels and Yoo, people, including entrepreneurs, aren’t very good at thinking about their time in the same way. When people think about the value of their time, they tend to think about its current value, today, and not the future ramifications of having that time today. Correctly anticipating those dynamics, ‘NPV thinking’ is particularly important for entrepreneurs with the ambition to grow their business.”
You can read more from the trio’s time management research here.
