OwenBloggers: Isaac - MBA '08

Standard Deviations

So i'm going to start a new series of semi-weekly posts titled "Standard Deviations".  It'll be bits-and-bites of information--- likely incoherent, but it's my ill-concieved  attempt to force myself to get my head out of my books and blog more. 

• This weekend was almost a complete bust.  Spent Saturday writing one paper, Sunday another.  With finals coming up and a 5-course class load, i'm trying to clear my plate for this week so i've got ample time to cry myself to sleep over my upcoming Derivatives final. 
• Weekend wasnt a complete bust--- i take that back. Had a lovely dinner with four old friends and one new one.  Fantastic little Italian restaurant named Cafe Nonna.  Highly recommended.  Great wine good food, better people.  After dinner we somehow were talked into going to one of these commercial haunted houses.  The actual haunted house was nowhere near as scary as the customer base.  Standing in line to get in was 100 times more frightful than the freakshow inside.
• Here's a little advice--- dont ask me what i think about the economy.  It seems that since i'm in my second year of an MBA, everybody thinks i can look into some crystal ball and predict where the economy's heading in the next year.  The fact is that even with an MBA, i'm only better at talking through and understanding the complexities of the free market--- the powers of prediction is not a course offered at Owen.  I have a more informed opinion--- but that's it.  Remember, even people who call themselves "economists" really dont have a clue.  If you look the academic economist's track record, they have successfully predicted 15 of the last three recessions.  Simply put--- nobody has an answer, but there are indicators. 
• But like everything in economics, the answer "it depends" even applies to seemingly clear-cut signals.  Take for example the fact the Canadian dollar (the loonie... i get a kick out of that).  is now somewhere at/above the level of the USD.  I bet in the last two weeks i've heard fifty people tell me what a bad thing this is for the economy.  Really?  Are you sure?  If i'm an exporter of US goods, this is great news.  Canada, our largest trading partner, now views US made goods as slightly "cheaper".  So... is that a bad thing?  The point is there's no right answer.  It's kind of like predicting the weather... storm systems are made up of an infinite collection of temperatures and pressures.  If I look at the barometric pressure and it's falling--- does that mean it's going to rain or shine?  It doesnt, but taken into account along with all the other "inputs" into the system, you can make a pretty good guess.  Same thing in economics, except there are many more variables and you can't measure many of them directly...
• A very good friend of mine sent me this link.  It's a somewhat morose topic--- the last lecture of a CMU professor diagnosed with terminal cancer.  However, it's a fantastic presentation and i urge everyone to take the time to watch it.  It really helps you take a step back and check your bearings--- we all need to do that from time to time.

The best blog idea that didn't make it...

It's hard for me to say what the best un-written blog entry has been for me... there have been a lot.  I tend to sit down and write entries as a cathartic exercise when I'm stressed out or upset about something; typically that occurs about 3 times a day. It's not that I'm a nutjob or drama queen, I'm just a passionate person.  I see something wrong, something unfair, something inconsistent, and i want to change it.  I wont be the guy who just says "that's how it is".  If it's something i care about, I'll do my damnedest to make it better; if i cant do that, at least I'll let others know how i feel.  I don't like to sit back quietly.

Here are two topics i recently started to write, only to decide against actually publishing them to the site. 

1.  The recent jump in rankings Owen experienced makes me nervous.  Whenever there is a huge movement in any kind of poll like that it makes me think one of two things: one, the ranking system is flawed, or two, there have been radical changes at Owen that garnered a better score from the powers that be.  If it's the latter, that's where i get most scared; what could it be that we've done so much better?  What is it that we are doing right today we weren't doing right last year?  Do we know what it is that we've done?  If we don't know what brought on the jump in the polls, how do we keep pushing those programs... or, do we even want to promote certain aspects of the school just to bump the rankings a few slots? The last thing i would want is for the school to suddenly start working the polls rather than focusing on producing more educated and capable MBA's. When i was choosing a school, it was obvious some schools spent 95%  of their energies positioning for the annual school rankings; Owen seemed to spend 95% of its energy on the STUDENTS.  That was a big selling point for me; i hope that doesn't change.

2. Grades or no grades?  There seems to be a debate on campus around the idea of moving from the current 4.0 grade scale to the common B-school grading system of pass/no pass.  I've been giving this a lot of thought and here's what i've come up with.  We should keep the 4.0 grade scale; how else do you know how well you learned the material?  If i get a "Pass" does that mean i know the material better than most?  If i'm an operations concentrator and i get a "Pass" in core ops, does that mean i'm pretty good at ops, or that i'm average, or below average?  If i work my butt off and get a "Pass" and someone else just skims through and gets a "Pass", what does that do for anyone?  What's the sense of accomplishment from a "Pass". 

Business is about quantifying things; at times, it's about quantifying the seemingly unquantifiable.   As MBA's, we're taught all kinds of ways to value money you don't have yet, how to generate cash from cash from cash, how to value a company that hasn't even started making its widgets yet... It seems sacrilegious to then turn around and tell students we're not going to quantify your performance. 

To be honest, the strongest supporters i've heard of for the "pass/no-pass" system are professors; i'm sure grading would be a lot easier... but hey, that's got nothing to do with it, right?

This kind of stuff makes me worry about our educational system...

The below article is is from Wired.com:

University of Michigan Identifying Students to RIAA, According to Email

Today, I received an email apparently sent by Paul Howell, Chief Information Technology Security Officer of the University of Michigan, to all of the university's faculty and staff.  In the email, Howell writes that the university is in the process of identifying to the RIAA the [at least] twelve students belonging to the IP addresses on the RIAA's hit list, in cooperation with the organization's new anti-file-sharing initiative.  The email also said that the university will notify the students that their names are being turned over to the RIAA.

Although Howell had already left the office by the time I called, University of Michigan staff confirmed that a letter regarding file sharing was sent to students; I hope to speak with Howell tomorrow for more detail.

Here is the full text of the email:

--------------------------
On Friday, March 9, and Saturday, March 10, the University of Michigan received notification that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) intends to sue or receive settlement from more than a dozen members of the U-M community engaged in unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing of music over the Internet. The RIAA has designated these individuals through IP addresses, and the University is in the process of identifying and notifying them.

This action is part of an increased effort to curtail unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing. As a result, individuals who engage in this practice are more likely than ever to be identified and sued by the RIAA. Most have settled these lawsuits out-of-court, typically for $4,000-$4,500.

The University does not condone unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing. Individuals who engage in it are violating a variety of University policies including Standard Practice Guide 601.7 - Proper Use of Information Resources, Information Technology, and Networks at U-M. This reminder also has been sent to all faculty and students.

Faculty, staff, or students who have installed peer-to-peer file sharing programs on their computers and are concerned that they might be unwittingly sharing files illegally should visit the University of Chicago's useful web page that describes how to disable file sharing on a variety of programs (http://security.uchicago.edu/guidelines/peer-to-peer/).

U-M maintains a web page (http://www.copyright.umich.edu) that describes the University's position on illegal sharing of copyrighted materials and also includes a growing list of FAQs.  All members of the University community are encouraged to study the materials on this page.

Lawful downloading of music is possible through sites such as Apple iTunes, MSN Music, Rhapsody, Ruckus, etc. Details about a number of these sites are available at:
http://mp3.about.com/od/wheretobuymusic/a/all_profile.htm and http://mp3.about.com/od/freemusicdownloads/tp/freeandlegalmp3.htm.

Paul Howell
Chief Information Technology Security Officer
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, help me out here; I want to understand this better.  I don't really have a stance on the RIAA/filesharing debate; I see both sides of the coin.  But in this case, what in the world is UM thinking?  Read the email very carefully--- the RIAA "intends to sue" these students... they haven't actually even brought a case against them.  UM is hunting down and identifying the students and turning them over to the RIAA--- so they're the police now?  

If I have a problem with an Owen student because they keep posting derogatory comments on OwenBloggers, and I decide I might sue them, I can just ask IT for their identity?  If I write something here on OwenBloggers (a non-Owen site) that someone believes is defamatory to them, and they "think" they might sue me, they can ask Owen to identify the PC that accessed OwenBloggers to post that entry? 

It's disheartening to see an educational institution such as UM forget that in this country we have a legal system; if the RIAA wants to know the identities of these students, we have courts and we have subpoenas.  Where will it end?  If I think a classmate that doesn't care for me is writing emails to my prospective employers telling them what a jerk I am and not to hire me, can I waltz into the IT department and demand this person's identity because I *might* sue them?  How about if someone quotes my work on OwenBloggers on another website and doesn't give me credit for it?  Can I ring up their hosting service and demand their name and address? 

Where does it end?  You used to be able to count on your educational institutions to at least err on the side of caution... Now, it looks like they work for the recording industry.

Yet another reason I love my Mac

So i decided i wanted to catch up on some of my housecleaning duties today; found some old DV home movies of past Christmases and vacations and the like. Huh... wonder if those trite apple ads about "just make a movie, it's so easy" are really accurate.

I dont have a powerhouse Mac.  I've got an iMac, a nice one, but still not a video-editing behemoth Mac with 16 gigs of RAM or anything, just an off-the shelf model with no video editing software besides what came with it (iMovie).

So i plugged in my 6 year old Sony handycam which oddly had a firewire port back then.  iMovie pops up, asks me what i want to call my project.  In less than 15 seconds i'm editing tape and inserting titles for chapters without even having to THINK.  i think that's what's great about macs... you dont have to say "where would i find this"... it all just kind of works.

So i'm importing an huge movie file and i noticed how unbelievably fast it was converting the movie... really fast.  So i decided to run a little test.  Let's see what my dinky little off-the-shelf iMac can do. 

As i type this, i'm making a backup of my important files to an external drive (100 gigs), posting a blog entry, converting a video, playing iTunes, and just for fun, creating a powerpoint, browsing the web, and watching a quicktime movie.  It's just as responsive right now as it is sitting idle--- which means it's about 100 times more responsive than any PC under any circumstances.  a little tool i have called iStat is telling me my iMac is kinda busy, but not really--- 73% of resources are free and i honestly just cant think what other applications to open to test it further.

I love... LOVE my mac. 

What does this have to do with a blog about B-school?  yeah, not too much... but maybe i can convince some of the incoming students they dont have to settle for the dark and uninspiring world of the PC--- take that money you'd spend on a thinkpad and buy yourself a Mac.  i promise you it'll be the best purchase you'll make.

Owen wins (another) case competition

Owen's been in the news a lot lately; i like it when we whip up on other schools, especially in areas that aren't considered our "specialties". It seems like every case competition we go to we either place 1st or 2nd, and as you can tell by the picture, we look good doing it too.

---

Congratulations to Kristin Arterburn, Michael Augustine, Mark Becher, and Denver Glazier for their second place finish last Friday at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Real Estate Development Case Competition.  This is the premier MBA real estate development case competition and it draws students from many of the top real estate programs in the country.  In the span of two days teams were tasked with creating a full development plan, including a financial analysis, project design, and a project timeline.  The competition included 15 top business schools with Owen, NYU, Emory, and Wharton competing head to head in the final round.  The Owen team gave a dominating performance but were narrowly edged out by NYU.  Other competing schools included: Chicago, Columbia, Tuck, Georgia, Ross, Kellogg, Rice, McCombs, UCLA, Kenan-Flagler, and Darden.

A break from studying

Somehow I bought the lies that MOD III is a cinch compared to MOD I and II.  Yeah, it's not as intense as first semester, but right now I'm staring down two 10 page reports, 2 presentations, 1 business forecasting final exam model, and 2 in-class presentations; did I mention this all has to get done by Thursday?  Oh, and did I mention I've got the 2 presentations tomorrow?  and I'm hosting a prospective student? 

Note to incoming class: MOD III isn't quite the workload of the previous MOD's, but don't think it will be easy.  Add on top of that your interview search and it makes for a very hectic MOD. 

The good news is that I've basically got 2 weeks of vacation coming--- turns out we have a spring break and I've got no finals scheduled for next week.  How did I miss the fact we have a spring break between the MOD's?

 

Technorati Tags: MBA - Owen - Vanderbilt

Switch. Part deux.

So yesterday in Strategic Management our discussion centered around a case reading on Apple Computers.  Given my recent conversion to the "light side" (several readers pointed out that M$FT in fact the dark side), i was ecstatic to share my recent conversion and how it changed the way i look at computers.

Sadly, many of my classmates came up to me after the class and wanted to explore my reasoning as to why i left the confines of the kingdom of Gates for the open fields of my new Jobsian paradise.  Most were exactly as misinformed as i once was; they mostly felt Microsoft was the only type of OS you could use in B-school, and that there were severe limitations to a Mac.  So how does a Mac work in the business world? 

1- Office.  Office is the premier productivity suite--- it is the gold standard.  Microsoft's biggest cash-cow has a Mac sibling, but it isn't nearly as robust as the Windows version, right?  That is oh so very incorrect.  The Mac version of Office is actually BETTER than the windows version.  Editing tools float around in one convenient box, and you can place them anywhere on the page to fit your liking.  The basic controls that are hidden by default in the Windows version are out in front on the Mac version.  Excel rocks.  Excel is sooo much better on Mac.  Formulas are easier to create (not that contrived formula lookup page) and because of the different screen layout you can see more of the workbook.  Even Powerpoint has a better interface. Oh, and did i mention Pages and Keynote (the Word and Powerpoint Mac packages) are about 100 times easier to use than the MSFT variants?  Last night i created a one-page layout with graphics and text that would have taken at least an hour in word; in Pages--- 10 minutes.  Keynote has features like "Export to Flash" or "Export to Powerpoint" that makes interoperability with any system a cinch.  You don't even need Powerpoint--- just send someone the flash version and it loads in their browser.  And just to dissuade any notions that Mac files don't work with PC's, that was true a few years ago, but today Mac handles and shares with PC's transparently. 

2- Outlook.  I haven't set up Parallels yet (to run windows on a Mac), but yes, Mac Mail is limited compared to Outlook.  This is the Achilles heel of Mac.  Owen has a webmail variant that is everything i need from exchange (calendar/mail/folders), but i still wish the Mac version included the scheduling components from Exchange.  If they could get Calendar and Mail working in concert with Exchange, that would remove any barrier to entry as i see it.

3- Everything else. Web browsing (same or better)... Document creation (much better), photos (no comparison),  interacting with Windows machines is a breeze, and all the little necessities of life are much improved (networking, chat, etc).

Overall, there are some Windows only programs that i wish were on Mac (Outlook mainly) but the lack of these applications is nothing compared to the benefits Mac brings in the simple things like stability and ease of use.  For all of you out there planning on attending Owen next year, the IBM laptop program is a great gig, but if i had it all to do over again... Macbook Pro.  No question.

My wife pointed out that just because i bought a Mac, I'm not automatically cool.  I tend to think i was never and will never be cool, but i do now understand that there is a better way...  I was blind, and now i see.

Great article

Link: The "Do Nots" of Networking.

Great link, pertinent information. However, as life has a tendency of doing, those that need this information will not believe it applies to them; those that already mastering these tips will worry they don't do enough.  I've found those individual most needing "refinement" in interpersonal skills are usually the ones who think they're a networking guru.  Anyways, give it a read; if you find it useful, you're probably already a good networker.  If you read it thinking "oh, I've got all this down", you need help.