OwenBloggers: Merry

Microsoft and Yahoo: Does it make sense (and will it work)?

As a MBA student studying Internet Marketing and Corporate Strategy at the same time, I found the Microsoft and Yahoo acquisition case extremely interesting. A few questions need to be answered in evaluation of the acquisition: how many synergies are there between these two companies? How much can be realized in the case of acquisition? Are their core competencies transferable to a conglomerate of the two tech giants?

If you are as interested as I am, you may want to hear what Wharton management professors Larry Hrebiniak and David Hsu say about this deal: Microsoft and Yahoo: Does it make sense (and will it work)? Click Here.

Leading (Personal) Change

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." - Charles Darwin

Everybody has to deal with changes. But how to respond to and manage changes proactively rather than passively? and how to become an active leader who engages people to make positive changes happen? The Leading Change course not only helps answer these common questions, but also helps us grow and develop skills in the areas of "leading change" with respect to our own potential as a change leader, models and frameworks to use for executing organizational change as a general manager, methods for accelerating changes in organizational culture and systems and so on.

This course made me wonder what I should change in order to  make the most out of the second year in my MBA study and hopefully make me a better person. I reflected on my past years, especially the last year since I came to Owen, and decided a few things that I would do differently in the coming year...

Improve work efficiency

I need to further improve my time management skills, prioritize daily tasks, set time frame for each task (to improve efficiency by creating time pressure), be concentrated and fully utilize in-class time and improve reading skill (thus reading speed).

Reserve time for family and hobbies

I would like to talk to my family (which is out of the country) everyday to show my love and appreciation, read for pleasure for at least 30 minutes before bed, work out regularly (twice a week is the minimum acceptable frequency) and explore more about Vanderbilt and Nashville.

My goal is to lead a fruitful yet more balanced life and enjoy the remaining 9 months at Owen school. So far I am well on track of my personal change plan, and thanks to my Leading Change buddies Marlene and Tess who did a great job reminding me to hang on there :-)

A Reflection on my internship

在离开Nashville三个半月，渡过一个无比充实的暑假以后，我终于回到了久违的学校。一切似乎都熟悉，但又有些陌生。看看那些新鲜的面孔，我仿佛又回到了一年前自己刚刚加入Owen School的时候——兴奋，好奇还略带些紧张和不安，对一切充满着期待。

难以相信一年的光阴这么快就逝去了。在新的学年开始的时候，我想回顾和反省一下刚刚结束的暑假实习：
我用到了什么？学到了什么？

Leadership skill - 领导技能并非只有在一个人有下属的时候才需要。事实上，作为一名实习生，在完成个人项目的过程中经常要用到领导技能。比如我在FedEx的项目，涉及到公司内部多个部门和第三方市场调研公司，所以我常常需要领导和协调各方的努力，确保大家明确共同的目标和各自的职责，并督促各方工作的质量和进度。

Project Management skill - 项目管理技能。 对于自己的项目要有全面和总体的把握，比如项目完成的步骤计划，每一步完成的期限，涉及到的职能部门有哪些，需要的信息从哪里搜集等等。心中一定要有big picture。然而也需要关注细节，及时发现问题和解决问题才能保证项目顺利进行。

Communication skill - 沟通技能的重要性无论如何强调也不过分。与人沟通，讲什么，怎么讲，在什么时间场合讲，简直就是一门学问。在我的实习过程中，我发现主动的沟通十分必要。比如在实习的前期，我曾主动地跟我的经理提出给我的工作量不够，我可以承担更多的任务，令他感受到我对这份工作的热情。我主动要求经理和同事对我的工作给与反馈，虚心听取并加以改进，同时我也给他们以真诚的反馈和建议，因此我们之间很快就建立起一种互相信任，互相支持的良好关系。

除此之外，我觉得要多问多学，不仅仅限于自己的职能部门（比如说我所在的FedEx International Marketing), 还应该尽量向相关部门的同事请教（比如说我请求财务部和销售部的同事给我做one-on-one orientation)，这样有助于多方面地了解公司的生意运作以及公司的文化，从而帮助自己决定这份工作是不是自己将来想做的，这家公司是否是自己毕业以后的归宿。

FY2008 H-1B Visa Cap Reached On Day 1

Attention please, all current and incoming international students who plan to work in the United States after graduation! US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that they have already reached the H-1B visa cap for fiscal year 2008.

Click here to find more about this.