It is my intention to offer periodic updates on our students' 540 projects, so everyone feels motivated to continue to make progress. Nevertheless, I cannot help but start with a "feel good" item.
Praise for Silvia Scherer: comments from Tim Loftus
"One of the great benefits of participating in the Otago MBA was the exceptional people in the program. I had the great pleasure of working with Silvia in my syndicate and developing a meaningful lifelong friendship in the process. Silvia's leadership skill and emotional intelligence were incredible assets to our group work and to the overall atmosphere in our classroom. Silvia's extensive international experiences and unique perspective on management added a necessary dimension to the educational experience at Otago.
I am thankful for having had the opportunity to work with a professional like Silvia and I am honoured to call her a dear friend. Silvia is a wonderful person and her friendship was a highlight of my MBA."Status report:
James Nation has an approved project proposal, as well as a supervisor (Jodyanne Kirkwood - entrepreneurship), Confidentiality Agreement (CA) and Human Ethics Application.
Ryf Quail submitted an excellent first draft of his proposal and will easily receive approval with minor revisions. Ryf will be working with Richard Higham.
Melissa Barry has identified a terrific client, well aligned with her career ambitions, and has an exceptionally well-written proposal, including a professional Gantt chart for managing her work.
Mal Sirisekara will be working with one of the top consulting houses in Auckland on a corporate strategy project involving the assessment and valuation of takeover targets. He is writing his proposal.
Jarrod Kreft has locked in a high profile, multinational sports apparel and accessories client and is drafting his proposal. We have identified an ideal supervisor for Jarrod's project.
Questions:
Mal asked the question: What is the procedure in finalizing the supervisor? Does the MBA contact them or are we supposed to talk to them?
It is the Academic Leader's (my) responsibility, in conjunction with our MBA team and project panel, to select an appropriate supervisor for each project. We're in a position to evaluate the needs of all students and determine best fit with the available resources (faculty) in the Otago School of Business. Our selection of the faculty supervisor will depend on the project scope, relevant business discipline and methods/analyses. You should not approach faculty without coordinating with me.
Melissa Barry asked: Does the Human Ethics Application need to be sent in with the proposal?
No. Melissa, a PhD in Neuroscience, is all over the Human Ethics Application owing to her background in medicine. Most of our projects will require a Human Ethics Application because we encourage you to use multiple forms of data: hard and soft. For instance, whenever possible you should interview industry experts to validate your work and expand your professional network.
The University requires us to devote honest effort to this process, but the innocuous nature of our projects means that we get a rubber stamp approval. The real benefit to our students is in structuring a credible research instrument (survey or interview schedule), so you get the data you need for your analyses.
Cheers,
David
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