Term Two: a preview

Term Two Preview

Term two of our (2014) MBA 38 programme begins on 9 June, with our students taking Accounting, Marketing and Investment & Global Finance. Our lecturers this term are Daniel Hellyer (Accounting), Dr. Sergio Biggemann (Marketing) and Anindya Sen (Finance).  As a brief introduction, Daniel is an Associate Director at Deloitte Consulting with extensive practical experiences to share with our students; Sergio is from Bolivia with more than fifteen years of teaching (using a case-based pedagogy) and extensive international experience; and Anindya is our new MBA management team member (last) from IIMB in India, with three years experience teaching stats and finance in our MBA programme.  Anindya is a perennial favorite lecturer owing to his energetic personality; he has designed a balanced course emphasizing corporate finance and investments (including derivatives).

Students will complete term two with a professional understanding of how

assess the financial and operating performance of a corporation

owing to their acct and finance courses.

We look forward to an outstanding term two. Our students will continue to build their quantitative skills with a practical emphasis, as well as analyze real world data (cases) using the professional marketing literature--another opportunity for students to refine their conceptual reasoning abilities. Students will also enjoy the diversity and multicultural experiences of our lecturers from India, Bolivia and New Zealand. 

In terms of logistics, Accounting will meet on Monday and Thursday morning (9:30 to 11:30); Marketing happens on Monday and Wednesday afternoons (2:00 to 4:00); and Finance classes meet on Tuesday and Thursdays (2:00 to 4:00); with tangential professional development workshops mixed in; and Fridays reserved for non-contact hours (e.g., readings, class prep, syndicate work and written assignments). Final exams occur on 28 & 29 July, marking the end of the term.

As a side note, the Otago MBA management team will soon begin to work with our students

to identify "Live Case" clients, a syndicate level analysis of a real client conducted over

about twelve weeks - and delivered on the last day of our 2014 programme. 

The challenges our students face will continue to grow, as will their readiness and 

confidence to face these challenges. This growth is fundamental to the

transformational experience of our MBA programme.

Express your interest now to join next year's MBA class.

Cheers, David

New Otago MBA Team Member: Anindya Sen

Anindya Sen

It's with great pleasure that I introduce a good friend and colleague, Anindya Sen, as the newest member of our Otago MBA management team.  We were fortunate to lure Anindya away from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB).  He comes to our programme with experience as a Quantitative Strategist at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley (London), where his responsibility included modelling complex financial derivatives and designing customized financial products for clients.

Anindya has taught Statistics and Finance in our programme for three years; will teach Investment and Global Financial Markets (BMBA 508) in term two; and consistently ranks as one of our most popular lecturers. He brings great energy to our programme. I can speak for all of our management team and alumni in stating that life as we know it within the Otago MBA programme has changed forever: let the chaos begin.

Welcome Anindya!

Doing Business in India: a synopsis

Doing Business in India: Melissa Barry & Jason Silby (centre back)

Melissa Barry and Jason Silby recently returned from their trip to India and offered the following (condensed and consolidated) synopsis of the Doing Business in India (DBI) programme offered through the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT – in New Delhi, number 6 Business School in India) and funded through scholarships through Education New Zealand.

Melissa described the DBI programme as “a hugely enjoyable and worthwhile experience that was an excellent follow-on from the Otago MBA programme. I fully encourage anyone to apply for similar opportunities that may arise in the future.”

Jason wrote, “Given the opportunity I’d return to India in a heartbeat and highly recommend that anyone considering doing business in India wastes no time in doing the same.”

About the Experience:

Melissa describes her experience as “chaotically wonderful. Nothing you read in books or look at on the internet can prepare you for the smells, heat, crazy traffic, haggling in the markets or diversity and sheer number of people.

Jason adds, “I was delighted to be given the opportunity to spend two weeks experiencing the differences [between NZ and India] first hand as a participant on the DBI programme.

The DBI Programme:

Jason: The programme was designed to make the most of our time in the country combining classroom learning, practical exercises, field work, networking and sightseeing.

 “The topics included Indian manufacturing, services, retail and banking sectors, hedge strategies when operating in int'l markets, mergers & acquisitions, the Indian macro economy, opportunities for int'l trade, trade regulations, WTO trade regulations and the implications of the probable free trade agreement between India and New Zealand."

Melissa: “The IIFT covered a range of subjects that complemented the core classes of the Otago MBA. The programme consisted of general lectures in different areas of business all with a focus on India – Economics, International Business, Marketing, Human Resources and Operations delivered by excellent lecturers who were world class.

Both students commented positively about, “going on site visits to a number of places that included Yakult India and Maruti-Suzuki in New Delhi, a shoe factory in Agra, a 5-Star resort called Chocki Dhani, Mahindra World City and a jewellery manufacturer in Jaipur.”

Comparison with the Otago MBA:

The small size and highly interactive nature of each session made the classroom learning feel… similar to that I have experienced on the Otago MBA. The IIFT faculty were outstanding in their ability to simplify complex material delivering both breadth and depth to what was essentially a very diverse group."

“…the lecturers effectively delivered large amounts of information in an interesting and concise manner. The classes were intense but I found them valuable and …on par with those taught at Otago University.”

Personal Highlights / Key Insights:

Melissa: “For me the stand out lectures were on International Business where we learnt a huge amount about Free Trade Agreements and tariffs,

Jason: “The most obvious lessons learnt during the DBI programme are the importance of face time and personal relationships in Indian business (they don’t rely on email), the level of price sensitivity and the importance of tailoring product offerings to the Indian consumer.

Melissa and Jason’s experience in India was “not all work; we were taken

to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra and the Amber Fort in Jaipur.