October 2008

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Cricket: An American Perspective

October 31, 2008 in Sports by MBA Association | Permalink

Cricket: the smell of the pitch, the beauty of an expertly bowled spinner, the crack of ball against bat, and the cheers of the team when a six has been hit. Indeed, there is not a more pleasant way to spend a blustery fall day in State College.

Alright, I admit it, I’m an American. I have no idea what I’m really talking about.

But that didn’t stop me from trying to learn when, on Friday, October 24th, some of our classmates from India held an informal “Cricket Clinic” to teach everyone what we were missing. The day started with a presentation that went over the rules (I’m still fuzzy on the concept of overs), bowling techniques (my poor shoulder will never be the same), and batting and fielding (just like baseball, right?). We even had the opportunity to watch some video clips of normal and unusual outs, skilled bowling, and famous catches. I still can’t believe the fielders catch the ball bare handed – that’s just insane!

Of course, you can’t just sit through a presentation and watch some video clips to get a feel for the game – the best way to learn cricket is, of course, to play it! So for the next two hours that’s exactly what we did. We didn’t have an official pitch and we used tennis balls instead of a cricket ball, but regardless of the trappings we still had a lot of fun and everyone got the opportunity to bowl, bat, and field. It was a cold day too, but after about an hour a group of undergraduate business students brought us hot apple cider as part of a class project. That’s the kind of class project I can definitely get behind.

As for myself, I think with just a little more practice I might be able to actually hit the ball before it skips past my bat, but I assure you that no amount of bowling practice will ever allow me to consistently hit the wickets. Still, I truly enjoyed the event and the game, and while I don’t foresee going to any matches in the near future, I can at least say that I’ve wielded a cricket bat, bowled an out or two, and hit a few sixes. Which is a lot more than most from the U.S. can boast.

Mike Waldhier
Smeal MBA Class of 2009
mxw52@psu.edu

Mike is originally from Chicago, where he never played cricket. Primarily concentrating on Supply Chain Management, Finance, and Strategic Leadership, he is aiming for a career in strategy consulting.


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Smeal MBAs Place Second at the B2B Case Competition at Purdue

October 31, 2008 in Uncategorized by Marketing Association | Permalink

When we decided to enter the B2B Marketing Competition in Purdue, we were faced with a very tough decision, go to the Penn State vs. Michigan football game or participate in the competition. Our decision was made easier when Michigan started losing all of their games.

The trip to Purdue was exciting as we were all in very high spirits. Our conversations were vibrant, ranging from politics to well, politics… We never really knew how rural some parts of America could be until we drove through Ohio and let’s just say we are happy we live in State College.

Upon arrival, we attended the dinner reception where we met many of the other teams. The mood was friendly and open. We had a great time meeting the other schools. …maybe a little too much fun!

8:20 AM we arrive at the business building to have a nice breakfast before our case competition. At 8:45 a Krannert representative leads us to the war room and we ready ourselves for potential chaos. In 5 ½ short hours we will need to present a well reasoned case to a panel of judges from Amway and the Krannert School of Management at Purdue. We decide that at 1:00 we will finish our analysis and work on our presentation. 1:00 still analyzing…1:10 still analyzing…1:20 still analyzing…1:30 we really need to start working on these slides. 2:05 ok 2 of us will work on the presentation and 2 of us will finish the slides. 2:15 the representative calls us for our presentation. Oh god, we are worried!

We go in there and start our presentation, Sneha and Ilya are the presenters and they do a great job and present with poise and confidence. Then starts the all important Q&A, and we stick together as a team, defending our ideas and explaining our rationale. The Q & A goes well! Fast forward to the end of the presentation and Q&A, we breathe a sigh of relief as we walk out of room and back to our hotel. Now we must wait 4 grueling hours before the winners are announced. After a 9 hour long drive the previous day and all the excitement of the day, we are all exhausted. Ilya goes to sleep, Prashant answers emails, and Brent forces Sneha to watch the Penn State football game, which she thoroughly enjoyed. The awards dinner finally arrives and we anxiously head back to the business building. We didn’t expect much, and we are already discussing that regardless of the outcome, this was a great learning experience. After several speakers spoke about the competition, explaining the various strengths and weaknesses of the various teams, the speaker finally announces the winners. Third place goes to the team from Baylor. Second place goes to the team from ….PENN STATE! Wait…What??? Really??? WE WON AN AWARD!!! This is awesome! And first place went to Notre Dame.

Our excitement was palpable, we a team with no real case competition experience, had won 2nd place!

I will refrain from discussing the details of the celebration party and leave it as “VERY fun.” In sum, although we have areas to improve, we are proud that we were able to quickly come together and present a case that was thoroughly analyzed. Moreover, we feel fortunate to have represented our school in such a positive manner at the Krannert B2B marketing competition.

We are…PENN STATE!

–Brent Gee

MBA Class of 2010

bug132@smeal.psu.edu

Brent received his bachelors’ degree from The University of California at Davis in Economics and previously worked for PriceWaterhouseCoopers. At Smeal, Brent is concentrating in marketing and strategy.


Smeal Philanthropy Aids Local NPR Affiliate

October 31, 2008 in Philanthropy by MBA Association | Permalink

On October 24 and 26, 2008, Smeal MBA students volunteered their time to assist public radio station WPSU with its fall fund drive. WPSU is a listener-supported NPR station serving central and northwestern Pennsylvania. Between answering calls from new and renewing members of the station’s listenership, students listened to public radio, snacked, and chatted.

“The afternoon at WPSU gave us the chance to mingle with fellow students in a non-academic setting while giving back to the community,” says Chris LoRusso, class of 2010.

“I look forward to volunteering again in the future.”

“I was impressed with the support from within the Smeal community,”

says Andrew Helicher, class of 2010.

A member of our Career Services team phoned in a generous donation during our shift! Smeal’s relationship with WPSU is ongoing, and there will be plenty of opportunities for current and future classes to participate in membership drives and other philanthropic initiatives at the station.

Mary Gorman

Smeal MBA Class of 2009

mary@psu.edu

Mary Gorman is a second year MBA candidate studying Corporate Financial Analysis and Planning and Supply Chain Management. She has experience in startups in biotechnology and fashion industry


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MBAA Cricket Clinic & Tournament – Oct 24, 2008

October 31, 2008 in Mock Interviews, Sports by MBA Association | Permalink

Cricket clinic!!

Cricket is a religion in India and 15 out of 104 first year MBA students are from India. MBAA hosted a cricket clinic and a friendly cricket tournament to help us share our passion for cricket with other MBA students. What better way to interact with the fellow MBA students outside the classroom than over a friendly game of cricket on a nice fall day.

On October 24, 2008, Varun Abraham, first year MBA student, taught the basics of the game to the audience in a classroom. The visuals supported by “Youtube” clips helped clarify basic rules and concepts of the game. After the presentation and yummy lunch, Rolly Polly sandwiches, we headed to the lawn outside the Business Building to put into practice what Varun taught us. Though I grew up in India and watched cricket for years, I have never played cricket. It wasn’t’ as easy as it looked on Youtube. For one, the bat was really heavy for a tiny girl like me!! I tried my hand at bowling too and it was a disaster. The ball barely reached half way through the pitch. I pity the batsmen!!

Overall, the cricket clinic was a wonderful experience. We shared our passion for cricket with our classmates and got to interact with them in a more informal setting.

Minaz Mavany

Smeal MBA Class of 2010

mym118@psu.edu

Minaz is originally from India and has a background in finance. She plans to pursue a career in corporate finance and has prior work experience with JPMorgan.


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Honor Code Expansion to Career Services Luncheon

October 30, 2008 in Presentations, Roundtables by MBA Association | Permalink

Because each student signs the Honor Code during Orientation, everyone is expected to comply with all aspects of the process to ensure that the Code is a living document that we all abide by. There have been news reports of students at other MBA programs engaged in conduct that reflects on the brand of the entire program. As such, students here at Smeal have decided to take action into their own hands and want to expand the Honor Code to cover more than academics.

On Tuesday, October 29, students came together to discuss expanding our current Honor Code to encompass Career Services and one’s internship and job search. A lively discussion took place with students debating the extend to which the Honor Code should be expanded to Career Services, what type of actions would be deemed violations and how soon this effort should be initiated. Students also raised concerns around ensuring that companies understand their role and engage in ethical recruiting practices as well. As the VP of Academic Affairs and Student Relations for the MBAA, it was refreshing for me to see so many students dedicated and involved in the process and ready to take ownership of the Honor Code.

Faculty, administration and staff from the program also attended the luncheon to show their support. The MBA Career Services team and the MBA administration supports the Honor Code in the Smeal College of Business and are willing to assist in any way possible to have the Honor Code umbrella over Career Services. Having this bottom up approach to expanding the Honor Code rather than a top down effort is refreshing as a student in the program. I really feel like we have ownership in this endeavor and I look forward to seeing where else the Honor Code expands for Smeal students.

-Tai Parks, tdp151@psu.edu

Tai is a second year student in the MBA program concentrating in Supply Chain Management , Product and Market Development and Strategic Leadership. She is a native of Philadelphia and a huge sports fan


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MBAA Town Hall, 10/28

October 30, 2008 in Presentations by MBA Association | Permalink

Roughly 40 students packed into Room 126 for the MBAA’s second Town Hall Event of the year.  Some came to ask questions about the coming election.  Some came to air grievances.  And some came for the delightful sandwich wraps from a local eatery.  (I place myself firmly in the sandwich camp.)

Whatever the motivation, the event turned into an exciting free-for-all, as first and second year students debated many of the hot button issues of daily MBA life.  The election was the hottest topic, as many of the potential candidates for the 2010 MBAA board gained a better sense on how the election will be run.  Other subjects ran the gamut from the school’s ranking to the MBAA budget.

At the end of the night, the students in attendance walked away informed..and stuffed.  Although I still don’t understand the complex color-coded toothpick system, my participation at the event netted me a wrap filled with turkey, cheese, and other goodness.  I consider that a sound business investment.

-James Brennan, jjb456@psu.edu

James received a BA in Journalism at The College of New Jersey, and his JD at the Quinnipiac University School of Law.  He is concentrating in Marketing and Corporate Finance at Smeal.


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PSEN meets Scott Bohrer and Bob Wright of ETF Ventures

October 14, 2008 in Uncategorized by MBA Entrepreneurship | Permalink

On September 26, 2008, a lucky group of students sat down for an informal and informative breakfast with Scott Bohrer and Bob Wright of ETF Venture Funds.

This interaction, hosted by PSEN, allowed interested students insight into the complex and exciting world of Venture Capital. Scott and Bob spoke frankly about this industry and its challenges and rewards. Naturally resultant to a discussion about entrepreneurship is a discussion about emerging businesses and ideas, so we also chatted about the changing face of business and how this impacts entrepreneurs. Bob and Scott note that the rapidly evolving business landscape means that “the instant you hit ‘print’ on your business plan, it’s wrong.” They agreed that always having a plan B, plan C, and plan D is what makes an entrepreneur successful. Further, they were candid about their own roles in the investment group, noting that telling an entrepreneur that their business plan is a bad one is largely akin to “calling their baby ugly.”

This fresh view and inner circle insight into the world of Venture Capital stimulated students’ thoughts on the subject and, for many, allowed us to change to change our perceptions of both the industry and possible career paths for us in it.

Mary Gorman
Class of 2009

Mary Gorman is a second year MBA candidate studying Corporate Financial Analysis and Planning and Supply Chain Management. She has experience in startups in biotechnology and fashion industry.