Dean's Blog

Ahead of the Action-Based Curve

A number of our peer schools are generating lots of buzz these days around their versions of immersive, experiential field studies. To the uninformed, it would seem this is a novel concept in MBA programs. But two decades ago, the Michigan Ross faculty actually set the curve in action-based learning. And we remain well ahead of that curve to this day.

In 1992, our faculty launched the groundbreaking course we call MAP. It’s is a neat little acronym for our Multidisciplinary Action Projects course, which epitomizes the Michigan Ross ethos to “lead in thought and action.” MAP requires our MBA students to leave the classroom altogether and work exclusively as consultants for a diverse array of organizations worldwide. They spend 25 percent of their first year in the field collaborating in teams to resolve high-stakes, real-world challenges.

Our students help firms enter emerging markets, improve operations, and launch new products. Their work takes them all over the world from Johannesburg to Mumbai. In the past two decades, Michigan Ross students and faculty have delivered 1,500 innovative, practical solutions for more than 750 organizations worldwide. This January, 97 teams of MBA students embarked on 44 international projects and 53 domestic ones. We count 44 new organizations as sponsors this year, from healthcare providers to manufacturers, and Facebook is one of our newest partners.

One of the most significant differentiators of MAP is the fact that the business issues our students face are purposely undefined and ambiguous. Unlike the typical field study, the MAP experience begins with students entering an organization, scoping the business landscape, and framing the actual issue. It is only then that they set about resolving it and implementing a strategic course of action. They will be frustrated, challenged, confused, and exhilarated. They will learn to work in teams to ask the right questions. They will gain the perspective to solve the right problems. And they will exercise leadership, knowledge, and judgment to arrive at the kinds of elegant solutions their sponsors may never have imagined.

At Michigan Ross, we assert that no other method of learning can better prepare today’s business student for tomorrow’s business challenge. And here’s what our faculty have learned during 20 years as leaders in action-based learning: It’s not just about action. It’s not just about solutions. It’s about transformation.

Today we are more focused than ever on the learning outcomes of these experiences. We know that simply having them doesn’t guarantee one will learn from them. It takes effort and commitment to understand these experiences -- through conscious reflection -- so one can leverage them later on. Taking time to be reflective about what is learned during a project is a challenge and a commitment we make with and for our students that is unmatched among other business schools.

At the end, Michigan Ross students will be rewarded with the knowledge they achieved something real, tangible, and concrete during their time in our program. Through our model of action-based learning they will learn as much about themselves as they will about the business issues they choose to resolve. They will leave business school with far richer, deeper, and broader experience than when they arrived. And they will remain far ahead of the curve, creating real value in real organizations throughout the world and throughout their careers.

Reflections and Resolutions

The beginning of a new year is a natural time to reflect on the recent past and prepare for the action yet to come. I have just completed my first six months as dean at Michigan Ross. Currently I am working with my leadership team, as well as Ross faculty, staff, students, alumni, advisory boards, and other key constituents to frame a strategic plan that will shape our school’s future. Timed for release late this summer, the plan will be informed by my early priorities: globalization, executive education, entrepreneurship, and innovation around action-based learning. Of course, that’s just the beginning. I eagerly anticipate the variety of new issues and opportunities that emerge each day.

Global Expansion
Shortly after my arrival in July 2011, I appointed an associate dean for global initiatives. The goal is to coordinate our multifaceted relationships and identify new opportunities to deliver globalization across all business programs. We’ve conducted a complete inventory of our global activities and discovered that, while we are doing more than it might first appear, we can integrate our efforts more effectively and go deeper than before. In 2012, we’ll focus on academic and research activities, as well as alumni and corporate outreach. This includes custom executive education, in-country student projects, and new knowledge creation.

Much of our early attention will be on India, where Ross has a vibrant alumni network and a long history of corporate partnerships. In fact, our students are set to embark on approximately five in-country projects with Indian firms this spring under the auspices of the school’s new C.K. Prahalad Initiative. The Prahalad Initiative is named for the late Ross professor and management guru who was deeply passionate about the role of business in alleviating poverty.

Executive Education
In late 2011, I announced we would debut our top-ranked Executive MBA Program in Los Angeles this fall. For the first time, we will bring the Michigan Ross faculty and top-ranked curriculum to extremely busy executives who would otherwise not travel outside the region for a long-term degree program. As for non-degree executive education, we continue to grow our portfolio of open-enrollment offerings. We also are working toward partnerships that will facilitate degree and non-degree graduate business education in Southeast Asia.

Entrepreneurship
In fall 2012, we’ll debut the Master of Entrepreneurship Program, a unique collaboration between Michigan Ross and the College of Engineering (COE). Our two faculties, along with partners in the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at Ross and the COE’s Center for Entrepreneurship, have created a truly special curriculum that can’t be found in a conventional business or engineering program.

Innovation Around Action-Based Learning
In 1992, Michigan Ross introduced the innovative Multidisciplinary Action Projects (MAP) course, an intensive field-study experience in which teams of students spend an entire semester collaborating to resolve high-stakes business challenges inside actual organizations. Since then, Ross students have executed more than 1,500 projects for 750 organizations worldwide. Experiential learning is a true differentiator in our graduate programs, especially in the global context. Our faculty committee is examining ways to further develop exceptional individual and team capabilities in our students to deliver value on business issues. Effective project management and intercultural communication will get increasing attention as more international projects come on line.

It’s an understatement to say my first six months as dean have been incredibly busy and challenging. I’ve created a new leadership team, established some key priorities, and accomplished several goals, both large and small. And whether I am introducing a keynote speaker at a student-run event or managing the complex set of activities required to launch our EMBA Program in Los Angeles, I am motivated by the same thing: to ensure academic and organizational excellence at Michigan Ross.

Maize and Blue from Coast to Coast

Autumn on the University of Michigan campus delivers a vivid palette of breathtaking color. But only two colors really matter to Michigan Ross students and alumni: maize and blue.

In October I traveled from coast to coast, visiting alumni in California and New York. Then I welcomed graduates back to campus for our annual Reunion Weekend. What an impressive array of human capital, our institution's greatest asset.

As for that human capital, prospects look increasingly good going forward. I'm pleased to report that Ross was one of only two schools nationwide to experience a recent increase in applications to our Full-time MBA Program. Numbers were up 7.6 percent for the class of 2013, an admissions statistic I am confident was enhanced by the efforts of our alumni who live and work in more than 88 countries.

My visit to the Bay Area for the school's West Coast Forum illustrated the gamut our graduates span in the venture capital and entrepreneurial communities. Investment banker Sandy Robertson, BBA '53/MBA '54, landed in Silicon Valley in 1965 and went on to co-found the boutique bank Robertson Stephens, one of the "four horsemen" of technology investing. The bank ultimately closed in 2002, but Sandy always will be known for helping to fund an entire sector of the American economy (think Dell, AOL, Pixar, etc.). At the other end of the spectrum, entrepreneur Benzi Ronen, MBA '98, recently took skills he gleaned from tech giants Netscape and Microsoft Corp. and founded Farmigo Inc. This burgeoning startup harnesses social media and the popular locavore movement to bring together consumers and farmers in a purely entrepreneurial model of food production and distribution.

Just days later I was at the historic Waldorf-Astoria, marveling at the energetic alumni representing Ross in the hub of global finance. Our New York club president Cecil Shepherd, MBA '00, is a VP at JP Morgan Chase & Co., yet somehow he finds time to be one of the school's most enthusiastic ambassadors, networking with students, supporting applicants, and reminding fellow graduates that an engaged alumni base benefits us all.

So often as dean, one is consumed with the day-to-day affairs on campus. We are meeting with students, faculty, and staff, striving to create the most productive experience for the entire community. But our thoughts are never far from our alumni. As dean at Ross, I'm fortunate to have access to a worldwide network of innovators who not only are transforming business, but are working hard to ensure that maize and blue outshine every color in the spectrum.

 

Partnerships, Progress, and Prosperity

The most creative, innovative, and successful business leaders today are comfortable working among people of varied disciplines: scientists, engineers, designers, marketers, lawyers, investors, and people who are experts in developing human capital.

At Ross, we are fortunate to be housed within the University of Michigan, home to a robust portfolio of top-10 graduate programs. We encourage our students to collaborate with peers in world-renowned programs in engineering, medicine, natural resources, law, public health, public policy, and more. Options for collaboration are as basic as taking an elective course or as comprehensive as pursuing a dual degree (we offer 20 across campus).

These partnerships are particularly exciting for our student entrepreneurs. In September Ross hosted the annual Entrepalooza symposium, presented by our Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. Ross alum and serial entrepreneur Brad Keywell spoke to our students about his success with Groupon Inc., the popular website that utilizes social networking to enable group purchasing. Brad co-founded the venture, which in just three years has grown to 7,000 employees. But he is more than an expert in business; this entrepreneur also holds a degree from U-M Law School. When I met with Brad after his presentation, we discussed how the discipline of thought gained in law school helped him become a better entrepreneur.

Brad’s perspective echoes that of Sam Zell, who co-founded the Zell Lurie Institute at Ross and recently established the new Zell Entrepreneurship and Law (ZEAL) Program at the Law School. ZEAL will deploy student-attorneys, supervised by law faculty, to help entrepreneurs from Ross and elsewhere navigate the legal landscape that comes with new venture creation.

Another key partner set to open new avenues for Ross is the U-M College of Engineering (COE). In fall 2012, we’ll debut the Master of Entrepreneurship Program, a one-year joint offering that will deliver science- and engineering-focused courses in parallel with business-focused content. It’s an exciting opportunity to give budding entrepreneurs even more tools and confidence to become business-savvy innovators.

This arrangement with engineering builds upon a valuable relationship we’ve long enjoyed with our peers in COE through the Tauber Institute for Global Operations. Endowed by Ross alumnus Joel Tauber, this institute links our operations-oriented MBAs with engineering students in a number of action-based ventures, clubs, and programs that directly impact global industry.

This summer 33 teams of business and engineering students collaborated with faculty to resolve operations challenges inside the Boeing Co., Cardinal Health, Cisco Systems Inc., and more. The total three-year savings for this year's consulting projects are projected to reach $601 million (or an average of $18 million per project), a true manifestation of the alchemy that occurs when multiple disciplines come together in pursuit of the same goal.

These partnerships and events reinforce my conviction that a multidisciplinary perspective is an inherent element of business innovation. I'm pleased to say that at Ross, it's an inherent element of business education, as well.

Educate. Innovate. Create.



As we say goodbye to summer, we say hello to a whole new group of amazing students entering our programs. Fall 2011 brings us an NCAA pole vaulting champion, an experimental test flight engineer, a former professional race car driver, a counterterrorism officer (who plays the harp), a few FBI agents, and a Clinton Foundation adviser to name just a few. I look forward to working with our entire community, from undergraduates to executives to doctoral candidates.

One of the questions I’ve been asked quite a bit since accepting the role of dean at Ross is “How do we motivate graduates to remain in the region and contribute to our surrounding economy?” This question raises the broader topic regarding any university’s relationship to the communities that support the education of its students. I believe we have a responsibility to create three things:

Human capital. The most effective business school faculty spend a great deal of time in the field, consulting with executives, developing new research, and tracking emerging trends. They bring that intellectual capital right into the classroom, and if we do our jobs well, we will produce the kinds of business leaders who utilize that cutting-edge knowledge to innovate inside top-tier multinationals, mid-sized firms, and startups far and wide.

Firms and jobs. The most successful business leaders today are able to identify opportunities, assess risk, and act decisively to net positive outcomes. This requires an entrepreneurial mindset – an essential element in business – whether one launches a new venture or drives change inside an established organization. As educators it is incumbent on us to deliver the kinds of courses, activities, and collaborations that produce graduates with the confidence, connections, and know-how to build companies that create jobs in the most receptive markets.

Community engagement. I also believe it is critical for business students to engage with local partners, and Ross students do – through intense, in-company consulting projects, volunteerism, and other activities sponsored by the school. Since 1992, our students have executed more than 1500 projects for startups, nonprofits, and multinationals, opening new revenue streams, saving millions through supply chain improvements, and more.

Peruse the news any time of day or night and you are sure to come across the words “job creation.” It’s top of mind in our country, and rightly so. But it is our job as educators to ensure value creation – so business students of all ages and expertise emerge with the knowledge and skills to see the whole picture, inspire and lead their teams, participate as engaged citizens in their communities, and drive the kind of change and innovation that fuels the economy.

If we do that right, the rest takes care of itself. Locally, nationally, and globally.