Kelley School of Business Full-Time MBA Program

Kelley Cultural Caravan!

2013-05-09T10:01:00.003-07:00

By Deepti Saripalli, First-year MBA, Marketing

Indian Bangara dance

Kelley’s motto is “one school… endless possibilities”… However on the night of April 26^th, 2013, I believe it could have been changed to “one school... endless talents”.

On that night the Kelley MBA program witnessed a cultural extravaganza in the form of the Kelley Cultural Caravan, Multi-Cultural Night – an annual event of food, dancing and music produced by the Asian MBA Association and the Latin MBA Association. Every year the event grows bigger and more colorful than it was the previous year and this year was no exception. All stops were pulled by the organizers to make this event memorable and spectacular!

On April 8^th during the Monday morning coffee break a flash mob of students took onlookers by surprise when they broke into a Gangam Style dance and other numbers. While the entire school watched amused, the participants showed them a glimpse of what could be expected from the cultural night! From then on there was no stopping the mad rush for tickets!

Flash Mob to generate hype!

Preparations for the event began months in advance. Practices for the dances sometimes went late into the night. Some dance sequences were complicated and quite exhausting. I realized just how zealous and energetic my classmates were, during this one month, when even after long hours of dance practice the night before, they would come completely prepared for the classes next day. Multi-tasking took on a whole new meaning!

Indian Dance

The practice sessions were fun, with people learning about the cultures and traditions of the country’s dance they were performing. While some clearly were born to dance, many took a while to pick up the moves. The best advice that I heard was from a classmate who said – “Dance like no one is watching! Smile and have fun while you dance!” I guess the same principle applies to life too…

On the night of the event, delicious Indian, Thai, Chinese and Mexican dishes were served, and the lines at the buffet only kept getting longer!

Japanese fisherman dance

Performances began soon after dinner and the audience could not help but cheer as 1^st and 2^nd years danced along to Indian, Japanese, Taiwanese, and Latin dance numbers. Kelley MBAs proved once again that they were indeed multi-faceted and could handle any task (be it interviews or complicated dance sequences!) with grace and poise, having fun all the while! The event closed with a Latin dance number, joined in by Matt Semadeni (the Core strategy professor), always a great sport!

Core strategy professor Matt Semadeni doing the Latin limbo

Overall the night was loads of fun, but the days leading up to it - the practice sessions, running around for costumes, last minute adjustments, frantic phone calls to event organizers, urgent meetings, late night dinners with the dance group, falling asleep out of sheer exhaustion – were totally worth it!

Though we were all super happy the event was a huge success, I guess it being over also saddened us a bit. Having been part of such an amazing event this year I cannot wait for the multi-cultural night next year. I am stacking up on energy drinks for the same, as I write this blog!

Journey of a Leader: Open Minds Open Hearts

2013-05-08T11:53:00.003-07:00

Globase leader, Megan Kuhn, with her student team in Guatemala.

Along with her fellow leaders, Kelley MBA student Megan Kuhn has spent the past year preparing for the 2013 GLOBASE Guatemala deployment. Upon arrival last March, it was evident that the hours of planning, coaching, meeting, and presenting were well worth it. Her team was equipped and ready to make an impact.

In the last video of Megan's leadership journey, get a glimpse of the GLOBASE in-country experience. Watch our students get to work, leading clients to real business solutions. More than that, we explore the concept of generational leadership. We agree with Megan, as she says in the video, leadership is about inspiring those around you to raise the bar.

Watch the full "Journey of a Leader" series on YouTube.

Just a few of the impressive Alums from Kelley: Women in Business Night

2013-05-01T11:17:00.003-07:00

By Jacqui Cuffe, President of Kelley Association of Women MBAs, Marketing

Current Kelley MBA Women with notable alumni speaker, Beth Acton (center)

On Thursday, April 11^th, Kelley Association of Women MBAs hosted an event titled "Women in Business", sponsored by Cummins LTD., Alumni, students, and faculty gathered to hear fellow alumni panelists discuss their careers and provide insights to working beyond our borders.

Beth Acton kicked of the event with inspiring words of wisdom as well as leading us through her extremely successful career path. Beth received Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Minnesota and later received her MBA from Indiana University. She held many notable positions such as Executive Vice President, Finance and Treasurer of Ford Motor Company in addition to her ten year term as Chief Financial Officer of Comerica Incorporated and its subsidiary, Comerica Bank.

While achieving such business success, Mrs. Acton also built a family of four, two boys and a husband whom she has been married to for over thirty years.

During her speech, Beth provided six key takeaways for Kelley MBA students:

1. Have a separate personal life.
2. Think big, but don't kid yourself!
3. YOU are responsible for your career - be your biggest supporter.
4. Ask for feedback regularly and try to improve.
5. Network both inside and outside your industry.
6. Take risks in your career - take an international assignment or an assignment away from HQ

In addition to Beth, we had three alumni panelists come and share their views of working beyond our borders. Stacy Thompson had just returned from Switzerland where she was working with Biotronik on creating clinical and commercialization strategies in key markets in Europe and Asia. Donna Heckler is a GLOBAL brand strategy executive and thought leader in brand marketing. She is also co-author of the book “The Truth about Creating Brands People Love”. Cathy Buening-Griffin has been working at Cummins for over twenty years. She has traveled the world extensively working various roles. She is also a mother of four.

The event was extremely informative and a lot of fun. It was amazing to see the success of our Kelley Alumni!

Making Data Work for You: Kelley Forum on Business Analytics

2013-04-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

By Matt McAndrews - Class of 2014, Consumer Marketing

Matt McAndrews

This semester I loaded up on analytics courses. Spreadsheet Modeling, Data Mining, Marketing Intelligence, and Marketing Strategy. It's been a semester of regressions, logarithms, decision trees and principal component analysis. It felt like learning a new language - "Nagelkerke R-Squared" and "Varimax Roatation". And I've learned how to run analytics across platforms, from Excel to SPSS to SPSS Modeler.

Sometimes during the semester, I wondered what I was doing learning the material. Would I use it in my career, or was it all theoretical gibberish? Sure, I could build models that could predict outcomes with a 2% better probability than randomness, but was this stuff even used in the real world?

Michael Chu
Principal at McKinsey & Co

On April 12, I had the opportunity to attend the Kelley Forum on Business Analytics. The keynote speaker Michael Chu, Principal at McKinsey & Company, spoke to the transformative value of data to test hypotheses, replace human decision-making, and to innovate new business models. Representatives from FedEx, Deloitte, Proctor & Gamble, and IBM spoke to the difficulty in finding managers who understood analytics. I was inspired; analytics was real, powerful, and firms were looking for talent.

Michael Wilhite
Senior Vice President, dumhumby USA
leader of Kroger Insights and
customer knowledge capability

One of the best breakout sessions I attended was held by Michael Wilhite, Head of Global Analytics at dunhumby. He spoke about data analytics in retail. Successful retail establishments are moving beyond the traditional models of broadly segmenting the market. Rules-driven algorithms can personalize products and services, to create a stronger relationship between the retailer and the customer. While some consumers may see this as a betrayal of privacy, other consumers appreciate that a business understands their specific needs and can offer exactly what is wanted. Data analytics is transforming the retail experience from the impersonal big box to practically having a personal shopper.

At the company roundtables which completed the program, I was able to network with a number of firms recruiting for analytics consultants, such as IBM, Booze Allen Hamilton, and Deloitte, as well as firms looking to fill internal analytics positions, including Discover and Proctor & Gamble. As opposed to the crowded finance and marketing networking fairs from the winter recruiting season, this crowd was sparse, and the recruiters were eager. At the end of the day, I knew that the analytics skills I have been learning in class are in demand, and my Kelley MBA is setting me up for success.

Venture Capital Investment Competition

2013-04-23T07:06:00.000-07:00

By Damon Yousefy, JD/MBA

The Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) is a global competition that involves 60 top ranked MBA teams from 3 continents. The competing MBA programs must:

· Review real start-up business plans

· Conduct due diligence with entrepreneurs

· Write term sheets and executive summaries for their chosen investment

· Negotiate with the entrepreneur in front of judges and a live audience

· Answer judges’ questions about their strategy and assumptions

This year, Indiana sent a team of 4 JD/MBA dual degree students and one law student to the VCIC Regional Finals in Toronto at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. Indiana faced teams from Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Michigan, and Rochester in the regional final.

Me at the VCIC International Championship

Team Indiana came prepared against this formidable list of rival MBA programs thanks to courses and coaching from Professor David Haeberle, Professor Dave Greene, and Professor Mark Need. Mark Need was our coach and he traveled with us and gave us helpful advice on how to handle the competition as well as best practices from prior years. David Haeberle’s Venture Finance class gave me the financial tools we needed to break down the value of startups, and his models are unique because a discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis is useless when evaluating startups. Dave Greene’s M&A class gave me a chance to simulate a real acquisition from drafting term sheets to negotiating the final deal.

The team put me in charge of the financial calculations, term sheet, and negotiation because of the skills I have gained from the aforementioned courses. After the judges had a chance to deliberate, we were crowned champions of the VCIC Northeast Regional Finals and awarded a check for $1,500.

Winning the Northeast Regional Finals punched our ticket to the VCIC International Finals at UNC’s campus in Chapel Hill. Ten schools from 3 continents advanced to the International Finals. The first day of the competition was due diligence, and the sessions were held at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham, a new startup incubator. After the due diligence sessions, the advancing teams were announced.

Indiana made the final round and we had to prepare for the negotiation and live Q&A with the judges. After all the teams finished presenting, we were ushered outside UNC’s business school for celebratory drinks and food prior to the announcement of winners. While a 4^th place finish was disappointing for us, it proved that Indiana’s MBAs can hold their own against top schools from around the world.

Brandon Benjamin (4th year JD/MBA), Nathan Chun (3rd year JD/MBA), Eli Stoughton (3rd year JD), Jorge Alvarez (3rd year JD/MBA), Damon Yousefy (4th year JD/MBA)

Highlights from GLOBASE India 2013

2013-04-03T10:56:00.004-07:00

By Erin Faulk, First year, Marketing

Teaching our lesson to 8-10 year olds

Day 1: Today we are headed up north to Sidhbari in Himachal Pradesh. Our client, Chinmaya Organisation for Rural Development (CORD) is located in the Khangra District of Himachal Pradesh.

We are all excited to meet the staff at CORD who we have been working with over the past 7 weeks. Between language challenges and Skype inconsistencies due to spotty internet connections, it will be great to continue the progress on our projects in person. My team has developed an entire career exploration and self-discovery program that involves changing many of the cultural norms in these communities, so we need to make sure we are aligned with our team leaders at CORD before going into the field.

Day 3 : Now that I have mastered the art of bucket showers and feel completely at home while dressed in my salwar kameez. Our projects are in full-force and the clock is ticking to get everything accomplished on our field plan.

Each day has presented new obstacles that my team was not prepared for...and today was no different! First, we visited a local secondary school to test activities from our career exploration program. We had prepped a lesson for high schoolers, but when we walked in, there were thirty 8-10 year olds eagerly waiting for us. We were forced to adapt our entire lesson on the fly!

Day 5: Today is our last day at Chinmaya Organisation for Rural Development (CORD), and it is difficult to put my emotions into words. After working so hard to get to know the staff and mission of CORD over the past seven weeks it feels like we have made ourselves a new home in Sidhbari. We haven't even packed yet, but you can sense the group missing CORD already.

Closing ceremonies with Dr. Didi

It was awesome to see the progress each team made while in country. All presentations engaged the community and pushed CORD in different ways; to create an accelerated marketing plan to stabilize funding and fuel expansion of their footprint, to invest in a vermicompost training center to increase the sustainability of farming as a reliable trade in rural India, or to lead the initiative for changing the community's understanding of choosing a career based on personal values and skills.

Dr. Didi closed out the ceremony with inspiring words. She called on local field workers to share what they had learned from us, expressed the strength and significance of the relationship between Kelley and CORD over the past three years, and pressured us to harness our power to create opportunities and make impact in our futures. She then passed out small gifts made by the women in the Mahila Mandal groups. Dr. Didi hugged every single one of us, calling us by name and personally thanked us for our work. What an amazing, rewarding experience!

Visiting Scholar Offers Insight on Yet Another Financial Crisis

2013-04-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

By Tulio Bracho, First-year MBA, Finance

IGOE Fellows

There is a country with a population of 47 million people and an unemployment rate of 26%. The families of this country are in despair, struggling to make ends meet. This country’s society is burdened with the responsibility to support its struggling population, but has limited ability to borrow funds. The problem that this country faces is not a lack of education, natural resources, or democracy. Can you guess which country this is?

In today’s world economy, there are plenty of countries suffering from similar ailments as the ones described above. But, what if I told you that this country is home to multinational corporations, some of the best business schools in the world, the world cup national soccer champion team, and – according to them – the best wine you could ever taste? Can you guess now?

Yes, I am talking about Spain.

That friendly and beautiful country is fighting a battle to find a path of sustainable and healthy economic growth. Spain would like to accomplish in the economic and social realms what its athletes have accomplished in a wide range of disciplines. Professor Gustavo Lannelongue, Visiting Scholar from the Universidad de Salamanca and hosted at Kelley by the Institute for Global Organizational Effectiveness (IGOE), presented an analysis of the Spanish economy last Thursday to the IGOE MBA and PhD Global Fellows.

During his presentation, Professor Lannelongue explained that even though the Spanish financial crisis may have been caused by the same reason as the American crisis, a bubble in the construction sector, its consequences and its treatment have been different. The basic difference is rooted in the monetary system in which the Spanish economy operates. Being part of the Euro implies that Spain has limited influence in determining its monetary policy, so it has to focus on other types of solutions (e.g. fiscal policy).

There are three areas in which the Spanish government has implemented measures to improve the economy. First, reform of the labor market, which translated into less employee power of negotiation, reduced unemployment benefits, and increased retirement age (65 -> 67). Second, spending cuts in development aid, state owned companies (railway, television), and subsidies for parties and social partners (- 20 %). Third, tax raises, such as an increase in the value added tax to 21% (from 16%), income tax rates (between 0.75% to 7% proportionally), and capital taxes (between 2% to 6%).

Fortunately, after those measures and the effects of the monetary policy the European Central Bank had implemented, the Spanish economy started showing some signs of stabilization. Recently the levels of debt have stabilized, the index of real estate prices has become attractive to foreign investors, the cost of labor has declined making it easier for businesses to hire people, and exports have increased. Of course, there are many challenges still to face and structural reforms that Spain must implement to improve its competitiveness, but it is good to know that reasonably good work is being done.

Hopefully, political forces will continue lowering their populist voices and letting the experts do what must be done. At the end of the day, problems are solved by people who care less about pointing fingers and care more about rational thinking, sharp analysis and hard work. The great Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes expressed well in Don Quixote, “It is not the responsibility of knights errant to discover whether the afflicted, the enchained and the oppressed whom they encounter on the road are reduced to these circumstances and suffer this distress for their vices, or for their virtues: the knight's sole responsibility is to succor them as people in need, having eyes only for their sufferings, not for their misdeeds.”

Spotlight: Kelley Emerging Markets Experience Argentina

2013-03-31T09:37:00.000-07:00

By Emily Josephson, First-year MBA, Marketing

The stunning view in Mendoza

Kelley offers many international opportunities, and I recently returned from an amazing two weeks as part of the Emerging Markets Experience Argentina program, The trip was the culmination of a seven-week course to learn about how the country’s political and economic history and environment impacts business. I chose this program to gain a new perspective on international business, and with many company visits and conversations with Argentines and ex-pats, I got a true sense of the challenges and opportunities of doing business in the beautiful and complex country of Argentina.

While in class before the trip, teams of students researched the various companies to delve into the issues we learned about when it comes to doing business in Argentina. With constant challenges of intense government involvement, surging inflation (with a large gap between the official rate… and reality), balance of trade regulations, and a turbulent economic and political history, the Argentine businessmen and women have developed incredible resourcefulness to navigate through these issues. These themes came through at each of the companies we visited.

Kelley MBA at the Staples headquarters in Argentina

The lively city of Buenos Aires served as our home base for much of the trip and most of our company visits. We spent time with Staples, Dow, Eli Lilly, Globant, Medtronic, and Ernst & Young, hearing from executives about their first hand experience doing business in Argentina, and also engaging in Q&A. What was most striking was the matter-of-fact acceptance of these challenges, and translating that to creative problem solving to make successful business possible. In response to a student’s question about the risk of inflation, the straightforward response of “It’s not a risk – it’s a fact!” brought these concepts and theories into sharp focus.

After a casual lunch in the hip, colorful neighborhood of Palermo Soho, we spent the afternoon with a mobile app start-up sharing our ideas with the entrepreneurs. In the true spirit of Argentina, we learned about the wine industry and business of vineyard ownership with Vines of Mendoza company.

Having the opportunity to spend two weeks in Argentina, and experiencing the country after learning so much about it in class, is an opportunity I am thankful for. While I gained a new perspective on international business than what I originally sought, I did so while learning to dance the tango at an authentic tango club, sipping malbec, walking the streets of Buenos Aires, dancing to a live improve drum show, volunteering for a day at an orphanage, and exploring a new country with my Kelley community.

Hello from Beijing! Study Abroad Experience

2013-03-27T20:57:00.001-07:00

By Errol Packard, Second-year MBA Student

Summer Palace

Hello from Beijing! I am now in my third week of classes at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Business.

Aside from learning about the culture and business environment of China, being in the Guanghua MBA exchange program is a truly international experience: of the approximately 30 other students on my program, only one is from the US (NYU-Stern). The majority are from Europe, Canada, or other countries in the Sinosphere (Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan).

The highlight of my week is Managing Multi National Corporations, a strategy class that looks at recent situations multi-national corporations have faced in China. For my team of 3 Chinese MBA students, this is their first class that uses business cases- in China traditionally even MBA courses are taught only through lectures.

Another interesting class I am taking is Business Competition Simulation- basically a semester long simulation game that combines finance, marketing, and operations decision making. This program is used in all the Chinese business schools to teach real life applications of Excel modeling, and I am so happy to have learned extensive excel spreadsheet modeling during Wayne Winston's MBA class!

One class offered to IMBA students is History and Cultural Traditions of China. While not really a business class per se, knowing about the cultural underpinnings of Chinese society is exceedingly important to working with Chinese partners and customers.

I am very grateful for the opportunity to study in Beijing, and hope that we get some more Kelley students at PKU next year! Please get in touch if you have any questions.

South Africa: A Kelley Global Emerging Market Experience

2013-03-26T20:27:00.001-07:00

By Dalia Mitra, First-year MBA, Marketing

A large part of why I came to Kelley was their extensive international opportunities. This year I had the opportunity to do an Emerging Market Experience (EME) in South Africa after taking a seven week class covering the history, economic status and business opportunities within the country. This class and trip was planned and led by a group of second year MBAs. It provided them with more leadership experience before embarking into the real world and provided us with knowledge around an emerging market both at our desks and on the ground.

First National Bank (FNB) World Cup 2010 Stadium in Johannesburg

After reading cases, learning about the controversial history and doing group research and presentations around the wine business, eco-tourism and sports economics, our class, accompanied by two faculty members, arrived in Johannesburg to experience in person what we had learned inside the walls of Kelley. In Jo’berg, as they affectionately call it, we were lucky to see the World Cup FNB stadium as well as meet with the ex-CEO of the 2010 World Cup and a representative from FIFA. We were also given time by Nike, who has launched a non-profit center focused on developing youth by providing a place to play football and learn about what type of opportunity was out there.

Kruger National Park, South Africa

What is a trip to South Africa without a safari? For three days, our group had the experience of a lifetime. For hours we cruised at dawn and dusk in open air safari jeeps, our eyes peeled, searching the terrain of Kruger National Park, hoping for a wild animal sighting – a giraffe, a rhino, a lion, anything. We also met with a park ranger and learned about the pricing structure, business challenges, and visitor geographic distribution. Entrance into the park for international visitors is only $30 US! Effective pricing or no?

Winery Tours in South Africa

Our next stop was a change of pace and environment. We left behind the rustic lodging at KNP and after a quick visit to Capetown, we found ourselves in Stellenbosch, the NAPA of South Africa. Endless grapevines lined the mountainsides. Our company visits were multiple wineries. We were educated around the wine making process, what South Africa specializes in and even visited one of the few Black-owned wineries to understand the opportunities that were coming forward after Apartheid.

Two weeks spent learning about a new country after studying it was an incredible experience. In between the company visits and planned activities, our schedules were sprinkled with a rugby game, trip up to Table Mountain, a visit to the Robben Island, the prison where Nelson Mandela was kept, the Apartheid museum, Nando’s chicken, all the while strengthening our personal relationships with each other and our future MBA Kelley network.

Kelley School of Business atop Table Mountain, Cape Town

Entrepreneurship Academy - Velocity Conference 2013

2013-03-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

By Tom Licisyn, First-year MBA, Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship Academy at eBay

It was a high of 67°F and sunny in Berkeley, California. We heard from a Researcher, Philanthropist, and CEO before breaking for lunch on the Berkley campus. We would then meet Nicholas Seet, founder of Auditude, in the afternoon session. Seet became a professor in Los Alamos, New Mexico after selling his company to Adobe for over $100 million. Tomorrow, we would tour eBay, SonicWALL (now part of Dell), and Cisco before heading to Plug and Play Tech Center who hosted a reception exclusively for the Kelley group. It was just another day as a Kelley MBA student.

Students of the faculty-selected Entrepreneurial Innovation Academy were treated to a week in the Bay Area for Velocity 2013 sponsored by the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation (JCEI). Started in 2000 by Dr. Jack Gill, the Velocity Conference has grown to include for the first time this year select graduate students from the Indiana University School of Informatics and College of Arts and Sciences. One objective of the JCEI is to facilitate cross-campus collaboration with the Kelley School. Nothing could be more perfect than to experience Velocity with Kelley MBAs and graduate students from Indiana University’s different schools. Together, we learned about entrepreneurship and corporate innovation by visiting those that practice it. It was amazing to be part of the Velocity group and hear first-hand the stories of entrepreneurs and business innovators in the Bay Area.

From NASA to India: How Kelley has Shaped My Journey

2013-03-18T04:29:00.000-07:00

By Greg Mattes, First-year MBA, Entrepreneurship

I am currently sitting at the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad, India, where I will be attending the Graduate Business Conference that includes representatives from many of the top MBA programs from around the world. The Kelley MBA program has challenged and given me opportunities in ways that I could have never imagined from any MBA program. With the resources at Kelley, I have been able to achieve everything that have wanted to accomplish and then some.

Taj Mahal - Photo taken during my pre-conference travels

Last month, I was elected by the student body to be the MBA Association President. This role entails leading the student experience for the approximately 400 students in the program. I am excited to take on this responsibility to continue driving the outstanding experiences that Kelley offers outside the classroom, but also because I know this position will develop my skills as a leader. There are 40 student-run clubs and committees that offer these same challenges and experiences—the opportunities at Kelley are endless.

I came to Kelley as a career switcher; the only problem was that I didn’t know what career I wanted to switch into. The support that Kelley Graduate Career Services (GCS) provides in terms of professional reflection and development has been invaluable. I have found my passion for working in K-12 education and will be working for the Tennessee Department of Education this summer—it was Kelley that uniquely positioned me to make this dramatic career shift.

I didn’t quit my job with NASA at the Johnson Space Center so that I could have a mediocre MBA experience. Kelley has allowed me to ignite my career and send me in new, exciting, and successful directions—such as going to conferences in India!

IU Kelley/Maurer team wins investment competition over Harvard, Yale

2013-03-12T11:51:00.002-07:00

Brandon Benjamin (4th year JD/MBA), Jorge Alvarez (3rd year JD/MBA), Damon Yousefy (3rd year JD/MBA), Nathan Chun (3rd year JD/MBA) and Eli Stoughton (3rd year JD) advance to the international competition in April.

Congratulations to IU's Kelley School of Business/Maurer School of Law team, which recently brought home the top prize in the Venture Capital Investment Competition at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

The team's performance bested those from Harvard, Yale and Michigan, among other schools. The IU team moves on to compete in the international finals at the University of North Carolina in April.

Teams reviewed business plans and pitches from an innovative online tutoring service and a pharmaceutical development startup and decided in which to invest. After valuation and due diligence sessions, two teams invested in the tutoring service; four teams, including IU, invested in the pharma company.

Based on feedback from the VC judges, the IU team beat the competition in the written reports on the term sheet structure and executive summary, and in the live negotiation and Q&A sessions.

Journey of a Leader: Realization

2013-03-01T08:06:00.003-08:00

By Kelly Giese - Kelley Staff

Second-year MBA Meghan Curran said it best when talking about GLOBASE India: "Our work is bigger than the classroom."

In the days before their departure, Meghan reflects on her experience as a team leader and mentor, the personal weaknesses she's overcome, and the reality that a very real business is depending on her team's guidance.

The pressure is on, but fortunately, her strong leadership and passion are apparent. We're confident GLOBASE India will come home with a huge win.

Watch the full "Journey of a Leader" series on YouTube.

#KelleyGlobal Instagram Photo Contest

2013-03-01T06:30:00.002-08:00

Traveling with the Kelley School over Spring Break? Take part in our #KelleyGlobal Instagram Contest! Winners will be announced in three categories: Best Scenic Photo, Best Cultural Photo, Best IU/Kelley School representation.

Here’s what you do:

Take photos with Instagram
Use the #KelleyGlobal hashtag, and also hashtag your photo with your location (#Peru, #Guatemala, #India, etc.) Please also use a hashtag for the category: #Scenic #Culture #IUKelley.
The Kelley School will add all appropriate photos to our Storify account, storify.com/kelleyschool.
Follow our Storify account and encourage your friends and colleagues to vote for the best photos.
Photos in each category with the most “Likes” on Storify win a leather Kelley School of Business passport holder and other Kelley swag! The photos will be featured on our Facebook page.

Terms and Conditions

Journey of a Leader: Developing Others

2013-02-28T08:29:00.001-08:00

By Kelly Giese - Kelley Staff

Mere days away from deployment, second-year MBA Megan Kuhn, and her student team reflect on their preparation for GLOBASE Guatemala in the fifth video of our "Journey of a Leader" series. Given a real world project with much information to process, the team shares what they've learned about their client's business and what they're expecting while in country.

Beyond the assignment, we examine the concept of generational leadership. The team's remarkable progress to this point is a direct reflection of Megan's ability to lead. It's easy to see how she's influenced their enrollment in the process and commitment to their purpose.

Watch our "Journey of a Leader" series on YouTube.

MBA Gala: Keeping it classy in Bloomington

2013-02-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

By Leila Bahbah - First-year MBA, Consumer Marketing Academy

February 9^th was the annual Kelley MBA Gala (i.e. MBA Prom!), and it was a blast! The Gala is a formal event where we all get dressed up, have a nice dinner and dance the night away.

During the first semester we had heard rumors of an MBA gala but nobody knew what it was about. It was some glamorous mystery event that we all wanted to attend. When we got back from winter break the gala hype was in full force. Everyone began making plans for the event from where to go for the pre-party, to where the girls were going to get their hair done, to how to dress to impress. Gala planning was definitely a nice break from internship interviews.

Every year there’s a different theme for the event, and this year the planning committee kept it pretty hush hush which created even more suspense and excitement. A couple weeks before the gala the theme was finally unveiled, Masquerade!! The talk around school evolved from who was going with whom to what your mask looked like and (for the girls) if you were going to plan your outfit around your mask or your mask around your outfit. Everyone was looking forward to this event; even the guys bought masks!

When the big day finally arrived people spent the better part of the day getting ready for the evening. I helped decorate for the event, so I got a preview of the fun that was to come.

Decorating!

Master Decoraters!

My roommates and me at a Gala pre-party!

The gala was at the swankiest spot in town, the Bloomington Country Club. Once we arrived that evening there was an indescribable excitement in the air. All the girls were assessing each other’s dresses and all the guys were looking for the bar. We kicked off the evening with a nice sit down dinner, but right after we were done eating the dancing began. Masks were quickly discarded as people went from the dance floor to the gambling room to the photo booth. The gala went until midnight, but the night flew by! We were sad to see it end, but the next day my roommates and I sat around our living room reminiscing about our awesome night and already talking about next year’s gala. It will be really hard to top this year, but we’re all excited to see what happens next year!

Some photo booth action!

Studying abroad: A Once-In-A-Lifetime Experience

2013-02-20T09:30:00.000-08:00

By Rezarta Haxhillari

Second-year MBA, Consumer Marketing Academy

Me in between two new friends

When I signed up to study abroad a year ago, I didn’t realize what an incredible experience it would be. I arrived in Switzerland on January 2, 2013 and have loved every moment of it so far! I attend the University of St. Gallen, which is one of the most respected business schools in Europe. It is located about an hour outside of Zurich, one of the main business hubs of Europe.

I am taking six courses, four of which are considered “core courses”. They are taught by some of Europe’s most respected professors and business people. The biggest surprise has been just how similar the theories are to what I have been taught at Kelley. The only twist: culture. When one does business in Europe, she must take into consideration all the different cultures and languages of the company’s stakeholders and ensure she is tailoring products and services accordingly.

Me, Dan Bracke from Kelley, and Jessica from UT

I believe the last year and a half at Kelley has truly prepared me for this program. With over 30% of my class at Kelley being International, I was exposed to diverse team dynamics from day one. Another helpful experience at Kelley was participating in the GLOBASE Ghana consulting project last year. It taught me important global business skills. Kelley has also taught me a lot about networking. We have been visiting a lot of European companies here ranging from Roche Pharmaceuticals to BMW to Maestrani Chocolates, etc. My networking skills have been very helpful during these company visits. In fact, networking seems to be so ingrained in me these days, I seem to do it everywhere, even on trains (recently I met a gentleman who is a wine importer on the train and at the end of the conversation, I asked for his business card of course!).

Which brings me to one of my favorite parts of studying abroad: traveling! I have loved traveling since I was a little girl. In the last month, I have visited 12 cities in 7 countries in Europe. I purchased a 3-month EU Rail global pass, which gives me unlimited first-class travel via trains to 23 European countries. I have really enjoyed the incredible history, culture and architecture each of these cities have.

All in all, my experience studying in Switzerland has been amazing so far. I am growing every day as an individual and expanding my horizons in every sense off the word. I would highly recommend a study abroad program to all my fellow Kelley classmates as well as other business students across the country.

Kelley Culture Outside the Classroom: Super Bowl Party at Prof Wayne Winston's

2013-02-17T13:57:00.000-08:00

By Paige Krouse, Kelley Partner

On Super Bowl Sunday, my husband, myself, and 40-odd Kelley students and spouses made themselves comfortable at the home of professor Wayne Winston. We crowded in the dining room and the living room, and then trickled across the basement, from the bar at one end to the exercise equipment at the other. It was yet another great opportunity to connect with faculty, students, and partners in Bloomington.

Professor Wayne Winston

When I moved to Bloomington, I was surprised to find that many professors (like Winston) invited students over for events and parties. My husband, Dan Krouse, is president of the MBA Association, a self-funded student organization. He told me the relationship between the faculty, staff, and student body at Kelley has always been a top priority and part of the Kelley culture. Subsequently, I found that there were many opportunities to connect with faculty and staff outside of the classroom, even as a partner!

As we settled in to Winston’s basement during the Super Bowl, I was able to catch up with several of Dan’s peers, who had now become my own friends. I talked with Hsi-nien, one of Dan’s teammates, about the complexities of "Grey’s Anatomy" lingo, and in between commercials, most conversations kept returning to IU’s basketball victory the night before.

As the spouse of a student at Kelley, I could not have asked for a more welcoming environment than Bloomington. There was a thriving club for students’ partners already in place: I suppose that after a few months, Midwestern hospitality starts to become ingrained in everyone!

My husband and I have been so happy with the program and its location. We will be spending the last few months of our time here soaking up all that Kelley has to offer, and I know that even after graduation, we will continue to enjoy many of the great friendships we started here.

Advice from a Career Coach: How can I help a classmate with their off-campus job search?

2013-02-16T13:31:00.000-08:00

Kendell Brown

By Kendell Brown

Associate Director - Coaching and Development, Graduate Career Services

How can I help a classmate with their off-campus job search?

You are thrilled you got the offer you’d been gunning for, but you look around and see a friend frustrated because she missed out on not just her top choice, but also her B-tier and C-tier options. She’s got to start the dreaded off campus search. How can you help? It’s acceptable to do some commiserating, but that really doesn't help your friend land something for the summer. Here are some ideas that will really help.

Regular check ins – As you know, looking for a job can be exhausting. The reality is that it’s not any easier when the search moves off campus. One of the best things you can do is to regularly check in with a friend and see how things are going. It will show your friend that you care, but even more importantly, it will work to ensure that the off campus search is maintaining momentum. The jobs are out there, but they don’t come knocking on anyone’s door. Weekly chats with your classmate will remind her that she needs to keep this a priority.

Help your friend define what he/she wants - Sometimes when someone starts doing an off campus search, target companies and contacts may not be that familiar with MBA’s and what we mean when we say “financial analyst”, “marketing strategy” etc. All the person at the other end of the email/phone call hears is “I want a high paying job doing blah, blah, blah”. Help a friend think through what they really want to do and then help them come up with a concise way to say it. “I’m looking for a strategic assignment that allows me to work with divisional and/or corporate leadership to identify, analyze and execute key growth initiatives designed to drive value for an organization.”

Mock interviews – You have recently been through interviews and are well equipped to conduct a mock interview. Ask questions that you got in your interviews. Be honest and provide actionable, constructive criticism.

Don’t: “That was a pretty good answer, I’m surprised you haven’t gotten anything yet.”

Do: “I got a sense of what you wanted to get across; however, I think a stronger answer would have provided more detail about the exact steps you took to get the project finished ahead of schedule.”

Review/revise a resume –By now everyone is well into their academy projects, if your friend is a career switcher help her include a bullet or two on her resume that shows some relevant (to where she wants to go) experience. It will help recruiters see a commitment to the new career direction.

Get away from the b-school bubble – Take your friend out for some fun. While it is unlikely hanging out at Nick’s is going to help someone get an offer, sometimes you wake up with a clearer head and renewed vigor after having sunk a “Biz”.

The Skinny on the Best Professors in B-School

2013-02-13T18:27:00.000-08:00

By Ryan Melnikas, Second-year MBA, Marketing & Business Analytics

The Kelley School has THE BEST professors in the country, but when I was applying, I paid little attention to this fact. I, like most prospective students, looked at overall program rankings, job placement #s, and the usual B-School criteria. However, I’ve come to love the classroom experience here and want to share my high opinion of a few select professors (and have a little innocent fun at their expense!). In the spirit of the upcoming NBA All-star game and the Hoosier state's obsession with basketball, I present...

The Inside Scoop

You call THAT a fair price!

Rockney Walters

Courses I’ve taken with Rockney: Pricing

What he’s like: Hilarious, caring, engaging, analytical, and pragmatic

What he brings to the table: He’s consulted for everyone who’s anyone and he’ll teach you pricing tools you can use in your internship and career. Plus, he’ll make you laugh out loud at least once a class.

NBA Player he most resembles: Magic Johnson- he’s loves the game, makes everyone around him better, and has a flair for the dramatic.

Neil Morgan


Whose got sustainable competitive advantage?

Course I’ve taken with Neil: Marketing Strategy, Brand Asset Management

What he’s like: Brutally honest, brilliant, clever, thinks strategically (i.e., always at least 10 steps ahead of you).

What he brings to the table: He won’t coddle you- and neither will your future boss. Neil cuts through B-school jargon with an ax, so be prepared for his class! Don’t be too frightened though- it’s exhilarating- like playing one-on-one with Allen Iverson (he blows you away, but at least you’ve learned something).

NBA Player he most resembles: Iverson in his prime- he’s got swagger, he’s the best, he knows, you know, and he’s not afraid to say it. Plus, at least once a class his crossover (strategic insight) will leave you awed.

Vijay Khatri

Courses I’ve taken with Vijay: Data Mining, Data Warehousing

INSIGHT!!!

What he’s like: Eclectic in his tastes and education, deceptively witty, analytical with a hint of artsy (his favorite band is Vampire Weekend).

What he brings to the table: Vijay loves data, but he loves telling a story with data even more. He’ll inspire you to find the ‘so what’ of figures and graphs and to wow people with your spreadsheets and SPSS output.

NBA Player he most resembles: John Stockton- he succeeded in making a dry, boring bunch, the Utah Jazz (data), into a surprisingly enjoyable experience and he’s constantly improving. Don’t underestimate Stockton’s quiet demeanor- he’s a gamer.

Kelley Marketing Club Reviews the Ads of Super Bowl XLVII

2013-02-07T08:41:00.004-08:00

Professor Adam Duhachek and Second-year MBA Scott Brown lead the presentation at Crazy Horse.

By Scott Brown, Matt Giese, and Theresa Muench - Second-year MBAs, Consumer Marketing Academy

The Kelley Marketing Club conducted a comprehensive analysis of this year’s Super Bowl ads to uncover general trends.

The study used a content analysis methodology developed by KMC and Professor Adam Duhachek to examine the set of ads for marketing strategies used this year, such as the focus of the ad, stylistic trends (i.e. use of humor or celebrity endorsers), and key details such as ad length and industries represented.

The content analysis allows for some critical comparisons between this year and 2012 to help foreshadow where marketers are taking their brands in 2013.

What’s Different in 2013:

From an industry standpoint, the most significant change was the reduction in the number of automobile ads, down 25% this year. Food and non-alcoholic beverages jumped by 38%, representing the largest category increase.

Professor Adam Duhachek

A key strategic difference noted this year involves a 50% decrease in brands promoting functional differences in their products, such as calling out specific attributes that dominate their competition. Instead, marketers overwhelmingly (85% of ads) chose to emphasize emotional benefits associated with using the product. Professor Duhachek noted this change potentially reflects how brands are changing their competitive strategies away from direct comparisons with other brands, and focusing on creating an inimitable personality that provides a lasting competitive advantage.

Humor was hot in 2013 as it was identified in 75% of this year’s ads, up 13% from last year. Animals continue to be popular, rising 5% this year to appear in 23% of 2013 ads. Celebrity endorsers were used less, dropping 22% from 2012. Also, the use of comparative advertising where brands mention key competitors was on the decline, decreasing 10% over 2012.

Perhaps reflecting the need for immediacy in today’s fast-paced environment, brands used an early brand name reveal strategy significantly more than in 2012, with 67% of ads mentioning the brand name in the first 15 seconds.

There's always a great turnout for Kelley Marketing Club's signature event.

What Trends Carried Over from 2012:

Similar to 2012, nearly half of the ads launched a new product (40%).
The brand personalities that came through the most in 2013 – excitement, competence, and sincerity – were similar to those of 2012 year.
The majority of ads (71%) continued to focus on the consumer, as opposed to focus on the product within the ads. Also, most ads featured both men and women within the ad, likely reflecting the diverse nature of the Super Bowl audience.

Join the discussion on our Kelley School LinkedIn group page.

From the MBA Core to the Real World… Hibachi Style

2013-02-06T11:51:00.001-08:00

By Dalia Mitra

First-year MBA, Consumer Marketing Academy

During the Kelley MBA Core, our Operations class analyzed a Benihana case study that highlighted Benihana’s ability to flow customers through the restaurant in way that worked well for the customer and for sales. Our professor, Kyle Cattani used the case to illustrate the concept of throughput rates. We learned that every part of the Benihana dining experience served a purpose. For example, if you did have to wait for a table, there was a bar. This served as a holding pen that ensured the entire restaurant was always full.

MBAs analyzing real life experience with in-class learnings

Upon being seated, drink orders and entrees were taken quickly and appetizers arrived within minutes. While eating the appetizers, you were approached by a chef decked-out in Japanese attire who cooked your entire meal in front of you, all the while keeping you entertained with his knife skills and funny banter. He then signaled for you to leave by finishing his show and the waitstaff would start vacuuming at your feet. The customer felt satisfied by the entertaining meal, and Benihana was able to fill the seat quickly with a new customer.

Having learned all of this about Benihana, me and some of my friends were craving hibachi-style dining and wanted to make a trip to Benihana. Alas, the closest Benihana was over an hour away in Indianapolis. As busy MBA students, time is always an issue. We wanted to be efficient in our meal but also be reasonable about traveling out of the area. We ended up finding a local hibachi spot in Bloomington.

A group of MBA first-years made our way to Domo Sushi & Steak, our mouths watering from anticipation after doing this case just a couple months earlier and never fulfilling the initial craving. Upon arrival, there was no bar waiting room. It took ten minutes to seat our group, even though many of the hibachi tables were empty. We ordered our drinks soon after being seated, but then the wait continued. Forty-five minutes later, drinks arrived and forty-five minutes after that, our chef showed up. The food was delicious, but since our meal took over three hours, all we could say over and over again was, “Cattani would have been very disappointed with this”. It is always fun to apply in-class learning to real life experiences and this was a great example for us first-years!

Journey of a Leader: If it were easy, everyone would do it.

2013-02-05T06:12:00.000-08:00

By Megan Kuhn

Second-year MBA, Consumer Marketing Academy

Here we are, right in the middle of the GLOBASE Guatemala experience. Our twenty student consultants have been assigned teams and their client projects.

All of our clients for GLOBASE Guatemala.

Two weeks ago, our five Guatemalan clients traveled to Bloomington (the first time in the United States for some) for 3 days to meet their student consultants. The students were able to ask those important questions of their clients so they can get a good understanding of the critical issues their clients are facing and gut check some of their assumptions and hypotheses.

We've gone through four GLOBASE classes where guest speakers have lectured on: doing business in Latin America, consulting frameworks used by top U.S. consulting firms, economic conditions and realities of Guatemala, marketing frameworks used to formulate and assess specific project objectives, and a case study of a U.S. firm’s involvement in the tumultuous history of Guatemala. It’s been an incredible 4 weeks so far, but it’s not easy. That’s why I have a certain respect for the people that sign up for this program.

My team with our Guatemalan client.

Consulting a small/medium enterprise in a foreign country comes with a set of challenges. Becoming knowledgeable about the economic climate of Guatemala is not easy, especially if you haven’t been there before. Meeting your clients for the first time can be intimidating … they have high expectations for you. Adjusting your assumptions about the company mid-project isn’t the easiest thing in the world. Discovering enough about the company so you can come up with a clear project objective sounds easy, but it’s far from it. "You want to increase profits…yeah, by how much? By cutting costs where? How long do you have to become profitable? Six months? One year? Two years? Who is the target purchaser of your client’s goods? Are you sure?"

Suffice it to say, our students are at the crux of their GLOBASE projects. If you were to graph difficulty on the y axis and time on the x, we’d be at the top of the curve, the height of difficulty but almost ready for the downward slope. It’s uncomfortable. It’s ambiguous. It’s hard.

But if it were easy, everyone would do it.

My team enjoying a few drinks with our client.

Yes, our students are probably at the most difficult point in the GLOBASE journey, but that will make the payoff even sweeter. In four weeks, we will be in-country. The students will see their client’s business up close. They’ll fine-tune their assumptions and tools. They’ll do on-the-ground research in real time with the employees of the company. They’ll put their MBA skills to use. They’ll deliver value to their clients. They’ll teach.

That’s the payoff. And that payoff is reserved for the people that put in the hard work that GLOBASE necessitates.

Watch Megan in our "Journey of a Leader" series on YouTube.

"What Did You Do Over Winter Break? I Went On A Trek!"

2013-02-03T22:54:00.001-08:00

By Diane Holly

First Year MBA, Consumer Marketing Academy

“How was your winter break? What did you do?” were common questions heard in the hallways of Kelley during the month of January. While it was tempting to do nothing but relax with family and friends over the three week break, a lot of us first year students chose to participate in one or more of the student-led treks over winter break. At Kelley, treks are completely designed and organized by students. As a co-leader on my trip, it was my job to uncover company contacts that would be willing to host us and plan all of the logistics for getting the group of students to the right places at the right times.

Trek visits are helpful to a) meet people that you might not have met at past networking events, b) further show your interest in the company, and c) assess the company’s culture to see if it’s the right fit for you. This year we had treks organized to visit companies in the following cities:

Chicago, IL
Southern California (greater Los Angeles area)
San Francisco Bay Area
Minneapolis, MN & Madison, WI
New York, NY
Detroit, MI

I had a great time on the Minneapolis/Madison trek with fifteen of my classmates. On our first day we visited General Mills, where we toured the Betty Crocker test kitchen and had a Q&A panel with a few Assistant Marketing Managers. In the afternoon we went to Target’s headquarters for a networking lunch with some members of the buying team, a tour of the office, and a case study on toys. We ended the day with a happy hour at Chino Latino, one of Uptown’s best lounges and restaurants for the young professional crowd.

Day Two proved to be just as fun and interesting as our first day: We spent the morning at 3M’s headquarters and toured the Innovation Center, which I liken to a science museum that focuses on 3M’s history, products, and technologies. It is seriously the coolest place – we got to watch a movie about the company in their own mini-IMAX theater, complete with leather reclining chairs! Afterwards we toured one of the office buildings and had the opportunity to network with about twenty people who worked in marketing and strategy roles in the company.

Our second company visit for the day was with Land O’Lakes. We participated in a cheese sensory evaluation and a marketing case study about how to work with advertising agencies on developing and selecting the best print ad for a new product launch. We finally bid the Twin Cities farewell and caravanned to Madison, WI to get a good night’s sleep before the next day’s visit.

Day Three was all about B-O-L-O-G-N-A: We had a great group of Oscar Mayer employees host us for the day. Several people spoke to us about various topics, such as how to make the most of a small marketing budget when working on a small brand. The SVP of Marketing at Oscar Mayer even came to talk to us about her career with Kraft and answered any questions we had. The day ended with our hosts treating us to a dinner at one of Madison’s best restaurants, Graze.

Finally, on Day Four, we packed up our things and drove back to Bloomington in time for the start of spring classes. My winter break flew by much too quickly, but the trek was definitely a great way to wrap it up! Which companies do you want to visit on a trek when you’re a first year student this fall?