Nicholas Bate

Instant MBA100: 35

The  back story 1-34 here.

Mid-Terms Paper I; Answers

1. Organisations are on a constant quest for differentiation. Why? And what are the primary sources?

Assuming the market wants what you are offering, differentiation enables you to distinguish yourself on aspects apart from price.  And assuming the market does want your differentiating features it then allows you to charge more for your solution. Differentiation can be found in the company, in any solution you are offering and you yourself.

1. Does the study of ethics have a place on the modern MBA course? Discuss.

If we want effective organisations which respect individuals, the community and the planet as well as making loads of money, then yes.

1. What was Drucker's primary contribution to modern management thinking?

To make management a science, MBO or Management By Objectives being a very simple example.

1. What is the essential difference between correlation and causation?

Vegetarians may be healthy (correlation) but that does not necessarily mean that becoming a vegetarian will make you healthier (that would be causation).

1. Many criticise the MBA for being disconnected from 'the real world'. Discuss.

It's less the fault of the MBA and more that those who leave an MBA are reluctant to put their knowledge into early use and rapidly get absorbed into the chaotic business practices of many firms.

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Great business bloggers Michael Wade, Tanmay Vora

Instant MBA, the book

Brilliant at the Basics of Business 100, the book

Instant MBA100: 34

The  back story 1-33 here.

Mid-Terms Paper I

1. Organisations are on a constant quest for differentiation. Why? And what are the primary sources?
2. Does the study of ethics have a place on the modern MBA course? Discuss.
3. What was Drucker's primary contribution to modern management thinking?
4. What is the essential difference between correlation and causation?
5. Many criticise the MBA for being disconnected from 'the real world'. Discuss.

Some answers tomorrow.

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Great business bloggers Michael Wade, Tanmay Vora

Instant MBA, the book

Brilliant at the Basics of Business 100, the book

Instant MBA 100: 33

The  back story 1-32 here.

Instant MBA 33: Systems, Kaizen & Check-lists.  How can we do it better? It's a great question. Probably by planning before we do and reviewing after we have done. That's plan-do-review a good example of constant never-ending improvement or kaizen. And such planning and reviewing will probably produce an improved system, maybe moderated by a check-list.

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Great business bloggers Michael Wade, Tanmay Vora

Instant MBA, the book

Brilliant at the Basics of Business 100, the book

Instant MBA 100: 32

The  back story 1-31 here.

Instant MBA 32: 'In The Real World'.  An interesting aside sometimes given by those studying on an MBA is ''but in the real world, it's harder...". Of course: if everybody were doing it, the idea/concept/model would have much less business value. Business is a skill not a book or course. It needs to be worked at.

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Great business bloggers Michael Wade, Tanmay Vora

Instant MBA, the book

Brilliant at the Basics of Business 100, the book

Instant MBA 100: 31

The  back story 1-30 here.

Instant MBA 31: Thought Leader 6: Jim Collins.  Jim Collins did give us 'we all need to be on the same bus'. He also gave us Big Hairy Audacious Goals. But what was a breakthrough is introducing the idea that a key characteristic of an effective leader is humility.

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Great business bloggers Michael Wade, Tanmay Vora

Instant MBA, the book

Brilliant at the Basics of Business 100, the book

Instant MBA 100: 30

The  back story 1-29 here.

Instant MBA 30: New World of Work Driver 5: Ambiguity.  Oh how we love a good plan if we are MBA trained! But in world of ambiguity? Is it the death of long-term planning? No. It just needs to be done more quickly, revised more quickly and executed brilliantly first time.

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Great business bloggers Michael Wade, Tanmay Vora

Instant MBA, the book

Brilliant at the Basics of Business 100, the book

Instant MBA 100: 29

The  back story 1-28 here.

Instant MBA 29: Thought Leader 5: Daniel Goleman.  He's the emotional intelligence guy. It's suggested that IQ gets you the job, but EQ (emotional intelligence) gets you promoted. Goleman's research showed that for the majority of jobs emotional intelligence was twice as imporant as simple IQ or EQ=2 times IQ.

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Great business bloggers Michael Wade, Tanmay Vora

Instant MBA, the book

Brilliant at the Basics of Business 100, the book

Instant MBA 100: 28

The  back story 1-27 here.

Instant MBA 28: Soft Skills. Are often frowned upon by many attending the MBA programme where there is a love of models, methodologies and case studies. But without the ability to say influence and negotiate no model-however powerful-will convince the board to support your new marketing plans. Soft is actually hard so long as well studied.

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Great business bloggers Michael Wade, Tanmay Vora

Instant MBA, the book

Brilliant at the Basics of Business 100, the book

Instant MBA 100: 27

The  back story 1-26 here.

Instant MBA 27: Statistics. Many learn just enough to pass the exam but it's worth pursuing mastery. It's certainly worth for example understanding the difference between correlation and causation.  There may well be a correlation between business failures and the tough economy at the moment. But does the bad economy need cause the demise of your business?

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Great business bloggers Michael Wade, Tanmay Vora

Instant MBA, the book

Brilliant at the Basics of Business 100, the book

Instant MBA 100: 26

The  back story 1-25 here.

Instant MBA 26: New World of Work Driver 4: Abundance. In a world of too much competition, in a world of one global market place. In a world where apparently the only marketing strategy anyone has is to cut prices, there is a way out: become so damn good you create your own exclusive market place: make excellence your minimum standard.

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Great business bloggers Michael Wade, Tanmay Vora

Instant MBA, the book

Brilliant at the Basics of Business 100, the book