Congratulations to Orsolya Szabo, from the January 2011 Part-time intake, on her outstanding achievement in the recent Ideas to Innovation (i2i) Challenge organized by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).

More than 650 people from 60 countries entered the competition, which called for ideas to creatively change management education. Orsolya, of Hungarian origin, submitted a proposal advocating the use of assessment centers and other novel procedures in the MBA admissions process and was third place winner, receiving US$10,000.

The i2i Challenge is a major component of the GMAC Management Education for Tomorrow
(MET) Fund, a US$10 million initiative to advance business education around the world. GMAC plans to invest a substantial portion of the MET Fund in the implementation of one or more of the winning ideas.

Orsolya tells us about her experience :

Summary of my idea

Business schools need to catch up with best-in-class corporations regarding their selection processes. Particularly, the assessment of social skills – including collaboration, influencing and leadership –business scenarios and group simulation exercises could add great value, as social competencies are overshadowed by test results in the current practice despite their essential role in business. Furthermore, the (partial) substitution of essays by other self-presentation formats, such as slide-shows, posters, films, cartoons, etc., would allow candidates to show multiple aspects of their talents providing business schools with a more comprehensive picture on candidates’ capabilities.

How and why I entered

In August 2010, I received an e-mail from mba.com inviting participants from all over the world to their Ideas to Innovation Challenge – an idea contest about “What one idea would improve graduate management education?” It happened just after I got admitted to the HEC Paris MBA program. I immediately decided that I would definitely enter the contest. First of all, it seemed to be an excellent opportunity to communicate my ideas and impressions for the enhancement of business education. Such occasions are rare! Secondly, the contest offered a possibility to help finance my MBA studies.

The background to my idea

Browsing through the major themes given by GMAC, I quickly recognized that my first-hand experience was very limited regarding the education itself, as I not started the program yet. At that point, however, I already had experience of the admissions process. Working for an executive search company also gave me the advantage of having relevant insight into the selection processes of best-in-class organizations including the favorite target companies of MBA graduates. Although originally I had three ideas in mind (and could enter only one idea), I decided to focus on the admission process, as I thought that the “extra” experience stemming from my professional background would make it sound more credible.

Connection to HEC Paris

On my first day at HEC Paris, Professor Bernard Ramanantsoa – HEC Paris Dean, and Professor Bernard Garrette – HEC MBA Associate Dean, welcomed us with an introduction about the HEC Paris MBA program and its key building blocks. They both emphasized the program’s major focus on building soft-skills besides acquiring knowledge about the most important business specialties. Exactly the same philosophy lies in the core of my winning idea. Social skills are highly important in business, thus business schools should devote considerable attention to them throughout the entire education process, from admission to graduation. It is very inspiring to be part of a community that shares these ideas and helps me master these skills.”

The Part-Time MBA option links participant’s academic curriculum and professional activity. Custom designed for managers between the ages of 25 to 35, the program allows participants to continue their Full-Time professional activities while developing skills to boost their career to an international management level.

The HEC MBA Industry Club provides a platform for students to learn, collaborate and prepare themselves for jobs in a broad range of industries beyond the banking, consulting, and marketing sectors; it is the place for “everyone else”. It is a student driven body that works closely with the Career Management Center, Corporates, and HEC Alumni to meet the needs of our members. The Industry Club acts as a gateway to internships, jobs and projects in the Industry.

Click here to see a video from the HEC MBA Industry Club

HEC MBA would like to congratulate the Visions of Leadership Award winners from the class of 2011.

The awards are based on 4 criteria;

• GPA
• OB grade
• Elections by their peers (Class 2011)
• Involvement in the program

This years winners are;

Damian Kasprzyk

Anne-Reine Lapeyre

Arnaud Revert

Elisabeth Garrett

Read next

Many thanks are due to each of the participants who ensured the Asia-Pacific trek was a great success. Our HEC MBAs organized 55 meetings in 2 weeks. Meetings were coordinated with 15 CEOs and more than 40 key decision makers (regional heads) in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore. All who participated agree a lot was learned during the trek.

The trek succeeded in achieving several of its primary goals. Participants were able to increase awareness of the HEC brand across Asia. Nearly 30% of the companies visited were outside HEC’s network, a true testimony to the command HEC’s brand image yields across Asia. However, much hard work remains to foster ties with consulting
firms and companies in the region.

The trek bolstered many relationships with HEC Alumni in the region. Coordinating and meeting with various alumni provided great opportunities to network and bond with them. The experience proved invaluable in increasing our knowledge of the Asian market. Our interaction with the CEOs and the C-level executives has helped lead us better understand the nuances of doing business in Asia. We were also able to personally observe the emerging management trends within the region. We invited and met several alums and CEOs to the HEC Paris campus and were thrilled by their acceptance of our invitation. The trek proved a good learning experience and made us proud of the HEC network to which we belong.

We like to express a million thanks to the Career Management Center who made this trek possible. Also, a special thanks to Mickael Perpoil, for using his French /Chinese charm to confirm several meetings; Ludovic Gras, for giving us an opportunity to meet the real estate companies; Zhu Zhu and Yunyun Qiao coordinating logistics; Ivy Chenfor the Tiffany’s meeting and initial co-ordination; Ramprasad Kamath for the DBS meeting; Lara for compiling company research; Disha Jain for the lovely handwritten thank you cards.

You made this trek a grand success.

Sandeep Krishnamani, Full-time MBA 2011

The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) elective offered the MBA Participants an opportunity to understand how CRM has evolved in various companies with the demands of various stakeholders such as customers, clients, and the society at large. The elective also offered an opportunity for MBA Participants to volunteer to present a Book Review that delves on the latest in the field of Customer Relationship Management. There were 11 students who undertook to present a Book Review on a broad range of books such as Customer-Centered Enterprise (Harvey Thompson), The Ultimate Question (Frederick Reichheld) and Accountable Marketing (Peter Rosenwald). As an MBA participant who has a keen interest in CRM and Business to Business Marketing (B2B), I volunteered to present the book report on ‘One to One B2B (Don Peppers and Martha Rogers)’, a book that highlights the application of CRM in a B2B setting. The book discusses 5 cases studies: Dell, Bentley Systems, Convergys, Novartis CP, and Lifeway.

The basic objective of the book is to discuss how to develop effective CRM strategies. The process of developing an effective CRM strategy can be graphically in stepwise manner, see right:

One of the common messages across the cases is that organizations are increasingly moving towards identifying the Customer Strategic Value by looking at the clients from a larger perspective than just current value (revenues generated). In-fact, the case of Convergys specifically talks about how Convergys needs to identify growable clients and then adopt proactive strategies in influencing client’s future behaviour. The proactive strategies include strategies such as taking over business that currently goes to competitors, introducing and selling new services, etc. Such a change in strategy was necessitated by the fact that the organization had mainly experienced inorganic growth, i.e. growth by acquisition, a strategy that did not augur well for the future sustainability of the business.

The book also talks about the need for organizations to move from business centric business model to a customer centric business model. For example, the case of Novartis CP discusses how the organization that sold more than 30 chemicals (crop protection products such as herbicides, fungicides, seed treatment and insecticides) for 100s of different crop configurations by reaching out to more than 100000 farmers. Novartis CP identified the growable clients by identifying 20000 of the 100000 farmers with the help of the typical 80/20 pyramid. Novartis CP then went onto categorizing these from the most important to the least important customers, see right.

The book emphasizes upon the need of sales force re-organization. Continuing from our above example, Novartis CP allocated its 100 best customers (PEP) to the most experienced salespersons who maintained a regular contact with them and offered individual customized solutions. Similarly as we approach the lower segments of Important Farmers, these customers were offered lesser importance as they were offered mass customized solutions through the marketing team.

The book highlights the importance of customer data collection. Again, going back to the Novartis CP case, unlike its competition Novartis CP was prudent to have worked with the dealers rather than bypass them. This approach helped Novartis to gain an edge over its competitors and to collect important and reliable customer data.

According to me, the most important aspect that the book talks about is the need of pervasive dissemination of information. For example, when Dell launched an online platform called Premier Dell.com, the idea was to aggregate information (specific to each clients need) from a deluge of information. Premier Dell.com is an online platform where end users within an organization can shop for desktops, notebooks, servers, storage, and related services. With Premier Dell.com, customers could gather specific data without having to make numerous phone calls or send regular emails to its Dell. Such an online service helped Dell to increase customer satisfaction and reduce the costs associated with servicing customers. The Bentley case talks about a similar program that Bentley calls SELECT Program.

The book also talks about two very interesting models: Lifetime Value Model (LVM) of Convergys. LVM focuses on focus on metrics rather than guesswork, emphasizing the need to include non-revenue measures and assign weights to them based on their relative importance. For example, Average Revenue Score (current spending & projected spending), Revenue Change Score (year to year actual spending), Current Relationship (signed contracts & total length of contracts), and Technology Engagement (system integration, reporting, tele-web, & email) have been assigned 20%, 25%, 15%, and 20% weight respectively.
There are several takeaways from this book report and indeed from book reports presented by other MBA Participants. Such practical examples from book reports, theoretical knowledge and experience sharing of Professor Alain Philippe, and the experience sharing by prominent speakers such as Stéphanie Demay are aspects that are some of the major takeaways from the Customer Relationship Marketing elective.

Avishek Sarkar, Full-time MBA 2011

As, the whole of India lit up in celebration of the festival of Diwali, Indians at the HEC Campus rejoiced and celebrated the grand festival with higher spirits, miles away from home.

November 5^th 2010, was a very busy day for not just many Indian students at the HEC Paris campus, but also for a large number of non-Indians who were busy draping sarees and wearing kurta pyjamas (traditional Indian wear).  After weeks of preparations, residents of Residence Expansiel, celebrated Diwali with great pomp and show.

The name “Diwali” is a contraction of “Deepavali” (Sanskrit: Dīpāvalī), which translates into “row of lamps”. Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps (diyas or dīpas) filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends.

Diwali celebrations had been a talk of the town since weeks. E-mail teasers, posters and flyers were all over the place. Soon, the most awaited night of Indian festivities had arrived. As the clock struck 6, the Piano bar was adorned by beautiful ladies in traditional Indian sarees and salwaar, men also matched them well, by donning their kurta pyjamas.

The Piano Bar never looked so beautiful, with hand-made wall hangings and lamp shades (courtesy: Partner’s Club) hanging all over the place.

The festivities began with a traditional Pooja (Worship) by members of Expansiel, led by partners of MBA participants. The pooja rituals were performed and Bhajans were sung in praise of the gods. The proceedings gave participants from different countries an idea about the rich Indian mythology.

The prayers were followed by food. Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian delicacies were offered to all the attendees and everybody relished the famous Indian samosas, chicken tikkas, kababs and sweets. For the first time in the history of Piano Bar, alcohol was beaten in popularity by the famous Indian yogurt-based drink – lassi.

The surprising fact was the arrival of other people interested to attend the festivities, notably Indian from Jouy en Josas and primarily the HEC Campus. Many of the non-Indian attendees were interested in understanding the in-depth meaning behind the traditions. They loved the food, with most of them preferring the Indian Lassi (tasting it for the first time in life) than other drinks.

No Indian party is complete without Bollywood dancing, after all, the heavy Indian food has to be digested. So, the floor was thrown open and one after the other foot-tapping numbers compelled everybody present to let their hair down. Indians on the floor were facing a tough competition by non-Indians, who learnt Bollywood steps and danced to their hearts desire until wee hours of the morning.

Diwali is a personal, people-oriented festival when enmities are forgotten, families and friends meet, enjoy and establish a word of closeness.  This Diwali, succeeded in bringing the entire HEC community closer and once again filled the lives of the people with light and joy.

Jeev Sahoo & Ankita Sayal, MBA September 2011

What do you get when 11 HEC MBAs go on a 3 day career trek to New York and interact with top working professionals who have rich experience in Marketing, Finance, & Consulting at Global Brands such as PepsiCo, American Express, Johnson & Johnson, Ogilvy, NBC Universal, Barclays Capital, Morgan Stanley, etc.? The answer would be different for each MBA Participant because of the diversity of the group that was represented by more than 6 different nationalities and professional backgrounds in sectors such as Food & Beverages, Banking & Finance, Consulting, Not for Profit, etc. For me, the gains from the trek were networking with business leaders, learning from the practical experience of professionals who have worked in a global milieu, and identifying roles that would be a fit for my skills and interests.

To give a brief background of career treks, HEC has arranged career treks to Geneva, London, New York, and Boston. Such career treks are opportunities that student leverage to gather information from the companies, information that provides a broad perspective of the environment and culture of companies that they are interested in.

As an MBA participant, I viewed the career trek as an investment in the future. It was interesting to note that how the marketing function has different meaning depending on the nature of the organization. For example, marketing at PepsiCo (FMCG) is quite different from what marketing is at organizations such as American Express (Banking & Finance) and NBC Universal (Media). The opportunities available for those interested in Marketing also varied. For example, at NBC offered a wider range of options across various media platforms and a wide range of global brands that it has on its portfolio. As someone who is motivated by continuous innovation, I was excited to learn about the opportunities available at NBC.

The HEC MBA student group also had an opportunity to meet some of the HEC alumni at the fall 2010 re-launch of HEC Alumni Association in New York during a private cocktail party. The event was attended by a more than fifty alumni who are based in New York; the alumni shared with us their experience at organizations such as Danone, L’OCCTAIE, Gameloft, etc. These interactions with the alumni helped me gain a better understanding of the culture of a organization in which the alumnus worked, a typical working day at the organization and whether it resonates with me, and the demands of the organization concerned.

I strongly recommend every MBA Participant to participate in such career treks as such opportunities can only be availed during an MBA Program.

Avishek Sarkar, MBA 2011

Do you Like it?

The first HEC Paris MBA New Media Conference: Live 2010 will explore New and Social Media across different business domains and industries with speakers from Cisco, Danone Evian, L’Oreal, Salesforce.com, Facebook, Samsung, Philips and Dassault systemes.

See the video here!

“As a consumer, each of us exhibit a certain type of behaviour while making a choice from amongst the plethora of alternatives available in the market place. It is this behaviour that experts have tried to map by establishing a pattern about the way we make decisions. The elective ‘Creative Marketing’ (formerly known as Consumer knowledge) explores the process of making decisions through research in Marketing, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, and Economics. Professor Corinne Dauger has refreshed and updated the contents of the elective to provide more focus on businesses that are driven by creation, businesses such as Luxury, Games, Entertainment, etc.

Professor Corinne Dauger, who has been a Managing Director at Procter & Gamble – Laundry Products Europe, used real life examples to illustrate how marketers utilize the consumer knowledge to market their brand. Professor Dauger talked about everything from firms’ advertising copy strategies to human behaviour knowledge in terms of ‘Theory of Involvement’, ‘Hierarchy of needs’, etc. She talked about the how marketers persuade consumers through reason (facts, proof, logic, etc.) to make the consumers understand, think, and agree and through faith (testimonials, emotions, imagination, etc.) to make the consumers feel, be moved, and adhere to the marketers’ communications. She also talked about the importance of cognitive persuasion to obtain the attention of the consumers; she highlighted how marketing communications need to have impact and be key benefit focused to successfully obtain and retain the attention of the consumers. She talked about how marketers evoke positive/negative emotions, emotions such as ‘fear’ and ‘guilt’ to create an impact with their marketing communications.

Professor Dauger also highlighted the analytical and creative approach towards product innovation, types of innovations and their rates of success, diffusion model (innovators, early adaptors, early majority, late majority, laggards), Value Management, etc, to help us better understand consumer behaviour. She concluded the sessions with a live case on Nespresso, a case where participants leveraged the learning from her sessions to propose strategies to Nespresso in countering the threat posed by the launch of bio-degradable espresso capsules (compatible with Nespresso machines) by Ethical Coffee Company (ECC) and Sara Lee. The application of learning from the sessions was quite evident in the quality of strategies proposed; for example our proposal of Nespresso offering product warranty conditional of exclusive use of Nespresso coffee pods was devised through the application of theory of persuasion of the consumer by evoking the negative emotion of ‘fear’.

As an MBA Participant with 5 years of experience in Sales and Marketing, the professor’s sessions helped me to structure my thoughts and decision making process. I will highly recommend future MBA Participants to undertake this elective to better understand the consumer behaviour and thus become a better marketer.”

Avishek Sarkar, MBA 2011

“Most people run a race to see who is fastest.  I run a race to see who has the most guts”  Steve Prefontaine

Well, it was guts, fun, hard work, and inspiration working for the HEC MBA Runners team. As we compose this brief report on the experience of HEC MBA Students in the Paris Versailles 16 km run, we have collated first hand information from the runners on how it all began, how they went through the process of preparation along with their hectic schedules, experience on the day of the run and beyond the run.

It all started when the newly admitted students were discussing over Linkedin about common interests and it sprang up that there are a number of long distance runners in the group. The initiative was taken by David Boursin, who also went ahead to create a group on Google Groups, connecting everyone. Each one of us took an initiative in providing information for sign-up, previous experiences to encourage newbie runners and training experiences.

Once in campus, we all had to juggle between our schedules and the training. With the weather in Jouy en Josas supporting us well, there were regular group runs in the campus. At times the schedules did not match, and at other times, students were worried about lesser practice. But some of us, like Françoi-Xavier were really serious and sincere (Françoi-Xavier finished 16 km in 58 mins 56 seconds).

On the day of the run, Raphaël picked some of us from Residence Expansiel and we met the other runners at The Eiffel Tower. The crowd was awesome. With 22000 people ready for running, the area was energized! The HEC MBA team was proud to wear ‘I Love HEC’ T-shirts and posed for numerous pictures. As the race began, there were many people in the crowd shouting, ‘Allez, HEC!’ and prodding us to keep running faster. People came out of their houses to cheer us, children were singing songs, courtyards played music and there were many handing over water, sugar, (and even gift dolls!) throughout the way. There were groups spreading messages such as for world peace and breast cancer awareness. The track has a number of stretches with high slopes and it was almost like climbing a hill at times.

As we kept on covering km by km, there anxiousness and happiness kept on increasing together. Even when we think, we cannot, we can! The run proved it. The following are the timings of the HEC MBA Team:

Heartfelt congratulations to one and all!

The pride of HEC MBA lives on! Hurray!

Jeev Sahoo (Divyajeevan SAHOO, Sep 2010 Intake, HEC MBA)