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By Eller College, November 19, 2009 12:33 pm

By Samarth Das, MBA ’10

The MBA International Dinner, hosted by the International Dinner Working Group, is an annual event held in early November that brings together the diverse Eller community in an informal setting. This potluck-based dinner boasts more than 60 different international cuisines, student performances, and an interesting display of culture and diversity. The dinner is equally popular among students, faculty, and staff at Eller. MIS Graduate Association also helps setup this organization along with the IBWG MBA student body.

The size, scale, and diversity displayed at the 2009 International Dinner was spectacular. Maffe Tiga from Guinea, Idly Sambhar from South India, Redang from Indonesia, and Chicken Curry from Nepal are just a few examples of the diversity of cuisines this year. I was a part of the organizing committee for this event and we put in a lot of effort and time in making this event as enjoyable as possible. I was also totally amazed by the effort put in by each and every cook to prepare food at such a scale.

The cultural events were also grand this year and I was personally excited by the musical performance by Rage Against the Case Study. The cultural events were kicked off with a Salsa event by Ritmos Latinos, who presented us with a circle-based salsa dance named Rueda. This year we also started a raffle and I was greatly impressed with the various items as gifts starting from a monkey from India to a lavish Mexican hat. Rage against the Case study was the next event and it made each and every person in the audience give a standing ovation. The guitar and the keyboard complimented each other and they presented a superb performance. I was in the audience and I could see the energy in the audience clapping and praising both of the performers. Next up there was a solo keyboard performance and a Chinese song, both were equally melodious and even though I didn’t understand the Chinese song I enjoyed it a lot. There was also Mexican dancing as well.

The Indian dance was spectacular and full of energy. I was amazed seeing my colleagues from other countries actually getting in the flow and dancing along with the girls performing on the stage. It was historical to watch the faculty members and the staff members dancing and displaying lot energy. The faces and the smile on everyone suggested how successful was the International Dinner and most of us wanted to continue dancing.

Students and faculty were also dressed in the traditional attire of their native countries and also shared the culture and traditions of their respective countries.

You can see photos from the event online here.

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By Eller College, November 10, 2009 6:19 pm

By Trevor Diddell, BSBA Marketing ’10

On Tuesday November 10, Eller students from Roberto Mejias’s MIS 304 class gathered in the Estes Atrium outside of Berger Auditorium to donate non-perishable and canned foods to the Tucson Community Food Bank. Students from section one gathered just before 11a.m. and students from section two gathered at 12:15. As a member of his first section, I stood in line and was thrilled to see the food begin to pile up.

This event was highlighted in class the previous week when the Community Food Bank showed a presentation that really caught my attention. The statistics of just how many hungry and starving families and children there are in Tucson is very sobering. It’s sometimes difficult for students to really see what’s going on right in their own backyard. It is wonderful to have a professor who places an emphasis on the responsibility we all have to the communities in which we live.

With the inspiration of Dr. Majias, both sections came out Tuesday and donated a lot of high-quality food that the community really needed, especially at this time of year. Last semester, Mejias says his students donated over 1,600 pounds of food in less than 30 minutes. Tuesday’s event is one I would like to see repeated more often at Eller, and with greater numbers. I think most of us forget just how much we really have, and how much of a difference we can all make!

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By Eller College, November 2, 2009 10:08 am

By Gabrielle Johnston, BSPA Public Policy and Management ‘10

The 2009 Eller Ethics Case Competition (EECC) was another huge success! With over 20 teams in attendance, it was the biggest competitive field that has ever that was able to see the important role that ethics play at the Eller College of Management.

This year’s the focus of the EECC went global, with the case focusing on India’s revolutionary Tata Nano. The ethical case, written by Dr. Paul Melendez and named “The Tata Nano, Promise or Peril,” was given to teams to analyze the financial, legal, and ethical dimensions of the issue. Before the teams went to work on their presentations for an esteemed panel of judges, they attended a team building exercise at a ropes course. After this, the Eller Board of Honor and Integrity hosted the teams at UA’s Hall of Champions for a fun and exciting welcome dinner.

But it was not all fun and games for long. Starting first thing Friday morning, the teams went straight into business mode presenting their analysis of the Tata Nano case in round 1. After completing this round, all teams advanced on to a question-and-answer round where their knowledge of the case was truly tested. Although all the teams did a wonderful job presenting, not all could advance. After a hard deliberation, the judges decided on advancing Georgetown University, University of Southern California, Elon University, and the University of Texas- Austin into final round.

In the final round, the four advancing teams had to cut down there presentation from twenty to ten minutes. With close to 200 students, faculty, and staff in Berger Auditorium, it was thrilling to see the final four present. Ultimately, it was Elon University who stole the show with their analysis of the Tata Nano.

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By Eller College, October 28, 2009 11:41 am

By Justin Hart, MBA ‘10, cross-posted from the Eller MBA Blog

On Friday, October 16th I attended the Eller MBA Industry Roundtable and General Networking Event in Phoenix.  The event was a great opportunity for me and my fellow full-time Eller MBA colleagues to network with students in the Phoenix Eller Evening MBA program as well as representatives from various Phoenix-area businesses.

The event started with a presentation by Brad Casper, the CEO of The Dial Corporation.  Having interned at Dial this past summer, it was great to see Brad and a few of my old Dial colleagues at the event.  Brad’s discussion covered topics ranging from his international assignments during his career at Procter & Gamble, the challenges of leading a consumer packaged goods company in the evolving retail environment, and general Q&A from the audience.

Next on the agenda was a series of small group discussion sessions on the topics of health care management, renewable energy, and small and mid-size business issues.  I attended the health care discussion and really enjoyed hearing the insights shared from leaders of The Mayo Clinic and the Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

The event ended with a hybrid job fair/networking happy hour session.  I enjoyed conversation with representatives from companies like Stirling Energy Systems, SRP (Renewable Energy Division), U.S. Solar Holdings, and caught up with colleagues from a number of different disciplines and backgrounds.

Overall, the event was a lot of fun and increased the networking opportunities for each of the various MBA programs and locations that exist at the Eller College of Management.  I’m already looking forward to the next opportunity to catch up with my new contacts .

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By Eller College, October 8, 2009 11:25 am

University of Arizona alums Sean Conway and D.J. Stephan started a bidding war after they pitched their venture Notehall.com to a panel of investors on the ABC reality show “Shark Tank.” Read more about their venture in the Eller Times.

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By Eller College, October 5, 2009 3:40 pm

Jennie Smith (MBA ’05), Technical Account Manager with Nextrio

I recently had the opportunity to participate as an interviewer in the Eller College Professional Admission process.  What a great experience!  From the moment I walked through the doors of the McClelland building I became a much-appreciated cog in a very well-oiled machine.  Of course, while this was my first time as an ECA interviewer, it was the 20th time that these admissions interviews were being conducted, so for many this was old hat.  My personalized interviewer packet was placed in my hands as I was directed to the breakfast spread.  After assembling a plate of glossy sausages, fresh fruit, and a mini-croissant I took a seat with several other interviewers.  As luck would have it, I found myself across the table from a seasoned interviewer who outlined the order of activities for the day and shared some valuable tips.

#1 Review all of the contents of the packet (the agenda, interview questions, cover letters & resumes for six applicants, six scoring sheets, the ethics case, and general guidelines)
#2 Fill out the scoring sheet with the general information in advance
#3 Read and evaluate the cover sheets and resumes for the six applicants

Check, check, and check.  Sipping my coffee, I thought to myself how fortuitous that I selected a seat next to such an enthusiastic and experienced interviewer.  Of course, what I soon discovered was that the room was brimming with folks equally dedicated to the process.  As breakfast concluded all the interviewers were directed to gather in one of the lecture halls for a brief overview of what to expect, and what was expected of us.  While we were addressed by five members of the Eller staff and faculty the session was still short and informational.  We were all thanked profusely for our participation and reminded of the value of this process to the students and to the program.

Funneling out of the lecture hall in search of our interview rooms I meet my soon-to-be interview partner in the stairwell.  Turns out Mark’s been participating in these interviews since he graduated in 2005.  Now residing in Phoenix, he’s just made the two-hour drive to Tucson for this very activity.  Great!  Another person to show me the ropes.  Mark describes both his own experience as an interviewer, but also what it was like to be on the other side of the table as an undergraduate.  The rest of the dew flew by at warp speed.  All six applicants were polite, prepared, and seriously invested in the interview.  Mark and I briefly discussed each interviewee after he or she left the room and independently recorded our scores and feedback on the scoring sheet.

As I exited room 118 and walked toward the door several of the student volunteers thanked me for participating.  Wow, what a treat to be engaged in an activity where every single person involved is committed to its purpose and success.  Will I interview again?  Absolutely.

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By Eller College, October 2, 2009 3:09 pm

By Todd Leber, MBA ‘10 and MBA Student Association President

Over 125 people attended the 2009 Eller MBA Welcome Back Party, co-hosted by MBA Student Association (MBASA) & Emerson on Saturday, August 29. First- and second-year full-time Eller MBA students, faculty, and staff as well as representatives from Emerson gathered at El Saguarito Mexican Restaurant to celebrate the beginning of the new academic year.

The event provided the MBASA and Eller administrative leadership the opportunity to address the entire full-time Eller MBA community and to formally welcome the impressive incoming class of 2011. When Emerson approached the MBASA last fall for ideas about how they could engage with the Eller MBA community, I suggested we reinvent the Eller MBA welcome party and reschedule the event after the beginning of school to ensure strong attendance from both the first and second year classes.

As the MBASA president, one of my primary objectives is to help build a strong sense of community among the different MBA classes and the hardworking faculty and staff. The strong attendance, excellent Mexican food, and heart-felt words from outgoing MBA assistant dean Brent Chrite and incoming assistant dean Dan Bens made for a great start to the new academic year and new chapter in Eller MBA leadership. I would also like to thank Price Fishback, Pam Slaten and Jeff Schatzberg from the Eller MBA faculty and dean Paul Portney for joining us.

Recent Eller MBA/JD graduate and Emerson employee Brooke McNett put a friendly face to the Emerson name and expressed Emerson’s continued commitment to the Eller MBA program. This was a great opportunity for Emerson to reach out to the first- and second-year MBA students in a casual setting and to promote their upcoming round of recruiting. Associate dean Bens made a special point to express his appreciation for Emerson’s sponsorship of the event and for the strong, long-standing relationship between Emerson and the MBA program.

We hope this event becomes an annual celebration of the beginning of the new academic year, alongside one of its most valued corporate partners. Thank you to Emerson for co-hosting this memorable evening and for everyone else who made the point to come and help strengthen the Eller MBA community!

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By Eller College, September 23, 2009 11:01 am

By Brian Gentile (BSBA Marketing ’85), CEO of Jaspersoft

It occurred to me recently that the open source movement is really nothing less than a renaissance.  Perhaps that sounds grandiose, but stay with me.

If you think about it, for a few hundred years, some of the most significant advancements by mankind have come from, and are maintained in, proprietary (closed source) methodologies.

Take, for example, U.S. patent and copyright protection laws and policies.  They reinforce proprietary, “closed source” rights and policies.  As a result of this system, many substantial U.S. companies have formed around breakthrough ideas, but incentives are in place for those companies to guard and protect their intellectual property, even if others outside the company could extend or advance it more rapidly.

Now, to be clear, patent and copyright protection is necessary because it properly encourages the origination of ideas through the notion of ownership.  But, too few people consider the upside of allowing others to share in the use of their patents and copyrights, because they think such distribution will dilute their value — when, in fact, sharing can substantially enhance the value.  Fundamentally, “open source” is about the sharing of ideas big and small and the modern renaissance represents newfound understanding that sharing creates new value.

In many areas of science, the sharing of ideas (even patents and copyrights) has long been commonplace.  The world’s best and brightest physicists, astronomers, geologists, and medical researchers share their discoveries every day.  Without that sharing, the advancement of their ideas would be limited to just what they themselves could conjure.  By sharing their ideas through published papers, symposiums, and so on, they open up many possibilities for improvements and applications that the originator would have never considered.  Of course, the internet has provided an incredible communication platform for all those who wish to collaborate freely and avidly and is, arguably, the foundation for this renaissance.

That’s why it’s ironic that one of the laggard scientific disciplines to embrace open source is computer science.  For the past 40 years, for example, incentives have been strong for a company to originate an idea for great software, immediately file a patent and/or register to copyright it, and then guard it religiously.  No one would have thought that exposing the inner-workings of a complex and valuable software system so that others might both understand and extend it would be beneficial.  Today, however, there are countless examples where openness pays off in many ways.  So, why has computer science and software lagged in the open source renaissance?

That computer science is an open source laggard is ironic because the barriers to entry in the software industry are relatively low, compared to other sciences.  One might think that low entry barriers would reduce the risk to and promote the sharing of ideas. But, instead, software developers (and companies) have spent most of the last 40 years erecting other barriers, based on intellectual capital and copyright ownership — which is perplexing because it so limits the advancement of the software product.  But, such behavior does fit within the historical understanding of business building (i.e., protecting land, labor and capital).

Another relative laggard area — and an interesting comparison — is pharmaceuticals and drug discovery.  When I talk with colleagues about this barrier-irony phenomenon, this is the most common other science cited (i.e., another science discipline that has preferred not to share).  But, in drug discovery the incentives not to share are substantial because the need to recover the enormous research costs through the ownership of blockbuster drugs is extremely high.  In fact, because the barriers to enter the pharmaceuticals industry are quite high, one might think that would promote openness and the sharing of ideas, given that few others would genuinely be able to exploit them.  But, once again, the drive to create a business using historically consistent methods has limited the pharmaceuticals industry to closed practices.

So, returning to computer science and software, maybe the reasons for not sharing are based on the complexity of collaboration? That is, it’s hard to figure out someone else’s software code, unless it’s been written with sharing fundamentally in mind.  Or maybe there’s a sense that software is art, and I want to protect my creative work — more like poetry than DNA mapping.

Either way, the renaissance is coming for the software industry. Software will advance and solve new problems more quickly through openness and sharing.  In this sense, computer science has much to learn from the other areas of science where open collaboration has been so successful for so long.

Fortunately, the world of software is agile and adept. According to research by Amit Deshpande and Dirk Riehle at SAP Research Labs, during the past five years the number of open source software projects and the number of lines of open source software code have increased exponentially.  The principles that this new breed of open source software have forged are already leaving an indelible mark on the industry.  Soon, its proponents believe, all software companies will embrace these fundamental open source principles:  collaboration, transparency and participation.  The course of this renaissance will be our guide.

I would be interested in your feedback on these ideas because the open source renaissance is well underway and I plan to be a model historian.

Read more of Brian’s thoughts by following his blog, The Open Book on BI.

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By Eller College, September 15, 2009 10:01 am

By Paul R. Portney, Dean of the Eller College
Cross-posted from The Washington Post On Leadership blog.

It’s true that the financial crisis was rooted in part by unethical behavior on the part of Wall Street’s leaders. When someone creates and/or sells a financial instrument–whether a mortgage-backed security or anything else–that he knows is destined to fail simply because the eventual problem won’t be his to deal with, something’s wrong.

Nevertheless, we will not avoid such problems in the future by naively expecting Wall Street (or anyone else, for that matter) to simply hire more “ethically evolved” people. One ex-Lehman trader was quoted in the New York Times this past weekend as having said you cannot expect people at one firm to avoid selling financial products that their counterparts at other firms are profiting handsomely from selling. He’s right.

The answer lies not on Wall Street but rather at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and North Capitol Streets. Congress must strengthen our financial regulatory system so that someone is looking out for “systemic risk,” so that those deemed too big to fail are not allowed to take the same chances as those whose failures will be accepted, and so that those who rake in big bonuses in good times will see them clawed back if they turn out to have been premised on a house of cards.

The perhaps uncomfortable truth is that most of us respond to the incentives we face, financial and otherwise. Wall Streeters may focus especially sharply on the paychecks they receive, but if we want them to behave differently, we have to see to it that those paychecks depend in part on behavior that is good for all of us, not just for them.