“The University of Richmond’s MBA Women’s Association was one of many sponsors showcased at the newly acquired Pfizer Consumer Health care Plant (formerly Wyeth) in Richmond, Virginia, Thursday, October 22nd.  Pfizer was celebrating their “Exploring our Community” themed Diversity Day by hosting organizations from around the Richmond community.  The University of Richmond’s MBA program coordinator, Lois Vogle, along with several current Pfizer employees - Anita Hernandez (current MBA student, Social/Networking Chair of the Women’s MBA Association) & Samantha Brock (Alumni of the MBA program, Member of the Women’s MBA Association), spoke with employees on the benefits of joining the MBA program at University of Richmond, emphasizing the fact that it is never too late to go back for your MBA.  Ms. Lois Vogle had many employees interested in attending her “Lunch with Lois” events to gather more information on the program and to meet current students and alumni.   The event ran all day, and many brochures were picked up by interested employees, hoping to take advantage of tuition benefits offered by Pfizer.  All in all, the event was highly attended, and it was said to be the best diversity day ever held at the plant.  Through attending these events, University of Richmond and its Women’s MBA Association, continue to play an integral part in helping to broaden the knowledge and experience of the employees working in companies around the Richmond community.”

Thank you Anita, Samantha and Lois for your work on this great event!

At #17 nationally, Richmond is a few spots ahead of Ohio State, USC, Texas and NYU.  Our faculty earned a well-deserved A+ for its teaching quality and student respondents gave the same grade when asked about the caliber of their classmates.

 The full rankings table can be found here — http://bwnt.businessweek.com/bschools/ptmba_rankings_2009/.

1. Integrated marketing must evolve into unified marketing. At first, this sounded like merely a fresher buzzword, but the point is that agency functions should become more collaborative, just as marketing messages are blending more closely with the media that contain them.

2. All advertising is becoming direct-response advertising. Consumers are researching and making decisions in less predictable processes, due in large part to interactive media. For example, a consumer may consult friends’ opinions, and several user-generated reviews online. He may be ready to make a purchase decision before engaging with a single ad. This means that image advertising is less valued, and every marketing communication needs a behavior-changing call to action.

3. The nature of storytelling is changing – from a single story for a brand to multiple stories.

My overall takeaway: Interactive media gives consumers abundant choice for how they consume marketing communications, and for how they select products and services. It’s all done on the consumers’ terms.

The challenge for marketers – or any provider of a product or service – is to gain deep insight into the target consumer, offer truly helpful, relevant products, and tell compelling, helpful stories that amplify the product.

Wait a second…shouldn’t that have been the challenge all along?

In light of the media focus on the subject, I found two interesting articles on CNN Money that I encourage you to check out - the 5 Most Overpaid CEOs and the Ten Highest Paid Executives. Do they really deserve what they’re getting?

UPDATE:
CEO Evan Williams spoke to Fortune this week about why income and cash flow are not presently the focus at Twitter.

The link to BizSense is here: http://bit.ly/3CXFZP

I welcome your comments.

I think the most appropriate way to introduce myself as a new blog contributor is to open a window into my present academic life - my education, in media res, as it were.  I’m Daniel Warshaw, and I’m halfway through my first semester of the MBA program at the Robins School of Business.  So far it’s been surprising, challenging, and rewarding.  The tone set by the Opening Residency was invaluable in raising my expectations for the rich variety and rigor of what lay ahead.

I’ve studied business a bit before.  My undergraduate degree was in Information Systems and consisted of a fair range of courses outside the technical world from organizational behavior to strategic management.  Even the technical classes concentrated on the business and were presented in the context of business processes.  I was, therefore, unshaken by the prospect of studying statistics and accounting at the beginning of my graduate work.  After all, with at least two semesters of each from my undergraduate, could I expect much difference?

The truth is there are a number of differences, and while I’m sure they are generally applicable to the program I would like to explain them as they relate to the accounting class that I mentioned at the top of the post.

First of all, the pace is incomparable to that of an undergraduate class.  Every week we cover an entire chapter dense with concepts and examples.  While I could manage putting off reading as an undergraduate until tests approached, I would steadily fall behind with each passing week if I was so relaxed this semester.  Keeping up with the assigned reading is essential not only because of the cumulative nature of the material but because of the discussion-oriented class meetings.  There are fewer than twenty students in my section and you would be in the wrong program if you thought you could lay low and avoid the teacher’s questions.

Oh yes, the teacher.  I am fortunate enough to have Phil Rohrbach as my accounting teacher, a man who only recently retired from the industry and brings a wealth of practical knowledge.  Few things excite me about a class more than a teacher who knows his subject well enough simply to share it with the students.  Not once this semester have Thursday nights felt like a typical lecture.  On the contrary, I have come to look forward to my Thursdays and the discussions that have so far taught me more than any previous accounting course.  I don’t mean to pitch the hard sell, but it is also worth mentioning that I’ve always disliked accounting.   Mr. Rohrbach, though, makes the material engaging enough not only to hold my attention but to motivate my studies.

I would be remiss in my portrayal of MBA 501 if I didn’t share the effects this class has had on my daily life.  While my routine at the office focuses mainly on software development, I feel that I have a firmer grasp on the impact of my work to my company’s financial situation.  Even outside the confines of my cubicle I feel better equipped to understand the financial news and reporting.  It is remarkable how much the rise and fall of so many companies can be traced to decisions about how to present financial statements.

So here I am, halfway finished with Fall Semester, 2009.  I will likely have a better perspective on my footing in the program by December 10th, but for now I’m eager to continue.  As for my future entries, you can expect a focus on information technology, but with an eye toward IT’s place in the broader organization and market.

Pleased to be here.

Welcome Back Reception:
Richmond MBA students enjoyed a fun evening of socializing on September 16, 2009 in the Business School Atrium. New and returning students had a chance to meet fellow classmates and to learn more about participating in student organizations. Stories of international excursions, Opening Residency rites of passage, and summer activities were told while munching on appetizers prior to class. The event was a great way to kick off the start of a new semester! A special thanks to Lois, Debbie, and Jackie for helping to make the event a success.

High Ropes Course Event:
A contingent of students was brave enough to tackle the High Ropes Course Challenge on the University of Richmond campus the morning of September 19, 2009. Dressed in comfortable clothes and sneakers, the group first prepared for the challenges ahead by engaging in ground activities to develop team building, communication, and trust. The true test began once they climbed up the course to conquer the eight unique sections with safety harnesses attached. Even though at points they were over 30 feet off of the ground, the students were not to be foiled. They successfully completed every section and had a great time doing it!

This week, I heard from a couple of military veterans who are in the MBA program and would like to help us attract more veterans.  I look forward to supporting them in this endeavor.

Credit for much of this work is owed to the MBA Leadership Council, under Gary Welch’s direction this year, and to those who have taken the initiative to establish these interest groups.

Finally, a large group of Richmond MBA alumni have now met twice to begin discussions around establishing committees that will provide educational and networking opportunities for our students and alumni.  Stay tuned for more news from them in October.  We look forward to seeing all of our students and alumni at the holiday gathering in December.

The winning team of five students included a pair who are commuting from Charlottesville to attend The Richmond MBA.  Louis Fierro is a manager of editorial operations at Lexis Nexis there and Barbara Wiggins is a clinical assistant professor in internal medicine at the UVa School of Medicine.  Their teammates were Jason Repak of Rolls-Royce, Eric Boe of KBS, Inc. and Alex Solomon of Compass Energy.  All are to be congratulated on an outstanding analysis and presentation.

Several faculty members provided insight that guided our students’ exploration.  Kent Monroe (pricing), Doug Bosse (strategy), Marshall Geiger (accounting), Roger Schnorbus (strategy) and Steve Thompson (operations and technology) led discussions during the residency’s first weekend at the Jefferson Hotel.

We will begin work on next year’s residency in mid-September.  Markel Corporation has already agreed to serve as the case study.