Morning MBA class postponed - Dunedin under snow!

 It's cold! In fact so cold it is snowing. I woke up this morning to this. However, it is hard to get down the hill to the Uni so now classes this morning and maybe none this afternoon. We will see...

Enjoy the pics!

Sun and surf in Dunedin

http://www.dunedinlight.com/

What a great weekend. Fun surfs each day - Friday to Sunday, although it was a bit rainy today. Friday and Saturday were clear blue skies and cold water but the sun was out so you couldn't help but feel good. The logo above is for a website - dunedinlight.com that really depicts what this place is all about, particularly if you are a surfer. It is run by local photographer, Derek Morrison. I hope I get to meet him while I am down here.

He has some great pics of the surf and the beach but also some good shots that highlight the fabric which is the Dunedin community. Check out the reports page he does weekly - lots of blue water and stoked surfers in uncrowded line ups.

Studying in the 'caves'

 

One important part of the Otago MBA that is not talked about in the glossy brochures are the 'syndicate rooms' or the caves. It is the place you live, study alone, study in groups, laugh, cry and even lick your wounds in. Why am I telling you this? Because if you come here you will spend a lot of your time in these rooms. 

Our representative from Finland has even taken to sleeping here. Why? He is a single fellow with no reason to go home so what better thing to do as a study break than have a bit of a nap! You will notice the light is on in this picture however the photographer, Tapan, had to turn the light on to get the picture!

We are still not sure whether Kris has been working hard or he just has the ability to sleep anywhere. Have got some other quality pics of him having a snooze :)

News Flash! Otago MBA named as a global rising star MBA!

Check it out!

Knew I made the right decision!

http://www.findyourmba.com/fymba-rising-stars-2012-mba-ranking

Why I choose the Otago MBA

I realised that for many people the MBA journey is just beginning. We are almost through first term here but for many you are contemplating leaving work to take on the course for 12 months to two years and getting into an MBA. If this is you, don't hesitate, especially if you can afford it. I chose the Otago MBA for a few reasons but particularly as it is intense and the study does not linger on.

The reasons I chose the Otago MBA was:

• It is good school! It is globally accredited with the best. Part of the accreditation is the entrance exam - the GMAT. This ensures the students are all high calibre. IIf you don't get the marks you don't get in. That said, if you want it you will get the marks!
• It was full time not "semi" full time like Auckland Uni or some of the courses in Australia and the United States. I really only wanted a year out of work.
• It is very reasonably priced. Scholarships were offered to other intitutions in the USA particularly but it would still be cheaper at Otago
• Cost of living in NZ - at the bottom of the south island living is very cheap!
• Dunedin - what a great town - cold it is granted but real character
• Surf - the best place to surf in NZ by far!
• Snow - only 2.5 hours away from Queenstown
• The Exchange Program - I hope to do my elective in Canada early next year
• Small classes - 15 to 20 in a class is a pretty good learning ratio
• Global diversity - course this year has a Finn, an Aussie, Kiwis, Indians, Chinese, a Sri Lankan and a couple of Brits - a good spread for such a small number!

 Feel free to drop me a note if you have any questions and I will answer anything I can.

Man flu hits Otago MBA 37

Sorry for the lack of posts. Been a bit under the weather with a serious case of man flu. It has been a tough week however the Sudafed - with no pseudo-ephedrine has held me together or though I may have nodded off briefly in Finance! However, we are now through week 6 and the pressure is on.

Assessment is thick and fast - most recently as follows:

• Organisational Leadership case presentations and panel feedback activity 
• Syndicate C is done and dusted - a good start.
• Reflective Essay on Leadership - never had so much trouble talking about myself
• Stats and Finance syndicate projects - have you ever written up an equation based assignment in a team? - this is full on with 30% on the line for both.
• Economics weekly quizzes that count for marks and a monster assignment which I have thought about that really needs to start soon

I still have a head full of flu but am recovering and we have our next major quiz for Finance next week - must lift. Good to be back - sorry for the break in communications.....

Shattered....

Sitting in my dressing gown feeling like a broken man. Truckloads of work on and we manage to have hit the town on a Thursday night. We had a networking function last night after we learnt how to network. For those that know me, this wasn't too tough :) After the function we decided a slap up curry was a good option so 8 of us including Nick from MBA 36. It was a very funny evening. The Indian guys took charge of the night and made sure we had the best! Ankit in particular was on fine form making sure we had all the good stuff. Afterwards we kicked on the raging night spot, the Original Robert Burns Pub and had the pleasure of watching the house jazz band (of 17 years!) belt out some favorites. Today was a tough day of stats and organisational leadership syndicate work...am so tired I am cross-eyed now....

Economics humour!

You know you are getting into your course when you find videos like this funny....got another one I will post later :)

Week 4 in the rear view mirror

The reason for the photo of my Organisational Leadership folder is because we dived deep into motivation theory this week as well as its application in  leadership. Motivation is now the name of the game in the coursework too as the loaad is coming thick and fast. Assessments for Economics and Stats were thrown at us this week and with more due next week. Motivation and discipline needs to remain high!

In terms of the other things covered this week. Stats we started to get into normal distributions, properties and applications, however the quiz worth 20% was the main attraction this week. Finance we got into valuation of stocks and bonds which built on our time value of money assumptions we have developed in the first three weeks. Economics was all about multi criteria decision making and conjoint analysis and the associated software. Our project is all about this and I have picked a topic and now I need to go off and do it.

One of the things I picked up this week which has been a real winner. Unlike most stats courses (I didn't realise this) ours is taught using Microsoft Excel unlike many who use SPSS or the like. This has been a real winner for me as I can take this knowledge back into my work. I challenge you to find a company who uses SPSS!

A little bit of culture....er well umm rugby!

On Saturday night we packed up the family and headed down to Forsyth Barr Stadium to watch the mighty Highlanders, the local Super Rugby team. We met a few people before at the world famous (in Dunedin) Poppa's Pizza to carbo load. After a few glasses of red wine we were ready to rumble. The problem was that the Highlanders haven't won a game all season. The atmosphere in the first half reflected it and the players from both the Highlanders and Sharks could be forgiven if they thought they were playing in a morgue! However, the section behind the goal posts at one end is called the Zoo. It is made up of the student population who were out to have a good time regardless.

In the second half things started to hot up as the Highlanders put on 10 unanswered points and the crowd really started to get into the game. They were starting to really to play and were out to a good lead but the Sharks began to wind them back in however the Highlanders held them out (just!) to hold on by 2 points. Bloody exciting even I am not a big rugby fan. My three year was switiched off completed watching Ice Age on the iPad in the second half. At least she got some hot chips!

Otago MBA Teppanyaki Style

On Saturday night my classmates surprised me. It was my birthday on the Sunday however our group got together for a teppanyaki dinner and sang happy birthday. Very sneaky. It was a great night. Most of the class came along with wives and partners in tow. Lots of laughs were had and a few even kicked on and caused trouble - no names of course. Functions like these are definitely allowing the group to form strong bonds of friendship. I hope these nights continue to punctuate our busy schedule.

PS Thanks Kris for the photo!