It's Time to Get Down to Business
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2013 SECTION M ON ON1 STAND OUT Make face time work at employer-info sessions, M6 WORLD OF MBAS STEPHANIE LAKE/CANADIAN PRESS Professor Kelly Parke at York University is “awesome,” says Jason Pottinger, a Toronto Argo and student. “He definitely knew how to orchestrate the class so that it was very interactive.” Igniting creative sparks passing through a sensor gate rather survey of the best MBA teachers in What makes a superb teacher? Three engaging than with tokens, to Instacare, a “virtual Bloomberg Businessweek, students “al- medical consult at your fingertips” most universally praise” qualities such instructors who fire up their ‘dragons’ through FaceTime on an iPhone. as a “compelling classroom presence,” You can tell from the ripples of laugh- thorough knowledge of subject matter, LISON DUNFIELD presentation will get a chunk of (fake) ter and the enthusiasm on the faces of research proficiency and availability. SPECIAL TO THE STAR investment money, bragging rights and the presenters that this is not a typical Many MBA students have high stan- Kelly Parke’s dragons are poised and ready to pounce. It’s the a half-point bump to their final mark, MBA class. And you can tell from dards. They’ve already spent time in the last day of class at his innovation through technology and Parke tells an MBA student, and this is Parke’s sheer joy when he talks about workplace, possibly in a leadership role, design course at the Schulich School of Business, and the worth a lot. the students’ ingenuity that he gets a lot and they are often funding their own game is on. Projects up for judging range from a out of teaching this course. education. There’s a lot at stake: his students are competing for $1 smartphone application that would al- What makes a great MBA professor? million in “Schulich bucks” from the investors. The winning low commuters to pay TTC fares by According to a 2012 article based on a MBA continued on M2 Q&A: Diversity brings a global outlook to classroom JACLYN TERSIGNI rience of others?” Each student has to from countries aside from Canada. How A. Our hallmark is our integrated man- SPECIAL TO THE STAR bring something that helps other stu- does that influence learning? agement focus. Rather than starting an Peter Todd, dean, dents to learn as well. A. I think having professors that come MBA and having students study a little bit Desautels faculty of management, Q. What unique specializations are avail- from all around the world means you get of finance, marketing, accounting, tech- McGill University able for Desautels students? a richer diversity of perspectives in the nology and putting it all together in sec- Q. What helps prospective MBA stu- A. One is global strategy and leadership . classroom. I think you get different points ond year — if they manage to put it to- “Our hallmark dents stand out in their application? . (Students) all either do a formal in- of view about how business is done in gether — we start with the big picture. A. We’re looking very carefully at work ternship, a field project inside a company, different places in the world — how dif- Q. What is the world market like for De- is our experience. I think we’re looking as well or an international exchange which gives ferent cultures work and so on, and I think sautels graduates? integrated at motivation and what people are after. them more of the global flavour we like to the professors help drive that conversa- A. The last three years, we’ve had the We look at references. But beyond that, have at McGill . students now will do an tion in the classroom. best placement years for our MBA grads management we also ask each student the question: international trip together. Q. What separates Desautels from other . We’ve had the highest placement focus” “What do you bring to the learning expe- Q. More than 85 per cent of faculty come business schools and MBAs? rates and highest salaries we’ve seen. It’s time to get down to business. Choose Laurier’s MBA Part time alternate weekends downtown Toronto Full time 20 months Co-op Waterloo Full time one year Waterloo Full time one year International The Best Business Certified WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY lauriermba.ca Schools in Management the World Accountants WATERLOO | TORONTO | Brantford | Kitchener M2⎮TORONTO STAR SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2013 ON ON1 >> WORLD OF MBAS Trading an almanac for an MBA As global agriculture pressures be at a level that I could be confident with the decisions I made.” rise, the modern farmer looks The business of agriculture is global, highly competitive and rapidly changing, says David to school for the big picture Sparling, professor, operations management and chair of agri0-food innovation, Richard FIONA ELLIS Ivey School of Business, University of West- SPECIAL TO THE STAR ern Ontario. An MBA is not just for the boardroom. Grad- That is why learning business skills is not uates of prestigious MBA programs are not just important but essential, he says. just applying what they’ve learned in highrise “You can’t just go out and do what you’ve urban offices; many are putting essential always done,” he says. business skills to the test in Canada’s milking “You have to think about what is coming parlours and fields. next in terms of trends. How are the markets The agriculture industry is a lot like any changing and how is the competition chang- other industry, says MBA graduate Steven ing? It’s like any competitive global business, Koeckhoven. management is important, leadership is im- The 29-year-old from Saskatchewan gradu- portant. We’re now getting farmers that do ated last year from Western’s Richard Ivey more.” School of Business. He helps run his family Getting an MBA opened McPhail’s eyes to farm and also works for an agribusiness start- the challenges she and other farmers face up. daily. “A lot of the stereotypes around agriculture “To take courses at an MBA level, you’re is that it is just family farms, when it’s a whole thinking outside of the box. You’re thinking of lot more than that. It’s much more complex,” the whole global market, how it impacts you, he says. the opportunity it presents but also the Agriculture is a huge contributor to Cana- threats it presents, and it inspired me to use da’s economy. A report released last year by what I knew to help me inspire others.” Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada showed McPhail now works for non-profit organi- the agriculture and agri-food sector, in 2010, zation Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement directly provided one in eight jobs, employing Association as a program representative and two million people and accounting for 8.1per workshop leader. She helps educate farmers cent of total gross domestic product. on their ever expanding businesses. Shelley McPhail was born and raised on a “It’s all about helping farmers to decide 165-acre farm near Almonte, Ont., in the Ot- what it is they need to do to move forward, tawa Valley where she now lives and manages how to make a plan and make those tough with her husband, Harold, in addition to an- decisions. These are multimillion-dollar op- other 300 acres they rent. They grow spring erations now; they need to be managed like wheat, winter wheat, malting barley, oats, big operations.” soybeans, canola and hay. They also provide Farmers are becoming more astute as busi- custom planting and spraying services and ness people, says Sylvain Charlebois, associ- have a small trucking company. ate dean at the University of Guelph. In 2005 she enrolled in the University of “There is more and more appetite out there Guelph’s Masters in business administration to learn more about food systems and agricul- in agriculture, a mostly online course with ture. I’ve met farmers with a PhD,” he says. some short residency requirements. “It’s not necessarily about getting the creden- “When I started the MBA program, we had tials, it’s about the knowledge.” already been farming full-time on our own “I’m living proof that anyone can do an for 22 years, and we were doing an excellent MBA,” says McPhail. job,” she says. “We can all farm, we love to farm, but we’re ROBIN ANDREW/UNPOSED PHOTOGRAPHY “I felt if the farm grew and the industry not all natural managers, and management is Shelley McPhail completed a masters in business administration in agriculture at the became more challenging I needed more what is going to make this sustainable, and University of Guelph. It opened her eyes to the challenges she and other farmers face daily. management experience, and I needed it to make us successful into the future.” Creativity is a muscle that can be developed Become a business MBA from M1 class is structured so that students are able to look to the Canadian business past to glean Hugh Munro, director of MBA programs at clues about how it might behave in the future. superhero with an Laurier School of Business and Economics in Speakers, mentors and Martin himself pep- Waterloo, adds that MBA scholars, especially per the class with anecdotes. those who are continuing to work while “One of the things I really liked about the studying, are often more demanding. “The class was hearing his stories,” says second- quest and appreciation for knowledge is rich- year MBA student Sam Newman-Bremang. er.” Newman-Bremang also touched on some- MBA Parke’s students say they enjoy his teaching thing that makes Martin and other professors because he encourages them to come up with so well-liked — he’s an approachable person Meet the world’s top creative solutions to problems and to imagine who cares about his students, whether to technology that might not yet exist.