Friday, January 15, 2010

1st Week of Spring Semester..

I must say, it has been a great week. Now, I got the real understanding of MBA. With so many real case studies and a real project with manufacturing giant CATERPILLAR, i feel excited. I am sure it will be a great learning experience and an excellent exposure to the real business world.

I also realized that the concept of "The Balanced Scorecard" by Robert S. Kaplan and David Norton has a huge implication for any firm in current business situation and I hope to learn more about its implementation through various case studies in coming days.

I am also having a kick off meeting with my team tomorrow for our Caterpillar project. I am sure we are going to deliver our best and will give some valuable inputs to the company.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Our Technology driven MBA...

As i am a student ambassador of my MBA program, i got a mail from a prospective MBA student asking about our technology driven MBA program.

I have already spend a lot of time, exploring the term "Technology Driven MBA program" during my MBA preparation days. But, i got the real understanding after i started my classes at NC State.

I will build my explanation on my last blog and continue to emphasize the importance of technology and innovation.Now a days, Innovation and technology is everywhere. A firm must invest significantly on innovation to have a sustainable competitive advantage and the Business managers must be well equipped to understand the latest technology and manage it well to get its maximum benefits.

NC State MBA Program provides the platform to equip its business students with all those tools. The Program includes modern business principles and practices within technology driven market in its course structure. The course brings the best business practices and technology innovation under the same umbrella. It offers a course in Management of Innovation and Technology in 1st Semester where Professors discuss the Innovation Management structures followed in Top Organizations right in the class rooms.We are learning to use the technology as a tool to run businesses in the most effective manner. We are learning the fundamentals behind the technology methods and to incorporate them in taking effective business decisions.

The school has strong ties with various leading companies and thus, substantiate the theory of effective management with practicals. For instance, the Supply-Chain MBA students have a core course in Supply Chain Practicum where they work on real projects of companies and learn their latest practices.

The school stands true in its underlying principle of real world , real projects, real partnership and real technology and I feel privileged to be a part of this exclusive culture.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Innovation pays off..

Recently, i read an article about the Software giant SAS and its successful journey since its inception in 1976. The article reconfirms my belief in innovation as a potent tool for any firm to have a sustainable competitive advantage. The SAS management considers innovation as the foundation of its success and continues to invest heavily on its R&D.
The firm must be able to read market needs and translate those needs and technology capability into products. If this is done with full efficacy, the firm will have an advantage over its peers.
Managing technology is often a challenge for any firm. The Great divide between R&D process and market need is a major concern. The reason for this divide is mainly due to culture, capital and skills involved.
The firm must introduce and propagate an innovation culture among its employees. Top management should introduce participative culture and consider people's ideas for any opportunity.
The capital induced in innovation is also a big factor for a firm to create a niche in the market. The proportionate allocation of the company's revenue into R&D work for any firm in its staedy growth.
The investment in R&D also helps the firm in developing necessary skill sets desired for continuous innovation and improve the absorptive capacity of the firm.
The continuous innovation is a must for any firm to be a leader among its peers, when the product life of any good is getting shorter competition is becoming stiffer.
The firm which gives a substantial importance to the innovation management and is able to bridge the divide between R&D and marketing needs will only be able to rule the market in the long run.