midterm madness

IE doesn't have a set mid-term week. In fact, I've only had one actual mid-term exam this past week. However, in these two weeks we have a number of major projects to hand in, so it feels like mid-terms, and that's what we're all calling this hectic period. It means a multiplication of group meetings that have spilt over into the weekend. It means even more need for excellent time management skills. My peer Miguel has written about this in his blog this week, click here for the post. 

While the time pressure has mounted, and the anxiety about grades has become a little more real, what I'm starting to take away from this process of finishing big group projects is a sense of having learned something. I'm trying to apply the frameworks we've used to analyze other cases; I'm thinking about our business plan for the entrepreneurial management class in a completely different light than I did at the beginning of the term thanks to material I've learned in all my classes, particularly marketing; I'm gaining confidence in some of my newly learned financial and quantitative analysis skills. But, I'm also increasingly struggling to retain additional information as we are starting to delve into the nitty gritty of financial accounting. As my classmate who sits next to me said this week "I'm saturated." What am I going to do about that? Go buy some flashcards. When it's tricky and detailed, I need to start memorizing certain facts so that I avoid getting lost when we're looking at complicated issues. 

Time management fairy is telling me my time is up to blog! Back to accounting!

happy holidays! break time?

tree in Plaza del Sol

First of all, happy holidays to everyone! The expected thing to say would be that "I can't believe it's already Christmas break," but really I can... time flies, and that's why after taking a mini-break the 24th and 25th I'm back to work! This break, I'm in Italy with my boyfriend, but we'll be going back to Madrid 5 days before school starts back up again and I'd like to have that time free to explore more of the city and maybe take another mini-roadtrip. So, I'm still relaxing by reading non-school books, watching movies at night, and taking long baths, but I'm trying to work it all day long to get more internship applications, finish my part of the group projects due the first days back, and get ahead on reading. So far, sleeping in is putting me a little behind schedule, but it's so nice! 

In the two weeks since I've last written, I've been writing little notes in my notebooks to bring to my blog. My first reflection was on the case method. The school tells us that there are three phases of learning involved with studying the cases:

1. Individual reading and preparation of the case --> initial knowledge gained

2. Group discussion of the case --> additional knowledge gained

3. Class discussion of the case --> maximum knowledge gained

I agree that completing each of these steps gives you additional points of views and knowledge over the concepts covered in each case. My view on the value of the case method includes some other aspects, and for me, the mental knowledge acquisition process goes likes this:

1. Form a logical or intuitive response to the question each cases poses

2. Use the theory in the textbooks or presented in class to support or break-down my initial hypothesis

3. Remember key points of the cases in order to "substitute" actual experience with situations learned that I've never lived through

I find it's easier to remember the theoretical concepts for issues that I've actually experienced, and for those I haven't, some repetition between the different subjects helps to sink in other concepts. For example, we've talked about Maslow's hierarchy of needs now in at least two classes, if I remember correctly in Marketing and Organization Behavior, so despite my relative lack of experience in these two areas, the application of the theory has become very clear thanks to the repetition in different scenarios. 

Other reflections I scribbled down included that reason number 93 I'm luck I had the chance to work for an NGO is that I am flexible and capable of working without strict guidelines spelling out exactly what I need to do. Of course I can follow instructions, but when they're absent I'm not daunted by open limits. And lastly, that people with a "can-do" attitude are very inspiring (the graduated ex-Net Impact leadership!), and I'm going to make sure that I try and project that positivity to my peers as well.

Before I get back to researching, applying, emailing... I want to share some holiday cheer! I'm still learning to take photos with my iPhone so these are a bit buzzy, but here's some scenes of Madrid Christmas lights:

Calle Serrano

Corte Ingles - Calle Serrano

Plaza Chueca

tree at Gran Via

the honeymoon phase

Today, our last day of orientation, our last "class" was a presentation given by a few of the November 2009 intake students. One of the students called this phase of our MBA the honeymoon phase - we're just getting to know everyone and everyone seems so nice and pleasant and interesting, the professors seem funny and ingenious, and the schedule is long but fun. The message we heard over and over again this week was that we will be working very hard, and teams are going to have crisis, and we're going to have to need some high quality time management and team building skills for when the "honeymoon phase" wears off. So enjoy the beginning because it's going to get crazy!

Orientation topics have included an introduction to the case management method, an "action learning" exercise on teamwork, a review of the IE ethics code, and a first encounter with the career services department. The whole week has made me very excited for the year to come. I'm most excited about using the learning experience, including both the "hard" and "soft" skills we'll be learning, to figure out how my future career can be compatible with the kind of person I want to be.

They have already started to impress upon us the importance of networking... they even organized an open bar to lubricate social interaction with all 500 or so of our Nov. 2010 peers Wednesday night! I went home "early" at 1a.m. because I had a cold I didn't want to get any worse. An MBA in Madrid specifically is also about enjoying the Madrileña nightlife (which means it's completely normal to return home on the weekends, or even weekdays, at 7a.m.), and the school really encourages us to do so! It's all about balance... So far, it is resulting in a down-to-earth party hard, play hard atmosphere. 

Tonight I went to my first student club event. The Indian Club put on a great party with food and dancing to celebrate Diwali. 

pre-program, check

The pre-program is over. What a week. I now remember what college was like... always not getting enough sleep, and I didn't even go out! And thanks to the two night classes and a study group for Financial Accounting, I missed two Arabic classes and a yoga class... But I knew that would happen when I signed up for those extracurriculars. MBA is the priority.

My first case studies have been completed. I spent at least four hours pouring over just the first one... and while I did finally manage to balance my balance sheet (and yes, I felt like a rock star), I still got a lot of numbers wrong. That's why I was so presently surprised at how easy it was to resolve my doubts and mistakes during our first work group session. We had great group dynamics. Where as I might have spent 20 minutes going over one transaction, in the group, everyone offered their ideas, we all usually liked one more than the others, chose those debits and credits and moved on. It was great! We finished all three cases in record time, albeit with some errors, but hey, this is just the pre-program and we're only just getting our feet wet! Thanks pre-program Group 1 Financial Accounting Group 5 for a great first week. 

The pre-program classes have already started to change the way I think about some of my business ideas, and about what it means to analyze business processes. Financial accounting might not be something I want to do everyday the rest of my life, but I can definitely see the value in understanding it and being able to analyze income statements and cash flows.  

Plaza del Conde del Valle de Suchil

This week I found a great new place to study or read while it's still relatively warm out... a little park not too far from my apartment - Plaza del Conde del Valle de Suchil. It's not Retiro, but it's close and has lots of benches. 

Now off to unpack my box of clothes that has arrived from Italy, clean, make dinner, and start the weekend!