Career, Networking, Useful Tools and Tips

Do Entrepreneurs Need An MBA?

November 30, 2015 hmteam

So you have some great ideas and are ready to start your own business venture. The idea of being your own boss sounds promising. The opportunity to let your ideas translate into profitable business is appealing. So in a stage where you are attempting to get cash together for your start-up, how would an MBA come into the picture? The answer: An MBA can help you acquire the skills that you need to supplement your ideas and passion.

Here’s what you’ll get.

Good Deadline Habits

Crazy deadlines are in. If you thought that your undergraduate professors were being too demanding or unreasonable, welcome to the real world. An intensive MBA programme like the one at Nanyang Business School will keep you motivated to achieve targets one after the other. Because that’s how things work in the real world! Long hours and seemingly impossible time frames will be of no worry to you once you complete the programme.

Networking Skills

You can’t like everybody and everyone can’t like you. Still, people do business with those who they know and trust. An MBA will push you into regular interaction with business experts, alumni, classmates, locals and other people around. With time, you will pick up the ability to create lasting relationships with them. Building powerful networks lays the foundation to success as an entrepreneur. Who knows? Maybe you will find future investors for your start-up.

A Platform or a Test Bed

Launching your own business involves risk. A lot of money and time goes into beginning each venture and there’s no better place to test the waters than your B-school. MBA candidates get the advantage of having a trusted space to share their ideas without really starting anything officially. So entrepreneurs can gain from feedback. It will be good to know if your business idea is leaning toward failure and the reasons behind it – before spending a fortune on it.

Analytical Proficiency

Just because you have a decent idea does not mean that you know how things work behind the scenes of a start-up. Reading and understanding financial statements and being proficient with spreadsheets is a must for any entrepreneur. If you don’t know it and think that hiring somebody would be good enough, think again. You need to know what is happening in your business instead of hearing a short summary about the reports. Thankfully, MBA students spend lots of time analysing balance sheets, profit and lost statements, and cash flow statements when they work on case studies.

Teambuilding Drive

Most entrepreneurs are confident individuals who love building on their own ideas and seeing the results. Sometimes they forget that a team works together to get things together. When you choose to attend an MBA programme, you’ll find yourself collaborating with fellow candidates who you may not like to be friends with. In other words, you learn to work in groups consisting of all kinds of people. Everyone will have their own objectives and skills, and you will need to learn how to work with their ideas without losing sight of your own.

When entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs invest in an MBA degree, they are bound to learn in one or two years, what they would have learned on the job in five years or more. Of course it isn’t cheap, but it gives you the power to avoid mistakes that could end up costing you more.

Blog, The NANYANG MBA, Useful Tools and Tips

When Is The Right Time To Do An MBA?

November 27, 2015 hmteam

A few years into the workforce, and you’re bound to consider arming yourself with another qualification. Thoughts of applying for an MBA programme will fill your mind because it certainly seems like a stepping-stone to success. The trouble is indecisiveness, with factors like a weak economy, insufficient savings and anxiety about returning to school, that keeps people stuck in their jobs and away from the classroom. Still, you can’t put off that MBA forever.

Map Your Goals

A lot of people make the mistake of applying to MBA programmes just because their jobs are getting a little tedious. It’s alright if that is one of your reasons for considering B-school, but you need a plan. Map out your career the way you see it and want it. Do you see yourself in sales or marketing? Does the finance industry appeal to you more than what you are doing now? What is the difference between what you are doing now and what you want to do in the future? Of course, you could change your mind later, but having clear goals will enable you to focus better. Plus, your interviewer for MBA programme admissions can get a good idea about your passion as a candidate and future leader.

Talk to People

If you know what you want to do after the MBA programme, start exploring your options. It is never too early. See what kinds of candidates are hired for the roles you aspire to fill. For instance, some organisations expect several years of work experience and an MBA for some positions. Other organisations may put more emphasis on candidates with an MBA degree rather than the number of years worked. Keep your eyes and ears open because you need to be aware of the typical expectations from your chosen field/industry.

Organise your Finances

Most MBA programmes run for a year or two. Tuition fees do not scare good candidates away, since they look at it as a worthwhile investment. Sit down with your family members and see if you have enough savings to give you a stress-free study break. Find out if you are eligible for any scholarships and apply in time. Do you have to move to attend the best programme? The important people in your life have a part to play in your choice. Most of all, you need to believe that an MBA can have a major positive impact on your career path.

Analyse Your Skills

One reason that an MBA seems attractive is the upgrade in skills that you’ll gain. A better salary and promotion are tempting. What skills do you have? And what skills are you lacking? Make a list. Be honest with yourself. The MBA can fill up the skills gap that is keeping you away from your dream job by making sure that you take advantage of the research facilities, real-world projects with corporations, and constantly updated theory.

So there is no right time. The best time to make your decision is now. Are you ready to make yourself a more attractive and relevant candidate for your next career move? The demand for efficient managers is increasing every day, and so is the demand for sharp, polished MBA graduates. You know yourself best; you’ll find the right time.

Blog, International Exposure, Living in Singapore, Useful Tools and Tips

20 Singlish Words & Phrases To Get You Started

November 25, 2015 hmteam

When Singapore became independent 50 years ago, English was chosen as the official language of the city-state. That didn’t stop the various ethnic groups from creating their own dialect or Singlish, as it is called. Its grammar and vocabulary is borrowed from Malay, Cantonese, Hokkien, Tamil, Mandarin and other Chinese languages.

Studying in a new country is no fun if you don’t immerse yourself into the local culture, so knowing some common Singlish phrases can help you begin.

Lah: Native Singaporeans love adding this word to the end of sentences. There are many ways to use it. For example, Ok lah translates to Okie dokie. No lah! means No, and you are clearly wrong to suggest that. Basically, lah is used to change the tone of a sentence and doesn’t really have a definition itself. Don’t confuse it with OK lor, which means Alright then and is said with a tone of resignation.

Leh: Leh can be used interchangeably with lah. For example, you could say, She did not tell me about that leh. Or somebody could tell you, No leh. He isn’t like that.

Why you so like that: This Singlish phrase means Why are you behaving this way? It is used to show frustration at somebody who is annoying you. Think of your friend making you wait for her for thirty minutes. Then you would ask her this. A Singapore group Kopi Kat Klan has a song called ‘Why you so like dat’. Check it out.

Talk cock: This term means joking around. If you had a relaxed evening laughing and talking with your friends, you could say, Today nothing to do. We all just talk cock all day long.

Wah lao!/Wah piang: These terms are interchangeable. Singaporeans express shock using them. For example, if you find out that the currency exchange rate with your home currency has increased a lot, you could say, Wah lao! So expensive!

Stylo Milo: This fun phrase can come to use when you are describing a classmate or somebody else. It describes someone as trying too hard to be stylish. Someone could point at a guy and say, Eh that guy so stylo milo.

Alamak!: This term translates to Oh my gosh! When a person is shocked or surprised, they may use this word.

Blur like sotong: These words describe a person who has no idea of what he or she is doing. For instance, it could be said to describe a fellow student who struggles to solve a problem. Or it could talk about a person who always seems to get lost. You could say, he is so old and still gets lost all the time, really blur like sotong!

Pai-seh: This term comes from the Hokkien dialect and means embarrassed or shy. You could employ it to express your discomfort about a mistake you made by saying, I forgot his book again. So pai seh. It is pronounced pie-say.

Ya ya papaya: This funny sounding term is used to describe a person as boastful or arrogant. If somebody in class always seems too full of herself and keeps on talking about her accomplishments, you could say, She’s so ya ya.

Eat already anot?: This phrase means Have you already eaten/Have you eaten yet? Anot is a common Singlish word that translates to or not.

Corright: This Singlish word combines the English words correct and right. It can be defined as righter than right. Imagine having a light-hearted argument with your classmate when he thinks what is right is obvious; then he could say Corright to emphasise how very correct he is.

Ah bu then?: This Singlish phrase can be used in instances where you’d say duh or of course in normal English. So if somebody sees you sleeping with your head on the desk and asks you if you are sleepy, this would be the answer.

Dun anyhow touch here touch there leh: If your roommate says this to you, you are in trouble. It means, Please don’t mess with my things.

Oi! Wake up your idea!: A person you are discussing a project with may say, Oi! Wake up your idea! The phrase translates to Can you start thinking straight! The speaker is asking you to wake up from your sleepy state and is being sarcastic.

Siao: This word is very common. It literally means crazy. If somebody asks you something absurd or does something stupid like burn his clothes with the iron, you could say: You siao ah? It’s sarcastic.

Shiong: Shiong is defined as very tired or tiring. Wah today damn shiong, the lecturer asked us to write so many articles, is one example of its usage. In other words, somebody is exhausted and is complaining about his workload.

I don’t know you / How I know you: When a friend does something stupid and realises it, you could utter the words: How I know you? No reply is expected. It is a sarcastic comment.

Han nah / Yah lah: This one comes in handy if you are being nagged. Say somebody keeps on asking you if you have finished reading the book that you borrowed yesterday; you can say han nah han nah han nah (as many times as you want to). Some people like to say Yah lah yah lah instead. If anybody uses this one on you, it means you are annoying him or her a lot.

Catch No Ball: When a local person says this to you, he is telling you that he didn’t understand you. You could picture a ball in his court, which he cannot grasp to remember what it means, “Eh, what talking you? I catch no ball!”

What are your favourite words and phrases? Don’t forget to share in the comments below.

Blog, Career, Networking

Answers: Why Should We Hire You?

November 20, 2015 hmteam

So you got the call; the company of your dreams wants to interview you. It is time for you to sit down and prepare for the conversation between you and your prospective employer. It isn’t an easy job because you never know what exactly they will ask you, but most interviews include some basic questions such as your educational and work background and interests. One question that you will certainly be asked is, “Why should we hire you?”

Here’s how you can get the perfect answer ready.

Pitch Yourself Again

When interviewers ask you why they should hire you, they are asking you to tell them what you can do for them. They also want to know how you can make a difference in their organisation – compared to the other candidates. So this is your opportunity to pitch yourself again. Don’t give them a list of your accomplishments at work or in school. Instead, spend time on research so that you know what they expect from the role you are interviewing for. Ask yourself how your skills and background match up to those needs. Keep your answer positive. Do not mention what other applicants may or may not be able to do. Focus on yourself.

Be Enthusiastic

Show them your enthusiasm. Let them see that you are excited about the possibility of working with them. Motivation and a keen interest will add to their interest in you. But don’t let them think that you desperately need the job. There is a thin line between showing interest and seeming like you need something badly. So work on the tone of your voice. Practice with a friend. Body language matters as well. Sit straight but lean forward once in a while. Smile, but don’t force yourself to smile throughout the interview. The key is to be polite and friendly without overdoing it.

Keep it To The Point

Why should we hire you? It is a broad question that can draw you into a long look back at your previous accomplishments. Still, you should not start talking about the essay competition you won in elementary school or the interschool spelling bee that you won back in 5^th grade. Stick to what is relevant to the job in question. What skills, interests and experience do you have that can make you succeed in THIS role and at THIS organisation? And beware of the dangers of exaggeration. Answer with the truth because a background check or reference check could ruin things for you.

Share Your Uniqueness

Are you the person who colleagues approach when they need help with certain kinds of tasks? Or perhaps, you excel in a certain area like sales analysis or trend mapping. Tell the interviewer about this and give a couple of examples to demonstrate. This will let the prospective employer picture you at their setting, doing similar work.

Showcase Your Qualifications

Most job descriptions mention what education qualifications applicants must have. That basically means that you will not be the only aspirant with an MBA. You need to figure out how to make your degree stand out. Just mentioning the top ranked B-school will not be enough. You’ll have to share examples of how you applied your newly learnt knowledge and skills to the business world. This is the chance to discuss your internship or that special project during the MBA programme. Highlight any prior work experience as well. Mention any role and organisation/s where your actions lead to results. Explain how you achieved it.

Here’s an example:

You should hire me because I am a self-motivated person who likes to create an impact wherever he goes. In fact, in my role as (DESIGNATION) at (COMPANY), I was voted the most promising team player after my supervisor noticed my effort on the (PRODUCT) launch. And my internship supervisor at (COMPANY) appreciated my ideas so much that he asked me to present them to the senior executives there.

Being prepared for the Why should we hire you question, and it will save you from the surprise and discomfort. Keep specific examples in mind and your abilities and background. Then link them to the interviewer’s company and its goals.

Good luck!

Blog, Business Competitions, The NANYANG MBA

The journey to victory at Dell Case Competition 2015

November 19, 2015 Mok Wei Li Douglas

Contributed by MBA students: Kevin, Moohwan and SungWon

As MBA candidates and future leaders of a dynamically changing business environment, how do we define our success and measure our learning progress? Our answer to the question was to participate in business case competitions, as we believe that the ability to apply practical industrial knowledge and to demonstrate our inner potential is a vital criterion for success.

In view of this, the inter-university Case Competition organised by Dell was a great opportunity for us to apply what we have learnt in class and to leverage on our skillsets such as collaborative team work, efficient time management, application of effective framework and compelling presentation. We knew that the competition would be challenging and require significant commitment and sacrifice but we decided to take up the challenge and embark on this journey to achieve our very first milestone.

The case competition consisted of two rounds. The first round was evaluated based on a five-minute video recording on the topic of Dell’s supply chain management, and the second round was carried out at Dell’s office amongst the selected teams, based on the result of the first round. In total, 17 teams participated from three universities, namely NTU, NUS and SP Jain. Four teams were promoted to the final round; two teams came from NUS and one each from NTU and SP Jain, respectively.

The team, DellTaForce was voluntarily and carefully formed on our own by taking several criteria into consideration in order to optimise the team potential and synergy. One important, though often neglected criteria, is how the different individuals, with their expertise and professional backgrounds can complement and work with one another in a team. With that in mind, we finally formed a team consisting of three members with over five years’ of career experience in different business areas, namely, management consulting, strategy planning, and engineering. The mix of diverse background helped significantly throughout the Dell case competition as the different perspectives of each member allowed us to bring a wide range of ideas that an individual by him or herself might not be able to generate.

During the analysis of the case studies, we set the most important and fundamental rule upfront, which was to respect and encourage each other for all meetings. The small initiative paid off as the team members were able to share their ideas confidently, leading to fruitful brainstorming. No matter what idea was brought up, we considered all of them worthy of discussion and talked about it until we reached a consensus.

The challenging parts that we have encountered were mainly ideation relating to supply chain management business domain, as none of us had previous professional experience in that field. To address the issue, we proactively approached professors to guide us on process validation and viable examples for ideation. We had to instill a confident mindset in ourselves that we are the expert in the supply chain management as far as the case is concerned.

Another challenge that we had to work on was the professional presentation for the final round. As the team consisting of non-native English speakers, our pressing issue was to enhance our effective speech in a professional and convincing manner. To quickly equip ourselves with the necessary presentation skills within a short timeframe, we focused on practicing, preparing Q&As, and non-verbal communication cues such as posture, eye contact, attire and more. The intensive practice sessions continued all the way till the final presentation date. Although it was not perfect at the end, we certainly made visible improvement to deliver our idea to the panel judges. Last but not least, most importantly, we gained confidence in public speaking.

Our determination, specific goal setting, collaborative teamwork, consistent discipline, sincere commitment and specific plan to achieve our common goal played significant parts in helping us win this case competition.

The key takeaway from the experience was that when all the attributes of success are applied collectively, the likelihood of winning will definitely increase as it creates synergistic effect as long as everyone plays their part responsibly.

We would like to attribute our glorious success to Professor Vijay Sethi and Professor Peter Giulioni who were willing to spend their personal time to help us, especially when our progress was stagnated and when we were occasionally demotivated. It was a great achievement as a start and we strongly believe that Nanyang MBA’s journey for business case competition will continue thriving.

Campus Living, Cultural Events, Life at Nanyang

Diwali – Festival of Lights

November 18, 2015 Laura Melina Loeven

On Tuesday, November 10, 2015, approximately 30 MBA students, professors, staff and international exchange students gathered on campus to celebrate Diwali, the biggest and brightest Hindi festival.

As Diwali is the festival of lights, students lit a sea of candles, put up chains of lights and made the venue shine and sparkle.

Upon finishing the decoration ceremony, the attendees were briefly introduced to the backgrounds of the Diwali festival and learnt about the saga that once initiated the celebration of Diwali, which spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness and good over evil. At the beginning of the event, the Indian students of the class demonstrated the Lakshmi puja, one of the important rituals performed during the festival of Diwali. This ritual, performed to invite Goddess Lakshmi to one´s home, was carried out by praying at a beautifully laid out altar, as a silent beginning of an otherwise loud and exciting night.

As per the Hindi tradition, the event organisers had prepared for a Rangoli contest, where the event participants competed in creating the most beautiful pattern of flowers and coloured sand. “We had a lot of fun getting to know Hindu culture and I was excited to get my hands dirty and create the best looking Rangoli”, a MBA participant said. The winners of the creativity contest were announced by a jury of indian students who awarded the lucky contestants with chocolate bars and a thundering applause. Later, an entertaining round of Tambola and the opening of a buffet loaded with an abundance of sweets, snacks and drinks made the Diwali night an unforgettable experience for all.

Blog

Making our classes fun

November 17, 2015 Mok Wei Li Douglas

Contributed by MBA students: Kevin, Masa, Prashant, Ryo and Shreya.

We had less than 10 days to prepare ourselves to present a case study on Netflix. The biggest question facing us was whether Netflix was yet another warfront for Art and Technology.

The MBA class at Nanyang Business School was completely determined to make Friday lectures interesting. We got full support from Professor Vijay Sethi for this. Hence, we started the chain of experimenting with ideas of making case presentations on companies such as Facebook, Google, Taobao etc as fun-filled as they were informative. With groups innovating with ideas such as group activities, fun surveys, role-playing, we were left wondering: what could we do with our idea?

After a couple of brainstorming sessions, we decided to focus on the core question- Is Netflix as a business model, helping the art?

We ended our presentation with our version of what Netflix could do next. The group, we said, believed that the future lies in crowd-funded content generation.

After a fun-filled presentation, we surprised the class with this video. This was a spoof of our markstrat course which was yet another source of adrenaline rush for us when the simulation results were announced every Friday at 8 PM.

This is all a part of the experiential learning that the NBS focuses on. The encouragement from Prof Sethi to experiment with ideas and sportsmanship displayed by Prof Lewis helped us create this video.

Blog, Networking, Useful Tools and Tips

How do you define your brand online?

November 15, 2015 hmteam

The last few years have seen a drastic change in the field of marketing. The physical form of marketing (including one-on-one consultations, display boards and signs) has not died out, but has a new companion – digital marketing. The evolution of informational technology has put the digital space in the spotlight, with organisations devoting significant resources to digital marketing. The term ‘digital marketing’ covers marketing processes that largely depend on the use of technologies. Social networking websites, apps and blogs are examples.

Earlier, customers would touch and feel the product, see some advertisements on TV or in the newspaper, buy the product and leave. These days, digital marketing has expanded the customer-brand relationship by bringing them closer and allowing interaction. Nevertheless, merely opening a Facebook page or a Twitter account doesn’t build your brand.

Here is how you can define your brand online:

Define Your Target Audience

Every brand has a target group of customers. You need to understand who your customers are and what kind of lives they lead. Are they men or women? What about age and marital status? Household income and location are other factors that are important. What kind of people can afford your product or service? Once that is done, find out which social media websites this group uses. Maybe they are not too Twitter savvy? Similarly, a very young audience may not like spending time reading long blog posts. You need to find out your target group’s online habits.

Be Consistent

Since your brand has a unique persona, let that persona reflect in your brand goals as well. This means that the design of your website must reflect the brand’s personality. This is why brands for the youth use brighter colours and fun designs with lots of opportunity for interaction. Even your tweets and Facebook posts need to be tailored to fit your brand. Like a brand whose USP is no animal testing, should keep that in mind and never post anything that could question their value – such as posting ads for a company that sells leather products.

Deliver Great Content

Content drives the customer experience. Your brand could be present on every social media and web platform but not make an impact if the information you are sharing is not appealing. Details about products, prices and promotional offers, all need to be conveyed with the target audience in mind. What type of customers do you have and what kind do you want to attract to your brand? Educate your customers on the industry and not just your brand. For instance, leading health magazines share interesting articles about nutrition and psychology trends that are not from their product.

Develop the Voice

Along with a personality, a brand needs a voice. When you are tweeting or posting online, you are speaking as the brand. All digital content should stick to a single tone and pace. If your brand is targeting young working women who love to use makeup, then fun may be an important part of your brand’s definition. If it is, keep it fun. If a compassionate, serious voice matches your brand, then stick to that. For instance, a healthcare facility will probably have the latter.

Even if the brand in question has existed for a while, the digital marketing space requires a completely different approach from traditional marketing. Both forms of marketing can affect a brand. The online category helps a brand develop a wider customer base and enables customers to communicate with the company. That in turn, contributes to the brand’s growth with constant feedback. Not a bad thing at all!

Useful Tools and Tips

10 Books To Read Before Your MBA Programme

November 10, 2015 hmteam

What you get out of your MBA depends a lot on how well you have prepared yourself for the study. While brushing up on the basic concepts of business, talking to the alumni and researching the professors that you would be studying under would definitely help; you could also prep for B-school by reading a bunch of business books.

Here’s our set of recommended reads before you embark on an MBA programme.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki

Rich_Dad One of the bestselling books on finance, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki is a must-read for anyone who dreams of building wealth and achieving financial freedom. The book recommends various means to secure financial independence: investing in real estate, starting up and owning businesses, etc. The book is based on Kiyosaki’s childhood upbringing and how the differences in the attitudes of two men (his “rich dad” and his “poor dad”) towards money, work and life, influenced his decisions in life.

Permission Marketing – Seth Godin

Permission_Marketing Traditional methods of marketing such as TV advertisements and online pop-up ads often involve attracting the customer’s attention away from whatever they are doing – watching television or viewing a website. Marketing guru Seth Godin reveals that the traditional ‘interruption marketing’ have become less effective in the modern world, where consumers are overloaded with information. For brands to attract their consumers, they must adopt ‘permission marketing’, which involves selling goods and services only when the consumer has given his/her consent in advance to receive the marketing information.

Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell

Not a typical business book, but Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the dynamics of professional and business success. Pondering over – ‘what makes high-achievers different’, Gladwell sheds light on the fact that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from – their culture, family, generation, and other factors that may have contributed to their success.

Crossing the Chasm – Geoffrey Moore

Crossing_the_Chasm Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customersis a bible for marketing in high-tech industries. According to Moore, there is a gap that exists between the early adopters of high-tech products (the technology enthusiasts and visionaries) and the early majority (the pragmatists). The visionaries and pragmatists have different expectations, he adds, and this book aims to explore that set of differences and suggest techniques to successfully cross the chasm.

Change by Design – Tim Brown

Change_by_Design Design thinking is not just applicable to so-called creative industries or people who work in the design field. It′s a methodology that can be used by organisations to improve the quality of their service and rethink their business strategy, according to Tim Brown, the CEO of IDEO. In this book, Brown introduces a human−centric approach to problem solving that helps people and organisations get more innovative and creative.

The Art of the Start – Guy Kawasaki

The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki is an essential guide for anyone starting anything, be it a home-based business, a multinational corporation or a community group. The book provides insights into the various aspects of starting up such as raising money from investors, hiring the right people in the team, defining the brand and building a community around it.

Never Eat Alone – Keith Ferrazzi

Never_Eat_Alone In this bestselling book on business networking, master networker Keith Ferrazzi provides insights into the role of relationships in the success of a business. Ferrazzi shares the specific steps and the inner mindset he uses to connect with the thousands of colleagues, friends, and associates on his contacts list, people he has helped and those who have helped him. In the new age of digital media and online connections, Ferrazzi’s advice is even more essential for those wanting to get ahead in business.

The Goal – Eliyahu M. Goldratt

The_Goal A gripping business novel by business consultant Eliyahu M. Goldratt, The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement is about the Theory of Constraints, and overcoming the barriers to making money. The book features key insights on identifying and solving the problems created by constraints.

Getting to Yes – Roger Fisher and William L. Ury

Getting_to_Yes One of the best books on negotiation, Getting to Yes is based on the work of the Harvard Negotiation Project, a group that deals with all levels of negotiation and conflict resolution. The book offers proven, step-by-step techniques to arrive at mutually acceptable agreements in every kind of conflict.

Warren Buffet’s Management Secrets – Mary Buffet

Management_Secrets Written by Mary Buffet, after having gained insights into Warren Buffett’s philosophies for management, while being married to his son Peter for twelve years, Warren Buffet’s Management Secrets looks closely into Warren Buffett’s life and career, shedding light on his decision-making processes, leadership qualities and strategies that made him the most successful investor of the 20th century.

What are your favourite business books? Don’t forget to share your recommendations in the comments below.

Blog, International Exposure, Life After MBA, Life at Nanyang, Networking, The NANYANG MBA

5 Reasons to Get an International MBA Degree

November 5, 2015 hmteam

The decision of pursuing an MBA degree is a critical one, requiring a great deal of thinking and planning. An MBA can help boost your career, there’s no doubt about it. But, as a potential MBA candidate you must also evaluate the different MBA programmes, to see which one can provide you with the maximum benefits, in terms of the learning, exposure and opportunities.

Doing an MBA degree abroad, as opposed to doing it in your own country, can be beneficial in many ways. Here, are a few reasons why your must choose to pursue an international MBA degree:

Exposure to New Culture

The job of a business professional involves interacting with a wide range of people, and building a rapport with clients and co-workers who may belong to other countries and cultures. Doing your MBA overseas automatically trains you on this aspect of the job. By studying and collaborating with a culturally diverse mix of students, you acquire the essential social skills needed to survive and flourish in a global market.

The Opportunity to Learn New Languages

With companies going global and expanding their operations in non-English speaking countries, recruiters are often looking for candidates who are bilingual, and able to fluently communicate in languages other than English. Doing an MBA from business schools located in countries such as France, Germany and Singapore, provides you with an opportunity to be trained in a foreign language, thereby boosting your CV in a big way, and opening up newer job avenues for you in numerous global destinations.

A Competitive Edge

Doing an international MBA degree puts you in a high-pressure environment, where you would be competing with students from diverse nationalities, with a wide range of academic and professional experience. This prepares you well for challenging jobs, and gives you a competitive edge over other MBA grads, who have had a less intensive course at a local business school.

A Wider Professional Network

More than the degree itself, the professional connections you make and the peers and mentors whose support you gain at the business school add more value to your professional career, taking you further ahead in your professional journey. An international MBA would provide you with a wider network, and open up myriad opportunities, that might not be accessible to someone who has done MBA in his/her own country.

Personal Growth

By studying overseas you are not just growing as a professional but also as an individual. Stepping out of your comfort zone, finding your way in a new country, interacting with people belonging to other cultures – these things equip you with the courage, flexibility and open mindedness needed to succeed in your professional and personal life.

The Economist, in its list of the world’s top MBA programmes, ranks the Nanyang Business School in the 66th position and as one of the best business schools in Asia. The affordability of education in Singapore and its cultural diversity are some of the factors that attract students to NBS. For more information on Nanyang business degree, visit http://www.nanyangmba.ntu.edu.sg.