October 21, 2003
MBA Student Perspective: Plus Kicks Off Second Year
By Anna Davis, McCombs MBA '04
Editor's note: This article originally appeared in the Oct. 20, 2003 edition of Texas Business Weekly, the independent newspaper published by and for McCombs MBAs. Our thanks to the TBW staff and author Anna Davis for allowing us to repost it here.
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On October 13th the Plus program began its second year. This year both the First and Second year students have academy sessions, lectures in “The Big Room” and special sessions. The Class of 2005 is learning about Sales and Persuasion while the Class of 2004 is learning about Big Picture Business.
This time last year we were only one week into the first Plus session ever and the First year students were busy posting ideas, criticisms and feedback to the Plus program daily discussion board. Dr. Steven Tomlinson and the Plus team were very responsive to the ideas put forth on this discussion board and many suggestions from last year have since been implemented. Mike Lee MBA '04 believes, “Plus continues to improve dramatically thanks to participant feedback and the leadership of Dr. Tomlinson and all the Plus volunteers. Unfortunately for me, it has become as difficult and challenging as some of my hardest classes - and yet the practical value of the Ethics and Entrepreneurship Workshops makes it worthwhile." So far during this Plus session many students appear to be very happy with the program considering there are just a few messages on the daily discussion boards.
The Class of 2004 just finished the “Ethics” module of their Plus program. This was a series of small group workshops and big room speakers to provoke students to think about how to go about making tough ethical decisions. On the second day of Plus all Second year students gathered in the Texas Union Ballroom to hear Kathryn Kissam MBA '90 of Monsanto and Jeff Erickson of Sustainability speak about ethical questions their companies have faced. Not all students agreed Monsanto was a good representative of an ethical corporation. According to Ben Gawiser '04, “Given the way they handled the controversies surrounding Round-Up and GMO, having Monsanto here to talk about ethics is a little like having Larry Flynt in to talk about feminism.”
All second year students are required to attend the Ethics workshops. Rich Czuchlewski '04 stated, "Regardless of the requirement, I was surprised by how actively students participated in the workshops. We may have complained before, during, and after all the sessions, but we seemed to have gotten something out of them." Students don’t seem to disagree that ethics is a very important part of business yet some feel their time may be better spent elsewhere. Renee Collier MBA '04 said, “Personally, I think Salbu’s ethics class is much more interesting than the Plus ethics modules. Instead of addressing ethics in Plus, the semester long ethics course should be incorporated into the core.”
The First years have the advantage of coming into a more mature Plus program. Many have been busy since the summer coordinating projects, meeting with their Plus teams and communicating with their clients. A great benefit of this unique and innovative program is the ability for students to gain experiences in industries and work with clients that would traditionally be very difficult to even get a foot in the door. According to Kirby Armentrout MBA '05, “The major benefit to me is the chance to develop a relationship in an industry where traditional recruiting methods do not exist. My team is doing a project for the UT athletic department, which is an area where we would ultimately like to work.”
After just one week Edian Nelson MBA '05 is already seeing direct benefits of this program. “Plus has been a wonderful experience for me. It has truly allowed me to work on developing my 'Professional Portfolio'. I have been able to enhance my public speaking abilities through working with my communications coach and peers. I have also been able to work on strengthening my resume by working 1-1 with a career advisor, something that would have been difficult to squeeze into my schedule with classes still going on.
The one thing that I wish I had with Plus is more time. But since that is nearly impossible, I would say that it would be helpful to know in advance an agenda of all of the events provided with a more in-depth descriptions, so that when we have to make careful selections of programs (due to time overlaps) we can make the best decision!”
Overall the word in the halls is that Plus is helping us in many ways. Ed Sarat MBA '04 agrees. “Plus is a revolutionary program that can help move McCombs into the top 10. Real world experience in the field of your choice during your first semester as a student is something that no other program can offer.” This does not mean there are still some things that could be improved. Renee Collier MBA '04 said “If nothing else, I’ve seen a return on my Plus investment (a.k.a. fees) in the form of food. I could make do with a few less breakfast tacos in return for more speakers.”
What do you think about Plus? Please post your comments, complaints, ideas and suggestions to the Plus daily discussion board. The Plus team is committed to making this the best program they can but cannot do it without our help. Nor should we not want to help make Plus the greatest experience it can be.
For information on specific programs at the McCombs School, consult our contacts page. For media information, contact the Communications Director by phone at 512-471-3314 or by email at CommunicationsDirector@mccombs.utexas.edu.
