McCombs School of Business
News : Releases : Plus
November 1, 2004
Plus Wrap-up, Fall 2004:
MBAs Hone Professional Skills, Tackle Timely Business Issues

With notable speakers, hands-on workshops, social events and challenges of all kinds, the fall session of the Plus program at the McCombs School of Business was one of the most memorable yet. Over 97 percent of MBA students registered for the two-week program, which concluded Oct. 22.

Executive Challenge

The first major event of Plus was the Executive Challenge, the business management and ethics simulation that debuted to rave reviews and national attention last spring. Over the course of two days, students competed on 22-member teams to run successful virtual businesses while confronting current issues affecting industry, such as outsourcing.

InfoMaster took first place in the competition. In addition to the ethical and business issues at hand, the group was confronted with organizational issues, and attributed their success as a team to their commitment to teamwork.

“We were blessed to have people who were not concerned with personal cash or enhancing their own reputations,” said team member Daniel Lauve, MBA ‘05. “With the demands of every position and the possibility of reorganizations at any time, it was important to have team members committed to the strategy and to the success of the organization.”

While the naming of winners marked the formal end of the Executive Challenge, the focus on ethics continued. Later that week, participants gathered in their cohorts for debrief sessions with faculty members.

These sessions took different approaches to business ethics education. For example, the cohort that met with Steven Tomlinson, a finance lecturer and former director of the Plus program, tackled the problem of how to implement ethical practice. They considered several hypothetical situations in which pursuing the ethical good would put an executive at odds with colleagues, consumers or higher-ups. Casting himself in the role of the non-ethical executive, Tomlinson had students practice various strategies for handling tricky situations.

Speakers

Stephen Rohleder, the COO of Accenture, gave the program’s keynote address Oct. 18 on “The Broader Impact on Business by Homeland Security Issues.”

Rohleder was a chief architect of the Accenture-led Smart Border Alliance, which the Department of Homeland Security selected to design and implement the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program. He said that while his team’s proposal was technologically superior to all the others, their success in winning the contract was ensured by the thoroughness with which they approached the project. For example, they even secured the toll-free number 1-800-USVISIT before they made their presentation for the project.

Rohleder also shared his philosophy of business leadership, which prioritizes courage and keeping an open mind. Once a group of executives in Hong Kong asked him to cut the ceremonial roast pig. “Sure,” he replied. “I’m happy to help in any way I can.” They gave him a hatchet.

Other speakers during the ‘What’s Hot in Business!’ day represented a range of industries and interests, including global financial forecasting, radio frequency innovations and technology convergence and commercialization.

Academies and Projects, Social Events and Workshops

This fall’s Plus program featured a variety of workshops and social events, as well as the usual Plus Academies and Plus Projects.

In the Communication Labs, students worked one-on-one with coaches to hone their skills in this crucial area of professional presence. The labs were very popular with students and will most likely be a part of the Plus curriculum in the semesters to come.

For their part, the communications coaches also enjoyed the labs. “Word from the twenty communication coaches is the Class of ‘06 is the most polished and professional class they have worked with,” noted Saleem Assaf, the acting director of Plus. He added that this may be related to the fact that MBA students in the Class of 2006 were the first to go through mandatory interviews as part of the admissions process.

On Oct. 13, the International MBA Students Association (IMBASA) sponsored International Night. Over 850 McCombs students, faculty, staff, friends and families packed the Erwin Center for a night of food, music and exhibits. According to Assaf, one of dozens of participants who donned traditional garb at the Indian students’ booth, the evening “was a roaring success.”

In the Elevator Pitch Competition held Oct. 21, MBAs had only 60 seconds—the length of a typical elevator ride—to pitch their business plan to a cornered executive. Eric Stober won this year’s contest with his plan to use high-altitude balloons to monitor traffic patterns and coordinate traffic lights accordingly.

“I attribute my success in the elevator pitch to sitting in three hours of traffic every day in Chicago pondering what I could do to help alleviate traffic problems,” said Stober, MBA ’06. “I fully intend to pursue this idea with all of my energy. In fact, part of the reason I chose UT for my MBA was because of the solid entrepreneurship program here.”

Beyond these events, which were open to all MBAs, students had the option of participating in a Plus Academy or a Plus Project. Academies offered a focused exploration of asset management, customer insight, energy finance, real estate, sports and entertainment. And for the projects, more than fifty teams of MBAs worked with large and small businesses all over the U.S. and in several other countries.

Those working on Plus Projects were not the only students to travel on Plus-related business: 62 MBAs ventured to Omaha, Neb., to meet with uber-investor Warren Buffett. The sage of Omaha held a 1 hour and 45-minute question and answer session, during which he addressed issues such as ethics, business success factors and inheritance tax. After the session, the group ate lunch at Goart’s Steak House, Buffett’s favorite restaurant.

“This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. My hope is that we all took away something that will help us address problems that we face in the future, whether business, ethical or other,” said Paul Matthews, president of the Texas MBA Hedge Fund Organization.

Changes to Come

Since its inception in 2002, Plus has been formatted as a two-week long program that takes place in the middle of each semester, with regularly scheduled classes taking a hiatus during the “mini-mester” period. While this format has had pros and cons for McCombs students and faculty, it has been problematic for the university administration, and it has complicated the ability of MBAs to register for university courses outside McCombs.

As a result, this fall’s Plus was the penultimate edition of the program in the mini-mester format. Beginning with the 2005-06 academic year, Plus will become a semester-long course offering workshops, one-on-one communications labs, speakers, the Executive Challenge and consulting projects as before.

In announcing the change earlier this month, Steve Salbu, associate dean and director of MBA programs, said that the change would have several benefits. For one thing, Plus fees will be reduced. Also, coordinating with the university calendar will make it much easier for MBAs to cross-register for courses in law, Latin American studies, public affairs, and other colleges and schools across campus.

Salbu also affirmed the McCombs School’s commitment to Plus. ”Many of you came here at least in part for Plus,” he wrote in an e-mail to all MBA students. “This is hugely heartening to me. It means Plus is succeeding in many ways. It isn’t going away. The best parts won’t be diminished. We hope they will get even better.”

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.
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