The Bear Necessities

The summer is winding down to an end, which means the business foundations courses are almost over. There were a few tough weeks in there *cough* all of them *cough*, but only one person ended up pulling their hair out. Excelling is all about the power of the cohort. Most MBA programs I hear about are competitive, cut-throat, types of programs. At Baylor, it’s a more cooperative type of schooling. Everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses, the key is to utilize the right people, and in the right way. Just like a great leader, each person must evaluate how they can contribute to the group in the best way possible. There are, of course, tests where everybody needs to have a certain level of knowledge to get by, but the diverse educational background of students keeps the cohort, as a whole, better in all areas.

Collaboration is also a key part of the educational experience. As future MBAs, it will be necessary to collaborate on projects. Whether it’s trying to figure out a homework problem or improving the program itself, there is no escaping working together, if you would even want to. For example, last week the current MBA students gathered in a conference room to discuss improvements to the recruiting system. Anything we thought could be improved, to make the process better for the prospective students, was discussed openly. Even with faculty in the room, it had a pleasant, inviting atmosphere. Ideas were definitely shot down, showing there was no lack of ruthlessness, but it was always done in a respectful way.

Something else I’ve noticed this summer are the open lines of communication. If there is any problem, during business hours, I can get it solved in less than fifteen minutes. I could either walk into somebody’s office and get directed to who to talk to or send an email and get an almost weirdly fast response. Just yesterday, I went to sign up for a class and was told I needed instructor approval. An email got it solved and me signed up in less than five minutes. A few days before that, we were out of coffee (the horror). One email fixed that. I know I am being spoiled, in comparison to problems being solved in a business, but I believe it’s showing me just how important open communication is in the work place, with anybody from employees to customers.

I didn’t start writing with the intention of having some catchy phrase for the summer, but, if the words are there, I’m going to play with them. Some C’s to summarize a standard summer of school studying: Cooperation, collaboration, and communication. I feel like those lessons, along with the actual material I learned in the classes, are a good start for the program. Especially considering I haven’t even started orientation. Orientation starts in three weeks and I’m sure I’ll have an entire post over just that subject.

The strangeness of rivers is baffling. The absence of water would make the term null. However, the water is not the river, because a part of the river would not see the same water twice, but would still hold its name. A trough in the earth is necessary for a river to function, but a trough alone is not enough. Even the channel of water can be naturally or unnaturally moved, without renaming the river, using a different trough. A river can take thousands of years to form, but it’s also constantly changing. Even once it does form, man-made structures can alter its course. There isn’t a single thing that makes a river itself. The combination of tangible, natural objects come together to create the abstract concept of a river, which makes it almost tangible.

When these parts come together in the right way, it benefits the world. This system flows throughout the world, keeping everything alive, and creating some beautiful structures along the way. A useful river will run beside a town, nourishing everybody in its way. The useful river fulfills needs and moves along, not having a significant impact, just flowing. A great river has been molded to fit its purpose. The great river supplies people with electricity, food, water, entertainment, etc.. It benefits the world in a way that would not have been possible without the intervention of man. By diverting streams and creating dams, mankind has molded the river into something extraordinarily beneficial, instead of solely necessary.

That’s what the Baylor MBA program does for people. With the recognition that people are a combination of tangible, natural objects providing necessities for a civilization of development, it’s simple to see how the program benefits individuals, along with everybody. The people, and courses, within the program give individuals tools and mold them into a beneficial part of society. This is, of course, all relative to society as a whole. As a whole, the program gives people the knowledge to impact the world more effectively than they could have otherwise, in whatever way they want to have that impact. You may come in having done many remarkable things, but you will leave ready to do them on a greater scale.

There are only two things certain in life: accounting and taxes, at least I know how accounting works now. The first two classes for the business foundations courses this summer were accounting and statistics. The business foundations courses do not come easy. They work you every day and expect results every day. Don’t misunderstand, this is a great thing. The work is very rewarding, and the results satisfying. There’s no feeling that quite compares to finding out you can handle more than you originally thought possible. I have an inkling that will keep happening throughout the program as the semesters get tougher and tougher.

The business foundations courses are difficult, but not for the same reasons as some other programs. They aren’t looking to weed out people who aren’t interested enough, everybody is interested. If you got into the program, then they want you in it. Period. If they put you in the foundations courses it’s because, just like me, you need knowledge. They are straight forward about why the program works how it does. If I was not taught everything that I am being, and will be, taught this summer, then I would not be able to pass the program. It’s as simple as that.

So, keeping that idea in mind, the classes become something to look forward to. The pattern of classes and homework becomes a nice routine. The other students become the main people you see in a day. Errands and chores turn into relaxation and mundane work. Days of breaks are the only part that don’t fit into the program well. Having finished the first summer session of classes two days ago, and all my graduate assistant work for the week (which I will talk more about in the next post), I’m ready for the next set of classes, not to sit and wait two more days. But, I might as well make the best of it: beach here I come.  

Overall, the first session of classes went great. During the summer, there are dr pepper floats for the incoming freshmen, that the students also enjoy. My classmate Katie Cummins tells some more about the floats in her recent blog post. She also invented “Chick-fil-a Tuesday,” a time to forget about school and just eat chick-fil-a (what could be better?). These are just a couple of the things to keep the days from running together, keep a day-to-day structure in the student’s minds. Keeping with that structure, after 5 Chick-fil-a Tuesdays, the first session of classes are over and the one word I would attribute to it is “bittersweet.”