OSAKA, Japan - Every Ross Global MBA class spends the first three months of the program in Asia, completing the MBA core courses, with one month residencies in China, Japan, and Korea. April of 2012 marked the first-ever residency in Osaka, previous years having been in Tokyo. Professors David Wright and E. Han Kim joined the students in Osaka to present Principles of Financial Accounting and Financial Management, respectively.

 
Osaka is one of Japan’s largest industrial centers playing a major role in the country’s commerce. Historically, the first capital of Japan was in Osaka, and today, Osaka is home to Panasonic Corporation along with a multitude of other companies. With a developed business district and proximity to many of Japan’s cultural treasures, Osaka provides vast opportunities for engagement. While in Osaka, the students visited Panasonic Corporation to participate in a tour and in-depth discussion with two Panasonic managers and Ross alumni, Yosuke Uchida of the Global MBA Class of 2005 and Nobuhiro Akimoto of the Global MBA Class of 2009. The students also enjoyed a guided tour of the city of Nara, another historical capital and home to several UNESCO World Heritage sites.

BEIJING, China - While in Beijing, Global MBA students benefited from a special lecture titled “Chinese Financial Market Development and Corporate Governance.” Dr. Yao Lu, Assistant Professor of Finance at Tshinghua University’s School of Economics & Management, presented the lecture on Chinese business systems and practices. This invaluable opportunity included a lecture, a visit to one of Tsinghua Holdings manufacturing companies for first-hand exposure to operations within a Chinese manufacturing company, and a Q&A session with Dr. Lu and the company’s management to discuss the differences between state-owned and privately owned companies. The presentation provided Global MBAs with an opportunity to gain a better appreciation and understanding of Chinese business customs.

Dr. Lu earned her PhD in Business Economics at Michigan’s Ross School of Business in 2009, having studied under Professor E. Han Kim, and is currently a Research Fellow with the Ross School’s Mitsui Life Financial Research Center.

ANN ARBOR, Michigan - Students in the Global MBA Class of 2013 participated in a custom designed two-day program shortly after their arrival in Ann Arbor in June. The Ross Leadership Development Program lead by Professor Susan Ashford (pictured left), the Michael and Susan Jandernoa Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Management and Organizations, and Professor Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks (pictured right), Associate Professor of Management and Organizations, is one of the reasons that Michigan Ross is ranked No. 1 in the world for leadership development.

Michigan Ross employs an integrated strategy and programmatic approach to leadership development. An integrated set of co-curricular and curricular leadership development programs and practices gives Michigan Ross students the skills and global mindset necessary for leading organizations in the 21st century. The Global MBA students will apply these skills throughout the rest of their MBA program, throughout their careers, and throughout their life.

BEIJING, China - The Global MBA Class of 2012 recently completed their final requirement for graduation, the Ross School's capstone Multidisciplinary Action Project. Working as a team, students help sponsors solve problems, identify new processes, or target opportunities for growth. A MAP team consists of four to six Ross MBA students guided by faculty advisers. Each project requires analytical rigor, critical thinking, and teamwork. At the end of the project, teams present their analyses and recommendations to their sponsors in a written report and final presentation.

The Class of 2012 was divided into teams taking on projects at 8 different companies including Dell, Ford, and Panasonic. The MAP projects garnered this year were impressive, addressing some very real and competitive issues that companies are facing in today's global market. Six of the projects were sponsored by University of Michigan alumni. One of the projects took a team back to Beijing. Ross School Global MBA 2009 alumnus, Ms. Xia Xiao, General Manager of Dihon Pharmaceuticals Consumer Healthcare Product Division, welcomed a team of students to aid in the company's mission of providing accessible, effective, valuable solutions in consumer health care. The Dihon Pharmaceuticals team spent two weeks in China visiting the headquarters in Kunming along with sites in Beijing. The team studied the market, compared regulations, and analyzed distribution channels around China then returned to Ann Arbor to complete their analysis. Pictured above in Beijing, the MAP team got together with students in the Global MBA Class of 2013 who were completing their Microeconomics and Management Accounting core courses in Beijing, as they had just one year ago.

ANN ARBOR, Michigan - Professor Puneet Manchanda was selected by the Global MBA Class of 2012 as the recipient of the annual Global MBA Award for Teaching Excellence. The Teaching Excellence Award allows the class to recognize an outstanding member of the core faculty team whose teaching made a lasting impact on their studies at Ross. Professor Manchanda won the distinction and was presented with a keepsake plaque at the Global MBA graduation dinner held June 22, 2012.

Professor Manchanda is the Isadore and Leon Winkelman Professor of Marketing and Department Chair of Marketing. His main research interest is in building empirical models to solve such strategic marketing problems as resource allocation, launch planning, word-of-mouth marketing, and CRM. Professor Manchanda’s recent work has focused on marketing strategy problems in social media and the pharmaceutical, high-tech, gaming, and insurance industries. He has taught in the Full-time, Part-time, and Global MBA programs.