C.K. Prahalad's New
Book Integrates
Student Research on
the Bottom of the Pyramid
In spring of 2003, ten teams of MAP students
were selected to work on a special project (xMAP)
with Prof. C.K. Prahalad (Harvey C. Fruehauf
Professor of Business Administration and
Professor of Corporate Strategy and
International Business) to document how
companies across the world were working
successfully to provide products and services and improve the living conditions of the poorest
of the poor.
In addition to written case studies, each team
also produced a video documentary of the
companies and the people they serve. View
condensed student videos in the right sidebar and
acutal xMAP students talking about their xMAP
experience below. Visit the
Bottom of the Pyramid page for full
versions of all 10 videos and complete text
cases.
Condensed versions of the
cases and videos are featured in Professor Prahalad's book,
The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid:
Eradicating Poverty Through Profits.
Anuja Rajendra MBA 2 - 1min 21sec
“Doing this project was in a sense a dream, that
I think any business school student would feel
so lucky to have come true.”
“This experience really epitomized education
at its best and really epitomized the spirit of
the Michigan Business School education.”
Cynthia Casas MBA 2 - 45sec
“...I got a chance to do a book, and study an
interesting company that had both a social
mission as well as a bottom-line business
mission.”
George Weinmann MBA 2 - 1min 28sec
“It was a chance...to look at business down at
the entrepreneurial level, really small
companies, and see how they can make a
difference in the world.”
“[It] gave me a perspective on the world that I
don’t think I would have had otherwise.”
Todd Markson and Jeff Phillips MBA 2
- 2min 1sec
“Essentially we were taking what we’d learned in
the Core [Curriculum], and applying it to a
situation in the real world.”
“[Our projects] were on the forefront of what’s
going on, it wasn’t reading about a case that’s
already happened in the past.”
“It is applying the fundamentals of business in
a very austere location and generating amazing
results.”
Scott Baron MBA 2 (CEMP 3) - 1min 10sec
“What I really got out if this experience
personally, was the ability to craft my own
experience, and to get in-depth knowledge on
something that I really cared about.”
“To me, this experience really epitomizes what
it means to be a Michigan Business School
student, where you’re given the tools and
flexibility to pursue your dreams, and to be on
the cutting edge of new fields that are really
going to change the way the world thinks about
business.”
Tej Shah and Sachin Rao MBA 2 - 1min 33sec
“...We’re looking at technology and we’re
looking at innovation in a very different
light...”
“..then I found myself in a rural village [in
India], talking with women about how they care
for their families, and how Hindustan Lever can
be vital to the success and the development of
their children. That is more powerful than
anything you can do sitting in a classroom and
reading about it.”
“...the first year of Business School kind of
grew the box, and xMAP showed me absolutely
everything that was outside of that box.”
“...it redefined my goals for a successful
business...” |
