The Donald Trump / Rosie O’Donnell was probably the most storied tabloid level media story of the 2000s. Trump said he would sue Rosie in her fat ass pockets for mentioning the 4 business bankruptcies in the 1990s. Rosie bit back by flipping her hair in the style of Trump and impersonating him in a satirical barb from her tv platform on The View. It was generally entertaining in the way that nasty public feuds unfortunately can be. Seemed almost like a coordinated effort to bring the two more brand clout, hard to measure but a very real factor in business. Now, it’s 2016…Watch Rosie’s come back attack ad produced for The Daily Show. It features an infomercial section that may resonate with independent and republican voters in the US. Maybe publicly ridiculing people you might have to work with in the future or in this case, a person who might have a vendetta to wage is NOT GOOD.
Is Chinese Shadow Lending A Problem?
The charcoal smeared faces of generations huddled around communal chimneys has given way to a diligent youth globe trotting with the promise of economic opportunity unparalleled since the expansive growth of the American baby-boomer. The shimmering lights of Shanghai shine outwardly despite a nationalist protectionism that, of course, only the Chinese-themselves can enjoy. It’s an economic system that plays the world very effectively even if its internal logic is stunted by state control. However, according to The Economist, China needs financial reform and it is edging or leaning towards reform but ever so slowly.
In the interim of further liberalisation, there has been a large increase in the number of bad loans by banks in China where the investments are failing at a higher rate. The debt to GDP has increased to 260% against Chinese GDP in the past 5 years and the solution is now to engage in shadow lending products which are difficult to liquidate during a downturn but are currently working to support bank profitability. Shadow lending investments is interesting because it’s difficult to know what is inside these shadow lending products. Bad lending by Chinese banks have pushed them into this more risky territory. Most bankers do not know what is in the shadow lending products. So what? A problem will arise if this shadow lending is impacted by a recession. However, The Economist story is an old repeated narrative where each week they try to engage readers with the thought of economic calamity centred on China.
Isn’t in the case that the political control of banking means bad lending is underwritten by an interventionist state? The risk will be redistributed in the form of bailouts surely. Also, from a western perspective, since the inbound and outbound investment by Chinese banks as so small any economic downturn is unlikely to have devastating effects on the global economy. The total banking sector valuation in China is $40 Trillion USD or 40% of the entire world GDP….the west waits in the wings to gain more access to this relatively low risk market. It will probably not happen with the current political structure, i.e. reforms will have to be in the interest of the Politburo….
Lessons from a Masters In Business Administration: An MBA Is About Taking Control
MBA = Taking Control: Business school is about gaining control of your financial future. HBS believes that their experience training can also be applied to other spheres- politics, education, health care, the arts. Business culture is pervasive so learn it from within.
Case Studies Are A Learning Device: The entire HBS curriculum is built on the law school model of case studies. The question you will be asked each time is: What would you do? How do you think about solving a given problem? There is a difference between people who are tough-minded, and people who are tender-minded according to Malcolm McNair. Toughness refers to the intellectual apparatus, and toughness of spirit. It is the attitude and training that allow us to seize facts, and make courageous decisions. They know the answer is not in a book, but in real life cases. Grading will be for your benefit as a student, but will not be used by recruiters.
The Baron & The Two Peasants: learning accounting: Imagine a Baron in a small patch of present day Bavaria. The baron is responsible for the well-being of many peasants who occupy the lands around his stately castle. The baron has two peasants whom he asks to farm two different hectares of land. He supplies them equally with seed, fertilized, oxen, and allows them both to lease a plough. The two peasants Sam and Jesop return a year later with different amounts of wheat with the conditions of other resources having deteriorated over the year.
Q: Who was more successful?
This is an accounting case as you are now expected to determine which peasant was more successful. An MBA should be expected to generate an income statement and balance sheet for the two farmers. So, you might need to depreciate the oxen, and you might put the full value of Sam’s plow under ‘costs of goods sold.’ As you begin to play with the empirical figures, you’ll see that the answer of who was more successful shifts according to your metrics. There is no right answer. So the lesson in accounting is actually to use common sense rather than cling to rules.
[This is a synopsis of several books on the MBA experience including What They Teach You At Harvard Business School by P.D. Broughton]
Lessons from a Masters In Business Administration: MBAs Inter-Semester Travel
MBAs Inter-Semester Travel: Go to Brazil, India, China, or Russia, which is now the standard inter-semester trip for MBA students. MBAs have an arrogance to them. Do not go to these places with hand sanitizer in your wallet or purse. These trips are liable to be dominated by booze, clubs, shops, and corporate entertainment. These places are where all the venture capitalists are going. Being a Venture Capitalist is easier than climbing the corporate ladder, all you need is one major success, then you will have 100s of entrepreneurs pitching their ideas, and you get to pick the best ones. Although, it is very risky, and many VCs fail.
2 Years of Banking or Consulting is a Plus: for getting into an MBA Program, some experience in consulting or banking is a major advantage. You will need to be rather tough minded because you might get depressed with all the analysis and 18 hours days. MBAs are insecure overachievers.