Thursday, March 31, 2011

MBA Madness

Who's getting an MBA? None other than yours truly.

On Sunday, Dad and I decided to make the trek over to South Horizons to pick up some much-needed tortilla chips. You see, we had a very lonely jar of PACE PICANTE SAUCE in the fridge, crying out to be eaten. I haven't had Pace since I left the States, and I LOVE Pace. Sure, it's not very spicy. Sure, it's not authentic. But it is delicious. So we ventured out to remedy the problem.

After selecting a Family-size bag of "Garden of Eve" chips, we decided to check out the fifth-floor thrift store. They have a pretty good selection of used books (not any easy thing to find in Hong Kong), and the turnover is pretty good.

I first perused the young adult books, since I love that genre. Unfortunately, the only interesting item there was a Babysitter's Club Pony Party book (or something like that), and I'm afraid that was interesting for entirely the wrong reason. I found some great children's books for my school. I even found an awesome book about the pirate of Cheung Chau (an outlying island I like to go to).

All of these books are good, but then I ran across my most important find: The Ten Day MBA. Did you hear that? I can get an MBA in only ten days! Instead of paying a bajillion dollars to some stuffy university program, I can learn in the comfort of my home (or the neighborhood Starbucks, sipping a chai latte). It covers topics like Marketing, Finance, Strategy, Operations, Accounting, etc. After reading this book, I'll be an expert. Do you think they'll mail the diploma to me or will I have to go receive it somewhere?

Ok, so I lied. I'm not really getting an MBA. But all joking aside, this book does look like a good resource. The book is a bit old, but I still think there's a lot of relevant information. Examples may change (cassette tapes are kind of gone), but the basic concepts remain. The author, Steven Silbiger, used his notes from his own class days to write this book and help us poor, penniless schmucks.

I've always been pretty interested in business. I enjoy talking with Dad or other people about their own business ideas. I enjoyed the SIFE coffeeshops I attended. I even liked the business plans we had to edit at the Writing Center (what was that class called again? I can't believe I've forgotten). Well, I may not have liked the editing so much, but I enjoyed hearing about their ideas and how they were going to make it happen. I've also had a recent influx of students who want to learn about Business English, so knowing some of these MBA terms and concepts will probably be helpful.

Are any of you interested in business? Or do you have any interests that stretch beyond your major or profession?

3 comments:

  1. HAHAHHAHAHAH Laura, the class is Strategic Management, and I'm glad you like some things about business :)<3. Truly, your Business friend :) Aida

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  2. I like how you've stretched yourself, you're always a constant learner about every subject. That always encourages me to do the same.

    I wish I got more involved in SIFE, but I didn't stretch myself as much as I could have in undergrad. I've started to learn about marketing (maybe not in a sales/making money kind of way, because I'm really not a money fan), but I'm learning how to communicate ideas articulately to a lot of people. Social media can be really cool if you don't let it go to your head (like probably any subject).

    Do you know if Steven Silbiger a big name in the business world?

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  3. That's right, Strategic Management! I said it enough times I'm not quite sure how I forgot it. Are you in it right now, Aida?
    I'm not sure if he's a big name, Charles. Probably not, considering that the book is ten years old, but I suppose you never know.

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I like comments just as much as fresh guacamole and chips! Well, maybe not quite that much...