Stay Informed: News & Articles of Interest

Part of the Ready-For-Finance team's mission is to keep you informed about issues relating to your finance career, professional career development and MBA-related issues. Below are some articles worth reading. We update this "Stay Informed" section frequently. As a registered member of TeamToigo, we'll keep you informed as new information and articles are available.

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WSJ Bus School Ranking
The Top Business Schools: Something Old, Something New
   
By Ronald Alsop
From The Wall Street Journal Online    

The lead in The Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive ranking of America's top National business schools seesawed again this year, with the University of Michigan reclaiming the No. 1 spot from Dartmouth College.

Michigan and Dartmouth are clearly the schools to beat, with Dartmouth having achieved a first-place finish in three of the Journal's six annual rankings and Michigan now having scored two wins. (The University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School is the only school that has succeeded in beating Dartmouth and Michigan.)

Our other two rankings produced some surprises, as two less prominent newcomers placed first in the Regional and International categories. Arizona's Thunderbird moves up from No. 4 last year in the ranking of regional U.S. schools, while ESADE in Barcelona, Spain, leads a group of European, North American and Central American schools in the International ranking.

Michigan owes its first-place showing in part to its emphasis on practical experience in its M.B.A. program. Recruiters say they prize Michigan graduates because they can connect theory with practice. As for Thunderbird and ESADE, they share an international focus and even happen to be partners through a dual-degree program of study at both schools.

A commitment to ethics and corporate social responsibility also distinguishes all three of the top-ranked schools -- from Michigan's student projects in developing countries to ESADE's "Christian humanism" tradition of management education to the oath of ethical conduct signed by Thunderbird graduates.

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M.B.A. Programs Hone 'Soft Skills'
By PHRED DVORAK
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
From The Wall Street Journal Online

During his first year as a student at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business, Nuno Carneiro got a crash course in people skills.

First, classmates rated him on qualities such as listening, teamwork and sensitivity to others. Then, he drew up a "leadership development plan" that listed his shortcomings, such as rushing through presentations. Finally, Mr. Carneiro met with the director of the M.B.A. program for a "coaching" session, where the two identified ways he could improve. One suggestion: hone presentation skills by joining a group of Tuck students that offer consulting services to local businesses.

"It's a very safe way to apply little changes of behavior," Mr. Carneiro says of the process.

Mr. Carneiro's experience reflects the greater attention some business schools are devoting to topics such as teamwork, leadership and communicating -- the "softer" side of management. Typically, those soft skills got shorter shrift in M.B.A. programs than "hard" skills such as strategy or financial analysis.

The schools are responding to employers' growing interest in soft skills. Executive suites are increasingly composed of managers running far-flung operations who must attract and retain knowledgeable workers. That puts a premium on skills such as communicating and brokering compromises, says Warren Bennis, a professor at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business and author of a best-selling book on leadership.