Tag: business

Doctor's Orders: Take Care of Your Mental Health

January 16-In an interview with The Harbus, Dr. Richard Kadison, Chief of Mental Health for all of Harvard University Health Services expressed concern for the mental health of business school students and urged students to seek care if they think they may need it. Dr. Kadison emphasized that mental health services are part of an… Continue reading Doctor's Orders: Take Care of Your Mental Health

Sustainable Development Society Hosts Organic Fast-Food Entrepreneur

Mac McCabe is revolutionizing the fast-food industry, one Organic Yukon Gold Fry at a time. McCabe (MBA ’71) is President and CEO of O’Naturals, an all-natural, mainly organic fast-food chain that aims to offer consumers an alternative to the fat-laden,environmentally-unfriendly mega-chains that McCabe wryly refers to as “The Evil Empire”. McCabe addressed a group of… Continue reading Sustainable Development Society Hosts Organic Fast-Food Entrepreneur

Alumnus Speaks Frankly about Life as Ambassador to the Czech Republic

Ambassador Craig Stapleton, current U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic, visited campus last Friday to reflect on his recent diplomatic experiences from both a political and personal perspective. In a very frank discussion, Ambassador Stapleton first talked about how immediate the September 11th attacks impacted his job. Having arrived to the Czech post only two… Continue reading Alumnus Speaks Frankly about Life as Ambassador to the Czech Republic

Outspoken Alumnus Blames HBS for Enron Debacle

The demise of Enron, the once-vaunted energy and trading company, is a complex affair. On December 2, 2001, the company filed for bankruptcy. Last week, its shares were delisted from the NYSE. The financial press is awash with speculation on the cause and ramifications of what has been dubbed “the largest bankruptcy case in American… Continue reading Outspoken Alumnus Blames HBS for Enron Debacle

Upside Down

Did you notice that 2002 is perfectly symmetrical? If you write it from right to left, you get exactly the same number. Those palindromic years are pretty rare, and happen only once every century. It is even less common to go through two of those years as we do (1991 and 2002). The last time… Continue reading Upside Down

News and Campus Affairs Editor's Welcome

Welcome to the News & Campus Affairs section of the first 2002 edition of The Harbus! Over the next year, I very much look forward to working with Nick and the rest of The Harbus team to bring you the news items of highest relevance and greatest interest to the HBS community.During the forthcoming year,… Continue reading News and Campus Affairs Editor's Welcome

Outward Bound

Starting HBS marks the first time I have moved since “coming out.” Personally, it has been a much greater learning experience than I had ever imagined. For one, I was single again after a long relationship. Before that, when people asked if I was dating someone, I answered “Yeah-he’s a great guy-his name is Scott.”… Continue reading Outward Bound

There's No Business Like Show Business

You could say that Michael Wolf knows a little something about Hollywood. For over a decade, Wolf has been the trusted adviser to some of the largest and best-known entertainment companies around the world. Prior to joining McKinsey & Company as the head of their entertainment & media practice, Wolf built the entertainment, media &… Continue reading There's No Business Like Show Business

Leadership in a Crisis: How One Firm Survived

The HBS case study curriculum stresses that it challenges its students with real world situations every day. On December 5, the HBS community had the opportunity to hear from an individual who has just faced one of the most extraordinary situations ever to befall world business. The events of September 11. Bob Scott, the President… Continue reading Leadership in a Crisis: How One Firm Survived

Symposium With World Leaders Seeks Student Contributions

From May 23-25, 2002, the 32nd ISC-Symposium is to be held in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The annual Symposium, founded in 1969, has since evolved into an acclaimed platform for interaction among approximately 600 decision makers from business, politics and science. 250 students from the world’s leading universities, selected through the competition for the ISC Wings… Continue reading Symposium With World Leaders Seeks Student Contributions

The End of the End of Big Government

It has been 20 years since President Reagan gave the policy pendulum a mighty push toward minimalist government. With bold strokes, he deregulated the airlines, privatized air traffic control, and set in motion cheaper, less centralized government. Later, as the Cold War waned, the stature of the private sector grew taller and business principles became… Continue reading The End of the End of Big Government

Successful Airline and Internet Leaders Highlight Entrepreneurship Conference

Despite the gorgeous weather and the fact that the Holidazzle ball had been the prior night, over 300 people came to campus early last Saturday morning to attend HBS’s 18th annual Entrepreneurship Conference, “Build to Lead,” organized by the Entrepreneurship Club. The audience was composed not only of Harvard students, but students from other business… Continue reading Successful Airline and Internet Leaders Highlight Entrepreneurship Conference

Do We Learn What Makes Leaders at HBS?

We talk a lot about leadership at HBS, but sometimes I wonder if we’re using a word we don’t understand very well. A typical class: An instructor asks what made Martin Luther King a leader. We fill the board with phrases like possessed a vision; great communicator; capable of building coalitions; and so on.When the… Continue reading Do We Learn What Makes Leaders at HBS?

Gaining Experience through a Social Enterprise Summer

So maybe I shouldn’t have acted so excited when BCG called to ask me if I could defer my start date until October, but I was thrilled to have the opportunity to spend a summer working for a nonprofit before starting my full time job. While I had always felt that I’d eventually end up… Continue reading Gaining Experience through a Social Enterprise Summer

Hard Time Finding a Good a Job? Create Your Own

Why struggle to get a job in this damaged economy if you can be fortunate enough to have the opportunity to create your own? The HBS business plan contest was a great opportunity for me to validate a business idea, create a company of my own and also have fun in the process. Let me… Continue reading Hard Time Finding a Good a Job? Create Your Own

OF Stands Proud in Intramural Soccer Championship

Section OF approached the Intramural Soccer Championship in a good mood. Strong EC teams–OD, OC, OK, and OB–were defeated in previous rounds. Considering how many HBS Soccer Team players were on these teams, OF had a reason to be proud. In addition, in this season, the team demonstrated excellent turnaround management skills–last year the team… Continue reading OF Stands Proud in Intramural Soccer Championship

Vernon Jordan: More than a "First Friend"

Vernon Jordan has a remarkable story, and last Monday he came to the Kennedy School Forum to tell it. Jordan is a rare individual; an African-American who can lay claim to both a distinguished career in the civil rights movement and a seat in the top rank of the American legal and financial establishment. He… Continue reading Vernon Jordan: More than a "First Friend"

Former Thomson CEO Andy Mills on How Not to Get Ahead

One of the most provocatively titled lectures of the year, “HBS: The Path To an Unproductive Life?” drew about three-dozen students Tuesday afternoon to hear Andy Mills, former CEO of Thomson Financial, provide the awaited answer. Mills drew upon his personal experience and said, “Pursuing money, power, and influence as ends unto themselves is the… Continue reading Former Thomson CEO Andy Mills on How Not to Get Ahead

Got an Hour? Get the Job!

Guest author Frank Vuotto knows a little somethin’ about effective research, being that he’s a business librarian at a top university. So he’s put together a little primer on preparing for the job search.As a business librarian at a top-20 business school, I have heard all the eleventh-hour pleas and bargaining ploys from students in… Continue reading Got an Hour? Get the Job!

Case Rip Cord Fortifies its Electronics Career

BRL Hardy: Globalizing the Australian Wine Company: This case begins with some nice quotes about the Australian wine industry. “Vines were first introduced into Australia…by [the] leader of the convicts and settlers who…inhabit[ed] the new British colony. …Annual per capita wine consumption in this beer-drinking country was…mostly ports and fortified wines…sold in the two-liter ‘bag… Continue reading Case Rip Cord Fortifies its Electronics Career

The I-Banking Job Search Process

This piece is based on experiences gained over the last few weeks, during the official EC Hell Week process. It is clouded by the current job search environment. In the event that the economy turns around, most of these tips will not be essential, but still useful. First of all, to those of you in… Continue reading The I-Banking Job Search Process

Leaders who make a difference in the world

“You’ve heard of a bank run? I’ll show you a bank run!” And with those words, my CEO dashed out of the office to ensure the security of his company’s funds in the latest crisis sweeping through the Argentine financial system. With a large, growing government debt and the one-to-one currency convertibility plan in place,… Continue reading Leaders who make a difference in the world

Healthcare Opportunities at HBS

Healthcare in the United States is a trillion-dollar business. Its vast complexity and breadth of scope has fascinated many business leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors. Over 15% of students at HBS have some type of work experience in healthcare, including biotechnology, health services, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. Another significant number of students has had exposure to… Continue reading Healthcare Opportunities at HBS

Landing That Dream Job in Entertainment/Media

Elevator Pitch (aka. Why media/entertainment?)You need to know exactly why you want to work in this business. You need to be passionate about the biz and/or about the product, otherwise you will not differentiate yourself. And if you don’t differentiate yourself, you will struggle to get that dream job. So you have to do a… Continue reading Landing That Dream Job in Entertainment/Media

Overview of Investment Banking

What is investment banking? Depending on who you ask (including i-bankers themselves), you will get somewhat different answers. Broadly speaking, investment banks provide a gamut of financial and advisory services to corporations, institutions (both private and public) and even individuals (usually high-net-worth ones.very high). There are generally three or more distinct business areas that major… Continue reading Overview of Investment Banking

An Internship in Venture Philanthropy

During my first year I got involved with the Volunteer Consulting Organization – something I highly recommend to anyone interested in nonprofit, consulting, or just a good team-based experience (shameless plug #1). The satisfaction I derived from that experience was different than in for-profit consulting. Nonprofits are almost always resource-constrained – therefore, the areas that… Continue reading An Internship in Venture Philanthropy

Summer Volunteer Consulting Report – Summer in St. John

Crystal clear 80 degree water, fruity rum drinks, and an easy-going way of life. These are the thoughts that come to mind when one thinks of the US Virgin Islands. I was fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of these accoutrements as I completed a cost accounting and business planning project for Virgin… Continue reading Summer Volunteer Consulting Report – Summer in St. John