こんにちは。GMBA class of 2022のNです。今回は同期KがStrategyの教授であるProf. Michael Jensenにインタビューしてくれましたので、こちらでご紹介します。
Michael Jensen | Michigan Ross
インタビュー内で教授本人も触れていますが、彼は10年以上にわたってGMBAの必修授業を担当しており、コロナ以前は企業訪問(Bench marking trip)を企画するなど、GMBAのプログラムには欠かせない存在です。また、教授の担当する選択科目は毎回定員オーバーになるなど、Reputationも高く、過去何度もTeaching Excellence Awardに選ばれている人気と実力を兼ね備えた教授です。
私自身も必修・選択科目ともに彼の講義を受講しましたが、歯に衣着せぬ物言いが毎回大学の講義らしからぬ盛り上がりを生み、活発な議論を誘発していました。講義外でも学生のランチや飲み会に数多く参加され、非常に学生とのつながりを大切にされている方だということが言葉だけでなく行動からも感じれらました。そのような人となりも感じられるインタビューになっていると思いますので、興味のある方は以下もチェックしてみてください。
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Could you tell me your background?
I have a master’s degree in philosophy and business economics from the University of Aarhus, Denmark, and a PhD in management and organization from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University . When I came to Ross, I first taught the core strategy class for undergrad students and then I started teaching an MBA elective on strategic alliances. I started teaching the core strategy class for Global MBA students (Strategy 591) in 2011 and I have continued teaching the Global MBA ever since 2011 except for the year that was interrupted by COVID. Right now, I am teaching MBA electives focusing on the power of prestige (Strategy 688) and strategic alliances (Strategy 681) as well as the core strategy class for the online MBA students (Strategy 533).
Why should we learn Strategy?
I think there are two ways to think about it. Learning strategy is like learning a language where you learn a set of concepts and frameworks that help you analyze complex business problems. Being able to analyze complex business problems in a systematic and rigorous way is key to being successful in your job and it becomes more and more important as you move up the corporate hierarchy. For me, the outcome of a strong strategy analysis it not necessarily the right answer. It is instead to develop an analytical framework that allows you to explore several different answers and then make informed choices about the best possible way forward for a firm. Even if it is difficult to know if your decision is right or wrong beforehand, rigorous strategy analysis at least gives you a clear sense of the business problem you are trying to solve by deepening your understanding of your competitors, your own firm, the different possible strategy solutions, and how to track if you're successful in implementing these solutions including adjusting your strategy when things change in the environment and when competitors respond in a way you didn't predict them. So, strategy for me is all about increasing the action potential of the company by being comfortable making decisions under a high degree of uncertainty.
Do you have any suggestions for any elective classes to enhance the ability to think more tightly and deeply on Strategy?
I think the strategy area is offering a very good portfolio of electives and I think as I always say in class the best majority of students who are not going into consulting should be very strong in a functional area and they should all have strategy as a secondary area. People going into consulting have strategy as the first area and then some functional areas. I think students should take at least one strategy elective and ideally many more. I think students should basically end up having taken most of the strategy courses and then I strongly believe this because if they are taught well, strategy courses strengthen your ability to think and to make difficult decisions. So, I would say that there are four courses that you definitely should take. You should take Advanced Competitive Strategy (Strategy 669), Mergers, Acquisitions and Corporate Development (Strategy 682), Strategic Alliances (Strategy 681), and Power of Prestige (Strategy 688). But I also think you should take the other courses. So, that's why I mentioned here that's a bare minimum. There are other courses, Global Strategy, Growth Strategy and so on. But at the same time, if you want to do marketing or if you're going to work in marketing, you should obviously take marketing courses. If you're going into finance, you should take finance courses.
From the strategic view, what do you think is a competitive advantage for Global MBA especially compared to Full-time MBA or any other schools?
The historical program had a very clear competitive advantage. It was an international program that allowed students to study in at least four different places, Japan, South Korea, China or Silicon Valley, and Ann Arbor, which gave students exposure to different countries and different ways of doing business. Yet it took less than two years. Because students studied together in different places, everybody got to know each other very well, thus creating very strong and enduring bonds between students from many different countries. The strong bonds are still being created because of the relatively small class size, which makes it easier for students to know each other and their faculty.
One of the best experiences I've had with the GMBA program is a repeated experience. We do social things together. Of course, we used to do a lot more social things together because we used to stay in the same hotel and worked with students from early morning sometimes to very late night. You get to know each other not only as students but also as people. Also, after graduation, of course, we keep in touch with many of them. Let me give you an example. Last year, one undergrad wanted to know about corporate hierarchies within Korean companies in the US for her thesis. She was particularly interested in finding out how Korean culture sometimes collide with American culture when Koreans and American work together in Korean companies in the U.S. To help her with that, I could immediately call up alumni who work for big Korean companies in the U.S. She could get access to several companies, and she had the opportunity to interview several GMBA alumni and their colleagues.
For me, the social aspect of the GMBA program is very important, so traveling to South Korea, for example, to give a talk at South Korean universities, I always try to schedule a reunion with alumni in the area and normally 30 to 40 people will show up. We need to have this kind of party. I have also taken GMBA students on benchmarking trips to visit companies in Silicon Valley and New York City, which gives students new insights and creates good memories. Having fun makes it easier to learn. I hope we can start doing the benchmarking trips again when Covid is not a problem. I also hope that the program going forward will keep the smaller scale and keep the social aspect of the GMBA program strong because that is what in some sense that's what makes all these possible. Because once you have these, you create a strong core. Then, the strength of the GMBA program is also after you've done this, then you get to mix with the other MBA2 because I think if you only stay with GMBA cohorts for the entire program that would not be good.
I think the most touching experience would be when two Korean students were leaving the US to go back to Korea. They called me from the airplane when they were waiting to take off. They said that they wanted me to be the last person they talked to as they left as a thank for all the fun things we did together. It was a great experience. I really appreciate getting to know students from all over the world and it is wonderful when these relationship stay strong even after students return home.
Could you give some advice to the person seeking to join the Global MBA program in the future?
I think it's a very strong program and you should join it and think of it as an opportunity to do three things. First, it's an opportunity to strengthen your business language and acquire a lot of skills here and be able to think about business in a way you could not think about it before. Second, it is an opportunity to grow as an individual. It's an opportunity to meet people and put yourself in situations you wouldn't put yourself in if you stayed in your job. It's really an opportunity to take a step away and look at the bigger picture also in terms of your career and your life and develop some skills, language skills, social skills, and so on. Third, because many GMBAs come with family, I think it's an opportunity for your family to come and experience a different culture, and a different education system if you have children. I think this is an overlooked aspect of the experience because I hear so many families that don't want to go back.
I think all of these three things are really why people have to do GMBA. Finally, if you don't have a family, there's also a chance that you'll end up with a family because several GMBA students have ended up getting married to each other. Two Japanese students started running with me in Ann Arbor (we ran a half-marathon together), and then they continued running together even after going back to their country. And soon after, they got married! This is an example to get to know each other well. Life is full of wonderful surprises, joining the GMBA program will hopefully expose you to many of them!
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