The Economist: The military and MBAs
Business on the front line
The following article was originally written by a contributing writer and was published in The Economist. You can find an original copy of the article here.
The path from the military to business school is well yomped. A life in the armed forces teaches many lessons, but marketing, finance and entrepreneurship are rarely among them. So veterans looking for a move into the commercial world often need a crash course in the basics. But when they get there, they often find that there is also a lot that civvies can learn from them.
Not surprisingly, most students from an armed forces background find the first weeks at business school a culture shock. Ger Zwartendijk, a former special forces commander who studied at Nyenrode in the Netherlands, says he was initially unsettled by a lack of structure to business life. Ed Robinson, who led units on several combat tours in Iraq, found himself instinctively leading study groups on his MBA programme because “when you’re out in the field you can’t afford to hang around waiting for someone to give you direction”. And Adam Stanley-Smith, a US Marines officer, who took an MBA at HEC Paris, found himself longing for the days when he could get most things done simply by issuing an order.
Posted by RSM | July 23rd, 2011 | No Comments
RSM OneMBA cohort begins classes
RSM, Erasmus University welcomes its eighth OneMBA class. The cohort holds 36 students who reflect the truly global and experienced nature of the programme. After the formal welcome at RSM they went for the global kickoff of the programme in Washington D.C.
RSM’s OneMBA Class of 2011 is again a diverse, experienced and ambitious group representing 13 nationalities. Thirteen students reside outside the Netherlands and 17 are non-Dutch . Their average age is 38, and with 13 years average work experience. The global class will again hold over 100 students.
The profile of RSM’s cohort is globally-oriented, inspirational professionals who are primed for their next professional challenge. Typically, they exhibit outstanding professional achievements, exceptional leadership qualities, experience in people management and academic excellence, a Bachelors degree (or equivalent) and a minimum of six years post-graduate professional experience.
More info on the programme is to be found at RSM Global/onemba
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University is a top-ranked international business school renowned for its ground-breaking research in sustainable business practice and for the development of leaders in global business. Offering an array of bachelor, master, doctoral, MBA and executive education programmes, RSM is consistently ranked amongst the top 10 business schools in Europe. www.rsm.nl
Posted by RSM | October 13th, 2009 | No Comments
