The Decision Brief

One of the great advantages of the Sauder MBA is that it doesn’t rely completely on the case methodology, nor is it completely defined by standalone lectures on courses. Rather, the Integrated Core, which runs from September to December in the first year of the course, brings together the best elements of each and links them. One of the best ways we’ve done this is through The Decision Brief.

The Core
A team of Core (to be said in a Darth Vader voice, without the heavy breathing) professors covering Accounting, Strategy, Marketing, Supply Chain and Organisational Behaviour teach individual courses but with a strong common theme. Many of the same companies are examined from different angles – sometimes with results that generate great discussion among students! These are then complemented with courses in Ethics, Entrepreneurship, Macro and Micro Economics, IT Managment, Finance, Law and Statistics.

The Core team of professors then bring the whole class together most Mondays to discuss a business case from all angles. Focus on marketing alone, and the accounting prof won’t be happy. Ignore supply chain because you think strategy is more important, and you’ll quickly find out why they’re both essential for good business.

The Decision Brief
This Monday, an additional element was added to the mix. Rather than a tried and tested business case from one of the many libraries out there, the management team of a local business came in to throw some real business problems at students.

Coastal Contacts (ClearlyContacts in Canada and Lensway in Europe) has been operating from Vancouver for almost ten years, and is now the world’s leading online direct-to-consumer retailer of replacement contact lenses, eyeglasses and optical products.

Coastal’s management team challenged students to come up with real solutions to real problems. And founder Roger Hardy gave us real feedback in real time. Just like in a real business situation, we were sent away after our first attempts and told to come up with a revised set of recommendations in just 20 minutes. As one of those presenting in the second round, I can assure you Roger didn’t pull his punches! (Nor did I!)

It was a great experience, and reminded me of why we choose to do an MBA – to develop the skills to solve real problems in real time.

-Why not follow the experience of this year’s MBA class through Twitter? Just look for the hashtag #UBCMBA2011 to get a real flavour of how we’re enjoying the course.

Keith Martin is an MBA Candidate in the 2011 class at the UBC Sauder School of Business. Born and raised in Ireland, he has worked in technology, overseas aid, communications and politics in eleven different countries.