It’s hard to believe that we are entering into week 5 of semester two already. After the initial burst of excitement and adrenalin last term, I think we are all beginning to find a rhythm. As a part-time MBA student, lectures two evenings a week seems like the norm and I can hardly remember what I did on those days before starting the programme.
The semester has brought us new teams, new subjects, new challenges and new opportunities. One of the most interesting things I have got from the MBA so far, is learning from the group work and team dynamics. I think most of the groups felt at the end of Semester 1 that they had become a strong team and had gelled well together. So it was with a little trepidation that we all found our new teammates at the start of Semester 2 but I’m glad to say that it’s working out really well. It’s amazing how the prospect of assignments and work focuses the mind and facilitates real teamwork!
This semester we are studying Management Accounting, Information Systems, Competitive Strategy and Financial Management and it’s fascinating to see how they all interlink. I think that’s one of the great benefits of the MBA – getting a holistic view of business issues and being able to examine them from a variety of different functional perspectives.
The first class of Financial Management involved heated discussions about the property market. It was interesting to discuss the factors that led to the boom and bust in recent years. I think the property market is something we can all identify with and I hope to come away from the module with some useful lessons should there be another boom in the future!
For those considering an MBA, it is a wonderful opportunity to broaden your skill set, knowledge base and contacts and there is no better place in Ireland to do it than Smurfit Business School which is triple accredited and internationally recognised. If you are considering an MBA, don’t forget to take a look at the Irish Times/Smurfit Business School MBA scholarship which is open for another couple of days – see www.smurfitschool.ie/irishtimes – you never know, you might just win it!
– Conor O’Donovan, EMBA