MBA in a Day What You Would Learn at Top-Tier Business Schools (If You Only Had The Time!)

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his book would not have been possible without the collabora-

tion and participation by a great team of researchers, writers,

and contributors, composed of recent MBA graduates from

Thunderbird: The Garvin School of International Management, many

of whom I had the privilege of teaching and mentoring at this excep-

tional school that produces exceptional managers and leaders of global

business and enterprise.

Lenora E. Peppers, MBA-IM, the team leader, is managing direc-

tor of Kick-Start Marketing in Phoenix, Arizona. Arthur Holcombe,

MBA, is associate director of the Corporate Executive Board, Washing-

ton, D.C. Ronald J. Greene, MBA, is a business analyst living in

Phoenix, Arizona. Jaxon Ravens, MBA, is a political consultant in Seat-

tle, Washington. Suchi Patel, MBA, is a strategy consultant in Phoenix,

Arizona. Allison Kaiser, MBA, is a marketing strategist for Kick-Start

Marketing in the Bay Area, in Northern California. Rachel Neft, MBA-

IM, is a marketing strategist in Phoenix, Arizona.

I also want to acknowledge the collective great work of my

partners in bringing MBA In A Day

to publication. To Rick Frish-

man at Planned Television Arts special thanks for sharing his knowl-

edge of the publishing business, for mentoring me during the

process, and for introducing Jane Dystel and Michael Bourret, who

well applied his expertise in advancing MBA In A Day

into the mar-

ket. Matthew Holt, Senior Editor, and Tamara Hummel, Michelle

Becker, and Mike Onorato, all at John Wiley & Sons, are a top-notch

team of publishing professionals to whom I am grateful for their be-

lief in the book and their collective support and energy in making its

publication possible.

Finally, I wish to express my thanks and appreciation to some

important women in my life: to my new bride, Rosemary, my love and

appreciation for signing up for an adventure and for being a great

Acknowledgments

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partner as that adventure in life together has been unfolding; to my

mother, Janice, whose memory includes teaching me how words and

writing are so important; to Deanne, for her love and support; to my

sister Carol for always being there with encouragement and love; and

to my daughters Amy and Marcy—you have made me so proud of

your own achievements both as moms and wives, and as successful

professional women!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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teven Stralser received his Ph.D. from the University of Michi-

gan, where he taught marketing and marketing strategy. He

holds a BS in marketing from the University of Arizona and an

MBA from Arizona State University.

He is currently Clinical Professor and Managing Director of the

Global Entrepreneurship Center at Thunderbird: The Garvin School of

International Management.

During fall 1999, he was a Fulbright Senior Scholar, teaching mar-

keting management in the MBA program at the Budapest University of

Economic Sciences and Entrepreneurship at the University of Miskolc.

His interests outside academe and the professional world include

playing left defenseman for his men’s adult ice hockey team, driving

and just being around vintage sports and touring cars, sharing adven-

tures with his new bride, Rosemary, and enjoying their growing clan

of grandchildren.

About the Author

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SECTION I

PEOPLE,

MANAGEMENT,

AND POLICY

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Human Resources

he process of recruiting, hiring, and retaining competent em-

ployees has always been an important part of any business. In

the business world today, this function has become ever more

complex and important. The business environment is forever chang-

ing, and managers and human resources departments must be flexible

enough to adapt to these changes, including the evolving laws, demo-

graphics, and business strategies.

HUMAN RESOURCES

PLANNING AND STRATEGY

Just like any other aspect of business management, planning and strat-

egy development are the first items on the agenda when tackling a

project. Managers, professionals, and entrepreneurs are often faced

with the task of developing a plan for how human resources will be

needed to meet short- and long-term goals and objectives. For exam-

ple, a company is interested in expanding its production capacity with

a new plant to serve its western U.S. markets. As part of the strategic

planning for this new facility, a human resources component of this ex-

pansion will be essential.

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In its simplest form, human resources planning starts by conduct-

ing an analysis of staffing needs throughout the organization. This

could mean either assessing the current staffing requirements or pro-

jecting future requirements if changes are expected. In either situation

there are several questions that need to be answered and fully under-

stood prior to the analysis.

1. What is the organization’s strategic vision?

2. What are the short-term and long-term goals?

3. Are there any major changes in the market that will impact

the organization’s future?

4. What changes in staffing requirements, if any, are needed to

support the strategic vision of the organization?

5. If changes are needed within the organization, what type of re-

sistance can be expected to the changes?

Once these questions are answered, assessing the staffing requirements

can be completed.

Assessing the staffing plans involves evaluating the human capac-

ity needed to meet the goals and objectives of the organization, esti-

mating the number of people needed for each department or role, and

making adjustments as needed. This process does take a lot of experi-

ence and understanding of the specific business, but experienced man-

agers should be able to make good assessments. If the managers are

new to the industry, a good benchmark would be comparing the num-

ber of employees needed in similar organizations.

Signs that the current staffing needs are not in line with the con-

dition of the organization:

✔ Regular breakdowns in the process flows, which jeopardize re-

lationships with clients and customers. These include missed

deadlines, increased returns, decreased customer loyalty, and

regular administration mistakes.

✔ Frequent employee absenteeism and turnover caused by em-

ployees being overstressed, having poor morale, or looking for

other employment.

PEOPLE, MANAGEMENT, AND POLICY

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✔ Regularly occurring overtime caused by employees being

overworked or given too much responsibility. Overworking

employees can lead to burnouts and increased costs in the

long run.

Once the staffing plan is developed that meets the current and

future plans for the organization, job descriptions can be created.

This process involves analyzing each job in the organization in order

to generate a job description and job specifications, and then these

are aggregated at a company-wide level. Job descriptions can be a

very important management tool in some organizations. Some

thought should be put into them due to the nature of employees us-

ing job descriptions to define and defend their actions or inactions.

Job descriptions can be either a restraint or an open door for em-

ployees or teams.

The job analysis involves collecting sufficient information to

form a complete understanding of what is entailed to perform the job.

A job description lists the activities that the employee performs, as

well as the skills and qualities that are needed to successfully meet the

job objectives. Think of this stage of human resources planning as if

you were a newly appointed coach of an expansion football franchise.

You would identify first the positions you would need to complete the

roster, then the qualities you would like for each player, specific to

each position.

Once the job analysis and job descriptions are determined, this

information can then be aggregated to form a human resource inven-

tory to track what skills and capabilities need to be filled in to com-

plete the human resources requirements.

When completed correctly, job descriptions can be a very impor-

tant tool and can be used in many different functions, including:

✔ Giving employees a gauge of how they will be evaluated

within the organization.

✔ Helping determine the compensation level for individual posi-

tions.

✔ Establishing hiring criteria for specific positions, and giving

candidates responsibility expectations.

Human Resources

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