Black MBA - Spring 2008 - (Page 43)

EDUCATION Continuing Ed Lifelong Learning An MBA is Just the Beginning By Mema Ayi YOU’VE GOT YOUR Master’s in Business Administration, a great job and a livable salary. So now what? If you want to stay-up on current trends, you’ll go back to school – often. Charles D. Wallace, Chief Technology Architect and IT Director, Global IT Architecture and Infrastructure at Rohm and Haas, a specialty materials company, still spends a lot of time in class. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he took a course on information technology; at Harvard, a class on negotiations; he spent a week at Duke in a chemistry class; and also enrolled in a week-long marketing class at the University of Pennsylvania. While in meetings with business executives, Wallace says, his technical background sometimes made it difficult to communicate. “I’ve always been relatively successful, but the language I used was very technical,” he explains. “In meetings, sometimes there were disconnects between what they [colleagues] were saying and what I was saying. I really had to learn the language of business.” Earning his MBA was the catalyst that launched his continual learning. “Everything [courses] that came after that was a focused concentration,” he says. To further explain, he cites how the Harvard course on negotiations was very important in maximizing his vendor management work. Taking courses after completing your MBA assures that you’re building on your degree and continuing to invest in your future. “People walk away from school and they lose the value of the things they’ve learned, or they don’t get to exercise those tools,” Wallace says. The courses are pretty intense, he says, but they also serve as valuable networking opportunities. Wallace, who completed the executive MBA program at Villanova University located in the Philadelphia area, says business schools are becoming much more progressive and offer more relevant courses for alumnus to sharpen their skills. For example, the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business offers a variety of continuing education courses to its graduates. Tenny H. Frost, Executive Director of Alumni Relations at the Haas School of Business, says the school is committed to providing lifelong learning opportunities to improve training and career development – adding that more than 30,000 alumni around the world take a number of courses and seminars to retool and fine-tune skills. The Berkeley Center for Executive Development offers very specific, intense courses in marketing, general management, finance and leadership. Haas graduates get a discount on course fees, and discounts range between $2,500 and $5,000 for sessions lasting between two days to a week. The intense programs are just one of the ways Haas encourages its students to continue their education, Frost says. Haas also offers skills-based classes and seminars, such as “How to Survive the First 100 Days of Your New Job,” webinars and more traditional seminars for presentations and industry overviews. Haas graduates get to audit one class for free. And, annually, about 150 Haas alumni remain in the Bay Area after auditing an MBA course, and roughly 350 participate in the school’s career workshops, seminars, job fairs and Webinars each year. “Things change so drastically in the marketplace, and when the landscape changes, you have to retool or revisit certain aspects,” Frost says. “If you studied marketing, you could come to realize that you really need to learn more about real estate.” Wallace agrees and reiterates, “You can stagnate pretty quickly, so if you’re going to continue to progress, you have to get your full value to your degree and keep adding to it.” Although the gains on the investment may be obvious to many, some employers may fear losing workers to competing businesses or industries, experts say. Yet, sometimes employers see the value in the long-run and will support – and often pay for – employees who want to take continuing education courses, which, no doubt, can lead to a win-win for both employers and employees. mba BlackMBA • Spring 2008 43 Charles D. Wallace II

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Black MBA - Spring 2008

Black MBA - Spring 2008 Passion, Purpose and Power Contents Web Browsing From the President & CEO Up Front Advertising for Change CEO to CEO: Straight Talk with Barbara L. Thomas and Renetta McCann The New Executive Search Wealth Building: A Head Start on Investing and Saving Young Continuing Education: Lifelong Learning is Easier than You Think Making Good: Catching up with some of NBMBAA’s 2007 Scholarship Winners On Campus: Universities Win Grants to Fight Poverty Public Service: Does Your MBA Fit in the Government Sector? Bridge Building: Make a Career of Giving Back Steady Speed: Kim Harris Jones Shares what Drives a Successful Auto Industry Career Financial Planning: A New Way to Work Your MBA Global Focus: Keeping up with the Competition Clock On the Move: Member News, Promotions and More Industry Focus: Biotechnology, Energy, Food & Beverage, Global Media and Entertainment Employer Profiles: Campbell Soup, FINRA Financial Finesse: Denise Hales Harrod and CompuCredit Advocate for the Financially Underserved Creating Lasting Change: GE Impacts Quality of Life in Africa William W. Wells Jr.: Finding Strength in Diversity Leaders of Tomorrow® Community Service Program: NBMBAA® and Wal-Mart Partner to Reward Students Who Give Back Reaching Out: NBMBAA® Chapters Give Back to Their Local Communities How To… Buy a Franchise: Understanding the Basics of Acquiring a Franchise After the Gridiron: Keith Sims – Dunkin’ Donuts Franchise Confidential: Paul Hubbard – Papa John’s pizza Strength Through Adversity: Bob and Hortense Bobbitt – McDonald’s On the Ground Floor: Valerie Daniels-Carter – Pizza Hut, Burger King, Auntie Anne’s Use Your Superstar Status: Black Entrepreneurs Break into Japanese Economy Marketing Maven: Odyssey Media Entrepreneur Linda Spradley Dunn Staying the Course: Black Marathoners Share Lessons from the Race Relationship Forum: Soul-Mate Strategies for the Career-Minded Vacations that Matter: Travel to Make a Difference Advertisers Index

Black MBA - Spring 2008

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