harvard business school business school.pdf · 2019-05-08 · Annual Repor 2010 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL 01 A B O U T H B S About Harvard harvard business school is one of the most

harvard business school

AnnualReport 2010 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL

01 A B O U T H B S

About Harvardharvard business school is one of the most prestigious graduate business programs in the world. however, it is important to recognize that being at hbs is about being part of something larger than the business school. While many graduate programs are reluctant to acknowledge their particular place in the larger university pecking order, the business school is both proud of its stature within the larger harvard community, as well as of its massive and highly-involved alumni network. under-standing harvard university, as well as the distinct character of hbs, is important when it comes time to determine where to apply and where to enroll.

Harvard University Programs

harvard university is one of the most prestigious universities in the world, with a campus spanning across the charles river, from cambridge to boston. The school’s undergraduate program is consistently at or near the top of every imaginable ranking system, and harvard college is certainly a major feeder into hbs and its other graduate programs.

additionally, the school is noted for its top-flight law and medical schools, and elite masters programs such as the public policy program at the Kennedy school of Government. Many hbs students take advantage of the opportunity to enroll in classes at these other programs as elective courses.

Harvard Business School

harvard business school’s mission is to “educate leaders who make a difference in the world.” leadership is paramount at hbs, where the concept can be defined in a variety of settings and roles. This diversity is reflected in the composition of each section as well as the viewpoints presented during case discussions. The mission of the school and the community standards that accompany this call for leader-ship are a part of everyday life and will have a major influence on a student’s expe-rience within the program. Furthermore, leadership qualities and aspirations will play a role in the career path of the typical hbs graduate – just as those qualities and aspirations are evaluated closely during the admissions process.

in addition to the emphasis on enrolling and nurturing leaders, hbs also stakes a claim as one of the world’s premier management programs. decision-making skills and strategic abilities are critical development areas, regardless of the particular discipline in question.

A complete list of Harvard University’s Programs includes:

harvard college (Faculty of arts and sciences)

harvard business school

harvard law school

harvard Medical school

The John F. Kennedy school of Government

harvard school of Public health

The Graduate school of arts and sciences

harvard Graduate school of education

harvard school of dental Medicine

harvard divinity school

harvard school of engineering and applied sciences

harvard university Graduate school of design

harvard division of continuing education

“harvard business school’s mission is to ‘educate leaders who make a difference in the world’.”


02 A B O U T H B S

The HBS Approach

harvard business school is best known for its utilization of the case study method as its primary learning model. however, this is only one of several distinctive and integrated approaches that hbs takes to molding future business leaders.

The Case Study Method. hbs adopted the harvard law school’s dia-logue-oriented case method of teaching in 1924 to help students begin thinking like executives. hbs created this teaching method in order to create a dynamic learning environment that hews closer to real life activity than the typical aca-demic assignments. From a skill standpoint, the case method is designed to give harvard grads increased capacity, perspective, and confidence for dealing with real business situations. The school boasts that over 80% of the cases sold throughout the world are written by hbs faculty. according to the harvard business school’s website, the school’s faculty is able to produce over 350 new cases each year by working with business leaders and global organizations. at a time when most elite business schools are scrambling to boast of their experiential learning offerings, it is almost refreshing to see hbs stick to its guns by leaning heavily on its case study teaching method. The case method is central to harvard business school academ-ics, and is discussed more extensively in the section under that name.

Research. hbs is also a nerve center of academic research, which can be both an advantage and a disadvantage to students of the business school. as with any other program -- be it undergraduate, law, or medicine – there is a tradeoff when a faculty spends a great deal of its time researching and publishing, as that means fewer hours are left for instruction and meeting with students. hbs addresses this by limiting formal teaching responsibilities to as little as one semester-long class per year, ensuring that faculty can balance their year between research and in-struction without compromising either. hbs certainly can claim lofty research ac-complishments, with a self-funded budget of $70 million that annually produces over 30 books and more than 300 academic papers, authored or co-authored by the school’s faculty.

Global Impact. hbs has an underrated international presence, with research centers and offices in cities as diverse as hong Kong, Tokyo, buenos aires, sao Paulo, Paris, and Mumbai. additionally, 35% of the school’s Mba students are from outside the borders of the united states and a quarter of the cases produced an-nually by the hbs faculty deal with international business issues. “Global impact” is a popular buzz word in business school circles these days, but few schools can rival hbs in this area of management education.

Sections and Learning Teams. like many graduate programs, hbs at-tempts to make a large class size smaller and more manageable through the use of sections. each harvard business school class features ten sections of about 90 students each. during orientation, students are assigned to six or seven-person learning teams composed of individuals from different sections and intentionally diverse backgrounds with whom they will work throughout their entire first year at hbs. These teams collaborate on occasional graded projects in certain first-year courses, but primarily serve as a group with which students can confer on cases.

“at a time when most elite business schools are scrambling to boast of their experiential learning offerings, it is almost refreshing to see hbs stick to its guns by leaning heavily on its case study teaching method.”

“during orientation, students are assigned to six or seven-person learning teams composed of individuals from different sections and intentionally diverse backgrounds.”


03 A D m I S S I O N S A T H B S

Admissions at Harvard Business SchoolEssays

The essays questions for harvard business school’s 2010 application consists of four total questions – two of which are required for all candidates and two which may be selected from a number of options. The four essays add up to just 1,800 total words, which is relatively short among elite business school applications. hbs has reduced the number of questions it poses to candidates, increasing the impor-tance of the remaining essays.

1 What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? (600-word limit)

2 What have you learned from a mistake? (400-word limit)

3 Please respond to two of the following (400-word limit each):

a. What would you like the Mba admissions board to know about your undergraduate academic experience?

b. discuss how you have engaged with a community or organization.

c. Tell us about a time when you made a difficult decision.

d. Write a cover letter to your application introducing yourself to the admissions board.

e. What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you?

veritas Prep clients working on their harvard applications will receive expert guid-ance on each of these essay questions. head consultants help clients understand how to highlight strengths and weaknesses as well as unique elements within the confines of the question (such as the fact that hbs is one of the only top business schools to make the “goals” question an optional choice), while also addressing each of the key business school admissions themes. Furthermore, hbs specialists will ensure that essay responses are in keeping with what harvard is looking for in its applicants (such as focusing on leadership and professional experiences in essay 1), and that the program highlights included in this guide are used as appro-priate reference points and examples.

Admissions Criteria

obviously, harvard business school is highly selective and can afford to look for “perfect” candidates. in addition to the common metrics such as GPa and GMaT score, hbs specifies a handful of qualities and traits that it seeks in an applicant. demonstrated superior academic achievement is a necessary, but not sufficient, criterion of admission. The success of the hbs case study teaching method de-pends upon the ability of students to effectively, collegially, and concisely articu-late their ideas on the case. admissions officers will be looking for candidates to demonstrate this ability during the interview process, and seeing it within letters of recommendation.

Habit of Leadership. as mentioned in the hbs approach, the business school is highly focused on leadership. Professional leadership experience is the most common and transferable, but extracurricular, personal, and community leadership accomplishments and qualities are recognized as well.

“The success of the hbs case study teaching method depends upon the ability of students to effectively, collegially, and concisely articulate their ideas on the case.”



Capacity for Intellectual Growth. This is the portion of the hbs ad-missions process that puts a candidate’s undergraduate performance (reputation of institution, major, course work, GPa, trends, and so on) and GMaT scores un-der a microscope, to ensure that the candidate can thrive in the demanding case method-based courses. While hbs does not state a preferred major or career path, it demands a comfort with and aptitude for quantitative, analytical, and communica-tion skills.

Engaged Community Citizenship. This element is as simple as it sounds: hbs is looking for people who have shown the ability to impact their communities and who will continue to do so both as a student and an alumnus. While this can be demonstrated in a host of settings and ways, paramount is a sincere commit-ment to helping others, viewed as an integral component of the responsibilities of leadership.

Visiting HBS

one of the best ways for candidates to truly understand if harvard business school is a proper fit is to visit the campus and get a feel for the academic environment, student life, and overall campus culture. additionally, visiting the school offers the opportunity for face-to-face contact with current students, professors, and admis-sion representatives. hbs offers a variety of ways for candidates to come and experi-ence the school for themselves:

Campus Tours. The school offers campus tours daily at 3:00 p.m. (eastern), often as part of a more comprehensive series of events, which can include class visits, information sessions, and lunch programs. Tours are also available as solitary experiences and are led by students. note: There are occasions in which campus tours are not available, but hbs has a calendar of events that is downloadable from its website that indicates these outliers, and also offers an audio-guided tour that can be accessed at the admissions office’s reception desk.

Information Sessions. hbs offers group information sessions every week-day at 4:00 p.m. (eastern). as with campus tours, information sessions are not of-fered on days when the admissions office is closed or on other select days. The school provides an information session schedule that showcases these dates, as well as room locations. These are often great opportunities to follow a campus tour by asking questions of an admission representative and can occasionally lead to face-to-face conversations. unlike class visits (see below), registration is not re-quired to attend an information session.

Class Visits. hbs encourages prospective students to visit an actual class in order to get the full experience of the case method style. however, note that there are numerous restrictions on this particular visitation opportunity. candidates can only schedule class visits within two and 30 days of the desired visitation date and they do not get to select which course they can visit. hbs has an online class visit scheduler that makes this process somewhat easier for candidates, but be aware that class visitations at hbs are a bit more restrictive than at other top schools.

Lunch Program. in addition to the events listed above, hbs also offers a lunch program that allows candidates to meet with first-year students over a low-pressure lunch in order to get the “real” scoop on life at harvard. This opportunity is available at noon (eastern) on any day where classes are in session. somewhat surprisingly, registration is not required.

Note: In addition to the regular lunch program, HBS also hosts a lunch specifically for prospective female students, hosted by the HBS Women’s Student Association from 12-1

Admissions Statistics

hbs continues to features some of the most impressive and intimidating admissions sta-tistics and the class of 2011 is no exception. nearly a quarter of the class scored a 760 or higher on the GMaT and only a quarter of the class scored below a 700. Furthermore, the average GPa of almost 3.7 is unusually high even among elite Mba programs.

applications .......................................... 9,093

acceptance rate ...................................12%

Yield ..............................................................89%

Middle GMaT 50% range .......700-760

average GPa ............................................3.67

“hbs is looking for people who have shown the ability to impact their communities and who will continue to do so both as a student and an alumnus.”

http://www.hbs.edu/mba/pdf/InfoSessionSchedule.pdf

https://www.appointmentquest.com/provider/2010181226

https://www.appointmentquest.com/provider/2010181226



(Eastern) on the first Monday of each month, from November through the end of the school year.

Outreach Events. like nearly all business schools and academic programs, hbs offers a variety of opportunities to engage with members of the school’s com-munity outside of cambridge. Many are hosted by the business school, while oth-ers are larger events or co-sponsored events at which harvard participates. The school offers a complete list of its events both by location as well as by audience type.

Deadlines

hbs moved its round one application deadline up two weeks for those applying in the fall of 2009, from october 15 to october 1. additionally, the round three deadline has been pushed back by almost a full month (although the notification deadline remains the same). This has the effect of giving harvard almost seven and a half months to come to final decisions regarding the incoming class – a change that speaks to the increasing level of nuance required throughout the admissions process.

Round 1 application deadline october 1, 2009

notification deadline december 15, 2009

Round 2 application deadline January 19, 2010

notification deadline april 6, 2010

Round 3 application deadlineapril 8, 2010

notification deadlineMay 13, 2010

Contact Information

harvard business schoolMba admissionsdillon housesoldiers Field roadboston, Ma 02163

Phone: 617.495.6128Fax: 617.496.8137

http://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/events.html


06 f I N A N C I A L A S S I S T A N C E A T H S B

Financial Assistance at Harvard Business SchoolFinancial Assistance Options

hbs is “need blind,” meaning that financial need and ability to pay are not factors during the admissions process. as a result of various assistance programs, most students would not face the full cost of tuition themselves. hbs elects to offer sig-nificant financial aid rather than reduce tuition charges because doing so would in effect subsidize the many companies that pay for their Mba candidates. hbs presents the following options for exploring financial assistance:

HBS Fellowship Program. This fellowship program is a need-based finan-cial assistance program that does not account for merit in its awarding process. harvard claims that nearly half the class receives funding through the hbs Fellow-ship Program in an average amount of $23,000 annually. Fellowships are awarded once student contribution (estimated saved income, spouse income, and other factors) and base loan packages have been determined and a “remainder” has been determined.

Other Harvard Fellowships. hbs makes available a series of additional, highly-specific fellowships for qualifying students, including:

• TheHoraceW.GoldsmithFellowship-between seven and 10 Mba students are awarded approximately $10,000 annually for showing leadership and commitment in the non-profit sector.

• TheRobertS.KaplanLifeSciencesFellowship - 10 students each year are awarded $20,000 for their credentials in the life sciences. The good news about the Kaplan Fellowship is that it is not included in the “student contribu-tion” calculation that impacts the hbs Fellowship. The bad news is that it is only for the first year.

• GeorgeFamilyFoundationFellowships– specifically for students in the third year of a dual program between hbs and the Kennedy school of Govern-ment. 10 are awarded to Kennedy school students each year and five to hbs students.

• RubensteinFellowshipProgram– covers the full year of tuition at the Kenne-dy school ($39,148 in 2008-09) for a fellowship recipient in an Mba/MPP be-tween hbs and the Kennedy school. rubenstein fellows also receive a $5,000 stipend for working in a summer internship in either the public sector or for a non-profit organization.

• JohnH.McArthurCanadianFellowship– a need-based fellowship specifi-cally for canadian students.

• JuniorAchievementFellowship-Fellowships are awarded annually and range from $5,000 to $6,500 in recent years. To be considered for a Junior achieve-ment Fellowship a student must have at least two years experience in Junior achievement, either as a participant or as an adviser.

• MD/MBALoanForgiveness–The program provides graduates of the official joint Md/Mba program of harvard business school and harvard Medical school up to 50% of their outstanding educational debt to sustain graduates through the completion of their medical residency.

Tuition and Cost

based on information released by hbs for the class of 2011, the total cost for one full academic year is $76,600.

harvard breaks down the costs into the following itemized costs:

Tuition ..................................................$46,150

university health services Fee ...$1,126

student health insurance ......... $1,714

Program support Fee (books, cases, and other required materials) ......................... $4,450

housing ..............................................$10,800

board, Personal, and other .....$12,360candidates should note several things about this proposed budget. First, while the health services fee cannot be waived, the health insurance cost can be waived by showing proof of insurance. The housing and personal amounts are estimates based on the major-ity of hbs students’ expenses. Finally, harvard has resources for estimating additional costs for married students.


07 f I N A N C I A L A S S I S T A N C E A T H S B

Federal and Private Loans. as with most graduate programs, hbs makes available a series of loan programs that make up the bulk of each student’s finan-cial assistance:

• FederalStaffordLoan– available to u.s. citizens and permanent residents. The maximum dollar amount is $20,500 and the subsidized amount can be up to $8,500, depending on financial need.

• FederalPerkinsLoan– an interest-free loan while in school, it is a smaller loan program available to qualified students who are u.s. citizens and permanent residents.

• FederalGraduatePLUSLoans–This loan can cover cost of attendance after other assistance has been calculated, provided the student qualifies and is a u.s. citizen or permanent resident.

• PrivateLoans– hbs announced on February 27, 2009 that it will continue to provide students with access to need-based private loans. These loans are available to both u.s. students as well as international students.

Note: HBS provides a link to a series of outside funding opportunities that may provide further financial assistance to Harvard students.

Outside Scholarships.students may receive up to $20,000 (or $10,000 per year) over the two year Mba Program from an outside scholarship source before hbs will reduce the hbs Fellowship awards. employer sponsorship and employer loans are considered as outside scholarships for financial aid purposes.

http://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/funding.html


08 H B S S T U D E N T S

Harvard Business School Studentshbs is the largest business school in the world, bringing people together from all walks of life. harvard’s class does not seem to be incredibly diverse at first glance, with a quarter minority students and a third coming from foreign countries (fairly typical statistics for a top school), but there are some hidden ways in which hbs brings in unique class members. The first aspect is that students skew slightly younger thanks to the hbs 2+2 Program and other recent initiatives to explore admitting younger applicants. in fact, hbs makes particular note of the fact that 40% of each class was admitted within three years of graduating from college. another subtle difference is that, as of May 2009, harvard allows students to apply with a Gre score, which the school hopes will attract more students who may have otherwise considered another career path coming out of college.

Student Organizations

hbs boasts more than 80 clubs on campus, spearheaded by the student associa-tion, which serves as a liaison between the student body of the business school and the administration. additionally, intramural athletics is a major part of harvard life, as hbs often fields teams in basketball, flag football, volleyball, and soccer that compete against teams from the rest of the university.

The most popular and important clubs at hbs include:

• The investment club

• The entrepreneurship club

• The social enterprise club

• The Management consulting club

• Finance club

• luxury Goods and design business club

• operations Management club

• The venture capital & Private equity club

• The Wine and cuisine society

• The hbs show

Total Nationality Breakdown:

Asia/South Pacific 15%

Europe 11%

Canada and Mexico 4%

Central/South America 3% Africa 2%Oceania 1%

UnitedStates64%

Countries represented – 70

Student Stats

class size .....................................................942

average age ................................................27

Female students ...................................37%

Minority students .................................23%

international students .......................33%

Undergraduate Majors:

humanities and social sciences .......................................40%

engineering and natural sciences ....................................33%

business administration ..................26%

other .............................................................. 1%

Pre-MBA Industry:

consulting .................................................22%

venture capital/Private equity .....15%

investment banking ............................11%

General services ...................................... 8%

Manufacturing .......................................... 8%

high Tech/communications ........... 7%

non-Profit .................................................... 6%

healthcare/biotech................................ 6%

consumer Goods.................................... 5%

Financial services .................................... 5%

investment Management ................. 4%

Military ........................................................... 3%


09 H B S A C A D E m I C S

Harvard Business School Academicsas discussed in the hbs approach, this is the school that started the case method analysis system of business school coursework. it informs each and every aspect of the harvard approach to academics and dictates both the admissions process as well as the type of recruitment that occurs on campus. however, there is more to the academic experience at hbs than just the case method approach.

Methodology

The primary methods of instruction at hbs are the case method, field study, and individual student research.

The Case Study Method. The case study method puts students in key decision-making roles as they face problems taken from real-life situations. it is built on identifying, analyzing, and then proposing recommendations for the par-ticular case at hand. This approach is built on the cases themselves, created in-house by hbs faculty, yet the implementation of the approach is largely driven by student participation. students convene in their assigned cross-sectional learning teams to read, review, and discuss cases outside of class, and then largely drive the classroom discussion, facilitated by the professor with pointed questions and observations.

While different professors adopt individual approaches depending on personal preference and the nature of the case, the discussions follow a fairly similar format. First, the professor will begin by calling on a student (selected at random, or on the basis of geographic or industry familiarity with the subject matter) to introduce the case with either an open-ended or specific question. after the introduction, the professor will call upon other students to enter the discussion; the professor may challenge anyone’s comment with further questions for clarification or argu-ment. The course of discussion will move in a direction aided by the professor, but ultimately will be driven by the content and conflicts of the student discussion. at the end of class, the professor will often summarize the discussion, offer his or her own thoughts, and explain what happened to the real-life company or protagonist featured in the case. by exposing students to 90 different leadership viewpoints on more than 600 cases over the course of the two-year program, the case method is designed to supplement graduates’ personal experiences by equipping them with thousands of perspectives that may be analogous to managerial situations they will confront in their careers. The goal of the case method system is to approximate a lifetime of experience, with the advantage of being able to leverage that experi-ence at the beginning of one’s career, rather than at the end.

Online Learning. certain basic tasks and concepts, such as accounting prin-ciples and elementary financial modeling, are better-suited to self-study than an 80-minute case discussion. Prior to starting the first-year curriculum, students are re-quired to complete or test out of online courses on a range of simple business con-cepts. This ensures that entering students are able to speak a common language, so that everyone can hit the ground running on the first day of case discussions.

“by exposing students to 90 different leadership viewpoints on more than 600 cases over the course of the two-year program, the case method is designed to supplement graduates’ personal experiences by equipping them with thousands of perspectives that may be analogous to managerial situations they will confront in their careers.”



Academic Culture. all students are expected to be seated behind their name card in their assigned seat, prepared to begin class on time. late arrivals, computers, conversations, and any other distractions from the classroom discus-sion are prohibited by the faculty, and enforced through intense peer pressure. While some students are initially uncomfortable with the degree of structure in an hbs classroom, it is acknowledged that this helps to create an environment of engagement and focus in the classroom that is seldom seen in other business or graduate schools.

Field-Based Learning. according to hbs, more than half of the Mba stu-dents in the program will become involved in field-based learning that takes place outside the classroom and in the workplace. This is actually less common than many other top business schools, including several (such as Tuck and ross) that carve out extensive time during the first year of study for required field-based study. Field studies are typically led by teams of students (three or more) who work with a sponsoring organization. hbs lists recent field-based learning sponsor or-ganizations that include disneyland, bMW, nike, the new england conservatory of Music, and the children’s hospital of boston. While “field-based learning” is just another way of saying experiential learning—or action-based learning, or practi-cal learning, or any other buzz word—and one could argue that less of it occurs at harvard than at other elite programs, there is no denying that hbs puts its stu-dents in position to work with some very intriguing organizations.

Individual Student Research. aside from the case study method and field research, the other way in which hbs students typically complete coursework is through an independent study under the supervision of a faculty member. Field studies during the second year can be conducted individually, or in groups. Fre-quently, they allow a student or group of students with curiosity (entrepreneurial or otherwise) in a particular company, industry, or market to explore the subject matter. some students go on to start companies at graduation from momentum built during a field study, with their professor as an investor and advisor.

Class Organization

as discussed in the hbs approach, students work in sections of approximately 90 students each. These groups stay together through the entirety of the hbs re-quired curriculum (discussed in greater detail below). each of harvard’s ten sec-tions has its own special faculty team and works in a cohesive way designed to foster both networking as well as the learning that comes from working with peers from multiple disciplines. sections are a common and relatively easy way of turning a massive business school into something more intimate. students need not be limited to their 90 section-mates for their social, academic, and professional inter-action, however. in addition to their assigned learning team, most students join a number of clubs and affinity groups that also introduce them to groups of friends outside of their section. Whether viewed as a byproduct of outgoing personalities or a manifestation of the drive to network, there is little question that the dominant hbs interpersonal culture is highly collegial, collaborative, and accessible.

“While some students are initially uncomfortable with the degree of structure in an hbs classroom, it is acknowledged that this helps to create an environment of engagement and focus in the classroom that is seldom seen in other business or graduate schools.”

“hbs lists recent field-based learning sponsor organizations that include disneyland, bMW, nike, the new eng-land conservatory of Music, and the children’s hospital of boston.”

“each of harvard’s ten sections has its own special faculty team and works in a cohesive way designed to foster both networking as well as the learn-ing that comes from working with peers from multiple disciplines.”



Academic Calendar

The hbs academic calendar is divided into two semesters: Fall and Winter.

The calendar for the 2009-2010 academic year was as follows:

Fall SemesterSeptember

1 Fall Welcome day 2 Fall elective curriculum

semester begins 7 labor day 8-9 required curriculum

orientation 10 required curriculum

semester begins

October

12 columbus day

November

11 veterans’ day26-27 Thanksgiving vacation

December

12-21 exam Period

Winter SemesterJanuary

19-22 required curriculum orientation

25 Winter semester begins

February

15 President’s day

March

15-19 spring break

April

19 Patriot’s day 30 exam Period begins

May

19 exam Period begins 26 2010 class day 27 commencement

Core Curriculum

The Mba program at hbs comprises two tracks: the required curriculum and the elective curriculum. The required curriculum builds the foundation of business fundamentals in areas such as finance, marketing, leadership, negotiation, opera-tions, and strategy – all of which takes place within the section structure. The elec-tive curriculum allows students to branch out and build on their fundamentals by choosing from nearly 100 different courses, pursuing field study opportunities, conducting independent research, or cross-registering with other harvard gradu-ate programs.

Term One:• Finance i• Financial reporting and control (Frc)• leadership and organizational behavior (lead)• Marketing• Technology and operations Management (ToM)

Term Two:• business, Government, and the international economy (bGie)• strategy• The entrepreneurial Manager (TeM)• negotiation• Finance ii• leadership and corporate accountability (lca)

Course Enrollment

The elective curriculum “bidding” process requires all students to rank their prefer-ences from a list of courses that will be taught during the second year. although most students submit lists of 15 to 20 courses, students have the opportunity to select up to 30 from a list of over 80 offerings from the school’s 10 academic units. once everyone has submitted their preferences, a computer program will allo-cate 10 classes per student based on a complex algorithm. extensive historic data detailing past bidding cycles is made available, and several rounds of preliminary bidding precede the final round, providing students with a fairly accurate picture of the competition for classes. experience has shown that the top five choices are critical, popular professors are more likely to be oversubscribed than clever-sound-ing course titles, and that the add-drop system is not a reliable fallback option for trying to get in to a popular class.

in recent years, approximately half of hbs students chose to work on a Field study or independent research and 20% of the class chooses to cross-register for cours-es at other schools in the neighborhood (such as harvard’s Kennedy school of Government, harvard law school, or MiT sloan). both options have broadened the range of course offerings, but also complicated the allocation and ranking process. students wishing to enroll in a popular and oversubscribed class at another institu-tion will find themselves at a disadvantage in the lottery relative to the students enrolling within their home school. conversely, while hbs courses are in high de-mand among cross-registered students around harvard university, hbs students are always given priority.



HBS Initiatives and Joint Degree Programs

initiatives present students with an opportunity to expand on case materials and research in a particular area of interest. initiatives include:

• The entrepreneurship initiative

• The Global initiative

• The healthcare initiative

• The leadership initiative

• The social enterprise initiative

as a university with a variety of elite graduate programs, hbs students also have the opportunity to pursue dual degrees in a wide array of programs, which include:

• harvard law school (Md/Mba)

• harvard Medical school (Jd/Mba)

• harvard Kennedy school MPP/Mba and MPa-id/Mba)

• harvard school of dental Medicine (dMd/Mba)

Note that a joint application to each school requires a separate essay to HBS as well as the completion of the application to school in question. In years past it was possible to apply to a joint degree program after already matriculating at a graduate school. Most formal joint degree programs now require applications for both schools to be submitted in the same year in order to be eligible for a joint or dual degree program.

HBS 2+2 Program

in keeping with harvard’s inward focus on identifying and connecting with talent early in the process, harvard business school offers the hbs 2+2 Program, which allows college juniors to apply for the opportunity to enroll in the program while still an undergraduate student. This is followed by graduation, two years of work experience, and then the two-year hbs program. This echoes the statistic that 40% of the students at hbs have three or fewer years of work experience before ma-triculating, and it certainly validates the school’s insistence on reaching out to find leadership talent at any stage in a candidate’s career path.

The first class of hbs 2+2 Program students won’t enroll as Mba students until the Fall of 2011, but their impact is already being felt. While hbs hasn’t gone on record about what will happen with its class size once these additional students (approxi-mately 100 of them) enter, the school’s recent expansion of its class size (from 900 to closer to 950) has led some to speculate that it may soon add an 11th section. When the hbs 2+2 students arrive on campus in the Fall of 2011, this may be the perfect time for hbs to finally add an additional section.



The HBS faculty is divided into 10 academic units:

1. accounting and Management

2. business, Government, and the international economy

3. entrepreneurial Management

4. Finance

5. General Management

6. Marketing

7. negotiation, organizations, and Markets

8. organizational behavior

9. strategy

10. Technology and operations Management

Faculty

The hbs faculty is populated with many prominent business leaders, re-searchers, and teachers. Professors are granted appointments and tenure on their ability to effectively generate insights in a class discussion as much as for their research accomplishments. even senior faculty members are required to teach introductory first-year courses, and hbs expects its fac-ulty to remain actively engaged in the outside world of business practice. among harvard students, there are several professors that are considered a “must” to have for a class, due to their reputation both as educators and as experts. These notable professors include:

Clayton M. Christensen Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration

Professor christensen has a joint appointment in the Technology & op-erations Management and General Management units. his research and teaching interests center on the management issues related to the devel-opment and commercialization of technological and business model inno-vation. specific areas of focus include developing organizational capabili-ties and finding new markets for new technologies. Professor christensen is the best-selling author or five books including The Innovator’s Dilemma, The Innovator’s Solution, and Seeing What’s Next. his course building and sustaining the successful enterprise, the most popular elective in the Mba curriculum, is based on his books and research and affords students an op-portunity to debate his powerful and cutting-edge research in real time.

Nabil El-HageAdjunct Professor, Associate Dean

Professor el-hage teaches in the Finance unit. he is a thought-leader in the field of private equity, and developed dozens of case studies along with the popular elective Private equity Finance course. his energy, understanding of the subject matter, and sense of humor have given him a reputation as a particularly engaging and sought after professor.

Frances FreiUPS Foundation Professor of Service Management

Professor Frei teaches in the Technology & operations Management unit. her research, course development, and teaching examine how organiza-tions can more effectively design service excellence. her academic research has been published in top-tier journals such as Management science and harvard business review. in addition, she has published dozens of case studies across a variety of industries, including financial services, govern-ment, retail, software, telecommunications, and travel & leisure. a gifted teacher, Professor Frei has received the hbs student association Faculty award for teaching excellence on multiple occasions, as well as teaching awards from the Wharton school of business and the university of roches-ter. students report that Professor Frei connects with her students on a per-sonal level and is accessible beyond the classroom and even well beyond the two years of the Mba program.



Stephen KaufmanSenior Lecturer of Business Administration

a former Fortune 500 ceo, stephen Kaufman teaches in both the Mba program and various executive education programs. his Mba courses include the first year required course in Technology & operations Management and Professor chris-tensen’s popular building and sustaining the successful enterprise course. Profes-sor Kaufman is noted for his ability to relate cases to real-life experiences from his long and successful career, and for making discussions feel more like they are oc-curring in boardroom than a classroom. Professor Kaufman was recognized by The class of 2008 with a Faculty award and was named the inaugural recipient of the school’s recently established charles M. Williams award for excellence in Teaching.

Youngme MoonDonald K. David Professor of Business Administration

Professor Moon teaches in the Marketingunit and primarily teaches the elective course consumer Marketing. she also teaches extensively in the executive edu-cation program. Professor Moon has received the hbs student association Fac-ulty award for teaching excellence in both the first-year marketing course and her consumer Marketing course on multiple occasions. she is also the inaugural recipient of the hellman Faculty Fellowship, which is awarded for distinction in research. Moon’s courses are traditionally oversubscribed as students are attracted to her energy and passion for teaching. a powerful facilitator, Moon leaves classes feeling “pumped up and inspired” and often uses insights gained from classes as inspiration for her own research.

Michael PorterBishop William Lawrence University Professor

considered the leading authority on competitive strategy, Professor Porter created the “Five Forces” concept that is the building block of the modern strategy field. his work led harvard university and hbs to create the institute for strategy and com-petitiveness. he is the author of 18 books and teaches Microeconomics of com-petitiveness, which is open to students across the university. in 2008, Professor Porter received the first lifetime achievement award in economic development from the u.s. department of commerce. he teaches in the strategy unit.

Jan RivkinBruce V. Rauner Professor of Business Administration

Professor rivkin heads the strategy unit, and his research, course development, and teaching efforts examine the connections that link marketing, production, logistics, finance, human resource management, and other parts of a firm. since 2002, he has been recognized with six Faculty awards for outstanding teaching. students are drawn to Professor rivkins’ passion, humor and ability to relate com-plex ideas. Professor rivkin has often said that he views his biggest challenge as “teaching students to ask the right questions, rather than simply pursuing the right answer.”

“Professor Kaufman is noted for his ability to relate cases to real-life experiences from his long and successful career, and for making discussions feel more like they are occurring in boardroom than a classroom.”

“considered the leading authority on competitive strategy, Professor Porter created the ‘Five Forces’ concept that is the building block of the modern strategy field.”



Grading System

The hbs grading system is unique in that there are three possible grades for each course: 1 (best), 2 (middle), and 3 (worst). Grades are determined by a curve that general gives out a “1” to 15% of the students in a section, a “2” to 75% of the stu-dents, and a “3” to 10%. There is also the possibility, though rare, of earning a “4” which is usually a pre-cursor to academic probation.

hbs recently amended its policy of prohibiting students from disclosing their grades to potential employers, a policy that began in 1998 and ended with the class of 2007. The administration felt that “non-disclosure was inconsistent with the school’s mission of developing outstanding business leaders, as much of what business leaders do is define, measure, and seek ways to enhance performance.” The school’s return to optional disclosure gives students the choice of letting re-cruiters see their grades.

in each class, the grade is typically made up the following:

• Midterm (first year only) – 10-15%

• Final exam – 40-50%

• class Participation – remainder

although class participation accounts for less than half of a student’s final grade, most of the emphasis is placed on speaking up and “adding value” to class discus-sions. in spite of the forced curve, most students are surprised at how little the competition for grades detracts from the collaborative and collegial culture at hbs.

The top academic honor at harvard business school is the baker scholar designa-tion (high distinction), given to the top 5% of the graduating Mba class. Typically, a baker scholar will have achieved “1s” in the majority of his or her course credits. stu-dents receiving honors (top 20%) in both their first and second years are awarded the Mba degree with distinction.

HBS Business Plan Competition

Founded in 1997, the hbs business plan competition is held annually by the rock center for entrepreneurship, the hbs entrepreneurship club, and the social en-terprise club. The plan features two “tracks.” The first is for traditional for-profit businesses and the second for social enterprise. The first place winners of each prize receive an award of $25,000 in cash and $25,000 in services such as legal and accounting. runners-up in each track receive an award of $10,000 in cash and $10,000 in services.

note that the services award has an expiration date that typically occurs within a year of the date the award was given.

“hbs recently amended its policy of prohibiting students from disclosing their grades to potential employers, a policy that began in 1998 and ended with the class of 2007.”

“The top academic honor at harvard business school is the baker scholar designation (high distinction), given to the top 5% of the graduating Mba class.”


16 H B S C A m p U S

The Harvard Business School Campusharvard business school is located in the boston neighborhood of allston and fea-tures its own 40-acre campus, comprising 33 buildings. The school’s website allows for an interactive tour of the campus, which can prove helpful for those candidates who are unable to visit the business school.

hbs is not located in the same location as the rest of harvard university, which is lo-cated across the charles river, in the city of cambridge. The business school was once located within harvard Yard, but relocated to the other side of the river in 1927 with the construction of the iconic McKim, Mead, and White campus recognizable today.

hbs forms the southern border of the active life of the university, and the nearest nightlife options, restaurants, shopping, and even subway stations are all across the charles river in cambridge. as a result, most students who choose to live in private apartments live in cambridge. Most students live in university housing, however, and on-campus dormitory suites offer an inexpensive and highly convenient (a 2-5 minute walk to classrooms through underground passages) living option.

in addition to the series of resource centers, the baker library, the bloomberg cen-ter, and the other components that make up the foundation of the hbs campus, the school also features the schwartz art collection, which is displayed throughout campus.

hbs has clearly attempted to create its own universe on its side of the charles, where students receive everything from academic to residential needs. The goal of the hbs campus is to minimize external concerns for students, allowing them to focus on the Mba experience. The plethora of resources made available to hbs students tends to arouse some resentment across harvard university, and is often derisively (or enviously) described as “the country club” for its restricted and rela-tively luxurious facilities. For example, while hbs students have full access to all of the resources of harvard university, only hbs students are allowed to use the shad gymnasium. hbs boasts state-of-the-art technology in each classroom, outfitting each with the multimedia capabilities for video, conferencing, presentations, and internet-based classroom material. Furthermore, each seat in the class includes a voting feature that allows students to provide professors with immediate feedback.

harvard business school also features one of the oldest and most extensive busi-ness libraries in the form of the baker library/bloomberg center, housing not only significant business artifacts, but also materials and bloomberg terminals made freely available to students.

Key buildings at HBS include:

baker library/bloomberg center

aldrich hall (the main classroom building)

hawes hall (used by both the Mba and executive education Programs)

spangler center (main student gathering place)

Morgan hall (main faculty office building)

shad hall (state-of-the-art fitness center)

arthur rock center for entrepreneurship

non-denominational chapel

burden auditorium

“The plethora of resources made available to hbs students tends to arouse some resentment across harvard university, and is often derisively (or enviously) described as ‘the country club’ for its restricted and relatively luxurious facilities.”

http://www.hbs.edu/campus/)


17 p R O f E S S I O N A L R E C R U I T m E N T A T H B S

Professional Recruitment at Harvard Business SchoolCareer Development Resources

as with most top business schools, hbs has a series of career resources that help first-year students hit the ground running in an attempt to secure the important first summer job, as well as career development opportunities to follow. The har-vard business school services are bolstered by its extensive alumni network – a product of massive classes graduating every year since 1908 from one of the most prestigious business schools in the world.

Career Services Office. The hbs career services office features a staff of 23 people devoted to helping harvard business school students develop their career paths. The career services office offers a variety of specialties and is open every weekday from 8:30 to 5:00 in Wilder house, providing a constant presence for students seeking help with their job searches.

One-on-One Career Coaching. career counselors are available to as-sist students with career decision-making and positioning, job search strategy, evaluating offers, and negotiating compensation. Professional career counselors are available for 45-minute telephone appointments. no limits are placed on the frequency with which students may use this service free-of-charge.

On Campus Interviews. as with most elite professional graduate school programs, on campus interviews are the lifeblood of the professional recruitment process at hbs. hbs uses both “open days” and also a dedicated interview period which typically takes place in late october.

Company Information Days. introduced in 2008, company information days are the initiation to the first-year recruiting period and feature presentations from a variety of companies over a three-day period. each presentation is followed by a Meet & Greet that allows students and companies to interact earlier in the process.

Networking Nights. For second-year students only, hbs has created forums for recruiting partners to meet with students to discuss full-time employment op-portunities beyond graduation. The idea behind networking nights is to segment by industry and make the interactions as relaxed as possible, differentiating it from the more formal interview process.

MBA Job Bank. The career services offices maintains an online job bank that allows employers to post various jobs specific to the hbs community.

Resumé Books. The career services office makes available to companies re-sumé books, which are a compilation of first and second-year student resumés. These books are purchased by companies, allowing them a way to search through the resumés of hbs students in search of a particular fit.

Alumni Resources. in addition to its services for current students, hbs also features a variety of programs designed to assist alumni of the school, particularly during difficult economic times. services such as strategy workshops, one-on-one career coaching, research support, and alumni job banks are all available to hbs graduates after they leave campus.


18 p R O f E S S I O N A L R E C R U I T m E N T A T H B S

Employment Statistics

hbs traditionally pumps out a lot of graduates that work in the finance sector – more a byproduct of the school’s incoming class, than a particular bent with re-gard to programs. There is also a significant percentage of each class that goes into consulting and a relatively large pool who work in general management posts. less common are those hbs students who go on to work in marketing, as just 7% of the 2008 graduating class found its way into sales or marketing positions.

Industry

Retail 5%

Technology 6%

Consulting 21%

Entertainment/Media 4%

Consumer Products 5%

General Services 4%

Biomedical/Pharmaceutical 4%

Nonprofit/Government 3%Manufacturing 2%

Real Estate 2%

FinancialServices44%

Function

General Management 11%

Consulting 22%

Marketing 11%

Strategic Planning 4%

Business Development 6%

Other 2%

Finance45%

Location

Midwest 8%

Europe 9%

West 15%

Asia/South Pacific 6%

Mid-Atlantic 6%

Southwest 5%

Southeast 3%Canada 2%

Latin America1%Other 2%

Northeast43%

“less common are those hbs students who go on to work in marketing, as just 7% of the 2008 graduating class found its way into sales or marketing positions.”

Salaries

25th Percentile base .................$100,000

75th Percentile base .................$130,000

Median base..................................$120,000

Median signing bonus ..............$20,000

Percentage of graduates receiving signing bonuses ..............76%


19 H B S A N D V E R I T A S p R E p

HBS and Veritas Prepveritas Prep has a long-standing tradition of helping dynamic applicants gain ac-ceptance to one of the world’s most prestigious business schools. our hbs clients go on to become leaders in their class and successful in a variety of post-Mba industries. The secret to our success is in first ensuring that hbs is a proper fit for the client, and then assisting the client in expressing that unique fit in the most articulate and impactful way possible.

Our Team

our team of hbs consultants includes former admission representatives, alumni interviewers, members of influential student groups, and, of course, accomplished professionals in a variety of fields. With over a dozen harvard consultants on our admission consulting team, we are able to provide customized service to clients based on background, timing, logistics, and even personality matches. our hbs consultants have career experience in virtually every imaginable sector, ranging from finance to consulting to operations management.

each client who works with veritas Prep on a harvard comprehensive package will receive a team of consultants: a head consultant and an hbs specialist.

Head Consultant. each head consultant has experience as an admissions representative, which gives them a unique perspective on the applicant pool and how candidates must position themselves to express proper fit and to stand out in an increasingly competitive process. The head consultant will guide the client through every step of the process: from the initial diagnostic session to submis-sion of the application.

HBS Specialist. every comprehensive package client will also receive an hbs specialist who is either a harvard student or recent graduate. This person will ensure that essay responses are both topical and aligned thematically with the things that matter to the hbs community. in addition to helping clients find spe-cific courses, programs, clubs, and professors that match their interests, the hbs specialist will also comb through each question and answer to ensure that the response is properly aligned with the qualities that harvard seeks in a candidate.

For more on veritas Prep’s incredible team and the individuals who serve as our hbs consultants, please visit the consultant Profiles page of our website.

http://www.veritasprep.com/mba/consultant-profiles/


20 H B S A N D V E R I T A S p R E p

Our HBS Approach

harvard business school is a nothing short of a household name. Therefore, it is always one of the most popular school selections among our clients. however, the veritas Prep approach is built upon identifying the right fit for each client, regard-less of the name brand of the business school. only then do we begin to build the candidate’s personal marketing platform and piece together the perfect hbs application.

Diagnostic Session. our diagnostic session – the first step in our compre-hensive packages as well as a stand-alone service – assures that each client’s goals and prospects are properly aligned. once we have helped ensure that the client is making sound choices with regard to each business school application, we start building a timeline and a strategy for the hbs engagement.

Personalized MBA Game Plan. each client’s head consultant will create a Personalized Mba Game Plan, a strategic approach based on the client’s profes-sional, academic, and personal history. Those elements will become the foundation of the hbs application story, allowing the client to demonstrate leadership, innova-tion, maturity, teamwork skills, analytical ability, and potential for academic excel-lence. a major component of the Game Plan is the identification of each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses – as well as truly unique qualities – relative to the har-vard applicant pool. This will create an application platform from which to work and will help mold and shape the strategy of how to address application components such as the resumé, essays, and letters of recommendations.

Leadership. When working on the essays and other hbs application compo-nents, it all starts with leadership. harvard business school has long made it known that leadership is the quality most prized in its applicants and its graduates alike. Therefore, each application story submitted by a veritas Prep client focuses on a narrative of leadership. These qualities come in many shapes and sizes and from many different paths, but they all form the backbone of the hbs application. The head consultant will work with each client to highlight strengths in this area and to mitigate any weaknesses, all while bringing the candidate’s unique and dynamic personality and background to the forefront.

Motivation. While continuing to work on the essays and the resumé, veritas Prep will ensure that proper depth is achieved with regard to motivation. Why HBS? it is a question that is both asked and unasked throughout the application. due to the fact that nearly every business school applicant with a strong profile applies to harvard, the school is eager to identify those true believers – the candidates who wish to attend hbs for reasons that go beyond academic ranking and high profile on-campus recruiting.

Balance and Perfection. once the theme of leadership has been installed as the backbone of the application and true motivation has been expressed, the veritas Prep head consultant and hbs specialist will team up to ensure that all of the questions have been properly answered, that the resume and essay questions have been crafted with style and efficiency, and that all of the key business school themes have been addressed in a balanced way throughout the application. it’s not easy applying to one of the elite schools in the country, but our consulting team will ensure that our clients give themselves the best chance of admissions success through the most accurate, engaging, and persuasive portrayal of their candidacy that they can possibly create.

“The veritas Prep approach is built upon identifying the right fit for each client, regardless of the name brand of the business school.”

“each client’s head consultant will create a Personalized Mba Game Plan, a strategic approach based on the client’s professional, academic, and personal history.”

“harvard business school has long made it known that leadership is the quality most prized in its applicants and its graduates alike.”

http://www.veritasprep.com/mba/enroll/comprehensive

http://www.veritasprep.com/mba/enroll/comprehensive


21 A B O U T V E R I T A S p R E p

About Veritas PrepFounded in 2002, veritas Prep has emerged as a global leader in GMaT® education and Mba admissions consulting. The company’s business school team includes more than 300 graduates of the world’s elite Mba programs, managed from its headquarters in Malibu, california.

The veritas Prep consulting model is built on adding value to a student’s appli-cation process by providing both mentorship and expertise. The business school admissions process has become increasingly competitive and applicants must do everything possible to showcase their value. our consultants assist applicants in presenting their unique stories in the most professional and meaningful way pos-sible. in a sense, our consultants are translators – helping an applicant discover raw materials and information and then helping that candidate articulate a unique story in a language that admissions committees understand. More than anything, veritas Prep gives candidates a sense of ownership and control over the process. Quality of work, attention to detail, care for the student, and integrity are the lynch-pins of a successful consultation.

in addition to elite Mba admissions consulting services, veritas Prep also offers the finest GMaT preparation available in the industry, as well as admissions consulting for law school, medical school, and graduate school services.

For a complete list of veritas Prep’s many services, please visit our website.

“success Favors the Prepared“

http://www.veritasprep.com/mba/

Documents

harvard business school business school.pdf · 2019-05-08 · Annual Repor 2010 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL 01 A B O U T H B S About Harvard harvard business school is one of the most