Stern Takes 1st Place at IESE International Case Competition

New York University's Stern School of Business' Team (Lasith, Leah, Eric and Eddie) won the first place in the 2007 IESE Annual International Case Competition!!!

We rock!

The new trend...Hunger Strike!

Did anyone really thought this wasn't going to happen? It was absolutely predictable!
So, now... what? Let's do what all of them want! Why not?
Seriously, what's going on in Spain?

Al menos 29 presos se han puesto en huelga de hambre tras el 'caso De Juana'
Actualizado miércoles 11/04/2007 22:34 (CET)

EL MUNDO

MADRID.- Al menos 29 presos comunes de distintas cárceles españolas han iniciado una huelga de hambre en los últimos meses, siguiendo el ejemplo de Iñaki de Juana Chaos, el etarra que consiguió el régimen de prisión atenuada con una protesta similar.

Según informa Pedro Simón en EL MUNDO, uno de estos presos es Jesús Martínez Ramos, un recluso de la prisión de Aranjuez cuya celda está al lado de la que ocupó en su día Iñaki de Juana Chaos. "No aguanto más, Juancar, quiero una prisión atenuada como la de ese tío. Quiero que nos traten de igual manera. Me voy a poner en huelga de hambre. No hay marcha atrás", le comentó a su hermano antes de iniciar la drástica protesta.

Jesús Martínez Ramos cumplía condena por varios delitos contra la propiedad, entre ellos asaltar un almacén de jamones. Tanto él como De Juana Chaos habían cumplido tres cuartas partes de la pena y ambos contaron con la misma junta de tratamiento. El pasado 8 de marzo inició, junto a otros cuatro compañeros, una huelga de hambre pidiendo un tratamiento penitenciario similar al que tuvo el etarra.

Otro caso es el de El Zarrat Ez Zitouni, preso en la cárcel de Dueñas (Palencia), ingresó en la cárcel a mediados de 2006 acusado de violación, pero la supuesta violada que le metió en la cárcel reconoció el pasado 13 de mayo que, no hubo tal delito y quería vengarse del marroquí por un asunto de drogas.

Sólo en la prisión de Mansilla (León), en las últimas semanas, un total de 16 internos se han declarado en huelga de hambre. Actualmente seis siguen con la protesta.

Según el Centro de Documentación contra la Tortura, en 2006 fallecieron al menos entre 50 y 60 presos que mantenían una huelga de hambre y que se encontraban en un deplorable estado de salud que hacía aconsejable su excarcelación.

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2007/04/11/espana/1176323578.html

FOMO: Fear of Missing Out

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_15/b4029092.htm

Today's Students: Living Large They're splurging like the high-paid executives they expect to become An epidemic has hit America's top MBA programs. At Harvard Business School, it's called FOMO: fear of missing out. Symptoms include a chronic inability to turn down invitations to any party, dinner, or junket attended by anyone who might be a valuable addition to one's network—no matter the cost.

With their incomes about to get a big boost at graduation, many students are spending far more than absolutely necessary, in part on luxuries like leisure travel and in part on networking events. Nobody wants to quibble over the costs when they're partying with folks who may advance their career.

Says Mike Altman, a student at the University of California at Los Angeles' Anderson School of Management: "It isn't worth coming off as cheap or petty when you're building a network for life."At top B-schools, where high-rolling investment bankers set the pace, those extras add up. Harvard suggests MBAs budget $23,784 a year for room and board, but Harvard grads responding to a BusinessWeek survey last year estimated their annual living expenses at $37,000, with more than 40 reporting $80,000 or more. Columbia Business School, where some MBA grads reported spending as much as $85,000 a year, recommends that students budget about $2,080 a month for room and board.

But student Aakash Nijhawan says most people he knows end up spending at least that much on housing alone, to live in the trendier precincts of Manhattan, such as Tribeca or SoHo, in an apartment "that's not the size of a shoebox."The B-school set doesn't stint when it comes to travel, either. There's the winter "learning experience" in China, spring break in the Caribbean, and weekend jaunts to Vegas or Vail. The wine-tasting trip to Napa, sponsored by the University of Chicago Wine Club, and the celebrity-spotting excursion to Cannes, offered by UCLA's Entertainment Management Assn., are not to be missed. And who could turn down an invite from a University of Chicago club to break bread with the Sage of Omaha himself, Warren Buffett?

REFORMED CHEAPSKATE

For Nijhawan, who will return to investment banking at graduation, that's a no-brainer. "When you work in banking, you're working really hard, and sometimes vacations get canceled," he says. That's how he rationalized spending $5,000 for a student trip to India and about $1,500 for spring break in Hawaii—quite a bit more than the $3,900 a year Columbia recommends students budget for "personal expenses" including travel and clothing.

When he graduates in May, Nijhawan hopes to spend the summer in Greece and the Bahamas before starting his new job at Citigroup. With the money he stands to make there—the median starting salary for Columbia grads in his field is $125,000—he's not worried about paying back his loans.

In fact, with what he managed to save before B-school, he probably could have paid for it all in cash. Still, he wasn't ready to give up the high life. "I wanted to live more comfortably," he says, "and I budgeted accordingly." While he gave up the Brooks Brothers shopping sprees and $300 dinners, he kept his spacious 1,200-square-foot apartment in Hoboken, N.J., and his stylish BMW 325i.UCLA's Altman, a onetime member of the U.S. national rowing team, considers himself "a bit of a cheapskate."

Even so, Altman eventually realized that with the $40,000 he was spending each year on tuition, it made no sense to pinch pennies. "I made such a huge financial commitment," he says. "I need to get as much out of this as I can."

Amazing Japan!

I liked with Japan before I had the opportunity to visit it. Now... after spending 10 days there...

I can say that...

... I am completely in love with this country!!!

- Amazing culture: silent, ancient, spiritual, historical, unique...
- Amazing people: polite, extremely courteous, pleasant, friendly...
- Amazing cities and towns: clean, beautiful, modern & old together, organized...

The only reason why this trip does not displace Egipt trip from its 1st position, is that my 'angel' wasn't with me.

We both visit Japan, but not together... But... Romance aside....

Best trip ever!!!!

It's difficult for me to pick one particular moment as the best one there.

I started my journey in Tokyo, where we visited the touristic area of Ropongi, the financial area, Harayuku, Sony headquarters, and of course the Fish Market at 4am in the morning (where I ate for the first time Sashimi). Also in Tokyo, I had the opportunity to see again, after 10 years, my good friend Mitsuyo! She took the day off and travel from her hometown to Tokyo to spend the day with me! So sweet!

From Tokyo we traveled in the amazing "Tren Bala" to Nagoya, where we visited Toyota factory. No wonder how ZARA works so well after working with Toyota's executives, it's really impressive!

From Nagoya, we headed to Gifu, where we stayed at a traditional Japanese Onsen Hotel. There, we had a traditional 12 courses Japanesse dinner that was served on the floor (tatamis). In this same hotel we enjoyed the strange experience of bathing in Spring Waters.

After Gifu, the wonderful and magic Kioto, Geiko's city; where, I had the opportunity to dress like a Geiko (Dear Lord!!! I looked awfull -see the picture-). I had always had this fantasy of dressing like a Geisha, and I always imagined that I would be beautiful....

Well, it didn't happen!

They cover your face completely with white paint (yes! paint, no make up, I almost died trying to take it out), they take out haft your eyebrow, they hide your eyelashes, they minimize your lips to the minimum possible, they compress your brests, they hide your hips, and they give you a belly.... My God! When I looked myself in the mirrow for the 1st time I couldn't believe it! There's a reason why Western women aren't Geishas...

However, it was one of the funniest parts of the trip. And... our Japanes friend Yuichi said that we looked beautiful (poor thing!)

After two days in Kioto, we traveled to Osaka, where we saw Osaka temple, enjoyed the city and had their typical food Okonomiyaki (Delicious!); and had the opportunity to attend the Sumo World Tournament.... No words!

It was fast! Wasn't it? The 10th day I couldn't believe I was coming back to NY already!

I really recomend everyone to visit Japan! It's totally worth it!

I can't wait to come back!

Wedding Coming Up!!!!!

Yuju!!!! Finally!!!! Bodorrio! Que emocion! En fin...

CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN!!!!

First Summer Internship Offer ...

I'm still in the recruiting process with several interesting firms, but....

I've already secured an offer at a consulting firm here in New York, which took a huge load off my shoulders! :-)

New Appartment!

We're moving!!! My husband just found us a gourgeous appartment :-)

The best part: it has 2 bedrooms, and it has a fireplace!!!!

I'm looking forward to it!

We'll post photos when we have them.

The Zipper Delivery

I know someone who might find this a great idea... right? New Yorker? :-)

To those of you having babies this summer: Congratulations!!!

Ortega Lara, against Negotiation

Ortega Lara: "Estoy radicalmente en contra de cualquier negociación" ["I'm totally against any negotiation (with ETA)"]

I didn't have the chance to see Sanchez Drago's interview to Ortega Lara, but I bet it was excruciating listening to his story while he was captured by ETA.

Again, I would like to re-state that I am completely against any kind of negotiation with the terrorists. The terrible bombing in Barajas this Christmas, the attitude of the nacionalism supporters and the remembrance of all these savageness just confirm me that NEGOTIATION IS NOT THE WAY!

Complete articles: http://www.elpais.com/articulo/gente/Ortega/Lara/Estoy/radicalmente/cualquier/negociacion/elpepugen/20070129elpepuage_9/Tes

http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/196316/5/drago/ortega/lara/

Who put a smile on my face today?...

She's Fatama, she's 14 years old, she lives in Burkina Faso; and she's my new Sponsored Child (Apadrinada)!!!

These days are being kind of hard on me, and I realized that I needed something to lighten my life. Of course, the best way for me to lighten my life is by lightening others', and that's how the sponsorship idea came to my mind again.

I got into Plan's website and had the temptation of picking and choosing the most "beautiful" child in the pictures, or the one that appears best in the photo... and then I realized that my goal was to help someone who doesn't have many chances of get help. So, I clicked on the option "I want to sponsor the child who has been waiting longer", and there she was. Not many people want to sponsor teenagers, most of us prefer babies and see how they grow... So Fatama could be left in the wait-list to be sponsored until she was 18.

So, welcome the new member of our family: Fatama!

I'll post more pictures and information about her, as soon as I get it.

And to those of you who hadn't sponsor a child yet, here are some webs you maight check out:

www.planusa.org

www.savethechildren.org

www.fundacionvicenteferrer.org

Sponsor a child! Apadrina un nino!

MBA Job Search Process

One might think that when you get admitted into an MBA program, in one of the top universities in the world, things are going to be easier. Well... wrong! Things aren't easier! The difference is that with an MBA you get access to opportunities that you don't have access without an MBA. However, the competence to really take advantage of those opportunities is much harder than before.

Everyone is highly qualified, prepared, professional. All of us look forward to get the best job possible, in the best firm possible. Unfortunately those firms are making the process more and more difficult so they can end up hiring just "la creme de la creme".

This process is nerve wracking! It's soul-sucking! Depressing for moments! Tense... Oh! God! I just want to get over it. I'm stressedout with the process itself, with 1st round interviews, 2nd round interviews, go me through your resume, so "why are you here?", unfullfilled promises... and being passionate and exhited about everything. I feel mentally and physically tired! :-(


And, of course, the classes have already started, and those I chose for this semester are going to be extremely time-consuming and challenging :-)

BUT...Good news: sooner or later I'll get a great job and laught about all this. In the meantime... a little bit of suffering!

Wish me luck!!!!

My Resolutions for 2007...

This year I decided to focus on certain resolutions and put my full energy into accomplish them. The first step I am taking in order to guarantee that I do so, is to share them with you. This way, you can act as my guardians, and urge me to remember my promises along the year.

So, here they are:

- Loose Weight: I have to loose at least 20 kilos (the ones I gained over the last 5 years!, amazing, ah?). So far, I started my diet, and lost already 2 kilos; so I'm on track!
- Include Vegetables and Fruit as part of my daily diet. I'm on it! Fruits are already in, and I'm moving forward with the vegetables.
- Exercise: I need to go back to exercise. So, my goal is to do some kind of exercise at least 3 days a week.
- Improve my GPA: this semester I would like to reach the 3.8 GPA in my MBA.
- Find a great Summer Internship and an amazing Full Time job
- Balance the MBA and my personal life
- Visit Japan
- Take a maximum of 2 cabs a week to go to/come back from the University
- Find a hobbie!
- Laught more! and don't argue for small things
- Improve my English and Frech
- Some Private Ones! :-)

That's it!

We'll see how it goes! I'll come back next January to see if I accomplish them or not!

I'm still alive!

Hey, Just a quick note to say I'm still alive!

The last months have been very hectic, and January is going to be crazy!!!! Wish me luck for my job search for the summer! :-)

So, I promise I will start posting regularly when I finish the interviews and all that...

I just want to wish you all the best for 2007! It's going to be a GREAT year! I wish amazing things for 2007! Let's do our best to make our dreams come true! As my cousing Noa says "we deserve ourselves to be the best we can".

The Business of Ethics

By Naomi GoldinOct 25 2006; The Cornell Daily Sun

Two days ago, former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling was sentenced to 24 years in prison for his involvement in one of the largest corporate scandals of the decade. Skilling was convicted of federal felony charges including conspiracy, insider trading and securities fraud.

A few weeks ago, Yale student Aleksey Vayner made national headlines for his over-the-top 11-page cover letter and video resume in which the I-Banking applicant made a number of false claims. Vayner credited himself with running a charitable organization, serving as the CEO of an investment firm and writing a book on the Holocaust. Research by bloggers has shown that all of these claims are fabricated.

And, earlier this month, Hewlett-Packard’s former chairwoman, Patricia Dunn, was charged with four felony counts for data-mining. In her effort to discover the source of continuous company information leaks, Dunn spied on the home-phone records of fellow board members. Dunn found the director; the lawsuit found Dunn.

So, what do these current events tell us about the state of America’s corporate values? Unfortunately, nothing good. It seems as though a trade-off exists between business ethics and business profits — meaning that one comes at the expense of the other. Of course, there are those of us out there who know that this is simply not the case.

In fact, there are plenty of socially responsible corporations and business practices that have their fair share of financial success, such as Ben & Jerry’s or DuPont. Still, we cannot hide from the reality of increasing corporate malfeasance in recent times.

In his Business and Professional Speaking course, Professor Brian Earle recently discussed a survey taken by the Ethics Officers Association which revealed that an alarming 48 percent of employees have engaged in unethical or illegal activity within the past year. The annual cost of these unethical or illegal actions? $400 billion! Perhaps what is even more disconcerting about white collar crime, however, is that it occurs at every level. Like Aleksey Vayner (well alright, maybe not quite like Aleksey Vayner), many job applicants fabricate their past experiences and credentials.

According to a study released by Avert Inc., a company that performs background checks, 44 percent of job applicants have falsified information about their work experience or education on their resumes. Therefore, it is not surprising that screening and selection services, such as those offered by Avert, are increasingly used by corporations. (Now might be the right time to change that bullet on your resume from “Spearheaded the development of new financial contract database” to “Participated in the development …” … just a thought.)

But what should be done about the apparent lack of ethical standards in corporate America?

In the wake of recent corporate scandals, some business schools have found that the answer rests with education. More and more universities are instituting courses on ethics and social responsibility. For example, FSU’s College of Business has created a “Business Ethics and Moral Leadership Course” in order to increase students’ awareness of the importance of ethical decision-making. Bentley College is recognized for its Center for Business Ethics, which is similar to UC Berkley’s Center for Responsible Business in its Haas School of Business. Additionally, Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Business, ranked as the 4th best business school in the U.S. by U.S. News and World Report, inserted an ethics segment into the basic organizational leadership course that all students are required to take. And Cornell’s undergraduate business program currently offers a 2-credit course on Business Choices and Consequence. Yes, business programs all around the country are adding required courses on ethics to their curriculum.

One of my best friends attends the Stern School of Business at New York University. She recently informed me that NYU also added a required course on business ethics to their undergraduate program, in which she is currently enrolled. The course, Professional Responsibility and Leadership, “is designed to help students consider the purpose and function of business in society and the ways in which a business profession is incorporated into a successful human life.” However, rather than being considered a serious component of the business curriculum, the course seems to offer more comic relief than anything else. (...) ?

Enron: Skilling sentenced to 24 years of prison

Oct 23 (Reuters) - Enron Corp.'s former Chief Executive Officer Jeffery Skilling was sentenced to 24 years and four months in prison for crimes related to the financial scandal that brought down the energy company in 2001.
The following are key facts about Skilling:
-- Born Nov. 25, 1953, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
-- Joined consulting group McKinsey & Co. after graduating in the top 5 percent of his Harvard Business School class in 1979.
-- Joined Enron in 1990 to help create natural gas trading systems that became a core company business. Hired Andrew Fastow, who later became chief financial officer and designed the off-balance sheet partnerships used to hide debt and pump up profits.
-- Resigned as Enron chief executive after about six months on the job as the company's stock price struggled and pressures in his personal life mounted.
-- Sold Enron shares worth nearly $63 million in 2000 and 2001.
-- Convicted on May 6, 2006, along with former Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay, of conspiracy, fraud and insider trading linked to Enron's downfall. Lay died in July.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

Again, my questionis: How do you cross the line?
Take-aways: There's a "black sheep" in every family.

Recap... from the last 3 weeks.

It's been a long time from my last post. I've been kind of busy in the BSchool, so I'll try to make a quick recap:

• AVON Walk: amazing experience. The weather was very good, and the spirit was increadible. All the East side of Manhattan and Brooklyn was pink! I raised $2,500, which I thought it was a great sum, but I just knew that a 5-member team raised $100,000. In total we raised 9.7 million dollars! I am trying to do it again for next years, so, those who didn't donate this year: you'll get your chance! :-) We'll make this disease disappear!

• My friends in New York: one of my two best friends came to New York to visit us. They stayed here for 10 days, and although I didn't have much time to be with them, it was great to have them here. When you are so far from home, you miss your friends and family a lot, so sharing a few days makes a difference. So, thanks for coming!

• MidTerm Exams: Last week I had the first midterms at Stern. They were OK, at least I think so, although I don't have my grades yet :-)

• Recruiting: the Recruiting Process already started! Everyday 2 or 3 companies come to campus to give their corporate presentations and to mingle with us. They also organize lunches and dinners, and pannels, and case-preparation sessions.... Every one of these events is not a social event... they are "recruiting events", they get you closer or farther to the "closed-lists". The names on these lists are the ones who are going to be interviewed in January - February; and out of those, the companies will decide with ones they'll hire. So... I'm hanging there! It's extrange, because I am not used to "sell myself", and I am not used to ask people for their business cards, and... well, it's very different from Spain, but I'm getting there:-)

• AVP Marketing of Scorp: the American guy won with his "Save by the bell", E-True story. I think it was a great experience for me anyway, and I believe he's going to do a great job.

• Vice-President positions: although I didn't get the AVP Marketing for SCorp, it seems that it was a good training for me. I was elected Vice-President of Alumni USA in the European Business Society (EBS) and Vice-President of Publicity in the Strategy and Operations Club. So, I'll get to do many things. I'll just try to not over-work and over-involved myself in this.

• More Kids!: some of our best friends are expecting new babies again!!! Yeah!! So... congratulations!

• Wedding: one of my cousins just got married last weekend and I couldn't attend the wedding. I think this was the first time that I missed a family event. But I couldn't miss classes, and it was just the weekend before my exams, so... I wish I was there, but... c'est la vie!

• New Appartment and New Job: my older brother and his girlfriend just moved to a new appartment (this time it is an appartment, not a studio) in Madrid, which is great because we'll have more space when we go visiting :-) Furthermore, she changed her job to a better one! So... more good news in the family!!!

I think that's it for today! I'll try to post more frequently, although I can't promise!

Elections in a Business School in the US

I am running for AVP (Associate Vice President) of Marketing, in the Stern Student Corporation. During this process, I realized that it is totally different from how it'd be in Spain.

Here, before presenting myself as a candidate, I had to collect a minimum number of signatures among the MBA students. Once my candidacy is approved, I have to "Campaign". This means:

• emails (maximum of 2) to the whole student body
• posters (maximum of 10) to place in classrooms and halls
• speech (this is the most difficult part for me!)
• anything I can imagine, to help people remember me, and vote me

I have already sent the first email. None of the other candidates for this position have sent anyhing yet, so I cannot compare. I like the one I did (next picture).

Let's see what happens! Thursday we'll know.

WISH ME LUCK!!!

Strange things...

... that make us smile.

It may seem easy, but I bet they fell down many times before this!

Have a happy weekend you all!

Thoughts from the last two weeks...

The last two weeks I've been very busy with the MBA, and I did not have much time to blog. Now, that I finished the Summer Semester, I will have some time to catch up with my thoughts in the blog.

For now, I would like to just give my point of view and feelings about some stories that made headlines during the last days (and about others that didn't make headlines in any newspaper, but were immensely important to me).

• Galicia on Fire

How sad is witness the destruction of thousands of hectares of forest in your home country? I could do it through the newspapers, but my family had the horrible honor to live it in first person. Galicia is one of the most beautiful places in Spain. It is a green-land, or at least, it was... This summer, Galicia was on Fire!

Four people have died so far, and an uncertain number of hectares have gone up in smoke since the spate of fires began on August 4. According to Galicia Government (Xunta de Galicia) 77,000 hectares were eaten by flames; 86,500 is the European Commission estimation; and PPdG maintains that, according to a NASA satellite report, the figure grows up to 175,000. Whatever the real figure is, it is huge! Enormous extensions of forest will not be recovered until decades from now...

Although Galicia suffers from forest fires every year, this year's destruction has been described as "unprecedented" by local officials. Officials believe that many of the fires were started by arsonists (incendiaries) and 27 people have been arrested so far. My question is: What motivates these people to do this?

Again, no one has taken responsibility for this. Being accountable seems to be something that is not really important when you are a politician in Spain. Any of the government representatives so far (I am talking about PP, PSOE and the rest of democratic parties) has resigned. In my opinion, it is a shame!

• Middle-East Conflict

History repeats itself! The old wound is open again, the old feelings are exposed again, and the blood is running down the streets again.

I do not want to deepen in this issue right now, as I will probably come back to it in a couple of days.

• Weeding Anniversary

Last week was our second weeding anniversary. I will not say anything more than “I have the best husband in the world!!!”

Indra Nooyi, new Pepsi CEO

Ms. Noooyi finally made it to the top!

She joined Pepsi Co. in 1994, Ms. Nooyi started her career with The Boston Consulting Group, from where she moved on to hold senior management positions at Motorola and Asea Brown Boveri. In Pepsi Co., she started as Senior VP of Strategic Planning, and in 2001 she was named President and CFO of the the world's fourth-largest food and beverage company.

She is highest-ranking Indian-born woman in corporate America. Nooyi has a degree in management from Yale. She attributes much of her success to her upbringing in India. "Being a woman, being foreign-born, you've got to be smarter than anyone else," says Nooyi, who honors her heritage by often attending PepsiCo events wearing a sari.

Nooyi also serves on numerous boards, including Motorola and New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

She was named on the Wall Street Journal's list of 50 women to watch in 2005, and one of the Most Powerfull Women in the World by Forbes.

She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut with her husband, Raj, and their two daughters.

"From the land of idli-sambar to land of dreams, Indra Nooyi has come a long way to prove herself. "

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Daiji World, Wikipedia