Spring Happenings:

Hello everyone! My name is Claudia Klug I am first year in the Nielsen Center and am going to write a few posts for the rest of the year. You can always tell in Madison when it gets warm because it seems like the city comes alive. Too bad the city is coming to life just as the semester is getting busy! There is a ton going on, good thing that all of it is fun. We have had a great beginning to the semester with some really interesting speakers. Last week Randall Janisch from Ford was in and gave a great talk on evaluating research proposals! It will be very applicable as we head into our jobs and internships shortly.

A few weeks ago John Courtney from Hallmark came in and gave a talk. I was fascinated to hear how Hallmark does their research, being that I have a tendency to get a little weepy in the card aisle. I am definitely a high involvement consumer of greeting cards!
This weekend is our EAB meeting, the MBA arts showcase, New Admit Weekend, and the annual Spring Ball. Another Nielsen student Heather Marx and I are planning the Spring Ball so we are pretty busy. We will let you all know how it goes next week!

Happy Spring!
Claudia

So the title is kind of random...but when given the chance, it's hard to resist a late-70s Eddie Money reference

As promised, I have a few entries from Nielsen students who participated in various international trips over the winter holidays. We start with tales of Dubai from Veronica Kehoss and Giustina Parisi. And then Dennis Hull relives his time in Japan.

Enjoy!

Veronica Kehoss
Over the winter break thirteen Wisconsin MBAs, including four Nielsen Center students, convened in the world's fastest growing city: Dubai. They spent 10 days learning about business in Dubai and participating in the city's many tourist activities. Company visits included The U.S. Consulate, P&G Dubai, Emaar, Nakheel, the World Trade Center, the Dubai International Financial Center, and more. Their main contact in Dubai, Esaam Al Tamimi of Al Tamimi and Company, secured meetings for the group with some of Dubai's most influential companies and individuals. For example, the group got an insider's view of Halliburton from its CEO, David Lesar, who happens to be a UW MBA alum. Other notable company visits included those to development companies Emaar and Nakheel, who are responsible for much of the futuristic-looking buildings and for the man-made islands in Dubai. The group also scheduled many fun activities, including a trip to Ski Dubai, a desert Safari, a Dow cruise, and plenty of time on the beach. The group agrees: it will be fascinating to see what comes of this exploding city in the future.

Giustina Parisi
I feel very fortunate to have travelled with the MBA program to Dubai. The most memorable part of my experience was the company visits. I learned a lot about business and culture in Dubai that I would not have discovered on my own. We got a flavor for the hospitality industry, oil production, consumer packaged goods, real estate development, financial operations and art galleries in the United Arab Emirates. This wide range of topics added depth to Dubai ­ a city of superlatives. Dubai is an Emerald City of sorts, building the tallest, biggest or only attraction, and were able to go behind the curtain for a true understanding for business and culture.

A country only 30 years old seems to be growing too fast and tripping over its own feet. There is little infrastructure for a city that was essentially been built in five years. Malls are open without parking lots completed and half the stores not open, traffic is horrendous because the rapid influx of expats and new businesses burdening the roads and buildings are not able to have occupants because the water and electric capabilities are not available for the building.

I will be interesting to see how the city progresses in the next couple of years. The housing market needs to correct itself and the city needs to spend time analyzing and planning for what the city needs for long term success.

Dennis Hull
To realize I saw the sun rise at dawn over Tokyo's Tsukiji Fish Market only one year after watching that same sun set on the Great Wall outside Beijing is an incredible feeling. Yet, when looking over my photos from my trip to Japan, I still cannot believe how lucky I was to even have such opportunities. This January, I spent nearly two weeks of my winter break in Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo with eight classmates and a faculty chaperone (who just happens to be my center director!), and I continue to tell friends and family tales from that trip. Hearing about Trek's regional plans from the Director of Asian Business, climbing up the hills outside Kyoto to the Kyomizu Temple and overlooking the city - I told everyone about these events but know I have so much more to cover. From the culture of Kyoto to the commerce of Osaka and bustle of Tokyo, we had an outstanding experience thanks in no small part to the support of both our friends and the UW alumni located in country. Now if only I could find another excuse to go back!

As some of you know, I began blogging in August as part of my Project Assistantship with the A.C. Nielsen Center. While I am no longer working for the Center, I have been asked to continue on with the blog. Thanks to everyone that has provided feedback and encouragement over the last six months - keep it coming!

So, let's get right to it. We just finished our second week of the spring semester...I just laughed to myself when I typed "Spring." I'm not sure how many of you live in or have visited Wisconsin, but it gets COLD! I think we actually broke some records a couple weeks ago. But two things have carried me through the winter months: 1) the temps and snow - it becomes less annoying and more just really impressive, and 2) you'll find yourself remarking that any day in the upper 20s/low 30s is a warm one...so your mind and body just adjust.

While I spent most of my break in Jersey with the family, a lot of my peers in the program went on international trips to places like Japan, Brazil, Turkey, and Dubai. These trips included sightseeing, but also company visits with top business leaders. Stay tuned for the next entry, which will include different guest blogger's experiences from their trips abroad.

So what's new this semester? First off, we have a nice mix of core and specialization courses. The core courses include Ethical Leadership, Managing Behavior in Organizations, Operations Management and Economics. Marketing-Research-specific courses include Quantitative Models, Qualitative-Based Marketing Insights and Current Topics in Marketing Research. Lots of classes!

As I mentioned above, my project assistantship is no longer with the A.C. Nielsen Center. Instead, I am working for Milwaukee Women Inc. (MWI). As described by the organization, MWI is "a collaborative effort of executive and professional women working to change the face and quality of leadership through the advancement of women." In future entries, I will describe my project with MWI in more detail.

This year, I have also taken a leadership position in the Graduate Marketing Network. I will serve as Co-President, along with Jessie Miller who is a first-year student in the Center for Brand Management. We have lots of ideas for speakers, company visits, social events, and community outreach activities - more details to come. In addition, Jessie, myself and two other teammates recently made it to the finals of a marketing case competition, which was judged by company representatives. Again, more info about that to come...

As you can tell, there's a lot going on. I haven't given much detail here - have to get some work done before the SuperBowl - but stay tuned for future entries that will go into everything in more depth.

I would say "go Cardinals (or Steelers)"...but honestly, I could have it either way ;)

Take care everyone!

This is where we say goodbye...sounds a bit dramatic ;) Our dialogue started more than four months ago as I entered the program and experienced orientation. Since then I have completed many of my core courses, interviewed and secured a summer internship at General Mills, and created strong relationships with peers, faculty and mentors. That's a lot to have accomplished in 4 months!

There has been an incredible amount of learning both in and out of the classroom. I have said this before, but one of the hardest lessons I had to learn this year is to let go of my type-A, perfectionist personality. In business school (as in life) there is SO much to do and only a finite amount of time in which to do it. You are sometimes going to come short as far as your expectations on how things should get done. At the end of the day though, it's all about prioritizing your time, putting 110% into all you do and then respecting the result.

I have enjoyed sharing my experiences with you over this past semester. Please check the site for entries by the new A.C. Nielsen blogger in early February. Always feel free to contact me in the future, however, with questions about the program (velagaleti@wisc.edu). Health and happiness to you and yours in 2009!

All the best,
Sunaina

As I am typing this entry,I am still getting used to the fact that first semester is officially over. The most grueling semester (for our specialization at least) has passed. It's done. No more. The past 4-5 months have gone by so quickly - though some weeks have felt agonizingly slow. ;) There have been moments of incredible achievement as well as frustration. But you really learn over the course of the semester that while the academic learning of an MBA program is rich, significant education is achieved in your experiences outside the classroom (teamwork, interviews, etc).

So what will I be doing over the winter break? Well life will look a lot different my friends, I can tell you that much. Instead of learning how to price a project financed with both equity and debt, I will be watching Law and Order marathons on TNT. And even though discussing how to construct a statement of cash flows sounds like a good time, I think I'll pass and force myself to sleep 3 more hours...just cause.

The celebrations began yesterday as we (1st years) got together for drinks, food and some music. I will be in touch over the break with some reflections on first semester and thoughts on coming back to school. Take care everyone. Safe travels and happy holidays!

-Sunaina

I hope everyone had a relaxing (and yummy) Thanksgiving. My apologies ahead of time for the short entry, but the following question will give justification for its brevity.

Q: What do you call 3 final exams, 2-20 minute presentations, and 2-20 page papers?
A: The last two weeks of first semester

Oh yes, it's a busy time here at the Wisconsin School of Business. The first semester is coming to a close but it's not giving up without a fight. It's all about endurance at this point. Starting Monday the exams and presentations begin and the fun doesn't stop until December 17th. Then it's time for a little kickball and a much-deserved month of vacation.

Right now I am focusing on my nearest exam, paper and presentation - accounting final and the ICA paper and presentation. The semester long Integrated Company Analysis (ICA) project - which I have referenced a few times over the semester - will conclude next week with a presentation in front of the core faculty, program staff, and anyone else Professor Kavajecz can round up. My team will be talking about American Express - from the accounting, finance, marketing and data analysis perspective.

It's funny how certain experiences change the way you look at things. After studying the credit card industry so closely (particularly from the marketing angle), I can no longer pull out a card without asking myself: Why did I choose to use that particular card? Or...Did I select a card that best addresses my lifestyle and provides the most benefits in terms of rewards? Yeah hopefully that will turn off in a week or so ;)

Enjoy the rest of the week everyone. Talk to you again soon!

-Sunaina

Hello everyone!

All of us Nielsenites had an exciting time in Minneapolis this past weekend. The purpose of our trip was to visit two companies in the area - McKinsey & Company and General Mills. So on Thursday night we piled into a bus and headed northwest. Along the way, we grabbed dinner at a Mauston, WI favorite - the Roman Castle. After arriving at the hotel, some of the group hit a nearby bar, the Local, to celebrate TAPS away from home with students from the Brand Center who were also in town.

To describe Friday's site visits, I asked two first-year Nielsen students - Erin Wilson and Veronica Kehoss - to come on as guest bloggers. I bring on guest bloggers every once in a while to provide you, the reader, with a new perspective on events and life here at the Wisconsin School of Business. Enjoy!

McKinsey & Company
By Erin Wilson
Our group walked a few blocks to McKinsey's office which was on the 38th floor of a downtown building. The high floor was conducive to beautiful views of the Minneapolis skyline. I wondered, "Who wouldn't be inspired to work at a company like McKinsey?" Not only was the company a leader in marketing research, but its Minneapolis location was inspiring.

After introductions and breakfast, Michelle Lukes from the Minneapolis office and Chauncey Holder (alum of the Center) from the Atlanta office gave an overview of McKinsey's CSI department and walked through an informative and entertaining report of "A day in the life of a CSI Analyst".

To close our visit to McKinsey & Company, John Copland, a senior expert at McKinsey, led a case study of a typical consulting engagement. What I took away most from the discussion was that the "traditional" demographic market segmentation approach is not always the right approach. John's example showed that if you segment solely based on demographics, you might end up with Ozzy Osbourne and Prince Charles in the same segment (both in their 50s, Caucasian males, British folks, etc.). Clearly, however, they are vastly different people with different needs and preferences. John then walked us through a needs-state segmentation approach and discussed the advantages to this approach.

After some Q&A, the case wrapped up and we all headed off to General Mills...

General Mills
By Veronica Kehoss
Our host for the day was Ned Winsborough, the director of Consumer Insights for Progresso Soup. Our first stop was to the General Mills store! The store offers a range of General Mills products at a bit of a discount from prices found at a typical grocery store. As graduate students strapped for cash, we were like kids in a candy store. After a little shopping, we were joined at lunch by several Wisconsin alums who work at General Mills. Then it was off for a tour of the headquarters. The tour was filled with surprises, including restaurants, test kitchens, a bank and even a salon!

We then went through some Sensory Training with Jennifer Kamerud of General Mills, judging tastes and textures of different liquids and foods. The group then listened to a presentation by Laurie Clauson on the different Touchpoints General Mills has with its consumers. To wrap up our visit, we headed to the Discovery Center, where Tara Hutchinson led us through a consumer taste test and the Corner Market. The Corner Market is a full-scale reproduction of a grocery store designed to simulate realistic shopping experiences.

Our day ended with happy hour at a local tavern, where we were joined by our friends from McKinsey and General Mills. What a day!

This week, I thought I'd talk about teamwork. I bring up the topic because we just finished analyzing and preparing a report for a finance case study. Like each project before, this one presented a unique set of challenges and learnings for our team. And while our performance has really improved over the last few months (as evident in our project grades), our process is something we all recognize still needs improvement. But that's what's great about teamwork - it's always a learning experience. No matter how many teams you've worked on in the past, each new one presents a unique set of skills, personalities, and dynamics - creating different synergies and challenges.

Teamwork is a huge component of the Wisconsin program. A majority of our course assignments are completed within groups. These groups (of 5) are assigned at the start of the semester and are composed of people from different specializations. For instance, in my group there is a student from finance, real estate, supply chain, brand management, and (myself) marketing research.

The purpose of this group system is to get us used to working on cross-functional teams. Regardless where we end up at the end of the program, and regardless of our particular specializations, we will all be making decisions within cross-functional teams or at least with that mindset.

For many, the idea of marketing researchers working closely with brand managers makes sense. However, marketing researchers also have to work closely with finance to secure budgets for research. In addition, we have to work with Research and Development to ensure that desired customer changes in the product are even feasible given the company's capabilities. And these are just a couple examples.

The other benefit of this team system at Wisconsin (and something that I really value) is the learning that you gain from working with people outside of your primary field. You begin to see how differently people process information and the unique knowledge bases and skill sets that each member possesses. A transfer of knowledge between members is something that happens at every meeting, through each discussion.

Well that's it for this week. Have a great week everyone. Talk to you again soon!

-Sunaina

What would compel me to be at school at 7:30am this morning? Meeting my mentor, who was matched with me through the Graduate Women in Business's mentorship program.

As someone early in my career, I place so much value in mentorship. There is an incredible amount of learning that can be gained from hearing about another person's experiences - their successes, failures, decisions made, and lessons learned. Learning the theories and principles of our fields is essential. However, understanding how those theories are exercised in real business situations is critical to our education.

From the start of the Wisconsin MBA program, there have been so many opportunities for mentorship. If you are interested in picking the brain of someone in your field - or beyond - you have plenty of resources available to you.

There are some more organized methods of connecting with a mentor. All students have access to the Wisconsin School of Business alumni directory. Additionally, all first-year marketing research students are paired up with two mentors from the field. And as I mentioned above clubs like Graduate Women in Business have their own mentorship programs.

Then there are opportunities that require a little more initiative and direction on your part. For instance, events like the MR Summit or guest lectures are perfect opportunities to connect with people in the field and to start a mentoring relationship.

And it is truly amazing how honest and invested these mentors are in us students. From personal experience, I can say that each of my mentors has been so kind and genuinely interested in my progress in school and in my career aspirations. They are also incredibly giving in sharing their experiences, advice and resources.

One of the things I recognized (and was impressed with) from my initial interactions with the Wisconsin School of Business was the strength and closeness of its community. That was something that definitely influenced my decision to come to Wisconsin and something that I have respected and appreciated since I have been here.

Have a great Halloween everyone! Enjoy the weekend.

-Sunaina

There are some situations that are just uncomfortable to get through...going to the dentist, 90% of first dates, and the dreaded midterm exam. The latter happened this week for all us first-year MBAs in both our accounting and finance classes.

The accounting midterm was challenging for anyone new to the field. But if you attended classes, completed the assigned problems, and reviewed your text and notes you left the exam feeling good.

Finance is a whole other beast here at Wisconsin. The class is taught by Prof Kenneth Kavajecz. Don't let his kind expression fool you ;) All kidding aside, he is an incredibly dedicated professor and caring person. HOWEVER, you have to remind yourself that sometimes when you are in his Financial Management class. The class is intensely paced with exams that are literally impossible to get through.

And that's where the whole humility thing comes in. One of the hardest lessons to learn in business school is that you can't do everything well. You are sometimes going to come short as far as your expectations on how things should get done. At the end of the day, it's all about prioritizing your time, putting 110% into all you do and then respecting the result.

So back to the midterm....it was pretty brutal. Prof K aims for an average of 50% - scores range between the teens to the 80s (out of 100). But everyone leaves feeling relieved...some even leave with a sense of accomplishment ;) And after the exam everyone goes out and has a drink. Second years joke about the scores they got last year, and we're all just thankful it's over.

And that's how school is here at Wisconsin. You work hard, put your all into your exams, projects, interviews, and then at the end of the day relax with good friends, swap stories from the past week, and get ready for the next one.

More to come...
- Sunaina

So interview season has begun for us Nielsenites. The first week of October up until the middle of November is our most hectic period in terms of interviews. During some weeks you will have one interview but for others it can be as high as 3 or 4.

Typically companies will host an information session the night before they are scheduled to conduct interviews. During these sessions, representatives from the company will give a brief presentation on the company, why it is a great place to work and what an internship would look like there. Then the next day we (students) interview. Interviews involve some mix of questions regarding you as a person, your work experience, behavioral questions (tell me about a time when...), and sometimes a marketing-research-related case question. Some companies extend offers the next day, others wait for a few weeks. Some hold second round interviews and others make their decisions based on the first.

There is a lot to be said for preparing for interviews. Have your "tell me about yourself" story down. Think of situations in which you have displayed leadership and teamwork. The biggest take away I got from the interview process, however, is that everyone in the program is incredibly engaging, smart, and capable of being a phenomenal market researcher. The real decision seems to come down to company-student fit. Interviewers seem to be most interested in: Does this person really want to work for my company? Will they be a good fit personality-wise with my organization?

So buy the suit and practice the smile, but it all comes down to being genuine about your experiences and your interests. And hope it all works out in the end! ;)

Have a great weekend everyone. More to come soon.

Every other October, the A.C. Nielsen Center holds an Alumni & Friends Marketing Research Summit. The event brings together Alumni, External Advisory Board Members, UW Faculty/Staff, current students and other Friends of the Center. Events included dinner at the Great Dane and lectures by leaders in the field on topics like emotional marketing, measurement and metrics, culture and insights and new media.

For us students, it was a great opportunity to gain exposure to developments in marketing research and to connect with alumni and marketing researchers from companies all over the country.

Marketing research students take a class first semester called "Current Topics in Marketing Research." This class focuses on either actively applying the learnings from our Marketing Research class or witnessing applications in the business world. Therefore, the class includes lectures by industry professionals, site visits to companies, and interactive projects like the one described below.

Two members of Proctor and Gamble's Consumer and Marketing Knowledge (CMK) team led our Current Topics class on September 26. Both Marketing Research and Brand students attended the lecture which first focused on ethnographies. From ethnographies, we were briefed on the methods and insights garnered from "Shop-Alongs." Shop-Alongs are one-on-one depth interviews that attempt to gather insights into the shopper's psyche by exploring behavior, perceptions, attitudes, etc while in the context of a real-world retail environment. After the presentation, one Brand and one Market Research student were paired to go into a store and accompany a shopper (recruited by a research company) as they shopped for beauty products, in particular shampoos and conditioners. Our focus was on gaining insights into the Pantene brand.

I was paired with a second-year Brand student who had performed several Shop-Alongs during his summer internship at SC Johnson. He encouraged me to take the lead and to use this as a learning experience - I accepted ;) It was a great opportunity to engage in real-time with a consumer and figure out - What are the right questions to ask? How should I probe further to get a deeper insight? Am I recording the consumer's perceptions accurately and in her own words? Another significant learning experience, that I had not anticipated, was in my conversations with my Brand partner about his past Shop-Alongs. It was just an overall fantastic applied experience.

After the Shop-Alongs, all students returned to school for a debriefing on insights gained. Based on these insights we generated strategic actionable recommendations. The class was perfect for someone like myself - new to the field and ready to get my feet wet!

So you know how I said it wasn't all work here at the Wisconsin MBA? Well this past Friday was the Graduate Business Association's Golf Outing. Just imagine...beautiful sunny day, temperatures in the high 70s, soft green under your feet.

Yeah I had to imagine it too. Another obligation conflicted with the Golf Outing, so I wasn't able to attend. Probably good for everyone there actually. I have only ever played miniture golf....and let's just say it's not on my list of strengths. Good for you readers too though, because we have a first-year A.C. Nielsen student guest blogger, Michael Kirk , to describe the day. (if the link doesn't work, it might not be posted yet)

So without further adieu...

Today marked the 5th annual GBA Golf Outing. The outing was held at the spectacular University Ridge golf course. The event brings together representatives from a number of the MBA program's recruiting companies, students, and staff. It is held to raise funds for GBA-sponsored student activities, services, and programming. In return, students give back to the community by donating their time and energy to worthwhile causes. This year's outing was a rousing success. The weather was perfect--a golfer's first concern. The day started out with a lunch with company representatives, which provided an excellent opportunity to talk to individuals that are on similar paths to the ones we'll soon be taking in our internships or full-time work. Then the fun started. The great thing about a "scramble" format, is that it caters to golfers of all levels. My team was led by the shot-making Patrick McIntyre, a 2004 joint JD/MBA graduate who now works in Finance at Best Buy. Our foursome came up with some clutch shots to have a strong finish at 8-under, just short of the winning score. A particularly memorable moment came at the "Beat the Dean" hole (we all placed bets, donations to the GBA, on whether we could hit the ball closer to the pin than the Dean...if we did, he covered our donations)--All four of us had nice shots, but the Dean was able to put his in line with Patrick, who was a great sport and gave the tie to the Dean. Everyone had a great time, and a big thank you goes out to the participating companies and the GBA members and Wisconsin School of Business staff that helped put on such a first-class event. I can't wait for the 6th annual!

In an earlier entry of mine entitled "Well Hello," I described the Wisconsin Experience - the orientation at the Wisconsin MBA program. This orientation and the MBA experience itself is a little different for international students. Therefore, as the year goes on, I will include this international student perspective on things like orientation, the interviewing process, classes, and just life in general here in Madison.

Paul Hahn, a fellow first year at the A.C. Nielsen Center, has been kind enough to start off the international student story with his experiences during Orientation. Enjoy!

You're still jetlagged, struggling to get used to the new time zone. Or perhaps it's your first time in this strange and distant country...

As with any other international MBA student, you've probably left your whole life behind - friends, family, job - to name a few, and flew half away around the world to this quaint city of Madison, having mixed feelings of anticipation and anxiety.

That's the sort of emotions I had when I first came to Madison, all the way from Seoul, South Korea, which wasn't even a month ago. So if you are somewhere out there, in Asia or Europe or wherever, and are thinking about an MBA here at Wisconsin, it's ok to feel a bit overwhelmed at the whole process of packing up and flying off to a new country. I know I was at first.

But thankfully, to help all the international students ease into the MBA experience, the School of Business' Student Services held a MBA International Student Orientation a day before the actual Orientation started, so that we can better adjust to the program, as well as life here in the USA.

The MBA International Student Orientation was held in a very friendly and cozy atmosphere, with approximately 25 students from all over the globe. We were introduced to the faculty and staff, as well as about the following MBA orientation and the actual courses to follow.
The Career Management team also provided really useful information, such as career searching strategies and resources tailored to international students, as there can be some obstacles in the career searching process in the United States due to reasons like visa sponsor issues.

Also, international students are required to submit a variety of forms and documents - health insurance, tax forms & social security applications if you have an assistantship, to name a few, and it is easy to get swept away by the whole process, but the Student Services team lines up all the relevant schedules so that you don't get overwhelmed by it.

All in all, I think all the international students really appreciated this extra day to prepare ourselves for the journey that awaits us - if you've been keeping up with Sunaina's blog entries, you'll probably get a feel of how things can get pretty hectic once the semester begins.

But don't worry - if I can get through it, I'm sure you can too!

Paul J. Hahn
1st Year MBA,
A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research

The interview season for Marketing Research students starts early in the semester - around the first week of October. What, you ask, could we possibly be interviewing for one month into our program? The answer my friends - the summer internship.

Between our first and second years, MR students spend 10-12 weeks working at top companies all over the US. Not only is it an incredibly opportunity to apply all that we learned in the classroom BUT it could also lead to an offer for full-time employment. So the interview process for these internships is intense and important.

Part of the preparation for October is the "mock interview." You basically sign up to do an informal, practice interview with a representative from a company. General Mills, Kraft and Heibing all sent a member of their organization.

I interviewed with General Mills. It was an incredibly collaborative process. Right at the beginning I was asked what my goals were for the mock interview. My resume was reviewed, practice questions were asked, and feedback was provided. For someone like me - who is a career switcher and had never gone through such a formal "suit and portfolio" interview process - it was incredibly helpful to get a sense of what I should expect.

And for me, thinking about interviewing is exciting. Everyone here goes through two difficult years of schooling with the goal of getting a fantastic job. So starting to see that horizon and getting a taste of what's to come is exciting!
But for now...back to classes.

Have a great week everyone! And if you're interested, there's an article below by Business Week.

Math Will Rock Your World

Week one has come and gone. Like any program, the first days of class included a lot of discussion about what's to come. By the end of the week, however, the pace picked up and we were jumping right into the subject material.

Here's a brief introduction to what my course load is like. Most first semester courses are the "core" business courses.

Marketing Management: Jan Heide
Prof Heide's approach to teaching is learning through case analysis. Throughout the semester we discuss about 13 cases.

Intro to Financial Management: Kenneth A. Kavajecz
Prof Kavajecz's class is intense. A known "cold caller," you always have to be on your toes. However, he is able to explain finance in a way that even I can understand it.

Financial Accounting: Holly Skaife
Prof Skaife, always with a smile on her face, leads us through the comprehension and construction of financial statements and explains a range of other accounting topics.

Data to Decisions: Qing Liu
Though reserved in her demeanor, Prof Liu brings an enthusiasm for the subject matter that makes Excel interesting to work with for extended periods of time.

Marketing Research: Neeraj Arora
Prof Arora comes off as the incredibly intelligent, reserved type. But then you see some of the visuals he uses on his lecture slides, and his quirky (and refreshing) sense of humor comes out.

Managerial Communications: Scott Troyan
Prof Troyan, with his self-deprecating sense of humor, explains what works and what to avoid in communicating our messages.

Current Topics in Marketing Research: Kristin Branch
Kristin describes this class as "applied experiential learning," bridging what we learn in the classroom with the workplace.

On top of courses, I have a Project Assistantship with the A.C. Nielsen Center. Some MBA students (across concentrations) have these assistantships, which involve working either within the school or with outside companies. It provides benefits like acquiring applied experiences and paying for tuition.

So there is a whole lot going on! And honestly, I feel incredibly overwhelmed. In a way it's all very exciting, because I am just so engaged in classes, work, and activities. There's never a dull moment. But finding balance and calm amongst it all is a goal of mine for this semester. Work/life balance - It's a pervasive theme. Good luck to all of us, right? ;)

The subjects of "mock" interviews is on the menu for next wk...

That was no coy Orientation. The Wisconsin MBA holds a 10-day introduction to its program, called the "Wisconsin MBA Experience." Each day was chuck full of events which introduced us to the program, faculty and staff, alumni, and our peers. Some of these events included:

• Opening sessions led by Dean Knetter and Associate Dean Kavajecz
• Performance by the Theatre for Cultural & Social Awareness
• Activities with our individual Centers - The Market Research group traveled lake Mandota in style on a Pontoon boat!
• Alumni presentation and reception by Boston Scientific
• Managerial Communications classes
• Introduction to the international trips coming up this January (Dubai, Tokyo, and Brazil)
• Team Building/Case Preparation
• Photo Shoot - Resulting in our sharp looking 2010 class picture
• Math Review (hosted by Prof Kavajecz)

There were also activities specifically for International Students. For info on those events, please check out what Paul Hahn has to say in one of the blog entries above entitled "Calling all International Students!"

One important - and unique - aspect of our first semester here at Wisconsin is the Integrated Company Analysis (ICA) project. I thought I'd talk about it a little here...and I'm sure there will be more to say as the months go on.

First-year MBAs are placed in groups of 5, with each student coming from a different concentration. During the semester we work closely with our group of 5 - selecting a company and then analyzing that company from the perspective of all our core business courses (ex: accounting, finance, marketing, data analysis). All of our work will culminate in a final paper and presentation due at the end of the semester. My group selected American Express so if you're curious about what they're about...I'll be able to answer all of your questions at the end of the semester ;)

But orientation wasn't all business...I mean a lot of it was...but we had good times too.
There were receptions with food and drinks. On Thursday night, the MBAs all hung out at a local bar (it's a Thursday night tradition called "TAPS"). The Joint Venture Club, a social network for MBAs and their families, had a picnic. And then there was the 80s party.

So while each day was filled with activities - and when Labor Day weekend came around, I took a 12 hour nap - I left the Experience feeling like I was a part of the program and the MBA community.

...And that I was in for a demanding year...but I'm always up for a challenge ;)

Now time to start classes.....

Cooking Up Changes at Kraft Foods
(Sorry - you will need to have a subscription to the Wall Street Journal to view this article in its entirety)

You have arrived at the A.C. Nielsen Center's Current Student blog. My name is Sunaina, and I am a first-year MBA student at the A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research. It's good to have you here!

So what is this blog all about? This is actually the second year that the A.C. Nielsen Center has posted a blog. The reason for it is to give everyone out there a sense of what the MBA program is like over here.

Throughout the year, I will be detailing my experiences in the program - related to classes, interviewing, events, etc. Additionally, other first year marketing research (MR) students will serve as guest bloggers and share their perspectives. A new entry will be posted about once every week.

And this blog is really to serve you the reader. So feel free to email me regarding topics you'd like to hear more about or any questions you may have.

Who am I? For a brief bio on myself and the other members of the class of 2010, click here. Also, for introductions to the A.C. Nielsen Center Staff click here.

Also I will try to post MR-related materials at the end of some blogs (like articles or job postings) when I have materials. If you have anything you think is informative or entertaining feel free to email me and I'll try to get it posted.

Hopefully this will be a good read. It's definitely going to be an interesting year!

I'm now a little more than half way through my summer internship...time is certainly flying by. This summer has been an incredible experience -- I've been learning a lot, as well as getting to apply what we learned this past year. It's been a lot of fun seeing all of the cross-functional work we did during our first year come to life in the workplace. I've been working with other employees from all different disciplines. Having the benefit of an MBA curriculum combined with a Marketing Research specialization has been real beneficial.

I've had a chance to work on a wide variety of projects and in a few weeks will be presenting my flagship project I've been working on all summer. In addition to the work, we've had some real fun intern events, next week we're going to a Cubs game - real excited for that one.

It is hard to believe that my first year in the MBA program has already come and gone. The last few weeks of the semester were filled with final projects and exams. Once the work was done we had several social events to celebrate the completion of our first year and the graduation of the second year students. The Nielsen Center also had our own lunch to congratulate the graduating class.

This past year exceeded all expectations from an academic, career development, networking and social standpoint. The classes were all very practical and interesting and led by very engaging professors, who all knew us on much more than a teacher-student level. The sporting events, TAPS, speaker series, club events and other social events really took a lot of stress of when things were getting hectic and were a ton of fun.

Now I'm two days into my summer internship. I'm spending my summer in Chicago, working for PepsiCo (Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade); so far the experience has been great and I'm real excited for the rest of the summer.

The end of my first year in the program is closing in very fast – a lot faster than I could have ever imagined. However, there is still a lot that is going on in the meantime. We started another online simulation in our operations class, this time we are focusing on managing our inventory in order to meet customer demand while maximizing revenues. In our managerial human resources course we also had another online simulation, for this one we all managed our own offices and had to make interactive decisions on how we would deal with a couple of underperforming employees. We are also working on finalizing our results and findings for a measurement scale that we have been developing with our teams in our advanced topics in marketing research course.

Last weekend we had our spring ball; this was a ton of fun. A large number of the MBA students, professors and faculty all enjoyed a really nice evening at the Overture Center here in Madison. The event included a dance performance, a lot of dancing from all of us and some great food and drinks to enjoy. The evening also included the announcing of the winners of a handful of fun student created awards. This was a great time, especially due to the great turnout of students and faculty.

Last weekend we had our second External Advisory Board meeting of the year. We started off with a reception to catch up with board members and meet some others. There were about 35 board members in attendance, representing a variety of companies, positions and experiences. All of the board members were very excited to answer questions, provide advice and discuss careers in marketing research.

After having a chance to chat, we had a panel discussion on Emerging Media and Measurements Issues. The panel consisted of several experts in their respected fields who had some great insights on the issues and future of marketing research. The panel discussion was followed by a great dinner with the EAB members, students, faculty and professors – the food was great as was the interesting conversations and stories.

The following day several students had a chance to present some of the work they have been involved with through the program to the board members. I had a chance to present a research project I worked on with fellow students during the first semester for a local company. The weekend was fantastic, it’s always really amazing to see the high level of involvement the board members has with the Nielsen Center and how supportive they are of the program and its students.

The other day all of the Nielsen students traveled to Appleton, Wisconsin to visit Kimberly Clark’s virtual reality shopping lab. Several of Kimberly Clark’s employees took us on tours of their mock stores and demonstrated how the virtual shopping works. We also discussed the innovative business applications Kimberly Clark has been able to come up with due to their virtual shopping capabilities. It was amazing how real the simulated shopping experience looked and acted. We finished the day off with lunch and a chance to discuss various marketing research topics with several of Kimberly Clark’s employees.

I just got back to Madison after a week in Spain with a few fellow Nielsen students. We had a great time together seeing the sites, being very obvious tourists and learning about consumers and the culture in Madrid and Barcelona. We’re now entering the home stretch of our first year in the MBA program – it’s amazing how fast time is flying by. There is certainly a lot of work to do in these last weeks of the semester though.

Just before leaving for spring break all of the Nielsen students gave individual presentations on areas of interest in Marketing Research for our Current Topics in Marketing Research course. This was a great opportunity to polish our presentation skills, learn of each other’s specific interests in the field and to review some of the latest innovations, methodologies and other relevant topics in marketing research. I presented an article on creating indicator variables to help clearly communicate the results of segmentation studies and to help determine which segments to target. Some of the other topics included cultural research challenges, advances in neuromarketing, professional respondent research and many other topics. Overall, it was a great learning experience and really interesting to cover such a large array of topics in one day.

A lot went on these last couple of days. We had a quiz on queuing in our operations course, which led into a class wide simulation competition. Each of the teams is in charge of managing an online factory and has the ability to add equipment and make other changes to the process. The simulation runs continuously for a full week, where each hour represents a day in simulation time. The goal is to finish the simulation with the most cash. I’m definitely finding myself updating the standings a little too frequently – I’ll probably take a break from writing this to check out how my team’s factory is holding up. It’s certainly an interesting project and the healthy competition has made it real fun.

In our Current Topics in Marketing Research course, we have spent the last few weeks preparing presentations for our Microsoft Case Competition. All of the Nielsen students were in teams of four and we were all given a current, real business issue that Microsoft is working on. We were in charge of providing a business strategy, supporting marketing strategy and a success measurement plan. These past two days we presented our plans to Microsoft with the winners receiving dinner and Microsoft software. The project was a great experience and it was very beneficial to be put in a live business situation and be able to present in a realistic business scenario.

The presentations were on Thursday and Friday, our team went on Thursday, which fit into the basketball schedule very nicely. That evening, with the presentation wrapped up, I was able to go and enjoy Wisconsin’s big win over Michigan State. That game was the loudest one I’ve been at so far and was a lot of fun.

After a week of presentations and clicking update way too often on our operations simulation, the business school had a social event last night with the medical school. We got together for food, drinks and a chance to meet other graduate students. It was a great time getting out and getting to know graduate students outside of Grainger. Both schools enjoyed the event and we all look forward to doing more social events together in the near future.

In addition to all the typical work going on this past week, we had some great events as well. This past Wednesday night all the specializations had a chance to present to the MBA class exactly what their centers/professions do. Some of the highlights included the Arts Administration students showcasing their talents; the ASAP program showing a very professional looking, but hilarious video; and of course the Nielsen students letting everyone know just how important Marketing Research is in developing the best business strategies. The evening was a great way to bond with the students and faculty and it was a lot of fun to see how creative and funny everyone was. The event ended with a reception, where the winner of best presentation (based on student scoring and center attendance) was announced; the winning center was awarded a dinner at the Dean’s home.

On Saturday, a group of MBA students and faculty took part in the Polar Plunge – an event aimed at raising money for the Special Olympics. I didn’t jump into the freezing cold lake, but had a great time staying warm and supporting my classmates and the cause. I certainly had a good laugh watching some of the students representing the MBA class jump in the lake while dressed in business suits.

Today in our Quantitative Models in Marketing course we had a guest speaker, Rob Holland, the Senior Vice President for the Nielsen Company Innovation Delivery Group. We had a really informative and interesting discussion on Nielsen data, solving client issues, trends and innovation in research and other relevant topics.

Now it’s back to putting together presentations and getting ready for my first Economics midterm. Tomorrow my team in Advanced Topics in Marketing Research will present the first stages of our development of a measurement scale.

The spring semester has gotten under way after a long and relaxing winter break. Many fellow students participated in international trips over the break – it’s been fun seeing all of the pictures and hearing all the great stories about China and India. It also got me excited for the international trip I’ll be taking with other Nielsen Center students this spring break to Spain…I look forward to telling you about the trip.

This semester I’m looking forward to a mix of core curriculum and marketing research courses. Core courses cover organizational behavior and strategy, operations, managerial economics and ethical leadership. The marketing research students will also be taking advanced topics in marketing research, current topics in marketing research and quantitative models. For our current topics course we have a great opportunity to work with Microsoft this semester; in teams we will be making a strategic evaluation and decision given the situation and data they have provided.

This past weekend I participated in a Case Competition here in Madison sponsored by our Graduate Marketing Network. Six teams of four were in the competition judged by several seasoned marketing professionals from Kraft, Abbott/Guidant Vascular, W.W. Grainger and GE Healthcare. The teams were given a case and had less then 48 hours to analyze the situation, determine the problems and recommend a solution; we then presented our findings to the judges. I enjoyed the competition and it was a really practical learning experience – solving problems when you don’t have all the information you wish you had. After the competition, prizes were handed out and we had a chance to get some really beneficial feedback from the judges. Also, after staying awake all night preparing our cases, some good food and a drink with the judges, participants and organizers didn’t hurt either.

Well, yesterday we wrapped up our last final putting an end to our first semester. I'd be lying if I said it was easy, but the challenge and experience this first semester provided was amazing. These last few weeks were especially intense as we were working on our Integrated Company Analysis projects. These team projects consisted of analyzing a company of our choice from a financial, accounting, marketing and operations perspective and to provide recommendations to improve the company. We then presented the reports to an audience of professors, center directors and other MBA faculty. Meanwhile, we were all finishing up other projects for other classes during this time.

The Nielsen students also finished up our research projects we were working on in our Marketing Research course. We finished the analysis of the questionnaire results and presented the findings and recommendations to our clients. This was a great project and especially rewarding when our clients let us know they will be using the results in their business strategy.

So, after a hectic last few weeks, everyone was very relieved when finals were over with yesterday afternoon. After finals, there were a lot of proud faces celebrating and congratulating one another. If there is one thing that sums up my first semester it was that everyone was just as happy and excited for their classmates as they were for themselves - and that's truly the U of Wisconsin way.

On Friday, November 30th, the A.C. Nielsen students had a great experience spending the day at Kraft Foods' Glenview, IL facility. The trip was part of our Current Topics in Marketing Research course. Prior to the trip we had the chance to meet Art Nielsen, Jr. After spending time with Mr. Nielsen we continued our trip to Kraft, where several members of the marketing research division put together a great day of activities and learning for us.

The day started out with a tour of Kraft's in-house test kitchens, where many of their recipes and new products are first developed. Here we also learned about the role marketing research initiatives and new product ideas and creations are linked together. We then went to Kraft's in-house photo department, where many of the packaging and product shot images are created. Next we participated in a case discussion with several members of the marketing research team.

The final stop on our tour was to one of Kraft's R&D facilities where new frozen pizza product ideas are developed and tested. We got to see the process how new pizza creations are made and then got a chance to sample the results.

After the day at Kraft, we entertained ourselves by enjoying a nice dinner together, going out in the city and we stayed the night in a great hotel in downtown Chicago. Overall, we all learned a lot from the trip and really enjoyed our time with Mr. Nielsen and Kraft. This trip was a lot of fun and was a great way to get to have fun with each other outside of the business school.

Welcome to the A.C. Nielsen Center's new student blog. I look forward to keeping you informed about what is happening in the program and give you a look into the day in the life of a Nielsen student. A little about myself, my name is Brian Frances and I am in my first year of the MBA program.

First, I'd like to get you caught up with some of the events that have happened so far this semester. The first semester is certainly a busy one and has been quite challenging, but very exciting and fun as well. We started the semester with a two-week orientation, where student expectations were discussed; we got to know one another, work on team building exercises and many other activities.

Once classes started, we got to work right away. Early in the semester, we had to start working with our pre-assigned groups on a Marketing case analysis. The case write-ups are a great way to apply what we are learning in class to real business situations. There have also been a handful of other various projects in our classes, including Accounting, Finance and Data Analysis projects.

In our Marketing Research class, we got started right away working on a real-life marketing research project with an actual client. This project has been a great experience and a lot of fun. In teams of three or four, we are applying what we learn in class to a real research study. The project has us meeting with our client company to discuss and plan the project, conduct qualitative research, design a questionnaire, collect data, analyze and interpret the data and provide our client with key insights and recommendations.

We also have a course in Current Topics in Marketing Research. Just recently in this course we had several top marketing researchers from Kraft come in to discuss some current methodologies they have been using; specifically, we talked a lot about ethnography. To show us how they utilized this technique, we participated in several case studies were we got to act as the decision makers.

In addition to all of the course work, the Nielsen students have been real busy interviewing for summer internships. Many companies have already been on campus, including General Mills, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft, Mead Westvaco, Miller Brewing Company, PepsiCo, Proctor & Gamble, VF Corp and Wrigley.
Just a few weeks ago, we had our annual External Advisory Board (EAB) meeting. The EAB is a large and distinguished group of marketing research professionals (some of whom are alumni) dedicated to the continued success of the A.C. Nielsen Center. The EAB members are very active in the marketing research community and carry an array of different high profile jobs within the industry. The EAB members act as mentors to the current students and are a great networking source. The meeting was a lot of fun and finished off with a panel discussion on 'green movements' and sustainability.

Another regular event that has been on-going this semester is our key note speaker lecture series. Every few weeks, the students have a chance to listen and ask questions to some of the top executives in the country.

The past few weeks have continued to be filled with classes, group projects, interviews and social events. Luckily, in addition to all of the classes, interviewing and other events there are plenty of social events that give us a break from all the work. Every Thursday the MBA has its TAPS event, where we all get together at a different bar each week to have a few drinks and have fun getting to know each other better. And then of course there are the sporting events; our football team has had some ups and downs this season, but everyone was real excited about our win over Michigan. Before the game, the Graduate Business Association (one of our many on campus organizations) held a pre-game tailgate for all of the MBA students which included a full breakfast and drinks.

Well, I hope this gets you up to speed on some of the things that have been going on this semester. I'll keep you posted on what my typical weeks are like moving forward.