NY Times on Goldman Sachs

Nothing to do with MBA or INSEAD, but relates to the firm many of us want to work for - Goldman Sachs. By the way, it was not featured as a prominent employer in the most recent INSEAD career report (2006) hiring less then 3 people out of that class. Neither did Goldman Sachs take in many interns over the summer according to INSEAD 2007 summer internship presentation.

Ben Stein, a very famous American author and entertainer, in this article questions the immaculate reputation of Goldman Sachs and its adherence to its clients' interests. Here's what he has to say in the final passage: "... Is Goldman Sachs like “Love Story”? Does working there mean never having to say you’re sorry?"!

On a lesser note, there are Duma elections in Russia under way today. Putin's party United Russia is set to win by a landslide. I've noticed how increasingly critical Western press (especially British) has become of Putin in the past 6 months. Of course, there was the Litvinenko case, then Shell and BP issues, but you have to give the man credit what he's done with general wellfare of the population.

Anyway, here are just the headlines:
The FT: Putin’s United Russia heads for victory, Opposition claims violations and pressure, Putin supporters accused of dirty tricks
The Economist: Putin's phoney elections
NY Times: Putin’s Last Realm to Conquer: Russian Culture

MBA pros and cons (short version)

Here's what I think.

Pros:

- It is widely believed that it will be a truly great year full of exciting events and personal growth, possibly best year of your life

- Opens doors to firms, careers and opportunities previously unattainable

- A chance to meet a multitude of extraordinary people and make new friends for life - that one probably tilted the scale for me when I was deciding whether to go or not

Cons:

- Costly, very very costly

- Nothing is guaranteed, a lot of recruiters come to campus, but you have to apply and be rejected just as if you weren't getting an MBA. In view of the current developments, it might be even more so for those keen on banking. It has been mentioned during the finance chat that banking recruitment is currently weak and although summer internship placements were record high, full-time offers might not be as plentiful

- Limited value from academic curriculum - those were my thoughts when I first looked through the core courses - I've already covered most of that in my undergraduate years and professional degree

SEDIAN @ INSEAD

The idea to launch a blog came as abruptly as the decision to apply to business school: 15 minutes from start to finish. The subsequent realization required substantially more time and effort.

The intention for this website is to share the wisdom on the happenings of INSEAD MBA class of December 2008, the thoughts on the admission process (it is behind at this point), the intricacies of the job hunt and the philosophical arguments to support or disprove the value of an MBA.

SEDIAN is nothing more than an anagram of INSEAD.