Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Trip to USA - International Executive MBA Group


Our International Executive MBA group together with some other FIA students headed to the US for one of the international modules last September. Owen Graduate School of Management – Vanderbilt University, hosted us for a whole week of organized lectures and activities. Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Strategy, Decision Making and Managing Change were some of the class topics that were held during our stay. 

We also enjoyed several visits to outstanding companies. FEDEX innovated by creating the overnight delivery industry, and we visited their super hub in Memphis from 11:00 pm to 2:00 am, when hundreds of airplanes converge from all over the world with cargo and correspondence which is delivered by 10:30 am the next day. An intense and superbly managed operation does this incredible task in a short period with wonderful precision.

At Nissan, we toured the most productive car factory in the USA, where Japanese techniques meet American workers and robots help productivity and quality. Production is being set up at the Smirna plant which we visited for the all-electric Nissan Leaf, as well as battery manufacture, while producing some of the bestselling traditional Nissan cars on the Market.

Jack Daniels was also a great visit! In this small town near Nashville, the world’s 5th largest selling whiskey brand is produced integrating the most traditional production systems in the US with modern marketing techniques that make the Tennessee whiskey a global success for generations.

And as we were in Nashville, the opportunity to visit country music clubs and venues like BB Kings was an obligatory part of the experience!

Great classes, exceptional companies and a good time were had by all.

Learn about Vanderbilt our long term partner in this and many other initiatives in both research, student exchange and teaching, with the Owen Graduation School of Management:  
For the past 25 years, the Vanderbilt Executive MBA has remained one of the premier, full 60-credit MBA options for busy executives. Consistently ranked in the top 25 in Business Week’s poll of Executive MBA programs, Vanderbilt’s EMBA program is proven to help mid-career managers, executives, and business owners achieve their personal and organizational goals.
All of their programs at the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management come with a promise to students:
“Here is a place where you will be challenged to achieve your potential; find support as you shape your future; discover lifelong friends and mentors; and open doors to new possibilities.”