Name: Nicholas Allen Kilduff

Exchange: ESADE Business School: non-MBA master’s, focus in marketing

Term: Spring, 2008

E-mail:

@CSOM: M.A., Human Resources & Industrial Relations

Academic Experiences at Partner School

General Academic Structure

I think the best way to explain the courses I took is to compare them philosophically to CSOM courses. At CSOM, in my experience, you’re taught using theory and tested on how well you remember the theory and if you can generally apply it all the while using academic or professional research and/or a simulation. At ESADE, in my experience, you’re taught using existing examples from the business community about the topic of the class while focusing less on theory and more so on the opinion of the professor, guest speakers, and members of the class that have had work experience. Many of my classes were a bit disorganized and sometimes didn’t always follow the syllabus (or the syllabus was a mess from the start). At CSOM, there would be an uproar about that; at ESADE it’s normal and it actually helps you cope with change better in the end. Also, professors are often late to class, students are often even later, and class doesn’t get started until 15- to 20-minutes after it is supposed to but always ends on time. Classes are mostly “organized” via the ESADE intranet which contains all course documentation (if you have a professor that updates it). There are no books to buy, you get copies in packets.

Also, some of my classes had up to three professors (most very influential in their field in Spain or Europe currently – as a professor – and while practicing); most of my classes had at least two guest speakers (some very influential individuals in the European and global business community); and, interestingly, many of my classes were ultimately “taught” by the students themselves with the guidance of the professor through presentations. Most, if not all, professors ask that you call them by their first name and not “Professor XYZ” which was hard to do at first.

Of great importance for someone in the MA-HRIR program to know is that at ESADE, you will be taking classes that are both undergraduate-level and master’s-level (though you probably won’t notice the difference because most classes are somehow in-between). You need to know that you will not be taking MBA courses in the MBA program, which is what I had thought at first when choosing and accepting at ESADE. This means you will be intermixed with undergraduate students mostly from the U.S. and Canada; some CEMS students (sort of a European advanced, half bachelor’s-half master’s degree); some Spanish undergraduates taking electives but earning, perhaps, a degree in Engineering; and the rest will be students in ESADE’s master’s in marketing or international business programs. I think most students were between 19 and 26 years old. Also, because I experienced this annoyance a few times, the CEMS students are always busy with their big project they have to do as part of the CEMS program. Therefore I recommend avoiding partnering with them because some tend to care only about the CEMS-related work. Working with undergraduates wasn’t bad though, and most of them came from top-notch schools in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Singapore and most are not in their last semester of classes so most were very smart and generally dedicated. They’re just younger.

Classes Taken and How They Compare to Courses at CSOM

I took Design Management in English with the husband-wife team of Jordi Montaña Matosas and Isabelle Moll Mendoza. Their English was excellent. Jordi is actually one of the individuals that was charged with branding the 1992 Olympics held in Barcelona (i.e., the logo, slogans, and other marketing). Guest speakers in this class included the guy who headed external design of the newer high-speed trains in Spain. I don’t so much think that CSOM, as a typical U.S. business school, would even have this class (I don’t know for sure though). I would suspect at the ‘U’ that you’d find this class in an art or design engineering department rather than the business school. There was very little lecture and about 60% of the classes were group presentations about a certain topic related to design management. My grade was based on participation, the presentation, and a 15-page paper expanding upon the research of the presentation. I’d say this class was easy enough that it was de-motivating (mostly because of the weeks of presentations) but it still was interesting.

I also took Supply Chain Management in English with Cristina Giménez Thomsen. Her English was excellent. This class had numerous guest professors/speakers including Laoucine Kerbache from HEC Paris (one of, if not the, best business schools in Europe). I found this to be my favorite class partly because of Cristina being easy to learn from and interesting, partly because of the interesting visiting professors/speakers, and also because I found the class to be very valuable for any profession. This class, in my opinion, was similar in caliber and difficulty to an undergraduate-level supply chain class at CSOM and the most organized and predictable out of all my classes. I’d say this class was easy but still motivating because work is spread out throughout the class and not heavily bottom-loaded like most of my other classes. My grade was based on weekly group assignments, participation, a final group project, and an open-book final exam.

I also took Motivation, Values, and Commitment (MVC) and its sister class, Leadership in English. Both of these classes are fluff human resources classes. I had a very hard time taking MVC seriously and was generally unmotivated but others may have found the class interesting. I don’t recommend taking it but decide for yourself. Leadership was a far better class and I recommend taking it because you profile your leadership skills, find your areas for improvement, and the professor I had was very good (and from Chicago) – but it is still a fluff class. MVC was taught by the trio of professors: Conxita Folguera, Jaume Filella, Esther Sallent and their English was good. Jaume basically invented the class, so I understand. Leadership was taught by an American by the name of Amy Leaverton and her English was perfect, obviously. Both of these classes were easy but MVC was annoyingly disorganized, sometimes we talked about the same things as we did weeks before, and, in my opinion, the class could have been accomplished with half as many meeting periods. My grade in these classes came from final papers and in the class of Leadership, also a final exam.

I also took Key Accounts & Sales Management. I enjoyed this class because I am interested in sales and it enlightens you to the modern sales force structure, including the use of Key Account Managers. It was taught by three upper-level sales managers (not professors) by the names of Victor Noguer Castellví, Oscar Aragón, and Carlos Puig. All of their English was good, but they often explained things “better” in Spanish and never translated to English. They were obviously salesmen; they have that sort of personality about them. Unfortunately, this class seemed to be thrown together, but the men obviously enjoyed sales and teaching the profession. Each teacher taught about two or three of the courses but they were never together except on the day of the final, which exacerbated the disorganization I noticed. The professor that taught the meatiest portion of the class was, in my opinion, a poor teacher and it was difficult to understand what I was learning. Most of what was taught was obvious to anyone who’s worked retail or done sales before (or with a basic understanding of psychology) but the points that weren’t obvious were brushed over in class very quickly. We were told the final exam would be multiple choice only, but it was fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice (where you can select more than one answer), and there were math problems involved. Many, including me, felt duped and, though I liked learning what I learned, myself and many others found the class to be a least favorite mostly because of the teacher switching and the seeming lack of coordination between the three. My grade came from class participation, two case study projects, and a final exam. The cavalier teaching style of the three teachers makes the class seem as if it is easy, but it’s just a trick and it is actually difficult, especially the final exam.

I also took Marketing Services in English. It was taught by Ferran Blanch Colino whose English was just okay. He is a Ph.D. student and Academic Assistant, not a professor. Had his English been better, this class would have been far better. He was a very slow English speaker and often made up “English” words which made the class a bit boring. He rides a Harley Davidson though, so that makes up for it. On the plus side, he was an extremely nice guy and obviously knew what he was talking about. We also had the pleasure of having guest speakers in from Publicis, ClickAir, Cirque du Soleil, and other companies and all were very good. One speaker unfortunately only spoke Spanish but it was a fun challenge to try and understand him. Most of the class spoke Spanish so it didn’t matter much anyway. My grade came from a two-part group project, associated papers, and participation. I’d say this class was easy overall and I recommend taking it if you are interested in marketing and want a different perspective than just selling products but rather services.

Finally, I took two Spanish language courses taught by the wonderful Silvia Rovira. The first class was before my other classes started and was a free immersion course for international students during the last half of January. We started with about 30 students and ended with 15 dedicated students because, I think, it became apparent it wasn’t required, wasn’t for a grade, and therefore students just decided to travel or explore Barcelona instead. If you study a lot, you’ll learn basic present-tense Spanish quickly in this class. I also took advantage of the 50% discount for exchange students offered by the ESADE Language School paid €300 for a second Spanish class with some friends where we progressed beyond just present-tense verbs. If you study a lot in this optional class, you’ll have a good grounding in Spanish.

Advising

If I had to rate the advising, I’d say it’s there if you need it – probably pretty good, too – but you probably won’t need it. The mandatory orientation we had the first week was disappointing, honestly. The individuals in charge of international students simply introduced themselves to us and then left the room. Our “main” advisor, Jura Zymantas, who was in charge of everything other than academic advising gave us a nice presentation on where to eat, where to work out, bank accounts, registering into the census in Barcelona, cheap airlines, etc. Jura is great, but I rarely ever utilized her help other than for one medical issue via e-mail. She offered advice quickly and I think she is a great resource. We were also given a two-hour presentation during the first week on Spanish and Catalan culture and history. It was very interesting but honestly didn’t provide much useful information for the here-and-now, mostly the history and explanation of why Catalunya is different from the rest of Spain. Some students didn’t go.

The downside to the academic advising is that Araceli Domenech only meets with students in the morning in a two-hour window and in the afternoon in a two-hour window. I always had class when she was available. Otherwise it would have meant a nearly 30-minute trip on public transportation to see her on days I didn’t have class and usually I was travelling or generally unable to go had I needed her for something. Luckily I didn’t and could generally work with her via e-mail except for the signing of our compulsory “Learning Agreement” and filling out the paperwork necessary for our student IDs.

Surprises & Comparison with Academic Environment in the U.S.

Like I said in the first part of this section, classes are taught a bit differently here. It is difficult to be the person that never says a word in class because classes, even if they are large, often erupt into large discussions. I was not necessarily surprised, but instead happy that I got to experience a different type of teaching style with a different conveyance of values. If anything could have surprised me, it would have been the fact that there were often two or three professors for one class. I wonder how ESADE pays for that! Also, be prepared to organize yourself and not necessarily depend on a syllabus and also get ready for group members that sometimes do the bare minimum at the very last minute. The Spanish students have a self-admitted reputation for being like that, but also the exchange students who are in CEMS or who do a ton of travelling will tend to be this way as well. I think this “issue” is typical of an exchange program and even of group work in general, so it’s not anything to fret over.

Logistics at the Partner School

Orientation/Arrival

Please see my description of the orientation above. When you get into town, you are supposed to immediately go to the Registrar’s office in Building #2 which is the window to the left that you’ll see when you pass through the second set of doors if coming into the building from the front. You’ll need to get some paperwork filled out and provide them with three passport-sized photos. I took my photos in a photo booth in one of the Metro stations. It was embarrassing because everyone was looking at me but then again, Spanish people always stare. You’ll get an orientation program and you’ll be told to go to numerous compulsory meetings. I recommend going to them but you won’t be entertained and they aren’t as fancy as CSOM’s orientations or “Orientation Week” at some other exchange programs I’ve heard about. For example, nobody plans a “get to know each other” party, which I think would have been nice.