Happiness

I encourage everyone to watch the video below.  It is one of the most entertaining and enlightening things I have seen in quite some time.

It seems that we, as a society, have the keys to happiness all mixed up.  We think that success brings happiness and that more success will bring more happiness.  In fact, it's the opposite, and this guy will explain it to you lots better than me.  He teaches Positive Psychology at Harvard, which is the University's most popular class.  Here is a link to an article that discusses the findings...HAPPINESS!

Upcoming MBA Events

Hi All,

We have finally said goodbye to the cold and the snow, and it is officially beautiful again in Aix.  It seems that Spring is just around the corner, and just in time too, as March is an exciting month for us in the MBA.  We have several key events taking place, and we encourage anyone who is interested in the MBA to attend.

First, on March 13, we will be holding a Leadership Seminar in Paris.  The Seminar will be led by the MBA Director, Carolina Serrano, and is free, so if you're in Paris, you don't have an excuse to not attend!

Second, on March 23, here at IAE Aix, we will have the MBA 'Open-Door' event where we open the school to the public to come and find more information about the MBA program and to meet the members of the MBA team.

 

Service Marketing and Management

To say the least, our MBA participants are starting to feel the pressure with their business projects now half way done.  Along the way, though, there are several classes scheduled that help prepare them for their final presentations and with some of concepts that come in very handy when finishing the BP.  One of these classes is Service Marketing and Management, and it is happening this week at IAE Aix.  The course is taught by Professor Valerie Mathieu.  Professor Mathieu is one of our favorite professors in the MBA because not only is she great at explaining the ideas behind Service marketing and management, but she makes them fun and does so with humor.  She holds a PhD from Aix-Marseille University and teaches all over the world: USA, Finland, Poland, Malaysia and has been involved with the International Teaching Program at the London Business School.  In other words, she knows her stuff.

Professor Mathieu leading a discussion

Participants find the course very interesting because the concepts for managing and marketing for services are often different than for a product.  Services are often intangible, heterogeneous and simultaneous (meaning the production, delivery and consumption happen now and that a service is both a process and a result).  As a result of these differences, customers can feel a sense of uncertainty, meaning organizations must build strategies for reducing customer's risk perceptions.  Because the production and consumption happen at the same time, there is a high element of human contact.  Organizations must therefore do a good job managing front line employees and the client's participation is they hope to create a positive experience.  Finally, because many services are heterogeneous, businesses must develop ways of differentiating their offer from their competitors.  They can do this in a number of ways, including designing and implementing service standards.

The course analyzes these different concepts and develops strategies for managing each.  Through several case studies, participants get to see and learn from real life mistakes that other organizations have made.  Professor Mathieu also discusses the concepts of a supplementary offerings, segmentation and complementary segmentation and the 3 'extra' P's of the marketing mix.  All these different elements add up to a customer experience, and in the end, that's what this class is all about.  How do we, managers of organizations, create a rewarding experience for our customers in a service setting?  It starts with people and ends with people, and this course highlights many of the important concepts, unique to services, that can help organizations do this effectively.

Members of the MBA during class

Social Media Week

If you didn't already know, last week was 'Social Media Week,' and there were lots of interesting conferences and seminars happening all over the world dealing with this.  Well, on last Wednesday evening, February 15, there was a panel debate held at the American University of Paris around the topic of 'Social Media in Corporations: Empowerment or Surveillance?'

There were 4 panel members, all of whom have extensive experience with the social media revolution.  Among them are representatives from Gemalto, Orange, Viadeo and none other than the IAE Aix Graduate School of Management.  Representing IAE Aix was Professor Andrew Hennigan, who is an expert in Social Media, and who gives seminars at IAE Aix on this subject.  Interestingly enough, the debate centered around not how businesses use social media to engage with their customers, but how they allow their employees to use it and whether it is a way of empowering them or spying on them.  It is a really unique and interesting way to look at the subject.  The debate also touches on how organizations deal with change in general and how long it might take before this transition is complete.

You can watch the whole debate from the link.

http://new.livestream.com/smwparis/corporations#

Innovation in Advertising

Hi All,

I saw this ad this morning, and I thought it was interesting and relevant enough to put on the blog.  Below is an ad from the American fast food company, Chipotle (which specializes in Mexican food).  The ad ran during the Grammy Awards on Sunday evening which was viewed by nearly 40 million people worldwide.  Below the video, you'll find a review of the ad by Esquire Magazine, which highlights some important concepts about why this ad is so unique and 'revolutionary.'

If you caught last night's Grammy Awards, you may have seen Chipotle's lengthy animated ad — the company's first to run on national television. The spot has been available on Chipotle's Web site and YouTube channel since August, and it played on movie-theater screens last fall, but it received its widest audience yet by far last night.
There are several unusual things about this commercial, which we've posted above for your viewing pleasure. First, it's about four times as long as your standard-issue television ad. Second, according to The New York Times, the spot took an entire year to produce and didn't involve an advertising agency at any step in the process, making it more like an animated short film. Third, it has exactly nothing in common with any fast-food ad to precede it. Instead of home-invading burger mascots, massively inaccurate product shots, pizza artisans, and the like, the film features puppet-like characters illustrating a parable about a farmer who turns to industrial methods, only to think better of it and return to his earth- and animal-friendly ways of doing business. The whole thing is set to a Willie Nelson cover of Coldplay's "The Scientist." There's nary a burrito in site in the entire two-plus minutes, and Chipotle's logo shows up only once, at the very end. The goal of the ad? To make more consumers aware of Chipotle's commitment to sustainable farming. All in all, it's an exceptionally good piece of both animated filmmaking and promotion, and yet another example of how far apart Chipotle stands from the rest of the quick-service pack. Writing for Slate, Matthew Yglasias recently compared the company to Apple, arguing that Chipotle's CEO Steve Ells is revolutionizing fast food in the same way that Steve Jobs transformed personal electronics, only with none of the same acclaim. It might be time to give some credit where credit's due.

A happy Valentines Day from us here at IAE Aix (with a little help from Google!).

Snow Day in Aix

Hi All,

If you've seen the local 'meteo' (or weather forcast), you know that it has been snowy and really cold in Aix the last week.  I guess it's about time that winter finally decided to show up after an unusually warm holiday season, but we weren't expecting or prepared for what we did get.  Two weeks ago, the skies opened and it snowed for nearly 24 straight hours.  Then, the temperatures declined and some of that snow is still around today.  Here are some photos from the infamous 'snow day.'  Enjoy...

This is a vineyard that is a 10 minute walk from IAE...it's beautiful with the snow

Here is a close up of some of the vines.

My dog, Madison, a friend of the MBA Change & Innovation.

Another look across the vineyard.