|
A
new component of the Crosby MBA Program has been the implementation of
the Integrated Functional Perspectives (IFP) Initiative. Since MBA
courses are commonly structured around one particular discipline (e.g.,
a marketing course), students may not have the opportunity to examine
business problems from a cross-functional perspective. However, most
issues and solutions are inter-functional in nature and cannot be
solved without the consideration of other relevant functions within the
organization.
|
The IFP initiative culminates with a
competition between MBA students. Three
teams are chosen to present their reports
to classmates and instructors,who then
vote for the winner.
|
The
goal of the IFP initiative is to make students aware of the
cross-functional nature of business problems and solutions. The
participants include all students enrolled in at least one of the five
first-year MBA courses including: Managerial Accounting, Management
Information Systems, Managerial Finance, Organizational Behavior and
Management, and Managerial Marketing.
“The goal of
this program is to help our students learn to integrate their knowledge
and to develop more comprehensive solutions to problems,” said Mark
Houston, program director and David and Judy O'Neal MBA Professor of Marketing.
Through a series of activities, students
obtain exposure to the complexity of corporate decision making. Each
semester begins with a kickoff event during orientation in which teams
of students examine a cross-functional case and are introduced to the
concept of IFP. Once the semester gets underway, a cross-functional
case is assigned.
|
This year’s case study about Delta Airlines
was very timely. The presenters from the
winning team, from left: Brian Adams,
Jim Cicon, Reuben Stern , and Ben Hughes.
|
Past
cases include AOL/Time Warner, Arthur Andersen and eBay. In-class
discussions about the case are held throughout the semester, and
students are divided into teams to address the issues in a case
analysis. Finally, students participate in an evening event consisting
of small-group breakouts and a large-group case competition to
culminate the IFP experience.
Overall, IFP has added great value to the MBA curriculum by
allowing students to integrate their knowledge of each functional area
into a more comprehensive view of the organization.
|