Oxford Reflection Paper
This past spring, I attended the Oxford short course study abroad program through Pepperdine’s MBA program. If someone now would ask me if knowing what I know now, would I recommend it, I would be undecided. My overall experience had some very distinctive ups and downs. I do believe though, that with some adjustments to the structure of the program, great improvements could be possible. First, my paper will address the positive aspects of the program. Then I will discuss the negative aspects of the program, followed up by an overall conclusion with some suggestions.
Positive Aspect #1: Oxford University as a Program Choice
The best overall aspect of my experience was the Oxford University location of the program. I believe that of all the global short course location offerings, Oxford would provide the best experience to the students.
In short, Oxford is an amazing university. Its rich history and impressive campus was a huge part of my experience. Walking around Oxford, viewing the different colleges and seeing the students dressed in their exam uniforms gives students in our program an insight into the workings of one of the best universities in the world.
Positive Aspect #2: Housing and Food during Program
Throughout the program, I enjoyed the food for the most part and we stayed in comfortable, clean dorms. The food, even if it somewhat lacked variety, was good throughout the week. It is always good to start a day of lectures with a solid breakfast, and that was provided for us each day. The rooms were clean and each had their own bathroom. Having the front desk people ready and willing to help us with the various issues that came up during the week was nice as well. In summary, our living accommodations were above what I was expecting during the week.
Positive Aspect #3: Resume Impact from Oxford Reputation
Oxford being one of the top universities in the world, adds more value to the program and to the students who take it. It is well known and respected around the globe. In contrast to some of the other short course location offerings, Oxford will be well known and easily recognized in any future interview. One of the main reasons I selected Oxford as my program choice, was I didn’t want to have to explain in an interview someday where exactly my study abroad university was and that it really exists.
Positive Aspect #4: The Siemens Manufacturing Plant Tour
The factory tour of Siemens was my favorite part of the program. I loved being able to meet and talk to European business professionals and view their work environment. Being able to talk to them about things like how they view management and the different strategies they use to maximize productivity was a great experience. The tour gave me a new, European perspective on many of the concepts that I study in school.
Negative Aspect #1: The Overall Cost-Benefit Analysis
When looking at the total cost of the program including transportation expenses, the amount of money is close to $4,000 spent on this trip. The program itself costs about 3,000 and it takes roughly $1,000 to pay for the plane ticket and public transportation costs. The main issue that I have, is how was most of the program different from what someone could have experienced going there on vacation? I wonder if I just decided to take a trip to Oxford for a week, stay in a local hotel and take some tours… if it would have been an equivalent experience.
Looking at what specifically this program offered us was a place to stay, food, a tour of Oxford, a tour of Siemens and approximately 3 hours of lecture a day. In my opinion, you could have gotten 90% of the experience for 50% of the cost. If someone was to take a week vacation to Oxford and put in a little effort, I think they could have had a very similar experience.
Negative Aspect #2: The Overall Quality and Style of the Lectures
Referring to the paragraphs above, what we as students really paid for in the program was the lectures. I think the major drawback from the program, was that most of the lectures were either too general or not focused on European business practices. It is important to remember that we are MBA students, and hear these types of business lectures on a daily basis. Many of the lectures were identical to ones that we have already heard. For example, one lecture on marketing discussed market segmentation and how to use various marketing channels. In Pepperdine’s MBA program, all of us had just finished a 14-week marketing course that covered all of the marketing courses in great depth.
With the exception of the Virgin CSR presentation, many of the presentations lacked a good presentation style. One presenter actually just came in and sat down, no visuals, and started talking. Many people in our class had a very difficult time paying attention, and some even fell asleep!
Negative Aspect #3: “The Vacation Feel”
Throughout the entire experience, as a student you couldn’t help but feel like you were on vacation. When I sign up for a “study abroad” course at Oxford, I am not looking for a vacation-type experience. Even during the lectures, we always got the feeling like we were tourists dropping in, not MBA students really being exposed to European businesses. This environment of being on vacation was created by everyone; including the students, faculty and lecturers.
Suggestion #1: Market the Program Differently
If the same format and structure will be used for future programs, Pepperdine should market the program differently. Instead of marketing it as a “study abroad program”, it should be marketed as a conference or seminar. This would give prospective students a better idea of what to expect. When the program is marketed as a study abroad program, students get the idea that it will be more of an intense course as opposed to a lecture series.
Suggestion #2: Lower the Number of Lectures and Make them More Relevant
I think that if we would have had half the number of lectures, but on more relevant topics that it would have been much better. Any lecture that does not directly have major impacts on European business practices should be removed from the program.
Suggestion #3: Have more European Company Involvement
If you replaced half of the lectures with company presentations from European companies, it would provide more real world insight into what business in Europe really looks like. Being able to talk with business professionals like we did during the Siemens tour would be a great way to add value to the program. This could also open up a networking channel for those students who might be interested in working in Europe someday.
Conclusion
Overall, I am glad that I experienced the Oxford short course study program. Knowing what I know now, I still think that I would choose to go on the trip. However, I think that there should be some changes made to the program. With these changes I think that Pepperdine could turn this program into a much greater experience for its students.
