Since my last post, a lot has happened. The case competition that was supposed to be held on Thursday was postponed to tomorrow due to inclement weather. On Friday, we did do Retail Immersion day. This is one of my favorite days of Orientation. We began by boarding the bus in the bitter cold and then we were off - by 8:00. Our first stop was a Walmart distribution center (DC). The DC never fails to amaze the new students. This truly puts the importance of the supply chain in perspective.
Kimberly-Clark hosted us for a working lunch. A Kimberly-Clark executive and New Creature founder talked to our new MBA students about leadership. They also shared their own experiences and offered words of wisdom.
After lunch we visited a local Walmart where several store managers took small groups of students through the store to complete a group exercise. The class was then de-briefed by the managers and two Walmart executives. When we returned to campus, the experience was wrapped up by 3 "retail pros": Dr. Tom Jensen, who teaches retail marketing during the first semester, a Walmart exec, and a retired Walmart executive who co-teaches for the Walton College.
Even though our original schedule was amended due to the weather, the week went very well and the students have now been acclimated to the Walton MBA. Tomorrow afternoon we will host the case competition. Nine teams of four will compete in front of corporate and faculty judges. The winner will be presented a prize made by their mentors. Stacy Carty promises that it is "way better" than previous prizes - at least that is what her blog says. I can't wait to see what they have come up with.
This will be a busy week for the GSB since the competition is tomorrow and Friday is the application deadline for the Walton PhD programs and the Master of Arts in Economics degree. Be sure all materials are submitted by Friday.
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