Every so often I try to write a post that conveys exactly how much I love business school and how useful I find it. I have never once felt satisfied in the success of my attempts, and I certainly don't expect better results now, but the more I try, maybe the closer I'll get. Or..maybe not.
It is often hard for me to remember how much I love my courses, particularly in light of the fact that I don't like the city I'm in OR the particular school I go to. But I love what I'm learning - specifically, I love the fact that every single day I find myself thinking things I wouldn't have thought before b-school, or understanding things I might not even have understood at this time last year. Here are just a few examples.
Sometime last semester, a nail salon opened up near me. I was pretty excited because I had been saying ever since I moved here that my area needed a nail salon. And, voila! Wish granted. I went there for a manicure and had a lovely experience, and I was happy to give them the business they clearly needed. A few weeks later, I went back, and my manicure was 2 dollars more. My business plan team had recently had a conversation with our professor about why it is not a wise strategy to set low prices to attract customers, and then raise prices once you have them. Seeing this in action, I was outraged, and have not gone back since.
I was texting with a friend a few weeks ago when he said something about his company stock options. A red flag went off in my head and I was all, "Dawg, there is no way you are important enough to have stock options." I replied that I was pretty sure he meant just regular stock, and not stock options, at which point he confessed that he had no idea what the difference was. I was pretty pleased with this hard evidence that I have actually retained SOMETHING that I learned over the last year and a half. B school WIN.
Our final example is from the other day, when I was watching TV and I saw a commercial for the CVS MinuteClinic. Have you people seen this? CVS is going to start having no-appointment-necessary clinics in some of their stores where people can come in and get checked out for minor things like sore throats and then get prescriptions written on the spot. For the record, I think this is an awesome idea, in theory. But as soon as the commercial ended my mind started racing with questions. Will they take insurance? If so, will they take people without insurance? Will this turn into a haven for the nation's healthcare-less to try and get a doctor to see them? Do they have a referral system for people who have more serious problems? Will this end up being more like the HourClinic? Policy issues aside, we in the lovely US of A have a shitstorm of a healthcare system in that there are bottlenecks all over hospitals that cause ridiculously long waits (as anyone who has ever gone to the ER yet not had a life-threatening emergency will tell you). How is CVS going to differentiate itself and not turn into another poorly run service?
Seriously, if anyone knows any details of the MinuteClinic, I really want to know.
Well, there you have it. I don't think I have any business junkies reading this so I probably bored the crap out of everyone. But personally, I think everyone and their mother should get an MBA because it will, for realz, change the way you look at...everything.
3 comments:
i've used the minuteclinic and to be honest it's fabulous. They do take insurance, i don't know about referrals because i've only used them for sinus/ear infections. I've never had a wait, they write the prescription right there and within 20 minutes it's ready for you. They do recommend if you're not better to either go back or go to a primary care doctor. I think for things like sinus/ear infections etc...it's like $60 per visit, it ranges differently for things like insulin for diabetics, etc...But their prices are incredibly reasonable. It is a great theory because who, if they have something like a sinus infection, and doesn't have insurance wants to spend $200 to go to a regular doctor when they can spend $60 and go to their local cvs? It's really win, win. They also do things like flu shots, school physicals, vaccinations for infants (i think). Either way - they list their services and stuff on the website I think.
:)
Hahaha, I might not have an MBA but I get what you mean. I have an honours degree in Marketing & Communication and, even though I graduated back in 2001, I still occasionally find myself analysing stories about businesses I read about or commercials I see.
It makes me feel smarter sometimes. :)
Regarding the conversation with your professor, I do think that many companies pull the old trick of offering up lower prices for their products up front, then raising them. The two examples I can immediately think of would be the practice of cable companies offering "special deals" up front for the first few months, and department stores for offering a discount on your first transaction if you sign up for their store issues card. While in theory it may not be a smart business practice, it seems to work for a lot of companies. My 2 cents.
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