Thoughts on my first quarter

My first quarter which was the spring quarter of 2006 was a good learning experience. I had taken two subjects; Macroeconomics and Management. Both were quite interesting in their own ways. Macroecon was shedding light on how the world's economy, especially the US economy operates. It talks about inflation, interest rates, GDP etc...These are all the terms that you hear in your everyday life. This course helped me understand these terms in depth and how they affect our economy. For e.g. what the Fed does to control inflation..(this is a hot topic today because of rising inflations). The Management subject is treated by some folks as a "general" theory that usually is "known" to all. Well, if you look at the course, it is "General" stuff that is supposed to be known to all "managers" but in reality that is not true. I have not had a management background and this has helped me immensely. The prof Holly Schroth conducted some interesting case studies that got the whole class involved. Towards the end of the quarter there was a day long workshop called the Silicon Valley Technology workshop (SVT) that was meant to be chaotic and simulate the real world company atmosphere. Although I must say this one was more chaotic than is usual in any workplace. Each student is assigned a role ranging from the company's president to the Manager and handed over a bunch of emails. Everyone is suposed to sift through the emails (in printed form) and identify the goals to be accomplished and carry them through out the day. The idea is that the president should raise to the chaotic occasion, set goals and prioritize items and the VP's should communicate these goals down the chain etc... Oh boy! can you imagine the chaos and the struggle for power ? It is a fun exercise and also helps you understand your strength and weaknesses. in conclusion my first quarter was an interesting experience and I really enjoy doing my MBA! Drop me a line if you have any thoughts..