I have registered for four classes this term but I need only 2.5 so I will be dropping one. Selecting which elective to abandon is a mind-blogging exercise.

- Global Management (around international expansion)
- Industry and Competitive Analysis (prescriptions for firms evolving in a competitive landscape)
- Financial Statement Analysis (this one I am keeping for sure)
- Managing Entrepreneurial Growth

I have had three classes so far: GM, ICA and FSA

Global Management was excellent. We talked about the situation facing Mercedes when the market got flooded with Lexus in the United States. and how a German-centered company reacted to the situation from complacency to action.

We discussed the fact that out of R&D => Inputs => Manufacturing => Marketing a firm creates Benefits (B) and offers them at a price (P) while developing them at a cost (C). B-P is the value captured by the customer in the form of consumer surplus. P-C is the value captured by the firm in the form of profits. So B-C are the two axis that firms can play with in order to increase the value created: either by product innovation (B firms, strongin Marketing and R&D usually) or by process innovation (C firms, strong in Manufacturing and inputs, or supply chain management). B firms tend to be on a high benefits and high cost type of profile. C firms tend to be on a low benefits low cost type of profile.
The former might get locked into a niche. The latter supplanted the minute someone comes in with a lower cost solutions and profits suck. Former is a Struggling to Survive firm such as B&O, the latter is a Profitless Prosperity firm (such as non_name Chinese firm) and there is such a thing as a Magic Middle, which Samsung for instance in the Consumer Electronics industry is striving for right now.

Most successful firms must play on both axis and develop products that enhance quantity and quality of life for plants, animals, humans and corporations. They can then grow through internationalism (this class) or innovation (another class which I am not taking).

The prof defined sucess as having three components for a firm: Profitability (ROFC, or ROIC), Growth and Sustainability which comes from economic focus, economic fit, ecological focus and ethical behavior.

Looks like I will want to continue with this class. I have one more session to go before I need to decide. I think that the prof is Indian but my predictions have a poor record of accuracy.


ICA was also absolutely fantastic - we had a brief overview of the course and will be called to explore a strategy questions along many axis (and the Porter 5 Forces is only one of them) and deepen our ideas of Structure of the industry, Ecosystem, Cooperation, etc...and see how it affects profitability. We looked at how growth is always a good thing as it boosts profits in general but noticed that industry profitabilities also depended very much on the elasticity of supply, on the ability for firms to cooperate to maintain high prices (legally that is!) by putting limitations on their natural ability to increase capacity without being caught in a prisoner's dilemna (quotas for French wine for instance of a certain Appellation Controlee works to this effect). So highest growth industries with low barriers to entry (Wireless, Internet, etc...) get very crowded very quickly and profits are nil to small. Effectively, they move quicker to commodities markets type behavior even though one must constantly be on the lookout for competition! Prof is Spanish, studied and taught in the US. Great guy! he told us he was married to a British lady, a typical Insead profile!

FSA was great. Prof is American and he shared with us some of the insights he got to in his research to explain the link between Earnings and Share Price (or why we should listen in class really). I missed the first class since I miss the first day of the term which is truly a pity as I also really liked the way the prof went from real-life application to a more theoretical approach. And this class will be SO useful at every stage of my career.

Classes are fuller than in Singapore of course, Profs struggle to start on time (and finish on time as I noticed twice in the past couple of days) - people ask good questions.

It is good to be back.