School Notes: School of Management
March/April 2009

Case study team aids Faith and Globalization course

Soon after former British prime minister Tony Blair agreed to teach a course on Faith and Globalization at Yale, the SOM case study research group was asked to develop several new cases to be taught alongside more traditional materials. Over the course of four months, writers created nearly a dozen new cases, covering topics such as the rise of evangelicalism as a political force; whether countries actually become more secular with modernization; the role of Buddhism in Sri Lanka's civil war; and the relationship in China between the growth of Christianity and the development of the economy. With the exception of one, all were "raw" cases, a form pioneered by SOM that presents a greater variety of sources than traditional business school cases, thus presenting more opportunities for a higher level of analysis.

Private equity conference evaluates state of the industry

For the past eight years, the SOM Private Equity Club has hosted a conference looking at different aspects of the industry. This year's event, titled "The Road Ahead," faced the unique task of evaluating private equity in the midst of an ongoing financial crisis. About 200 industry professionals assembled in Greenwich, Connecticut, in November to face very uncertain times for a group that had enjoyed several years of impressive growth. Keynotes were delivered by Philip Yea, CEO of 3i Group, and Scott Schoen ’80, co-president of Thomas H. Lee Partners. Panels addressed a range of topics, including infrastructure investing, global sourcing of capital, and distressed investment opportunities.

SOM responds to expected challenges in the job market

Despite the challenging economic environment, the percentage of the SOM Class of 2009 who had received and accepted offers, as of January 2009, was in line with last year's graduating MBA class. But many expect the deep recession to be reflected in the job market, and the school has launched a number of initiatives to assist students still looking for positions. The Career Development Office planned a first-ever spring job fair, as well as other industry- and sector-focused networking and recruiting events to help expand the pipeline of opportunities for both internships and permanent placements. Dean Sharon Oster has asked SOM alumni and faculty to increase their outreach efforts on behalf of current students, as well. "As a community, we can work together to address the current challenges," Oster said. In addition to these initiatives, Oster announced to the SOM community that she would forgo $100,000 of her salary in order to fund incremental summer internships for first-year SOM students at Yale University -- including positions as case writers at SOM, working on business cases in industries in which they have a career interest.