TOP 6 UNIVERSITY of MICHIGAN

Application Contact:

Jane Lieberthal

Associate Director of Admissions

School of Business Administration

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109

U.S.A.

Michigan is taking the lead by taking the initiative. In action learning. In team building. In executive skills development. In corporate citizenship. In interdisciplinary research and teaching. The Michigan MBA is different. Our single objective is to find what works. What best prepares students for the rigors of leadership and the ever-changing demands of contemporary business.

B. Joseph White, Dean The Michigan Business School

所有頂尖的B-School中，位在密西根州安娜堡（Ann Arbor, Michigan）的密西根商學院，可算是最前衛、最創新的一個。

一九九○年初夏，九位剛出爐的MBAs被送往共產黨政治才解體不久的東歐，在波蘭開始他們全新的、為期三個月的『資本住義紮根』工作。他們自願支援學校在波蘭所設的“MBA corporation”，為波蘭政府的自由經濟與資本化做開路先鋒的工作。這一趟的花費全由學校及贊助廠商負擔，但是他們支的薪也少得可憐，甚至比在安娜堡讀書時暑期工讀賺得還少！一個被選參與這項支援行動的學生用興奮而略為顫抖的聲音說：『我們是去寫歷史記錄的！只要想到這一趟的歷史意義和價值，倒貼我都心甘情願！』

三年後，密西根商學院又再創驚人之舉。新生入學訓練一改傳統的圖書管／電腦房巡禮、加強定量與分析能力、教寫履歷表，而是組成團隊練習（team-building exercise）、觀賞六０年代民權鬥士Martin Luther King Jr.的著名演說短片：I have a dream.、和分批進入底特律（Detroit）市區最陰暗的角落，清理環境、社區服務！密西根的白教務長說，想要成為一個現代的企業領導者，非得捲起袖子、汗流浹背地苦幹不可！

密西根是與眾不同的。西北的Kellogg一直在行銷（marketing）上獨領風騷，哈佛管理學院一直是一般管理（general management）的龍頭，華頓永遠是財務（finance）的大宗師，芝加哥在學術分析（theory & analysis）上的聲望永遠無法被超越。這些top 10 B-Schools各有特色，各領風騷，但也沒有一所能跳脫出『難以駕馭、利益為先』的MBA刻板印象。密西根是完全不同的。國際公民（global citizenship）、社區參與（community involvement）、企業責任（corporate responsibility）是他的使命，而每年翻新的課程（innovative curriculum）則是他的招牌。因為這樣，歷年來此校商業排名持續攀升，目前已超過哥倫比亞、直追哈佛！

一九九五年，華頓打破了學期制（semester）與學季制（quarter）之間的界線，突破性地同時採用這兩種學制，以後者加速必修課的步伐，讓學生得到商業知識的廣度；再以前者提供充裕的選修時間，讓學生經反芻而得到它的深度。這樣的創新讓他摘下了商業排名第一。在密西根，這樣的創舉已成為『歷史』。

『學期制』或『學季制』這樣的名詞在密西根商學院裡已然消失，所有的課都經過千鎚百鍊，濃縮在最多不超過十四週、最少不短於七週的所謂module中。勞動節（Labor Day: 九月的第一個禮拜一）一過，新生進入了備戰狀態：一連串總共15門、每門七週的必修課，以迅雷不及掩耳的速度向前推進。這一連串的必修modules在第二年進入春假前，以一個叫做MAP（Multi-disciplinary Action Project）的field project 課程統合在一起。MAP是一個七個半學分、為期六週的『駐院實習（medical residency）』，與其他top B-School的企業實習最不同的是，密西根商學院將大企業的經理人請到校園裡，捲起袖子和學生一塊幹活兒。這樣不但讓你學到真實世界的經驗，還能避免你在大企業的迷宮中一無所獲，甚至被當成了廉價勞工。

這種類似醫學院的『駐院訓練』，有時比真實的企業界還來得逼真。不少入學前有豐富工作經驗的學生就層抱怨，他們放棄高薪、離鄉背井地到安娜堡，沒想到除了讀書，還是得『工作』！

除了排名高、課程創新，許多人選擇密西根商學院是衝著安娜堡來的 -- 一個僅次於擁有哈佛、M.I.T.的劍橋（Cambridge）的校園。安娜堡結合了都會區的五光十色與小鎮的明媚風光，沒有底特律的紛擾，卻有底特律的多樣！而唯一與底特律相同的，是昂貴的房租和難求的停車位。許多打東岸遠道來此求學的紐約客甚至發現，這裡的房租和車位竟然比紐約老家還貴！

位在美國汽車工業重鎮底特律的邊上，密西根的學生們畢業後魚貫地進入了美國汽車工業（auto industry），所有的大廠，包括：Ford，General Motor，和Chrysler等都是他們的天下。一九八八年起，此校商學院研究生與工學院學生聯合創立了『汽車工業俱樂部』，並在兩年後聯手拿下全國太陽能動力汽車的競賽冠軍！九二年的一期學生週刊“The Monroe Street of Journal”以艾科卡的 Mustang二十五週年慶為題，將美國的跑車史做了詳盡的回顧。九五年一個號稱為汽車歷史家的MBA教授David L. Lewis正著手為福特汽車寫『資治通鑑』。

密西根商學院中普遍流傳一個笑話：學生問老師：『在哈佛，他們怎麼教MBA？』 師曰：『他們把學生丟到個案的大海裡，然後站在岸上看著學生像迷路的魚群般，個個都在垂死掙扎。』生又問：『在芝加哥，他們怎麼教MBA？』 師曰：『他們把學生丟到理論分析的迷霧中，讓學生們像脫隊的鳥一樣振翅亂飛。』『那麼在密西根，你們怎麼教？』『我們把這兩種方式混合，然後青出於藍！』

在密西根，學生不用選擇主修，課程中任何一個領域也都不會被過份強調，教授們教的是所謂interdisciplinary，而學生學的是『面面俱到的全方位管理』。當然若是你願意，仍可以照自己的意思選擇會計、行銷、財務．．．當主修，基本上，只要在第二年時多選些這方面的課就成了！

在自由風氣鼎盛的安娜堡，你會發現教授比學生還要活躍。他們穿梭於心理系、社工系、經濟系、法律系．．．，為商學院帶來十七個雙學位的機會。只要你有這個需要，大可以在此地拿個『森林管理』的碩士學位！必修課是可由考試或先前修過的課來抵免掉，但得用同樣學分的選修課補回少修的學分，畢業的基本學分數是60。
密西根的就業輔導室主任說，若是華爾街在一夕之間由地球上消失，紐約大學（Stern）、華頓學院、哥倫比亞大學的MBAs們一定如喪考妣，但密西根的MBAs們卻可以連眼皮都不抬！即使在投資銀行業的全盛時期（一九八七年），密西根畢業生進入華爾街的也只有11%！此校的財務天才們大多進了Kraft，General Foods，或Ford這種『有根的』製造業，對於Morgan Stanley或Goldman Sachs這種高風險高報酬的純『服務業』，卻乏人問津。

值得注意的是，密西根商學院是州立大學系統中商業排名最高的B-School，在各大企業總裁的心目中，他有著和哈佛、西北、史丹佛、華頓、芝加哥這些私立名校相同的份量。除了汽車工業界的大廠商以外，密西根校友的就業前景與這些名校是不分軒輊的。一九九四年畢業生進入的大企業包括：Ford Motor (19)、Coopers & Lybrand (14)、General Motors (12)、Allied Signal (10)、Deloitte & Touche (9)、Merrill Lynch (8)、等等。

校友感言

After working as a consultant with Bain & Company, a management consulting firm in Boston, I realized I wanted to manage my own business. At Bain, I gave advice and proposed solutions, but it was the clients who implemented the ideas. I wanted to be at the end, to actually run a business. I was looking for an MBA program that is strong in multiple areas -- operations, general management, finance, marketing, etc., not a "one-specialty" school, and I found Michigan Business School. Unlike highly competitive environments at some other schools, here I found students to be cooperative, diverse, well-rounded, and fun to work with. That atmosphere has improved my ability to network and enhanced my teamwork skills. Those are some of the "intangible" qualities Michigan has given to me which have been essential to my career development.

I have been involved with training and recruiting at Dow Chemical Co. at Texas and saw the tremendous changes the human resources profession was making. It was evolving into a crucial business "partner," and human resources was not just acting as an implementer, but it was helping to develop a company's strategic plan. I chose Michigan because of its excellent reputation of the Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management professors, the flexibility to tailor my own program, and the balanced teaching approach of case studies, lectures and discussions. I was impressed that Michigan was committed to trying fresh approaches to prepare students to compete in the global market of the 21st century. It was an incredible two years that exceeded my expectations.

I was impressed with Michigan's focus on innovation, its plan to re-engineer the MBA program, and its emphasis on global leadership and corporate citizenship. It also had a strong entrepreneurial teaching program, enrolled a diverse student body, and give me flexibility to place out of certain classes so I could focus on what I wanted to do -- create a new comic company, Limited Time Studios. While at Michigan, I won both a university-wide and regional competition for the business plan for Limited Time Studios. I also had the opportunity to compete in an international business plan competition. Now in Seattle, I am the "left brain" of the company, Limited Time Studios!

From all the schools in the world, I chose Michigan because I sensed that this program was on the cutting edge without being cut-throat competition. It had a true global focus and highly qualified professors. I also looked for a smaller city to capture a warm, friendly American flavor, and that was Ann Arbor. From the academic point of view, I was able to be involved with groundbreaking research and work in teams with students from around the world. Now I have friends that I met at Michigan living in every major city in the States. That is an incredibly valuable network to me.