Reflections on the LSE Abroad Experience

Everyone's at Fuquavisoin... I'm in the library...Yeah, poor me! For the first time all semester I figured out where they keep the books. Still, it's sad to know that I'm missing all the usual fun back at school, and I'm very excited to be going home soon. For those interested or considering going abroad to LSE, here are some reflections (perhaps a grumpier rendition given the library situation).

I never went abroad in college, and this was a mistake. Since b-school is college part II, I wanted to go abroad if I could. I chose London because it's a great city where I had a lot of fond memories of times with my family, and because I love the funny accents. I also chose London because of the London School of Economics - one of the finest institutions of economics and finance in the world, and easily the best school for this stuff in the UK if not all of Europe. It was a good decision, and I'm happy I did this and got it out of my system. Amazing opportunity.

There were just two problems with this perfect opportunity - 1. London in Winter BITES. 2. LSE is NOT a business school and actually has been kind of a let-down. London in winter would have been worth it if LSE had been great, but it wasn't, so when the sun doesn't shine, it really ticks me off. Better use of money is just backpacking around Europe in the summer like normal people. This is because LSE is very much (and I'm sorry to the Crimson friends out there) like Harvard undergrad - some kids are great, sure, but the majority are really kind of weird and horribly pompous and self-conscious... come on admit it, Justin, it's so true.

Undergrads all over are annoying to me because I'm an old grump, but at LSE, that's all they've got. The majority of the master's students are straight from undergrad, and are indistinguishable. You see the difference everywhere in the immaturity of the class discussions and the self-absorbed day to day they live - no one smiles back, no one holds the elevator or doors, and there's a girl in one of my classes with black nail polish, ripped jeans, dyed hair and so much eye makeup there are days I wonder if she's punching herself. Contrast this with London Business School - same city, same stuff, but adults. You walk in and it feels like a b-school in how people are dressed, the conversations they're having, and the way they treat each other. Not quite Fuqua, but at least I got a smile and an invitation to free beer night from someone I stopped for directions.

Suppose you can get past the annoyance of being surrounded by arrogant young'in. Then you have to get used to the coursework which is also, just like undergrad. If you were an econ or poli sci major with a hankering to taste what PhD life would be like, then this is the program for you. Academic lectures, zero interaction, zero real-life case work, zero real life applicability (unless you're going to work as a functionary analyst for some ministry in Germany or something) and tons of literature to read. And by literature, I mean academic studies in books you've never heard of on topics like, "The Varieties of Capitalism approach applied to the French economy post-German reunification." Poke my eyes out with a crumpet.

It's all very interesting, but I came here to understand Europe better - the culture, the business world, what people my age were thinking in this global recession, etc. And, I haven't gotten it at LSE. What I have learned has mostly been done through reading the FT and the Economist and paying attention to the news in a different lens, which I could have done at home. I did pick up a thing or two from classes, but it's a stretch, honestly. My biggest regret is that the students here have not been interested in making friends and the environment is not really conducive to it. My European friends are actually other students from US schools also studying in London, which is cool, but I was hoping for more.

Here are the lessons learned:
Duke rules. Classes at Fuqua are excellent, even when they suck, they are better than what they've got at the London Business School, the London School of Economics, and even at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology - this is my random sampling and makes me an expert. Fuqua's facilities, culture, students and student life are also incredible, and don't you forget it. So keep in mind that when you go abroad, all that goes away.

Got the travel bug? Great. But keep in mind, after a month, one does tire of throwing money around, and traveling is really better on vacation, in the warm sun, with friends and a drink in a coconut.

Need a break from Fuqua? Best reason to go abroad. It clears your head, helps you remember what you're all about and gives you time to reflect and think again. Plus, it makes you miss Duke like hell and remember all the reasons you love it, and how absolutely 100% correct you were to do your MBA there. Perspective - that's what international living is all about.

Fuqua needs a relationship with LBS as well as LSE. Of the many US students I've met at both schools, the LBS kids are proportionately happier with their classes in at least they can take comparable courses to what they wanted at home, and their environment is truly a business school one. Plus, the school has weekly beer night, and everyone is over the age of 22 - makes a big difference. While LSE may be a fancier name, and may claim to have superior coursework, it's just not what someone in an MBA program cares about. Even the finance classes are off in the sense that derivatives and valuation are taught not in the expectation that one will USE the methods, but that one will STUDY and evaluate the methods. It makes no sense because the kids at LSE want to be analysts and traders too... it's just their way. To remedy this, the Exchange office at Fuqua has agreed to step it up on the LBS front and I'm going to help as best I can while I'm here. Check out the sign we made at the LBS Exchange Recruiting Fair last week in the photo! We were next to the Wharton table where a couple of tools in suits were talking big about how excellent they were... we decided to bring out the big blue guns.

US Business School is different from anything else. The American brand of the MBA really is one of a kind, and I've come to the conclusion that international rankings are complete crap. The truth of it is, smart people are everywhere and they succeed no matter where they go. If schools abroad want to claim they have a hand in this for their graduates then wonderful, but there is absolutely no way that any of the schools abroad ranked higher than US top 10 schools on the international rankings can compare in the US MBA experience. We just do it better - I'm not a relativist on this.

GO DUKE!

Why I Love My iPhone

In comparison to the LSE students, I am an historical, political and economical moron. My fabulous pre-med undergraduate education was severely lacking in the modern european ANYTHING, and these LSE kids are killing me. Here's a sample of today's seminar: "Well, prior to the 70s, England was really a Keynesian model of an economy...", "Bretton Woods simply changed everything in Germany in the post-war period..." Ahhh??!!!

If it weren't for the google box on my iPhone I would really have to hide under the desk.

And, the wisecracks keep a-coming...
Professor: "When the Japanese entered the US luxury automobile market with Lexus and Infinity etc., Mercedez and BMW saw their market shares halve."

German kid: "It's because the Americans can't tell the difference (with disdain)."

Laughter ensues. Professor looks at me (why am I the only American in this class??)

Kate: "Oh, I can tell the difference... between a lot of things, (wry smile and a sinister wink)." I think he's scared of me now.

*** Midnight now in the UK, but stay tuned for tomorrow's post on my visit to Fuqua London's "campus", meeting the Duke London Alumni Society, and things I learned about jobs and job losses Europe.

Post-Dragon Bliss

Sooo... anyone catch the answer to the riddle in last week's Economist? China's economic slow down is actually due mostly to its over-reliance on exports and its immature domestic market for its own goods as opposed to a huge blow from the West's financial crisis. Liquidity in China means something very different from what it does in the Anglo world in the sense that banks in China are state-owned and controlled to the point that all non-private firms have direct lines to loans on almost fluid "terms" and access to cash is not a matter of banking finances as much as it is a matter of Party connections and policy flavor of the day. Considering our stimulus is being funded in large part from cash drawn from Chinese banks, cash is not their problem any way.

But enough about what I learned in HKUST's "Doing Business in China" class last week, and on to more important topics:
Hong Kong's crumpet... is AWESOME. If you happen to be in Hong Kong, and find a "bakery" you'll notice that what they serve is definitely baked and wheat-derived. However, the goods will be markedly different from what you'd expect. Half the goods will be filled with meat (usually sweet) and a significant portion with red bean paste. This is all very tasty, but could hardly be a crumpet. What I decided was a crumpet was a confection called "coconut and pineapple bun" which is basically a bavarian cream donut from Dunkin but maybe a third the price. And oh baby is it good.


Now to try to connect this to my blog. The British "handed" over what is today greater Hong Kong in 1997 after the previously-agreed upon deadline to hand the New Territories towns to the PRC seemed like as good a time as any for Thatcher to just give it all back. Hong Kong was granted Special area status by the PRC and was allowed to maintain its existing democratic government and laws for 50 years by the PRC. According to a local friend, the PRC stays very removed, but does approve the mayor and presumably a few other higher officials that the populous votes in to office - what "approves" means is unclear to me. Signs of British colonization are everywhere in the double-decker buses, wrong side driving, bi-lingual signs and tan expats. Hong Kongers dress and look as trendy Westerners in any major city do, and any international food, good or service can be procured in HK. The most striking wonders are the natural beauty of HK which is really tropical, lush volcanic rolling hills dropping into the ocean, and the underground metro system which is incredible.
As for HKUST - the dorms suck, but that school looks like something out of a Malibu dream, and the classes were really great - so thanks to Duke, Joe, Air France, my Visa card, and HKUST for making it all happen.

Off to Hong Kong!

Wednesdays are always action-packed here in the LSE life... lectures, presentations, and of course Fuqua Girls Pub Night! At the end of this particularly busy Wednesday, I'm packing for Hong Kong! I'll be gone a week and maybe I'll be inspired to find the Cantonese version of a crumpet. In the meantime, dream of a witty response to this week's Economist article on why the Chinese blame the US for their economic meltdown and why they're wrong to do so.

MY Consumer Experience

I originally thought that shopping in the UK would be pretty much the same as at home, and for the most part it is. Take away differences in size and convenience that come along with living in a big city instead of Durham, (and the 15% Value Added Tax tacked on to everything), and virtually everything you can buy at home you can buy in London. However, there are some very distinct differences in the way consumers are treated and apparently in the way the customer experience is viewed by UK companies.

Commercials are much racier in the UK, and one can swear and show boobs on public TV channels. All the same commercializing strategies are in use here - coupons, sales, rebates, billboards, give-aways etc. Most of our major brands are here (US and Unilever as well as domestic brands), sometimes in different forms - Lay's chips are Walker's crisps, etc. - and high streets in London look just as they would in any other major city in the US (malls, department stores, restaurants and etc.) But customers in London are willing to put up with inconvenience and hassle to a far greater degree than I think would ever fly at home (or at least given what we're used to.) Examples: You have to ask for a shopping bag, even if you're buying a few things - this actually isn't bad I think. So you want to buy a hairdryer? Good LUCK! No Walmart, no Rite Aid, and the one brand carried at the drug store will set you back a cool $50... so on to a store called Argos - the WEIRDEST place on Earth, and one of the most popular and ubiquitous shops for personal electronics and household devices in London.

It's not a store - it's a room with catalogs in it - you shop the CATALOG, write down your items, pay at the cash, and someone brings them from the back store room for you! Even with limited space, I can't understand why someone hasn't said, "if we make some appealing shelves with popular items on them, people will see and touch them and want to buy them!" Fascinating. And Londoners do not think it's weird at all. They thought I was weird when I demanded that 5 hairdryers be brought out for me to look at them before I would choose which one I wanted to buy... hmmm.

There are few comparisons emblematic of the differences in the consumer experience between the US and the UK than the following:
-A Chinese national studying at a UK institution receives a check for rent from a US citizen drawn on a US banking account. She arrives in the US to study for a term at Kellogg, and within 24 hours has opened a new banking account at a US bank that provided free checks, a bank card and free checking with no minimum balance for a year, deposited the check and cleared the money. This was done in really less than 24 hours of landing (as my banking statement proves).
-A US citizen studying at a UK institution arrives in the UK and walks into a UK bank that is the official partner of her bank in the US (Barclays). She is told she has to make an appointment to see someone and to come back in a WEEK. A week later she shows up for her appointment and is told that she needs her passport, personal letter of recommendation from her bank in the US, a personal letter to the bank from the UK school at which she is studying verifying her student status, oh and the account will be pure checking, zero interest, no check card, no cheques, and it's going to cost over $10/month for the account with a minimum balance of 200 pounds. Discouraged, she decides to shop around and finds the situation similar at three other major banks in town (Lloyds, HSBC and NatWest). Frustrated at one bank she says, "You know I would like to keep this account open and I'll be using it at some point in the future in my career - no chance you'd like to be more accommodating?" No dice.

One might try to argue that this rigor and attention to absurd detail is what protects the UK banking system - but we're talking DEPOSITS here. In effect, the system just stopped a few thousand US dollars from making their way into the coffers of UK banks that probably needed it and instead is earning a US bank a few more dollars in fees as I'm now drawing cash as I need it out of protest. I was told by a fellow student from Italy that there the situation is even worse - if I had walked into an Italian bank with the same request, I'd probably be laughed at. "You're not Italian, you'd never get an account... unless you were really rich or something, then maybe."

I also find it amusing that no matter where I am or what I'm buying, clerks ALWAYS insist on checking my signature against my credit card. One clerk said to me, "Do you have another sample, this card's been smudged a bit and I can't see your signature well enough." I rolled my eyes at her and said kindly, "You'll notice that my PHOTOGRAPH is on the front of the card... If I had stolen a credit card, do you think I'd use it to buy milk and bread? Actually, I'd be in Tahiti right now or in the electronics store buying a flat-screen." She didn't think I was funny, and I should be grateful that they're so worried about my protection. But when in a rush, I find myself constantly thinking, "Come ON people!"

Someone who knows more about the differences in credit and banking regulations systems might point out here that our looseness in the US pervades all the way down to the consumer experience and may be exactly the reason why our system is being checked and buckled right now. Maybe it's time we started being just a little more careful, even if it slows us down? If you ask me, in London, trying to get sh$^%^ done on a rainy day when I've no patience for inefficiency (which is always), I'd actually probably say, "screw it, this is ridiculous!" But maybe that's part of the problem. Thoughts??