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MBA curriculums nationwide are making some changes, many say due to the recent ’08 economic crisis in an attempt to focus more on business ethics and areas that MBA programs have previously neglected.

According to a recent article from Bloomberg Businessweek, written by Francesca Di Meglio, Haas School of Business at UC-Berkeley is among these schools to make such notable changes, which Dean Richard Lyons hopes will ultimately cause a “revolution” by producing what he terms as “path-bending leaders.” 

The biggest change to Haas’ program is the new emphasis in analytical thinking, flexibility and creativity.  Additionally, two primary courses have been restructured: “Leadership & Communication” and “Leading People.”  Also, a new one-unit course has been added called “Problem Finding and Problem Solving.”  Workshops and coaching sessions on leadership skills are also now included in the new Haas curriculum.

Why the new changes?  Lyons and the Haas community created these changes from a very personal standpoint.  Lyons is quoted with saying: “Society faces a host of [issues] – be it in health care, energy, materials use, demographic implications, safe water, etc.  If paths continue in a straight line, they will hit a wall in our kids’ lifetime, if not our own.” 

Other schools have also been seeing somewhat of a dramatic course overhaul – some of which include Yale School of Management, Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Ross School of Business. 

According to an article by Greg Bordonaro from HartfordBusiness.com, the University of Connecticut School of Business is trying to create a more student-centric curriculum that gives students a larger say in their overall academic plan.  In the long run, the school eventually plans to cut its traditional concentrations, such as finance, marketing, information technology and real estate to allow students to make for themselves a more individual plan of study within those majors or disciplines.

UConn hopes its business school will climb into the top 20 rankings of MBA programs in Forbes Magazine, as it currently remains 27^th. 

John Fernandes, president and CEO of The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, insists that allowing students more ability to choose their curriculum is a must.  According to HartfordBusiness.com, Fernandes also claims B-Schools are attempting to churn out more well-rounded students, who have an ethical compass to guide them in future business decisions.  He says, “It’s not enough to just make money anymore.  You must also be a good citizen.  Many MBA programs are focusing their curriculum on building individuals with enhanced ethical capacity and a stronger commitment to society.” 

Many students at Hass felt like the changes in the program were a long time coming.  Other business schools, such as Yale, implemented a change in curriculum as early as 2006 with interdisciplinary courses around particular organizations or customers and investors.  Stanford began a new curriculum that was focused around customization and flexibility, allowing students to tailor their coursework to their previous education, work experience and future ambitions.

While some critics may question the usefulness of an MBA in today’s society, these curriculum changes seem to be the answer to that question.  Businessweek quotes David Garvin, a professor at Harvard by saying, “We talked to many deans and executives and they all say that there’s a greater need for self-awareness on the part of MBAs.” 

Looks like these changes are here to stay.

When writing either your independent or integrated TOEFL essay, keep in mind there are certain words that will make your writing come across as more academic and intelligent.  Coherence is essential for getting a high score on the writing section. Often times there are specific words you can try to incorporate in your essay that will make your essay easier to read.

Perhaps the most difficult thing on the integrated essay is connecting ideas. After all, you are connecting ideas from both a reading passage and an academic lecture.  As we know, sometimes the information from both sources is contradictory and sometimes similar.  Several hints and corresponding words for your integrated essay would be:

1)    Always tell the reader where your information is coming from. For instance, is the information you are comparing or contrasting from the reading or listening?  It’s important the grader knows that you know which is which.  When presenting information from either, keep in mind you should add some variety to your citations.

“According to the lecture…”

“The reading states…”

“According to the speaker/lecturer….”

“The reading made the point that….”

Remember to alternate how you quote your sources. Otherwise your essays can get repetitive and come across as not very sophisticated.

2)    When showing examples, keep in mind variety is also key. After all, examples are the bulk of your information. So when presenting them in your essay, don’t forget to “mix it up.”  Here are some ways you can do so, with many more options out there.

“For instance…”

“As an example…”

“In addition…”

“Also…”

Using variety in your integrated essay with how you cite your sources and give your examples will make for more interesting reading and can only help you attain the highest TOEFL score possible.

In face of the increased competition from GRE, administered by the ETS, and the changes in admissions processes preferred by business school worldwide, Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) has decided to add a new section, Integrated Reasoning, to its challenging Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).  This new section of the exam is designed to test advanced reasoning skills and is separately scored from the total 800 score of verbal and quantitative sections. It is to launch in the 10th edition of the GMAT on June 4, 2012, less than two years away from now.

In spring 2010, GMAC piloted the new section with current MBA students and plans to pilot it again with thousands of students this fall.

GMAC states: “The new section will replace one of the two writing sections currently on the exam.  It will be scored separately and have a new audio component for some questions.  The test’s current verbal and math sections will remain unchanged.”  The new changes in the exam are the following:

• Test takers will need to interpret charts, graphs, and spreadsheets, and answer interactive questions that will test their analytical skills.
• Test takers will be asked to analyze information, draw out conclusions and determine relationships between data points.
• Test takers will wear headphones while taking this portion of the test.  The use of headphones is a new feature that will help schools assess students’ auditory learning style.
• Rather than just multiple-choice questions, test takers will drag-and-drop data points, as well, as write mini-essays.

GMAC has released a sample question similar to questions that will appear on the new test. Students are asked to look at a table that sorts like a spreadsheet and detail the number of passengers and airline movements at 21 airports around the world. They are then presented with a list of statements about the information in the table and asked to determine which of the statements are true based on the data in the spreadsheet. Other exercises include using the same table to evaluate the reason for or likelihood of certain outcomes, or to use the table to determine where other airports rank.  Some other possible questions may be to determine a country’s plans for a road.  This would include looking at maps and government data.

Below is a sample question with the data tables and charts test takers will see in the new version of the GMAT. To view the data table and graph click on the link below!

Sample Question Data Table/Graph

1. Of the models with Gasoline Engine Type, the model with the greatest ratio of City MPG to Highway MPG is also the model with the greatest difference between Highway MPG and City MPG.


2. The minimum City MPG for a Toyota make is less than the maximum City MPG for a Volkswagen make.


3. A model chosen at random from those models with a Highway MPG greater than 30 miles per gallon has a 50% chance of being a Toyota.


4. The median carbon footprint for all models is greater than the mode carbon footprint for all models.


5. The standard deviation of the Highway MPG values for all BMW models is lower than the standard deviation of the Highway MPG values for all Toyota models.

Integrated Reasoning Answers: Statements 1 and 4 are FALSE; Statements 2, 3, and 5 are TRUE.

Why the new changes?  These changes are due to the evolving trends seen in business school classrooms.  This is a way to distinguish between those students who will adapt well in the classroom rather than just score a high score on the GMAT, making it easier for business schools to select who to be admitted. This new change is welcomed with great enthusiasm by business schools. GMAC created the section after b-school faculty members expressed a preference for proof that students could read, synthesize and reason well from a set of data within a limited amount of time without relevant in-depth knowledge and any memorization.

The addition of 30-minute Integrated Reasoning in replacement of one of the Analytical Writing Assessment sections is the biggest change to GMAT since it became a computer-adaptive test in the late 1990s. Other recent year changes occurred in 2006 after the switch over of the test administration from the ETS to Pearson. However those changes are more in rules and format, less in content.

Some students may fear that with this new section added to the GMAT, their score may not be as high than with the old exam.  Fear not.  GMAC is planning outreach and educational programs for business school faculty and students.  These programs will include information sessions and details on the new tests.

To get a better sense on the new integrated reasoning section click on the title below:

 Next Generation GMAT Question Demonstration

We at Manhattan Review wholeheartedly support such a constructive change on the GMAT and are prepared to incorporate the teaching of the new section into our curriculum. We strongly feel that without changing the existing verbal and math questions and one of the writing sections, the new Integrated Reasoning section will make the test much improved and effective while minimizing implementation costs. A win-win solution for all parties involved! However, this new section does seem to put more emphasis on extensive data analysis, which might be a challenge for students who are not used to seeing a large amount of data in a spreadsheet format. 

In terms of the independent essay, we are not so much citing sources as we are trying to link our ideas together.  While it’s true you are giving specific examples and, of course, example phrases and words will prove to be useful, your independent essay is significantly longer than your integrated essay and involves not only a strong opinion/thesis statement, but also often times personal examples.

1)    When linking ideas, try your best to use different “connecting words.” You don’t always want to use “and” throughout the course of your essay, so here are some other suggestions, with many more options out there, when trying to link ideas in your writing.

“because…”

“furthermore…”

“while…”

“consequently”

2)    Since your independent essay is a persuasive one with the sole purpose of expressing an opinion with supporting arguments, keep in mind using strong words to emphasize your point is crucial in writing an effective essay. Here are some suggestions of words to emphasize your point.

“clearly…”

“obviously…”

“certainly…”

“indeed…”

In the end, strong writing on the TOEFL independent essay section requires you to display unity, coherence and an advanced understanding of both question prompts.  Adding variety to your word choice will also help along the way!

As many TOEFL-bound students may know, ETS gives 30 minutes to plan, write and edit the independent essay.  Sometimes, test-takers jump right into the writing portion of the essay and forgo the “planning stage” altogether.  Planning, or outlining your independent essay, is crucial to giving you the basic information to write your essay effectively.  How do you outline an essay?  It involves the following steps.

Brainstorming involves you writing down all the possible ideas, stream-of-consciousness that enter your mind in regards to the given topic.  Take a look at the following example of brainstorming on an independent writing TOEFL topic:

TOPIC: Do you believe students should be required to wear school uniforms?  Why or why not?  Use details and examples in your explanation.

BRAINSTORMING (2-3 minutes)

- disagree

- inhibits creativity

- middle school: black pants, white shirt, uncomfortable

- hated wearing uniforms as a child

- university – no uniforms

- more fun with sense of style – discovery

- open environment/accepting

- freedom of choice good for education

The above was written in about 2 minutes on the given topic in regards to wearing school uniforms.  Again, this step is called brainstorming and is free association with the given topic.  After the brainstorming stage, you should go directly to the outlining stage, which should take a little less time.

Outlining requires you to take information from the brainstorming stage and organize it into the skeleton of your essay.  This outline will be the blueprint, so to speak, for your independent TOEFL essay.

OUTLINE (1-2 minutes)

-       thesis: disagree with uniforms

-       1^st point: inhibits creativity (personal example from middle school and how my creativity suffered due to a strict uniform policy)

-       In general, students were not as happy and often times, their artwork was dismal and depressing because they were not allowed to experiment with color in their wardrobe

-       2^nd point: increases an open mind (personal example: during university, there was no dress code and this made people more accepting of others and their sense of style). In general, this was good for education and allowed us to approach one another with an open mind.

Having the above outline will come in handy when actually sitting at your keyboard and typing out a 300-400-word essay.  Not only does the outline help you work faster, but it also helps the overall organization of your essay.  Remember – in addition to supporting points and examples, TOEFL writing section graders also judge organization and coherence.

Advice: Practice at home outline essays from various TOEFL independent writing topics.  You’ll be surprised how easy it can be to do in 5 minutes and how useful it will prove itself during your test!