All of Davis_Goodman's Comments + Replies

I used a case study (widely used in English classes in MBA programs) on how to deal with global warming in business situations. This ranges from predicting the future costs of global warming on business (or benefits), having a policy or stand on global warming, the benefits of using green technology in response to global warming etc. An international businessperson should be able to express their stance on environmental issues in English.

In continental Europe global warming is not particularly controversial in politics, public opinion, the business world o... (read more)

5brazil84
That sounds correct to me, however there is a danger that membership in a tribe other than that of the professor will undermine the student's grade or standing in the eyes of the professor. Which in fact looks like it may have happened in your case. Well apparently it was controversial in your class. Anyway, so that I understand what you are saying, can you please tell me your definition of "global warming"?

Would it change anything if the subjects were extremely cute puppies with eyes so wide and innocent that even the hardest lumberjack would soon?

It was one of the highest ranking business schools in the world. It wouldn't be fair to "out" the school based on my own limited experience with one group of students.

0[anonymous]
Why? The fact that it is so famous means that it's perfectly capable of dealing with a little negative publicity.
0Jayson_Virissimo
Okay, fair enough.

I taught advanced English at the MBA level at one of Europe's most prestigious MBA programs and another prep course for a different well known MBA program. When I started the unit on market vocabulary I found that they couldn't explain what a publicly traded company was (towards the end of their MBA specialising in management and finance). I basically had to teach them both English and the fundamentals of economics, business and finance.

When I taught a unit on global warming and its effect on business...my students (most of them from Latin America) were sc... (read more)

0brazil84
It's a huge red flag for me if someone tries to teach a controversial political issue in an English class. However, I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn that MBA programs are mainly selling credentials and not knowledge. If you are mainly interested in knowledge, you can probably get it for free online; in books; or by simply sitting in on MBA classes.
3Vladimir_Nesov
Clueless students is not much evidence about epistemic status of the content of the courses they took. There are places that graduate similarly clueless physics and engineering students (who use the degree to get jobs doing something else).
2Jayson_Virissimo
Nitpick: Investing in stocks can be safe...if their performance is sufficiently uncorrelated with each other. Just to be clear (if you don't mind answering), are you referring to IE Business School? If so, I find this very surprising.