INSEAD, Week 3

Life at INSEAD is starting to settle into the rhythm we can expect for the next few periods. I now have a local bank account, a mobile phone plan, a new Nokia E63 , and very very soon, a car (a 1999 Renault Clio). Looking forward to regional trips, and I’ve already promised some people I’ll help them go clubbing in Paris on weekend nights with it.

Today is Sunday, a day of rest. In France Sunday is a day of rest whether you want it to be or not, and if you’re not careful, Saturday quickly becomes a day of rest as well after a late morning following a night of revelry. Scarce business hours are maintained very strongly. We’re in classes all day every day, so going to school and getting personal administration done are mutually exclusive tasks. Today I cooked three times! I cooked an omelette with fried peppers and onions for breakfast accompanied by tea and rye loaf with brie cheese, a very elegant pasta with white and the rest of the brie for lunch (Provencal spices, salt ad pepper), and steak and rice with more fried onions for dinner. My roommate from China got a few mouthfuls of the steak and didn’t regurgitate, so it passes. A delicious day, and I’m happily full.

INSEAD’s core curriculum for the first period contains these courses; .1 Prices and Markets (another name for the Microeconomics we all know and love), 2. Uncertainty, Data, and Judgement (that’s one course, not three) which captures Probability Statistics, and how not to make an ass of oneself in gambling kinds of situations. 3. Financial Markets and Valuation evidently taught by the runner up for Austin Powers’ Dr. Evil until Mike Myers decided to play the part himself (I’m serious, all our professor needs is a shaved scalp and a white pussycat to stroke and he’s him, accent, attitude and all. If you ever read this, Professor, know that I actually really enjoy your courses and you’re a fantastic instructor. . . ) (phew) Then come the “soft skills” courses, those are Ethics and Leaderships. No, the Leadership classes aren’t all taught on ropes courses, but I wish they were. Ethics is actually really interesting. I like all of the discussions where we’re debating shades of grey – which I usually debate while coming from their dark side.

Speaking of the finance class (because it really is fascinating, Professor) I was noting that the course isn’t teachable without interjecting precepts of good ol’ capitalist thought which, true to form, Professor provides in generous servings. He emphasized above all else the value of "maximizing the size of the pie" (like, as opposed to consideration of that pastry baker's free time), and that maximum economic efficiency was enabled by the combination of price knowledge, private property, and greed. (Greed, you know, like in the academic sense . . . ). That opening class made me imagine what it would have been like for students behind the old iron curtain to take an economics class - I'm sure they got their dose of the party line while they were still absorbing the course syllabus too - must discussion of the prevailing philosophy of economic management precede the rest of a finance course in any society? Does the study of finance exist independent of the values and political philophy containing it, or is it always a colossus with clay feet? Makes me wonder what they're learning right now over at Tsing Hua. "Well, first you hack into foreign companys' servers, harvest whatever intellectual property you couldn't get from earlier joint ventures, and then use that edge to develop the harmonious and yet newly competitive society. Above all keep the nation's currency domestic and undervalued". I'm just kidding, I'm sure our peers over there are learning all of the free market theory we are. But I wonder if they are as surprised as we are when it comes time to apply theories like consumer value and pricing efficiency to the mundane act of buying a cell phone plan and realizing that practically there are only ever two or three cell phone carriers to choose from inside these free markets we're all members of. .

My roommates have each been sick the past two weeks. Last week on Saturday there was a party sponsored by one of the management consultancies (brand name, you’ve heard of them, don’t need mentioning in case their recruiters manage to lurk my blog). For many it went until 4am, and folks didn’t get home until 5. That really screwed up the week that follows for a lot of us – there were a lot of sleepy folks on Monday, and the academic schedule and homework commitments for the first three days were relentlessly unforgiving. Fatigue took its toll on peoples’ immune systems. Wednesday morning saw many people coughing throughout lecture. Amazing that with two sick roommates I’ve remained healthy. Come a short respite Thursday morning , everyone got in what personal and admin activities they could. My teammate got a perm (you look great!), I put a downpayment on my car.

Now let’s see, I need to put up a picture of something. What do I have . . . (browsing through my Flip camera videos) I will try to upload a few videos (and if you watch carefully, I even risk blowing my anonymity – could this be a start of a trend towards full disclosure . . . ? Scary . . . ) The first video is as titled, a snowy entry to campus. The second video is during a trip with Outward Bound (like a ropes course, but very organizational theory oriented). Hmm, Blogger's not letting me put up the second video, (why am I still using this service?) So perhaps I'll add the Outward Bound video to the next post.