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When you think about MTV, you probably first think about new tunes, cool celebrities, and slick music videos. But MTV also is a large international corporation—one that provided three students in the College of Business Administration’s Master of International Business (MIB) program with an excellent learning experience.
Erica Gjorven (MIB ’06, BA ’03, BS ’01), Nelisa Chacin (MIB ’06), and Ekta Thani (MIB ’06, BBA ’04) worked together on two projects at MTV Latin America to complete their MIB final project. “The first project we did focused on business analysis,” Gjorven said. “We then tackled a second competitive analysis project. On both projects, we received excellent feedback from the MTV staff along the way. We were given the opportunity to listen to their feedback and go back to the work to strengthen our research and fine-tune our recommendations.” Chacin appreciated the fact that the MTV team was always very clear about commitments, requirements, and expectations for project assignments.
“We met weekly, either by phone or in person, so we had the chance to confirm that we were heading in the right direction and to ask questions as they arose,” she said. “This project really helped me learn to not be afraid to ask questions. It’s always better to ask first than to operate under what could be an incorrect assumption.” The chance to observe an international corporation firsthand provided an invaluable experience for Thani. “I learned that analysis and decision making can take a lot more time and effort than you might think. Large global companies like MTV are constantly searching for ways to improve their performance and market share—and that is the only way to stay on top,” she said. MTV was clearly pleased with the results of the projects.
“We appreciate the students and the school for helping us,” said Victor A. Kong, vice president of strategy, new media development, and sales with MTV Networks Latin America. “Both projects were completed successfully. In one project, the students did a good job of putting all the facts together and reaching a sound recommendation. In the second project, they delivered a very useful presentation. We came out of the meeting with very specific action items to focus on.” Get real-world experience with real cool companies. These two MIB projects were the first ones completed for MTV. Other participating international companies include Burger King, Caterpillar, DHL, and Mattel. “I often compare the MIB final project to a cold swim in the morning,” said Tomislav Mandakovic, associate dean of the Chapman Graduate School of Business, faculty director of the MIB, and overseer of the capstone project. “It gives our students the opportunity to dive in and see what working in an international company is really all about.”
Mandakovic went on to explain that the MIB final project program follows a defined learning process. “We give students exposure to real international issues so they develop an in-depth understanding of cultural complexities,” he said. “They also learn the importance of project time allocation and the need to recognize the differences between spoken and actual requirements.” The students walked away new insights into the inner workings of international business. “Our MIB projects at MTV emphasized the importance of being able to look at situations objectively and to think both short term and long term when tackling a business problem,” Gjorven said. “The work helped hone my analytical skills.” Chacin welcomed the opportunity “to take what’s learned in all our classes on business models, finance, and strategy and see how that knowledge can be applied to tackle actual international business challenges.” From Thani’s perspective, “The final project is the best part of the whole MIB program. We got to deal with an international company that actually listened to our input while helping us understand the way a successful international business works.”
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