Many MBA applicants feel that they are purchasing a brand when they choose a business school. However, the educational experience you will have is what is crucial to your future, and no one will affect your education more than your professors. Today, we focus on Ramon Casadesus-Masanell from Harvard Business School (HBS).
Ramon Casadesus-Masanell has been a member of the Harvard Business School faculty since 2000 and is currently the Herman C. Krannert Professor of Business Administration. His “Competing Through Business Models” course is an elective that, according to a student we interviewed, is typically oversubscribed. They noted that students must rank it among their top five course choices to have a shot at getting in, adding, “People enjoyed him so much they were willing to sign up for his 8:30 a.m. class.” As a part of the course, Casadesus-Masanell teaches cases on many industries, including airlines, consumer packaged goods, and manufacturing. A recent graduate we interviewed mentioned that Casadesus-Masanell keeps cases fresh and has included interesting business models such as Betfair (an online betting website), Greenpeace, and Osho (the spiritual guru). He also teaches the RC “Strategy” course.
Students told mbaMission they love Casadesus-Masanell’s teaching style, which they describe as incredibly engaging and high energy—sometimes he even jumps up on tables or runs quickly around the classroom. He pushes students in a good, even-tempered way and leverages technology well, incorporating video and game simulations into case discussions. Casadesus-Masanell also serves as co-editor of the Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, which his faculty profile describes as “the leading academic journal on the economics of strategy.”
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