To change this situation, I've recently started keeping my study time in a record.  Since I started, my study-time has dramatically increased.  This week, I studied ten hours more than the previous week.  This finding was quite shocking to me, realizing how many hours I would have been wasting.  What I am doing now for my time-keeping is I track how many hours I studied for one class subject every day, and add them at the end of the week to see how many hours I've studied in a week.  I guess this way, I am now more conscious about how to use my time.  So far, this little idea is working great, and I enjoy banking more study hours in my book of record, just like pinching pennies to save money.

I am not sure how long this simple idea keeps inspiring me for adding more time for study.  Maybe not that long.  There are only 24 hours a day, and I need a certain amount of time a day for my basic daily needs.  I just wonder…how many hours are enough for study?  And how many hours does a typical full-time student study a day (or a week)?       

In Summer 2009, we will be offering a special block section of D301 International Business that will include a trip to France.  This is going to be a great opportunity!  The class will be offered in the Summer I session.  It will include 2 weeks in the class, seven to nine days in France, and then the final week in the classroom.  The class will be scheduled in a block with a general education course POLS Y350 – Politics of the European Union that will look at the political and social structure of the European Union.  This will provide a good combination of business and culture to understand how business operates in Europe. 

The location of our trip will be Strasbourg France.  From Strasburg we will be making a number of trips to locations in the area.  This will be in concert with faculty in Strasbourg, who are helping to organize the local arrangements.

For a short tour of Strasbourg visit, http://www.strasbourg.com/

Strasbourg is also located in the beautiful Alsace region of France, http://abcoffrance.com/alsace/

French is not a requirement of the course.  The six credit hour block will be able to be used to complete the international dimension for Kelley students.  D301 may be taken either before or after ICore, so students in their sophomore through Senior years are encouraged to participate in this opportunity.

The block course will be limited to 20 students.  Students wishing to participate in the course will be asked to complete an application for the course.  We are just in the early stages of obtaining information on the course.  Soon we will more information on the cost of the program, the locations that we anticipate on traveling to in France and Germany, and the structure of the course.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity!  Make plans with your academic advisor to participate in this special block section of D301.  Email Maureen Kinney telling her your interest in the course, so that as we obtain information, we can have you on our mailing list (maukinne@iupui.edu ).

The Alsace region surrounding Strasbourg is a vibrant business region and draws foreign investment from a number of large multinational companies.  Companies within reach of Strasbourg include Lilly France, Roche, Dow France, Wrigley France, Smart France, Fischer Bioblock, Mercedes Benz, and Heineken Breweries. 

Strasbourg is situated on the Franco-German border. Strasbourg was German controled from 1871 until the end of World War I and again between 1940 and 1944. The city and people have a distinctive local identity. The name Strasbourg comes from Strateburgum, ‘the city of the roads’, because of its strategic geographical position on the west bank of the Rhine.

Top Sights

• Council of Europe
• European Court of Human Rights
• European Parliament
• The Cathedral
• La Petite France
• Ponts Couverts
• Musée Zoologique

Just wanted to update everyone on the soccer season. We won our two games last weekend which puts our record at 2-2. One of our toughest opponents comes this weekend when we play Louisville in Louisville. Louisville is a top 30 team and beating them will be a great win for our team.

Other than soccer, school is going well. Homework is coming quick and often which is not fun. However, on a positive note, my one credit Geology class concludes in about 3 weeks so that will be great.

Hope everyone is doing well!

John

To wrap things up, I hope everyone is having a great start to the school year. It will go by fast, at least that is what I keep telling myself.

Kelley House will be officially “Open for Business” September 3rd at 4:00pm. We are having a ribbon cutting ceremony in front of the Kelley House in the Campus Apartments. A few words will be spoken by the Dean of the Kelley School of Business, the Director of Housing and Residence Life, along with the RA for the Kelley House (which is me). After that we will cut the ribbon and food will then be provided. We are also giving away tons of prizes for residents! This should be a great event to start off a great year.

Move in day was August 17th for all residents living in Kelley House. This was also a great event. The Dean, Advisors, Assistant Directors, along with other Kelley students volunteered the day to help the new residents move in to the Kelley House. New students and families were able to meet Kelley faculty their first day on campus. Imagine the Dean coming out to your car, helping to carry your clothes and boxes up to your room. Imagine your advisor and directors from the business school helping to carry your T.V., towels, and computers to your room.  Many students and parents did not know what was going on at first. They were wondering why all of these people were helping to carry all their belongings to their room for them. They were expecting to spend an hour unloading the car, instead it took a total of 10 minutes per resident, with all the help we had. Both the parents and residents appreciated the help. They were even more excited when they found out the Dean had carried their clothes up to their room. The parents took time to meet and talk with the faculty. This was a win win situation for both the residents and families, as well as Kelley faculty.

We are currently planning events for the Kelley House. For the Month of September we have events such as:

         September 3rd, 2008: Kelley House Grand Opening    4:00pm-6:00pm   Campus Apartments

        September  7th, 2008:  Colts vs. Bears                          7:00pm-12:00am   Campus Apartments

        September  17th 2008: Business Etiquette Lunch        11:30am-1:30pm    University Hotel

        September 26th 2008: Day of Caring                             9:00am-2:00pm       Canal & White River

Many events are planned by other departments on campus. The purpose of these events is to involve residents while learning and having fun at the same time.  We want to make the living experience in Kelley House like no other!!!!!! We are off to a great start………………………………

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The packs filled with books and ready to go,

in hopes that we'd get 12 feet of snow.


The students were all snoozing in bed,

while visions of more Summer danced in their heads.

From the silence arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

 

Away to the alarm clock I flew in a flash

With a quickness, I hit Snooze with a clash.

 

Well, again, it's time for our favorite time of year! A brand new fall semester! I hope everyone had a wonderful Summer break and is rested and ready to learn! (Well, at least work on that one!)

The hospitality shown by the Yonsei staff has truly made this a great experience.  I enjoy doing many different types of things in the summer and this is one of those experiences that I may do again in the future. 

 The scheduling of classes during the summer allowed me time to interact with the students and experience the culture and beauty of Korea.   I enjoyed the interaction with the students both during class and in meetings with students outside of the classroom.  Not all of my students were business majors, so I found it interesting working with students in the sciences or engineering.  Many of the students in my class were also interested in masters programs, so I was able to answer some of their questions in considering their future goals.  I encouraged several of them to gain a few years of work experience before applying to a program, so they could attend a better Master’s programs.  Most MBA programs require at least 2 years of work experience.  The better the program, the better the job opportunities.  If you ever researched MBA programs, the salary differentials for graduates of top quality programs and lower level programs are huge. 

The weekends allowed me the opportunity to travel and experience many of the great palaces, temples, and mountains of Korea. It is a great country. These are the main items that I wrote about in my earlier blogs.  I would have never considered Korea as a travel destination before hosting a foreign exchange student from Korea, but having experienced the wonders of Korea, I would enjoy returning again. The kindness shown by our exchange student’s family made for a great trip and many connections.

Bukhansan National Park

Bukhansan National Park is just to the North of Seoul.  It is one of the areas, we almost did not go to.  As I always find at home, the closer an area is to your house, the less likely you are to go to it.  Over our time in Korea, we visited the port city of Busan to the South, Seoraksan National Park to the Northeast, and the beaches to the west.  This weekend, we decided to stay in Seoul and see the wonders of Bukhansan.  We had heard it was beautiful, but this trip became a highlight of our trip to Korea. 

Bukhansan is known for Bukhansan Peak and for Dondosan peeks.  We choose the tallest peak at about 873 meters.  My children set a fast pace, determined to get to the top before the sun set.  The weather was perfect  The day before it had rained, so today was humid but a bit cooler.  The climb up to the peek was one of the more strenuous climbs that I have been on.  At times the huge rocks of the cliff jutted out of the ground at very steep angels, but the cables along the trail, gave us something to pull ourselves up with.  At times, I wondered how some of the climbers were able to stay on the rock without the use of the cable. 

Once at the top, the beauty below was amazing!  To the South is the city of Seoul.  We made it to the top just prior to sunset, so the sun was far enough down in the sky that it seemed to shimmer off of the buildings below.  To the North was the beauty of many other cliffs.  There are many areas to hike in at the park and the trails are full of people.  We also watched others rock climb using ropes and pulleys.  It is a great location.

Bukhansan National Park is in the Guiness Book of World Records for having the highest number of visitors per square foot, over 5 million people visit Bukhansan each year.  It is well worth the trip.

Unfortunately, I did not get many pictures from the top, as I forgot to recharge my camera battery before leaving.  But here are a couple of pictures that you might enjoy.

http://bus.iupui.edu/carow/pictures/Bukhan1.jpg
http://bus.iupui.edu/carow/pictures/Bukhan2.jpg
http://asiaenglish.visitkorea.or.kr/ena/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=312935

If you have teenage children, you couldn’t imagine visiting another country without visiting their amusement and water parks.  In the Seoul are the amusement parks include Lotte World and Everland and the water park is Caribbean Bay.

Lotte World is a large indoor amusement park with some rides that are also located outside.  We visited Lotte World on a rainy day, so we spent most of the time indoors.  Fortunately, late in the evening, the weather cleared and we had enough time to go on almost all the rides that were outside.  It was a good time and worth the visit.  The rides were not huge, but we did enjoy the trip.
http://www.lotteworld.com/Global_eng/01_Adventure/AA001.asp?mn=Mn101

Everland is a bit harder to get to, but worth the trip.  It is South of Seoul and one must take a bus to get to the area, since no metro connects to this park.  We enjoyed several large roller coaters, include a wooden roller coaster that has the steepest ride for a wooden roller coaster in the world (77 degrees).   The coaster opened up just a few months earlier, so the line was a bit long (about 80 minutes), but well worth the weight.  They also had a coaster that had two upside down loops and several twists that took you upside down.    The rock and roll rides in the park were set to shake you about like I have never been shaken before.  The unexpected nature and direction of the ride made it a great deal of fun.  I posted a few pictures below of some of the rides.
Wooden Roller Coaster Ride as shown on YouTube http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=AKHgOggts_M
If you like to be shook around, take a ride on a guitar, http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=pGCpZWGU8IU

The water park, Caribbean Bay was a disappointment.  It was overpriced, oversold, underwaved, and a basic waste of time.  The lines for any of the rides were over 2 hours.  The wave pool was so crowded that they really could not get the waves going well.  We were glad to be back home after a long day of being on our feet.
  

Seoraksan National Park is located to the Northeast corner of South Korea.  It is known for its natural beauty and, of course, hiking trails.  This weekend we choose to brave the traffic and I rented a car.  Driving in Seoul is no fun.  Not only is it more congested than any city I have been in, but figuring out the streets and the signs in another language adds to the complexity.  A navigational unit that gave directions in English was a definite plus, but I was very glad once we got out of the traffic and into the country.  To get to Seoraksan, you either take bus or rent a car, there is no train going to this part of the country, which is why fewer foreign tourists visit this area.  But if you enjoy hiking, it is a must-see in Korea. Driving across the countryside was great, but if I did this trip again, I would probably take the bus and leave the driving and traffic to someone else.  Buses are also able to get to places faster since some of the highways have dedicated bus lanes.  Both on the way into and out of Seoul the stop-and-go traffic added about 2 hours to our trip.

Unfortunately, it rained all day Friday and Saturday while we were there.  Hoping the rain would clear up, we visited the town of Sokcho, walked around the beach, up to a lighthouse, and drove around the town.     

On Saturday, we decided that rain or not, we were hiking the mountains of Seoraksan.  The rain was a steady rain, without much wind.  It actually had some advantages to it.  The weather over the last couple of weeks had been near 90 F, and the humidity was also very high, making all our hikes very hot adventures.  With the rain, it was actually comfortable hiking.  No more sweating on the walks up the mountain, unless if the kids turned it into a run up the mountain, which we did on some sections of the trail.  Usually the steeper parts where my wife did not join the kids and I. 

The first hike was to a waterfall.  The rain also had some advantages here.  Unlike park in Seoul where we went to see a waterfall and found it had no water, there was plenty of water running through the park on this day.  The waterfalls were beautiful with the extra water.  We did about a 3 hour hike in the morning and a 2 hour hike in the afternoon.  If you don’t enjoy walking up the mountains, they also had a cable car for one of the mountains in Seoraksan.
http://bus.iupui.edu/carow/pictures/Seorak1.jpg

On Sunday, we had a break in the rain, so we quickly got on the trails to see a few more sites.  Our hotel was located in the park, so we did not have far to go to start our journey.  Just behind the hotel was a large Buddha, about 30 meters high.  While there are many Buddhist temples throughout Korea, it was also interesting seeing all the Christian churches.  Estimates suggest that about 40 percent of the population is Christian.
http://bus.iupui.edu/carow/pictures/Seorak2.jpg

Next we traveled up a steep trail to get to the peak of a mountain.  At the peak, a Buddhist monk had made a temple.  Many of the Buddhist shrines are near or high up in the mountains.  I sometimes wondered on our trip if this cultural history gave rise to the great interest in hiking in Korea.  I suspect that if I did a bit more studying on this, I could find a link.  The first picture is the Buddhist temple at the top of the mountain.  I wonder how the monk originally got to this cave.  He must have been a great rock climber.  For us to get there, they connected a set of stairs to the side of the mountain.  You could look over the edge of the stairs and see down 100s of feet.  See the picture of us walking down. 
http://bus.iupui.edu/carow/pictures/Seorak3.jpg
http://bus.iupui.edu/carow/pictures/Seorak4.jpg

We also visited Siheungsa temple.  This is a Zen temple  built around 652 A.D.  Some suggest this is the oldest Zen temple in the world writes Dr. John Carter Covell.  It actually predates many of the temples in China and Japan by several centuries.  
http://bus.iupui.edu/carow/pictures/Seorak5.jpg

It is always interesting seeing Korean hiking.  Many Koreans carry a great deal of hiking equipment, backpack and hiking sticks.  You can tell how serious they are about hiking.  As we hiked more in Korea, we lighted our pack each time, till near the end of our trip we left the backpack behind.  Every hiking trail we have been on there are vendors selling a variety of food, water, soda, juices, Gatorade, and ice cream.  Instead of carrying as much stuff, we started to rely on finding supplies as we walked up the mountains.  For me, it made it much more enjoyable not to carry the extra load.  A common tradition seems to be hiking to a location and having a great meal also.  Many of the trails had places to get great Korean meals on the trail.  Every once in a while, you would see a man carrying two large propane tanks up the mountain so that the restaurants in the mountain could cook the food for their guests.  I loved the hiking in Korea.  Always great trails and great food.

We traveled to the port city of Busan on the Southern par t of Korea.  From Seoul to Busan took only about 2.5 hours on the KTX rail.  The KTX will travel at speeds of up to 300 km/h (about 180 mph).  It is a great way to get around the country in a fast smooth ride.

We first went to Haeundae Beach, which is the most popular beach in Korea.  The waves were great and the water wasn’t too cold.  We had a great time jumping around the waves. 
http://bus.iupui.edu/carow/pictures/Busan1.jpg

The following day we took a bus to Taujongdae Park.  It is on a peninsula that juts out into the ocean.  We did some extensive walking along the coastline and then visited a lighthouse at the end of the peninsula. 
http://bus.iupui.edu/carow/pictures/Busan2.jpg
http://bus.iupui.edu/carow/pictures/Busan3.jpg

 

This internship have been quite invaluable to me, not only gaining a real experience as an auditor, but also giving me the opportunities that I could apply a lot of bits and dots that I've learned in class to the real job.  I remember someone said something like this; Education that we gain at school is not necessarily helpful in a real life situation.  But it has certainly been "a lot" of help to me with this internship.  Let me tell you one example I just had today:

I was working on the audit steps related to the "other expenses" cycle.  I needed to perform an analysis for the two pension accounts; SERP Pension and Pension Expenses (Defined Benefit Plan).  There were work papers provided by the Company showing the actual pension fund amounts and the Company's general ledger prints.  When I first looked at these work papers, I immediately recalled the worksheets we've used so many times in A511; Defined Benefit Plan worksheet - showing the general journal entries and the memo indicating the actual fund status.  I cannot forget how much work I've done for the pension expense calculation; it was a complicated concept for me to understand at that time.  But because I've worked hard in class, it was somewhat easy for me to understand the overall process that the Company did for its pension fund recording, and I could complete the steps without confusion.  I do remember that Prof. Hassell said that we may even never encounter the company which uses Defined Benefit Plan - because nowadays the most of the companies are leaning toward Defined Contribution Plan - , and here I did see one real life example!

This is just a small example that I had with my internship.  But there have been many, many small situations where I could actually apply the concepts I've learned in class (especially the concepts from the intermediate accounting).  Honestly speaking, the intermediate accounting classes were such a pain for me to get through, although, it has been a joy for me to reinforcing what I've leaned through a real life situation.  I guess this "is" the value of education!

Accounting and Accounting/Finance students need to be ready earlier than most other students, as the vast majority of recruiting activity for accounting positions takes place during the first part of the Fall semester.  The Accounting Fall Recruiting season officially starts on Sept. 10th with the Accounting “Meet the Recruiter” event, which will be held in the new Campus Center from 4-6pm.   All Accounting students who graduate in December 2008, May 2009 or August 2009 should plan on attending this event and participating in the Fall recruiting season.  Any student seeking an accounting internship during the Spring and/or Summer 2009 semesters should be ready to participate. 

Accounting “Meet the Recruiter” is a mini job fair.  Approximately 25-30 employers (accounting firms and corporations) attend this event in order pre-identify students to interview for their positions.  The employers come on campus to begin interviewing students starting September 22.  Many times, an employer will decide whether to interview a candidate based on whether they met them at the “Meet the Recruiter” event. 

Most accounting firms require a 3.0 minimum GPA to apply to their companies - if you are below that GPA, you should definitely attend this event because you will have the opportunity to sell yourself to employers face-to-face instead of on paper, where you may be overlooked if your GPA is not listed or falls below the minimum).    Employers have contacted us and asked us to add students with GPAs less than 3.0 to their schedules because they met with and were impressed with them at the “Meet the Recruiter” event and the student made an impression.  While there is no guarantee that you will be selected for an interview, your odds will be increased if you attend and make a favorable – and professional - impression.  What do you have to lose?  Visit our office for job fair tips on how to best begin conversations with employers at this event and other job fairs. 

Still not convinced?  Below is an email I just received from a student who just got a job with a large public accounting firm in Indianapolis despite a less than stellar GPA.  When I get stories like these, I am reminded why I gave up a high paying job in recruiting (a university is rarely the place to go if you want the big bucks) to come here and help students. 

Angie,

I recently graduated (May 2008) with a double major in accounting and finance.  I did not participate in the fall recruiting season because I had some things already in the works but they ended up not working out, so after graduation I needed to find a job.  It was hit and miss because many firms were not hiring at the time.  There were a few interviews here and there, but it was very frustrating because it seemed like I was the only person in a hurry.  I’d submit a resume, then 2 weeks later get a call or email showing interest, then maybe 2 more weeks before an actual interview would take place.  It was then that I set up a meeting with the KSB Career Placement Office (CPO), just to talk about my situation.  Up to this point, I had focused on using contacts I’d obtained through networking, but I was almost to the point where I was going to start submitting my resume in bulk to various job postings.  During my meeting with Angie Meyer, she stressed that I continue to be persistent with the firms where I had something in the works because networking usually provides the best opportunities.

I didn’t graduate with the best GPA in the world, it was under 3.0, and for most large accounting firms you are disqualified right away.  Sure, these firms want the best of the best, which is a big reason for this requirement, yet you have to remember that they receive hundreds of resumes and they have to have some criteria in place to bring that number down to a workable level.  To make my long story short, I was granted an interview with a large accounting firm here in Indianapolis through the use of contacts from networking.  I enjoy interviews and don’t feel much pressure because I don’t try and candy-coat anything and am always open and honest.  However, I felt that I could have performed better in this particular interview.  Afterwards, I was pretty hard on myself, thinking that this was the biggest interview of my life and I didn’t put forth my best effort.  I felt like Scott Sharp, who once qualified on the pole for the Indy 500 and crashed in Turn 1 on the first lap.  Well, after a few more talks with the firm and submitting some requested writing samples, I was offered the job.  I was stunned, couldn’t believe it.  This was a job at a firm where I didn’t even think getting an interview would be possible!

So, bottom line, I hope others can take three things from this:

1) In most cases, the interview probably didn’t go as bad as you thought, firms understand the pressure you are under.  Do not be too hard on yourself.

2) All of the things our CPO stresses throughout your education --- believe them.  They stress almost at nausea to use the contacts you have - family, friends, previous employers, etc .- as networking can provide opportunities that normally might not be possible. 

3) Don’t discount yourself just because you might not be at the top of your class. GPA is important, no doubt - if mine was higher the struggles to find a job might not have been there.  But realize it is just a number and you graduated (or will graduate) from a top business school, and that is something in itself that will open a number of doors.

I have been busy with the house, as you all know.  But I have been busy here as well and I still don’t have my summer projects STARTED!

Some of the things I must get done before classes start are:

• Make the changes in General Education for the degree progress reports
• Make changes for Supply Chain Management
• Change the BUS-Z 312 requirements
• Work on entering academic exceptions for students’ degree progress reports

All of these take a while to get done.  Along with this, I still answer e-mails, see student appointments, check those applying for graduation, help others in the office.  I keep very busy!

So, where did the summer go?  I’m not sure, but glad we still have a couple of weeks before classes start!