The innovative MBA business model
I have always had a passion for the finance and entrepreneurship world. Attending an MBA has been in my plans for very long, but the problem is that they are way too expensive. So when I got contacted by one of the admission employees from Quantic and told me about a free MBA program, I thought it was for sure a scam. I’m quite sure you would have thought the same.
It didn’t take me more than a couple of Google searches to realize that it was an authentic MBA. Therefore, I decided to go on and pursue my passion.
Quantic School of Business and Technology’s MBA is an online program with an innovative business model: It doesn’t charge students directly. Instead, they charge companies who are interested in connecting to students, making possible to deliver free education.
Comparing Quantic’s MBA course program to the “traditional” MBA that my brother is attending right now: I can tell it is very similar.
Information made easier for students
Content is delivered on interactive slides on their online site. In that way, it’s possible to consume the information from the pc, tablet or smartphone.
And, the cherry on the cake: it is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) in the US.
The amount of text in every slide is just the needed, so students don’t get bored. Furthermore, there is a progression bar on top of the page that tracks your advancement towards the end. Having this bar tricks your mind in staying engaged. The progression level helps you have an idea of how much information is left to finish the chapter, so you kind of force yourself to finish it.
Since content is delivered on chunk of texts, I was expecting a very formal voice. But to my surprise, the tone used in the slides wasn’t that formal.
Easy-to-digest paragraphs made it easier for me to understand complex arguments. For instance, before studying at Quantic, I spent months trying to understand the different types of statistical tests and when to use one instead of the other. In the end, I ended up frustrated because it was so hard to understand.
Three months after starting the program, I found the same topic in the Statistics section. This time, it was much easier to understand though. I didn’t even have trouble understanding different probability distributions.
Good service doesn’t need paid advertisement
Sometimes, when a product or service is so good, you want to tell your friend about it. This is known as word-of-mouth or WOM for short (I added this terminology to my vocabulary thanks to Quantic), a way of advertisement. Actually, this was my case. I was so happy with the online program that I recommended Quantic to a friend. Now he is halfway towards the end.
Forcing yourself
Maybe because of my habit of writing into my notebook, I found myself at times lagging on the set schedule. If it wasn’t for the two vacation periods (one on summer and other on Christmas), it would had been difficult for me to get back on track.
Not everything was perfect, of course. The final exam covered an overwhelming quantity of topics:
- Organizational Behavior
- Leading Organizations
- Marketing
- Pricing
- Finance
- Supply chain & Operations
- Strategy
- Entrepreneurship
I’m happy to say that taking advantage of my notes, I managed to obtain a 92% score. But for someone who doesn’t take notes and have a very tight schedule, it is going to be hard studying for that final exam.
Useful Information that I take home
After having finished the MBA program, I can say that now I know that:
- Pricing is a marketing strategy and not simply the result of making profit over the cost of goods sold.
- Acquiring a new customer is 5 to 25 times more costly than retaining one.
- If you want to optimize (from the economic point of view) the quantity of perishable products in your inventory, you should use the Newsvendor model.
- Before making a decision, you better take into consideration the opportunity cost associated.
- The riskiest investment is not investing at all. And I would add: especially in your education.
An entire year has passed since I applied for the program. Now I am more acquitted about business and administration. This was possible thanks to an innovative business model that is capable of teaching thousands of students for free and delivering high-quality education.
The COVID-19 situation has made us realized that there are some industries that are going to change forever, I want to think that online learning is one of those.
