A Weekend to Remember

This past weekend one of my fellow classmates, John G. Hafer, got married to Jennifer Martin.  It was a small intimate ceremony at the Botanical Gardens followed by an elegant reception at James at the Mill.  It was a fun-filled weekend of meeting with family members and celebration.

Friday night kicked off with the rehearsal dinner.  I wasn't in the wedding but John insisted that we, me and Kevin Oden, come and meet his family.  I'm glad we went.  His brother and sister are both younger, they were fun to get to know.  John's grandfather, Pops, had lots of stories and would just about suffocate you everytime he gave you a hug. John's wife-to-be's cousin, James, also sat near us.  He shared stories about high school that took me back to my high school days.  We talked about memorizing Brutus's speech from Julius Caesar and other things that I've already taken the test on.  It was nostalgic.

Saturday morning we got up early and got in a round of golf.  I hadn't played in a few months and the rust definitely showed.  The highlight of the day was holing a chip shot from 30 yards out or so.  We finished up the round and went our separate ways to get ready for the main event.

The wedding was outdoors, it started at 5:00pm.  It was a little warm out.  The ceremony lasted about 20 minutes, but then afterwards were the pictures.  So while they were taking pictures me and Kevin and our significant others walked around exploring the gardens.  It is a really nice place.  There are lots of bees buzzing about collecting nectar for their honey.  As long as you leave the bees alone they won't bother you.  After the pictures we headed over to James at the mill for a very nice dinner.  The cake was made by Rick's Bakery by Kevin's wife.  She did a great job.  The cake was delicious.  The room was arranged in a big "O" for Ohio State, since John is from Cincinnati.  Since the wedding was small everyone in the room was able to speak and tell stories about John and Jenn.  Stories flowed out and it was pretty entertaining.  All in all the wedding weekend was great.  I wish them the best as they set out on their own as husband and wife.

So then Sunday came and the paper I had neglected all weekend reared its ugly head.  I finished it up and got it turned in.  Then I needed a little retail therapy, so we went shopping for a bit.  There were plenty of deals at the mall with the holiday weekend coming up.  I picked a few things and suddenly felt all better.  I came home and wrote another paper just for fun :)  Ok not really but I did write another paper.  I spent Sunday night doing some leisurely reading.  The book for book club is Freakanomics, but I'm also reading Tuesdays with Morrie on the side.  Both good books I would recommend anyone.

And that was my weekend.

Hot Summer Days

Summer is definitely here.  The temperatures are rising and the crowds are headed to the pools and lakes.  The BP oil spill has surpassed 60 days and it's still spewing oil.  It's an environmental tragedy.  I had planned on heading down to Florida over the Fourth, but the oil has reached the areas I had planned on going to.  So looks like it will be some other destination this year.

Anyhow, the summer has been great so far.  I am taking one class, International Management.  It's wrapping up next week.  It's been a really interesting class, and I really wish that we had more time to discuss the various topics.  The class is taught by Dr. Vikas Anand.  There are many cases for the course and they bring up many important points of doing business internationally.  We have one more class period and a paper due.  The remainder of my summer will be class free.

We've also started a book club for the summer.  So far we've read The Likeability Factor and The Paradox of Choice.  Our next book is  Freakanomics.  It's a small group.  We meet about once a week.  It's been fun, the meetings are scheduled for a couple of hours but always run long.  Our last one went 4 hours.  I suppose that our meetings running long indicates that it's a fun meeting.  We talk about the books, and we talk about how the books relate to school and work.  We also catch up with each other and talk about some of the social happenings.  We rotate the hosting duties for each book club.  The host is responsible for leading the meeting, as well as providing dinner.  With the holiday coming up our next meeting may not be for a couple of weeks. 

Working at Walmart with the Analytical Research Center this summer has also been a great experience so far.  I'm getting high level projects, and the people I work with are wonderful.  My supervisor is great, and I couldn't ask for a better team to work with. 

That's a very broad overview of my summer so far.  There are plenty of details that I would like to add, but I don't want to make these posts too long.  I'll try to be more detailed in future posts.  So until next time stay safe and stay focused.

Walmart Shareholders Week

This past week was Walmart Shareholders Week.  Walmart brought in international associates from 15 countries for their annual meeting.  To accommodate all the visitors Walmart takes over the U of A campus.  Associates stay in the dorms throughout the week.  Shareholders and visiting associates have the opportunity to tour the home office in Bentonville and also visit some of the sights such as the original five and dime.

I was able to attend the first night of concerts which included the Zac Brown Band and Tim McGraw.  Below are a few pictures from the concert.

Aside from the concert there was also a vendor fair.  Vendors brought in celebrities like former NFL running back Jerome Bettis and Michael Orr whose life was made into the movie The Blind Side.  Here's a picture from the vendor fair.  We are in Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco.

The big day was the actual Shareholders meeting.  This was on Friday and we had to be there by six in the morning.  The meeting was hosted by Jamie Foxx and had musical guests Enrique Iglesias, Mary J Blige, Josh Groban, and Mariah Carey.  The entertainment was mixed in with the Walmart executive speakers.

The week was very fun and exciting.  This is an amazing event and all you have to do to get in is buy a share of Walmart stock or work for Walmart.  Afterward you can sell your stock so it's not expensive at all.   This is an event I would definitely recommend to anyone who is in the area.  I wonder who'll be coming next year.

First Semester Reflections: Professors and Courses

The professors I had this past Spring have been great.  They were all unique and brought something different to the table.  The differences in personality and teaching methods kept us on our toes.  Every professor was committed to seeing us succeed.  They went out of their way to provide assistance when needed.  They made themselves readily available to us, though some were more readily available than others.  I felt comfortable talking to the professors about any topic.  I believe they are genuinely concerned about us as students and foster an environment that encourages both personal and academic growth.  I will briefly summarize my experience with each of these professors.

Dr. Raja Kali - Economics of Supply Chain and Retail
Dr. Kali is a great professor.  He will challenge you to think about various economic issues.  Many of the topics in the course relate to current events.  For example, we talked about the Greece situation throughout the semester.  We also talked about Google and the financial collapse.  In order to be successful in the course you must read the posted articles and understand the economic concepts covered in class.  Dr. Kali will call on you in class, so you should be prepared.  He won't let you off the hook.  You have to come up with something.  There is no group work in this class, the grade depends solely on you.  What I enjoyed most about the class was the discussion and the interaction.

Dr. Christian Hofer - Retail and Consumer Products Supply Chain Management
Dr. Hofer is also a great professor.  He is definitely very excited about transportation and logistics.  His enthusiasm for the subject matter is very encouraging.  He will engage you in class, so come prepared with lots of questions.  This course has a custom book with chapters from different books put together specially for this class.  There are some inconsistencies in notation between the varying chapters from different books, but nothing terribly confusing.  If you do your homework and pay attention in class there is no excuse for not doing well in this class.  Dr. Hofer presents the material in a very straight forward manner.  He doesn't try to trick you.  Make sure you understand the details of the material, the test questions can be very specific.  There is plenty of group work in this class so make sure to get involved and do your part.  You will be penalized for not participating.  What I enjoyed most about this class was the openness of the case files.  Some of the cases were very vague which allowed us to be creative in our solutions.

Dr. Tomas Jandik - Financial Markets and Valuations
Dr. Jandik grew up around Prague.  He is also a big Pittsburgh fan, he loves the city and all the sports teams in the city.  Dr. Jandik is a very good teacher.  He is direct and illustrates the pitfalls of finance succinctly.  He uses many examples throughout the semester.  His tests are part take home, but they can be quite tedious.  There is also a project for this course, make sure you get started on this early.  He gives you plenty of time to get it finished.  To be successful in this course make sure to attend class and go over his PowerPoint presentations.  The books is mainly used for practice problems and reference.  Another resource that you must be familiar with is www.damodaran.com, you will not do well if you do not use this site.  What I enjoyed most about this class was the daily encouragement and affirmation.  Every class period would start out with Dr. Jandik saying, "We are going to have a wonderful (great) class and you will learn very much today." 

Dr. John Aloysius - Business Analytics
This course proved challenging for some.  Dr. Aloysius uses many examples to show the application of various analytical processes.  Dr. Aloysius does a good job with his examples, make sure you pay attention to all the details and ask questions.  He also uses Excel software add-ins.  If you are not familiar with Excel, you need to take the MBA Math online class prior to enrolling.  It gives you a quick tutorial on the main features, as well as useful practice.  The key to success for this class is if you don't understand something make sure you ask questions.  The homework assignments are also very helpful.  The homework is assigned as group work.  Make sure you contribute to the group and fully understand every problem or you will have trouble in this class.  What I liked most about this class is that it forced me to adapt.  I had forgotten how to effectively study and this class was a driver in making me more dynamic.  I think this is good for anyone, even though it may not be a pleasant experience.

Dr. Tom Jensen - Retail Consumer Marketing
Dr. Jensen is very knowledgeable about marketing.  He has lots of experience and background in the field.  To succeed in the class you must go to class and pay attention.  You must also work well in groups and read the book.  The group work in this class is very interesting.  There is a simulation program called MarkStrat that is used for group work.  It requires you to develop a strategy and implement the strategy.  You compete in a market place against the other groups in the class.  Dr. Jensen is very energetic and loves when you bring creativity to the class.  He encourages you step outside the box and gain perspective.  What I enjoyed most about this class was the group collaboration.  It was fun and challenging at times, but it made us work together as a cohesive team.

A Week to Relax

Last week I basically had a week off.  I started my internship this week and the week before last I had finals.  So I took advantage of my time off by visiting some local streams and lakes.  I also went to the movies to see Iron Man 2.  My family was also in town this past weekend so I got to see my nephews too.  It was a really nice week off.

Below is a picture of Lake Tenkiller.  It's located just north of Vian, OK.

Lake Tenkiller is advertised as the clearest lake in Oklahoma.  It is pretty clear.  It's a good thing I went up there early in the week, later in the week it got hit by some severe thunderstorms.

I also took some time out to go to one of my favorite spots in Arkansas, Natural Dam.

Natural Dam is about 30 minutes north of Van Buren, AR.  It's a nice place to go, you don't have to hike very far to get to some really nice spots.

Iron Man 2 is a good movie, but I think I like the first one better.  If you are a fan of Scarlett Johannson you won't be disappointed. 

To end the week my older brother, his wife, and their son came down for a visit.  They live in Baltimore so I only see them a few times a year.  My nephew is two and a half years old.  He looks a lot like my brother.

So that was pretty much my week of relaxing.  We did get quite a few thunderstorms throughout the week, but I took advantage of the nice weather when I could.

Off Topic: Oil Spill Solution

This post has nothing to do with the MBA program.  It has to do with something much more important.  The current oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a huge environmental issue.  I have thought about the problem over the past couple of days and this is what I have come up with.  My hope is that it gets in front of the right people and may provide a solution or a piece to a solution to this environmental tragedy.

I am very concerned with the current oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Due to this concern, I would like to offer up a possible solution. This is a rough solution that can be refined for implementation.

The current issues with siphoning the oil is the formation of natural gas (methane) hydrate. In order for this hydrate to form water needs to be present in a cold and/or high pressure environment. The phase diagram below illustrates the methane hydrate relationship between depth and temperature.

Figure 1. Methane Hydrate Phases

As depth increases, pressure increases. A higher pressure allows the hydrate to form at higher temperatures. For example, at 1400m (~4600ft) the temperature needs to be at or below 60F for the hydrate to form.

Figure 2. Gulf of Mexico Water Depth Temperature

Figure 2 shows the water temperature at various depths for the Gulf of Mexico. At a depth of 1400m, the temperature is around 5C or 41F. At this depth and temperature, with the presence of water, hydrate will form.

The proposed solution, which is illustrated on the attached page, addresses the hydrate issue. In order to reduce or eliminate the formation of hydrate, the oil should be siphoned at a point much further away from the source of the leak. The oil must be directed so that it can be concentrated and siphoned efficiently. To direct the oil, a cylinder should be placed around the source of the leak. This cylinder can be made of concrete or steel. It needs to be able to withstand the turbulence from the outflow of oil. It also needs to be heavy enough so that it can anchor a reinforced spiral ventilation duct similar to the one shown below.

Figure 3. Ventilation Duct

The big question mark is how long the duct needs to be. It could be anywhere from a few hundred feet to a few thousand feet. However, it does not need to come all the way up to the surface. Its purpose is to direct the flow of the oil up to a depth where hydrate formation is unlikely if not impossible so that another line which will come in from the top of the duct can efficiently siphon off the oil. The duct will act as an artificial column of oil.

The attached design of the solution shows two pumps, one for siphoning the oil and the other one near the base of the cylinder around the oil leak source. The purpose of this pump is to pump out water from the column. The specific gravity of oil is lower than water so it floats. In implementing the proposed solution, some water may be trapped in the column. While some water in the column does not present a problem, a significant amount of water will reduce the efficiency of oil recovery and also increase the possibility of hydrate formation. By pumping water out of the column near the base, this will create a column of mostly oil.

A pipe or hose should be placed inside the column with a positioning ring. This ring will keep the siphoning hose or pipe in the middle of the column. The siphoning pump should be set at a rate identical to the rate of oil leaking. Once the flows are matched up the column will achieve plug flow. Under ideal plug flow conditions, 100% of the oil coming from the leak would be recovered. However, this will be difficult to achieve without automatic controls. I believe by placing cameras near the top of the column and at various points along the column an operator could monitor and control the flow and recover over 90% of the oil. If the siphoned flow is too high water will flow in from the top of the column. If the flow is too low oil may escape through the top of the column.

The big hurdle for this solution is the design of the reinforced spiral duct. The materials necessary for a viable duct are available. However, the problem may be in the production of a duct that is long enough. While the general design of this solution seems sound, the details still need to be ironed out. Note that this is not a permanent solution, but it would alleviate the oil leak until the relief wells are operational.

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments please feel free to contact me.  My email address is nhiemcao@gmail.com.

First Semester Reflections: Graduate Assistantship Experience

In my next few posts, I'll reflect and comment on my first semester experience.  Today I'd like to talk about my graduate assistantship (GA).

Before arriving on campus everyone must get update their resumes and get them to the Walton College Career Center (W3C).  They help you refine your resume and get it ready to send out to various companies.  Once the resumes are finalized, Heather Sprandel, the W3C director, sends them out to companies looking to hire GAs.  There were a few students that got external GAs this spring.  Those who had GAs, but didn't get external GAs had to work for the college in some capacity.

I did not get an external GA.  I was disappointed at first.  Then I got my internal GA assignment, I was going to work in the W3C for Heather Sprandel.  After some discussion with the other staff of the W3C I became more optimistic.  I thought this could be fun, I should make the best of it.  So I did.

It was really a blessing in disguise.  Working for the W3C was great.  They were very flexible with my schedule, and they are right there on campus.  So I didn't have to spend time driving to and from my GA.  I got interesting projects to work on, and it also opened doors to networking opportunities.

As far as schedule goes, the flexibility allowed me to get many of my professional development and speaker series credits out of the way.  I plan on attending as many professional developments and speaker series as I can, but it's nice to know that I don't have to.  I have completed 40 out of the 48 required hours of professional development, and I've attended 8 speaker series leaving two required speaker series.

The thing I really enjoyed about the projects I worked on was that I had a lot of artistic license to do what I want.  Heather was open to anything as long as it was within the scope of the project.  The biggest project I worked on this past semester was the development of the Career Closet.  This is a place where business students can go to get business clothing free of charge.  The Closet will come to fruition this summer.  I also got to do the CareerCast, short podcasts on business topics for the Career Center website.  I wasn't sure I was going to like doing these podcasts, but they are surprisingly fun.  Other students have gotten involved, and we are also doing interviews with business leaders in the Northwest Arkansas area.  I also worked on the Career Center bulletin board located on the third floor of the Business Administration (BA) building.  I must admit this was not my favorite thing to work on, but it grew on me a little bit.  I like developing the idea for the bulletin boards, but not so much the actual making of the bulletin board.  Overall the Career Center GA experience was wonderful.  I really can't complain.

I've gotten to meet many people through the W3C.  Companies come on campus to conduct interviews in the Career Center so I would meet many of these company reps just in passing.  As I mentioned earlier, the CareerCast also provides networking opportunities in itself.

I'd like to thank the W3C staff for making my GA experience really great.   Those folks are Heather Sprandel, Renee Clay, Tommi Featherstone, Sara Yell, and Jordan Frevert.  I enjoyed my experience so much that I will continue to work with the W3C.  I will continue working on the Career Closet as well as the CareerCast.

So if you end up with an internal GA don't be disappointed.  Make the most of your opportunity and take advantage of your resources.