Transformation to Master's degree student in Canada from an Bachelor's degree student abroad

Ok, this blog is for prospective international students who are planning to come to Canada (or USA) to do an Master's degree. Depending on where you are coming from, you may face various challenges - cultural, environmental, social, financial and so on. It is important to understand two things:

a) There is a difference between studying in a Bachelor's program and a Master's program.
b) There is a difference between studying in Canada (or USA) and other countries, in my case, India.

When you make a move from a Bachelor's degree in India, it is a double whammy! Do you get what I mean? I mean, it is not just a transformation in the sense that you move to a higher level of education (as in a, above), but also that you move to a different style of teaching (as in b, above).

Difference between learning style in Bachelor's & Master's programs:

• In Bachelor's degree, there is more support from the teacher, whereas in a Master's program, you are supposed to work independently.
• In Bachelor's program, the level of difficulty and the workload is less, but in Master's program, it is more...
• Will complete this later on.........

Difference between Classroom environment in North America and in South Asia, for example

• In North America, you are encouraged to learn by yourself, where as in South Asia, you are taught every aspect step by step in detail
• In North America, the study environment is casual, whereas in South Asia, the environment is very strict.
• In North America, students can eat and drink in class. Students can come into class and go anytime they please. Try this in South Asia, you will be kicked out by the teacher!
• In North America, discussion in class is encouraged, not so in South Asia
• In North America, you can interact with your teacher on a more personal level and call him or her by first name, but never in South Asia!
• In North America, a teacher is more like a friend, but in South Asia, teacher is more like God!
• Will complete this later.  

The reason that I wrote this blog is that I have personally experienced these differences !

Ted Rogers School of Management MBA Graduation Ceremony 2010

My Marketing blog about Pricing

Wind Mobile was launched with cheaper phone rates in Canada in December, 2009, drastically undercutting competition.

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/739543--wind-launches-with-cheaper-phone-rates

The title of the article in the link above from Toronto Star newspaper screams “Wind launches with cheaper phone rates”. And the first sentence of the report reads “Globalive started selling its new cell phone service Wednesday with a baseline package that drastically undercuts its competitors”. Wind Mobile Canada is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider operated by Globalive, that was launched in Toronto in December, 2009 with very low introductory rates. This is a clear example of Market Penetration strategy using price as a weapon. In other words, this is an example of Penetrative Pricing.

Wireless service is expensive in Canada. Customers are always looking for better deals in order to save money, especially, in the current period of economic slowdown. Everyone wants to have more service or more of the products for lesser price. Wind mobile spotted an opportunity for market entry here using price as a competitive tool.

The prices of Wind Mobile at the time of introduction were quite cheap and offered twice the amount of minutes as Koodoo and Fido. In addition, there was no contract, no system access fees, no charge for incoming calls, unlimited province wide calling (within Ontario) and so on. I also noticed that the introductory rates were quite low and the initial customers were given much more special offers and discounts, as compared to later subscribers. However, inspite of that, and inspite of entry of newer players like Public Mobile, Mobilicity and Chatr, Wind Mobile still has among the best deals in the market right now.

I personally switched in July, 2010 from Fido Prepaid to Wind Mobile wireless service and I could not have been happier. With Fido, I had to constantly keep refilling currency into my account. I used to spend on average, $100 a month and be pretty frustrated. But with Wind Mobile, I have no worries at all.

Wind Mobile has been successful in creating sufficient buzz through its excellent advertising as well as its pricing strategy. As long as the company continues to provide its customers decent service at a good price, I guess there shall be customer loyalty and the company shall continue to thrive. Atleast, I can speak for myself and say “I love my Wind Mobile service!”.

Yet another marketing blog - this one on Pricing

Above this blog is my submission for marketing assignment about Pricing. Enjoy!

The question asked was as follows:
Please find an example that you discover through online research to describe how a company / brand has used price skimming or marketing penetration pricing. Another option could be to find an example of how the internet has impacted the pricing of a specific product.

Wendy Cukier - one of 25 transformational Canadians for 2010.

The two videos below are about the Assistant Dean of Ted Rogers School of Management, Wendy Cukier, winning the award of Top 25 transformational people in Canada for 2010. She received this in recognition for her work on gun control in Canada.

Link for the article in the Globe and mail is as below:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/25/

We students salute our Assistant Dean. What I do know is this: Not only is she one of top 25 transformational people, she is a good human being first. She is very good to her students. That means a lot to us students. There is a saying "People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care!". Our Asst. Dean cares for her students!