Tag: John Molson School of Business

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The flavourless flavour of business school

Photos by Marie-Pierre Savard.

Why you should think twice before attending JMSB

I pass through the heavy glass doors and feel the immediate urge to shed my identity and kowtow to the corporate overlords. I start speaking in a strange vernacular where I use the words ‘cash flow,’ and ‘capital,’ as dark visions of materialism and greed fill my mind.

Photos by Marie-Pierre Savard.

I observe my surroundings and see that everyone looks the same, adhering to a certain aesthetic. Their business uniform seems to be bought from Zara, as they reek of expensive perfumes and Gillette razors. Their phones constantly illuminate with LinkedIn notifications, while each student is constantly trying to think of something witty to write on the CASA-JMSB Facebook group (it’s essentially filled with memes).

This is my perception of John Molson School of Business, and after spending nearly two years at the prestigious institution, I can definitely say the environment was sterile, conformist and vapid.

I’ll never forget the day I received my acceptance letter to JMSB; it was comparable to when Harry discovered he was going to Hogwarts. Excitement filled my hollow soul as I naively imagined my new life as a business student.

Photos by Marie-Pierre Savard.

I should admit that I never truly wanted to study business, and I agonized to choose between the arts and business for months leading up to my acceptance. I knew that I always wanted to study history, but my parents kept telling me I’d be a poor arts student with no prospects after graduation.

One of my first memories in JMSB was in a class called business communications (the course was a complete sham). I remember the professor was giving the class advice on how to make your peers look stupid in a group interview setting. Initially shocked at this apparent ruthlessness, I turned to the girl next to me and shared my disbelief, to which she harshly replied, “business is not some fairytale, David.”

I also remember all of my professors telling me that I had to wear formal business wear for all presentations—which proved to be extremely uncomfortable. As someone who’s used to wearing muted all-black ensembles with bedhead hair, I felt like I was constantly being told to relinquish my identity and conform to the standards of the school. I even showed up to one presentation dressed in my everyday clothes and lost marks because I didn’t “obey.”

Photos by Marie-Pierre Savard.

To make matters worse, I despised all of my courses because they were so bland, and there was absolutely no opportunity to express any creativity whatsoever. Even when it came down to PowerPoint presentations, we weren’t allowed to push the boundaries without fearing academic consequences. My creativity suffered immensely during this period, as I suddenly felt like I wasn’t able to express myself properly. I began to experience a lot of anxiety due to this constant repression.

I’ll never forget the countless hours I spent memorizing volumes of statistics, accounting tables and business theories, just to regurgitate them on exams like a mindless robot. I was in pure hell.

I cannot deny that my grades suffered during this period, simply because I was stuck in an insipid environment that I grew to despise. I finally took the plunge after 18 months and switched to my true passion—the arts. Although I felt like I was giving up an opportunity to make money in the future, I knew I was better suited going down this path.

 

Business is not for everyone and it certainly wasn’t for me. I know I’m not alone in sharing these sentiments, so The Concordian conducted interviews with JMSB students to see what they thought. Check out the video below.

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Sanjay Sharma declared thousands in taxable benefits

Prior to Sanjay Sharma’s departure for a higher paying administrative post at the University of Vermont, he earned over $42,000 in salary and claimed $33,230 in expenses for his last two months of employment.

Two weeks ago, The Concordian reported that the former Dean of the John Molson School of Business ended his mandate with a payout of the administrative leave he was entitled to that amounted to $96,245. During the 2011-2012 academic year, Sharma worked for two months at Concordia before departing for the University of Vermont.

Before Sharma left Concordia, he claimed an additional $33,230 as well. University spokesperson Chris Mota confirmed that the amount consists of taxable benefits, unused vacation time and a part-time teaching contract.

“It’s money paid to him, which he was entitled to for the period he was there,” said Mota.

Amongst the university’s deans, Sharma declared more than his counterparts in other faculties did for the entire year, with his successor Alan Hochstein expensing $23,140 over 10 months.

In 12 months, Dean Brian Lewis of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences submitted $15,502, Dean Robin Drew of the Faculty of Engineering claimed $15,653, Dean Catherine Wild of the Faculty of Fine Arts declared $12,938 and Noel Burke, of Continuing Education, asked for less than $10,000.

The dean of graduate studies and interim VP of research and graduate studies, Graham Carr, declared the second most in taxable benefits at over $23,000 for the entire year.

This amount of $33,230 does not include the additional payout from the administrative leave nor does it include the salary Sharma collected during the end of his contract. Sharma’s contract for the 2011-2012 year was over $252,000—however, he was entitled only to the amount he worked for. Therefore, Sharma earned approximately $42,000 in total for his last two months at Concordia.

The academic year commenced May 1, 2011 where Sharma earned a salary, benefits and claimed expenses until his mandate at the University of Vermont started on July 1 of the same year. Sharma voluntarily broke his five-year contract at Concordia so he could fill the position of dean of the School of Business Administration for a starting salary of $320,000 U.S.—the second highest paid administrator at the American institution.

Pramodita Sharma, Sharma’s spouse, who also used to teach at Concordia, now holds a position at the University of Vermont where she is a professor earning a base salary of $180,000.

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Sanjay Sharma’s early departure netted him $96,245

Photo by Madelayne Hajek
Photo by Madelayne Hajek

When Sanjay Sharma, former dean of the John Molson School of Business, left Concordia for an administrative position at the University of Vermont in Burlington in 2011, he took $96,245 with him as part of a contractual obligation.

Concordia University provides academic deans with the option of an administrative leave at the end of their five-year term that allots to six months of their base salary and for deans serving two terms, the leave amounts to a year’s compensation.

Administrative leaves allow deans to pursue other academic interests if they so choose, according to university spokesperson Chris Mota. As part of his contract, Sharma was entitled to a six-month break.

“For five years they don’t teach, network, research, any of that,” said Mota. “In those contracts they acknowledge the fact they made a decision to be an administrator.”

This contractual agreement applies to academic senior administrators but is not extended to non-academic positions such as university rectors. The agreement does not force deans to take a leave because they are owed the additional six months pay at the end of their contract.

These leaves to pursue other interests, or the option of taking the payout as per the contractual agreement, is incurred by the operating budget of the university.

Dean Catherine Wild of the Faculty of Fine Arts also claimed part of the pay she was entitled to from the university that year but worked the entire year. Wild earned $196,556 as her salary and Concordia provided her with $16,616 as the money owed as part of the leave. Wild is now serving a second term as dean for the university.

Following the announcement of his departure in March 2011, Sharma voluntarily broke the five-year contract so he could fill the position of dean of the School of Business Administration at the University of Vermont and only completed four years at Concordia. Therefore, Sharma completed four years of his term and still received the six months pay, or $96,245, although his new employment started immediately on July 1, 2011. Sharma’s starting salary at the University of Vermont, according to the Burlington Free Press, was $320,000 U.S. and he was the second-highest paid official that year behind its president.

These contractual obligations do not include the taxable benefits or expenses in direct relation to duties that senior administrators, non-academic and academic, are entitled to.

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Making the grade

Photo by Madelayne Hajek
Photo by Leslie Schachter

Students enrolled in a John Molson School of Business course were caught in a crossfire between the professor and faculty administration over a miscommunication regarding a change in course content.

Part-time instructor Marc Picard addressed his students for a COMM 212 business communication course mid-December in an email claiming that the administration purposely refused to approve the final grades he submitted and that the exam administered was aimed to produce low marks.

“In my 41 years of university teaching, I had never seen such ridiculously low marks for an exam … What I learned when I contacted the person in charge was that this was no fluke or accident. It was a pre-planned, deliberate, calculated attempt to devise an exam that was meant to yield these results for reasons that are too ludicrous for words,” the email read.

At the time, student Heather Nicholson said she was disappointed with both the faculty and the school.

“Knowing how much I studied, and how much my classmates studied, we deserve better than to be given an exam that is designed for failure,” Nicholson told The Concordian.

The Advocacy Centre, according to co-ordinator Lisa White, was made aware of the situation and the email from Picard to his students but clarified that no students had approached the centre to complain.

The following day Christopher A. Ross, chair of JMSB’s marketing department, assured students that Picard’s allegations were being taken into consideration and apologized for any discomfort the “unconventional” email may have caused.

When Picard met with Ross and Associate Dean George Kanaan of JMSB on Dec. 18, it came to light that other sections of the class had received similar marks for the final exam. Picard wrote in an email to his students Dec. 20 that the university could not curve the marks of the section since the other 21 sections already had their marks finalized.

The final overall average for that section was a B despite the average of 59 per cent for the final exam.

In 2012, the business communication course was completely revamped including new content and course material. The course content was apparently more difficult than what was previously taught, something that Picard didn’t address when he contacted his students.

University spokesperson Chris Mota clarified that Picard had not taught the course since 2010 and when the debriefing session on the new course content took place, he was not included because he was not teaching it at the time.

“All the other professors understood the new course material and understood it would be different,” said Mota. “It’s unfortunate that [Picard] wasn’t part of that.”

Mota said that the faculty at JMSB would have to ensure that this didn’t happen again and that it was “clearly a failure of communication.”

Sean Thomson, a JMSB student who took the same course in 2011 before its reform told The Concordian that she personally had no difficulties with the class.

“The course is not difficult at all,” said Thomson. “I think most people in my class did fairly well and it was quite simple.”

With files from Matthew Guité.

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