MBA學生免費當公司勞動力 體驗式學習有價值大綱

Free labor? Great. Free labor from top M.B.A. students? Even better.

免費勞力？太好了！MBA優等生提供的免費勞力？好上加好！
For decades, companies have relied on business-school students to be unpaid consultants, assessing takeover or expansion opportunities. It is low risk and high reward for firms, with almost no financial outlay and a number of fresh new ideas from eager up-and-comers.
數十年來，衆多公司都靠商學院學生充當免費諮詢師，讓他們對接管業務或擴張業務的時機進行評估。對公司來說，這可是低風險高回報的事情，基本上不會產生財務支出，還能從幹勁十足的人身上獲取很多新的想法。
But now some companies are going a step farther, placing entire brands in the hands of students, with the hope of developing long-lasting partnerships between company and school instead of one-off advisory relationships. Schools promote the projects as a hands-on learning experience for students and a solid resume booster in a tight job market.
而現在，一些公司要更進一步，將整個品牌交給這些學生，希望公司與學校之間建立長期夥伴關係，而非一次性的諮詢關係。學校力促這些項目，將其當作學生獲取實踐經歷的機會，也爲學生在競爭激烈的就業市場上投遞簡歷時增加籌碼。
Still, the programs aren't entirely altruistic: While the companies get free -- or nearly free -- labor, and schools' total compensation for these projects can reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the students don't get paid a dime.
然而，這些項目並非完全沒有私心：公司獲得免費──或者說近乎免費──勞力的同時，學校獲得的項目補貼可以達到數十萬美元，而學生卻分文未得。
Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. this year handed over the reins of its Yoo-hoo chocolate-drink marketing campaign to two M.B.A.s from the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business. The students -- working for no pay in the spring and fall, though one will be a salaried intern this summer -- are taking over the brand completely to create Yoo-hoo's first major marketing push in more than four years. The 90-year-old beverage, considered a 'midsize' brand at Dr Pepper Snapple, had 2011 sales of more than $100 million, the company says, citing Nielsen data.
Serge Bloch今年，Dr Pepper Snapple集團把它的Yoo-hoo巧克力飲料的市場營銷活動交給了兩名來自德克薩斯大學奧斯丁分校麥庫姆斯商學院（University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business）的MBA學生。這兩名學生──春秋兩季無償工作，不過其中一名夏季將會帶薪實習──正全面接手該品牌，準備進行Yoo-hoo飲料四年多來第一次重大的市場推廣活動。公司援引尼爾森市場調查公司（Nielsen）的數據說，這個在Dr Pepper Snapple集團被視爲“中型”品牌的飲料擁有90年的歷史，其2011年的銷售額超過了1億美元。
The two students, picked via a rigorous selection process, each spend up to 20 hours a week on the project, their combined effort contributing almost the equivalent of one full-time employee. (McCombs graduates who took jobs in brand management last year earned an average of $94,300 a year.)
經過嚴格篩選選拔出來的這兩名學生每人每週投身於該項目的時間達到了20小時，兩人的合計工作量相當於一名專職的員工。（從事品牌管理工作的麥庫姆斯商學院畢業生去年的人均收入爲94,300美元。）
They report directly to the chief marketing officer and other senior executives and are expected to vie for a slice of the marketing budget alongside the company's other brand managers. When the students graduate, others will step in.
他們直接向首席營銷長或其他高級主管彙報工作，並可望與其他品牌經理一道競爭，贏得公司的一份營銷預算。等到這兩名學生畢業時，其他人會來接手。
The hope, says Andrew Springate, senior vice president of marketing at Dr Pepper Snapple, is that the students will oversee the brand, 'soup to nuts,' for the foreseeable future. 'There's no real risk, no downside at all,' he says.
Dr Pepper Snapple集團高級營銷副總裁安德魯•斯普林蓋特（Andrew Springate）說，希望學生能夠“全方位”地遠瞻到品牌可以預見的未來。他說，“根本沒有真正的風險，沒有負面的東西。”
The students signed a contract and serve as unpaid employees, and Dr Pepper Snapple covers operating expenses and travel costs. It also pays a former employee to serve as a coach to the student team, and it expects to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in the students' research efforts.
這兩名學生簽訂了合同，無償爲公司工作，Dr Pepper Snapple集團則負責項目運作的開支和交通費用。公司還出錢聘用一名前任員工來擔任兩名學生的指導。公司對這兩名學生的研究工作的投資預計會達到數十萬美元。
In addition, the company pays $25,000 as one of a half-dozen sponsors of the school's Center for customer Insight & Marketing Solutions. The payment isn't in exchange for the students' work per se, but sponsorship does open the door to projects like the Yoo-hoo initiative. Lamar Johnson, the center's executive director, is considering reaching out to the other sponsors for similar partnerships.
此外，作爲商學院消費者觀察及營銷解決方案中心（Center for Customer Insight & Marketing Solutions）的六家贊助商之一，公司要支付25,000美元。這筆錢本身不是用於換取學生的勞動，但是這種贊助關係的確開啓了類似Yoo-hoo計劃這樣的項目之門。該中心的執行董事拉馬爾•約翰遜（Lamar Johnson）正在考慮與其它幾家贊助商聯繫，以期建立類似的夥伴關係。
Dr Pepper Snapple's approach is still rare, and more traditional semester-long, self-contained projects remain in high demand. Slots for the E2B education-to-business program at Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University, for example, are full for the summer and 90% full for the fall.
Dr Pepper Snapple集團的這種做法還不太常見，需求量大的是更傳統的爲期一學期的獨立項目。佩珀代因大學格拉齊亞迪奧工商管理學院（Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University）推出的E2B（education-to-business）學以致用夏季項目已經滿額，秋季項目滿額率也已達到90%。
But even in those more restricted frameworks, companies are becoming repeat customers and using students to tackle a series of strategic initiatives over a number of years.
甚至在那些限制性更大的領域，很多公司也開始成爲項目的回頭客，經年累月地利用學生來處理一系列戰略方案問題。
Westinghouse Electric Co. has used students from the University of Pittsburgh's Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business & College of Business Administration in more than 10 projects over the past six years, and it has hired at least a half-dozen students from those projects. Assignments include assessments of acquisition strategy in China and an alliance opportunity in India.
西屋電氣公司（Westinghouse Electric Co.）在過去六年裏開展的10多個項目中用了匹茲堡大學約瑟夫•M•卡茨工商管理研究生院（University of Pittsburgh's Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business & College of Business Administration）的學生，並且在項目完成後正式僱傭了至少六名學生。這些項目的任務包括對在華併購策略和在印度建立聯盟的機會進行評估。
Katz receives $9,000 for most projects, though nonprofits and government organizations receive services free and first-time partners can pay as little as $1,000. Twelve to 16 organizations participate each semester. If all those clients were large corporations, the school could bank more than $250,000 a year.
儘管非盈利機構和政府機構可以免費獲取服務，首度合作的合夥人支付的費用則可以低至1000美元，但是卡茨研究生院在多數項目上還是有9000美元的收入。每學期有12至16家機構參與項目，如果所有客戶都是大公司，學院每年會有250,000美元入賬。
Laurie Kirsch, the senior associate dean at Katz, says it isn't about turning a profit. Rather, the nominal financial stake keeps companies engaged. Katz uses the money to pay faculty and executive-in-residence coaches, to fund a competition for project proposals (which has no monetary prize) and for other organizational expenses.

卡茨研究生院高級副院長勞裏•基爾希（Laurie Kirsch）說，做項目不是爲了賺錢盈利。其實，正是象徵性的收費吸引了各家公司。卡茨研究生院用這筆錢爲教職員工和駐企高管指導支付酬金、建立項目提案競賽（以前沒有貨幣獎勵）基金以及其他組織管理開銷。

Low costs are a big draw for Tom Nguyen, executive vice president of strategic operations at Westinghouse. 'I can't remember any time that we've spent more than $25,000 [or] $30,000 on a project,' Mr. Nguyen says. He estimates the same assignments would cost 10 times as much if the company hired a top-tier consulting firm.
對西屋電氣公司戰略運營執行副總裁湯姆•阮（Tom Nguyen）來說，低成本是最大的吸引力。阮說，“我不記得我們什麼時候在一個項目上的花費超出過25,000或30,000美元。”他估計，如果公司聘請的是頂級諮詢公司，同樣的項目其開銷將是現在的10倍。
Bob Krapfel, associate dean for M.B.A. and M.S. programs at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, says organizations are attracted by the fact that they can 'pay next to nothing' for 'pretty high-quality M.B.A. talent.'
馬里蘭大學羅伯特•H•史密斯商學院（University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business）負責工商管理碩士和理學碩士項目的副院長鮑勃•克拉普費爾（Bob Krapfel）說，各大機構受到吸引是因爲它們“幾乎分文不花”就能獲得“質量極高的MBA人才”。
Large companies pay $7,500 for work conducted by four-to-six-person teams, with each member logging about 80 hours during the semester. Established nonprofits pay $5,000, and Smith does pro bono work for start-up nonprofit organizations. All companies are asked to cover basic project costs beyond $500, such as travel.
對於一個由四至六人組成、每位成員一學期工作時間累計爲80小時的團隊所完成的工作，大公司的支付價是7,500美元，老牌非盈利機構的支付價爲5,000美元。對剛起步的非盈利組織，史密斯商學院則提供無償服務。按要求，所有公司都需要爲500美元以上的基本項目開支買單，比如交通費。
For their part, many students say they don't mind working without pay -- at least, for the moment. 'The experiential learning is more valuable than the money at this point,' says Nicole Quesada, a McCombs student with a chemical-engineering background who is working on Yoo-hoo.
對學生而言，許多人說他們並不在意自己的工作沒有報酬──至少目前並不在意。目前正在進行Yoo-hoo項目、有着化學工程學方面背景的妮科爾•克薩達（Nicole Quesada）說，“這個時候體驗式的學習比金錢更有價值。”
She will intern this summer at Dr Pepper Snapple before returning to the unpaid position in the fall. She says her summer salary is 'very competitive.'
她今年夏天要在Dr Pepper Snapple集團當實習生，秋天再回到無薪的崗位上去。她說自己在夏季獲得的工資“非常有競爭力”。