EMBA 25 in Brazil: Samba

Samba and Brazil are synonymous; especially if you go to Rio. Learning about a country and its culture are a key part of our capstone learning experience and we made sure that we leverage the teachings of Samba as part of our learning.

The Samba is an old Brazilian dance with lots of variations and it is African in origin. The people of Rio refer to themselves as Carioca and the Carioca Samba is derived from the rural rocking Samba of the Carioca.

The Samba has tribal, fast paced rhythms that celebrate earth and reflect the Carioca culture. The respect for earth, life and importance of relationships is ever present in the samba dance and as we learned on our visits; in the culture in general.

A small team of EMBA 25s along with Professor Kristen McCormick took in an awesome night of camaraderie, Brazilian food, culture and dance at Carioca de Gema. Some in the crew had trepidation of going "dancing". We largely equate dancing with our US experience of it. But in Rio, the music, the welcoming crowd and the overall spirit of acceptance swept everyone to the dance floor! We ALL, without inhibition took to the dance floor and Samba'd the night away. As we all shared the next day how open and welcoming the dance club was and how easy it was to participate and enjoy!

Hopefully, we will weave the cultural teachings of samba into our entrepreneurial experience and enjoy all of the relationships along the way and never forget how the music brought us together with each other and a culture that is vibrant, welcoming, connected and flourishing!

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Nancy Folan
EMBA 25

Nancy Folan is an experienced Human Resource Executive with expertise in designing and leading HR teams and process. Nancy is currently the Senior Vice President, Human Resources at Pioneer Investments, US. Nancy holds a BA in International Management from Simmons College and an MS in Training and Organizational Development from Lesley University.

What the Presalt Deposits Mean to the Future of Brazil

Brazil is sitting on one of the world’s largest deposits of oil and natural gas. These natural resources will allow the economy of Brazil to grow through refinery and exportation of these reserves. The question remains, how do they get it out of the sea floor? The technology is available for Brazil to allow drilling to take place and get through the sea floor and the 2000 foot salt deposit where the oil and gas reside below.

The challenge the Brazilians face are the restriction put in place by the government to prevent foreign multinational firms from dominating the market. The government of Brazil has placed protectionist policies around allowing technology and innovation to support Brazil and it’s economy. In order to conduct business in Brazil you must source everything you need in the country or face import and export tariffs ranging from 50%-95% for the technology you bring in. The policies have the potential to hurt the economy and delay the extraction unless some compromise is found. Brazil does not have the infrastructure and manufacturing capability to develop the tools, systems and equipment needed for the complex extraction of these reserves. The result is delays and if the technology needed is imported the price per barrel of oil will start to rise due to the high tariffs.

Everything from the drill bits to the oil rigs need to be developed domestically. The scale and difficulty of drilling down 2000-3000 feet below the sea floor and then another 2000 feet through a collapsible salt layer is posing huge challenges to the largest oil company in Brazil; Petrobras. In speaking with them they feel confident that through their research facility and local partnerships they can overcome the technological challenges ahead.

With the eyes of the world bearing down on the country during the World cup in 2013 and the Olympic games shortly after in 2016, I hope they are successful. But the reality is in my opinion that they will not be able to meet their timeline unless they partner with foreign multinational firms and allow them to source their technology and equipment for outside the country. According to the government of Brazil and Petrobras the future is bright and the presalt reserves will help grow the Brazilian economy for decades to come. I hope they are right  but I see storm clouds just beyond Sugarloaf Mountain.

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Chad Haskell
EMBA 25

Chad Haskell is an accomplished facility operations executive. He is the Head, Facility Operations for Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Chad holds a BA from University of Massachusetts Boston, and a Facilities Management Certificate from Boston University.

Brazil Needs Performance Management and Human Resources

EMBA 25 students just completed their International Field Seminar in Brazil. Students are sharing their thoughts on the trip in a series of blog posts.

Again and again in our meetings we heard about two big issues in Brazil, turnover of employees and low productivity. 

Workers will switch jobs here for a $50 salary bump (I think they were referring to $50/mo). The entrance to the Bravante Sao Miguel shipyard had 3 workers waiting to be interviewed. The head naval architect overseeing the construction of Oil Spill Response Vessels for contract to Petrobras had come back from retirement and mentioned the difficulty keeping young welders on after training them. Merritor's axle plant had a brand new consultant to combat this at the engineer lever with training and other HR services.

Productivity is very low, infrastructure is partly to blame delaying inbound logistics. Lack of cranes was another notable gap; Bravante's Procurement Manager had been looking for 2 months for a suitable crane to lease or buy.  This issue is also potentially due to culture. Several companies mentioned poor reliability in employees; delivery drivers not showing up for their shift because they had a late night before. A reduced work ethic was also mentioned and observed. Painters cover patches of steel painfully slow. Contractors build stadiums at a snails pace waiting for panic funding increases as deadlines approach. Even the bellmen at the Sheraton in Rio stand in front of the sliding door laughing about the escaping air conditioning with remarks such as "down with Sheraton!"

What Brazil needs is performance management and human resources consultants to educate newly minted managers and entry level workers on the requirements of being internationally competitive in business and to align them with to goals of the organization through on boarding or properly aligned compensation. 

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Justin McClellan

EMBA 25

Justin McClellan is an accomplished aerospace engineer, analyst, and program manager with a diverse background in research and development. He holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Boston University College of Engineering. Justin currently works for Aurora Flight Sciences. 

EMBA 25 in Rio

After a successful few days in Sao Paulo, the EMBA 25 students, faculty and staff travelled to Rio de Janeiro. In Rio, the class will visit Petrobras and have a panel discussion with accomplished entrepreneurs. Teams will visit a variety of businesses related to their industry focus.

Class debriefing the first site visits in Rio.

The first day in Rio included a trip to Favela Morro de Alemao and a visit with a micro-finance business. Here is a look at the experience:

   

EMBA 25 Arrives in Sao Paulo

The EMBA 25 International Field Seminar is taking place this week in Brazil. The class is divided into six teams, each focused on a different industry. Teams are working to develop an idea for a business in Brazil within their sectors. This year's sectors include manufacturing, health, energy/environment, services, and agriculture/natural resources. In both Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro teams have set up site visits relevant to their project. In addition, the entire class will be visiting a number of businesses to learn about doing business in Brazil.

The class arrived in Sao Paolo and spent the first afternoon touring Sao Paolo, before two full days of visits. As the teams analyze their visits, they will post about their experience here.

Touring Sao Paulo

EMBA 25 Class Visit discussing the electric grid at
CPFL Energia



Energy Team at JP Morgan