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Free labor? Great. Free labor from top M.B.A. students? Even better.
免費(fèi)勞力？太好了！MBA優(yōu)等生提供的免費(fèi)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(shù)十年來，眾多公司都靠商學(xué)院學(xué)生充當(dāng)免費(fèi)咨詢師，讓他們對(duì)接管業(yè)務(wù)或擴(kuò)張業(yè)務(wù)的時(shí)機(jī)進(jìn)行評(píng)估。對(duì)公司來說，這可是低風(fēng)險(xiǎn)高回報(bào)的事情，基本上不會(huì)產(chǎn)生財(cái)務(wù)支出，還能從干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(xiàn)在，一些公司要更進(jìn)一步，將整個(gè)品牌交給這些學(xué)生，希望公司與學(xué)校之間建立長期伙伴關(guān)系，而非一次性的咨詢關(guān)系。學(xué)校力促這些項(xiàng)目，將其當(dāng)作學(xué)生獲取實(shí)踐經(jīng)歷的機(jī)會(huì)，也為學(xué)生在競爭激烈的就業(yè)市場上投遞簡歷時(shí)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(xiàng)目并非完全沒有私心：公司獲得免費(fèi)──或者說近乎免費(fèi)──勞力的同時(shí)，學(xué)校獲得的項(xiàng)目補(bǔ)貼可以達(dá)到數(shù)十萬美元，而學(xué)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(tuán)把它的Yoo-hoo巧克力飲料的市場營銷活動(dòng)交給了兩名來自德克薩斯大學(xué)奧斯丁分校麥庫姆斯商學(xué)院（University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business）的MBA學(xué)生。這兩名學(xué)生──春秋兩季無償工作，不過其中一名夏季將會(huì)帶薪實(shí)習(xí)──正全面接手該品牌，準(zhǔn)備進(jìn)行Yoo-hoo飲料四年多來第一次重大的市場推廣活動(dòng)。公司援引尼爾森市場調(diào)查公司（Nielsen）的數(shù)據(jù)說，這個(gè)在Dr Pepper Snapple集團(tuán)被視為“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(jīng)過嚴(yán)格篩選選拔出來的這兩名學(xué)生每人每周投身于該項(xiàng)目的時(shí)間達(dá)到了20小時(shí)，兩人的合計(jì)工作量相當(dāng)于一名專職的員工。（從事品牌管理工作的麥庫姆斯商學(xué)院畢業(yè)生去年的人均收入為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(jí)主管匯報(bào)工作，并可望與其他品牌經(jīng)理一道競爭，贏得公司的一份營銷預(yù)算。等到這兩名學(xué)生畢業(yè)時(shí)，其他人會(huì)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(tuán)高級(jí)營銷副總裁安德魯•斯普林蓋特（Andrew Springate）說，希望學(xué)生能夠“全方位”地遠(yuǎn)瞻到品牌可以預(yù)見的未來。他說，“根本沒有真正的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，沒有負(fù)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(xué)生簽訂了合同，無償為公司工作，Dr Pepper Snapple集團(tuán)則負(fù)責(zé)項(xiàng)目運(yùn)作的開支和交通費(fèi)用。公司還出錢聘用一名前任員工來擔(dān)任兩名學(xué)生的指導(dǎo)。公司對(duì)這兩名學(xué)生的研究工作的投資預(yù)計(jì)會(huì)達(dá)到數(shù)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，作為商學(xué)院消費(fèi)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。這筆錢本身不是用于換取學(xué)生的勞動(dòng)，但是這種贊助關(guān)系的確開啟了類似Yoo-hoo計(jì)劃這樣的項(xiàng)目之門。該中心的執(zhí)行董事拉馬爾•約翰遜（Lamar Johnson）正在考慮與其它幾家贊助商聯(lián)系，以期建立類似的伙伴關(guān)系。
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(tuán)的這種做法還不太常見，需求量大的是更傳統(tǒng)的為期一學(xué)期的獨(dú)立項(xiàng)目。佩珀代因大學(xué)格拉齊亞迪奧工商管理學(xué)院（Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University）推出的E2B（education-to-business）學(xué)以致用夏季項(xiàng)目已經(jīng)滿額，秋季項(xiàng)目滿額率也已達(dá)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(lǐng)域，很多公司也開始成為項(xiàng)目的回頭客，經(jīng)年累月地利用學(xué)生來處理一系列戰(zhàn)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.）在過去六年里開展的10多個(gè)項(xiàng)目中用了匹茲堡大學(xué)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(xué)生，并且在項(xiàng)目完成后正式雇傭了至少六名學(xué)生。這些項(xiàng)目的任務(wù)包括對(duì)在華并購策略和在印度建立聯(lián)盟的機(jī)會(huì)進(jìn)行評(píng)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.
盡管非盈利機(jī)構(gòu)和政府機(jī)構(gòu)可以免費(fèi)獲取服務(wù)，首度合作的合伙人支付的費(fèi)用則可以低至1000美元，但是卡茨研究生院在多數(shù)項(xiàng)目上還是有9000美元的收入。每學(xué)期有12至16家機(jī)構(gòu)參與項(xiàng)目，如果所有客戶都是大公司，學(xué)院每年會(huì)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(jí)副院長勞里•基爾希（Laurie Kirsch）說，做項(xiàng)目不是為了賺錢盈利。其實(shí)，正是象征性的收費(fèi)吸引了各家公司。卡茨研究生院用這筆錢為教職員工和駐企高管指導(dǎo)支付酬金、建立項(xiàng)目提案競賽（以前沒有貨幣獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)）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(duì)西屋電氣公司戰(zhàn)略運(yùn)營執(zhí)行副總裁湯姆•阮（Tom Nguyen）來說，低成本是最大的吸引力。阮說，“我不記得我們什么時(shí)候在一個(gè)項(xiàng)目上的花費(fèi)超出過25,000或30,000美元。”他估計(jì)，如果公司聘請(qǐng)的是頂級(jí)咨詢公司，同樣的項(xiàng)目其開銷將是現(xiàn)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(xué)羅伯特•H•史密斯商學(xué)院（University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business）負(fù)責(zé)工商管理碩士和理學(xué)碩士項(xiàng)目的副院長鮑勃•克拉普費(fèi)爾（Bob Krapfel）說，各大機(jī)構(gòu)受到吸引是因?yàn)樗鼈儭皫缀醴治牟换ā本湍塬@得“質(zhì)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(duì)于一個(gè)由四至六人組成、每位成員一學(xué)期工作時(shí)間累計(jì)為80小時(shí)的團(tuán)隊(duì)所完成的工作，大公司的支付價(jià)是7,500美元，老牌非盈利機(jī)構(gòu)的支付價(jià)為5,000美元。對(duì)剛起步的非盈利組織，史密斯商學(xué)院則提供無償服務(wù)。按要求，所有公司都需要為500美元以上的基本項(xiàng)目開支買單，比如交通費(fèi)。
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(duì)學(xué)生而言，許多人說他們并不在意自己的工作沒有報(bào)酬──至少目前并不在意。目前正在進(jìn)行Yoo-hoo項(xiàng)目、有著化學(xué)工程學(xué)方面背景的妮科爾•克薩達(dá)（Nicole Quesada）說，“這個(gè)時(shí)候體驗(yàn)式的學(xué)習(xí)比金錢更有價(jià)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(tuán)當(dāng)實(shí)習(xí)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”。
