January 18, 2004

Tough Love                                                                         click for full article

By ABBY ELLIN

No matter what the subject, there's always one class whose reputation precedes it. Either the professor generates fear (say, John Houseman in ''The Paper Chase''), the topic is grueling (organic chemistry, anyone?) or a stultifying combination of the two. Of course, one person's nightmare can be another's easy A, but some classes instill universal dread. They seem to have one thing in common: an uncompromising teacher who takes his mission seriously and expects mountains of work. Failing is easy, but it's possible to do well. The best students devote enormous energy to the class, taking impeccable notes and reviewing material every day. And in the long run, they are thankful.

Applied Marketing Management, Georgetown University

Course Description: M.B.A. elective. Nicknamed Homacide, after its professor, Kenneth E. Homa. Students who take it are Homaphiles; students who avoid it are Homaphobes. Emphasizes the data and analytical structures underlying marketing decisions, and ways to improve decision-making by infusing analytical methods and pragmatic realism.

What the Professor Says: ''My courses tend to reflect the pace and content that is typical in blue-chip business environments -- lots of work, short deadlines,'' Professor Homa says. ''My deal with students is that there won't be any busy work, that they will do a lot of work, but everything they do in my classes will help them land the best possible job and, most important, succeed at that job when they get it.''

What Students Say: ''You fear the coursework and you fear taking the class and Professor Homa,'' says Brent McGoldrick, a second-year M.B.A. ''But you almost fear not taking it. In essence, Ken Homa guarantees that when you go into the real world you'll be more prepared than any other marketing M.B.A. out there. He says people tend to remember half of what they hear in a class, so he speaks twice as fast, figuring that will even out and you'll remember what he wants you to. I spent 10 to 15 hours a week on the last class I took with him. It's an elective, but that adds to the horror, because you choose it.'