The Unique Nature of a Nonprofit Organization with a Product

My externship with Judy Phair, the Vice President of Communications, at the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), began on Thursday, October 15th. Upon my arrival, I was given an itinerary of the meetings and events Judy had scheduled for me that day. Judy explained her intention of demonstrating to me how the communications department at a very corporate-style, yet nonprofit organization, operates, through introducing me to and arranging meetings with key members.

The first meeting on my schedule was a general orientation to the communications department at GMAC. Members of the communications department, Sonya Moore, Bob Ludwig, Ethan Cebulash, and Tracy Briggs all sat down with me to explain their responsibilities and contributions to the department based on their unique talents and experience. Prior to their individual explanations, Judy provided me with a general overview of the unique nature of GMAC as a non-profit organization albeit with a product, the GMAT exam, and more generally, the challenges of working in the testing industry. With that in context, she then explained the role the communications department has played in GMAC and how that role has evolved over time.

Ethan is the web and graphic design specialist who joined the council in 2007. He spoke at length about the web’s contribution to marketing. A couple of years ago they made the website more of a priority. Their goal was to improve the design. Judy explained that the previous website, gmac.com, was really outdated and that the new web site, mba.com is specifically aimed at students.

Bob is the head of media relations and has work for GMAC for five and a half years. One key point that he made was that the organization is much more internationally focused now than ever before, as the push to increase visibility outside of the United States becomes more urgent. The media of course, is a perfect way to do this as it is a source for news organizations to put MBA students in context. In terms of current global trends in students going back to business school, recruiters are gauging how likely this is to happen, and are analyzing general trends in business education while being proactive in pitching media. He informed me that since Judy joined the department a few years ago, she has really spearheaded relations with the media overseas, especially with Asia and India.

Cultural differences need to be considered as the organization expands globally and I learned some interesting and pertinent data collected about trends in India and China. Whereas before, Indians would seeker a higher level education overseas they are increasingly returning to India to receive this education. Additionally, after completing their studies there are jobs awaiting them in their home country. One poignant example of cultural differences affecting the way the GMAT needs to be marketed, concerned Chinese students. When marketing the exam to Chinese students, members of the communications department needed to be cautious of clarifying rules regarding cheating. In China, it is more common for students to pass on answers to their friends, and occurrences in which test-takers will take the exam solely for the purpose of recording questions and sometimes even posting them online, is all too prevalent.

I then attended a Research Exchange event with Judy in which members of other departments were present. The research presented was about the 2009 application trends survey results. The information was a bit over my head as it was a very specific topic and many business terms were used. Much to my relief, Judy explained to me after the presentation, that even she had trouble following all the technicalities. Following that, I sat down with three more members of the communications department, Sam Silverstein, Carole Mahoney, and again, Tracy Briggs.

Tracy Briggs provides a valuable service to the communications department. Three times a week, she puts together an e-mail containing news articles relevant to GMAC and intended to give employees a sense of the current events in the industry. This service is critical to keeping them informed without their having to spend too much time researching themselves. Judy added that the president especially values these news clippings.

I am looking forward to meeting with Judy twice more and will update the blog as those meetings materialize.

~Ilana