Abraham, Stanley C. MHR410 Emergent Ventures

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Professor: Dr. Stanley C. Abraham
Courses: MHR410 Strategic Management, MHR423 Creating A Business Plan, MHR425 Emergent Ventures
Website: http://www.csupomona.edu/~scabraham/

Dr. Abraham was one of few MHR professors teaching MHR 425 Emergent Ventures. In Winter 2006 quarter, Dr. Abraham decided to change the teaching style and used our class as a Guinea pigs so to speak. Students formed their own groups in which they will be working with for the rest of the quarter. Each 'team' consists of 5 to 7 students. In the first and second week, each team needs to research and choose a high-growth (emerging) corporations that meet the certain criteria listed on the class syllabus. All is swell.

The problem lied on the structure of the course. Dr. Abraham decided that each team presents their research material each week. The class met twice per week (Tuesday & Thursday) and once per week, one team must present their material for almost the entire class period. And the other class date during that week, all teams come up and present a section of the topic that is being presented for that week.
I really don't know what the professor was thinking when he introduced such structure of the course. This is no Hybrid (blackboard) course either. So basically, students were teaching each other on the topics listed on the syllabus, doing our own research, and presenting them to the class each week.

I admit that I enjoyed doing the research on our company's financial statements, background history and facts, Board of Directors and Executive Management members, and relevant researched but I expected the professor to do some lecture. All he ever did was pass out a business article handout, give feedbacks on the team's presentation and paper, recommended a book or two for each team pertaining to their weekly topic (there is no required textbook for this class), and invite a guest speaker(s) (the highlight of this course in my opinion).
I had more expectation from this course but I guess the professor did not really care much of the Cal State students. And I did enjoy one bit of his lame jokes he spits out occasionally about Cal State students being lackadaisical and unmotivated. Maybe he is bitter about not being hired at a UC institution.

The only pros about Dr. Stan Abraham is that he gives awful lot of feedbacks for your team paper.


I do not recommend Dr. Abraham for MHR 425 Emergent Venture but to look elsewhere. I hear great comments about Dr. Waters.