Harbus

Issue date: 1/28/08 Section: Features

Name
Benjamin P. Grubin

Career Field Prior to HBS
Information Technology

Summer Internship
Harrah's Entertainment,
AtlanticCity, NJ

What made the entertainment industry stand out to you during interviews?
The opportunity to focus on management and leadership issues "in the large." Every casino has thousands of line employees offering numerous chances to hone the leadership techniques taught at HBS, and gain experience with the daily realities of managing a diverse workforce. Add to that the marketing dollars spent on an annual basis and the amount of data collected on the customers, and it's almost an MBA paradise.

Why did you choose Harrah's?
Harrah's Entertainment, with its over 40 domestic and overseas properties, provide nearly unlimited opportunities for advancement to those with the willingness to work in some out of the way locations. The prospect of working in Tunica, MS, or Joliet, IL didn't bother me at all. Very few companies out there have a large number of multi-billion dollar, geographically disparate business units that are almost identical in purpose and structure. Since skills learned at one are portable to any, opportunities abound.

Summarize your summer internship, the good, the bad and the overall.
I was exposed to nearly every operational aspect of a casino. It was like a crash course in hotel operations, gaming operations, food and beverage, security and casino marketing. I had the opportunity to work various shifts with security, or in the pits with table games, and see the nuts and bolts of how the casino is operated. The only negative is the same one experienced at most large multi-national enterprises: big companies can sometimes move at what seems to be a glacial pace, which is frustrating to a new MBA out to find things to revolutionize. But that didn't stop me from taking the job, and I haven't looked back!

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