Letters to the Editor
Turkey Is Not Middle Eastern
I enjoyed reading the excellent Editor’s Note in the March issue: “Analyze This — What a Mundane Mailing List Reveals about HBS.”
However, in your note there is a misconception that Turkey is in the Middle East. Actually it is not. It borders Syria, Iraq, and Iran, but Turkey is both European and Anatolian, and since the days of the Ottoman Empire, most Turks have not claimed any kinship to the Arab world.
As an American who has lived in Turkey for twenty years, I have been reminded several times by the Turkish people that “we are not Arabs; our culture is independent, and our heritage is Ottoman.” The Turkish culture is one in which all Turkish citizens are proud. To label them Middle Eastern often agitates them quickly. Thus, I gently bring this fact to your attention.
George D. Rountree (PHSM 5, 1976)
Istanbul, Turkey
Correcting the Learning Curve
In the March Bulletin, regarding your excerpts from Walter Kiechel’s book, The Lords of Strategy: Bruce Henderson (MBA ’41) clearly made “the experience curve” famous and used it to help build The Boston Consulting Group. But BCG’s formulation of the curve followed prior work by others, including Cornell University engineering professor Andrew Schultz Jr. who had published an article on the experience curve (or learning curve) based on his research in the aircraft industry years before BCG’s founding. Henderson’s insight was not of the learning curve per se, but its potential implications for business strategy that no one else had previously considered.
Thanks for the article; I really enjoyed it.
Mark Louchheim (MBA ’81)
Beverly Hills, CA
