Tag: "College of Business"

Minneapolis Case Competition

July 24, 2017

[caption id="attachment_62545" align="alignleft" width="200"]A group photo of the Colorado State Minneapolis Case Competition group Colorado State Minneapolis Case Competition group[/caption] This spring, four College of Business Supply Chain Management students competed in the 5th Annual International Undergraduate Supply Chain Competition from March 29 to April 1. The 2017 Competition took place at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.  The competition welcomed 30 universities including Colorado State. The four students representing the university included Alexis Applegate, Doug Gaillard, Anastasia Pjevach, and Jonathan Schulein. Colorado State Minneapolis Case Competition group The team was asked to analyze and solve a distribution/retailer case involving perishable items for the case sponsor, Land O’ Lakes, in a 24-hour time frame. After a fierce competition, the students placed second, but their performance was strong enough to get the team recognized at the awards banquet. Competition participant, Doug Gaillard, explained how he got involved with the competition. “I heard about the competition through Bill Shuster's capstone class,” he said. Seeing as Gaillard had already competed in the Denver Transportation Case Competition, he decided to take on the challenge. The students had the opportunity to attend networking dinners, company tours, and meet countless influential individuals within the supply chain field. When describing how it felt after their presentation and analysis Gaillard stated, “We all felt amazing about what we accomplished in such a short period of time. Working on a real business problem and competing with my fellow Rams with a mentor like Bill during the competition was so rewarding.” Although they did not make it into the finals, the group still received honorable mention for their outstanding performance. After finishing the competition, Gaillard said he is eager to compete again next year and to apply what he learned to the next case competition.

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Honors Business Capstone Project Partners with HP

July 24, 2017

[caption id="attachment_62537" align="alignleft" width="200"]A portrait photo of Bill Shuster, Professor of the Honors Capstone Bill Shuster, Honors Capstone Instructor[/caption] The Honors Capstone partnered on a strategic project with executives from HP Workstations to create a process for mobile Workstations to penetrate the small-to-medium business sector. Teams of five were created with individuals from different concentrations. Each team was expected to solve the same problem over the course of the semester to resolve HP’s current business issue. Students were competing against the Asian Pacific Japan accelerator team from inside HP. The accelerator program is a culmination of HP's top potential young managers in the region and they have an entire year to work on what CSU students tackle in a semester. HP encourages students to excel at this project because the fresh perspectives on the issue helps HP’s strategy internally in an area of the market that provides great business opportunity. HP has partnered with the capstone course for the third semester which fits with its mission, “building innovative leaders.” At the beginning of the semester, HP executives came into Bill Shuster’s capstone class and presented the case to students. After they walked through the challenges and opportunities of the project, they turned the project over to students to do an independent analysis on the HP and Workstation system. Shortly after, students went on a site visit with the Vice President of Workstations, Josh Peterson, and other HP employees, Andrew Willard and Alan Buckner to talk more in depth about the project. Students toured the facilities, gained insight into the HP culture, and saw numerous products undergoing testing. Teams then split up to speak with different departments including, supply chain, sales, marketing, finance, etc. Within each department, questions were asked and direction was given so students could better tackle the current issue and make their solution executable. The value for HP is in the approach students take to dive into the problem. HP leverages the intellect of students and provides the chance to gain real-life experience. Students are learning how interactions in the corporate world work, and for many this is their first experience in a business setting. The skills utilized in this project are a compilation of knowledge they have learned in the College of Business.  

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A Note from Lynn Shore: Department of Management Chair

July 19, 2017

Dear alumni and friends of the Management Department, [caption id="attachment_62504" align="alignleft" width="200"]A portrait photo of Lynn Shore, Professor and Chair of the Management Department at the College of Business Lynn Shore, Professor and Chair of the Management Department, College of Business[/caption] We are very happy to bring you news about the department. We have so many great activities to highlight, and we are proud of the accomplishments of our faculty, staff, and students. My four years as department chair have been exciting and fulfilling. I want to update you on our management concentrations. The enrollments in our three concentrations in Management reached 375 in Organization and Innovation Management, 130 in Supply Chain Management, and 90 in Human Resource Management. We are very pleased to provide these concentrations, as these diverse options support the varied interests and career paths of our students. Students are also enrolling in our certificate programs. The popular, Entrepreneurship Certificate is designed for students both in the College of Business and across campus. This certificate allows us to support our undergraduate entrepreneurs, interested in starting a new venture, sustainability and new venture development, creativity and innovation, and business plan development. We are launching a new program this Spring: an entrepreneurship minor. This will interest many more students, from all concentrations, in our entrepreneurship curriculum. Our courses will now be populated by business students and their entrepreneurial peers from a wide variety of majors. The minor will be a great incubator for innovation and entrepreneurial ventures. Look for updates on this new initiative. The programs we are offering in Management support our CSU students in their education, and help them excel in the marketplace. Based on our strategic planning process, several important initiatives are underway. We are seeking to build stronger relations with our alumni and members of the business community to help us further our strategic goals. The Entrepreneurship Institute and Supply Chain Forum continue to expand our community of business professionals, to the benefit of our students, faculty, and programs. Especially important, are scholarship initiatives for our students and the continued support of faculty research. We seek to enhance the classroom environment for all of our students through the inclusion of business speakers, and offer hands-on applications of classroom material because our students learn by doing. I am very proud of the accomplishments of our faculty, staff, alumni, and students. As you will see in this newsletter, our students continue to be amazing. Be sure to also read about Professor Dan Krause, who is conducting some interesting research on his sabbatical next year. We are also very happy to feature alumnus John Weber who shares some highlights of his time at CSU and his career since graduation. I hope you get an opportunity to visit the CSU campus and see some of your favorite faculty members. When you have a chance, please send us any news you have about your career and life experiences. We would love to feature you in an upcoming newsletter.

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