Enhanced Junior/Senior Program - Management Enhancements

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The Department of Management
Junior / Senior Initiatives 2008-2009

Clemson Goes to Washington

This initiative supports the development of a business strategy case competition team.  The funds will cover the registration and travel expenses associated with the case competition.  It is our intention – if invited – to enter a team in the Business Strategy Challenge (BSC) at Georgetown University. Clemson entered a team in this challenge for the first time in Spring 2008 and participating students found it to be a valuable opportunity.  The BSC is an invitation-only event during which teams analyze a live case based on a developing non-profit organization in Washington, DC.  With a live case as the focus of the event, the BSC gives students the opportunity to act as consultants for an organization that may implement their recommendations.  The panel of judges includes representatives of the non-profit organization, consultants and professors from Georgetown.  A total of 12 teams of four students each receive a case on Thursday evening and must present recommendations on Saturday morning.  The limited time for analysis teaches students to quickly assess a problem and determine which issues are most important. 

If Clemson does not receive an invitation to the BSC at Georgetown for March 2009, we will attempt to enter another competition hosted by another university.  Additionally, we will investigate the best ways to train a team and to develop a pipeline of team members from year-to-year.  Training a team involves practice both in case analysis and in presenting recommendations.  The budget includes funds for training materials such as example cases (e.g., Harvard Business School cases) for potential team members to analyze.  Additionally, the budget allows for team-building expenditures such as t-shirts for members and light refreshments during practice sessions (on dry-run days when the team works all day together on one case).  Additionally, we are considering developing an in-house competition that would give more Clemson students the opportunity to participate in the case competition format. 

SCOR Certification for Supply Chain Management

This initiative will provide on-site Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) Scholar certification training for 25 supply chain management students.  Students will take the SCOR Scholar Certification Examination at the conclusion of the training program

SCOR certification is a nationally recognized distinction within the supply chain field.  In general, SCOR Certification is based on real-world techniques for measuring and managing a global supply chain.  SCOR certification standardizes the credentials for supply-chain expertise and creates a consistent global standard for excellence in the application of SCOR to an organization’s supply chain operations.

The SCOR Scholar certification program offers salient advantages for our supply chain management students.  Most notably, students who successfully complete the certification program may list this nationally recognized distinction on their résumé and gain a distinct advantage in their job search.  According to the Supply Chain Council, Clemson University will be among the first to offer such training to its undergraduate students.

SCOR Scholar certification training will be offered during the Spring 2009 semester as an integral part of the undergraduate supply chain management course.  A total of 25 students will benefit from this initiative

Project Management Initiative

Project management is a core competence that crosses all disciplines and is becoming an essential skill set within all business disciplines.  The department would like to continue its initiative to enhance project management as a core competence and career within the Management department.  This initiative enhances the junior/senior level experience by creating value through better career opportunities for a significant number of students within the College of Business and Behavioral Science (approximately 240).

A key benefit of this initiative is that all students become a member of PMI.  This gives the student unparalleled access to powerful tools, exclusive services and information and networking opportunities to begin their career, including:

Students are eligible to take the Certified Associate Project Management (CAPM) Exam.  To support taking the test, 2 scholarships are given in each section to those with the highest exam grades on tests.

As explained in Certification Magazine (September, 2004), “For entry-level project management practitioners, the CAPM differentiates you from your peers by demonstrating command of project management terms and processes. It can also be a stepping-stone toward acquiring PMI’s more rigorous PMP credential. For students at the undergraduate and graduate level, the CAPM provides a head start when entering the work force. The CAPM certification is one of the few certifications available at this early stage of professional growth. This designation increases your marketability to employers.
Those who attain the certification not only will feel a personal sense of accomplishment, but also will be recognized by other staff members as being dedicated to continuing professional growth.   The earning potential of the CAPM has not yet been measured. However, project managers with PMI’s PMP certification earned a median income in the United States of $5,000 more than non-PMPs.”
An estimated total of 200 students will benefit from this initiative.

Information Security Initiative

Information security is an issue that is assuming greater prominence in the workplace. While typically thought of as an "information technology" problem, understanding how to develop and maintain a secure information infrastructure is a pressing problem for managers in all functional areas of the firm. The information security initiative for juniors and seniors involves a two-pronged approach to fostering student learning: (1) enhanced course content and (2) information sharing and skill acquisition.

First, the information security module offered in MGT 318 classes will be expanded. Presently, each course offers an information security component that focuses on firewalls, password protection and access security.  The expanded module will offer a hands-on component that focuses on identifying, understanding and developing remedies to security breaches in an organization. This will help students understand how to write an information security policy and how to implement such a policy. Thus the module will straddle the technical and practical issues that will confront our students when they become managers. 
 
Second, we will move forward with our initiative to host an online information security resource center.  During 2008-2009, we will implement a student-centered information security website.  The website will host two sets of documents:

  • A compilation of web resources derived from student projects on issues and remedies to information security issues.  Content will be divided into three areas – for individuals at home, for employers, and for students. This list would be developed and maintained by Clemson undergraduate students. By dividing content in this manner, we anticipate we will be able to showcase our students’ work to external audiences.
  1. As a logical extension of the MGT 318 module, we will provide faculty the option of having exemplary student projects related to information security posted to the web. We envision this information security allowing to post students in multiple formats (i.e., video, audio, graphics and more traditional documents). The concept here is that students would be able to showcase their work to a broader practitioner audience in the workplace.

This website would benefit two groups of Clemson students. More technically-oriented students would have an opportunity to acquire hands-on experience designing, implementing and managing a website. For the broader student population, this initiative presents an opportunity to showcase work that they've completed in class to broader audiences such as family, peers at other institutions or potential employers.

Clemson in China

We plan to subsidize the two study abroad trips to China. All the funds will be used to reduce the amount of fees paid by the students.  This initiative will benefit approximately 25 undergraduate students by making it cheaper for them to obtain international experience by spending six weeks in China. These students will visit local businesses and interact with Chinese students and managers in addition to cultural visits.

White-Collar Crime Symposium

This will be the third Symposium on White-Collar Crime. The first two symposia were hugely successful with over 200 students attending each. We plan to hold the symposium in the Spring 2009. In addition to inviting Mr. Stanton Samenow and Mr. Quinn Mills to again participate, we intend to add a third guest speaker if funds permit. Based on past experience, we expect about 200 students to attend and benefit by being exposed to ethical issues in business and by interacting with leading, national experts.
Externships for Experiential Learning

The department plans to enhance the experience of management majors by:

  1. providing an opportunity for students to interact with senior level managers about career progression in industry
  2. providing an opportunity for students to discuss how globalization is affecting industry in the US, and
  3. sponsoring a recruiter reception for management majors to facilitate job / internship searches.

The funds will be used to pay travel and lodging expenses of Clemson alumni who now have senior-level positions in their company and are willing to come during the semester to speak to our students.  This will allow one seminar to be presented each semester. Receptions will be organized for recruiters in conjunction with the Career Day to allow management majors to interact with prospective employers. Light refreshments will be served at the seminars and receptions.

It is estimated that a total of 200 students will participate and benefit from these events.

 

Past Enhancements

The Department of Management received Junior-Senior enhancement funds to support several initiatives during 2007-08:

1. Project Management Initiative: Bringing Students and Practitioners Together
The program was extremely successful and well-received again this year. Demand for the class outstrips the supply of three sections per semester, up from two sections per semester last year. Students who join the class are offered two important benefits. 

Each student becomes a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI).
Becoming a member of PMI gives the student unparalleled access to powerful tools, exclusive services and information and networking opportunities to begin their career, including:

  • Job search capabilities using Career Headquarters
  • Access to A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). This is the main text used for the class, so students have no text costs for the class.
  • Access to PMI's career framework
  • Access to exclusive publications and information to members, including:
  • Students are eligible to take the Certified Associate Project Management (CAPM) Exam.  To support taking the test, 3-5 scholarships within each section are given to those with the highest exam grades on tests. 
    For entry-level project management practitioners, the CAPM differentiates you from your peers by demonstrating command of project management terms and processes. It can also be a stepping-stone toward acquiring PMI’s more rigorous PMP credential. For students at the undergraduate and graduate level, the CAPM provides a head start when entering the work force. This designation increases marketability to employers. The CAPM credential is a globally developed and deployed certification that is transferable across borders and industries. The earning potential of the CAPM has not yet been measured. However, project managers with PMI’s PMP certification earned a median income in the United States of $5,000 more than non-PMPs.

 

Project Management Institute Membership

Certified Associate Project Manager (CAPM Scholarships)

Number of Known Students Passing CAPM

Fall 2007

68

8

4

Spring 2008

114

10

N/A


2. Externships for Experiential Learning
The Department of Management undertook several initiatives to facilitate and expand student opportunities for experiential learning and networking. These included a recruiting reception, student projects, and business strategy case competition. Details follow.

Recruiting Reception
In conjunction with the Clemson University Career Fair in February, the Department of Management hosted a reception for MGT and IM juniors and seniors to meet recruiters in a more relaxed environment and learn about the different companies that were recruiting our majors. About 50 students and 15 recruiters representing 12 companies attended the event. Feedback from both students and recruiters was unanimously positive, and several students have subsequently indicated that the reception has led to interviews at some of the companies attending the event. Students and recruiters have urged us to hold this event each semester, and we hope to expand to include more companies.
Student Projects
Faculty members organized several projects for juniors and seniors as part of their courses, and the initiative funds have been used to pay for related expenses. For example, students in Dr. Wayne Patterson’s MGT 310 Intermediate Business Statistics class conducted two on-site projects at Pine River Plastics in Seneca, SC.
As noted earlier, faculty members in the Department of Management have also been very active in offering Creative Inquiry projects for juniors and seniors with 11 teams that involved 68 students during the Fall 2007 semester and 14 teams that involved 97 students during the Spring 2008 semester.
Clemson Goes to Washington
In March 2008, a team of four students represented CBBS in the Business Strategy Challenge (BSC) at Georgetown University. The BSC is a case competition during which teams analyze a live case based on a developing non-profit organization in Washington, D. C. With a live case as the focus of the event, the BSC gives students the opportunity to act as consultants for an organization that may implement their recommendations. The organization analyzed this year was The Academy for Learning through the Arts, a charter school in D. C. The panel of judges included representatives of the school, consultants, and professors from Georgetown University. A total of 12 teams of four students each received the case on Thursday evening and presented recommendations on Saturday morning.  The students also took part in an icebreaker and social event at the International Spy Museum.
In addition to Clemson, the competing teams included Boston College, Carnegie Mellon, Emory, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Northeastern, Southern Methodist, University of Florida, University of Pennsylvania, University of Washington, and Villanova.  The four Clemson team members were Hunter Jordan, Matt Robbins, Meghan Rose, and Melissa Zarnoch. Each student was enrolled in MGT 415 during the Spring semester. In addition to putting their MGT 415 instruction into practice, they participated in additional preparation meetings and practice sessions coordinated by Drs. Larry Plummer and Kim Green, assistant professors in the management department.

3. Creativity as a Core Competence

Creativity in Business Course
There are about 20 students in the creativity course. The course focuses on helping students become aware of creative thinking techniques seeking alternatives, continuing to look after the first right answer, changing perspectives and identifying possible barriers to creative thinking. Illustrative examples from business are included. Students log hours toward a project of personal interest in a learning journal to support intrinsic motivation and apply what they have learned in an authentic context. For example they may be working with a family business, trying to start their own business; the point is to link the course to their career goals to motivate the application of the course content. The Creativity Across Cultures event further supported this course by allowing students to interact with business people on a peer level and to experience first-hand the value placed on creativity and innovation in business.

Creativity Across Cultures event
The Creativity Across Cultures event on April 16 was a wonderful success that brought together business people and students and featured 3 engaging and inspirational speakers. The students were fully involved and enjoyed interacting with the business people as peers. One student wrote as a reflection:
                I recently had the privilege of participating in a networking event that took place in the Madren Center. While attending the drop-in event, I had the free benefit of meeting many successful business leaders and entrepreneurs. I took another pleasure in meeting fellow students that I shared the same course with and was delighted to find out their career interests as well as future plans. While attending the event, visitors were diverted to the delight of Ms. Connie’s presentation. Based on her talk of creativity, I feel Ms. Connie captivated all of her listeners and really utilized her creativity to do this. Her first main point was to “challenge your assumptions.”

Featured speakers included: Connie Harryman, Applied Concepts Inc.; Cliff Smith, RBC Insurance; and Matt Reese, Clemson University Student.

About 30 people attended during the event, as students were coming and going based on their class schedule. We also took the opportunity to inform the business people about Creative Inquiry, and I had a display of MGT 297 Introduction to Creative Inquiry work on display. That same display has been moved to the Cooper Library, in the cases near the front desk.

4. Symposium on White Collar Crime

The Second Annual White-Collar Crime Symposium, sponsored by CBBS and the Rutland Institute for Ethics, was held on March 26, 2008 at the Strom Thurmond Institute Auditorium. Dan Wueste of the Rutland Center served as the moderator. Terry Leap began the symposium by providing an overview of the social, economic and psychological harm caused by white-collar criminals.

Stanton E. Samenow, a well-known forensic psychologist and author of Inside the Criminal Mind and The Myth of the Out of Character Crime spoke about the thought patterns of criminals, especially white-collar criminals.
D. Quinn Mills, a professor at the Harvard Business School and author of Wheel, Deal, and Steal, spoke about financial crimes. He also discussed the Spitzer case, and he used his professional relationship with Mr. Spitzer as a backdrop for discussing his actions.
The audience of 175 participants was comprised mainly of students, although there were a few individuals from the local business community in attendance.
After the presentations were complete, the panel entertained a number of questions from the audience. The program lasted for approximately 90 minutes.

5. Information Security Initiative and Certification

This past year, we created the infrastructure required to support our Information Security initiative.

  • MGT 318 – Each MGT 318 incorporated a module on information security. Currently, we are in the process of standardizing how this material is covered across sections. In Fall 2008, we will have standardized resources prepared for instructors to implement in their courses.
  • MGT 455 –MGT 455 incorporated an 8-week module focused on information security issues.  The module included applied experience on how to assess information security threats, guidance on case studies on insider threats to information security and access to an electronic library of materials related to information security issues.  Students were provided copies of 4 electronic books as takeaways from the course.
  • Information Security Resource Center – We have purchased the equipment and software required to host an online information services center. 
  • Certification – We received the grant too late to take the certification-training program we planned on implementing for our students.  As a result, we invested money in textbooks and equipment required to support future certification efforts.  Further, based on course performance, the top two students in the course were offered the option to take information security certification exams during Summer 2008.

 

Because we have only met one-half of our goals, we intend to request funding to support the certification program from future Junior/Senior Enhancement funds. Specifically, we will require funds to cover the costs of materials to support updating the information security portion of MGT 318 and MGT 455. Also, we will require funds to support further development of the certification program.

6. Scholarships to Support Seminar in Global Business: China

Junior/Senior funding was applied toward the China Study Abroad programs. The money was spent to defray group costs associated with the two-week trip in which students traveled to Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanjing, Wuxi and Beijing to visit companies and discuss business practices with managers from those companies. Funding was also used to support lectures from a professor from Nanjing University who discussed recent market developments in China. Money was also used to support scholarships for students participating in the 2-week and 6-week trips to China.

7. Creative Inquiry Research Projects

The Department of Management has also been a leader in offering Creative Inquiry courses for juniors and seniors involving 68 students (11 teams) during the fall 2007 semester and 97 students (14 teams) during the spring 2008 semester.