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Students in School of Business Learn Through New Methods
As new trends arise in the business world, HU students are adapting with new methods of learning. This semester students from four different classes have been introduced to a different method of applying what they learn in the classroom to the real world.
Students in Organizational Behavior and Business Research initiated the first Research Symposium held by the School of Business. Meanwhile, two Advertising Management classes took their classroom education and applied it to a real-life advertising campaign. All three classes learned material in the classroom that they were able to share with their fellow classmates and outside organizations.
Students observed posters and journals during the research symposium.
Since 2003, Dr. Kanata Jackson's Organizational Research course has created the "Collegiate Journal of Organizational Behavior." The journal includes individual papers from each of her students.
"It started as a project for three honors college students," Jackson stated. "As a part of writing across the curriculum, I decided to incorporate the journals in each semester. Once they have done their individual papers all three classes come together to create one journal."
Dr. Kay Braguglia's Business Research class presented posters and poster board presentations of research they had completed over the semester. Students worked in groups to present their research, which included topics about celebrities and endorsements, mitigation of global warming, and the statistical analysis of high school draft picks.
For the first time, Jackson and Braguglia's classes came together for a Research Symposium. The symposium that was held in the rotunda, between Buckman Hall and the Martin Luther King, Jr. building, allowed students to walk around in between classes to read the posters and journals and learn about some of the research their peers worked on during the semester.
Students observed posters and journals during the research symposium.
"It's a good idea to showplace work," stated Kevin Snipes, a senior finance major. "It gives other students an idea of what to expect with upper level or graduate work."
Other students in two Advertising Management courses took their instruction beyond graduate work and applied it to a real world situation. In groups, students were assigned to create an advertising campaign for an outside company, Communities in Schools (CIS). Students had a total of two and a half months to create a campaign that would actually be adopted by the organization.
CIS is an organization that helps students stay in school and prepare for life after graduation. The program uses community service, mentoring, skills training, and counseling to provide a safe environment for students in order to reach their goal.
The two classes, led by Dr. Sonja Pollard-Mitchell, chair of the Department of Marketing and Nikki Finley, instructor in the School of Business, presented their finished campaigns to judges and Katie M. Felder, executive director of CIS. The presentations were held Dec. 4, in the Harvey library meeting room. Different groups created their ad campaigns to cater to two different audiences; groups chose parents or businesses.
Felder made the final decision and presented the information to the class at a reception held Dec. 12. All of the students were awarded certificates for their work on the ad campaign. The winners were chosen based on their written campaign and the presentation.
"All of the projects were good but this one blew me out of the water, the campaign spoke for itself," stated Felder.
One of the winning team's ad campaign, entitled "U-Turn," focused on the role the reader would play in a child's life. Each of the ads featured the common theme of U-Turn and how one can make a turnaround in the life of a child.
"A lot of sweat went into this project," stated Melinda Skinner, a member from the winning team. The hard work and effort put into the research symposium and ad campaigns will stay with the students.
-Naima A. Gethers