November 2017

Now in its fourth year, the Department of Management, Marketing and International Business hosted the 4th Annual Professional Development Workshop. The two-day event, held in EKU's Business and Technology Center on November 9-10, brought together 74 students, 10 business executives, and several special guests for two days of challenging case competitions.

Developed by Dr. Beth Polin, Assistant Professor of Management, the day-long, case-competition style workshop challenged students to apply classroom learning in solving real business problems.

Beginning on Thursday evening, the 20 student teams assembled for a professional development session that covered topics including Teamwork, Brainstorming, Communication, Problem Identification, Empathy, Interpreting Data, and Business Etiquette. They were then given a case that centered on a fictional company -- BrightStart Engineering, Inc. -- that was facing a multitude of challenges including stagnant revenues and high employee turnover.

The teams worked on the case until lunchtime on Friday, when they took a break to participate in a networking luncheon at which President Benson was the keynote speaker. Students had time to chat and eat with business executives.

After lunch, students presented their case solution to the business executives who acted as judges for the competition. Five winning teams were selected for recognition, and six individual students were identified and recognized as "Most Effective Speaker." The event concluded with a case debrief with the business executives and an awards ceremony.

Winning team students were: Tessa Aminetzah, Daniel Bevins, Heather Boatman, Joshua Caplinger, Ashley Carneal, Will Davis, Kassidy Easterling, Madison Harris, Jacob Knox, Maybelline Leandra, Tim Lumbrix, Kyle Rogers, Alyssa Scharklet, Sarah Smith, Preston Spade, Dalton Stanley, Jake Wilson, and Sydney Ziebold. "Most Effective Speaker" recognitions went to: Tessa Aminetzah, Daniel Bevins, Jackson Hurtt, Jacob Knox, Abigale Wilson, and Sydney Ziebold.

Comments were positive all around. Students said they really enjoyed the experience, and many said they were already looking forward to next year's event. The Workshop gives them the opportunity to apply classroom learning to "real-world" business challenges. According to Dr. Polin, "Opportunities for application are critical in the development of business students, and this event provides just such an opportunity."

Department Interim Chair, Dr. Weiling Zhuang, said, "The Management Professional Development Workshop series is designed to offer business students the hands-on experience to apply what they learn in the classroom to solve real-world problems. During the process, students engaged in the teamwork, addressed the real business issues, and made connections with  business executives and faculty. To conclude the workshop, student teams shared their thoughts on the solutions, and the panel of executive judges provided feedback and suggestions. Sincere appreciations go to those committed faculty who devoted their time and efforts to make this happen. Specifically, Dr. Polin took the leadership initiating this workshop series; Dr. Roberson and Dr. Martin served as the faculty advisors advising students and coordinating so many things throughout the process. We want to celebrate the student achievements out of the workshop, and thank those caring and committed faculty who guide students' way to success."

A special thanks to the business executives who gave so generously of their time:

• ​Mr. Ty Adams, Managing Director, Adams:Kinkade Design
• Mr. Chris Caldwell,  Vice President Sales & Marketing, Innovative Publishing
• Mr. Duane Davis, Co-founder, Michael Neal Group
• Mr. Jeff Fultz, President, Central Bank Richmond
• Mrs. Mendi Goble, President and CEO, Richmond Chamber of Commerce
• Dr. David McFaddin, Vice President of Engagement, Regional Stewardship, and Government Relations, EKU
• Mr. Todd Jones, President, Baptist Health Richmond
• Mrs. Amy Scarborough, Vice President External Affairs, AT&T
• Mrs. Kristel Smith, Director, Kentucky Innovation Network
• Dr. Aaron Thompson, Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer, Council on Postsecondary Education
• Dr. Ryan Wilson, Senior Director for Regional Planning, EKU

Polin continued that the event would not have happened without the support of faculty and staff. Dr. Tom Martin, Dr. Mike Roberson and Ms. Sandy Taylor were instrumental in the successful planning and facilitation of the event. Dr. Lana Carnes and Mr. Kevin Cumiskey served as faculty mentors to students during the case process. And last, but certainly not least, Polin was most grateful to the CBT Dean's Office, CEDET, and the MMIB Department for funding the event.

Recently, EKU sales students were among 260 competitors participating in the International Collegiate Sales Competition (ICSC) held in Orlando, Florida. Competitors proudly represented 70 university sales programs from the United States and Canada.

ICSC is a competition for university sales programs, and it is the largest event for role-play and sales management case competitions in the world. The students enjoyed intense competition and professional networking opportunities during the event, November 1-5. EKU Student attendance at this event is particularly significant, as a new era ushers in for sales at EKU with the soon to be launched EKU Center for Professional Sales, complete with sales labs and recording studios.

Florida State University sponsors ICSC, which hosts both a sales role-play competition and a sales management case study competition. Ben Durham and Jose Rebolledo represented EKU in the Sales Role-play, while Quentin Carter and Elijah Vaughn represented the Colonels in the Sales Management Case competition. These students received trophies and recognition as 'Rising Star Rookies' for their commitment and dedication in preparing for their first competition.

In addition to the competitive events, ICSC provides an outstanding opportunity for students and companies from all over the world to connect and network by attending formal dinners, recreational events (e.g. Casino Night) and a large sales-focused career fair. Informal opportunities to engage and interact with company executives also emerged for many students as they lounged by the pool or watched the World Series games in the resort restaurants, during free time when they were not actively competing.

This year, over 40 sponsor companies sent executives to participate in the Career Fair and networking events. Many students landed interviews, and some even received outright job offers. The executives also served as the professional buyers and judges for the competitive events, providing students with valuable feedback from high profile professionals across a wide spectrum of industry settings.

Kevin Cumiskey and Lee Allison, marketing professors from EKU MMIB worked to attract, select, and prepare EKU’s first sales team. This team heralds from a variety of signature programs here in the School of Business representing several towns nearby. Senior Quentin Carter, Lexington, and Junior Jose Rebolledo, Frankfort, major in Marketing. Juniors Ben Durham, General Business, and Elijah Vaughn, Accounting, are from Richmond.

“This is a great opportunity for our students to improve their sales and presentation skills outside the comfort of Richmond, Kentucky," said Cumiskey, Interim Director of the EKU Center for Professional Sales. He continued, "The students worked diligently and prepared well to represent EKU and our new Center for Professional Sales. Our students were able to network with more than 40 companies at the conference career fair and made connections with students at many other schools from around the country. The competition provided our students with valuable knowledge of the sales industry and added to their individual skill sets. I hope we are able to attend this event, and others like it, every year.”

Allison noted, “We all found benefit in the comradery of colleagues and peers working toward similar goals. ICSC represents a tremendous learning and networking opportunity for both students and coaches. Moreover, we will leverage this experience to guide strategy, as our vision for EKU’s Center for Professional Sales takes shape.

Finally, all students and coaches enjoyed a trip to Disney to top off the fantastic events! Epcot was unanimously selected as the park of choice for the EKU students, where they experienced a spectacular celebration of global cuisines, cultures and more at the 2017 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.

Stay tuned for announcements detailing the ribbon cutting ceremony for our new EKU Center for Professional Sales. And, for more on our Certificate for Professional Sales, visit http://management.eku.edu.

Students in Dr. Jae-Young Oh’s Operations Management class got a first-hand learning experience of the materials taught in class at the Asahi Bluegrass Forge (ABF) located in Richmond, Ky.

ABF is a subsidiary of Asahi Forge Corp., a Japanese company that specializes in producing automotive parts such as hub units, gears, transmission components, bearings and joints.

The students were able to go on a facility tour and hear senior managers’ presentations regarding their lean manufacturing strategies, organizational culture, and internships. One of EKU’s accounting students was recommended for an internship in the accounting department and holds that position now.

Vice President Mack Ishgaki took an interest in contributing to the community and EKU, and has been invited to be a guest speaker in Dr. Oh’s class next year on the topic of Japanese “lean” culture.

Photo caption: (from left) Dr. Jae-Young Oh (far left) with MGT 370 Students and ABF employees. Front right is Ms. KiKi Creech, Senior Administration/Accounting Manager. Behind and to her right are Mr. Danny Pittman, Plant Manager, and Mr. Jimmy Bennett (with  cap), Production Control Manager and EKU business alum. Directly behind them are Ms. Emeline Koga, accounting staff, and Ms. Xilan Ji, accounting intern and public accounting major.