Contact: Kay Fike Jones
Twenty-one Mississippi State graduate students in business are beneficiaries of a hands-on summer experience that also provided valuable assistance to the university.
As part of a strategy field study class, the master of business administration candidates usually consult with area business firms when the course is offered in spring and fall.
"The shorter semesters and daily class schedules make it difficult for students to handle field projects in the summer," explained teacher Barbara A. Spencer. "Driving to sites in Houston or even Columbus can be pretty tough given our tight schedule."
So, the management professor decided to have most of the students work with departments on campus, as well as one nearby company, and "provide a service to the university while learning."
Four teams of students were assigned to work with different departments in the Division of Business Affairs. A fifth team worked with Southwire, a Starkville company, where they gathered information to promote a new type of wire product.
At Mississippi State, business affairs is involved in a program to improve the quality of its services and the students were able to provide assistance and benefit from the experience within the academic time frame.
The students' on-campus efforts were focused in four offices:
Information Systems and User Support. The division will open an information desk this fall, so the MBA team surveyed students to determine which computer services and technologies they prefer.
Dining Services. Discussions were held with all Dining Services employees to gain insights on how the area can improve its operations.
Comptroller and Treasurer. Students studied the range of services offered and put together a questionnaire for the department to use in measuring customer satisfaction.
Procurement and Contracts. The students helped develop a process to implement a bar code system for tracking inventory that will result in major changes for the office's operations.
Feedback from both students and university employees has been so promising that future classes will most likely conduct their field studies at the university instead of "on the road."
As one student participant explained, "The project helps to integrate all the skills learned in the MBA program and put them to use in the real world."
University personnel echo the student's satisfaction. Assistant Vice President for Business Affairs Wayne Reed praised the students' "enthusiasm for the project." Comptroller Wayne Bland went even further: "I'd like to hire all four of the students who worked here."