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March 29, 2006
Massey Students Study Abroad in Chile
The Study Abroad course trip for the spring term was to Chile, in the southwest corner of South America. The course itself built on previous experiences and was developed into an international consultancy project for five Nashville companies. Four of the companies were looking at entering the Chilean market while the fifth one was seeking to use Chile as a gateway to other Latin American countries. The class examined five industries with specific business sectors: automobile (engine parts), food (specialty pasta), religion (instructional materials), office supplies (printer cartridge recycling) and garment (precision cloth cutting machine manufacturing).
The classroom time again differed in that one of the classes was a joint session with the Nashville Chamber of Commerce on “Doing Business in Chile.” The featured speaker was Sara McDowell, Chile Desk Officer, U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. Other areas studied were about market entry research and modes of entry. In addition, a session on CenTradex, a data base of imports and exports, proved a valuable tool for the students.
The flight down on Saturday proved long but uneventful. Early Sunday morning, 20 students and 2 professors arrived in Santiago. Once settled in the hotel, the briefings started and then the afternoon was spent touring the city, which is a very westernized city with a strong Spanish influence. Our evening meal was at the same restaurant as the retiring President of Chile. There were more secret service agents than students.
Monday started with briefings from the Foreign Investment Committee and the American Chamber Of Commerce. These were then followed Monday afternoon and Tuesday by corporate visits to companies that are in the same sectors that the groups were studying plus the Central Bank and LAN the Chilean airlines.
Wednesday's visit was to the port of Valparaiso. The briefing on the infrastructural planned growth and increased tonnage going through the port reflected the very pro business thinking of the Chilean government and people. Thursday briefings by the US Commerce service on the five industry sectors being studied added to the overall understanding of doing business in Chile, particularly in those sectors. Friday included a visit to Entel, a technology giant in the country.
Our final day, Saturday, was spent at a resort in the Andes with everything from horseback riding to guided walks. The flight that evening was again long and tiring, but we finally returned to Nashville without any real mishaps and with the same number that had left one week earlier.
In talking with the students, it was the consensus of the group that Chile is a rapidly expanding market economy that offers many opportunities.
March 28, 2006
Former Kentucky Gov. Martha Layne Collins To Speak at Belmont
Former Kentucky Gov. Martha Layne Collins will speak at Belmont University on Thursday, March 30, on the subject of leadership, culture and diversity, in a free event sponsored by the Belmont University College of Business Administration’s Executive-in-Residence Program. Collins was governor of Kentucky from 1983 to 1987. Last year she became chairman and CEO of the Kentucky World Trade Center. Her speech, titled "Leadership in an Everchanging World," is scheduled for 4:45 p.m., March 30, in the Neely Dining Room of the Massey Business Center. Registration is required. Call 460-5522 or e-mail jenkinsl@mail.belmont.edu.
Continue reading "Former Kentucky Gov. Martha Layne Collins To Speak at Belmont"
March 27, 2006
Massey Students Visit Cigna for Power Lunch
On Wednesday, March 15th, the last Power Lunch of the spring season was hosted by Cigna Government Services. The speaker was Brian Setzer, vice president of Operations. The lunch was also attended by Massey student Melody Kief, Director, Benefit Accounting. Setzer began by giving a brief overview of Cigna Government Services, which is a division of Cigna, primarily a healthcare company.
Setzer explained that Cigna Government Services works with Medicare, and that although Medicare is a government program, administration of the program is privatized. Cigna Government Services handles approximately 70 million claims a year and uses technology to expedite claims processing.
Setzer talked about the changing market and how that will impact Cigna Government Services. The large amounts of people about to retire will double the number of people with Medicare in the next twenty years. Setzer believes this will “swamp the system.” While this growth provides opportunities, recent changes are increasing competition for Medicare business. New competitors have emerged that are not insurance companies but claims processing companies.
The highlight of the Power Lunch was when Setzer spoke candidly about his career path and gave some interview tips. Setzer has a background in finance and has worked in internal controls and operations. “Stay challenged and keep learning,” Setzer advised. Although Setzer has been with Cigna Government Services for 8 years, he has never held a position within the company for more than 20 months. Setzer also gave some suggestions for questions a candidate should ask a potential employer. Questions such as:
“Do people move from functional area to functional area?”
“What was the career progression of the key individuals in the organization?”
“Who had the job before me?”
The Cigna Government Services Power Lunch was a great way to end the semester. Setzer spoke openly about to the attendees about his own career path and provided meaningful advice for students embarking on a job search. This Power Lunch was enhanced by Setzer’s honesty and casual interaction with attendants.
March 26, 2006
Cost-Price Class Visits Fed Ex Headquarters,
On February 28th the Cost-Price class had the rare opportunity of visiting FedEx’s headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. Mona Collett, former Director of Communications at Belmont, now works at FedEx and was able once again to get Massey students uncommon access. The trip began with a tour of FX TV, FedEx’s own television station. FedEx uses FX TV to increase communication throughout the organization. The visit continued with a presentation about FedEx given by Ms. Collett. After dining on ribs at the Rendezvous, the trip culminated in a trip to the Hub, which reaches its peak level of activity around midnight.
The first stop was the Command Center, where planes are routed domestically and internationally to ensure that packages arrive at the correct time. Additionally, students learned about the lengths FedEx employs to provide consistent overnight service. These range from extra “sweeper” planes to pick up last minute packages to extensive contingency plans for unexpected situations. In fact, it was one of these contingency plans that allowed FedEx to keep doing business after 9/11. While no one could have predicted that type of situation, FedEx did have a plan for a pilot strike that would ground all aircraft. FedEx was able to adapt that plan to continue operations.
The last stop on the tour was to the Memphis Hub, where more 1.5 million packages are sorted each night from more than 200 aircraft. Planes are lined up 15 deep in the night sky waiting to land and are unloaded in an unbelievable 20 minutes. The packages are sorted, packed in to containers, and reloaded at a furious pace. The Cost-Price class was able to see many of the course lessons at work in the daily operations at FedEx.
March 25, 2006
Nobel Prize Winning Economist Speaks at Belmont
Dr. Robert Fogel, 1993 Nobel Memorial Prize winner in Economic Sciences, spoke to a capacity crowd on Wednesday, March 22nd at Belmont. His talk, "The Contribution of Enthusiast Religion to the Shaping of American Civilization," was based on his most recent book, The Fourth Great Awakening and the Future of Egalitarianism, which argues that every movement of progressive economic, social and political change in U.S. history has had Christians in the vanguard. His talk at Belmont was sponsored by the Belmont Center for Business Ethics' James M. Medlin Speakers Series in Business Ethics.
March 24, 2006
Venture Capital Panel Discussion - April 27th
The Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business and Undergraduate School of Business Administration cordially invite you to a panel discussion on April 27 in the Maddox Grand Atrium of the Curb Event Center. This event will focus on current trends in the venture capital and private equity markets of Middle Tennessee, including a discussion of entrepreneurial, mezzanine, and growth capital demand and deal flow within different sectors and industry groups. Panelists will include:
Stuart McWhorter
Managing Partner
Clayton & Associates
Linda Costello
Managing Director, Investment Banking Group
Avondale Partners
Gary A. Peat
Partner
Council Ventures
Refreshments will be served at 5:00, followed by the panel starting at 5:30.
March 23, 2006
Quentin Fussell - Current Student Spotlight
Name: Quentin R. Fussell
Employer: HCA
Position: Sr. Financial Analyst
Contact Info: anquentin.fussell@hcahealthcare.com; (615) 344-5985
What did you do before you came to the Massey School?
I was a staff accountant for HCA.
What is unique about your current job? Will this change after you earn your degree? If so, how?
What's unique about my job is that I work with 12 CFOs. Earning my MBA won't change anything about my current position.
Complete this phrase, "I'd rather retake Dr. Smolira's finance class than."
You're kidding, right? If I knew that Dr. Smolira was waiting for me in the MBA program, I would have stopped when I got my MAcc.
What quote guides your life?
"A wise man will hear, and increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain onto wise counsels." Proverbs 1:5.
March 21, 2006
Janell Puryear, Massey 1994 - Alumni Spotlight
I graduated from The Massey School in December 1994. In 1995, I took a position on the Alumni Board and remained until 2005. During this time I have seen growth with on-going quality. For a period of time, I served as the secretary of the board. I have made many phonathons to alums requesting support, attended many Homecoming functions, art sales, theatre functions, basketball games and to welcome guest speakers. What a privilege to have been a part of this board.
I am a Second Language English teacher at Franklin High School. However, in previous years I taught business at the high school level both at University School of Nashville and Franklin High. My summer vacations are spent teaching either business or ESL internationally. This volunteer work is done through the Baptist International Mission Board. I have taught in Brazil, Portugal, and China, but my favorite is Bangkok, Thailand. This summer I will return to teach in Bangkok. My experience teaching business in Bangkok is at the college level with classes aimed at preparing students to write their resume, application and interview for a job with an American, British, or Australian company.
What was going on in your career that would compel you to seek an MBA?
Having a career in business education, I have always felt the need to know more business. An MBA seemed the perfect manner to learn more about the business world. Actually while at Massey, there was another business education teacher who was completing the program. I would suggest an MBA for all high school business teachers.
What originally brought you to The Massey School from all the other programs available in the area?
Probably my age brought me to the Massey School. I was approaching 50 at that time, had children in high school and was working at University School. I did not have the option of applying to Northwestern, Harvard or any of the big name business schools. However, I found that Belmont was half the price of Vanderbilt and yet shared some of the same professors. What more could one ask?
Where in your career have you found the value in your Massey MBA?
The value of my MBA is often found when I am in the classroom. Students are very impressed when I am able to speak of situations not mentioned in the text. Many times I am able to bring in information about the stock market, international business and even operations management. When I teach Business Law there is always a connection to the Business Ethics class with Dr. Hollis and when I teach entrepreneurship, there is always a business plan required.
Is there a particular memory you have about The Massey School that really sticks with you that you would like to share?
I had never had a statistics class before. The first night of the class, I asked the guy on my right side how much he had and he said 3 semesters in undergraduate. I then asked the guy on the left and he said he had 4 semesters. I knew at that moment that I was in trouble. I took the class with Dr. Dennis and worked so hard. As a result I got a B and was happy. I decided to audit the class for the next semester. The first time through I struggled, the second time through I could complete the problems almost before the professor. I felt so proud!
Please fill in the blank: I would rather take Finance again than to ___________ ever again.
Take Financial Management with Dr. Mastrapasqua.
Do you have any words of wisdom for current Massey School students?
You will be proud of what you have accomplished with a Massey degree. With the high-quality instruction received, you will acquire good communication skills, team building, and quality and leadership preparation. The university is very well known and you are lucky to be a part of The Massey School program.
March 20, 2006
Salary and Demand Are Up For MBA Graduates
The following article information was published in the March 2006 Careers & Education section of The Tennessean.
• Hiring for 2006 is expected to be at its highest level since before the dot-com bust of 2001, according to college career counselors and corporate recruiters.
• Nationally, one recruiting firm predicts this year’s crop of MBA candidates will earn $106,587 in average base pay and signing bonuses, up 7% from a year earlier. Steve Pollock, president of WetFeet, Inc., a California-based national recruiting and consulting firm, keeps tabs on job and national recruiting trends. WetFeet works with some of the country’s biggest companies including Procter & Gamble and UBS.
• Increased demand for MBAs creates trickle-down effect. “As employers aren’t able to fill their employment schedules, their recruiting expands to include other people,” Pollock said. Sometimes the demand is so great that the number of recruiters exceeds the number of graduates with the precious MBA.
• From the employer’s standpoint an MBA suggests the ability to anticipate market changes and think strategically. Pollock said job candidates with an MBA generally have ambition and drive, and often they have prior experience in the workaday world. “They bring with them work experience and also they are fresh with ideas and energy and help companies address new markets,” said Pollock.