IBEIntegrative Business Experience

Mary McCordIBE instructor

Associate Professor of CIS, Harmon College of Business

Integrative Business Experience Key Tasks

–Form company

–Sell Product

–Organize Service Project

–Give proceeds to Charity

Online Inventory & EC system:Role & type of business systems

• Traditional:• Definitions of TPS,

KWS, DSS, MIS, ESS• Description of

interaction• Lecture with Ppt.

graphic• Case study

• IBE:• Chpt. is read• Plan TPS to track

inventory• Plan MIS to

summarize reports • Find/Use DSS for

financial models• Plan parameters for

ESS

Online Inventory & EC system :Manage Hardware/Software Assets• Traditional• Teach terminology, 100

definitions• Use examples to discuss

processing, storage, & application needs

• Lecture with Ppt. graphics

• IBE• Ind. students research

hardware and software to run IBE E-commerce.

• Groups choose a low cost system and present to class

• Class decides which business processes will be online.

Example: IBE website

Online Inventory & EC system :Business Value of IS

• Learn formulas for models

• Use Excel case to compute results

• Lecture/Ppt.• Do fill in blank

exercises

• Create IBE financial statements from scratch

• Compute models for IBE

• Decide which are most pertinent & present to bankers

• scoring model to choose software

Experiential Learning through Service Projects

• IBE classroom and text presents theory

• Students decide on IBE strategies based on theory

• Success/Failure of strategies are experienced

• Theories are revisited and built upon (no brain dump)

• Motivation and retention are increased

Spring 2005

• "Burg" t-shirt for American Cancer Society

• Profit given to ACS = $3,682

• Project = 105 Hours

• Bowling Night and Relay Walk

Fall 2004 – Wildcard Co.

• “Pine St” T-shirt for Habitat for Humanity

• Profit given to HFH = $2,1972

• Project = 101 Hours

• Work on Habitat House

Fall 2004 – Slap Happy• “Burg” glasses and koozies for Y.E.S.

(Youth Excited About Sports)

• Profit given to YES = $1,672

• Project = 100 Hours

• Workshops for Warrensburg Parks and Recreation

Spring 2003 – Just Scrub It• “CMSU” scrub pants for Big Brothers/Sis

• Profit given to BBBS = $882

• Project = 100 Hours

• Car Show for Big Brothers/Sis

Exploitive?

• Students pick the charity• Charity must ‘apply’ relevant content• Students are more highly motivated when

working for ‘real’ organizations• Students learn more through doing • Difficult for charity directors to bully 30

students.• The alternative, Case studies, breaks

down with trivial assumptions.

Content Loss?

• Students not only cover but apply MORE content and theories.

• Students also apply content from other disciplines (graphic arts, Design, programming, finance, accounting, HR)

Free-riders and Fakers

• End of semester “reflections”– Glib statements vs real statements are clear– Examples are coming

• Officers of company DO work harder

• Sometimes members become ‘leaders’ and work harder

• Students grade each other – this determines the practicum grade

Recreation or Rigor

• My previous and ongoing research shows a greater retention

• OUTCOMES show greater rigor and a higher level of work

• Projects are taken to implementation level (in CIS, this is 80% of a projects time/money)

Instructor Time

• No help with project management, other than tools learned in Mgt, Mkt, CIS

• Assignments help them accomplish ‘milestones’ at appropriate points in the timeline

• Give tools, let students implement

• Spend NO time on societal issues

I feel that I learned more and got more experience in the IBE class than I have in any other school activity. I feel that I have

a better understanding of myself and of other people. I am more willing to work in

groups to accomplish goals. I would recommend taking the IBE class even if I

wasn’t a business major.

Lawny McLin

Almost all of my learning experiences came from actually doing something or

relating the topic to something that I already had knowledge of. For example, I can study for a test and make an “A”. This does not mean that I learned the

material, though; I will most likely forget it within the week. However, if I can

physically do an action, it is easier to remember.

Katy Wortmann

I always thought that people would only help me if they could get some sort of

benefit from it. After participating in my company, I have realized that is simply

not true. Most people are willing to help with anything you could need.

Being part of a non-profit organization really opened my eyes to this.

Eric Shephard

I have learned one must take the good with the bad, the fun with the work,

and at times, just complete frustration. The ability to manage all

these feelings and moods is what makes a student a leader in a class

and potentially a leader in the business world.

Will Gerber

This experience has not only taught me the course material, or how to start and run a business, but also it has taught me a lot

about myself. I am a very hard worker and always strive for success. I have also

learned that I care about other people and their own opinions. I have also discovered

that I learn best from trial and error and hands-on experience.

Terra Herzberger

When I asked and assigned company members to tasks, my job became easier and other members felt more included. I learned that this should have been one of the first things I did. No one got mad; if

they didn’t want me to tell them what to do, they wouldn’t have elected me for

president. I just needed to realize this sooner.

Katy Wortmann

I believe that being in this program will give me a better opportunity for the

future when I’m looking for a job. I have the back ground of starting and being

part of a business. Most people my age do not have an opportunity to have this

experience.

Steph Pfeil

Over all the IBE experience has been one of the best I’ve had since I have been in

college. Just learning about the key factors of running a business and growing along the side of your peer was an experience within itself. I have earned a greater respect for those who have tried, but sometimes have failed and also those peers that have now

become my friends.

Jennifer Bergschneider

Being in IBE was a one of a kind experience and I would recommend it to every business

major. I learned things about myself, interacting with others, and had my first

hands on business experience.This IBE experience was one of my favorite

experiences in college thus far. It helped me learn the process of starting and running

a successful business and at the age of twenty-one, this gives me endless

possibilities for my future.

Brett Rolofson

Another important and possible the most important part of our company was

the ability to trust one another. Our company was able to communicate

ideas and criticize ideas with very little controversy. This class was what

helped me with my future and what I want to accomplish. It was a building block to allow me to learn how to run a

business.

Brett Rolofson

Overall the IBE class has made me a better business person now and it will continue to help me improve

in the future as well. Before this class I greatly underestimated the importance of interpersonal

skills in the business as well as the importance of communication and negotiation skills. I feel that I

have expanded my own skills during the IBE experience and will continue to do so in the future. I

know that because of this class, I feel more comfortable in a business setting, and that I will be

able to excel in future business employment.

Robert Barrow

I’ve learned that I tend to take control on my side of things and that I don’t always

let others help me. Had I gotten someone to help me, maybe things

could have gone faster.

My interaction with others has changed greatly over the course of the semester.

Drew Turner

I developed a presentation, which is in the portfolio, to give the loan committee an estimate of the profits and expenses we

had planned to incur… I was complimented on my presentation, but

learned bankers are much more pessimistic than optimistic. The numbers I

showed them were for a “best case” scenario, and they expanded my

knowledge for the future by explaining the reasons to use a “worst case” instead…

Will Gerber

For our service project, we planned a Bowling for Cancer night at the CMSU bowling lanes. All the profits from this event were also donated to the

American Cancer Society. I helped advertise the event as well as stay and supervise. The company

also participated in the Relay for Life in Warrensburg. I volunteered my time by walking and selling shirts at this event. The service project was a great experience raising money for such a good

organization.It has taught me important areas such as ethics,

communication, and working with others as a member of a team.Alyssa Watson

I have learned a lot about myself from this class. I have learned now that people

need incentive or need a drive to succeed. For me a drive is money and will always

be money, but in this class we didn’t make a profit, so we couldn’t pay our employees

with money. We had to energize our members to sell without incentives.

Adam Frank

One of the most important parts of what I learned during this program is what I learned about myself or what I

found out needs more work. I feel my biggest problem was with interacting with others because I came into this class with a lot of passion about how I wanted things to

run. At first I had some problems watching other people’s opinions overrule mine, but I learned to stay

positive in order to keep myself interested. I feel that I am too opinionated at times, which can help and hurt my interaction with others. Another problem that I had was

getting off track during company meetings by getting caught in side conversations with other people and that hurts the whole company because sometimes we were

all in some off-subject conversation.

Eric Hylton

All of our proceeds benefited the American Cancer Society. I thought it was a great

function and an incredible society. I got to meet so many interesting people with more

interesting stories about themselves. I have not volunteered to work anywhere

like this in a long time. It really makes you feel good about yourself that you're

actually making a difference in these people's lives.

Adam Frank

IBE has opened a gateway into a different learning style for me and it

has also helped in the learning aspects of my other courses that I am taking and will take. If I had to go back and choose to do IBE, I would make the

same choice and not change a thing.

Jennifer Bergschneider

This IBE experience was one of my favorite experiences in college thus far.

It helped me learn the process of starting and running a successful

business and at the age of twenty-one, this gives me endless possibilities for

my future.

Brett Rolofson

IBE was the first time I was exposed to team-based learning and I feel I have learned the most during this than any other class I have taken. I feel every business major should take the IBE course because it is such a great

experience and will be very helpful in the future.

Alyssa Watson

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