Justin Kunschick, a senior accounting major in the Business Administration Department, is currently enrolled in the BUS 417 Management Policy class with his fellow Business Administration seniors.
Management Policy is unlike other classes Kunschick is enrolled in, with the entire class focused around a business simulation called Marketplace Live.
Professors in the department participate too, acting as investors with virtual money to the student run businesses.
“Right before spring break we had what is called our funding request, where we would go to the different professors to ask for money for our business,” said Kunschick. “That is when we type up our 60 page business plan and pitch our ideas to get them to invest in our business.”
Management Policy is a class designed and taught by Gordon McClung, chairperson for the Business Administration Department.
The class is intended to bring together all skills in the business realm with a focus on interpersonal skills.
“I tell them this class is everything since kindergarten,” said McClung. “In kindergarten you were supposed to learn how to treat others.”
Teams with four to six members are in charge of every aspect of the business, from manufacturing to finances. Kunschick is in charge of both of these as a member of Perfect Craft.
“As far as finance and accounting, I’m basically in charge of all the financial statements from the balance sheet, the income statements and, most importantly, the cash flow statement,” said Kunschick. “Investors want to see what you do with your money.”
Teams in the class compete against each other in the simulation, attempting to run the most efficient and profitable business.
“My team in particular is pretty competitive,” said Kunschick. “We started in the lead and [it] put a target on our back, because we were being so competitive with it.”
McClung has picked up on the competitive nature of the project, noticing that in addition to the points earned from winning the simulation, the added incentive of competition has helped students succeed in the simulation and in the class.
“Most of them actually like competing with each other,” said McClung. “They get into that part of it because it is fun to compete with your peers.”
McClung said that while competition helps promote hard work on the project, the class is not just about winning the simulation.
“The biggest takeaway from it is how to respond under pressure and taking ownership,” said McClung. “That doesn’t mean you win the sim. It’s about learning how to work as a team.”
R.J. Leon, a senior finance major enrolled in the class and is the CEO of Galaxy and Co. for his team, has realized the nature of the course as a mechanism to teach leadership and teamwork.
“It’s not so much the technical things that we have learned in the business department, but I think it’s more about the soft skills that the classroom doesn’t teach you,” said Leon. “For me, being the CEO, it’s more of a leadership role, team management, relationship building, things of that nature.”
Leon has embraced this and has enjoyed his time this semester working on the project, which incorporates knowledge acquired during all four undergraduate years in the Business Administration program.
“It’s a great course,” said Leon. “It’s everything we have learned in the four years here in one course.”
Kunschick believes the class has prepared him to enter the marketplace with valuable interpersonal skills that cannot be taught in a conventional class setting.
“To succeed in this class and in the business world as well, you need to work together as a team,” said Kunschick. “This is a class with so much work involved there is no way you can do it all by yourself, so its all about teamwork.”