Taking Care of Business
Written by Joie Colobong
With a slew of hands-on activities and an emphasis on developing real-world skills and experience, BUS 100, dubbed the “Freshman Business Experience,” isn’t your typical introductory course.
Dr. Tom DeWitt, an Associate Professor of Marketing within the College of Business and Economics and coordinator for two sections of the course, elaborated on the objectives for the 100-level course. “This course is designed to not only familiarize students with business concepts and practices but also to help them identify early on what career field they want to get into when they graduate,” said DeWitt. “By doing so, it will help them to make better choices in their courses as well as the things they should do before they graduate, such as internships.”
Dr. DeWitt noted that many CoBE students make course choices based on what fits their schedule and what’s easiest and don’t start thinking about career fields until they are ready to graduate. By then it’s too late and many are left searching for jobs long after they’ve graduated.
“Some of it’s aspirational,” DeWitt replied when asked why the course is structured as it is. “Through this course, we hope to inspire students to be something, set goals for themselves and understand why they’re enrolled in business administration here at UH Hilo. We also want to help create a sense of belonging for students in the College of Business and Economics, and to make students feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves.”
In class activities are designed to be hands-on, with teams of students addressing problems that they can typically expect to encounter in the business world. By doing so, they’re developing many of the skills necessary to be successful while developing critical thinking skills. While the semester is just getting started, it seems DeWitt’s students are already willing to rise to the challenges that lie ahead. “Very active, a lot of new information I never knew,” said Marina Agdeppa, a Freshman majoring in Business Administration when asked what she liked most about the course thus far.
Students in Dr. DeWitt’s Freshman Business Experience course work together on a class assignment. (Photo Credit: Dr. Tom DeWitt)
In addition to the requisite research papers and exams, this semester’s students can look forward to participating in a team business plan competition, in which teams of students will need to take everything they’ve learned throughout the semester and use it to draft a viable business plan for a local business enterprise. The process is designed to expose students to the different elements of the business world throughout the semester, such as marketing, finance, management, and accounting. A competitive element is involved, as the teams will also be required to present their plans before an audience of judges from the business community towards the end of the semester, with winning teams from each course section competing for the right to call themselves course champions.
Unique to this course are the mandatory career development activities held outside of class time. These activities include a ‘Get Real’ team building and problem solving event, learning how their personality profile fits various career fields, meeting with potential career mentors, attending a presentation on overseas study opportunities, and engaging with members of the local community to explore various career fields.
Students from both course sections gather for a group photo following their 'Get Real' team building and problem solving event.
“I will learn a lot more about opportunities and experiences in the real world/community,” said Adam Onishi, a Freshman majoring in Accounting when asked how she hopes to benefit from participating in the mandatory out-of-class activities.
Kami Pabinguit, a junior majoring in Business Administration with a specialization in Finance seized on the networking opportunities, “I feel that it will broaden my horizons and expand my network of acquaintances.”
Students can also look forward to recurring visits from the management of companies that have partnered with the course to give students a taste of what goes into developing and maintaining a business in the modern age. This semester’s partners include Hawaii Planing Mill (HPM) and Target.
While the course is designed primarily for existing and prospective business majors, the course is open to any students enrolled at UH Hilo. For more information, contact Dr. Tom DeWitt, ‘Freshman Business Experience’ course coordinator, at tsdewitt@hawaii.edu.
