MarkStrat

With marketing as my concentration, I take more of a vested interest in the projects and topics we go over in class. MarkStrat is our big project this semester. It is similar to our BSG simulation last semester, but this time around I have more of an idea what to do and how to achieve our goals.

Our class was split into 2 Industries: Wolf and Pack. We are Team I in the Wolf Industry, so we are competing again 4 other teams. Each team started out with two products in the Sonite market, all of varying market shares and profitability. The Vodite market is completely new, and there was no information on any of the segments involved. By sheer bad luck, we ended up with the two worst products in the entire game. I took this as an opportunity to use the targeting/positioning skills we learned the first few weeks of class and to prove that we could turn these awful products around.

We also are able to introduce new products into both markets as well as update current products. The first period we were not able to do any updates or new product introductions so naturally we ended up in last place after the first decision. We changed around our cost allocations with our research, production, advertising and sales force and after the 2nd decision we moved up to 4th place. In the third period we introduced 1 updated Sonite product and a brand new Vodite product. After these decisions were finalized, we moved into 3rd place.

Today we just entered our period 4 decisions, and we are anxiously awaiting the results. We introduced our second updated Sonite product and are hoping the new specifications hit our targeted segment directly. We also had to develop a Marketing Plan based on our decisions thus far, and our goals and plans for the second half of the game.

At the half way point, we currently have 2 products in the Sonite market and 1 in the Vodite market. I can't give away any secrets for our future plans, but we are hoping to make a big impression in both markets!

Week 2 Down!

After 2 weeks of class, I can already tell this semester is going to be insanely hectic! Going with the motto Work Hard, Play Hard, we have a lot of fun things planned in between the madness: a long weekend in Miami, Spring Break CRUISE to the Bahamas, a few beach trips and Beach Music Festival just to name a few!

We have 5 pretty intense classes this semester: Management of Technology, Managerial Finance, Marketing, Product & Brand Management and Operations & Supply Chain. It’s similar to first semester in that most of the classes and times are set for us. We do have one elective to start our individual concentrations and since my concentration is Marketing, I picked Product & Brand Management. My ultimate goal is to be a Brand Manager for a luxury or consumer product company, so I’m really excited for this class. We have to build a marketing plan in this class, so I’m excited to start working on that.

So far, Marketing is probably my favorite class. Now I say that before we’ve really had many assignments to turn in, but I’ve really enjoyed the class discussions and material we’ve gone over. I’m actually getting ready to start our first assignment...shows I actually took my own advice to get work done on Fridays!

The big new thing this semester is CASE STUDIES. We have a lot of them. As in roughly 25...mainly in Marketing and Brand Management, so that in itself will keep me super busy. Then there’s Finance. Not my favorite class in undergrad, so I’m hoping this time around it’ll be a little better! So far I really like our professor, and she really seems to want us to learn and understand the material. The basis of our Technology class is a HUGE project where we start with a raw technology and come up with a business plan to develop it into an actual product. Finally we have Supply Chain. I have a feeling I’ll have to work a little harder in this class because I’m way more of a creative person, then analytical/see how something works kinda person. But that’s what business school is about-pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone and broadening your horizons to make yourself more well rounded and successful in the business world!

Already Demember??

I cannot believe it is almost Thanksgiving break. This semester has absolutely flown by! In a little over a week, it'll be December? The past week and a half has been a little rough...

We’ve only had:

-a Research paper

-Econ Midterm

-Case Study

-Final Presentation

-Final 12 pg paper

-Accounting Quiz

-Paper analyzing a speech

-Powerpoint Slides

-Final Exam

No big deal. It was a little stressful at the time, but through the semester we’ve learned better time management and each other’s strengths/weaknesses. A group of about 10 of us has started studying for all our tests/quizzes together, dividing up articles/chapters to summarize, and teaching each other concepts/problems. It’s a pretty good bet that the day before and the day of a big test/quiz, at least 7-8 of us are in one of 2 study rooms in the Grad area. We nicknamed them “Vegas” and “Rio” to liven things up a bit! It has worked out pretty well so far...I’ve gotten the best grades on tests after we all started studying together!

one week later...

Our relaxing Thanksgiving break is over now. I forgot my laptop when I left to go out of town, so it was especially relaxing! Now, it’s back to the grind. But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel (the first semester tunnel at least)! 

Only:

 1 case study,

Accounting Final

 Econ Final

Communications Presentation

Stats Final

stand between me and a 27 day WINTER BREAK!!

As excited as I am for winter break, its somewhat bittersweet. I know how fast 4 years of undergrad went, and we’re almost ¼ of the way finished! Crazy!

BSG Simulation

Our very first class was MBA 508, the Global Simulation Class. The Simulation has been done at NCSU for 47 semesters, and it changes every time. Basically, we were given the task of running an athletic shoe company with wholesale, internet and private label markets. All 10 teams started in year 10 with all the same stats and market share. Our group had to come up with a strategy that we thought would enhance our market share which producing a quality shoe.

My team (iDominate), decided to make a few big moves the first year:

• Building an additional production plant in Latin America
• Taking out a hefty loan
• increasing the quality of shoe in our Asia Pacific plant.

It paid off fairly well for us, but when we realized we had only built a 1 million dollar plant in LA and a competitor had built a 4 million dollar plant, we took drastic measures. We added another million to our AP plant and completely took ourselves out of the private label market. This put us in 2^nd to last place, strongly competing with two of the top companies in the class so it forced us to change our strategy once again.

We started making small changes to break away from our competitors and gain a competitive advantage. After 4 years, we were back up in 4^th place, and after 5 years our stock price had more than quadrupled. It was only a game, but I definitely learned a lot about business decisions especially financially.

This class was a great start to the semester! It eased us into the frameworks of everyday business decisions, and we had to deal with real problems and issues that come up in business every day. We also had to make a group presentation on our marketing strategies, regional differences, financial decisions, and what we may have done differently. This was our first (of many) presentations, so it gave us a good feel of how we presented and what we need to work on for future presentations in the MBA program!

I-Cubed

For our MBA 530 project, we are required to work with a company to help them fix a problem they are currently facing. We were encouraged to reach out to companies and see if they would be interested in working with us for the semester. Through various contact and LinkedIn, Brian found out about a company on Centennial Campus...I-Cubed. Grant Williard, a NCSU Alum, started the software company in 1984. He developed the technology that led to the created of I-Cubed while working on his senior design project sponsored by IBM. Since then, I-Cubed has grown to 75 employees and expects to reach about 125 within 5 years.

We met with their HR Manager, Erica and CEO, Donald to find out the areas they were looking to improve. Their main concern with the rapidly growing company is the communication. Hierarchy structures have been put in place, and effective communication between departments and managers haven’t come as easily as they would like.

Our job is to come up with a strategy to break down the communication barriers and have more effective communication within the company.  It’s a semester long project, so we will have meetings with I-Cubed fairly often. We’re excited and up for the challenge!

http://www.i-cubed.com/