Bee Dance, Make-Buy, Test Drives and one crazy weekend.
So as Week 4 of Winter Quarter begins, several note-worthy things have happened since my last post.
Bee Dance:
Last Thursday, Professor Drobny (who teaches MHR 841 - Business Sustainability) invited the inventor of Bee Dance to speak to our class. The session was devoted to biomimcry, which is the use of nature as a design model. Bee Dance was created recently, and uses the theory of bees' "waggle dance" to develop the business strategy and actions. The presentation was very intense, and it was very neat to hear about how the company actually received a grant for its' use of biomimcry in the business. Check out the website for more information!
Make vs. Buy:
One of the many unique things available to Fisher students is the Center for Operational Excellence. This group held a 2 hour Supply Chain Forum last Friday. Over 25 supply chain experts from local companies joined several Fisher students in listening to Dr. John Gray (an OSU professor) explain global sourcing decisions, using a case study on Scott's. The presentation was VERY useful; Dr. Gray gave several decision matrices, and went through a very detailed decision process for: in-house vs. outsourcing vs. off-shoring. He also explained the basics of Monte Carlo simulations, which can seem intimidating, but can really aid in decision-making.
Marketing Project:
Our core Marketing class has a large project component: choosing a product and creating a detailed marketing portfolio for it. My team, (Team W.A.M.) chose the Honda Fit! This past Saturday our team split into two groups and visited two Honda dealerships to learn more about the Fit, and do test drives. We learned the aspects of the Fit that salespeople focused on, and also learned more about the demographics of the target customers. The only downside to the trip is that since I was the one who did the test drive, I am also the one getting lots of voice-mails from the salesperson!
One crazy weekend:
Although I'm one a tight budget like most other graduate students, I decided to go to ICFA "New Beginnings" Friday night - 15 live cage fights, fully sanctioned by UFC and televised from Screamin' Willie's on the east side of Columbus. I rationalized the cost: $30/15 fights = $2/fight OR $30/3 hours = $10/hour... Not too bad for such an unusual event!
The other fun thing I did this weekend was to go to a "Zombie" party. I got to work on my networking skills - I met about 10 really interesting people. In respect for the theme of the party, I brought some Zombie cocktails, which are made as follows:
- 1 oz clear/light run
- 1 oz dark rum
- 1/2 oz creme de almond
- 1/2 oz triple sec
- 1 oz sweet and sour mix
- 1 oz orange juice
- drizzle with 1/2 oz of Bacardi 151, pouring it over the back of a spoon
Warning: Although these are very delicious, they are also very potent!
Cheers!
[caption id="attachment_4483" align="aligncenter" width="116" caption="A Zombie... with a Zombie."][/caption]
Stacey