Page 9 - Laker Connection 2014

environment. Having teams go up against each other is a pow- erful motivator for students to test and hone their skills.”
That’s not just the professor talking. One of his current stu- dents, Christopher “CJ” Menard, has this take on the capstone business experience course.
“I think Dr. May’s course is a good practice for how real com- panies operate in the marketplace. You have multiple factors that are interlocked, all affecting your bottom-line. The simu- lation is very detailed, and is a great tool for preparing soon- to-be graduates, including myself, on how every decision and function within the organization is crucial for success. In the simulation, production cannot really schedule what it needs to produce unless it knows what marketing is planning. This is one of the challenges each student in the simulation has to take into account. The process makes you work as a team and hold each other accountable. The simulation has definitely empow- ered me to want to get into the workforce to begin making these tough, yet rewarding decisions.”
According to May, the simulation also provides a framework for understanding business processes, decision-making, and key financial reports as the students fight for market share and profits. The semester-long simulation is a complement to the cognitive course content, which teaches the principles of strate- gic management and leadership.
One of the College of Business’ specific academic programs that epitomizes empowerment is supply chain management, a wide-ranging success story from Morrow to Savannah that typ- ically ends up with the ultimate prize for Clayton State gradu- ates, a good job.
“Every year, we have a student trip to
the Savannah Ocean Container Port,”
explains Director, Supply Chain Man-
agement and Assistant Professor of Sup-
ply Chain John Mascaritolo. “The focus
of this trip is to give the students an up-
close view of the working operations of
the fourth largest container port in the
U.S. They get to see what global ship-
ping is like. They see ocean containers
being loaded and unloaded from the huge ocean vessels and I find this exposure gets them more excited in their future for a career in supply chain management.”
Mascaritolo
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