January 7th, 2014
 

Business faculty strive to provide exceptional experiences for students through direct, hands-on involvement with members of the business community. Some professors provide semester-long interaction and case studies, where students strive to solve real business problems; others provide opportunities for undergraduate students to conduct and present research findings. JJCBE faculty also offer opportunities for students to meet and interact with business executives from large metropolitan areas through conferences, speaker series, and professional workshops. These combined efforts equal a top-notch experience for business students at MSU to learn, engage, understand, and contribute while gaining valuable experience.

From Start Ups to High Technology Companies

In an upper level Entrepreneurial Finance course, Frank Kerins, associate professor of finance, helps students examine the differing financial needs of businesses, from small, entrepreneurial startups to large, international organizations. The course focuses on valuation techniques using business situations that have no easy, clear-cut solutions. Students in Kerins’ class examine companies for their fundamental value, future potential, and identify and evaluate possible exit opportunities. Examples include:

  • Providing a valuation for a company with a nanoparticle drug delivery system with projected revenue generation at least 10 years out.
  • Evaluating the economic impact of 2013 federal Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) legislation that provides an additional five years of market exclusivity as an incentive for the development of necessary, new anti-infective products.
  • Determining the valuation and potential of a Bozeman “Software as a Service” (SaaS) operations management platform with very short lead times to cash flow and profitability. SaaS refers to a software distribution system in which software applications are accessed by users directly from the Cloud rather than having them reside on a local device.
  • Assessing the intellectual property developed by a Montana environmental engineer that uses an on-site, portable treatment system to treat water flows associated with coal bed methane and fracking energy development.
  • Evaluating the IPO price associated with a Montana/Wyoming coal mining company developed using an equity carve out, which occurs when a parent company sells a portion of its interest in a subsidiary to the public.

Students work individually or in teams to conduct a company analysis, which typically includes understanding the basis of the technology being developed, forecasting financial needs, identifying and evaluating real options associated with the technology, valuing the venture, identifying and evaluating risk sharing opportunities, and identifying situations where financial management theories apply to decision making. In the end, students must develop well-reasoned analyses and provide appropriately justified recommendations, in both a written report and an oral presentation.

“I like to do these kinds of projects, because they meet a real need, the information is not complete, which represents what really happens in business, and students get the opportunity to experience uncertainty when making decisions,” said Kerins. “Students use all their background and abilitiesâ??whether it comes from statistics, marketing, accounting, management, and use their creativity to converge on a recommendation with limited specific direction from me.”

Clients who provide the projects for the Entrepreneurial Finance course typically work directly with students during the semester. They provide valuable insight into their businesses as students conduct their analyses and develop and evaluate their recommendations. Each group typically brings a unique viewpoint or analysis to the project.

“There is significant value in understanding that we all bring something new and unique to the table when trying to solve problems,” explains Kerins. “The biggest advantage students have in going through this kind of exercise is that it is very reflective of the types of business situations they will have to analyze in the real world.”

Helping Students Understand Social Entrepreneurship

Students who take BMGT 469 Community and Social Entrepreneurship benefit from their professor’s extensive experience working with more than 100 nonprofit organizations over the last 20 years. Terry Profota, associate teaching professor in management, exposes students to a consensus model for decision-making, the management style used most often in nonprofit organizations, and shares her knowledge of best practices in program design, board governance systems, strategic planning, financial management, fundraising, capital campaigns, and executive mentoring as part of the class curriculum.

“Nonprofit organizations operate through consensus and require buy-in from a number of constituents including staff, volunteers, the board, and clients,” said Profota, who also owns Sage Solutions Nonprofit Consulting, LLC. “These organizations are very relationship oriented, require a lot of input into decision making, and need a whole different style of management, in order to be successful.”

Profota models the course curriculum off real client situations and introduces students to situations and projects that highlight nonprofit organizations’ concerns, questions, best practices, and legal requirements. Students use an entrepreneurial way of thinking and business strategies to address issues facing local communities and society as a whole. As they examine various elements used to create and run a nonprofit organization and listen to guest speakers from area nonprofits, students develop and strengthen their understanding of business principles, hone their leadership skills, and better understand management practices as they relate to effective nonprofit management.

“The Community and Social Entrepreneurship class sets students up to either start a nonprofit organization, serve as a director on a nonprofit board, or become a very savvy donor to nonprofit organizations,” explained Profota. “As for-profit businesses and community service organizations continue to merge their goals and objectives, a real opportunity exists for them to learn from each other. Our students will be poised to assist companies that work in a socially responsible manner, as well as help nonprofit organizations operate more effectively.”

Many of the nonprofit organizations Profota works with seek assistance with strategic planning, defining board roles and responsibilities, and identifying ways to improve overall effectiveness. Implementing sound business practices within a nonprofit framework requires an understanding of the unique challenges facing the nonprofit sector. Budget constraints, differences in management styles, and measuring success are a few of the issues addressed throughout the course.

“People working in nonprofits may understand that their organization needs to implement changes to be more effective, but they don’t know how,” said Profota. “Our students will have the knowledge to provide the “how” for these organizations and the business skills to successfully implement the necessary changes. When you add the business know-how to the very motivated, caring, impassioned individuals that populate nonprofits, the potential for success improves dramatically.”

Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Graham Austin, assistant professor in marketing, has collaborated with close to 40 undergraduate students on myriad of projects in the JJCBE for the last six years. Austin, whose focus is on consumer behavior, offers interested students the opportunity to conduct Social, Behavioral, and Economic (SBE) research on topics of mutual interest. Students find out about these research collaborations through faculty recommendations and through Austin’s marketing classes.

“When I was an undergrad and I had the opportunity to work on real projects, they were really meaningful, intellectually stimulating experiences for me,” explains Austin. “Making these opportunities possible for undergrads is my way of paying it forward.”

Many of the research projects Austin spearheads are interdisciplinary in nature. In addition to marketing students, Austin has worked on research projects with undergraduate students studying management, film, sociology, psychology, and graphic design. Several of these students have been involved with MSU’s Undergraduate Scholars Program, the McNair Scholars Program, and the Honors College. She encourages students to choose the focus of their research interests and helps them develop their research goals and methods. Some of her teams’ previous research projects include:

  • Bear Safety Message, Three business students worked with Austin on a research project to create a branding and communication strategy that addresses bear safety in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The goal of this project was to promote and disseminate effective messages that influence people’s perceptions of the threat that exists when humans encounter bears while visiting National Parks. The project was funded by a grant from the National Park Service and administered by the Rocky Mountains Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit.
  • Craft brewing/culture community, Two marketing students also majoring in film and graphic design, and a management student worked with Austin to research and produce a 30-minute video that investigates the historic, economic, cultural, and aesthetic values surrounding Montana’s microbrewery industry. Montana has the second highest number of breweries per capita in the United States. To view “Beer Country,” go to https://youtu.be/6hWNKKPdHTg.
  • The Runners’ Revolution, Two film students worked with Austin to research and produce a video that “examines the barefoot-running phenomenon and its impact on consumer behavior, including questions regarding self-determination, word-of-mouth communication, trust, and health, well-being, and happiness,” according to the video introduction.

Students conducting research learn about grant writing and other funding options, the research process, and standards of professionalism, and have the opportunity to experience the thrill of following their own interests and passions. Some have presented their research findings at poster sessions during national and international conferences and have published white papers and competitive papers on their research findings. Three students intend to continue their research interests in graduate school. In addition to these accomplishments, “Beer Country” is now offered as a bundled item with the bestselling consumer behavior textbook, Consumer Behavior, by Michael Solomon.

“The students I work with on research projects are wonderful; they’re so fun, nice, interesting, and motivated,” said Austin. “I feel really privileged to work with these students, to provide opportunities to collaborate, and to co-publish our research findings. I’m not any smarter than these students; I’m just older and have more experience.”

Austin’s consistent efforts to provide undergraduates with research opportunities on her own has led to a course offering for the fall 2014 semester. Up to 10 students can enroll in a senior-level research course, taught by Austin. Already, six students have enrolled in the course with five months left before the start of fall semester.

These highlights represent a small sampling of the many activities and extra features JJCBE faculty provide to MSU students across campus. With our new building opening in fall 2015 and additional support for business programs, we expect more students to take advantage of these kinds of experiences as they continue to grow.

For more information on faculty research and impact, please visit https://www.montana.edu/business/research/impact.html.