Business is not just about money anymore.
The ever-evolving world of technology has revolutionized the business industry, and the Mendoza College of Business is taking measures to ensure their students keep up by making computer classes a requirement.
Information Technology (IT) Management and Operations is a course required of all sophomore Business majors. This class, which is an introduction to the technological processes in which students will be more involved later on in their careers, is divided into two components, MGT 20600 and MGT 21600.
MGT 20600 is a lecture segment, which teaches technology fundamentals and the managerial uses of software, such as Excel, Access and Dreamweaver. During the lab portion of the class, MGT 21600, students are given a hands-on opportunity to use this specific software. Two primary requirements of the lab are to create a personal Web site and a commercial Web site.
"The students are going through an integrative process by being in this course," because students use Access databases and Dreamweaver to create their Web sites, said professor Bruce Wood.
The first Web site requirement is one in which students design their own Web page. The individual nature of this project allows students to learn the basics of how to structure a Web site. Individual Web sites are also available for others to view, especially prospective employers who can observe the technological abilities and creativity students possess.
Design and implementation of an e-commerce Web site, or a commercial Web site, is the second required project for business students. A group of five students work as a team in completing this assignment and are given a case study as the basis of the project.
The case study for making this second Web site asks students to pretend they are interns within a corporation; this corporation has given them the task of developing a Web site that reflects the corporation itself. After the Web site is completed, students must give a presentation of their project to both faculty members and other students.
The implementation of the Web site project, which began in 2000, has been a combined effort among faculty members within the Mendoza College of Business. Professor Deborah Ballou teaches the lecture component of the course, while Wood and Professor Barbara Miller teach the lab component.
"Students really seem to like this project," Wood said. "Students repeatedly come back and offer suggestions. It is also really rewarding to see the creativity that comes out of them. It gives students the opportunity to shine and some of the [Web site] results are very impressive," he said.
