BSE - Robert H. Smith School of Business - University of Maryland, College Park

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Activities

New York Trip
BSE students enjoyed a fun-filled -- and educational -- weekend in New York City in April. They had a behind-the-scenes tour of NBC studios, viewed New York City from the observatory at the Top-of-the-Rock in Rockefeller Center, visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, took in a Broadway show and enjoyed an entertaining dinner at "Ellen's Stardust Diner." Pictures from the trip.

Disney World Trip
BSE students learn about "the Disney Approach" as part of the Disney Institute program at Walt Disney World Resort. In addition to fun at each of the Parks, they received exclusive onstage, backstage and underground tours and were able to "experience the business behind the magic!" Pictures from the trip.

Iliad Assessment Center
The assessment center evaluates skills that included the ability to lead a team, effectively make decisions; prioritize, plan and organize tasks; identify and synthesize relevant information and express ideas clearly. Participants are evaluated on the tasks they choose to tackle, the memos and reports they produced, and their performance at meetings and presentations, which are videotaped. Using a detailed management behavior checklist, the materials that you submit will be analyzed by a team of industrial-organizational psychology graduate students. Approximately one week after the exercise, students received a detailed report on their performance, and a development plan is develop.

The Iliad assessment is unlike any other college experience-if you can succeed here, you have the tools to be an effective leader and an asset to any organization. I personally learned a lot about myself as a participant, which will help me rise to my greatest potential in both the classroom and the workplace.
-Tali Rasooly, BSE Freshman

Mount Everest Simulation
This web-based simulation presents an engaging setting in which you will explore aspects of leadership and team dynamics using a team ascent of Mount Everest as the backdrop. In each round, the team member will need to analyze information on weather, health conditions, supplies, goals, or hiking speed, and determine how much of that information to communicate to their teammates. The simulation has a number of learning outcomes including teaching how to participate in, and lead teams more effectively; how teams can improve the way that they make collective decisions; how cognitive biases impair decision-making; how teams can solve problems and make decisions more effectively in situations when members have different information and opposing interests; how different leadership approaches can affect team performance in situations with time and competitive pressures; and how teams and their leaders deal with tradeoffs between short-term task completion and longer-term team effectiveness. Pictures from the simulation.

Universal Car Rental Simulation
This web-based simulation presents an engaging context in which manage a car rental operation (Universal) in Florida. The objective is to improve regional performance by developing an effective strategy. The simulation involves three regions--Orlando, Tampa, and Miami--which vary in size, market dynamics, and customer mix. The simulation applies the information learned in economics. More specifically, the simulation teaches the principles of pricing in a changing and realistic management environment. Participants assume the role of a regional marketing manager responsible for pricing a fleet of rental cars.

Cirque du Soleil Field Trip
Despite a long-term decline in the circus industry, Cirque du Soleil significantly increased revenue over the last 10 years by reinventing the circus. Cirque was able to create new customer demand by challenging the conventional assumptions about how to compete in the global business environment. Cirque successfully innovated by shifting the buyer group from children (end-users of the traditional circus) to adults (purchasers of the traditional circus), drawing upon the distinctive strengths of other alternative industries, such as the theatre, Broadway shows and the opera, to offer a different type of entertainment to more mature and higher spending customers. The field trip to the Cirque De Soleil show was used to show how this company with its unique hybrid of music, dance, and acrobatics has created a new category of live entertainment. In the process, it has been a marketing, management and financial commercial success.

IKEA Field Trip
IKEA as one of the largest furniture manufacturers and retailers in the world, with operations in 32 countries is well known for its stylish and innovative designs. It was the pioneer of furniture that could be dismantled and packed flat, to allow ease of transportation. The teaching objectives of the field trip are: (1) better understand the evolution of IKEA’s global marketing strategy under the various P's (product, price, promotion, place, packaging, positioning and people); (2) identify the factors that are responsible for creating a global brand image; and (3) recognize the importance of the human resource management practices as IKEA has one of the most committed workforces in the retail industry.

Harley-Davidson Field Trip
The only major American player in the global motorcycle market, Harley- Davidson, has developed a distinct brand image and has dominated the U.S. motorcycle industry for many decades. In the early 1980s, Japanese manufacturers flooded the market with high quality and low priced bikes and nearly destroyed Harley-Davidson. Harley-Davidson transformed the manufacturing process and adopted a new marketing strategy focused on selling community and lifestyle positioning. The field trip provides a useful vehicle to explore a variety of business issues, ranging from manufacturing to brand management. Pictures from the 2007 trip.

Strategy Board Competition: During their first year in the BSE program, students participate in the Strategy Board Competition. Student teams study a company over the course of the semester and develop strategic recommendations. Each team illustrates its recommendations on a display board, which is evaluated by a team of judges, including a representative from their company. Pictures from the 2004 competition.

Hershey Park Field Trip: The BSE program takes a field trip to Hershey Park, PA to visit Hershey School, Hershey Park, and Hershey Museum. The purpose of the visit to discuss the achievements of Milton S. Hershey and his entrepreneurial achievements, including the creation of the Hershey bar, the founding of the business, and the development of the mass market for chocolate will be discussed. The broader contributions that Milton Hershey made to a sustainable, mutually beneficial social contract between business and community will also covered. To view pictures from the fall 2005 trip, click here.

Service Day: All incoming freshmen in the College Park Scholars program participate in a service project before the fall semester. See pictures from Fall 2005's Service Day.

New York City Trip: Each spring freshman scholars have the option to travel to New York City to learn about the marketing of area businesses. In 2006, students visited several businesses in Times Square and met with managers at Planet Hollywood. To see photos, click here.

Senior Recognition Luncheon: Each year, graduating seniors who participated in the BSE program are invited to a luncheon. The 2004-2005 luncheon took place at the University of Maryland Golf Course Club House. To see pictures, click here.

College Park Scholars Softball Tournament: The Scholars Charity Softball Tournament takes place each spring. Each Scholars Program plays on behalf of a charity that they have chosen to support. The first, second, and third place teams are rewarded with donations to their charities on behalf of the entire Scholars Program.

Terrapin Adventure Challenge: BSE scholars participate in the Terrapin Adventure Challege Program at the University of Maryland's state of the art climbing facilities. This experience fosters problem solving, decision making, teamwork, and personal confidence through fun and challenging outdoor activities. To see pictures, click here.

http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu – info@rhsmith.umd.edu