Category: Academics

MTU’s DECA Soared at State Conference

SGroup DECA 2016tudents from Michigan Tech’s chapter of Distributive Educational Clubs of America (DECA) attended the State Career Development Conference over spring break. The competition has three different types     of events which include case studies, business simulations, and prepared events. The students are given thirty minutes to an hour to prepare the event depending on the type, and then present their findings to judges who grade them based on specific performance indicators. For the business simulations and case studies, no outside materials are allowed. The competition is designed to take the knowledge students learn inside the classroom and apply it to real world problems. The judges are professionals from that specific area meaning that the judge typically works for a firm within that industry and/or holds certifications which makes them competent to judge the event. This year, eleven members from Michigan Tech attended the conference, and nine qualified for the International Career Development Conference. Ken Arndt placed third in the corporate finance event, and Cassandra Barry (pictured below) placed first in the accounting event. In Michigan Tech’s chapter of DECA, placing first in any event had only occurred three times, once when the chapter was established, and twice in 2013.

 

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Brown Bag Lunch Seminar

The School of Business and Economics will have its third brown bag lunch research seminar from noon to 1 p.m. on April 21, in Academic Office Building (AOB) 101.  Associate Professor of Accounting Robert Hutchinson will present his latest research.  All interested members of the MTU community are invited.

Title: Intangible Resource Value and Tobin’s Q: Evidence from the Super Bowl.

Abstract:

The emergent resource-based view of competitive strategy is that companies survive in the long-run by developing unique capabilities that are firm-specific and difficult to duplicate. Brand equity represents one of the most valuable, unique, and potentially long-lasting of these resources, and the need for developing accounting measures that allow for the efficient management of such resources is increasingly recognized. This study uses a unique data set to empirically examine the impact of one of the most exclusive and coveted forms marketing activities, Super Bowl advertising, on long-term brand equity via the q ratio. This paper attempts to bridge the gap between the management accounting and marketing management literatures by providing a practical application of the q ratio and a resource-based perspective on the reporting of intangible assets.

 

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Operations and Supply Chain Management Students Visit Peterlin Distributing Co.

Students in Roger Woods’ OSM 3000 course have had the opportunity to tour Northern Hardwoods and Calumet Electronics to take their education outside the classroom.  On Thursday, April 7 students met up at Peterlin Distributing Company in Calumet, Michigan to tour their wholesale warehouse.  Vice President, Mark Almquist provided a behind the scenes look of the largest beer and wine distributor in the Upper Peninsula.  Peterlin is one of 34 distributors in the nation to carry both Miller and Anheuser-Bush products, and has proudly been the main supplier to seven counties in the Upper Peninsula since 1939.

During the tour students learned about the stocking and shipping processes, how the stock is protected, how the facility meets heating and cooling standards and they even had the chance to sample a new product.

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Brown Bag Lunch Seminar

The School of Business and Economics will have its second brown bag lunch research seminar from noon – 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 13, in Academic Office Building 101.  Associate Professor of Management, Manish Srivistava will present his latest research breakthrough.

Title: Firm Risk and Market Valuation: A Reexamination Using Quantile Regression

Abstract:

Despite a very long history the relationship between firm risk and market value of firms is poorly understood.  Some of the prior research have shown a positive relationship, others have found a negative relationship, while still others have found no relationship. Considering the inconsistency of these findings, in this research, we reexamine this relationship using quantile regression and make an attempt to reconcile some of the contradictory findings.

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Student Spotlight – Russell Lawson

Senior mathematics major and economics minor, Russell Lawson will graduate next month with a lot of great opportunities ahead of him.   Russell, like most seniors has been working on planning out the next chapter of his life.  He applied to law schools as well as government-funded fellowships to get him abroad for a year.

Within a week of one another, Russell was accepted to the University of Michigan to study law and was accepted to The Congress-Budestag Yourth Exchange for Young Professionals.  Thankfully, University of Michigan has been  understanding. Russell will go to Germany first, and begin his legal studies upon his return in fall of 2017.

As for his fellowship, Russell will be spending the year in Germany.  His first two months will be spent studying at a German language school before he begins taking law courses at a University for a semester.  Russell will then have the opportunity to spend six months working abroad.  The Congress-Budestag Yourth Exchange for Young Professionals is a selective 1-year scholarship awarded to only 75 individuals across the nation.  Congratulations, and best wishes to Russell as he begins an exciting chapter this spring!

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