Monday, March 25, 2013

UT takes second place at regional HR Case Competition



The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation team claimed second place honors at the Society for Human Resource Management’s North Central Case Competition, held March 22-23 at Iowa State University.  Twelve undergraduate teams competed in writing an executive summary proposal and a 15-minute case presentation on human resource issues encountered within a family-owned hotel.  The teams were judged and critiqued by a panel of human resources professionals.   Congratulations to COBI’s second place finish team of senior HR students, (pictured here, left to right) Sydney Smith, Emily Lyzckowski, Emily Henzler, and Stacey Kuehn!

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Sales competition sharpens skills, helps employers identify top talent

The Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales (ESSPS) in The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation will conduct their Third Annual Invitational Sales Competition on March 15 from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Huntington Sales Lab, Room 4200 in the Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement.

It’s an event which is as exciting and rewarding for the sales professionals who serve as mentors and judges as it is for participating professional sales students.

“ESSPS is very engaged with the business community, as is the entire UT College of Business and Innovation,” noted Dr. Ellen Pullins, ESSPS director. “Company recruiters, who serve as coaches, judges and buyers in the role play sessions, are also interested in obtaining the best sales talent for their organizations.  We are here to help them achieve their goals while preparing our students for great success in the field of professional sales.”

“The Edward Schmidt School of Professional Sales is consistently recognized as one of the top professional sales programs in the United States,” Pullins said. “Our students are always in high demand and are being successfully placed. In fact, our career placement rate is approaching 100%, which is a particularly significant achievement given recent economic conditions.  In the past, 70% of the students in this competition received job offers following the event from the attending firms. ”

 “The ESSPS Invitational Sales Competition is a tremendous event,” said Kevin Donahue, District Manager, The Sherwin-Williams Company. “The organization and attention to detail made it great for both the sales students and for the participating companies.”  

The senior division of this Sales Competition is open to students who have successfully completed their basic sales class and who have not accepted a job offer.  All other professional sales students, freshmen through juniors, who are also available for internships are eligible for the junior division of the competition.  The professional sales faculty team reviews the applicants and selects the top 36 based on demonstrated conceptual selling skills, academic performance, professionalism, and career placement status. 

A study by the Sales Education Foundation (SEF) reported that firms are deliberately seeking out professional sales students because they “ramp up 50% faster” than non-sales-educated peers, experience less turnover, and actually save money for employers.

Pullins explained that among the benefits provided within professional sales education are the use of role playing and simulations which offer hands-on training; internships which build competence and confidence; and a faculty with sales experience providing knowledgeable guidance.

There are 50 corporate recruiters attending the Sales Competition from 30 companies. Corporate spots at this competition were ‘sold out’ in December with no advertising and there was even  a waiting list of companies hoping to participate. Among the companies participating are 3M, Cleveland Cavaliers, Hilti, Huntington Bank, MassMutual, Northwestern Mutual, Shrader Tire and Oil, SSOE,  The Sherwin Williams Company, TEK Systems, Tenneco, ThermaTru,  and Verizon Wireless.

 

Friday, March 1, 2013

COBI Human Resources Management Program ranked among top 200 in world

The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation (COBI) has been recognized as providing one of the top 200 Masters Programs worldwide in Human Resources Management by Eduniversal in their 2012-2013 Ranking of the best 4,000 Masters and MBA programs in 30 specifications in 154 countries.

Headquartered in Paris, Eduniversal is an international higher education ranking agency which endeavors to provide information for students to enable them to make the right decision regarding the choice of their future studies anywhere in the world.

“It is a remarkable achievement for our Human Resources Management program to be listed in the 200 best masters programs worldwide, and to be ranked No. 37 in all of North America,” noted Dr. Sonny Ariss, chair of the management department at UT COBI. “What is especially significant is this recognition emerges from the survey results from human resources managers and from 456 academic institutions and their students.” 
“In the context of a globalized and fast-evolving education, Eduniversal provides a wide panorama of perspectives and an in-depth view on academic expertise worldwide with the ultimate goal of actively supporting international educational exchanges,” he said.
“Furthermore, I want to congratulate all of the talented COBI HR and management faculty members whose daily hard work and dedication to their students made this international recognition possible,” Dr. Ariss added.

“This is wonderful and exciting news for our college, our students and our community,” noted Dr. Thomas Sharkey, Interim Dean of the UT College of Business and Innovation. “This distinguished recognition from Eduniversal, along with our recent placement as the only Ohio program listed among the top 50 in the 2013 Best Online Graduate Business Program by U.S. News and World Report, further demonstrates our expertise as the leading provider of business education programs, not only in Northwest Ohio, but throughout the United States and around the world.”  

The ranking of the Best Master's programs is fundamentally developed by carefully assessing the reputation of the program, the career prospects and the salary level of someone’s first employment after graduation, and the satisfaction feedback of the students.

During the investigation process, Eduniversal provides an international platform for the schools, students and human resources managers all over the world to participate in the Masters’ surveys.   The participation in the survey is completely free of charge. To take part, the schools simply need to register and fill out a form for each program they want to rank.

The 2012-2013 ranking of the best Master’s programs is published on www.best-masters.com which is the unique platform for the students that allows them to access information about various master programs suiting their choices of preferences and simplifies the process of application making.

COBI received additional recognition from Eduniversal in fall 2012 when The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation was again internationally ranked by Eduniversal in their recently released 5th edition of their annual worldwide business school ranking, The Best 1,000 Business Schools in 154 Countries, 2012.  UT COBI, rated Excellent, was the only ranked business school in Northwest Ohio, and one of only four in Ohio.