Synthesis Post.

Throughout this semester and working on the blog project, we learned the diversity in the field of business. Amos is pursuing supply chain management, Yue is pursuing finance, and Alex is pursuing agricultural business. Since we, as a team, all are pursuing different majors in the business field, we have come to the conclusion that everything in business is connected essentially. Which is why our blog is titled “Business Diversified”. From our blog, we want students pursuing a major in the business field at Michigan State University to understand that business is a very diverse field, educationally intensive , a unique language to understand. But there are many ways to succeed is such a diverse field and always remember, everything is merely business.

    Business is something that will always be present and relevant in our world. Our society incorporates business in many ways. Here at Michigan State University, there are many business degrees students can pursue. Just to name a few more than our intended majors, there is economics, marketing, and hospitality business. Just by looking at this list, there are a multitude of ways to study business at such a huge university. On our blog, Alex talks about slaying common stereotypes associated with business majors, Yue talks about what finance actually means, and Amos talks about what IT workers are now learning since business is consuming everything. Just from these blog posts, it’s evident business is all around us today. “From the corn field to Wall Street, almost all parts of our lives are associated with one form of business to another” (Alex para 3).

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Since business is such an important aspect of our society today, the workload for business students at Michigan State University will not be a cakewalk. Amos talks about some of the requirements necessary to apply to the famous Eli Broad College of Business after your first year here. Along with applying to the business college, students should still be aware that business is a very competitive field and you’ll be working vigorously amongst your peers to pursue the major of your choosing in the business college. However, the workload as a business student at Michigan State University will prepare students for what comes next in the future such as jobs and internships.

Jobs:

Major	Agricultural Business (Alex’s major)	Supply Chain Management (Amos’ major)	Finance (Yue’s major)
Jobs associated with major	Commodity Trader Consultant Farm Owner or Manager Manufacturing Manager	Logistics Manager Supply Chain Manager Purchasing Manager Operations Research Analyst	Investment Banker Financial Analyst Credit Manager Real Estate Officer

Along with the other aspects of business, learning the language is just as important to be successful in such a diverse field. While talking to business men and women, you’ll learn what they have done to build their businesses from the ground up. After Amos talked to his grandmother, who is an owner of her own business, we learned how communication is essential for success in the business world. We also looked at how business is all about the connections made throughout the journey. Many business men and women possess a unique vocabulary and of course, play golf when determining if if they want to accept or decline a deal from someone. From our blog posts, communication is crucial when talking in a world revolving around business.

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Although from this post it appears business is very dense, there are many ways to get involved and make understanding business so much easier. All around campus, there are many communities to help students dive into aspects of business. Amos discusses one club out of hundreds which travels mostly and helps students understand business on an international perspective.  You have to become involved with this major and meet people while building lifelong connections. From a blog post, Amos talks about what Dan Deucuester, a successful businessman and entrepreneur, means by benign manipulation. You also want to be sure your resume is top-notch with as much experience as possible as Alex discusses in a blog post.

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From our blog, we give a great amount of information about all different types and fields of business. Working together with our combined skills and knowledge of business, we were able to create a blog that any business student or business minded person will find interesting and helpful in the long run. Reading our posts can help students relate to other students as well as prepare them for what they might find during and after college. From our blog, we want everyone to ponder and understand how everything is merely business.

Introduction of chartered financial analyst

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program is a professional credential offered internationally by the American-based CFA Institute (formerly the Association for Investment Management and Research, or AIMR) to investment and financial professionals. A candidate who successfully completes the program and meets other professional requirements is awarded the "CFA charter" and becomes a "CFA charterholder". As of July 2014, there are approximately 120,000 charterholders in 35 countries. The top employers of CFA Charterholders globally are UBS,JP Morgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and BlackRock.

Successful candidates take an average of four years to earn their CFA charter.^[3][4] The program covers a broad range of topics relating to investment management, financial analysis, stocks, bonds and derivatives, and provides a generalist knowledge of other areas of finance.

Done by Yue Yang

Sue Happy America

Sue Happy America

In todays day and age, a business owner being sued seems to be a common occurrence. Although controversial Americas sue happy business field makes it hard to do anything sometimes without a team of layers behind you. Whether it is suing McDonalds for brewing their coffee to hot or something even more ridiculous, Businesses need to be ready now more than every to sue and be sued. 

Liebeck v McDonalds is a prime example of a business being sued for a ridiculous reason. Liebeck (an 80 year old women) received burns when she spilled hot coffee on her lap. This lawsuit ended up costing McDonalds $2.7 Million when it was all said and done. Although many may think that it is simply a money grab, McDonalds does brew their coffee at an exceptionally hot level and caused Ms. Liebeck to suffer 3rd degree burns.

This sue happy way of life does not only come from the consumer to the company. Recently two big companies went into legal battle of a Logo. Kellogg and Exxon Mobile locked horns in a dispute over the similarity in their tiger logos. Kellogg sued Exxon after years of having similar logos. Weather this is a money grab or Kellogg genuinely scared that the Exxon Tiger is stealing business, it simply shows that suing is a major part of the business world.

                                                                                

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More controversial legal battles between businesses and costumers can be read and found here on Business Insurance's Site.  

Challenges Facing Start up Businesses.

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Small businesses are all bound to face hardships at some point or another, especially when just starting out. Knowing how to recognized and handle these situations is key in order to overcome them and make sure your start up will be successful. Nothing is easy when starting out, this makes it especially difficult to realized when something is seriously wrong.

Investopedia has a great article showing 5 of the biggest challenges facing small businesses. From this article I think that two issues talking about dependence are some of the most important.

Being too dependent on a small number of clients is one of the biggest issues facing small businesses. having a small amount of large clients that make up large percentages of your companies revenue is a very risky move that can have devastating impacts. If you loose any of these costumers, that alone could send your business in a terrible direction. Obviously having more clients is better than few but making sure that your company is not dependent on 1 or 2 clients is a giant step in the right direction.  

Founder dependence is another problem common in small businesses. If a business cannot operate day to day without its founder or founders that business has little likelihood of success. Businesses need to be independent enough to make day to day decisions without founders. This problem seems like it would be easy to fix with the founders giving more responsibility to employees. However, many business owners feel the need to have their hands on every part of the business. This can be a difficult habit to break.  

Robots are Changing the Business World.

Robots are Changing the Business World.

Few technologies have impacted the world as much as robots. Everything from cars to assembly lines now have the potential to be operated by a robot at some point along the way. This leaves business owners, especially on the manufacturing side of a business in a tight place. Keeping employees happy is key to managing any good business and employees generally do not take kindly to being replaced by robots.

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From a business point of view however, robots are almost essential to survival in an increasingly competitive market. The cost of operating robots is far less than paying human employees. Everything from lawyers to babysitters might soon be replaced by robots. This can all be read in an article by NBC that talks about 9 different jobs that can be taken over by robots. Article Link 

Although it is already clear robots will take many jobs in many different industries, they have also been creating many jobs in recent years. While robots are more efficient than humans in many cases, they do tend to need maintenance Everything from fabricating parts to fix them, to a yearly cleaning and inspection, every part of the robotics industry creates new jobs. This article gives many good reasons on why, in the long run, robots create many more jobs than they take.

By Alex Comstock

What to Do With a Major in Business.

What to Do With a Major in Business

When looking at business majors, many people see students who know exactly what they want and what they plan on doing once they graduate. The truth is the business field is an extremely diversified field and the options our endless. This post points out a few different directions a student could go once he or she graduates.

With a degree in business, sales comes to mind right away. A sales job can be great for someone who is outgoing and enjoys interacting with people. Salesmen are not the same as what they once were perceived as. Your typical salesman now isn't a grease ball used car salesmen but rather a helpful, kind, and caring person who wants a partnership over a sale. Salesmen must be tough and not too afraid of rejection as they have potential to deal with it on a day to day basis.

A commodity or stock trader is another job in the business field that can interest students willing to take risk. The days of trading agricultural commodities in the pits of Chicago's board of exchange are over. However, the trading is not. Similarly to online stock trading, agricultural goods can be bought and sold at market price. Buying low and selling high is an easy concept although very difficult to accomplish.

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For students attempting to go a more stress free rout, an accounting job might be the one for you. Whether it is at an accounting firm, or your own small business, being an accountant tends to be a fairly predictable life. For as long as there will be taxes, there will be people that pay not to fill them out themselves. Having a father as an accountant, I know it is not the job for me. I also know however, that he receives plenty of off time in the summer months. When winter comes around it's "tax season" and the 60 hour weeks are frequent.

All in all there is a form of business that is perfect for anyone. Outgoing and risk taking to quiet and modest, a degree in business can take you almost anywhere in the world.

By Alex Comstock

Business Students at Michigan State University.

   

http://broad.msu.edu/information/logo/

There are many schools to choose from when pursuing a degree in business. But all of these schools' degrees don't weigh as much as a degree in business from Michigan State University. With the #1 ranked supply chain management program in the nation, Michigan State's business students have many opportunities in their reach.
 
Being a business student at Michigan State University is something that's definitely not easy. From the Eli Broad Business school's website at Michigan State University, you can see the requirements necessary to progress in this field. First you have to obtain 28 credits your first year being sure to successfully complete CSE 101, WRA 101, and MTH 103 or higher. Little do most people know, CSE 101 is one of the most failed courses for business students are Michigan State University. But after your first year, there's an application process in which you complete a case study, an experimental profile, and of course, have an outstanding GPA. Although grades are a major portion of the application, the experimental profile and case study are just as important when applying for admission to the business college. After finishing the application, business students should continue working on the core curriculum outline here: core curriculum Always remember to get help from an advisor if you need help with anything throughout your college experience as a business student at Michigan State University.

Citations:
“Department of Supply Chain Management.” Department of Supply Chain Management , Michigan State University, supplychain.broad.msu.edu/. Accessed 12 Apr. 2017.

Done by Amos Ray IV.

Lessons Learned on the Golf Course.

https://www.bism.org/golfregistration

     Business is all around us no matter what we do. That's how it is and always will be in our world since we are dominated by huge corporations. But have we really thought about how business and golf are actually connected when making deals? Most people know golf is major in the business world but is golf actually a good indication of a person's character? From an article by Lou Dubois, a writer and editor for NBC news, discusses how people operate on the golf course and how this really relates to their character off the golf course. Most people play golf for hours which can help look into their life without them even understanding the depth of the game. Brad Brewer, a PGA professional stated, "You observe over a period of time the habits of the individual. You see their integrity, their mannerisms, how they approach different situations, how they deal with success and failure. But in the end, I think the beauty of being able to create a relationship with somebody and bond with them for four or five hours is very valuable—I don't know that there's another place that you have the capability of doing that" (Dubois para 2). The quote from Brad Brewer shows how golf is used as an accurate indicator of someone's character off the golf course.

     From this article, it shows how the meaning of such a very relaxed sport actually can show the bigger picture. If you want to have success in the business world, you better be sure you are familiar of the rules of golf. I definitely will want to brush up on my golf skills for future references.

Citation: Dubois, Lou. “5 Business Lessons Learned on the Golf Course.” Inc.com, Inc., 6 June 2011, inc.com/business-travel-2011/business-lessons-on-the-golf-course.html. Accessed 8 Apr. 2017.

Done by Amos Ray IV.

Prompt 9: Evaluating Sources.

http://uwlowcountry.org/small-biz/

     Business is all about who you know and the connections you make throughout your journey called "life". Most men and women who are successful in the business world are successful because of the connections they have made to achieve their wealth. From an article by Mario Rese, a professor in marketing at a university in Germany, he argues why and how you should select your business partners.  Business is all competition. Who can sell the most of any good or service is what makes a business thrive more than any other. Rese states, "We are experiencing increasing competition between standards and the successful implementation of such standards determines market success." (para 1)  which shows how technology is really doing the bidding for partnerships. If you have an Apple iPhone 7,  for example, and let's say you upgrade to IOS 10 which is only compatible with apple products, you are more likely to buy an Apple Macbook to continue using IOS 1O. We strengthen this competitiveness within business partnerships and I'm positive we don't even know it.

     The article does an excellent job discussing how important it is to have a business partnership and how we, consumers, strengthen this partnership. You definitely have to agree with every point made since we are more likely to stick with one brand of products due to compatibility of these products. Imagine if we could use Android's software on an iPhone or vice versa. There would really be no competition in the business world which benefits no one in the long run.

Citation:  
Rese, Mario. "Successful and Sustainable Business Partnerships: How to Select the Right Partners." Industrial Marketing Management 35.1 (2006): 72-82. Michigan State University Library. Web. 8 Apr. 2017.

Done by Amos Ray IV.

Prompt 8: Asking Questions and Breaking Assumptions.

The book "Monkey Business" is very interesting, with humor, and very real, dry goods. From the banks of the interview process in detail to the employment orientation process of training. The party at all levels, an investment bank staff's daily work, including IPO prospectus drafting and writing exercises, valuation method of insider, printing, roadshow and so on detail. Including the fed up with IBD recruiters work starts to move to hedge fund, to leave after implementation work life balance and the ability to use their own to create value, to the feeling of work, life and  life attitude.

One breath read down is very enjoyable. There are a lot of plot empathy can cause resonance. After graduation, he watched the book, see a lot of places and high school years ago. It had written when phoenix TV anchor zen limo "ink" in the plot, such as to relentless without pitch book logic to angry and helpless. To change is the dark bullpen life fun, seems to have the technology content spend countless time valuation (including DFC model, Comps) is to do. And for MD, VP and customer talk good digital support and so on. In short is to know the investment bank IBD work very detailed reading worth a look.

This book to my biggest feeling is possible in the world is no perfect career. For a recent graduate without all of the students. The pursuit of money seems to be granted. As Maslow said the demand of several levels. Total want to let oneself eat satisfied wear warm, live honorably. However, if a job besides money can't give you more satisfied, and then one day, you will begin to tried of this job. Money is important, but that is not what life is all about.


Done by Yue Yang