BY RUNE TORGERSEN HANDS-ON, HIGH IMPACT
College of Business Graduates Enter Workforce Well-Trained
Professor of Marketing Sayantani Mukherjee, right, enjoys mentoring students like Amneet Pawar and Brian Valencia.
Testing Their Skills in Real-World Situations
In the ever-changing world of business, the knowledge found in textbooks can only carry a college graduate so far. The pre-scripted scenarios and controlled environments found in the classroom lay an excellent foundation of knowledge, but classroom learning nevertheless needs to be supplemented by real-world experiences. Students need experiential learning opportunities to help them develop into the well-rounded business professionals that the shifting economic landscape of today demands.
In the CWU College of Business, we rise to meet this need on a variety of fronts, from internships to in-class consultation work to undergraduate research and beyond, so that our graduates enter the workforce ready to contribute from day one.
In Ana Tonseth’s Lean Six Sigma Practicum class, students are given the opportunity to spend 10 weeks working with real companies, offering consultation services and honing their supply chain management skills in the process. Tonseth, a senior lecturer of finance and supply chain management, reaches out to the College of Business’ extensive network of industry partners before each quarter, asking them about the issues they’re facing and where a dedicated team of students might be able to alleviate those shortfalls. “I tell my students that, while I’m coaching them through the project, the ones they have to impress are their clients,” she said. “Throughout the project, things may come up that we didn’t plan on, which helps students develop the flexibility they’ll need in the real world.” Lean Six Sigma is an approach to process improvement in which any use of resources that doesn’t create value for the customer is considered waste. A paradigm like that might seem daunting to implement at first, but Tonseth sees her students engage in the work with pride, especially after having the opportunity to practice in a real-life scenario.
“One of the main benefits of doing this work is the confidence that students get when they finish it,” she said. “They learn how to approach managers as well as front- line workers, and how to overcome the frustration that comes with things not going according to plan.” Professor of Marketing Sayantani Mukherjee runs a similar program, finding nonprofit and small business clients for her students to assist in marketing to the digital space. “Working with real clients is one of the fundamental pillars of our program,” said Mukherjee, who developed the digital marketing minor in 2020. “This way, students get vast exposure to what real life looks like outside the structure of a classroom, along with all the ambiguity and opportunities for problem-solving that it presents.” Students bring their effort and creativity to the table through programs like these, ensuring a win-win situation for themselves and their clients. “Our students are just awesome,” Mukherjee said. “They demonstrate so much resilience and ambition when they put their minds to it, and I’m glad to help provide them with opportunities to do so. We ask them to show up in a big way, and they always do.”
Here’s a look at how our faculty, staff, and industry partners go the extra mile to deliver for our students.
LEAN SIX SIGMA
Senior Lecturer Ana Tonseth, right, guides her students through the manufacturing process at Tree Top Inc. in Selah.
Lean Six Sigma is an approach to process improvement in which any use of resources that doesn’t create value for the customer is considered waste. Professor Ana Tonseth sees her students engage in the work with pride, especially after having the opportunity to practice in a real-life scenario.
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