Boise State University’s College of Business and Economics (COBE) has launched the Spring 2010 Economic Turnaround Initiative and invites Idaho businesses to take advantage of the wide array of expertise available at the university.
Interested companies and non-profit organizations should call (208) 426-4950. Assistance will be provided based upon fit, capabilities and order received.
“This is a remarkable win-win opportunity for Idaho’s business community and Boise State’s students and faculty,” said Brian Greber, new director for the Center for Business Research and Economic Development, the umbrella organization for all of COBE’s outreach efforts. “This program can provide a foundation for business success, create a more robust climate for hiring and hone students skills under the mentorship of faculty and business partners.”
In January 2009, the college announced its first economic turnaround initiative and engaged with nearly 600 businesses and organizations through student internships, faculty consulting, graduate assistantships, semester-long class projects, Executive MBA capstone projects and in-class live problem solving.
Businesses were helped on projects covering the waterfront of the disciplines within the college including: human resources (employee manuals, training, compensation plans, volunteer handbooks), marketing (market research, marketing plans, sales promotional plans, logistic solutions), economics (forecasts, structural analyses of industries), manufacturing and business systems (lean manufacturing, information system development), accounting (development of business start-up templates), finance (models for capital planning, analysis of project alternatives) and general business planning.
Participants included the Boise City/Ada County Housing Authority, an agency that has helped provide housing options for low- and moderate-income residents in Ada County for 42 years. The agency needed a document imaging system to scan and convert paperwork to electronic images. A team of students completed a workflow analysis, shadowed employees to determine how to integrate the system into their daily work, contacted housing authorities throughout the country to see what systems worked best for them, completed a cost-benefit analysis, pre-screened vendors and drew up a request for proposals to get the purchase process under way.
“We didn’t have the manpower or the resources to even explore it,” said director Lisa Steele. “I was completely blown away by the quality of their work, their professionalism and the thoroughness of their research.”
Greber, who has a Ph.D. in resource economics and 18 years of private sector experience in manufacturing management, market and economic research, product development, sales, marketing and technology development, will coordinate this spring’s efforts.
