Boise State students from a variety of disciplines — business, engineering, construction management and environmental health and science — are being trained to analyze utility bills and complete on-site energy evaluations. The students will learn about various types of lamps and lighting technology and complete practice evaluations this month before beginning energy audits later this semester.

Following the evaluation, the businesses will receive a detailed report that explains current energy use, recommends ways to reduce energy use, provides calculations for return on investment and paybacks, and identifies utility incentive programs and other financing options.

“Small businesses can save as much as 20 percent on their utility bills through energy efficiency,” said Joan Meitl, Idaho SBDC’s environmental assistance coordinator. “Our evaluations will help businesses manage their energy costs.”

Adoption of energy efficiency measures by small businesses has been relatively limited, Meitl said, as they are busy running operations and do not have time to learn about energy saving options or available incentives. The no-cost service hopefully will be of value to businesses that typically would not hire a professional auditor or do an energy evaluation on their own.

The evaluations will be scheduled during Boise State’s fall and spring semesters. In 2010, the program is expected to expand to other regions of Idaho. Interested businesses can ext. 6-1511 or send an e-mail to energy@idahosbdc.org to sign up for the no-cost evaluations.

Beginning in the fall of 2008, Idaho Universities have been eligible to apply for participation in this program which assigns technologies developed (and protected) by INL scientists and engineers. The general purpose is for Idaho students to first, understand the technologies assigned; second, to develop market feasibility information; and third, to develop and recommend partners for further development and possible licensing.

Boise State’s MBA team, consisting of Michael Brand, Stephanie Wicks, and Anne Wimer, was recognized at TechLaunch 6.0 as the leader in the program for its work this last year. The team was coached and mentored by COBE Management Professor, Sandy Gough. “I was particularly pleased with the students that volunteered to take part, and the quality of their completed effort given the time restrictions,” said Professor Gough.

For more information on this project, view Idaho Ideas to Market Program(I2M) description.

Boise State students from a variety of disciplines, including business, engineering, construction management and environmental health and science, will be trained to analyze utility bills and complete on-site energy evaluations. Participating businesses then will receive a detailed report that explains current energy use, recommends ways to reduce energy use, provides calculations for return on investment and paybacks, and identifies utility incentive programs and other financing options.

“Small businesses can save as much as 20 percent on their utility bills through energy efficiency,” said Joan Meitl, Idaho SBDC environmental assistance coordinator. “Our evaluations will help businesses manage their energy costs.”

Adoption of energy efficiency measures by small businesses has been relatively limited, Meitl said, as they are busy running operations and do not have time to learn about energy saving options or available incentives. The no-cost service hopefully will interest businesses that typically would not hire a professional auditor or do an energy evaluation on their own, she said.

Retail, service and wholesale businesses that own or lease space within a 20-mile radius of Boise State may apply to have an evaluation completed. Applications and additional information are available at www.idahosbdc.org, by phone at (208) 426-1511, or by e-mail to energy@idahosbdc.org. The evaluations will be scheduled during Boise State’s fall and spring semesters. In 2010, the program is expected to expand to other regions of Idaho.

The Idaho SBDC is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and is a partnership with Idaho’s institutes of higher education and the private sector.

After listening to the presentations, students got to choose the agency they wish to serve the required 10 service learning hours. The students also will conduct a one hour interview with their supervising manager about strategic and management issues.

The following community partners have agreed to host service learners for this five week summer session:

Cathy McDougall, AARP
Yasmin Aguilar, Agency for New Americans
Jason Sears, Boys and Girls Club of Ada County
Sherri Ellis, Good Samaritan Village
Cindy Hale, Idaho Food Bank
Taryn Magrini, Idaho Women’s Network
Phil Hawkins, Idaho State Veterans Home

By course end, students will have attained the following objectives:

• Enriched perspective regarding the nonprofit sector
• Increased understanding of management in nonprofit organizations
• Applied knowledge of management and organizational behavior concepts to the analysis of specific nonprofit managerial situations
• Sharpened analytical skills as they relate to leadership and other organizational behavior and management problems
• Gained a better understanding of the constraints and opportunities of nonprofit management, and how decisions are made within complex legal, regulatory, global, and socio-economic environments.
• Explored how to integrate personal ethical and citizenship ideals with a successful managerial career.
• Developed a spirit of partnership with the community, and considered a life-long commitment to service and civic involvement.

More information on MGMT410 Advanced Management Topics see course description.

Dean Shannon talks about the benefits of service learning

As part of Boise State’s priority to help local businesses and organizations weather the economic storm, the College of Business and Economics (COBE) launched the Business Research and Economic Development Center in January. The center is a one-stop-shop for the local business community to tap into the expertise of Boise State faculty members and other specialists. The center’s Spring 2009 Economic Turnaround Initiative was a concerted effort to positively impact at least 200 of them before summer. Response to the college’s invitation to help was well received, and it has since engaged with 617 Treasure Valley businesses and organizations.

Business faculty and their students took on 102 class projects and 15 consulting projects, the TECenter assisted 22 callers with high-tech entrepreneurial ventures, and 478 others connected with small business and manufacturing experts in the Idaho Small Business Development Center and TechHelp to meet their specific needs. COBE even assembled a group of recent MBA graduates to offer free consulting.

Rob Anson, a professor of information technology, acted as consultant for five teams of students in ITM 490, a senior capstone project class for information technology majors. The students did everything from system development to cost benefit analysis for their clients.

They 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. That means administering federal housing programs and managing multiple properties owned by the agency – and being inundated with paperwork. The agency was considering purchasing a document imaging system to scan and convert the paperwork to electronic images.

“We didn’t have the manpower or the resources to even explore it,” said director Lisa Steele. The Boise State students did a workflow analysis, shadowing 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 even drew up a request for proposals to get the purchase process under way.

“I was completely blown away by the quality of their work, their professionalism and the thoroughness of their research,” Steele said.

Anson estimates his five student projects alone would have cost the organizations a combined $25,000 if they had to pay for the services. In addition to the benefits the organizations received, his students also gained.

“They now have experience working with a real client on a real project with real constraints,” Anson said. “In an academic exercise you can redefine things at will, but in the real business world variables change as you move through a project.”

Other clients this spring included numerous for-profit businesses, as well as quasi-public agencies like the Ada County Paramedics, an agency that receives less than a third of its budget from public funds. A student team worked alongside marketing professor Gary McCain to offer new ideas.

“Not surprisingly, the economy has had an impact on health care across the board and our agency is simply part of that,” says Ada County Paramedics director Troy Hagen. Many area residents have lost jobs and health insurance and are not seeking medical care even if they need it. His agency is looking to publicize its membership program in hopes of curbing that trend. “We’re seeking third-party input into our marketing strategies for a fresh perspective from young budding professionals for a variety of different reasons. Some of it is for validation of our current processes and also to see if there’s something we can be doing better.”

While the spring initiative was directed at making an immediate impact, the center will serve as a permanent coordinating entity for all COBE outreach efforts, including the Idaho Small Business Development Center, TechHelp, TECenter, Centre for Creativity and Innovation, Idaho Council on Economic Education, Center for Entrepreneurship, and The Economic Forecast Project.

David’s team came in 3rd in the preliminary round of the 2009 Global Moot Corp Business Plan Competition losing out to a team that was a finalist in the competition. The Global Champion of the competition was Novophage Therapeutics, a team from Boston University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that provides a novel approach to combat antibiotics-resistant infections by combining engineering bacteriophages with antibiotics. The Novophage team was made of an MD/PhD., a PhD and an MBA and took home $135,000 in prizes.

The other teams in the Benchmark Capital Challenge round included: Fluoptics has developed a patented system for intra-operative cancer imaging that simultaneously reduces the risk of remission and increases quality of life post-operation (E.M. Lyon, France), SOVAmed provides a means for assessing vascular diseases in radiological image data by means of computer-aided procedures as a distant service provider (Wissenschaftliche Hochschule fur Untemehmenffuhrung WHU, Germany) and Cee-bot allows people to interactively design robots via the internet and interactively telecontrol the actions of the robots with real-time visual feedback and other hepatic feedbacks (Chinese University of Hong Kong, China).

Thirty eight (38) teams from around the world competed in the 2009 Global Moot Corp Business Plan Competition. These included:

USA

• Boise State University
• Boston University
• Brigham Young University
• Carnegie Mellon University
• Colorado School of Mines
• Fayetteville State University
• Kennesaw State University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Northwestern University
• San Diego State University
• University of Texas at Austin
• University of Texas at Dallas
• University of Arkansas
• University of California at Berkeley
• University of Chicago
• University of Louisville
• University of Michigan
• University of Oregon
• University of San Francisco
• University of Utah

Australia

• University of Adelaide (Australia)

Canada

• Queen’s University
• University of Manitoba
• University of Waterloo

China

• Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Columbia

• Pontifica Universidad Javeriana
• Universidad de los Andes

France

• E.M. Lyon

Germany

• Wissenschaftliche Hochschule fur Untemehmenffuhrung (WHU)

Great Britain

• London Business School
• University of Oxford

Mexico

• Centro de Investigacion en Materiales Avanzados

Norway

• Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Thailand

• Thammasat University

The eight student team consisted of: David Andrews, Sara Byrne, Jamie Chaffin, Lisa Frazier, Sarah Gridley, Kamile Ishiyama, Evan Nolevanko, and Jennifer Stemple.

The National Student Advertising Competition is the premier college advertising competition. It provides more than 3,000 college students with real-world experience by requiring a strategic advertising/marketing/media campaign for a corporate sponsor. Schools receiving first place from each district competition are selected to present their campaigns to a panel of industry executives at the American Advertising Federation National Conference.

This year’s corporate sponsor was, The Century Counsel, a group of distillers fighting drunk driving and underage drinking. This year’s mission was to create a campaign targeted towards college students to help combat the binge drinking problem that is so prevalent on college campuses today. Boise State accomplished this with the “Retool Your Reality” Campaign, which communicates a disconnect between student perceptions and reality.

Judges, who were advertising executives from around the west, were thoroughly impressed with the “Retool Your Reality” Campaign, and the difference between 1st and 2nd place (Portland State and Boise State) was within a point. Congratulations to the team and their astounding performance!

Contact Information: For more information, please contact the College of Business and Economics Marketing Department at 426-5384.

(From left to right) David Andrews, Sarah Gridley, Jamie Chaffin, Jay Longwell, Kamile Ishiyama, Evan Nolevanko, Sara Byrne, Lisa Frazier, and Jen Stemple

Boise State Center for Entrepreneurship held the first annual Elevator Pitch Competition and the results were impressive. The ideas generated by Boise State graduate and undergraduate students impressed the panel of judges with both their innovation and viability. Over $3,500 was awarded for graduate and undergraduate categories in best technology, most green, most viable and best presentation.  Before the event, entrepreneur and Boise State alumnus Clay Young, co-founder of Inovus Solar and ProClarity, discussed challenges for entrepreneurs.

For the complete Elevator Pitch Competition results click on: Boise State Elevator Pitch Competition 2009 Results

To view the Idaho Statesman article on the Elevator Pitch Competition click here.

Photo Gallery

Boise State University’s College of Business and Economics (COBE) is launching a new effort to assist Treasure Valley businesses during a down economy.

The “Spring 2009 Economic Turnaround Initiative” is a plan to help 200 Treasure Valley businesses between now and May. The local business community is urged to contact the college immediately to benefit from the wide variety of expertise available at the university. Assistance will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested businesses should call (208) 426-4950.

“The College of Business and Economics is a key driver of Idaho’s economic growth,” said COBE dean Pat Shannon. “We want to make it as easy as possible for civic leaders, businesses and economic development entities to access, utilize and gain from the college’s wealth of resources.”

The college has a long history of assisting local businesses. The college plans to do so this semester through internships, faculty consulting, graduate assistantships, semester-long class projects, Executive MBA capstone projects, in-class live problem solving, small business consulting, manufacturing consulting, high-tech business incubation and more.

Past efforts have led to a higher level of success for participating businesses and organizations. For example, a team of Executive MBA students formulated a plan for the Idaho Youth Ranch to increase revenue by starting an e-books business.

“Since our rollout on Sept. 8, 2008, we have sold 14,000 books and booked $129,000 in gross revenues,” said Steve Woodworth, Idaho Youth Ranch president and CEO.  “We have customers in every state and many other countries. The Executive MBA team provided the brainpower and encouragement we needed to move forward with this endeavor. ”

Local businesses can turn to the college for assistance with employee manuals, marketing plans, business plans, economic forecasting, lean manufacturing expertise, employee training, information system development, compensation plans, training manuals, volunteer handbooks, CPA review and more.

For more information about COBE, visit http://cobe.boisestate.edu.

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Contact: Sherry Squires, University Communications, (208) 426-1563, ssquires@boisestate.edu

Boise State University is “The New U Rising” with record student enrollment, new academic buildings, additional degree programs and a growing research agenda. Learn more at www.boisestate.edu.

COBE’s location in the heart of our region’s business center and close relationship with the business community provides unparalleled opportunities for COBE students. The unlimited number of student internships and projects provide a laboratory of action-based learning, real-world experience, a sampling of careers, and a foot in the door. Not only do COBE students benefit from these opportunities, but businesses also prosper.

For example, this Fall students in GB450 worked with several clients of COBE’s business help centers (Small Business Development Center and TECenter). Each team conducted a financial assessment, a SWOT analysis and a final project / presentation. The objective, scope and deliverables for the final project were based on the client’s needs and the findings in the financial assessment and SWOT analysis. Below is a list of the businesses helped and services provided:
 
Free Wheel (SBDC client)
The team presented a three-pronged business strategy for this early-stage company. They examined the target market and assessed the feasibility of licensing, partnering and manufacturing the Free Wheel product.
 
Satin Serenity (SBDC client)
The team conducted a company review, analysis and provided strategic recommendations. They assessed the profitability of each product and reviewed their current channels of distribution. Their recommendation included website improvements, affiliate marketing and public relations.
 
AeroLEDs (TECenter client)
The team completed a financial analysis and examined the product-level profitability as well as company-wide profitability. They made recommendation to save the company money and track expenditures as they grow.
 
Nutralife (SBDC client)
The team conducted a feasibility study for an early-stage product. They identified and examined three potential target markets.
 
Ready Financial (TECenter client)
The Team conducted a target market study. They examined the current customers and identified strategies and tactics to increase their pre-paid debit card usage. They also explored alternative marketing tactics and potential alternative markets.
 
Best Bath (SBDC client)
The team conducted a thorough market review of State and federal contracts as well as hospitals. The project detailed the next steps the company needs to take to be eligible for these contracts and how to bid on them.
 
MetaGeek (TECenter client)
The team conducted a retail market review which consisted of a customer survey as well as one-on-one interviews with retail managers. Their findings will help Metageek decided whether or not to pursue a retail sales channel.
 
Milligan Events (SBDC client)
This team conducted a market analysis for event planning. They examined the target market and identified emerging technologies, event planning trends and industry trends in North America and Europe.
 
Idaho Candy (SBDC client)
The team examined Idaho Candy’s accounting processes, cash flow, production and marketing. They provided recommendations to the company to help them reduce their overhead and grow their business.
 
Entrepreneurial Management 421: This entire class focused on one company, AuctionFrogs.com (TECenter client). The class was divided in half and one half focused on developing a management strategy and the other half focused on a marketing strategy.

To see more examples of how students add value to local organizations click here

To learn more about the services offered by COBE help centers go to the following websites:
The Small Business Development Center
TECenter
TechHelp