PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH “BUSINESS AFTER HOURS”
FOR THE LUNDQUIST COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
Presented By:
Ehren Castle, Cecilia De La Cruz, Chris Drysdale, Prell Prasertsri, & Jessie Xu
To:
Lundquist College of Business Education Enrichment Task Force
November 18th, 2013
We have found that communication among students in the Lundquist College of Business (LCB)
is not facilitated enough. Therefore, we are writing to the Education Enrichment Task Force
(EETF) to support a recurring networking event, Business After Hours. We propose that the
Career Center and Career Services collaborate to sponsor this event, which will improve studentto-student communication.
1. Situation Analysis
1.1 Current Programs
LCB Career Services
The LCB Career Services focuses on career exploration and building a portfolio of work
experience1. They mention on their website that they offer networking events. Their networking
link provides tips for networking, and states how “dozens of networking events--from career
fairs to student club activities--bring business professionals and business recruiters to campus
throughout the year” and urges visitors to “check the events calendar for upcoming
opportunities.”2 The events on the “events calendar” are the weekly club meetings, workshops,
and guest speaker presentations.3
University of Oregon Career Center
The University of Oregon Career Center currently offers networking events between
professionals and students. The Career Center also provides development opportunities for
students. The major professional networking events the Career Center hosts include:
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Career Fair
LinkedIn Workshops
Etiquette Dinner
Mock Interviews with Recruiters
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Business Connect
LCB Career Services and the Career Center recently partnered to hold the networking event
Business Connect. The purpose of this event was to give students hands on experience with
networking with recruiters and professionals. The event featured a speed dating networking
session as well as opportunities to get feedback from professionals. It focused on the basics of
network development skill building. In an interview, Colleen Lewis, University of Oregon
Career Center Employer Relations & Events Coordinator, expressed that the event was
successful in developing relationships between students and professionals.4
1.2 Lack of Student-to-Student Communication
Even with these existing events, student-to-student communication is still lacking. Through
communication students develop relationships which lead to stronger networks. According to a
job recruiting article, “80 percent of today’s jobs are landed through networking.”5 This article
highlights the importance of networking and its benefits to acquiring a job after college. In class
we have observed that students do not make an effort to talk or collaborate with each other
unless forced by a teacher. In a surveyA we conducted, we found that over half of the student
respondents knew less than 10% of students in their classes.6 The current events that are offered
by the LCB focus on developing relationships between students and professionals. These events
are not focused on student-to-student relationship building.
1.3 Proposed Course of Action
An event implemented by Career Services and the Career Center which focuses on student
communication would greatly improve student relationships in the LCB. By establishing an
organized and recurring event, we can begin to develop a comfortable environment for LCB
students to strengthen their student networking base and improve student-to-student
relationships.
2. Objectives
An organized and recurring networking event would achieve the following objectives:
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Increase communication within the LCB to build student relationships
Improve networking skills between LCB students
Increase student attendance to UO sponsored networking-related events
Provide students in the LCB more opportunities to interact with professional employers
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3. Solution
Business After Hours Networking Event
3.1 Overview
We would like to propose that the LCB Career Services and the Career Center organize a
monthly networking event for undergraduate students. This pilot event, Business After Hours,
will begin in the Fall of 2014 and continue for three months to gauge effectiveness and interest.
If effective, this event will extend for the remainder of the school year. Students participating in
this event will have the opportunity to interact with classmates and business professionals
outside of the classroom in order to develop relationships with other students in a professional
setting.
3.2 Elements
Venue & Atmosphere
We propose the venue to be the Lillis atrium. It is the most central and convenient location of the
Lillis Business Complex. It will occur the second week of every month. It is important for the
event to be recurring to develop meaningful relationships. The attendees will be divided into
concentrations in order for students to connect with others with similar interests after a general
networking session.B Thursday evening will be the best time to host it for optimal attendance
because the majority of business school students do not have class on Fridays and are unwilling
to commute to campus. Additionally, Thursday conflicts with the fewest amount of clubs.7 A
business casual dress code will be imposed to maintain a comfortable and fun environment while
still promoting professionalism. The event will offer a raffle with prizes sponsored by local
businesses as an additional incentive to attend.
Event Timeline
A general timeline of the event is tentatively outlined below:
5:00-5:30 PM Setup
● Pick up food from UO Catering
● Set up banners
5:30-6:00 PM General Mingling & Appetizers
● Food and drinks will be provided by UO Catering Services for those in attendance
● Students will have the opportunity to casually interact with one another regardless of
concentration or course enrollment
● Distribute raffle tickets
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6:00-7:00 PM Concentration and Course Enrollment Focused Networking
● Venue will be divided into sections based on concentrations and course enrollment
● Each section will be labelled by a large banner placed throughout the atrium for students
to recognize
● Students will move to the section of the room corresponding with their concentration or
currently enrolled courses to interact and build relationships
● Each section will feature business professionals, alumni, or Career Services staff who are
knowledgeable about various concentrations of business
7:00-7:30 PM Guest Speaker
● Each month business professionals or alumni will be invited to speak at the event or lead
a networking-related workshop
● Guest speaker will lead a Q&A to answer any questions students may have
7:30-7:45 PM Closing Announcements from Administration & Final Connections
● Administration will deliver a few final words, including announcements about next
month’s event
● Students can exchange contact information as well as business cards and social media
outlets such as LinkedIn
● Announce raffle drawing winner
Peer Leaders
Undergraduate Peer Leaders will be selected by Career Center and Career Services staff to
provide a wide representation of interests. These individuals will facilitate introductions and help
kick start conversations. Moreover, Peer Leaders will use their own personal network base to
introduce students with similar interests. Peer Leaders will help promote attendance to Business
After Hours and encourage attendance to other LCB-sponsored networking events.
Marketing
The Career Center and LCB Career Services has a well-developed marketing network consisting
of web pages, mailing lists, and social media sites. They will promote the event on their existing
web pages and forms of social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) to help inform students about
Business After Hours. Peer Leaders will deliver classroom announcements to inform and remind
students of the event. Ads and fliersC will be distributed by Peer Leaders and made available to
students at various locations around the business complex.
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4. Management Plan
Career Center and LCB Career Services Staff will collaborate in managing the event. As
mentioned earlier, the staff is experienced and equipped to organize a networking event. The
staff will be in charge of tasks such as securing the venue and recruiting business professionals
for the event. Additionally, the staff will select Peer Leaders as they will be the most adept in
selecting students capable of performing the job well. The staff will develop a survey to
distribute after each event to collect feedback and will be responsible for evaluating the success
of the event.
Peer Leaders will work under the Career Center and LCB Career Services Staff. Ideally, these
individuals will have strong networking skills. The staff will recruit and interview candidates to
ensure they are well fit for the responsibility. Once hired they will be trained by the Career
Center and LCB Career Services Staff. Their responsibilities will include being prepared with
conversational material to facilitate effective networking during Business After Hours and
assisting in event promotion.
5. Technical Plan
To ensure that Business After Hours runs smoothly, we have outlined tasks with tentative
deadlines that need to be completed:
SPRING TERM 2014
Select LCB Career Services Staff representatives as event participants
Open application for the position of Peer Leader
Interview student candidates
Select Peer Leaders
Begin marketing the event via social media
SUMMER TERM 2014
Secure Lillis Atrium as venue
Invite Business Professionals as guests
Order Banners & Event Decorations
Obtain prizes for Raffle via local sponsors
FALL TERM 2014
Train Peer Leaders
Contact invited business professionals to confirm attendance
Create marketing materials
Distribute marketing materials & visit classes
Order and obtain food provided by UO Catering
Hold event
Distribute feedback surveys (via e-mail)
Evaluate results of feedback surveys
DATE
5-Mar
19-Mar
2-Apr
9-Apr
10-Apr
24-Jun
25-Jun
26-Jun
27-Jun
3-Oct
6-Oct
6-Oct
13-Oct
6-Nov
13-Nov
14-Nov
28-Nov
Based on the results of the feedback surveys compiled each month, this event would continue to
be held every month for the remainder of the academic year.
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6. Costs
Oct-14
Nov-14
Dec-14
START UP COSTS
Banners8
$
540
Catering 9
Hummus and Pita Bread Plate
Slider Bar Action Station
Coffee
Soda Assortment
$
$
$
$
44
300
22
75
Marketing
Promotional Materials (i.e. fliers)
$
Per Leader Stipends
$40 x 6 peer leaders
$
MONTHLY COSTS
$
$
$
$
44
300
22
75
$
$
$
$
44
300
22
75
50 $
50 $
50
240 $
240 $
240
Montly Total
$ 1,271 $
731 $
731
Total Cost of Pilot
$ 2,733
7. Support
In order to create the most enjoyable and effective event possible, we need the support of:
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LCB Career Services
University of Oregon Career Center
University of Oregon Catering Services
Business Professionals
Local Businesses (For Raffle Prizes)
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8. Evaluation
Success of the event will be measured in two ways:
Attendance. LCB Career Services and the Career Center will use the attendance rate to indicate
event popularity. Also, they will use the fluctuations of figures to identify growth and decline in
attendance.
Feedback. LCB Career Services and the Career Center will collect quantitative and qualitative
data from participating guests through monthly surveys after the event to ensure its
improvement.
9. Conclusion
Together, the LCB Career Services and the Career Center are providing LCB students with great
opportunities to communicate with professionals. Through the current LCB events, students gain
experience of building relationships with professionals but not with other LCB students. The
Business After Hours event will provide students the opportunity to build professional
relationships with one another. Our student-to-student communication and professional
relationship building goal aligns with the sentiments of Dean Cornelis A. Kees de Kluyver:
“Network building involves finding and linking with complementary partners at the individual as
well as organizational level. It requires developing a relationship mindset, knowledge of one’s
own value and uniqueness, an ability to recognize the value and uniqueness others bring to the
table, and a commitment to identifying and leveraging synergies.”10
For the benefit of the U of O, the LCB and the students, we sincerely ask for your support for the
Business After Hours event.
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Appendix A
Survey Monkey Results
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Appendix B
Lillis Atrium with Concentration Banners
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Appendix C
Sample Business After Hours Flier
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References
1. "Lundquist College Career Services." University of Oregon. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
2. "Career Planning Resources - Networking." University of Oregon. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov.
2013.
3. “Events Calendar." University of Oregon. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
4. Lewis, Colleen. Personal interview. 14 Nov. 2013.
5. McIntosh, Bob. "80% of Today’s Jobs Are Landed through Networking." Web log post.
Recruiting Blogs. N.p., 26 Mar. 2021. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
6. Survey. Survey Monkey. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
7. "Lundquist College of Business Student Clubs." University of Oregon. N.p., n.d. Web. 18
Nov. 2013.
8. "Custom Banner Printing Service." FedEx. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
9. "University Catering." University of Oregon. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
10. "About the Lundquist College of Business." University of Oregon. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov.
2013.
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