Student Profile
FOCUS
News from the School of Business and Economics
January 20, 2013
Johnene Benson In addition to her studies,
Johnene Benson, a Management
major in her senior year, keeps
herself busy in a wide variety of
activities both on, and off
campus. During the summer
months, she has served as a
CIAA Intern with Nationwide
Insurance company where she
enhanced her business
communication and event
management skills. Also, she
served the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs as a Finance
Intern in the Minority Access
program. This program
supports working and disabled
veterans with their financial
management, ensuring proper
reimbursements and bill
payment.
When school is in session,
she works in the WSSU Writing
Center where she supports
freshmen and sophomores as
they improve their writing and
assignment completion skills. As
a volunteer, Johnene supported
the SBE Department of
Management and Marketing in
early 2010.
Johnene is the President of
Enactus (formerly SIFE); a
recipient of the National Black
College Alumni Hall of Fame
Scholarship; Founder and
immediate Past-President of My
Natural, a campus organization
that helps young ladies develop
self confidence and increase
knowledge of natural hair
treatment; WSSU Class Queen
from 2009-2011; an honors
student and serves as the
Secretary of the Student
Advisory Council.
A MESSAGE FROM DEAN BAILEY
To all supporters of the School of Business and Economics at Winston-Salem State University,
We are well into January now, so a belated Happy New Year to everyone! Despite the gloom of the
winter season and the uneasiness cast by the flu epidemic, the School of Business and
Economics is in high gear, excited about the long-awaited changes taking place every
day. The students have returned and are anticipating a challenging and productive
semester, as are the faculty and staff. First, the Small Business Technology
Development Center, located in Winston Towers has a new director, Mr. Robert
Weston. He will be guiding the center as it works closely with our faculty, staff, and
the Center for Entrepreneurship to assure that SBE graduates have a wealth of
practical experiences prior to graduation. Second, the Grand Opening of the Finance
Trading Room is tentatively scheduled for late February. FOCUS Newsletter will
keep you posted of the exact date. Third, MBA students are preparing for the SBE’s
Dr. Jessica Bailey first graduate study abroad program, co-sponsored by the Council for International
Education and Exchange (CIEE), to Shanghai CHINA. The program, under the
direction of Dr. Craig Richardson, is planned for summer 2013. Last, faculty are busy with the tasks of
student advising, new course development, and assisting with student recruiting. The RJ Reynolds Center
is abuzz with activity. Visit us and feel the energy!
Dr. Bailey to attend AACSB Deans’ Conference in San Antonio
Dean Jessica Bailey will be attending the AACSB International Deans’ Conference in San Antonio, Texas, January 23-25.
The conference is one of the signature annual events conducted by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of
Business, the premier accrediting body for business education. Meeting topics include the Development and attraction
of a diverse faculty; Conscious Capitalism®,, a new paradigm for business; The future of Accreditation; Cross-campus
alliances; Corporate-Business relations; the Business school model; Creating value; and Preparing students for global
roles. The conference is essential for networking, preparing for accrediting team visits, and remaining abreast of new
issues and perspectives in business higher education.
T h e S o c i e t y f o r H u m a n R e s o u rc e M a n ag e m e n t
( S H R M ) Te a m s w i t h t h e U r b a n L e a g u e
Dr. Melissa Mann & SHRM Members As the United States and many parts of the world find
themselves battling back from a recession it is appropriate to
wonder what function, if any, Winston-Salem State University
(WSSU) will play in assisting the downtrodden unemployed facet
of the labor force. The WSSU Society of Human Resource
Management (SHRM) Student Chapter decided it was immensely
important for them to use their newly acquired “Knowledge,
Skills, and Abilities” (KSAs) to help those in need. The WSSU
SHRM Chapter recently conducted a job training seminar for job
seekers at the Winston-Salem Urban League. The SHRM group
also sponsored a family for Christmas.
In this issue:
A message from Dean Bailey
Student Profile
Volume 4, Issue I1
1
1
SHRM/Urban League Partnership 1
Dr. Suresh Gopalan in Istanbul
2
Upcoming Events
3
US Economy & Neoliberalism
3
The Winston-Salem Urban League’s mission is to “empower and advocate for a diverse community,
to promote socioeconomic progress and parity through education, training and civic engagement.” The
WSSU SHRM Chapter has developed a relationship with the Urban League because our SBE students
wanted to gain a true appreciation of the present crisis facing the under-prepared job seekers and then
wanted to be part of the solution. Several times during the semester ten to twenty students will organize
and run a work readiness seminar focusing on skills such as interviewing and creating resumes. These
seminars allow the students to use the skills they are learning in the classroom to help (Continued on p. 3)
Suresh Gopalan attends CIEE
Seminar in
Istanbul,Turkey
Wri en by Brianna Galbreath, 2011 WSSU graduate, 1st Grade Teacher, Bluford Elementary STEM Academy, Guilford County Schools Dr. Suresh Gopalan,
economy is one of the fastest
Associate Dean and Professor of
growing in the world The
Management,
economic growth rate is faster
traveled to Istanbul, than that of many European
Turkey as part of an countries. To a large extent, this
International Faculty growth rate has come from an
Development
aggressive pro-business stance
Seminar organized
taken by the current AKP
government which has lifted
Dr. Suresh by the Council for
Gopalan
International
business restrictions and
Education and Exchange (CIEE).
encouraged foreign direct
The seminar was
investment.
based in Istanbul
Turkey
from June 11-22,
started the formal
2012 and was
negotiation
filled with cultural,
process with the
political, religious,
European Union
and political
(EU) in 2004. The
learning
EU is comprised of
experiences.
27 countries and
According to Dr.
its origins can be
Gopalan, “Istanbul
traced to the end
is a unique cityof the Second
Street side Barbecue half in Europe and
World War. Over
the other half in Asia”. The
the years, the EU has expanded its
national population is estimated to membership with Bulgaria and
Dr. Gopalan is partnering with Dr.
Alican Kavas on a case study that
examines the dynamics of Turkey’s
accession with the EU. “Some are for
Turkey becoming a part of the EU.
Others are not”, says Dr. Gopalan.
“The case study will examine the
issue both from the Turkish and
European perspectives. It will present
both sides of the debate allowing the
readers to draw their own
conclusions.”
stance. It has relaxed a ban on Turkish
women being unable to wear head
scarves. Women can now choose to wear
headscarves thereby keeping their hair
covered. This measure is controversial to
an extent. While some see this as an
acceptable custom for women, others are
Several issues were covered
Turkish Women
alarmed and view this as a first of many
steps that will end up resulting in more
social restrictions for women. The reality
is in Istanbul one can see women dressed
in a variety of outfits. This is something
Turkish Meal
Dr. Gopalan got to witness firsthand. “As
you can see in this picture, one woman is
during the International Faculty
wearing modern and western clothing
Development Seminar. One is the
while the woman standing beside her is
plight of a growing number of Turkish
more conservative, and has her head
citizens coming from a lower
covered with a scarf.”
socioeconomic backgrounds who are
While the main focus of the seminar
being displaced from their traditional
was
on
topics of an academic nature, Dr.
neighborhoods. Dr. Gopalan explains,
“There is increasing gentrification and Gopalan and other seminar participants
urbanization in Istanbul. Older
buildings that once housed the poor
Romania being the latest additions are now being renovated into high
be 80 million of which 15 million
in 2007. As stated in the official
rise apartments. Where will the poor
people live in Istanbul.
EU website (http://europa.eu/about live?” A second concern is the
Dr. Gopalan and ten other
-eu/basic-information/
preservation of ancient archeological
university professors from across index_en.htm), “The EU is a
monuments and artifacts. As the pace
the United States, heard lectures
unique economic and political
of construction has picked up, the
from Turkish professors on
partnership between 27 European demand for land has increased.
various topics regarding the
countries that together cover
Digging in Istanbul inevitably leads to
changing economic, political,
much of the continent. The first
discovery of ancient remains and
Dr. Gopalan; Associate Dean of the SBE speaks with
religious, and social aspects of the steps were to foster economic
archeological findings. There is an
three participants)
country. They also visited Bilgi and cooperation: the idea being that
increased demand to slow the pace of
Koc Universities. “My trip will help countries who trade with one
had an opportunity to “learn” Turkish
construction and preserve artifacts,
the students of the School of
cooking in this trip. “We had to cook our
another become economically
which in some instances are more
Business and Economics
own meal one night. I made sure that I
interdependent and so more likely than 5,000 years old. Gopalan
understand the dynamics of
paid attention because we had to eat
to avoid conflict. Since then, the
observes that “Architects and
growing economies as well gain a EU has developed into a huge
archeologists have come together to what we cooked”, he chuckled. He also
better understanding of the
got to sample street food such as Turkish
single market with the euro as its petition the government to spend
dynamics of Turkey’s accession to common currency. What began as
more time and effort on preservation. style Barbeque in pita bread. Reflecting
the EU ” states Gopalan.
a purely economic union has
This is a burning issue and will not go on his trip, Dr. Gopalan says, “This was a
trip of a life time. I learned a lot about
evolved into an organization
With a GDP per capital of
away.”
the country and got to experience the
spanning all policy areas, from
$15, 687 and a growth rate of
The current AKP government is
culture.”
development aid to environment.”
approximately 9%, the Turkish
seen as “progressively Islamic” in its
SHRM/Urban League,
SBE Professors edit Book on the U.S. Economic Downturn1
(continued from page 1)
6th Annual School of Business those not in a situation to further
their education at a university
and Economics’
setting. The students are bridging
Business Plan Competition the gap between academics and
practitioners by taking into
Saturday, February 16 consideration the theory while at
the same time working towards
10:00 am-3:00 pm
prescriptive resolutions for job
The Enterprise Center seekers desperate to ameliorate
(1922 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive)
their situation.
Please join us in
Students are energized about
their
experiences and often say
support of our
they are getting far more out of
student competitors running the seminars than the
people attending them. More
RSVP to
likely, these seminars are mutually
greenebp@wssu.edu if you beneficial. One student had a
family member who attended one
plan to attend.
of the seminars and was able to
report back a great deal of
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
gratitude from her family member
Celebration Events on Campus
who said the seminar helped her
Monday,
MLK Day Workget a job.
1/21/2013
12:00-2:00 pm
Tuesday,
1/22/2013 at
5:45 pm
Tuesday,
1/22/2013 at
7:00 p.m.
shops –Dillard Auditorium—Anderson
Center
The SHRM students also
know organizations value work
experience. These training
seminars are an important step for
Candlelight Vigil—
the students in understanding the
WSSU Clocktower
relationship between work skills
and training programs. This work
is important because more than
On Common
Ground: Remember- ever organizations need “great”
ing the Past to Shape employees to sustain a
competitive advantage and our
the Future with
students are graduating with hands
Harry Belafonte—
on experience, which is part of
K.R. Williams Audithat equation.
torium
WSSU School of Business and Economics faculty Drs. Nikolaos
Karagiannis, Zagros Madjd-Sadjadi and Swapan Sen have a book
scheduled for publication in March, 2013 which explores the reasons
behind the recent downfall of the US economy attributed to the
pursuit of orthodox and neoliberal policies.
This volume, with an international set of contributors, seeks
answers to these questions and proposes alternative strategies and
policy recommendations to reverse the downturn.
The three
principal themes of the
publication include the
return of government philosophical issues and
ethical considerations; a
review of
economic
policies for
sustainable
growth and
prosperity;
and the
financial
Dr. Karagiannis fragility and
alternative monetary
policy proposals.
Book chapters
cover the dangers of
neoliberalism, provide
policy advice on the
return of big
government, insights into
conditions for a
sustainable recovery and
provide a timely look into the US debt ceiling charades.
This publication will be of great interest to students and
researchers alike who have a interest in
economics, political economy and
contemporary US politics. It is a unique and
highly topical multidisciplinary volume.
New forms of work and work
environments
have been created
"Many people fear
Dr. Madjd‐Sadjadi by a century of transformations in
nothing more terribly
The publication is available for
the workplace. Therefore, it is
than to take a position
order through the publisher at taylorandfrancis.com/
necessary for our students to
books/details/9780415645058/ or the C. G. O’Kelly
which stands out sharply
participate in active learning, in
and clearly from the
Library
at the date of publication.
Dr. Sen order to examine the work
prevailing opinion. The
1
theories first hand and appraise
Information for this article courtesy of the Taylor & Francis Group
tendency of most is to
their relevance to the modern
adopt a view that is so
workplace. Lastly, not all
ambiguous that it will
individuals have been afforded the
Winston-Salem State University
include everything and so same opportunities in life. The
School of Business and Economics
popular that it will
WSSU SHRM Chapter sticks by
the
premise
that
people
do
not
include everybody.
R.J. Reynolds Center
aspire to be unemployed, it is
601 South Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive
Not a few men who
rather they do not have access to
cherish lofty and noble
Winston-Salem, NC 27110
certain KSAs that some of us take
ideals hide them under a
for granted. By understanding this,
bushel for fear of being
WSSU SHRM has been able to
FOCUS is published weekly by the School of Business and Economics at Winston-Salem
intercede and create training
called different."
State University. For information concerning the newsletter, or to contribute an article,
programs to increase
please contact Ben Greene at (336) 750-2330 or by forwarding an e-mail to
Martin Luther King, Jr.
employability.
greenebp@wssu.edu.