Walton Executive M.B.A. Students Positively Impact Community Organizations During Capstone Course

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Executive M.B.A. Class of 2015

The Executive M.B.A. class of 2015 applied their knowledge and made a lasting impact on community organizations through this summer's capstone course.

The capstone is taken as a final class in the Walton EMBA, an M.B.A. program for working professionals. Students work in teams to solve diverse, real-world business problems. Project sponsors benefit from the experience of the students, as well as the new skills students acquire in the degree program. Students have the opportunity to apply their knowledge and make a real difference in the community.

This year's project sponsors were 99 Balloons, Pack Shack, City of Fayetteville Economic Development, Magdalene Fayetteville, Habitat for Humanity, NWA Center for Sexual Assault, Kendrick Fincher Hydration for Life and Camp Alliance.

"It's easy to look at businesses in the abstract," said Rebecca Miles, who taught the course. "But it's important to remember that every organization was started by a person, by a family. When the company gets bigger you often lose sight of that. This course helps the students get closer to the passion. Several of our students were asked to join non-profit boards. Several others are staying involved in the implementation of their teams' recommendations. This course makes our students more connected to this community, and it has been exciting to see their commitment to these organizations' missions."

Carter Calico, who worked with the NWA Center for Sexual Assault (formerly NWA Rape Crisis Center), said, "What you don't see is apathy; they are very passionate about that they do. They're using students as a resource and our hope is that it will be valuable, and I think it will. When I see evidence of our work around town in the future, I can say 'hey, I was a part of that.'"

For Rekha Venkatakrishnan and Subhendu Mishra, both from India, who also worked with the NWA Center for Sexual Assault, there was a cultural element. "Where we come from, you don't talk about those things," Venkatakrishnan said. But she said the organization was open and supportive, which made it easier for team members to confront difficult issues. 

Vince Lucas worked with local non-profit 99 Balloons. "I've worked in operations all my life and never had a business class," Lucas said. "This was the first time that I was able to truly apply all of my knowledge." Gonzalo Smith said, "The types of problems you are confronted with in your courses are lab-created, but it really doesn't work that way. Average problems build up over time so the whole looks more complex than the parts are. At first you think, 'What am I going to be able to do to help?' But then you realize, you know, I really can help this organization; you dissect the issues. As much accumulation of course knowledge as you can get, you just can't get this."

Tai Crater said, "We regularly act as consultants in our jobs, but we were working with an organization here that really needed help. These were real people and real problems."

For students working with Pack Shack, the real problem being addressed is hunger.  The students experienced personal benefit from being able to share their know-how to impact a worthy cause. Rebecca Tucker felt that she "really wasn't aware how bad the hunger issue is…In the program, a lot of the cases we work on are older; this was an opportunity to really contribute—to put together our experience and really help an organization grow for the future." The rest of her team, including Brian Charlesworth and Todd Tittle, were pleasantly surprised by how receptive the Pack Shack team was to their ideas. Major General Darrell Moore, USMCR-retired, one of Pack Shack's strategic advisors, was impressed with the quality of the EMBA students. "You've got so much experience on the team. Their jobs are in insights. Half a dozen good ideas have already stimulated another half dozen," Moore said. Bret Raymond, co-founder and chief executive officer, summed up the experience: "The quality of work and our takeaways are off the charts. The work was fantastic, it totally exceeds expectations on all fronts."

Magdalene Fayetteville and Habitat for Humanity's Washington County chapter also were re-energized by students' recommendations. Peter Scoppa, with Magdalene Fayetteville, said that while the organizations had ideas, what they really needed was structure. "We really needed a blueprint," he said. "That's what we were hoping for and that's what we got." The Magdalene team was impressed with the students' energy, professionalism, ideas, and the ease with which they explained their recommendations. The students shared ideas for using social media, a spreadsheet with pre-built formulas and strategies for analyzing and costing their products.

Gaye Wilcox, president of the Habitat for Humanity of Washington County board of directors said, "We will be picking up this reference material for months and using it. This group was on it; they asked directed, intelligent questions; they really took it all in and understood what Habitat is about."

"What they gave us was really concrete," said Michelle Davis, resource development manager for Habitat. "They gave us a roadmap and contacts. We all knew we needed it but we just didn't have the time."

For more information on the Walton College Executive M.B.A. Program, contact Meredith Adkins, assistant M.B.A. director.

For more information on the capstone project sponsors, see their websites:

• http://www.99ballons.org/
• http://www.campallianceinc.org/
• http://nwarapecrisis.org/
• http://www.accessfayetteville.org
• http://www.habitatwashco.org/
• http://kendrickfincher.org/
• https://www.facebook.com/magdalenefayetteville
• http://www.thepackshack.org/