Thursday, November 29, 2007

Newsmaker Profile

Naomi Rosen: She puts the zing in A-M-A-ZING
By Barbara Navarro



Success is the sum of the details for one Cal State Long Beach student.

Coming closer to marketing senior Naomi Rosen, all this becomes apparent.

It’s in the way this 26-year-old casts a watchful eye on the everyday experiences that encompass her, as though she were carefully examining a movie played in slow motion. Or how she twirls through classes with a cluster of friends constantly at her side, as though they came packaged in a box filled with the season’s trendiest gadgets with secret communication codes and buzz beeps.

No moment is lost with Rosen. It’s all a glittering momentum.

This is what separates her from the rest of her class. She’d tell you, simply, her life “is amazing”—and that’s with putting a ballooned emphasis on that a-m-a.

Rosen is the head of the American Marketing Association, or AMA, at CSULB for the present 2007-2008 term. She puts it better than anybody else: “I am PROUD to say I am the new El Presidente the Third!!”

Close to a hundred dedicated students attend the AMA meetings every Monday evening, making it the largest club at the College of Business Administration. When plans for the group were announced earlier this semester it was hard to turn away, even with the club’s glossy $78 membership fee.

Projects announced ranged from playing baseball games against other CBA student organizations for charity, to participating in projects like the Spring Break Katrina Rebuild, to dealing with the Honda Company as campaign-makers to university students for the 2008 Honda Accord Coupe.

Though the club has engaged in (or has been a part of) about a dozen events every month since this semester started. At the heart of the clan is the very petite though vivacious Rosen.

Rosen attributes a big fraction of her enthusiasm to maintain AMA as such an active group t0 her fellow executive board leaders, who are about a dozen of her marketing peers.

They see her the same way.

“I've known her over the last year or so and she really impresses me as an individual. She takes on a lot and makes sure that AMA is always taken care of,” said Erica Whitson, 29, a marketing student and public relations director of the AMA.

“It's rare to find that kind of dedication at school, and I'm proud to be a part of AMA because of people like [Naomi],” Whitson added.

Though Rosen claims she hasn’t always been the easygoing leader easily recognized today. She lists a number of things that represent AMA’s success—they’ve won awards for their Web site, part of which Rosen helped create; AMA has also taken major chances, as in competing in nation-wide contests, like the campaign project for Honda’s new coupe. Still, Rosen started with the AMA group without many friends and without even much interest when she transferred in the fall of 2005 from a community college in her Garden Grove neighborhood.

“I first began at CSULB as a total commuter. I went to class and went home,” Rosen said. “My second semester I joined AMA, but I only went to the Monday meetings.

“Then, towards the end of the semester as they began talking about elections,” Rosen said, “I got a wild hair in my body and the thought of running for a position crossed my mind.”

Rosen ran for the 2006-2007 vice president position for communications. And, she won the job despite her cutthroat opposition.

Rosen made it clear that that edgy, competitive kind of style of doing business didn’t fall well with her. She preferred openness and sincerity in the atmosphere. Others took notice and elected her president for the current school year.

She learned this attitude from her parents, who worked at home as computer programmers and graphic designers throughout her childhood.

Rosen enjoyed her parent’s partnership and became interested in designing herself, signing up for unique classes throughout high school and her earlier college days. She added a twist to the equation, however. She never let go of her great passion for movies even if she knew deep down inside she’d make a lousy director if she ever pursued that career, she said. So Rosen opted for combining two of her talents.

“Originally I wanted to go into advertising, because I am obsessed with movies and hate when they misportray movies in previews. So, [I] figured I would make good advertising for movies (since making movies wasn't a realistic career),” she said. “I felt marketing would be a great balance between professional world of business and a fun world of creativity.”

Being a part of AMA has turned Rosen to her first and current internship with Autobytel Inc., an online marketing service specializing in the auto industry.

When she graduates next semester, Rosen has plans to start working towards her dream job as an exec for a marketing or advertising agency, while staying close to Southern California.

“I am a Pisces and I am a dreamer. I want it all!” she said.

*The photo above was taken from the AMA Web site.

Monday, November 19, 2007

AMA Flips!


Did AMA "Flip your Perception" over Honda New Model?

Sporty. Fast. Modern.

The American Marketing Association at Cal State Long Beach welcomed Honda's 2008 Accord EX-L V-6 Coupe model to campus on Monday, steering closer to the nationwide conclusion of Honda's marketing competition for universities, called Accord Coupe Marketing Challenge: New Car, New Generation.

Honda's new speedster was created with Generation Y in mind, explained one AMA participant. And defining the generation was only one major part of the mission in this marketing campaign.

Generation Y is an under-30s group that likes to spend, and it's a generation heavily influencing the following generations coming up, said the AMA marketing student.

And though college students (one of the more obvious sub-groups) seem to be almost always broke, the Accord Coupe will help with its moderate price (starting at about $21,000) and generous fuel-efficiency.

The 50-plus group of AMA hosted an array of activities, luring hundreds of CSULB students onto the USU North Lawn. The AMA ran an acceleration lounge, hosted a bungee jumper and invited professional salsa dancers and breakdancers to their 4-hour event. The goal being to heighten students' awareness of the coupe's special features, like the ones mentioned above and like its 268-hp engine and aggresive center of handling.

They underwent such an extensive preparation they ended up giving themselves a professional title, "The Agency." They included research, financing and publicity into the forming of their campaign, all while on a $2,500 budget. Presenting their campaign to the rest of the school was one thing; they will now develop a post-event analysis of their unique interactive campaign.

Results of the competition will be announced by Honda on Dec. 17.

Vroom! Vroom!




(Above: An AMA member dresses up for the fun occasion; Center: CSULB students fill in the blanks—why they find the 2008 Honda Accord Coupe so appealing; Below: The V-6 engine nicely lays out under the sun. Photo at very top: Jay Moon, an AMA rep, shows off glittery ads created for this special event. All photos by Barbara Navarro)

To read more on Honda's 2008 Accord Coupe:
NY Times Likes the Coupe
Honda's homepage:
2008 Honda Accord Coupe

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Monday, Monday

The American Marketing Association at CSULB is showcasing its pivotal performance as Honda's exclusive campaign-maker for the 2008 Honda Accord Coupe. "Flip Your Perception of Speed" is the name of the campaign that marketing students of the AMA developed for Long Beach's Generation Y. The group's campaign name plays off Honda's current campaign "Reverse Your Thinking." And while becoming the pros at developing the campaign, which included loads of research, teamwork, and creativity, the AMA students gave themselves the working name The Agency. They are in competition with other universities across the nation to win a prize from the Honda company. In order to fulfill all sides of the marketing aparatus, however, AMA needs your help. They want to know how you absorb their presentation and how much more aware of the new Accord Coupe you become from the exposure of their "Flip" campaign. Below are the details of the event.

What: AMA (The Agency), present the 2008 Honda Accord Coupe
When: Mon., Nov. 19, 11a.m.3p.m.
Where: North Lawn, just outside of USU Games.
Why: Along with games and vents, there will be free food and prizes given away during the event.

Another Event on Monday...

Occuring just slightly later than AMA's is SAM's (or Society for Advancement of Management) continuation of their Speaker Series. Shaun Tan, founder and director of the Entrepreneur Mentor Society, is Monday's speaker. According to the EMS Web site, Tan, a summa cum laude graduate of UCLA in business and economics, has suceeded in entrepreneurship many times (and millions) over. Currently, Tan is head of an aerospace manufacturing company, Solara Engineering, and the managing partner of Avid Capital, a buyout firm. Here's SAM's flyer with the details of Tan's visit.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

College Students: Not Learning Ethics

In a report from Tuesday, NPR announces the results of a new probe on business schools around the country. They say: "business schools have strayed from that goal and are now turning out consultants and hedge-fund hotshots obsessed with maximizing quarterly profits."

Listen to the full story here: Have Business Schools Strayed from their Mission? (AUDIO)

Any remarks? Please leave your comments below.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Get the Basics Down, Says CSULB Writer

Do you know who Ben Bernanke is? Have you read the Wall Street Journal at least once in your life?

These are the very basics of being a business student, starts off Ryan Ortega, contributing author of an article recently published in CSULB's weekly rag The Union. To read more of on his piece, titled "Business Majors Need to Learn the Basics," please click here.

More from Ortega: here and here.

Do you agree with what Ortega's saying in his latest piece?

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Question of the Day







Have you noticed these plaques around the CBA? How did they get there? Why are they there?

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Getting Your Foot Inside the Door

The Job Fair ended about 45 minutes ago. Business students dominated the scene as they circulated the USU Ballroom, encouraging corporate heads and representatives alike to check out their résumés, or maybe just their polished Italian boots.

Vince Hamamoto, a finance manager at Raytheon in El Segundo, said that looking good on paper, or in person, helps, but students need to be able to multi-task—managing major accounts, spearheading operations, leading meetings, and so on. Even more crucial in today's fast-paced world: students who are looking to enter such a competitive atmosphere must come with the passion to learn.

"We're looking for students who love challenges, so that they can broaden their experiences. And somebody who wants to learn," Hamamoto said.

Hamamoto, an experienced specialist and professional in his field, used a metaphor to describe today's business world. "It's like a 'pop-up' box you see on your computer screen: things happen and change so fast, there's always a variety of events." When I asked him what a typical day at his office was like, he simply replied, "There is no typical day."

Raytheon, by the way, is a billion-dollar corporation that specializes in engineering technology in defense and aerospace systems, which means they are always looking to recruit the brightest graduating students.

Some of the various representatives visiting CSULB today came from several, diverse fields. There were hundreds of booths! Here's a list of some of the companies you could've encountered at the fair:


Raytheon Co.
CA Franchise Tax Board
CA State Auditor
IRS
Balboa Capitol
Comerica Bank
World Financial Grp.
Trilogy Financial Svcs.Wescom Credit Union

What did you gain from the experience?
Who did you meet? What companies did you make a connection with?
Did you land a job with anyone?
Some times these kinds of events widen our views on what's out there. Did this occur to you today?

For more, please visit the Career Development Center's Web site Career Development Center's Web site

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Making Connections: Listing of Groups at the CBA

Here is a list of the several student-run groups that meet at the CBA:

AMA American Marketing Association
Meetings on Monday @ 5pm, in CBA 235
Contact: ama_zing49@yahoo.com

BAP Beta Alpha Psi Accounting Society
Meetings on Mondays and Wednesdays @ 12 to 12:25pm and 12:35 to 12:55pm, respectively, in CBA 218
Contact: bap@csulb.edu

BBSA Black Business Students Association
Meetings on Thursday @ 5:30pm, CBA 124

DSP Delta Sigma Pi

FMA Financial Management Association
FMA on MySpace

HSBA Hispanic Students Business Association
HSBA on MySpace
Contact: csulbhsba@yahoo.com

HRMA Human Resource Management Association
Meetings on Wednesday @ 12:30pm to 1:30pm, in USU 205
HRMA on MySpace

ISSA Information Systems Student Association
Meetings on every other Tuesdays @ 5:30pm, in CBA 112

IBA International Business Association

Law Society
Meetings on Wednesday @ 12:30pm to 1:30pm, in USU 306
Law Society on MySpace

PAC RIM Pacific Rim Association

SA-->M Society for Advancement of Management

On Display: A Jaunt to the CBA

The trip to the College of Business Administration from where I consider the heart of the university, from the corridors that surround the University Student Union, or simply the Campus Center, takes just a few minutes. You'd have to go down the escalators and through the balconies that shape the cavity of that jazzy turquoise swimming pool and follow the path out through the mouth of those corridors and you'll know you're in the right place when you see students waiting for their shuttle ride. Brotman Hall's fuzzy, misty fountains and those lush landscapes on the other side mark the middle point of the walk. After that it is an easy, pretty stroll through a long, wide concrete ramp that will eventually lead you past the University Art Museum and straight to the college where it's all about business. It's not too far from the Pyramid in distance or design. This building—the house of accountancy, finance, and many other serious studies—is quite beautiful in its entire dark, blocky, geometrical exterior.

Inside the building I encountered an interesting collection of plaques that adorn the outside walls of classrooms and lecture halls (which I will later on report on regarding their significance), a rainbow of flyers, and hallways where a certain 2005 award is still being celebrated. Here is my collection of images portraying my trip. The very last photos were taken at a meeting with the school's American Marketing Association and their guest speaker, Tom Meyer. (All photos taken by Barbara Navarro on Monday, Oct. 16.)































Thursday, October 11, 2007

The Daily 49er Reports on Ethicist Visit

Here are a few notable excerpts from Michael Josephson's presentation at the Distinguished Speaker Series, as the Daily 49er reported in Thursday's paper. Josephson visited Cal State Long Beach on Wednesday afternoon at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. Josephson's talk was called "Ethics in America."

On the "disease of low expectations" of well-known figures:

"Jayson Blair almost single-handedly took down The New York Times."
"Arthur Andersen? There is no Arthur Andersen anymore."

On Martha Stewart from his "Corporate Hall of Shame":
"The first Paris Hilton."

On the younger generations, using information gathered from a survey conducted by Josephson Institute of Ethics called the "2006 Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth":
"I don't think we've raised moral mutants. Instead, we are creating a society where [bad] behavior is tolerated."

On "The Solution" to the moral dilemmas society is facing:
"Son, I'm no worse than anyone else."
"I know, dad. But I thought you were better."

(As the Daily 49er points out, Josephson quoted Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" where the central character explains the unethical things committed in life to his son.)

To read the entire report of his visit, please click on the link below.

Admit it. You want to read it. Ethics matter at CSULB.
10/11, Daily 49er Article

Monday, October 8, 2007

Straight Talk with an Ethicist

One unable to dance blames the unevenness of the floor. —Malay Proverb

Tyco. Enron. Martha Stewart. Marion Jones. The lists of the pathologically corrupt may get out of hand. But, with certain ethicists sprouting amid the industrial and cultural landscape of the US, perhaps things aren’t too bad. Don’t believe me? Believe Michael Josephson, no stranger to the world of ethics.

Wednesday, October 10, Josephson will visit CSULB when he sits down for a conversation with Art Levine, host of the weekly talk show Straight Talk, at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. The theme of the conversation is “Ethics in America.” It will mark the launch of the new Distinguished Speakers Series.

The conversation begins at 2:00 p.m., preceded by live music, refreshments and exhibits. Doors will open at 12:30 p.m., when tickets will be available for purchase ($20 for general admission with advance purchase; $25 at the door, if available).

About the Speaker



Topping Josephson’s long list of endeavors, he established the Joseph and Edna Josephson Institute of Ethics. However, he first established himself as a notable ethics consultant to major business leaders at Johnson & Johnson and Proctor & Gamble, to conducting ethical programs for government and law enforcement, such as the US Army, IRS, and FBI. Josephson has also developed youth programs, Character Counts! and Pursuring Victory with Honor, to expand the understanding and use of ethics in young people’s lives. (Watch the video below and be inspired!) Also, Josephson has also had careers as a law professor and as a publishing entrepreneur.

Admit it. It matters. Ethics in life.
YouTube Video


Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Introducing...



My new blog is an online journal about the university’s College of Business Administration. Interviews, new stories, newsworthy information such as upcoming CBA-related events and trends will all be exclusively reported on this site. My duties involve gathering information, preparing and conducting interviews, developing and reporting stories, especially updating any and reporting any breaking news coming from the CBA. Also, my blog will incorporate convergence features—links to photos, audio, and video clips—when possible.

About the CBA
As one of the seven colleges found on campus, this college offers a vast program of studies, which include: accounting, finance, information systems, human resource management, management, marketing, operations management, and an interdisciplinary option in international business. This CSULB college also offers students a chance to win scholarships and participate in the business program as honor students (CBAHP).

Welcome and enjoy my coverage of all things flowing out of the CBA.