Business Synthesis

When deciding to pursue a degree in business, there are many aspects that must be considered. The business sector has a plethora of different avenues to begin a career path. Each field has contrasts along with similar characteristics that are important to take into consideration when choosing a field in business. In this blog more specifically, the fields of accounting, economics, international business, and supply chain are examined.

Accounting is an important aspect to take into consideration in every business. It consists of keeping track of financial transactions and has many principles and assumptions that have to be followed. You can learn more about the basics of accounting here. Accounting is used to analyze a business or individual's financial standing and can help them make future decisions, such as buying a car or buying a house. There are many principles and assumptions that need to be followed. You can find a list of the principles here. Most of the tasks consist of simple arithmetic. The accountant has to locate the correct numbers and plug them precisely into the equation. It is important for everyone to understand this language so accountants can explain the situation to people in higher positions, such as management. Management can then take that information and decide what would be the best thing to do for the company. You can find more of this here. Similar to accounting, but with unique aspects, is supply chain management.

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Supply chain management is about managing and watching the flow of inventory, finances, and information. The supply chain sector is all about efficiency. The main idea of supply chain management is to make business as efficient and profitable as possible. For example, individuals in this field would look at the cost of production, supply, demand, transportation, and overall inventory. Taking these into account, they would be able to analyze and establish methods to improve the company’s performance within production. In comparison to other business-related careers, analyzing and recording data is very prevalent in most of these fields. Although they may be similar in this regard, they are separated by the type of data that is being recorded. Accountants may focus more on the income perspective, while the supply chain sector focuses on inventory, costs, and supply and demand. Those involved in the supply chain field are more likely to require negotiation skills, while on the other hand accountants will need more interpersonal skills to relate to their customers on more of a personal level, to learn more about the skills required for this career path, go here. Every line of work has some sort of jargon. Supply chain management has acronyms such as EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), and ROIC (return on invested capital). EBITDA is used to determine the profitability between two companies, you can find more info here. Amortization, typically a word found in accounting is essentially the repayment of an intangible asset over time. Along with supply chain management comes economics.

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Economics has many ideas all coming together. There are also multiple factors that make up economics such as, forecasting or price determination. More about the factors of economics can be found in Economics’ Place in Business. Basically, choices must be made while weighing the costs and benefits of the options. Ideas must be shared with enough detail to interpret the meaning without explaining every piece of information. Since economics is focused around decision-making, it is necessary to be able to communicate with others. Making predictions and uncovering patterns/trends is the bulk of what economists do in their position. To learn more about skills an economist needs can be found in Skills of An Economist. The language of economics is one of the most distinct languages in the field of business. Terms such as supply and demand, elasticity, and consumer surplus are all used to describe products. An economist is always using these words and phrases, but when speaking to people unfamiliar with the vocabulary, a description in layman's terms should be considered for an easier discussion. Another factor of economics is competing with other countries.

Credit to Georgia Tech

To compete with other countries’ emerging economies, business men and women must have the correct strategies and tactics of how to do business in foreign countries. Any company that is international is constantly trying to build relationships and generate business and International Business majors do exactly that. The auto industry is a notable example of companies that hire students with international business degrees. Companies like Ford, GM, and Chrysler all conduct business all over the world and they need people who are well versed in how to conduct business with other cultures. Rigorous amounts of traveling and communication between different branches of a business are required. Being well informed about the latest trends in your field are also very necessary. Constantly checking in on clients or business partners help build good relationships. Depending on what field, there is plenty of industry specific terminology that is used every day. English is recognized as the international language of business but knowing more than one is very beneficial to building strong relationships with clients in different countries.

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For a degree in any of these fields, there are basic classes that everyone will take:

Accounting Accounting Info Systems, auditing, Computer Info Systems, Cost Accounting, Economics, Finance, Government Accounting, and Management.	Supply Chain Economics, Business, Statistics
Economics Economics, Economic Theory, Statistics, Public Finance, Government and Industry, Banking, Economic Development, International Economics	International Business International Law and Business, International and Comparative Dimensions of Business, International Trade/Finance

There are many factors that make up the business world. These four majors represent the most important fields of business that are highly regarded. Each of these fields fall under the category of business, but are unique to each other and important in their own ways.

Katie Howard - Accounting
Chandler Maples - Supply chain management
Colin Bergman - Economics
Carson Breault - International Business

Steps to getting a MSU International Business Minor

These steps are required by the university and can be found on here if you would like to see the full list of classes.

1. All students must take MKT 310 (International and Comparative Dimensions of Business)

2. Students must then take 1 of the following 4 courses

• FI 451 (International Financial Management)
• GBL 460 (International Law and Business)
• MGT 476 (Globalization and International Management)
• MSC 417 (International Market Management)

3. Then students must complete 2 of these classes resulting in 6 credits (they give a ton of options for this one so the specific classes can be found from the link at the top)

• EC 306/310
• EC 340/406
• EC 410/412-414
• EC 440/441
• FI 451
• GBL 460/480
• MGT 476
• MKT 415 

4. Students must have completed 3 credits in a course with International Content. Counselors can show you what specific courses fill this requirement

5. Students must also take part in a study abroad program and receive 6 credits. A international internship can also be approved and replace the study abroad program.

6. (my personal least favorite) Students must have at least 4 semesters of a university taught  language. You can test into whatever year you got to in high-school.

Complete all these steps and you will be on your way to adding a international business minor from MSU!

Written by- Carson Breault

Prompt 5: Observing Community

Prompt #5

The campus organization that I selected was the business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi. I selected this frat because they sent me several emails about how involved they were in building relationships between their members and the business world. It heavily interested me and almost decided to “rush” the frat this fall. I ended up deciding not to but one of my good friends Kyle Luce, rushed and was accepted. So to learn more I asked him some questions about what the frat is like and how it functions. Here is what he said...

Q: What is DSP and what is its goal at Michigan State University?

A: It is a professional business fraternity, the goal is to network with other business students here at msu and around the state. It’s a great way to connect the real business world with our frat members

Q: Does your fraternity have the reputation that is synonymous with other frats here at MSU (i.e. partying, hazing, tailgates)?

A: It's  different in that it is more about the social aspect of bringing together people of a specific interest and finding ways through  Greek life to benefit each member the most

Q: What trips have you attended or plan on attending through DSP?

A: We actually just had a trip to Chicago last weekend where we attended a business conference with several other business fraternities like ours. We have a ski trip planned this Febuary up in Traverse City. And to wrap it up we have a trip to New York in the spring.

Q: What are you guys learning on these trips? What companies participate in these summits and conferences?

A: Met with a lot of our sponsors on our last trip, AON, Expedia, Rolls-Royce, just to name a few. We do group discussions about what they do, potential internships, open up questions to the panel on specifics about maybe their companies or the industry they're in

Q: Last question, what are some of the ways the frat communicates to all of its members? As well as what methods of communication do you use to pass information along to your “brothers”?

A: It’s a tough thing to do, make sure 90+ are all on the same page. So we have meetings every Tuesday night, Facebook pages and we have an elected board with specific titles. One is Vice President of chapter communication, he keeps track of all of my brothers phone numbers, sends out group snapchats, and coordinates all of the group messages.

Written by: Carson Breault

What Professional SCM's Wish They Knew Before Starting Their Career

Before starting any field, most people have many questions that will determine whether or not it will suit them for the rest of their life. In this case, we will specifically be talking about what professional supply chain managers wish they knew before entering their line of work.

• Understanding the industry is essential
• Supply chain management is data driven
• Based on data analysis
• Supply chain management is competitive
• Missing a deadline could cost a company hundreds of thousands of dollars, as well as open up a position for another company
• The job is never boring
• You are constantly being placed in a position of new events
• Networking should be a priority
• It's about the people you know
• There are a variety of career opportunities
• This means that the SCM field is an umbrella, encasing multiple sub-fields.
• Some begin as an expediter
• Some advance to become a buyer
• Other job titles include:
•  Operations analyst, loading operator, sales, production manager and logistician

By: Chandler Maples

Citation:

http://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/business/blog/things-i-wish-i-knew-before-starting-supply-chain-management-career/

The Importance of Supply Chain

Individuals in the supply chain sector are valuable assets in the business industry. This is because they help boost performance of production, and optimize the companies profitability.

A few ways the supply chain field optimizes business are the following:

• Boost Customer Service
• Reduce Operating Costs
• Improve Financial Position

The supply chain does not also benefit businesses exclusively. They also support society in numerous ways. For example, they help with the transportation of medical supplies, food, and water. In times of great disaster, whether after a flood, hurricane, or earthquake, these supplies must be prepared, and those who prepare and help these products get delivered to their destination are involved in the supply chain industry. This can also boost peoples quality of life as well, such as having 2 day Prime shipping with Amazon Prime, supply chain management is heavily involved there as well.

• Improve Quality of Life
• Foundation for Economic Growth
• Improves Standard of Living
• Job Creation
• Opportunity to Decrease Pollution
• Opportunity to Decrease Energy Use
• Protect Cultural Freedom and Development
• Defending Human Freedom
• Protects Delivery of Necessities

By: Chandler Maples

Citation:

http://cscmp.org/CSCMP/Develop/Starting_Your_SCM_Career/Importance_of_SCM/CSCMP/Develop/Starting_Your_Career/Importance_of_Supply_Chain_Management.aspx?hkey=cf46c59c-d454-4bd5-8b06-4bf7a285fc65

Economics Education

Many people may think that economics is only about money, but that's not true. In fact, economics is a subject that extends between a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and a Bachelor of Science (BS).

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As an economics major (or any major) there are required courses that many students, if not all, will take. A schedule for an economics major will have a number of courses such as:

Economic Development

Economic Institutions

Economic Theory

Economics (micro/macro)

Government and Industry

International Economics

Labor Economics

Money and Banking

Public Finance

Regional Economics

Statistics

Just from seeing the classes listed above, communication, interpretation, and working with complex data are a few of the skills obtained from getting a degree in economics. With every major there are other classes that pertain to the field, and every university has different requirements. I believe it's important to communicate, interpret, and work with complex data because these skills can translate to many careers, and not everyone will end up working in the field they went to school for.

Written by Colin Bergman

Economics Major - MyMajor

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Econ Slang

Business has many fields, and within each field, there are specific terms that are used. In business, there are three main languages, accounting, finance, and economics. Only economics will be discussed but for more information on accounting and finance, you can read about them at Corporate Finance Institute.

The language of economics focuses on the external side of business. That means government, markets, and consumers. Having knowledge of the language of economics is a crucial component to a business. A business's success comes from understanding the external effects on the firm. There are many terms used in economics, but the main ones are:

• Consumer Surplus- On a graph, consumer surplus is the space between the demand curve and the market price
• Indifference Curves- Combinations of quantities that the consumer sees as equal value.
• Price Elasticity- The change in quantity demanded based on price change.
• Substitutes- Competing goods that can be interchanged 
• Supply and demand- Relationship between how much of a good a firm should produce, the amount of a good consumers would purchase, and the price at which they would purchase. Ideally, firms sell products at a price where the supply and demand lines intersect.

Credit to BYU Idaho

An economist must know more than these main ideas, but for now, the big picture concepts will do. Because I am taking microeconomics currently, these terms have been ground into my head. It is important to understand these terms because economics is all about building on previous concepts. Old ideas are merely stepping stones to complex ones, and nothing becomes obsolete.  
Written by Colin Bergman

The Language of Business - Do you Speak It?