Q & A

 

Wayne State University is opening a “Business Assistance Center” in three areas throughout the tri-county region including a center on its main campus in Detroit; it’s Oakland University campus; and in the Macomb County Administration Building in downtown Mount Clemens.

The centers will be staffed by MBA Students who will earn credit for offering business consulting services to area businesses.  Assistance offered runs the gamut from business plan development, personnel issues, to marketing and general consulting. 

eMacomb spoke with Dr. Jeffrey Stoltman, associate dean for research and graduate programs of Wayne State’s School of Business Administration to learn more about how the program will work:

 

How did the idea for a “Business Assistance Center” begin? 

In early 2008, we were conducting our regular review of our Masters of Business Administration (MBA) program with an eye toward making the curriculum as meaningful as possible for students.  Given our region’s current economic climate, we wanted to extend the capabilities of Wayne State, and our students, in helping to affect positive results for area businesses and organizations.

And, in listening to our students, we also know that they are very interested in applying their acquired knowledge and skills in a real and meaningful way.  Not just to beef up their resume but also because they really do want to make a difference.

Why Macomb? 

Initially, it was our intention to open a center on our campus in Detroit and then a second at our campus in Oakland County.  It was County Commissioner Ed Bruley who approached the Wayne State School of Business to discuss opportunities in Macomb.  He made it easy for us to expand our planned program by providing space in the County Administration Building.  Plus, working in close proximity to Macomb economic development staff will certainly expand the breadth of services we can offer.

 

What types of services will be available?

Each center will establish “walk-in” hours where business owners and organizational leaders can come in and ask specific questions about improving or enhancing their operations.  They’ll sit down with an MBA student and go through a brief coaching session.   Often, an individual or organization is simply looking for direction or advice. In other instances, a business or organization will contact us directly for a more in-depth analysis of the situation and more intense engagement with our consulting services group.  Our team is currently sorting through more than four dozen requests for assistance.

(The formal application is available online:  www.business.wayne.edu/sbac)

 

What type of businesses do you you expect to serve?

Any existing business or organization; the industry does not matter nor does the size.  Because we know that many great programs for getting a business started are currently available - like Macomb’s SBTDC – we do not plan to work with early stage start-ups. 

 

How are students selected to be a part of the program?

We are developing a pool of students to staff each of our centers.  To date, 95 have applied to be involved.  We are screening each to ascertain what skill sets are in place and then matching students with each center.  Our goal is to mesh our pool of talent with the specific needs of an organization or individual that comes to us for assistance. 

 

Who is the typical MBA student these days? 

Students from Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties are pretty evenly represented in the program.  Most are in their mid-20s and up.  We find an increase in the number of recent college graduates moving right into a Masters program.  These days, it isn’t just a Bachelor’s Degree that is needed for a good job.  Having a graduate degree is highly desirable.  We are also seeing an increase in the number of engineers and displaced workers in the program. 

 

We are also finding that many of our students want to be involved in “social entrepreneurship.”  They want careers that they feel are tied to making their community a better place.   For them, working is more about the value they contribute rather than how much they are paid or how high they can climb the corporate ladder. 

 

For more information about Wayne State’s Business Assistance Center, call (313) 577-1932.