Bissett Insider

We Are Not Them (WANT) Event – March 23-27

Titled the We Are Not Them (WANT) Movement, the event, which runs from March 23 to 27, will feature a number of workshops and seminars educating students about the stark differences between the Islamic faith, and those who have taken it hostage under a banner of violence.

Events occurring as part of the WANT Movement include mobile quizzes on myths surrounding the Muslim community, alongside opportunities to view “peace screenings” featuring poetry and literature from prominent Muslim scholars and leaders.

While the physical aspect of WANT Movement will wrap up this Friday, organizers hope it continues to educate students continuously, as information being released through the program is also being posted online.

Updates from HR Faculty

The annual HR student networking event was held on March 3rd.  This was another successful initiative with 37 students and 20 industry representatives participating.  A wonderful opportunity for students to connect with practitioners, learn more about HR management, and practice networking skills.  Plans are already underway for next year’s event scheduled for March 15, 2016.  Many thanks to the Human Resources Institute of Alberta for their ongoing sponsorship of this event.
The Bissett School of Business was proud to host the second annual HRC West – an annual human resources case competition designed to showcase students’ skills through an academic competition among post-secondary institutions across Western Canada.   Bissett’s HR student team (Ravi Chung, Miranda Mountain, and Jenna Price) placed second and made our school very proud.  

 

iPic Competition held on March 26

On March 26, the HKCBA (Hong Kong Canadian Business Association) held their Ipic Competition. The purpose of the HKCBA Calgary Investment Pitch Competition (i-Pic) is to provide students enrolled in post-secondary institutions within Calgary a unique opportunity to showcase their entrepreneurial, business, analytical and presentation skills to a group of seasoned judges.
Students are encouraged to present a business concept that will promote the advantages of using Hong Kong as a strategic platform to do business with or to act as a gateway to Mainland China or other places in Asia.

The format for this event is modeled after the popular television series, “Dragon’s Den.”  During the presentations, seasoned judges will ask student groups questions to assess their potential for creating value as a business venture.

This year, our Bissett students were the grand winners. Rudi Schiebel BBA-INBU won first prize $4000 and audience favorite (A dinner with the HKCBA Calgary Chapter Executives). Additionally Brad Willamson BBA-MKT (INBU and ENTR minors) won the chance to attend the VA Angels Bootcamp and $1200.

Rudi  and Brad also attended the HK Forum in December as part of the Calgary delegation together with Halia Valladares, further inspiring the students to do business with HK and China and to learn more about International Business in general.

Embracing Tensions in Corporate Sustainability

Dr. Connie A. Van der Byl and her coauthor, Dr. Natalie Slawinski from Memorial University, had their article, “Embracing Tensions in Corporate Sustainability: A Review of Research From Win-Wins and Trade-Offs to Paradoxes and Beyond” 28: 54-79, doi:10.1177/1086026615575047, published in the March 2015 Organization & Environment special issue: Review of the Literature on Organizations and Natural Environment: From the Past to the Future.

BBA Student to Present Paper at ASAC Conference

Miranda Mountain, fourth year BBA student majoring in Human Resources with minors in international business and business society,  gave her presentation, “Addressing uncertainties in hydraulic fracturing: a review of hydraulic fracturing management literature” at the February 25 Institute for Environmental Sustainability (IES) Seminar.  Miranda has been a research assistant to Dr. Connie Van der Byl since June, 2014 on the Canadian Water Network funded study, “Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Knowledge Integration: Landscape Impacts”.  This research project is led by Dr. Michael Quinn, Director of IES, and includes academics from across Canada.

Miranda was also accepted to give this presentation at MRU’s Student Research Day 2015 on April 1st and has been accepted to present her work at the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada (ASAC) conference in Halifax in June, 2015.  Her acceptance to ASAC was based on a full paper submission.  Congratulations Miranda!

 

Campus Alberta – Online Educational Initiative – Open Source Textbook in Applied Logistics Management

We are pleased to report that Campus Alberta has awarded a grant of $77,000 for resources in support of the creation of an online Open Source Textbook in Applied Logistics Management to the Bissett School of Business to cover expenses associated with a project planned for execution between May 2015 and for completion by December 2015.

This project award came in response to an Expression of Interest submitted by Lloyd Ash in January 2015 which was short listed and a full formal proposal submitted in March 2015.   The project will see collaborative work headed up by Lloyd Ash and involving a principal coauthor from UBC’s Sauder School of Business, Dr Garland Chow.

The initiative will also include outreach to other programs in supply chain management in Alberta and across Canada and directly provide an open source textbook in Logistics Management that can be used in Bissett’s LSCM 3301 and 3305 courses as well as their online equivalent credit courses offered through MRU’s ContEd collaboration with Bissett that was started last year.