The executive education and graduate programs in West VirginiaUniversitys College of Business and Economics have joined forces to help an important West Virginia company educate its employees about the many aspects of good business practice.
Starting in January, a select group of employees from Simonton Windows began the first MBA Essentials course to be transmitted across the continent. MBA Essentials is an intensive 14-session course designed to provide a foundation in current business theory and practice, covering such topics as strategic management, financial accounting, marketing, human resources management and strategic use of information technology.
The course curriculum was customized for Simonton to fit the companys specific needs. For example, to study marketing principles, the classes will be looking specifically at marketing Simonton products, and when cost control is the topic, they will consider how general principles can be applied at Simonton. Each of the course topics is taught by experts in the field. This course brings together some of the colleges best faculty, its seasoned executive-in-residence, successful alumni, leading local attorneys, business consultants and other practitioners.
For some years now, the WVU College of Business and Economics has been using its own broadband technology to take its Executive MBA program to multiple sites across the state. This is the first time the MBA Essentials course will take advantage of that expertise. Using Simontons distance conferencing facilities and college experience in distance teaching, Simonton employees will be taught at two sites in West Virginia �€including the Simonton home office in Parkersburg �€and the class sessions will be transmitted simultaneously to the Simonton site in Vacaville, Calif.
“We’re very excited about this opportunity,”said Maria Yester, director of executive education.”This course is a perfect alignment of the colleges education and service missions, our unique expertise in business consulting and distance learning, and the needs of a forward-looking and successful company like Simonton. With their commitment to excellence and employee education, they will make the most of what we offer.”
Simonton Windows was founded as a family business in 1946 in West Virginia. Since then, it has grown into one of the biggest and most respected window manufacturers in the United States. Simontons success was brought into the spotlight in 1998 and again in 2002 when an independent study among Builder magazine readers ranked Simonton Windows No.1 for quality among vinyl window manufacturers. A closely held company, Simonton is a subsidiary of SBR Industries, a company with more than $378 million in annual sales.
SBR Chairman and CEO Samuel B. Ross II learned about the colleges capabilities through his son Tres, currently an EMBA student in the Parkersburg cohort. Upon getting to know the college, Ross was soon enthusiastically discussing how the college might help educate his employees, and asked his vice president of organizational development, Jim Strader, to get involved. The result is the MBA Essential course, for starters.
Strader immediately recognized how much WVU could help his company.
“Much of our success can be attributed to the commitment and decisions of our employees,”he said.”Developmental opportunities like this course can enhance employee performance, increase an individuals self-worth and improve the company. We especially appreciate the willingness to customize the MBA Essentials program to meet our specific requests.”
Providing opportunities for lifelong learning is one of Rosshighest values. In developing the course, Yester made sure it was designed so that all successful graduates get three WVU credit hours toward an undergraduate or graduate degree. Participants without an undergraduate degree will get help and encouragement to earn a West Virginia Board of Regents degree. The college itself benefitted from this commitment when Ross donated a large plasma screen to the Parkersburg long-distance learning site. Simontons support of education goes beyond training its own employees �€a percentage of its profits is devoted to supporting education.
Ross himself will be rolling up his pedagogical sleeves to do some team-teaching for this course. In February, Paul Speaker, director of the colleges graduate programs, will travel to California to teach a session from the Vacaville site, while Ross team teaches the session from West Virginia. While Speaker is in California, he and Yester will also conduct a small seminar with Simonton’s marketing executives, based on mutually determined objectives.
Yester anticipates that this may well be the first round in a series of similar interactions with Simonton.
“Simonton is all about quality, innovation and the full development of its human resources,”Yester said.”MBA Essentials is about helping this company succeed in achieving its high objectives. This kind of collaboration is a perfect model for how academia and business can make good things happen.”