Advisory Board Suggests New Paths for Plaza’s B.B.A. Program

by Professor Christopher Hartley

 

Plaza College’s B.B.A. Advisory Board is an external group of educators, community leaders, and business people who offer advice on how the college can improve the B.B.A. program and adapt it to an ever-changing business environment.

On Monday, October 25th, 2010, this advisory board met with members of Plaza’s faculty and administration, as well as current students and alumni, to assess and comment upon the B.B.A. program and the most recent trends affecting the business world.  The results were illuminating.

According to Jack Friedman, the executive vice-president of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, Queens (and New York City as a whole) has not suffered from the recent recession as badly as the rest of the country, but the job market is still faltering, forcing job seekers to do even more to attract the attention of prospective employers.  Helen Sears, a member of the City Council for nearly a decade, agreed, saying that all employees now have to “go beyond their job descriptions” and give 100% in order to stay competitive.  Echoing these comments, Barbara Gorman, a Human Resources expert (and upcoming Plaza instructor!), insisted that research, teamwork, and customer service are the key skills that currently determine success in the current economic climate.

There was plenty of good news, too, though.  Members of the Advisory Board were unanimous in their praise of Plaza’s B.B.A. program and the way it has anticipated and responded to these emerging trends.  Specifically, Ms. Sears congratulated Plaza for its focus on critical thinking, arguing that this was the key skill that would prepare our graduates to sit at the management table, and Mr. Friedman noted the importance of Plaza’s group work in readying our students for the interpersonal communication that is so vital to success.  These comments were seconded by Plaza’s own students and graduates, including Richard Melara, who praised the college’s computer courses for preparing him for more advanced work and who stated that his own dreams of business ownership would be greatly helped by the teamwork and business planning skills he learned at Plaza.

Meanwhile, the B.B.A. program continues to change and grow.  With new courses such as MGT1012 Strategies for Managerial Writing, MGT1013 Marketing Research, LP300 Intercultural Communication, and MGT1009 Conflict Management either being offered right now or planned for the coming semesters, Plaza College’s B.B.A. program is leading the way to success and preparing our students for all of the obstacles and challenges that lie in their paths.