Suzanne “Su” Gibson (IMBA ’06) completed her internship with ESPA, a spa consulting and skin care products company,
in Surrey, England. She divided her time between the consulting division and the marketing division. Working in the consulting end, Gibson
says was a “learning process for me, taking in what they do, providing administrative support… the marketing role was more proactive
– I was working on new product development research, direct mailings, and analyzing survey results.” Gibson holds an undergraduate degree
in psychology, and became a certified massage therapist in 2002. She worked as a therapist and even owned her own business for a time before family
matters called her back to South Carolina. She had also decided to pursue an MBA. Because she had studied abroad in England (where she met her husband)
as an undergraduate and later worked there for a year, Gibson was attracted to the international component of Moore School’s IMBA program. She had
also become interested in ESPA products while employed with The European Spa in Hilton Head and through the owner, Elizabeth McGinnes, secured an
internship with ESPA.
Gibson says the IMBA program staff “were very supportive” as she made arrangements with ESPA. Once in England, she was surprised by how much her course of study came into play in her internship experience. She obviously used her marketing training, but was surprised to be considered a “computer expert” because of what she had learned in courses such as Decision Analysis and Excel Camp.
Her internship experience was rewarding and beneficial, and Gibson believes it may lead to a job with ESPA when she graduates in May. The combination of her past work experience and now her training in international business make her a good fit with the company.
“Not many massage therapists have a strong business orientation, but personally, I’m much more tuned into business issues,” Gibson says. “It’s also important that the people crunching the numbers understand what’s happening at ground level with the [spa] treatments and believe in it… not just the bottom line.”
Craig S. Rasmussen (IMBA ’06) completed his internship with SKM Seaprende, a small software and development and consulting company, in
Santiago, Chile. SKM is comprised of three related business segments, Rasmussen says: “e-learning and knowledge management software products,
development of custom e-learning content (courses, learning objects, etc.), and a consulting practice which delivers knowledge transfer, project
management, and some development activities associated with e-learning and knowledge management practices and initiatives.”
Rasmussen says he was involved with two major projects with the company. One project was to help obtain venture funding by “developing a business plan, financial materials, an evaluation model, and projecting out cash flow,” with the idea that the company will be expanding business in Brazil and into other markets around the world. The second project was to “help refine the development process; provide a roadmap for product evolution. What is needed? What needs to be added? How does the company do this over the next 3-5 years?”
Work on these projects required a blend of business skills and disciplines, and Rasmussen gained a new appreciation for his coursework at Moore School. “I never expected to use everything I’ve learned. I was surprised by how much of my core classes I actually drew upon – data analysis, financial concepts -- especially analytical practices.”
During the course of his language training and internship, Rasmussen visited four Spanish-speaking countries, first Mexico and Peru for language training, then Chile for his internship, and also Argentina. Though Spanish is the common language, he learned quickly that language varies quite a bit from country to country. Through that experience, he says he learned “to be flexible and adaptable… that’s another thing this [IMBA] program teaches you.”
Rasmussen is “keeping the door open” to the possibility that he may return to work at SKM after graduation, but he is open to the possibility that he might work anywhere in the world.
Michael Shipe (IMBA ’06), Global Track, spent his internship with Plantago in Banja Luka, the capital of the Republic of
Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Plantago processes and packages 33 different herbal teas and provides packaging services to other
producers. The company serves 120 buyers in north and central BiH, including top shopping centers such as Interex, Tropic, and C-market.
Shipe reports his main role was to “strengthen the Plantago brand images. We had several projects aimed at building the brand, the first of which was designing a new package to communicate a more consistent message to the customers. I also took part in several in-store promotions and the third annual Herbal Tea and Honey Festival in Sarajevo.”
From this experience, Shipe says he learned “the delicate complexities involved in operating a small business in a developing economy. These include macro factors such as corruption, excess bureaucracy, and the lack of infrastructure. I also learned how micro factors such as culture and the business mindset of people effect management, marketing, and operations.”
The internship was “very challenging,” Shipe says, particularly given the U.S. military involvement in Bosnia a decade ago. “I had to communicate very carefully and interact diplomatically,” Shipe says. “I was able to gain the trust of the business owner and demonstrate how my skills set could help his company. I also saw a great deal of the operations of USAID, which will help in my career in economic development.” Shipe feels confident now that he will be able to function in other cultures in the future. “The communication skill I sharpened while in Bosnia transfers across borders and situations.”
How did Shipe’s coursework come into play? “I was able to bring many of the principles I learned in the program to Plantago. I believe the main thing was the importance of evaluating everything in terms of profit. Coming out of a communist economy, production and capital equipment were the measurements of success; however, I was able to show a few financial models that helped… I also helped in evaluating the organization structure. A large part of my contribution was starting an incentives scheme to align the interests of the sales team with the interests of the organization.
“It was a very challenging time, possibly the most challenging time in my life,” Shipes adds, “But it was worth it, and given the choice again, I would make the same decision.”