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."