MBA students from Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business enjoyed a first-hand overview of key issues facing the natural gas industry at a special forum hosted by Encana on June 20.
Held at the Segal Graduate School in downtown Vancouver, the day-long event featured industry speakers from both Encana and Westport Innovations discussing, among other subjects, the growing role of natural gas in North America’s energy mix.
by Jevta Lukic
Anny He, Beedie School of Business undergraduate student, has stayed true to Simon Fraser University’s Scottish heritage by contributing the sounds of her bagpipe to the SFU convocation ceremonies for the last five years. He, who plays on SFU’s Robert Malcolm Pipe Band, is not only musically inclined. She is also the president of the student-run Management Information Systems Association, an organization at the student forefront of the intersection of business and technology.
And while the career prospects for MIS graduates may be music to her ears, it is the enjoyment she derives from bagpipes that really strikes a special note. Keep reading…
by David Shoalts, Globe and Mail
A study by three academics at Simon Fraser University shows a surprising trend at the NHL draft and puts a dent in one long-held belief.
Peter Tingling, an assistant professor at the B.C. university’s faculty of business administration, and colleagues Kamal Masri and Matt Martell studied the NHL draft results from 1995 through 2003 and concluded teams miss a lot of good players in the later rounds because they dedicate their resources to the early rounds where the picks are easier.
While the authors confirmed the obvious, that players taken in the first round have the best chance of a meaningful NHL career (65 per cent of them by the authors’ count), they also discovered that players taken in the fourth through seventh rounds all have the same rate of success (roughly 11 per cent). Keep reading…
The Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University is pleased to announce its newly-launched Certificate of Business Technology Management (BTM) – a program that enhances academic and career opportunities for business students immersed in the realms of technology and innovation.
The Canadian Coalition for Tomorrow’s ICT Skills (CCICT) and the academic community have designed the BTM certificate to provide individuals with the opportunity to learn about innovation, leadership, and implementation of change in organizations, especially in the information and communications technology area. With completion of the certificate, SFU graduates from the program will join an elite group of business professionals supported by a national coalition of employers. Keep reading…
By Jevta Lukic
While every business venture brings forth its own set of unique challenges, one Canadian visionary knows particularly well the tribulations of conducting business amidst a politically tense environment – both at home and overseas. The founder of McDonald’s Canada and McDonald’s Russia, George Cohon, visited with Beedie School of Business MBA students at SFU’s Segal Graduate School in downtown Vancouver on June 16 to discuss the launching of the McDonald’s restaurant chain in the Soviet Union during the Cold War; as well as his more recent global business ventures.
With a mix of humour, charisma and entrepreneurial acumen, he recounted anecdotes about Canada-Russia politics and his many business adventures abroad. The fearless and determined pioneer and entrepreneur also explained the term “hamburger diplomacy,” which he coined to describe the 14 years it took to launch a McDonald’s restaurant in Russia, and the impact it had on economic and political relations for the Soviet Union. Keep reading…
by Jevta Lukic
Ashlee Liu is no stranger to global business and travel. The undergraduate student at the Beedie School of Business, who moved to North America from Asia and is preparing for an internship with BPI Group in France next year, says she is excited to use an upcoming development opportunity in Argentina to better understand the business environment across South America.
Liu is about to embark on her next global adventure — representing the Beedie School of Business — at the South American Business Forum (SABF). The annual forum’s aim is to engage young leaders in a dialogue about the region’s sustainable development and corporate ethics. Keep reading…
Jeff Norman, SFU MBA student and President of the Graduate Business Student Association, recently recounted a high-altitude adventure for Powder Magazine, one of the leading snow sport publications globally. His feature article entitled “Ski Morocco… Twice,” published at Powder.com, includes stunning photos of the rugged, breathtaking mountains outside of Marrakech, Morocco.
Norman took a two-day hike to the top of Jebel Toubkal, North Africa’s highest Peak. He noted that the ski-and-hiking expedition was, for the last 100 metre stretch, “a bit exposed and nerve-wracking without crampons, but soon enough we were standing on the summit in the sunshine looking out on the Sahara desert.”
“There is something odd about being able to see palm trees below you when you are standing on snow, but no complaints here.” Keep reading…
Beedie School of Business marketing professor Leyland Pitt recently spoke with Studio 4 Television and host Fanny Kiefer about a new study which looks at the impact of “mutant” ads that can affect customers’ views of major international brands.
The new study from Simon Fraser University argues that this new wave of digital advertising – user-generated ads that are posted to social media channels such as YouTube – has profound implications for brand managers and advertisers, given the wide range of variables that can impact how a user-generated advertisement is interpreted. As a result, firms have to think seriously about their response when their brands are targeted online.
Published in the spring issue of the Journal of Advertising and entitled “Understanding Consumer Conversations Around Ads in a Web 2.0 World,” the study shows how conversations around ads in digital media can be mapped and interpreted. Keep reading…
by Jevta Lukic
Kyle Krystalowich, a current Beedie School of Business student, and Ashish Gurung, a 2010 Beedie BBA alumnus, have been named by the Surrey Board of Trade to the city’s much-vaunted list of the top 25 individuals under the age of 25. The prestigious honor was bestowed to the two Beedie leaders in the Board’s inaugural Top 25 under 25 awards reception on May 30 at Surrey’s Eaglequest Golf Course.
The inaugural awards, hosted by the Surrey Board of Trade, were created to recognize the accomplishments of business and community leaders under the age of 25 who are making an impact in the City of Surrey, which is one of Canada’s fastest-growing cities.
It comes as no surprise then that the young leaders were recipients of the city honour — as both Krystalowich and Gurung have been noted student leaders at Simon Fraser University and in the wider community, particularly through their work with Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE). Keep reading…
VANCOUVER— The Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University has launched the SFU Beedie mobile app for iPhone. The occasion makes the business school one of the few in North America to have released its own app for the popular Apple smart phone as well as the iPad – one that caters to the school’s growing social network of students, alumni, researchers and industry partners.
Uniquely, it was developed in-class by Simon Fraser University undergraduate students from the Beedie School of Business and the Faculty of Applied Science. They are (left to right in photo): Charlene Adomako, Randy Tarampi, Justin Lee, Joshua Horacsek, and Kyle Krystalowich.
The app has its origins in the undergraduate class Business 338: Foundations of Innovation, taught by Beedie School of Business Assistant Professor Jan Kietzmann. The class is a collaboration with students from Computer Science 275, which is taught by Herbert Tsang – and matches business students with their computer science counterparts to simulate real-world iPhone app strategy and development.
Within the class, the concept of an outward-facing, community-driven, social media-friendly business school app was conceived by the aforementioned students, who felt that the mobile app medium could be especially useful in bringing various constituents within the Beedie community closer together.
“SFU Beedie Mobile is a testament to this school’s well-established culture of creativity and innovation,” said Daniel Shapiro, Dean of the Beedie School of Business. “This is an app that will have great value for the extended business school community.”
Users of the app will find dynamic content including school news, research highlights, and event information, as well as real-time interaction from the school’s social media channels — including web links, photos and videos. There are also wayfinding features such as campus maps and transit schedules that are relevant for the school’s student body and other campus visitors.
“The beauty of SFU Beedie Mobile is that it draws from social media to bring the extended Beedie School of Business community closer together – wherever they may be in the world” said Stephane Rousselet, a Master’s student from ESCP Europe in Paris, France, who helped develop the app in its early stages when he was an exchange student at Simon Fraser University.
For an Apple iTunes preview of the app, visit: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sfu-beedie-school-of-business/id434700597?mt=8
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Contact:
Justin Lee, BBA Candidate
Beedie School of Business
jal24@sfu.ca | 778.988.7278
Derek Moscato, Director of Marketing and Communications
Beedie School of Business
derek_moscato@sfu.ca | 778-782-5038