major proposal:

Here is a link to my original major propsal.

Major Description:

Through my individual major, I plan to discover how to become a successful business leader and manager. In a constantly changing world, I seek to better understand how leadership can be developed to better adapt to the needs of all people within a business. My major follows two threads, one focusing on the technical aspects of business (finance, economics, accounting,) and the other side being focused on understanding how to most effectively work and lead a group of people (IO Psychology, SOAN, management). Through pulling together courses from various areas, I seek to acquire the most valuable leadership and management skills to be the best leader I can be someday.

Important Questions to consider:

  • How does one become a successful leader?
  • What are the key characteristics of a great leader?
  • How does one build the skills needed to carry out effective leadership?
  • How does one run a successful business in a globally engaged economy? 
  • How is the meaning of leadership transforming in changing times within our society?
  • What role does gender play within leadership in a business setting?
  • How does one cultivate and sustain a business?

    • Rationale for the major:

    When selecting the classes to create this major, I intentionally sought to reflect St. Olaf’s goals in the sum of my coursework. Some of the most relevant to my major being: the ability to think critically, attain broad and specialized knowledge, vocational discernment and communication and collaboration. This major is unique in the fact that it is composed of classes from at least five different departments. There is a lot of variety within my major and this diversification is crucial to fulfilling my liberal arts education at St. Olaf.  My individual major comprises a well-rounded set of classes essential to preparing myself for my future career. I will complete my independent study in the spring of my senior year which will provide me with real world experience and knowledge I cannot solely attain from my coursework at St. Olaf.

    Why does this major make sense for you?

    Coming to St. Olaf as a first-year student, I had my mind set on majoring in economics with a management studies concentration. Although, when thinking about my future career, I knew I was passionate about a leadership or management position.  I quickly realized that the economics major wasn’t for me, and that I would not be passionate about studying that subject during my four years at St. Olaf. I was determined to study something that I felt spirited and passionate about, and I felt as if creating an individual major was the key to doing so.

    My whole life I have been interested in leadership. I always knew from a young age that I loved to help people and work with others. Whether that was being a camp counselor, planning high school dances, student government, or group projects, I knew I enjoyed being in a position of leadership. I love to problem solve, resolve conflict, think critically (and creatively), hone my communication skills and most importantly work on a team. I am passionate and excited about my major and the coursework that it entails. My individual major will aid me in my career journey and provide some of the necessary knowledge and skills of a successful business leader. I am very much an extrovert and thrive off of collaboration with others.

     Throughout my time at St. Olaf, I have also focused on Spanish classes. Studying abroad was always one of my most important goals to accomplish during my time at St. Olaf. Understanding and knowing a second language is incredibly important to me. Utilizing my Spanish skills in my future career is extremely important to me, and studying abroad in Spain has been such an eye-opening experience. It has pushed me to think differently, to challenge myself, and most importantly improve my Spanish skills. Although my major is not directly made up of Spanish courses, the Spanish courses I have taken at St. Olaf and in my time during Spain, will be extremely beneficial as a future business leader and manager for various reasons. Most importantly, being able to communicate in another language, especially in our globalized world, whether that is with employees or clients. However, studying abroad has confronted me with challenges and uncomfortable situations in which I have had to think critically, learn to be extremely flexible, and push myself outside of my comfort zone. 

    My business leadership and management major will set me up for success to enter the real world and help me become a successful leader someday. Some of the parts of leadership and management that I enjoy the most come naturally, however, there are many skills I need to learn in order to be a good leader, such as employee motivation, negotiation, conflict management, and cultural intelligence. These skills I can learn through applied learning and real world experiences. The variety of my coursework meshes well together to make up a well-rounded major.

     

    Course Rationale:

    Listed below are the courses that will make up my major. My major is made up of thirteen courses: 

    Social Science Component: 

    Principles of Psychology- PSYCH 125 (Completed)

    Principles of Psychology set the groundwork for understanding how people think and work. Specifically, learning how people work in groups/teams. The psychology of the human brain is fascinating and the understanding of it is relevant to all career sectors. PSYCH 125 laid out the groundwork for understanding the basics of psychology and the human brain. I learned how to better understand others’ thought processes as well as my own. 

    Industrial and Organizational Psychology- PSYCH 250 (Completed with my Individual Major Advisor, Professor Anna Erickson)

    IO Psychology has been the most relevant class to my major so far. The topics covered in this class are extremely applicable to my major. IO Psych touched on many topics that are essential to running a successful business. Some of the most important topics are: leadership, employee attitudes, performance appraisal, training, and working in groups and teams. One extremely important subject covered extensively in class was bias and its effect in hiring and promotion decisions and how to actively avoid it. We also learned about constructive criticism and giving/receiving feedback. This was an extremely valuable class that helped create a well rounded major.  

    Global Interdependence- SOAN 262 (Completed)

    Global Interdependence has taught me the importance of our interconnected world. It harnesses on topics such as: globalization, humanitarianism, global health, climate change, and how economies affect one another. This class will be particularly helpful in my future career in working with international companies and understanding different points of views from a cultural standpoint.  

    Management Studies- MGMT 251 (Completed)

    Management studies was a core class for the development of my major. It taught me the basic principles of managing a business/employees effectively, for example, it provided knowledge on the: “functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.” Also, in this class we worked in teams managing our own mock company in an online simulation (called Capsim). This was extremely beneficial as we had to learn the ropes of selling stocks/bonds and budgeting our finances. A few important topics covered in this class: handling conflict within the workplace, business ethics, and networking. This class was one of the many reasons I decided to pursue an Individual Major. 

    Management Policy and Strategy- MGMT 383 (Completed Spring 2023)

    This class would help improve my decision making and organizational skills. This would better prepare me to make extremely difficult business decisions and provide me with the tools to be an effective leader/manager. This course would provide me with the skills and knowledge in making difficult decisions, planning for the long term, as well as handling conflict. 

     

    Families, Marriage, and Relationships- SOAN 260 (Completed Spring 2023)

    This SOAN class would “ provide an analysis of marriage and family issues from a cross-cultural perspective.” This class also focuses on work and gender roles within marriages and families, which is very important in understanding as a future leader. Professional relationships play a significant role within the business world, however, as a leader it is also important to be aware of the relationships and issues that can affect an employee’s personal life or professional life. This course also touches on “work and family roles” which is important in management/running a business. 

     

    Marketing- MGMT 250 (Completed)

    Marketing is another foundational class for my major. This class taught me how many sectors marketing is made up of. In this class, topics covered were: “evaluating market opportunities; buyer behavior; market segmentation, targeting, and positioning; market strategy and planning; development of marketing mix; and marketing organization and control.” Marketing is one of the more creative sectors in the business world. 

    Technical/Business Component:  

    Introduction to Business- MGMT 1020 (Transfer credit, completed)

    Introduction to Business provided the basic framework of the foundational elements of business—what it entails and the many sectors within it. I learned key business concepts and terminology. This class set me up for success in doing well in future business courses. 

     

    Introduction to Accounting- MGMT 1010 (Transfer credit, completed)

    In Introduction to Accounting, I learned the basics and fundamental elements of accounting. Specific topics include:  “transaction analysis, double-entry accounting, cash, petty cash, purchases/payables, sales/receivables, and specialized journals. Year-end procedures and financial statement preparation for service and merchandise companies, payroll, inventory valuation, and corporate structure and equity accounting are also covered.”

     

    Legal Aspects of Business- MGMT 252 (Completed)

    Legal Aspects of Business allowed me to gain insight on how different laws affect businesses and corporations. Some of the most important topics taught in this course were, “personal rights and duties, contracts, sales, agency, negotiable personal rights and duties, negotiable instruments, bailments, personal property and corporate obligations, and equities.” 

     

    Corporate Finance- MGMT 281 (Completed Fall 2022)

    Corporate Finance is another extremely foundational class for my major. This class is the prerequisite for Investments, which I plan to take in Spring 2023. In Corporate Finance I would learn the basics of: “asset acquisition, issuance of stock vs. debt, dividend policy, planning and analysis, and working capital policy.” Understanding the basics of finance plays a key role in any sector of business. Financial literacy is crucial in today’s world (in both personal and professional life), and this course would improve my problem solving skills and ability to think critically. As a leader and manager, it would be necessary to understand the basics of finance in order to run a successful business/corporation. 

     

    Organizational Storytelling- MGMT 201 (Planning to complete, Fall 2022)

    Storytelling is an essential business skill. It’s important to have the ability to effectively tell a story in order to connect with your audience and sell your brand. In this course, I will: “explore the craft of storytelling and study a variety of media (analogue and digital) on which the story can be delivered.” Storytelling is key in all sectors of business, however, in sales and marketing this skill is necessary to be successful. 

     

    Design Thinking- MGMT 257 (Planning to complete, Fall 2022)

    Design Thinking is about learning how to set up a business using the “design thinking concept.” For example, in this class I would, “work in teams to identify a customer need, design a strategy, and determine feasibility of the proposed venture.” At the end of the course, I would receive feedback from local entrepreneurs on my business plan. This course would be incredibly helpful to further my understanding of business design strategy and would help me in my future career as a business leader.

     

    Supportive Applied Learning Experiences:

    Executive Assistant, Student Organizations Committee, St. Olaf College (Completed, 2021-2022):

    • The Student Organizations Committee is dedicated to providing adequate funding for student organizations and clubs across campus and managing a large budget of  70K
    • Interviewed candidates from different student organizations and decided as a team if they should receive funding or recognition to become a organization
    • Planned engaging events for student organizations leaders to gain knowledge about the committee’s financial resources
    • Attended weekly meetings to meet with different organizations to discuss funding matters

    Management Intern, Norwegian American Historical Association, St. Olaf College (Completed Summer 2021):

    • Streamlined the software where membership database is located
    • Assisted in the planning and execution of a large membership event 
    • Transformed paper membership renewal to an online process

    Business Operations Intern, Ameriprise Financial, Minneapolis, MN (Completed Summer 2022):

    • Curated an onboarding process and guide 
    • Presented findings in large meetings from various projects 
    • Completed research with a group on engagement levels within new hires and interns
    • Analyzed feedback from meetings and working sessions

    Executive Assistant, Programming Board, St, Olaf College (Completed Fall 2022-Spring 2023):

    • Attends and records all Programming Board meetings and distributes minutes within 48 hours
    • Maintains an organized Google calendar and Presence software
    • Keeps bylaws up to date
    • Assists coordinators with planning and scheduling student events and programs

     

    Consultations: 

    Anne Berry:

    Anne has helped me so much throughout this process. We had multiple meetings discussing the format of my proposal and the various contents. She has been extremely helpful in designing my major and has provided me with so much support and feedback.  

    Dr. Anna Erickson:

    Dr. Erickson and I have talked about the selection of my coursework and my senior project. We have discussed various ideas for my senior project as well as the logistics of it. We will do most of the planning this coming fall for my project. She has been a great advisor and resource.  

    Professor Richard Goedde:

    Professor Goedde is my academic advisor. He has  provided me with support in choosing my coursework and making sure I am on track to complete all of the necessary requirements. Professor Goedde has also provided me with various resources regarding leadership. 

    Professor Sian Christie:

    Sian and I discussed the concept of my major and how it differs from the management studies concentration. She was very helpful, offered great insight on my major proposal, and was very supportive.  

    Joel Schurke:

    My dad helped me with editing, formatting, and reviewing the contents of my major proposal.  He offered his professional advice and opinion, as he has experience as a business owner and founder as well as executive business leadership in academic healthcare.