This November, full-time MBA students at the University of Houston – C.T. Bauer College of Business got a firsthand look into the operation of three Fortune 500 companies.
Thanks to a day trip organized by Bauer’s Rockwell Career Center, nineteen students in the full-time MBA program had the chance to head to Austin to tour the corporate offices Whole Foods, General Motors and Dell. The tours also included meetings with some of the senior leaders at each company.
According to Bauer Senior Career Development Specialist Erin Reed, who led the trip, the experience was meant to provide students with perspective on how different companies function. In preparation for the outing, students were asked to divide into teams and give presentations on one of the three companies to the rest of the group.
“We asked them to do some pretty detailed research on each company regarding their financials, what their strategies were in the marketplace, their product lines and their competitors,” said Reed. “We wanted everyone to know about the companies to show that Bauer students are well prepared.”
After arriving in Austin, the trip began with a tour of the flagship Whole Foods store from the store’s marketing manager and a lead team member. Later, the students met with Andres Traslavina, director of Whole Foods Human Resources, at the Whole Foods corporate office. Next, the students headed to Dell, where they toured the Fresh Air Hot House, sat in on a presentation with the managing director of the Client Product Group, Brandee Smith, and network with Bauer alumni currently working for Dell.
Finally, students wrapped up the trip at the General Motors IT Innovation Center, where they networked with company leaders and got a first look at some of the company’s new strategies.
This was the first trip of its kind to be offered to MBA students, but will likely open the door to future trips, with the possibility of expanding to companies even outside of Texas and within different industries.