*This blog was originally published on Poets&Quants where I served as an undergraduate columnist during the 2020-2021 academic year
As I enter my second semester at the Ross School of Business, I wanted to take some time to reflect on a handful of the most impactful classes I’ve taken at Ross.
Now, I say “impactful” rather than “favorite” because I did not necessarily enjoy the classes’ subject matter. Instead, I either found the professor to be phenomenal or the class concepts to be very applicable to my everyday life.
In this column, I’ll be sharing the biggest takeaways I gained from each class and why I found each class to be impactful. I also had the opportunity to interview my professors to hear their thoughts about teaching at business school. (Disclaimer: I took all of these classes over Zoom and these classes are listed in no particular order.).
This is a popular elective class at Ross. I think the name of this course speaks for itself for why it’s such a highly coveted class that students actually bid points to take it.
Yes, you heard me right. BBA seniors are allocated 1,000 points that they are allowed to use to bid on classes. This is to ensure that students are enrolled in classes they need to take before they graduate (i.e. floating core classes). It also gives students a chance to really demonstrate their strong interest in taking certain business electives. In my case, I bid 400 points to take this class.
MKT 409 is such a popular class because the professor, Marcus Collins, is simply a Ross icon. He is an engaging and dynamic speaker who generates lively class discussion (even over Zoom!). Fun fact: he once worked with Beyoncé! If that doesn’t scream icon, I don’t know what does.
I feel like the name of this course was a little misleading to its actual content, though. I thought I would be learning about different social media strategies to employ and how to get the best engagement on different platforms. However, I am happy that’s not what this course was about at all.
This class revealed that marketing is truly about understanding people. One of the biggest takeaways that I got from this course was that “social is people.” Let me explain. People are composed of networks. Marketers are in the business of “getting people to move.” Simply put, our jobs as marketers are to influence networks of people. People are influenced by their networks of friends, family, sorority sisters, fraternity brothers – you get it. If we want to get people to move, you need to influence their networks.
This class was impactful because we’re always going to need to understand people and this class provided me with a methodology to better understand people and their networks.
How long have you been teaching at Ross? Since Winter 2016
What is your favorite thing about teaching? Helping people realize their potential to the highest fidelity possible. It is the greatest service I could ever do.
What is the biggest takeaway that you want students to take away from your class? Marketing is all about people. If we want to be better marketers then we have to better understand people. This is, as W.E.B. Dubois says, the tragedy of the age. We know so little about people, and as a result, the marketing suffers. I would go as far as to say if you don’t understand people then you likely don’t understand business altogether.
As a student, what was your favorite business class and what was your most valuable takeaway from it? My favorite business class was a research method’s course I took during my MBA program that focused on using non-traditional means of market research to better understand the user-experience and consumer journey. It was the first time I can remember consciously applying empathy to my work.
Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: Design your course for the perspective that you want students to learn, not for the content you want to cover.
When did you know when you wanted to be a business school professor? I had ZERO intention of being a professor. I was working in the world of advertising for some of the biggest brands on the planet—McDonald’s, AB-InBev, Google, etc. A career in academia was likely one of the furthest things on my mind. Professor John Branch asked me to visit Ross and share my successes as an advertising executive in the form of a guest lecture for one of his classes. Being my favorite professor during my MBA program, I naturally agreed and headed back to Ann Arbor to visit my alma mater with some advice for students in-hand. I felt so intrinsically motivated watching students’ eyes light-up during my lecture that it reminded me of how I felt putting ideas in the work as an advertiser—except I wasn’t selling burgers and soda. I was making a dent in people’s lives. I was hooked immediately and decided to invest myself in the academy.
I took this class because the name intrigued me. I’ve always been fascinated by what drives consumers to make certain purchasing decisions. How do we influence consumers? What gets them to move?
MKT 313 was one of the most impactful classes I’ve taken at Ross because it allowed me to pursue something that I’ve always wanted to start, which is a personal blog. This class assignment allowed me to vocalize my thoughts and express my creativity by choosing the blog layout, what pictures to feature, fonts to use, and so on.
Aside from the blog aesthetics, one of the biggest takeaways I got from this class was the importance of delivering value to your consumers. Everything that you put out should have some kind of value-add. For example: our blog assignment had to include pictures, links, and media – anything that would add value for our readers. It’s important to be intentional and thoughtful about the content that you are sharing.
I also enjoyed this class immensely because the professor, Amy Angell, is super engaging and encouraging. She really takes the time to invest in her students and makes it a personal point to demonstrate her interest in her students. I loved her class (and her) so much that I signed up to take my senior capstone class, MKT 430: Strategic Marketing for Product and Brand Managers, with her this semester!
How long have you been teaching at Ross? Since Fall 2014
What is your favorite thing about teaching? It was applying my experiences from a diverse set of higher education institutions, sharing my field sales and consulting experiences, implementing action learning assignments, and learning from a varied group of colleagues to prepare students professionally and even personally. But probably what I like even more than this is staying relevant by listening and learning from my students and allowing them to make a difference in my life as much as I am trying to make a difference in theirs. After all, it’s always about our relationships!
What is the biggest takeaway that you want students to take away from your class? In order to truly understand purchase behavior, we must know what the customer values and why. But before we can address this, we need to make sure we know who our customer is and what their job-to-be-done is.
Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: That knowing the questions is more important than knowing the answers.
When did you know when you wanted to be a business school professor? I didn’t! A friend of mine who taught accounting at a local community college kept telling me that I should teach there. I actually didn’t think I’d like it or be good at it, but due to her persistence I applied and taught there for five years. Then I moved on to a private university for two years, and now I’m here! It was kind of like dating: I got set up and after a while, I fell in love!
Professor Angell also added, “I’m a huge advocate of working with small businesses because I truly believe they are the backbone of our economy, which is why I have my students collaborate with them in the courses that I teach. Working up close with founders or owners allows students to apply what they’re learning and, as a result, build their own personal brands and skill sets, making them more marketable in the workforce.”
MKT 310 was one of the most impactful classes I’ve taken at Ross because it completely changed my perception of what a career in sales entails.
After taking the class, I am actually now enrolled in the Cappo Sales Track at Ross, which is a program open to all University of Michigan undergrads who are interested in a career in sales. Students learn how to build customer relations, develop sales strategies, and drive business revenue.
My professor, Follett Carter, actually runs the Cappo Sales Track. He has 35 years of experience in the sales industry. His personal connections and years of experience in the industry enabled him to invite a lot of guest speakers to our class. Having guest speakers was one of my favorite parts of the class because I learned about different industries from a diverse group of speakers.
Two of my favorite speakers were Bill and Sarah Minnis, who taught us about Language Patterns. They explained that it’s important to distinguish who your prospect is and what kind of person you’re selling to. Are they an external or internal person? The kind of person they are should dictate how you communicate with them.
For example: when communicating with an internal person, you should constantly ask for their permission to continue, ask them questions, and validate their concerns. When communicating with an external personal, be more assertive with your opinion and follow up so that you stay fresh in their mind.
I might not be pursuing a career in sales post-grad, but the concepts that I learned in MKT 310 will always be applicable to me. I mean, to some extent, we are constantly selling ourselves every day –whether it’s “selling” yourself in a job interview or “selling” your ideas to your colleagues at work or group project members in class.
How long have you been teaching at Ross? I joined Ross after working in Sales and Marketing for 35 years in 2006, so my tenure at Ross is 16 years.
What is your favorite thing about teaching? Being around young people with their energy and desire to make their way in the next chapter of their life. Based on my age, I also have the experience of seeing every student from a parent and grandparent perspective, which I take very seriously. I am available to help any student at any time and I care about each one becoming the best they can be.
What is the biggest takeaway that you want students to take away from your class? I want students to have an understanding of sales as a profession that is critical to generating revenue and profits for a company. Hopefully students understand in business, they are the ones that determine their success and that self-initiative is critical to their business success. I also want them to understand that selling is a position where performance is measured objectively based on numbers and with objective measurement there is no place to hide. A salesperson is rewarded for their performance and easily identified for lack of performance. Selling pays well, but selling also is a profession of survival requiring a salesperson to deliver clear objective goals set for them.
As a student, what was your favorite business class and what was your most valuable takeaway from it? I never took a business class as an undergraduate. However, after receiving my undergraduate degree, I immediately began my MBA studies at Columbia University. I was a Finance/Marketing major and both areas of study had interesting courses. My first job when I graduated from Columbia was with Mobil as a financial analyst. My takeaway was I did not want to be in finance. I liked marketing as a second choice and my first job after my finance position was with IBM as a salesperson.
Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: After a long business career, the different management positions I held prepared me for teaching in a business school. There were no surprises when I began teaching in 2006. I was 100% on my own in course design and delivery and my goal in teaching was to give knowledge back to students that I had developed over 35 years in business in the area of Sales and Marketing.
When did you know when you wanted to be a business school professor? I always had a goal of teaching after I retired from business. In 2006, the University of Michigan gave me that opportunity. The ability to make a difference in someone’s life is important to me. In business, developing successful salespeople and sales/marketing managers was an important goal. Teaching at Ross is just an extension of that goal.
Professor Carter added, “I have never looked at my responsibilities of teaching as well as managing the Cappo Sales Certificate as work. I look at my role as making students aware of career choices but also from this time forward the importance of learning to sell, whether it’s a product, a service or most important themselves.”
You’ve probably noticed that most of the classes that I have listed above are marketing classes. After all, I am a Marketing major. However, you might be surprised to learn that I included a finance class as well.
FIN 300 is a floating core class, which means that all BBAs need to take this class at some point before the winter semester of their senior year. BBAs are able to start taking floating core classes beginning the winter semester of their sophomore year. I wanted to push this class off as late as possible because I really was not looking forward to taking such a dry quantitative class.
However, I was pleasantly surprised by this course. This class was taught by Pedram Nezafat, who is by far one of the most thoughtful and accommodating professors that I have had at Ross. He really broke down and simplified financial concepts for his students.
For example: Professor Nezafat had a cookie analogy that he used to teach the concept of capital structure. Over Zoom, he broke a cookie in half and then “put” the cookie back together to demonstrate that it doesn’t matter how a firm finances themselves. Their market cap (value) will stay the same, much like how if you put the cookie back together, it’s still the same cookie. As a visual learner, this simple analogy will always stick with me. I’ll always remember that it doesn’t matter if a firm finances themselves with equity or debt, their market cap will stay the same.
How long have you been teaching at Ross? I started teaching at Ross in Fall of 2020.
What is your favorite thing about teaching? You can impact the next generation and can show your students that they have more potential than they actually think that they have. At times, students have doubt about their abilities, but as an instructor you are in a position to change their perceptions and have a long-lasting impact on their lives.
What is the biggest takeaway that you want students to take away from your class? That the possibilities are endless for them; finance can have a major impact on their lives and the society, and having high ethical standards is of paramount importance.
As a student, what was your favorite business class and what was your most valuable takeaway from it? My favorite classes in business school were all related to pricing of financial assets and choosing investment portfolios. The more I learned about financial markets, the more I realized how difficult but important it is to price assets. My most valuable takeaway from these classes is that through diversification you can build wealth over time; I learned this lesson the hard way, though, as I did not believe what I was taught.
Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: Teaching at a business school is very different from teaching in other schools. Students are engaging and you should be open to question all your prior knowledge on a regular basis as the financial markets throw you curveballs all the time.
When did you know when you wanted to be a business school professor? It was in graduate school that I really became interested in becoming a faculty. It is one profession that can be intellectually challenging and engaging and allows you to work on topics that are of interest to you.
Professor Nezafat also added, “Students should focus on learning the materials instead of focusing solely on their GPAs. They also should consider college as an opportunity to grow both personally and professionally. Being open to failing is a part of growth and if you are not failing in your undertakings then you may not be taking risk in your life and you may never know your own potential.”
STRAT 390 is a required class that all BBA seniors take their fall semester of senior year. I thought that the class would simply be an extension of STRAT 290: Business Strategy, another required class that BBAs take in the winter semester of their sophomore year.
In some ways, STRAT 390 was a refresher of concepts that I had previously learned. However, I found the class to actually be more relevant than I initially thought. As nerdy as it sounds, I enjoyed being able to apply class concepts to everyday life.
For example: a couple weeks ago, I read that McCormick Spice Co. bought Cholula hot sauce for $800 million dollars. The firm had previously acquired the hot sauce category leader Frank’s RedHot. The Cholula acquisition exemplified the concept of resource relatedness, which determines the range of products and services that a firm should offer and refers to the similarity of resource requirements across businesses. Because McCormick already has Frank’s RedHot under its brand portfolio, they also have the capabilities to sell and distribute Cholula.
STRAT 390 was also an impactful class because Professor Jue-Rajasingh helped to push me out of my comfort zone. I don’t really like to participate in class; however, participation plays a significant part of your grade in any Ross class.
One day, Professor Jue-Rajasingh emailed me to tell me that she found my comment on our class discussion board to be insightful and that she wanted me to share my comment in our class that day. To be honest, I was caught off guard by her email. However, I really appreciated her reaching out to me. Her email was validating and after that particular class, I made more of an effort to participate in future class discussions.
Meet Professor Jue-Rajasingh:
How long have you been teaching at Ross? I have been teaching at Ross for two years, while working toward my doctorate.
What is your favorite thing about teaching? My favorite thing about teaching is getting to know students and hopefully impacting them in some positive way. Perhaps the impact comes from helping students learn something that they hadn’t realized or appreciated before, either about the class material or about themselves. For example, I find immense satisfaction in observing the different ways that my students contribute to the class over the course of the semester and ultimately sharing with each person the unique ways in which I see them adding value to the classroom, even if these contributions are somewhat hidden or aren’t directly measured by standard performance metrics. I think it’s important for students to receive feedback on how they are making a positive impact on their immediate environment, and I’m in a position to provide this input.
What is the biggest takeaway that you want students to take away from your class? I teach business and corporate strategy, so in relation to the class material, I want students to draw connections between strategy frameworks we learn in class and decision making in their personal and professional lives. Strategy concepts are helpful for understanding where and how to compete, and they bring choices and tradeoffs to the forefront. The implementation of strategy requires consistency across our actions and between our actions and our values. I hope that students can reflect on their own values, actions, and choices as much as they reflect on what firms are doing in the markets around them. This will make them internalize the concepts and make them better strategists!
As a student, what was your favorite business class and what was your most valuable takeaway from it? My favorite business class was probably a class that I took about the positive role of business in international development, which I took at MIT. This class inspired my work as a social entrepreneur in India, which was what I was doing before I came to Ross.
Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: Ross BBAs are extremely intelligent and passionate, but they can be very hard on themselves. While it’s important to teach the material well, it’s probably more important to teach with humanity.
When did you know when you wanted to be a business school professor? I never had an ah-ha moment when I knew that I had to be a business school professor. I have always strived, however, to positively impact the people around me, and being a professor is one of those professions in which I get to do this on a regular basis. It helps that I have experience running a company and a natural desire to instruct and mentor others!
I hope you found my thoughts (and my professors’ thoughts) insightful and interesting. I am extremely grateful to be attending a top-ranked business school where I have access to such amazing professors and where I am constantly being challenged. I know that the lessons that I learned in all of these classes will serve me well post-grad.
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