Course Preps Students for Success
Nov. 29, 2023
By Kyle Spurr, UM News Service
MISSOULA – A newly required course for business students at the University of Montana sets a strong foundation for leadership, teamwork and communication that relates to every aspect of their lives and career goals.
The course – People, Process, and Technology – is offered over two semesters for all juniors in UM’s College of Business. The innovative course gives students real-world management skills, while familiarizing them with the latest technology.
“I think it can be applicable to anything regardless of if it’s school, work or life in general,” said Skyleigh Thompson, a junior from Kalispell studying finance. “It’s really cool because you get to tie it to yourself, which is unlike any other course I’ve taken at UM so far.”
The College of Business originally required students to take an organizational behavior course to teach management skills, but about two years ago the college expanded the single semester course to the two semesters of People, Process, and Technology to combine technology, data and management skills. This year’s junior class is the first to have both semesters required.
“The kind of business they are going into will be different, whether it’s marketing, finance, information systems or accounting,” said Isho Tama-Sweet, chair of accounting, finance, management, marketing and management information systems at UM’s College of Business. “But being able to work with people and leverage technology is a constant theme across all of those careers.”
Thompson sees the benefits of the course as a finance student and a member of the Griz soccer team, especially when the course covers leadership. Discussions on leadership often include assignments for students to practice it in their personal lives.
“The leadership piece is really valuable,” Thompson said. “I’m lucky enough to be involved in soccer, which gives me more of an advantage with leadership. I’m around it with the team leaders and eventually stepping into that leadership role.”
In addition to interpersonal skills, the course gives students a chance to explore how new technology can help in the business world. Thompson chose to study ChatGPT, a new artificial intelligence application that launched last year.
“It’s been fun plugging different things into it and actually seeing the power that AI has, transforming it into a resource – not an enemy – of education,” Thompson said.
Peter Anzollitto, an assistant professor teaching the first semester of People, Process, and Technology, gave his students an assignment to co-work with artificial intelligence. The students worked in groups to identify and address a business issue. They came up with their own solutions, asked AI for feedback and compared the two. Overall, the students found AI to be useful but they still needed to find their own solutions.
“Not only are we trying to show how to use AI, but also the pitfalls of relying on it too heavily,” Anzollitto said.
A large part of Anzollitto’s class is a semester-long project, where each student is asked to identify a problem in their workplace, collect data and present their findings.
Quinn Sybert, a senior from Northbrook, Illinois studying management information systems, decided to do his project on his UM fraternity. Sybert is the scholarship chair of his fraternity and tasked with hosting study groups for all the members twice a week. He focused his project on growing attendance at the study groups by hosting them in different locations and tracking the number of participants. He found it was best to host the groups in multiple locations.
“It’s something simple, but it was a really neat opportunity to push myself and find more ways to create and add value and make some data-driven decisions,” Sybert said.
People, Process, and Technology is offered to students in-person and online. Kristi Govertsen, a UM adjunct instructor, teaches the online version of both semesters. Govertsen said her course may be online, but she has her students get out in the world and put lessons into practice.
“I always think experiential learning is more fun, and the online format lends itself really well,” Govertsen said.
Thompson is in the second semester of Govertsen’s online section. She enjoys how Govertsen has the class observe parts of their own lives and apply it to class.
“One of the coolest parts is how a lot of the work is personalized,” Thompson said. “She really wants to see your interpretations of things.”
Thompson’ experience in the People Process Technology course has prepared her for a career in finance after she graduates and a leadership role with Griz soccer as she enters her senior season.
One of Thompson’s assignments was to chart three possible paths after graduation. One was her current path in finance, the second was a different path that involved working with the financial side of a hospital and the third path had no limitations of time or money. Thompson chose becoming a teacher like her parents.
No matter what path Thompson chooses, she laid the groundwork in her business class.
“I feel very prepared for what’s next after I graduate from here,” Thompson said. “I have no doubt in my mind that the College of Business will help me get to where I want to go.”