Spring 2008 issue of Terry Magazine - (Page 51)

terr ymemo Management Information Systems Department By Ryan Crowe (ABJ ’01) Students enhance mail-tracking for Zaxby’s S tudents in Dave Chatterjee’s undergraduate Management Information Systems capstone class haven’t discovered the secret behind Zaxby’s Sauce, but they did come away with a great deal of hands-on experience after working with the company on projects designed to prepare them for the corporate world. The idea originated with Zaxby’s IT director Tripp Sessions (BBA ’00), who is one of Chatterjee’s Executive MBA students. “Zaxby’s is in Athens,” says Sessions, who served as Hairy Dawg during his undergrad days. “I thought this would be a great way to get the company involved with UGA.” Chatterjee’s students divided into six teams and completed projects ranging from database analysis to the development of a disaster recovery plan. They defined processes, identified possible areas for improvement, and proposed solutions — and Zaxby’s executed many of their suggestions and recommendations, including implementing an enhanced, student-devised, mail-tracking system. “We’re a small company, but we cut about 7,000 paychecks a week,” says Sessions. “Students re-designed the whole process, and while it’s still too early to predict the long-term effectiveness, the new structure has cut down on lost mail dramatically.” One of the most demanding student projects involved converting Zaxby’s internal restaurant evaluations to electronic handheld devices. The old way of doing things was a tedious process of loading all the written evaluations onto Excel spreadsheets. “The Terry team did the research on our needs, looked into the specs of the equipment, and reported the results,” says Sessions. “We purchased the items and put them into place. They did an excellent job.” Chatterjee says students didn’t quite know what to expect going in. “This was not typical classwork; they had to interview executives, complete progress reports, and really focus on time management.” Zaxby’s gave the students a lot of latitude as far as planning and design. “The biggest benefit was that their work increased the size of our staff for a semester, and kept us from having to devote additional resources to these issues,” says Sessions. “That was huge.” Both Chatterjee and Sessions agree that the experience was advantageous for the students, too. “They learned how content technologies add strategic value to a company, and how information is leveraged to gain competitive advantage,” says Chatterjee. “Also important was learning about how critical communication is — and the collaboration part was crucial. The students worked hard on these assignments, gained valuable management skills and knowledge, and the results will serve them well down the road.” Sessions agreed, noting the adjustments that had to be made regarding job goals and deliverables. “We basically gave them mini-consulting projects, and it was a great opportunity for the students to get into a corporate environment. Sure, there were a couple of bumps and bruises along the way, but that’s to be of zaxby’s IT director Tripp Sessions (BBA ’00/center) developed the MIS projects idea in an Executive MBA class taught by Dave Chatterjee (far right). Student participants included (from left) William Yeager, Albert Hochevar, and George Sandru. expected. Everyone was ready to learn, and this proved to be a good simulation of what these undergrads can expect coming out of UGA.” Zaxby’s even hired one of the students as an intern. Could corporate projects become a fixture in future Terry classes? Student John Shin hopes so. “Utilizing real-world applications is a learning tool that helps students apply the concepts they learn in class, but at the same time understanding that there may be times when theories aren't always right. The process helps achieve creativity and ways of thinking ‘outside the box,’ which is a trait every employer wants.” Chatterjee says joint corporate projects can work if Atlanta companies provide information ahead of time and agree to visit campus to meet with students. “However, one of the most valuable lessons during this assignment was actually going to the company and being in that corporate environment, soaking in all of the information you can, and asking the proper questions,” he says. “I think they rose to the challenge well.” Sessions sees multiple benefits from working with Terry students. “The semester was a great experience for the undergrads,” he says, “and it was a great experience for Zaxby’s, as well.” ■ Spring 2008 • 51 Terry College BuSineSS KeNt haNNoN

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Terry School of Business - Spring 2008

Terry School of Business - Spring 2008 Contents Quick Bites Research & Innovation Gatherings Best CEO in America An Unlikely Rock Star Fire & Flavor Beyond the Bench Terry Memo Economic Scorekeeper Class Notes

Terry School of Business - Spring 2008

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