First-Year Experience partners Lindner students with area companies

All Lindner first-year students take a section of the Essentials of Business course, opening their minds to the principles of PACE — professionalism, academics, character and engagement — and introducing them to foundational business principles and functions, which they put into action through project-based learning experiences.

With a newly revamped approach to project strategy for the 2023-24 academic year, first-year students were paired with one of Lindner’s 56 employer partners to begin the recent fall semester. Students then were separated into teams to conduct a semester-long project intended to foster relationships with industry professionals and to test-drive their developing business problem-solving skills.

Students began by researching their assigned business and meeting with company representatives at Lindner Hall. Over the course of the semester, students:

• Attended presentations from company representatives.
• Toured the locations of their partner organization.
• Conducted a SWOT (strength, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis.
• Presented their findings to company representatives.

Greg Eling, BBA ’75, group vice president at Cintas, who has been involved with the various iterations of the First Year Experience for around 25 years, believes Lindner's focus on project strategy opens students’ eyes to the “depth and complexity of business.”

“As they go into the co-op program, I think recognizing that there aren’t simple, short answers and solutions to the problems that they’re going to be exposed to is very helpful,” Eling said.

The first objective for the students was to listen as their assigned company detailed its background, operations, mission, culture and values. Comprised of nonprofits, small to mid-sized businesses and large corporations, Lindner’s employer partners are based in Greater Cincinnati and/or have a footprint in the area.

Next up was the company site visit, an opportunity for students to gain in-person, firsthand knowledge about their assigned employer partner. Prior to the site visit, students met with their teams and assigned each other components of the SWOT analysis. For example, three to five students would be responsible for analyzing company strengths and would organize their questions for company representatives accordingly for the site visit.

“One of the things that we were focused on for Kao was their consumer division and how they were getting products out. And while we were there, we were very much looking at things like costs and production,” said Chidambaram, who was elected by her peers to serve as the team’s project manager. “It was an eye-opening experience for all of us and was big in learning how we can maximize our ideas and innovations for our SWOT presentation.”

Barry Bates, a real estate sales professional with Coldwell Banker, walked the students through his day-to-day operations as they probed him with insightful questions during their trip to his office.

“I gave them a chance to see behind the veil,” he said. “As a result of being transparent, I received really good information, and they hit on a couple of things that were blind spots for me.”

The final piece of the project strategy puzzle was the SWOT analysis. The students dressed in their business best to deliver their SWOT analysis presentation in front of their company representative(s), class instructor and peers in Lindner Hall.

After completing the project strategy portion of Lindner’s First-Year Experience, students should:

• Be equipped with professional communication skills and behaviors.
• Have a foundational knowledge of core business functions.
• Apply relevant leadership skills in the context of project management.
• Feel confident connecting with business leaders and professionals from across industries and job functions.