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This article describes an early-stage collaborative partnership between a local community foundation and a regional campus of a major university to increase dialogue on the strategic importance and practical execution of advanced social media best practices for small- to medium-sized businesses. Started through a grant won by the author, an interactive program was established as The Knowledge Café. This program includes a series of participative lectures and discussions on advanced social media applications, guest speakers addressing relevant topics, and a community-driven wiki where participants can share their expertise. The origination of the partnership and the evolutionary pathway traveled to date are described, along with data and key learnings generated during the first 2 years of operation. Possibilities for future changes in structure and activities to expand the offerings of The Knowledge Café provide an indication of how the campus--community partnership should continue to grow with time.

In this article, author Jennifer Dubin offers a look into the innovations taking place in the Toledo Technology Academy (TTA), a career-tech school within the public school system in Toledo, Ohio. TTA teaches students in grades 7 through 12 using a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum, in addition to the traditional academic subjects of English, history, science, and math. When graduates from TTA leave, they have a career portfolio, which can include certifications attesting to technical expertise as well as letters of recommendation from teachers and companies that had hired them for school-sponsored internships. The student's portfolio showcases knowledge and skills to a prospective employer, or can be submitted to a college admissions office along with the standard application. Dubin notes that the school's emphasis on engineering technology makes sense in a region of the country known for its manufacturing base and ties to the auto industry. Economic growth in Toledo is requiring businesses to hire well-trained employees in skilled trades and engineering. To keep such workers from leaving the area and prevent "brain drain" is largely why TTA was created in the first place. This kind of connection between local businesses and the school community is exactly what the governing board of TTA envisioned. Industry partners volunteer to share their knowledge and expertise so that teachers can expose students to the latest technologies and tweak the curriculum, and partners provide internships for seniors. The careers that TTA alumni pursue often involve engineering and technology, but also include nursing school and early childhood education programs.

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a core business strategy for most organizations. In today's global economy, it is essential for organizations to find ways of increasing their productivity. This article discusses the operations management's decision of customer relationships management. It is vital for a business to motivate its employees and use the best strategies to facilitate customer relations. The CRM-enabled strategy focuses on two organizations in the NE Ohio area: Progressive Corporation and KeyCorp Bank. The structure of this chapter is reflective of the qualitative business case study using best practices. Initially, a description of the companies' current strategies and software that promotes CRM is followed by some of its major strategic initiatives to foster the development of CRM. This basic case study approach aims to provide an understanding of the transitions, challenges, and the implementation of CRM in these organizations.

This paper will develop and explain a conceptual framework for the use of business industry marketing techniques within the higher educational spectrum. This framework will demonstrate how sound marketing management can help higher education increase its effectiveness and improve student interest, as well as encourage the development of managerial skills that will lead to better operational efficiency. The material will be presented in a detailed, specific, and practical manner that can be utilized by educational administrators. There are many benefits in the utilization of the marketing concept for higher education. Marketing can lead to a better understanding of your customer (student), a more efficient use of money geared specifically towards your target market, a better understanding of where your college or university stands relative to your competitors. Marketing can also help create a more effective use of your human resources and an increased awareness of marketing trends. Marketing, specifically targeted towards the student using the nine p's and taking into account the differences between marketing for higher education and marketing for products, may result in improved student interest towards the marketed university or college, which may result in higher enrollment.

The objective of this study was to test the effect of far-field industrial (i.e., man-made) versus biological analogies on creativity of business professionals from two organizations engaged in the idea generation phase of new product development. Psychological effects, as reflected in language use, were measured via computerized text analysis of transcribed audio recordings of ideation sessions. Effects on quality of product concepts generated by participants were measured via analysis of 15 judges' multidimensional creativity ratings. Though psychological effects were undetectable, results suggest presenting new product development professionals with biological analogies as ideation stimulus increases novelty and may increase elegance of solutions generated. Presenting far-field industrial analogies increases relevance and effectiveness of solutions generated. This study serves as a source of evidence that biomimicry (design by analogy to biology) is an effective approach to product innovation. It also shows that there is an important role for far-field industrial analogies in stimulating ideas during new product development. A strategically designed brainstorming session should prime innovators with both far-field industrial and biological analogies to generate maximally creative ideas.

Assessing program impact can provide useful program evaluation data. It also provides a basis for program development, marketing, and justification. This article discusses recent impact evaluation efforts and findings of a long-time Extension program; referred to as Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E). How such information can be communicated to existing program underwriters and prospective program partners is also described.

Operating as the center of student life, college unions have a central role to teach citizenship, social responsibility, and leadership. Unions can serve as locations for education and conversations about sustainability, as well as for organizations operationally and programmatically engaged in sustainable practices. In this chapter, the authors examine the historical framework of college unions, how a college union functions as a building and a business, and provide some detail on how a college union--with its heart and soul--can be a leader in shaping current and future practices that support the values of sustainability and stewardship. The perspective of stewardship is adopted in this chapter to advance a discussion about college unions as a model for campus sustainability.

Over time, accountability measurements in education have paralleled measurement systems that originated in the business sector. Reform efforts, such as the Baldrige criteria, have continued to demonstrate that the business paradigm has offered precious little in the way of classroom success, despite the publicity and funding these movements receive--a lesson that politicians and educators seem to have trouble learning, despite its influence in 20th-century education.

Since the introduction of the value chain concept in 1985, several varying, yet virtually similar, value chains have been developed for the business enterprise. Shifting to higher education, can a value chain be found that links together the various activities of advancement so that an institution's leaders can actually look at the philanthropic implication of various managerial and policy decisions in a rigorous way?

At a time when higher education is enduring budget cuts, institutions are under more pressure than ever to make each dollar count. While cuts in staff and services are often an unpleasant part of the solution, the drive toward greater efficiency also means getting smart about purchasing. And, increasingly, universities and colleges are turning to business intelligence tools to help them monitor spending and find economies of scale. Business Intelligence (BI) has long been used in higher education to tackle a range of campus issues, but spending is a different kettle of fish altogether: Typically, each university division or department handles its purchasing separately, and often uses different systems to manage contracts, purchase orders, and invoices. Despite the challenges, two institutions--Bowling Green State University (OH) and Cornell University (NY)--have shown that, with an e-procurement system in place and a lot of hard work, BI tools can lead to significant savings and increased control over how university dollars are spent. In this article, the author describes how the two universities apply the principles of business intelligence to procurement and purchasing, with significant results.

Two years after the opening of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the $110 million center, opened with exhibits on how enslaved African-Americans risked their lives to make the northward trek to freedom. Today, however, the center is shifting its focus while serving as an educational focal point, research asset and change agent. Area universities use it to research human rights, advance digital technology as a teaching tool and help train future educators. This article discusses how the center, in a new twist, has become a starting point for research and advocacy involving 21st-century slavery and human trafficking. The center spokesman Paul Bernish said that they try to convey that slavery didn't end with the Civil War. Modern-day slavery can involve such events as young girls being kidnapped and forced into prostitution in India or Thailand, known for its sex tourism. Other forms involve forced labor. He added that the center helps lobby state legislatures such as Ohio's to toughen laws and raise awareness.

States are starting to use cut-rate tuition to lure entrepreneurs and businesses that are planning to relocate. To provide the tuition bargain, states waive residency requirements for employees, spouses, and children who move to a state. (MLW)

Scioto County, pronounced 'sigh-oh-tah,' is the largest county, geographically, in the state of Ohio. It sits at the southern tip of the state on the Ohio River and just across [...]