On Tuesday, Feb. 23, three of NEIU’s business clubs hosted the annual Women in Operations Management Seminar. Hosting clubs included the the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) Club, the Business and Management Club and the Marketing Club. Operations Management refers to operations in business. Examples include plant production, purchasing and supply chain. The turn out for the event was great and included students, professors and professionals. Regardless of what motivated each audience member to attend, they all witnessed a seminar that had three female speakers, each offering invaluable advice.
The panelists included Kerry Fechner, Christy Schmidt and Dawn Dilday. All of the speakers hold APICS certifications. Generally speaking, APICS certificates provide further education for Operations Management, and potentially raise individual marketability.
Fechner holds a PhD and more than 20 years of work experience. She attributes her slow rise up the corporate ladder to gaining her education and professional experience later in life. Fechner encourages attending school traditionally when possible. Her best piece of advice was “no one should ever give up.”
Schmidt holds a degree in Spanish and International Studies. After college she worked as a temp for Abbott Laboratories. Six months later a position as a label editor opened and she was hired. Over ten years, Schmidt gained priceless experience at Abbott.
Her education, experience and networking skills resulted in her gaining employment at Shure Inc. in 2007. Her Spanish allows her to effectively communicate with the plant in Mexico. Schmidt’s advice focused around having patience, utilizing individual skills, such as being bilingual, and employing the concept of networking.
Dilday completed the panel. She is an Alumnus, and it was her idea in 2008 to begin this event. It took her 10 years to complete her Bachelors of Science in Finance. During college Dilday gained professional experience working for Jewel, she started by working with insurance claims. Today she works as an accountant for the Dominick’s division of Safeway.
Despite the panelists’ experience, everyone seemed unprepared for their speeches. At least one speaker admitted she was not sure what to talk about.
The initial focus of the seminar was Operations Management, but the audience subconsciously created a consensus and veered the focus to basic job market concerns.
After the first off topic question, audience members grew confident and asked about: job-hunting, networking, interview skills, human resource issues and maintaining job security. The current state of our economy makes these questions pertinent.
The original focus of Operations Management was lost when the questions became applicable to any industry. One of the broadest questions was, “What do I need to know to ensure I get the job?” The discussion exceeded its time slot and was cut short. The crowd was then shuffled to the reception. Guests appeared to be doing more networking than earlier, perhaps as a result of the intimate space, small group, and free wine.
Dr. Marie-Elene Roberge, Assistant Professor of Management at NEIU, was one of the event planners and announcers for the seminar.
“I am personally very happy with the event. I think that these women were great role models for our students and many relevant questions were asked by students. Overall, the panel discussion was very engaging,” said Roberge.
Her main goals for next years event are simple, “The goals are to organize the panel discussion again… Maybe it would be a good idea to run the panel for an hour and a half instead of just one hour,” said Roberge.