Rapid Business Growth at Florida Tech
It’s hard being in the minority in any situation. At a technical school like Florida Tech, that mostly takes the form of being a non-technical major. All your communication, psychology, and business students are kind of grouped together by the majority of students and jeered at as being “easy majors.”
I get the last laugh though when all my engineering friends ask me for help with their Basic Economics homework. While this may hold some clout in the early years where general educational classes are far less intensive than having to take biology, chemistry, physics etc., the upper years are another animal. The upper level classes really push you to focus on specific issues and applying concepts rather than merely grasping a general theory or ideology.
The work load also increases as you potentially add another major and minor like I have. I’ve found that the college of business here at Florida Tech is an ever-evolving organization. A term I learned in the Global Business course freshman year applies very well here: “Kaizen.” This was the Japanese ideology adopted by Asian car producers when they began to outpace the American car industry. It stands for continual improvement which is exactly what the college of business has been doing in the past years. Quite a few business-oriented organizations have popped up, and existing organizations, such as the Delta Mu Delta International Business Honor Society, have regained a foothold after a few years of low membership.
The college recently made the move from its rather small facility on campus to the Babcock Oaks building prominently placed on Babcock Street in a high-traffic area. Heck, even the majors themselves have made a big change. When I entered Florida Tech, you could major in International Business as its own standalone degree, as was the case with Marketing and quite a few other degrees. The College of Business rebranded the majors and offers Business Administration degrees with concentrations in areas such as “Global Management and Finance.”
I’ve been told by a few professors that this is all in an effort to gain certain accreditation to make our business program more competitive against other schools. It’s interesting to see such rapid growth in a particular department here at Florida Tech. The engineering students saw a huge increase in curriculum with the addition of the Olin Complex and all its amazing facilities; maybe this new building and rebranding is what the College of Business needs right now to keep up with the rest of the school. Florida Tech is growing fast and I am excited to be a part of the change within the Bisk College of Business.
