Friday, October 26, 2001

Grad program helping Fort Worth
By Jordan Blum
Staff Reporter

A four-member team of master’s in business administration students involved in the M.B.A Enterprises program are working for the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce to determine how Tarrant County should market to technology companies in the future, said Jan Titsworth, director of M.B.A. Enterprises.

The project includes an online survey designed to elicit responses from employers of Fort Worth technology companies. The students will also analyze the data so the Chamber can determine what draws companies to Tarrant County and what needs to be done to keep technology companies coming here, Titsworth said.

Randy McGuffee, director of corporate development for Infosphere, a Fort Worth technology company sponsoring the program and providing Web hosting for the survey, said the study is being designed to answer questions about the attractiveness of Fort Worth as a “high-tech” city and to help with future advertising techniques.

“We want to give folks in the community an idea of how many technology companies are in Fort Worth, which is over 1,100,” McGuffee said. “We also want to provide a benchmark for assisting companies already in the area and to help the Chamber with marketing the city to companies looking for a home.”

McGuffee said the Chamber chose to work with TCU because they wanted the university involved and because M.B.A. Enterprises teams had produced good results for the community in the past.

“The (M.B.A. Enterprises) team has the same expertise as a professional consulting firm when they have a faculty advisor working with them,” he said. “We wanted a group effort from the business, civic and academic communities. So it would be silly not to include bright graduate students from a local university in the project.”

McGuffee said the lower prices charged by TCU compared to a consulting firm played a factor in the selection, but the Chamber wanted university involvement no matter the cost.

Netty Matthews, vice president of membership for the Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber is currently in talks to possibly expand the study to become an annual project and potentially expand it to include Dallas County as well.

“It’s great experience outside of school where we’re not just dealing with professors and other students,” Doeren said. “Now we’re dealing with real employers and we have to approach this as professional consultants.

“We’re not just someone (the Chamber) is picking up off the street. If we don’t go in like giggling kids and take a business-like and professional approach we can really do a lot for our futures.”

Keith Doeren, an M.B.A. graduate student and the team leader, said he is being paid $1,000 for the project and the other three team members are receiving $875 each.

John Thompson, marketing instructor and faculty advisor for M.B.A. Enterprises, said the student team has already successfully completed the toughest part of the project.

“(The team) already completed the survey and put it online,” Thompson said. “Now they’re entering the second phase of building and analyzing the data. So far the client has been very happy with the work produced.”

The team will make a presentation to the technology council in February to sum up their findings and offer marketing options, she said. She said they will make a second presentation to the Chamber’s board of directors and that the results will also be published.

Jordan Blum
j.d.blum@student.tcu.edu