It's Business Time, UTSC style

We all know them. Those dark, mysterious creatures with the aura of self awareness encapsulating them. They have a swagger in their walk, a shine on their shoes and a glint in their eyes. No, I am not referring to campus security. I refer to one of UTSC's most formidable entities, 'The Management Student.' We've all seen them sauntering through the hallways in their suits, ready to impress the pants off any unsuspecting audience.

This is a tad on the dramatic side but there is an element of truth to the matter. From my personal experience, for a Management student any opportunity to wear a suit is a good one.

No offense to my home-boys in the Arts (sorry Med kids I don't interact with any of you) but you need to take a leaf out of the Management book.

Being the President for SIFE (and not being bias in any way, promise) I decided maybe I best tackle the topic of evaluating the presence of Management club. Our contenders are MESA, DECA, TMG, IS and SIFE.  Here's the breakdown:

MESA: Management and Economics Student Association  http://www.mesa.ca

Purpose: "MESA is mandated to represent the academic and program-related concerns of students in Management, as well as to provide programming, activities, and other events relevant and of interest to students."

Impact: MESA helps all the bright-eyed first year students to get involved and active on campus. They have a lot of well-organized and executed events which do add some flavour to the UTSC club scene. 

Following: Everyone and their grandmothers in Management know about this club. The only downer is that it is obviously not inclusive to students from other disciplines. 

DECA  http://www.decautsc.ca

Purpose: "To foster a truly unique and personalized experience for every member of DECA UTSC through a focus on the development of professional and personal skills that are transferable to their future careers."

Impact: Based on my investigation, DECA has one major case study competition which is the main focus of their activity, besides workshops. DECA seems to have a really committed exec team that are still holding a table in the IC lobby; that's commitment! 

Following: Lots of people join DECA based on knowing the organization from high school. A few people in the past have stated that if they were not a part of the competition, which was a little pricey expense wise, they felt a little disconnected. 

Investment Society  http://www.investmentsociety.ca

Purpose: "Investment Society @ UTSC provides opportunities to gain knowledge about investments and finance through interactive workshops and seminars and an open platform and network for students who are interested in finance."

Impact: Pretty interactive workshops coupled with plenty of partnerships with other clubs makes investment society a very active campus group. Also a very clear goal helps to add to a consistent following.

Following: Strong following since most members stick around for long periods of time. Slightly more inclusive than other clubs since they teach financial skills as oppose to expecting a preexisting knowledge base.  

When anyone says it is 'business time' this always plays in my head.

The Marketing Group  https://www.facebook.com/TMGatUTSC?fref=ts

The Marketing Group (TMG)

Purpose: "Providing the UTSC student community and faculty with a feasible way to learn about Marketing and Consumer Engagement. The events and initiatives thrown will be designed to teach students about all forms of Marketing."

Impact: New group thus has the disadvantage of no legacy, but gosh I am a fan of whoever their graphic designer is! The pink sheep to me is genius. They say the marketing people are the party management people. If so, making their presence known should be no problem. 

Following: 133 likes on Facebook is the only source I can quote.

SIFE/ ENACTUS UTSC  http://www.sifeutsc.org,

https://www.facebook.com/groups/54098756369/

Purpose: "SIFE is an international non-profit organization that brings together student leaders to create a better, more sustainable world through the positive power of business. Conducts projects fulfilling the criterion of helping people, the planet and generating profit."

Impact: Relatively low on-campus impact but is striving to change that. Hoping to spread the word about their name change this November (ENACTUS).  

Following: Mid-size exec team of 30 and in and out volunteers. Unlike other clubs there is no position for general members, which means the team itself is a tight-knit group. 

Conclusion: Management groups are more goal orientated and in my opinion very well organised but non-inclusive. Sigh. Tell me the Studio Art major with all the Accounting/Economics majors to boss around. 

If a group you know of has not been mentioned feel free to let me know in the comments section!


This week's SWAG SIGHTING contestant is......

This man knows when business time is..

Name: Taylor-James Esch
Year: 2nd
Major: Specialist in Astrophysics (My brain went numb in awe)
Verdict: The man dresses like a rockstar but he's cooler because he's an astrophysicist. I mean there is a juxtaposition of of a tool belt and a vest, with that hair to boot. Needless to say this is my favourite swag entry so far.

Enough fan-girl-ing for today.

Stay beautiful UTSC

Zarish