College of Business Students Visit Local Companies and Present Findings

AUK College of Business students in Sinbl Yakoob’s “Production and Operations Management” course recently took their training from the classroom to the workplace and back again. In November, groups of students made their research on local companies more concrete by visiting their production facilities, and, in December, they gave the same presentations and answered the same questions one would expect in a boardroom. Each group’s goal was to conduct a “needs analysis” on the company assigned, informed by the on-site visit.

One group worked on Sulav, an organic chicken company. The visiting students came away from Sulav’s plant impressed by the equipment and cleanliness. The P & L reports, however, do not paint the same pretty picture; the organic chicken is not selling well. The main problems the students identified were the disconnect with potential customers and the long stretches of inactivity due to the Sulav plant typically operating for only 10 days monthly. They recommend Sulav increase its presence on the “ordering apps” that are an increasingly effective means of connecting buyers and sellers and also seek B2B rental agreements that would see its facilities be used for the entire month.

Another group of students researched Gold Company, which sells canned beans, peas, chickpeas, and meat and aims to produce jelly and chocolate spread locally. A member of the group is also a member of the family owning and operating Gold Company. With the “supply shocks” of late, Gold Company’s production has become slower and pricier. The students zeroed in on the problems of the shortage of raw materials and preventable production delays. To deal with the raw material shortage, students suggested finding more suppliers to get the best prices and installing an upgraded computer system for ordering from them. To lessen delays in production, the students said Gold Company should court more reliable suppliers from within Iraq, inherently making transportation faster and cheaper, and improve its warehousing.

The third student group investigated Free Lines, makers of numerous energy drinks sold in over 20 countries, among them “Wild Tiger,” Iraq’s most popular. The problems facing the company are knockoffs, healthiness concerns, and excessive taxation. The students proposed making the products more unique so they would be tougher to imitate, adding healthier options to the product line, and pursuing “double tax agreements.” Counterfeit products are widespread in Iraq, and the group’s vague proposal for counteracting the copying of Free Lines goods failed to satisfy the audience. The top advice on the matter came from Kawa Safar, a graphic designer for the university; he advocated the use of authenticating holograms, now common on many products.

The College of Business at AUK is training Kurdistan’s “captains of industry” of tomorrow. Hands-on experiences at the workplace give new meaning and greater relevance to what is read and taught in class. The students of the College of Business used these experiential learning opportunities to solve real business problems, a skill important for their own professional development and beneficial for the private sector in the region.