Industry Speaker Reflection Paper Literature & Language Essay

Industry Speaker Reflection Paper
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Industry Speaker Reflection Paper
The classroom environment is an opportunity to gain knowledge about the corporate world. It offers learners a chance to explore the world out there. Students get to know about what is expected of them once they leave school and start their careers. However, the knowledge gained in the classroom may not adequately address the issues in the workplace. Hence, it is paramount that learners get an opportunity to interact with individuals who are currently in the corporate world (Serdyukov, 2017). Industry speakers are critical because they present the real-life experience on the industry which prepares students accordingly. I attended lectures involving six industry speakers. Before attending the sessions, I read their biographies which enables me to familiarize myself with them. This essay will highlight some of the things that I learned from each speaker.
Q1. What does it take to increase the profitability of a company?
Arturo Rodriquez is the Senior Vice of finance at Mohawk Group Inc. I was impressed by Mr. Rodriquez’s career growth over the years. In every place Mr. Rodriquez worked, he left a positive transformation. When Mr. Rodriquez graduated in 1997 from Hofstra University, he worked briefly at Arthur Andersen. He then joined Atari where he worked for eleven years. I was impressed to know that Mr. Rodriquez was instrumental in the various strategic reorganization of the company to enable financial flexibility as Atari as the video industry moved through the various cycles. During this time, Mr. Rodriquez told us how it was challenging for the company to adapt to the new gaming platforms that emerged. Atari had fairly succeeded in the gaming industry on the traditional platforms. However, both online and digital platforms were emerging, and a majority of the game makers were shifting to these platforms. Due to Mr. Rodriquez’s efforts, the company managed to integrate successfully the new platforms which enabled Atari to become EBITDA profitable.
From Rodriquez’s lecture, I learned that strategic reorganization of a company is essential for transforming an organization (Girod & Whittington, 2017). The case of reorganizing Atari to take advantage of digital and mobile platforms indicates that companies need to be ready to change the way they operate. Further, I learned that it is important for corporate leaders to maintain the financial integrity of a company. Mr. Rodriquez talked about how Kit Digital Inc. became bankrupt due to financial fraud and embezzlement by the CEO, COO, and CFO. He demonstrated how his concern for the more than 800 employees prompted him to uncover the fraudulent activities of the former management. I learned that increasing the profitability of a company requires ensuring the effective use of finances. Due to Mr. Rodriquez’s efforts, Piksel Group (formerly Kit Digital Inc.) managed to survive that period and became profitable.
Q2. Is experience essential in running a company successfully?
The speakers highlighted the need for new employees to work towards attaining higher positions in companies. A majority of them indicated that although academic qualifications are essential in the running of a company, experience enables one to be in a better position to handle issues which arise. Experience is essential because it enables a leader in the corporate world to identify ways of dealing with problems which arise in the course of business (Kotur & Anbazhagan, 2014). For instance, Melissa Castello, the Director of Human Resources at EvensonBest has more than 15 years of experience of strategic human capital planning. Due to her experience in the area, Ms. Castello told has that she has managed to enhance the experience of the employees in the company. Her experience in human resource has allowed her to develop the capacities of the staff members in the company. Ms. Castello mentioned to us how she had been involved in training programs for new employees. She indicated that the success of the company could be attributed to the quality of the workforce. Due to experience, Ms. Castello has managed to develop top talent in the company.
Similarly, John Davi has more than 18 years of experience in numerous areas including Macro ETF strategy, Quantitative Research, and Equity Derivatives. Due to his extensive experience, Davi managed to start Astoria Advisors, a company that offers advice on construction, management, and ETF Model Portfolios. Mr. Davi indicated to us that he has managed to run the company due to his extensive experience in the area. His extensive experience has been critical in his success in the past. For instance, I learned that Mr. Davi was part of the Global Equity Derivatives Research group for eight years. During his tenure, the Institutional Investor Magazine ranked the team top three. This was even though Mr. Davi did not have a Ph.D., advanced mathematics degree, MBA, or CFA like the rest of the team members. Hence, I discovered that while academic qualifications are essential, the experience is needed to run a company.
Bob McInnis, a marketing automation specialist, reinforced the importance of experience in the...