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Marketing class getting real world experienceBy Barbara Brown One business class at North Branch High School has had a taste of the real world working environment for the past few weeks. Adam Lamoureuxís ìBusiness in Actionî class partnered with a corporate travel agent to analyze and sort several hotel contracts for renting space for meetings and conventions. The project, a real consulting job for RBC Dain Rauscher, was an opportunity for the students to put some of the things they learn in the classroom into action for a real client. Dain Rauscher is the investment arm of the Royal Bank of Canada and is one of the worldís largest investment firms. The Minneapolis office is the American headquarters for the firm. Roger Keller is an agent with Navigant ñ the worldís second largest corporate travel management company in the world behind American Express. Keller approached business teachers at North Branch High School for assistance with research and compilation of information for a larger consulting project and Lamoureux volunteered his class for the challenge. The class analyzed 64 types of hotel contracts by city and chain for meeting and conference space. The contracts served hotels in the Raddison, Marriott and Embassy chains, among others, in Minneapolis and across the country. Some of the contracts serve the entire chain while others are specific to each individual hotel location. The information was put into a database that rated each of the clauses with points that then translated into a star rating. A contract could receive up to 9 stars, although a 6-star was the highest rating received by a contract analyzed by the students. The database will be presented by the students to RBC Dain Rauscher on Feb. 5 at the companyís Minneapolis office. Keller said he has been pleased with the class, which is one of several RBC Dain Rauscher works with to improve educational experiences through projects like the North Branch one. ìI have been impressed with how well the students have worked in the team environment,î Keller said. ìThey are a quiet group, but they are quick studies.î ìAfter I explained to them that every one acts as a consultant every day ñ when they buy a car or buy a shirt ñ they started to get it,î Keller said. ìEveryone assesses a situation, designs an approach to it and negotiates what is best.î ©ECM Post Review |