As we prepare to enter our 70th year of The Banner,
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California Baptist University
Vol. LXIX, Issue 10
April 8, 2022
WooFest returns e s
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California Baptist University hosted WooFest 2022 in the Events Center.
Data points to ways to achieve job satisfaction by Emily McGinn
Photo Courtesy of Dawn Carter
The winning team, WaiSmart, receives a $7,500 scholarship at the Business Plan Competition on March 28.
tu ents itch ro ucts at usiness com etition by Emily McGinn The Robert K. Jabs School of Business hosted California Baptist University’s annual Business Plan Competition on March 28. During the event, nine teams of students participated in a fast-pitch competition during which they put forward ideas for innovative products to a panel of judges and an audience of more than 150 students. “We style it as a ‘Dolphin Tank’ style event,” said Dr. Tim Gramling, the dean of the School of Business. “It is not intended to harm or to be mean-spirited, but to give students feedback and to nudge them in the right direction, like a dolphin would.” The groups that presented at the fast-pitch event were selected through a deliberation process leading up to the event. In the weeks prior, School of Business faculty members met with the groups to discuss their
business plans and products and share real-world knowledge with the teams. Then, nine finalists moved on to present at the event on March 28. Dr. Marina Girju, the associate dean of the School of Business, said that the format of the Business Plan Competition allows for students to gain valuable insight from the experience, regardless of whether they win or lose. “There was a lot that the students and the groups overall actually learned, so if you are thinking about the benefit of the competition, it is not only winning, but it is the entire learning that they actually went through throughout the entire process,” Girju said. During the event, the teams each presented a five-minute pitch for their products, and then the judges were able to ask questions about the product. The competition resulted in the top three teams each receiving scholarship money intend-
ed to fund the start of the business proposed by each team. The prize money offered to the first-, second- and third-place teams was $7,500, $5,000 and $2,500, respectively. The judges’ opinions as well as a survey of the audience members’ opinions determined the winners. Nolan Gouveia, department lead for entrepreneurship, said he enjoyed seeing the increased involvement of students from across CBU this year and witnessing the development of interdisciplinary teams. “This year more than any other year, it was cool to see how many other majors were represented,” Gouveia said. “In years past, it was very heavily business students, but my goal has always been to get it across the whole campus. We saw students from engineering, CAVAD, health sciences, kinesiology, the life sciences and a lot from business. That’s what
See Competition, pg. 10
Most of us are in college for a reason — we are studying a particular topic so that we can earn a particular degree and find a career in a particular field. However, once we leave college, how should we ensure we find a job that we actually like? Job satisfaction and employee engagement are the major indicators for whether or not people enjoy their jobs. As of 2020, job satisfaction reached 56.9 percent, a historically high number. However, the Pew Research Center reported in 2012 that job satisfaction can also vary based on age. “Younger workers, ages 18 to 34, are a bit less likely than those 35 years and older to say they are completely satisfied,” according to Pew.
Dr. Nathan Iverson, program director for industrial-organizational psychology and associate professor of psychology, defines employee engagement as an employee’s emotion connection to their work, including their vigor, dedication and absorption. Iverson said there are two types of predictors for employee engagement: the ways employees can enhance their own experience and the ways employees can be impacted by the job such as pay, healthcare and who they work for. “I studied 83 nations, 2,800 people, and the No. 1 behavior lever we can pull is make a friend at work,” Iverson said. “It is interesting from a faith perspective that if we are made in the image of God, building relationships actually makes us
I sian an
happier.” In America, additional factors that contribute to job satisfaction vary based on demographics. Iverson said these factors have changed more recently as data is collected for a more diverse workforce. “Until 20 years ago, we used to say (what matters) is who your leader is because the surveys were done primarily with white men,” Iverson said. “Now, it has become more diverse in gender and race. For white men, it is still who your leader is as one of your top predictors. But for women and people under 21, it is role clarity. Leadership is No. 1 in the U.S., but if you divide it by gender, race, ethnicity and age, it is different.” Iverson also pointed out that
See Job satisfaction, pg. 7
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CBU hosts its first schoolwide Asian and Pacific Islander event.
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