IBS LEARNS FROM THE LARGEST professional soci- ~~~;'~'s, the International Business Society members and a reputation for givtheir money' 5 worth. Darwin Romero, IBS president, said he wanted to make membership worthwhile by giving students real-world experience. One of the ways he did that was by taking IBS to meet the executives of Wal-Mart. IBS traveled to Bentonville, Ark., Oct. 8-9 with Paul Carter, former president of Wal-Mart Reality, and attended the weekly Saturday morning meeting of the executives. Senior Johan Muir said meeting Carter, a Board of Trustees member, and the other executives was impressive. "Basically, they treat you like you're the richest man in the world, and they give you their full attention," Muir said. Muir said he was expecting the executives to be wearing designer clothing but said the executives were dressed in Faded Glory, a Wal-Mart brand, clothing. "It was cool to go to the world's largest and most profitable, all-American, family-oriented company and see that they are focused on others instead of themselves," Muir said. "It shows you can be a Christian and still be rich." IBS also met with CEO Lee Scotti president Mike Duke and Latin American buyer Adonai Leiva. Leiva was one of IBS's contacts for this meeting, and he arranged for Scott, Duke and himself to meet with the society after the Saturday morning meeting. Romero said they asked for five minutes to ask questions, but Scott and Duke spent about 45 minutes with them. "This was the highlight of the meeting," Romero said. "These guys are some of the richest men in the world, but they keep it real. They don't spend money on their facility, the president has a normal office. The professors here have better offices. They're really humble. They don't waste money; they say if they can save money, they can pass it on to the customers." Romero said he believed he was seeing the culture behind the scenes of a Fortune 500 company by witnessing how the executives thought and made decisions. "It's the practical side of what we learn in the classroom," Romero said. Romero said he would take what he learned from this trip with him when he returned to EI Salvador. Romero and his friends planned to start their own Internet development business. "The fact you think these people started from nothing and now it's the largest company in the world makes me think our company can grow," Romero said. "It's inspiring." - ALiSA MOLONEY ORGANIZATIONS - 216 MEMBERS OF THE INT£RNAnONAL BUSINESS SOCIETY prepa~ their meal at abarbe<ue at Professor of Business Budd Heberts house Sept 18.IBS members hod the barbe<ue to catch up with each other after the summer b~ak. ,PHOTO COURTESY Of O. ROMERO LEARNING FROM APROFESSIONAL, membersof the International Business Society listen to aWal-Mart Latin American product buyer speak Oct 9at the company's headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. IBS took the overnight trip to tour the faCility and meet with Wal-Mart executives, including Paul Carter, member of the Harding Board ofTrustees and former president ofWal-Mart Reality. 'PHOTO COURTESY Of L. REED
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