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Forget Boring Business Lectures
Meet Chuck Atkins
By Elissa K. Harvill
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Like many instructors at ORU, Atkins is, at the very least, wholeheartedly accessible to his students, and at the very best, a strong leader and mentor. Having worked in the global business world for many years prior to his assignment at ORU, Atkins brings much wisdom and reality to the classroom. (Atkins faculty bio.)
"As any of my students would tell you, in every course I teach, we always have team projects that are involved in accomplishing activities that have commercial value in the global business world," he enthused. "I like a distinction between the textbook and actually doing something that is of long-term value to the students' professional careers."
Oftentimes, doing involves a national rollout plan for a fictitious meat company or a mythical world-class athletic shoe company suffering from quality problems.
"You can learn the principles of sales management, but how do you execute them on a regional, national, and global basis?" he motioned with passion. Students get a taste of the real business world by working in teams (ranked by class year, major, and GPA). In his capstone course, Strategic Management (or "Strat"), students assume the roles of CEO, CFO, and vice presidents of Marketing, Sales, Production, and Human Resources. As such, they assemble objectives, strategies, and action plans for products, services, and operations in their 5-year global business plans.
"Numerous students have told me that when they go for interviews, they spend the majority of their time talking about assembling the various business plans from our class time together," Atkins beamed.
His courses include Strategic Management, Principles of Management, Retailing, Sales Management, and Consumer Behavior. For his first two years at ORU, he also handled the IBM mentorship program and then transitioned to the Oklahoma Governor's Cup Business Plan Competition. Atkins' team placed third in 2005, and this year he led two teams to the finals, with one team winning third-place honors.
In addition to his responsibilities at ORU, Atkins regularly works on a number of consulting assignments in both commercial and industrial fields. He also teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in marketing and management at the University of Phoenix.
And yet, he is remarkably accessible. A pro at returning phone calls and e-mails, Atkins developed a high level of professionalism at an early age. His first venture was a lawn care business at the age of 7. Other character-building jobs have included being a "printer's devil" or "step-and-fetch-it" at a newspaper, construction, hauling hay, and working on the railroad as a brakeman. In the U.S. Air Force, he presented strategic and operational plans at headquarters and the Pentagon, addressing such topics as manpower, operational audits, and industrial engineering.
Well-traveled and well-rounded, Atkins stimulates his business sense by constantly learning and staying informed. His "mentors" include The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, Business Week, and Fortune magazine. He's also re-reading The World is Flat: The Globalization of Materials R&D by Toni Marechaux and Warren H. Hunt, Jr., and Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? by Louis Gerstner, Jr.
But Atkins isn't all work and no play. He makes time for a daily four-mile power walk with his "inspiration"--his wife, Janeen--as well as his other hobbies. "I'm afflicted with golf and tennis," he playfully lamented.
Not wishing to leave out the topic of ethics in business, Atkins commented on the framed print prominently displayed in the lobby of the school's business suite. The image is of a business exchange, depicting Jesus in the midst of business people closing a deal.
"History has shown that businessmen face great temptations (e.g. Enron, Tyco, WorldCom, Global Crossing)," Atkins said. "If we're imbued with a strong sense of professional ethics, then we can use that in our Christian faith to forge ahead and navigate the perilous shoals of the global economy. This [image] sets the tone as a lighthouse beacon."
