STEP Project: Consulting for BMW in Sweden

This May, I got the opportunity to work at BMW in Stockholm, Sweden. While there, my team worked on a project to determine the future outlook of their financial products in the Nordics. During this project, I learned about the different cultures within the Nordics and interviewed company leaders.

While at BMW, I was surprised by the transparency, equality, and ambition within the workplace. I converted over to a coffee drinker after a plethora of traditional Swedish Fikas and I made friends around the world. My manager gave us the freedom to make mistakes and to learn from them. I had the unique opportunity to also observe German work culture as many of the employees were from Munich. I learned that, as an American, I can always learn something from other cultures. I also learned the importance of travel for the development of global business acumen and personal development.

Sweden was a life changing experience and I am eager to return!

The main activities that I found impactful were the project we worked on, our weekend travel, and our office fika. While working on our project, I learned how to work effectively on a team and accommodate different cultures. At first, it was difficult to communicate with our boss because Swedish culture does not emphasize meetings and deadlines like American business culture does. However, after learning about and embracing Swedish culture, I was able to really connect with the office environment.

During our weekend travel we visited 3 other countries that were also being studied in our project. This allowed us to really understand the differences between Northern European cultures and become more globally aware. We also got to experience different historical sights and beautiful nature. This travel gave us a wide knowledge base to draw from and allowed us to meet people from all over the world. It really instilled the love of travel within the whole group.

Also, we tried to have fika everyday. Fika is when Swedish people take a break from work to have coffee with their coworkers. This helps to build deep and personal relationships at work. By doing this we were able to make friends at work that we are still in touch with today. They also gave us insight into what it is like to grow up in Stockholm and the differences in perspectives. From these fikas, we learned about different sports, how to survive Swedish winter, and really grasp Swedish culture. These fikas are where a lot of the value of the trip came from.

Overall, my trip to Stockholm built my network abroad and instilled a life long love for travel. Since coming back, I have already booked two more trips to Europe and one of them is to go back and visit the friends I made in Sweden. This trip improved my business skills, helped me to get my full time job, and transformed how I view the world. In fact, this trip is why I decided to purse a consulting career after graduation. I am much more appreciative of different perspectives and love to embrace different cultures. I also became more adventurous on this trip by trying new foods and embracing new experiences. This trip was extremely transformational both personally and professionally.

A Year in Review 2018-2019

This year was a great opportunity for growth and development. I spent the semester diving into my role as Vice President of Events for Business Builders Club. During this year, I planed and organized a variety of events. During the fall, I organized our Alumni Event and a Columbus Startup Tour. During the Spring semester, I organized Ohio State’s first Startup Career fair that had over 40 companies and over 500 students attend. Spring semester ended with our signature Idea Pitch. A pitch competition that brought in local entrepreneurs to judge 8 different pitches. My role as VP of Events has taught me how to lead a team, be detailed oriented, and how to be flexible. It has pushed me to think outside of the box and work hard. By the end of the year, Business Builders Club experienced 800% growth. The Fisher College of Business recognized us for our superior event planning by awarding us Program of the Year mainly due to the success of our Startup Career Fair. We also walked away with President of the Year.

Beyond Business Builders Club, I also was able to solidify my summer plans. This summer, I will travel to Sweden to be a student consultant for BMW. Two people in this group are also Business Scholars. This showed just how small the world can be. After returning from Stockholm, I will head back to Chicago and work as a Project Management Intern at Blue Cross and Blue Shield. I am very excited to explore the corporate world this summer.

This year, I finished up my core business classes, put on award winning events, and secured exciting summer plans. I have learned the importance of networking and the importance of creativity. This year I challenged myself to become proficient in Adobe products. So far, I have become proficient in Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. I have even begun using these products when I complete company project work for school. As the world becomes more digital, I am investing in learning new skills that will help me contribute to the digital world.

It has been a great year and I cannot wait for the next one!

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.   For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

Honda Visit

picture: https://fisher.osu.edu/news/honda-supporting-students-research-fisher

Through the Business Scholars Program, I got the opportunity to visit a Honda plant in Marysville, Ohio. During this experience I was able to hear from Ohio State alumni who work at Honda, tour their factory, and explore the Honda Museum. This experience provided me with the opportunity to see large scale manufacturing in action. However, it also taught be about the cultural differences in business between Japan and the United States. Honda has all employees wear the same uniform to represent equality in the workplace. This practice comes from Japan where, unlike in America, not much emphasis is placed on promotion and status. Overall, visiting the Honda plant exposed me to, not only the inner-workings of a large company but, also, the cultural differences that come with a global business.

About Me

Kristen Cerne

I am a Finance major with a minor in both Computer and Information Sciences (CIS) and English.

Since the age of 15, I have worked and interned with Chef Stephanie Izard. Stephanie Izard is a James Beard Award winner, Iron Chef, and winner of Bravo TV’s Top Chef. This experience has taught me the value of hard work and dedication, but also how to run a successful business with happy employees and create a strong brand.

At The Ohio State University, I am a member of the Business Scholars Program. Where I hone my business soft skills through leadership and community service. At the moment I am highly interested in pursing a career in consulting. Through my continued experience with Stephanie Izard and the Business Scholars Program, I hope to hone my business skills and prepare myself for a successful career.

My academic goals are to work harder than anyone else and get an internship at a consulting firm in Chicago this summer. I am eager to explore the corporate environment  in order to see if consulting would be a good fit for me.

Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]