For my Marketing seminar we participated in a case competition to create three new high street storefronts. We made a presentation with our ideas that include a rough idea for the budget for each store as well as a store front, store layout and logo. It also included what each store would sell and its marketing basics. Marketing Final Project-3-2jvvymc

Nick Loch                                                                                                                                            11/2/16

I chose to interview a Regional Manager, Ms. Sheila Harkins, who works in sales with Mannington Mills.  Mannington is a leading manufacturer of luxury floors, based in Salem NJ.  They deal with both residential and commercial flooring; vinyl, hardwood, laminate, porcelain, carpet and rubber.  As a current student of the Fisher College of business, specializing in finance, this offers me insight into the various areas of a broad based business.  While Ms. Harkins is in the Sales end of the business, as a regional manager, she deals directly with the distributors as well as the sales force and its financing end, including reports and profit tracking.   I am exploring many occupations within various business fields to gain a better understanding of what actually working in each of these fields would be like. Each field specialty entails many different requirements in both education and skill set.  These many fields offer widely varied individual working environments and opportunities.  My interview with Sheila Harkins, a regional manager from Mannington Mills, who’s company offices are located at 75 Mannington Mills Road, Salem NJ 08079 was both interesting and eye opening.  She operates out of her home office in Chelmsford Ma., as well as each of her regional distributors offices from New York through Maine.  As a regional manager, Ms. Harkins is responsible for the smooth operation of offices all over the northeastern United States.  She works diligently with her distributors and sales force alike.  Ms. Harkins is directly responsible for the sales profit and loss of her region and the various finance reporting that follows.  Mannington is a private corporation that has been owned and operated by the same family for five generations.  Established in 1915, they recently celebrated one hundred years.  This company and its manufacturing business is among some of the oldest in this country and has proven its longevity as it is still operating with a profit today.

I started the interview with open ended questions, to help put her at ease and have a candid discussion about how she began her career path.  She was hired, at a local retail carpet store, while still attending college.  This was initially meant to subsidize her living expenses while she worked toward her degree.   It was here, that she met corporate officials and manufacturers while executing her daily responsibilities.  By connecting with those she interacted with, networking, she was then recruited and hired by her current employer, Mannington Mills, as a sales representative.   She achieved the education requirements for her position of an undergraduate business degree, a BBA at Dowling College.  Dowling was a private university on Long Island, in New York which recently closed this past June, 2016. She then explained that she chose this specialty or field of concentration because of her personal interests in home furnishing, decorating and design.  Ms. Harkins possesses strong communication skills and a genuine openness when dealing with others that makes her well suited for sales.  Her current responsibilities include supervisory visits to the various offices throughout the northeast region, monitoring quotas and sales goals, coordinating manufacturing and distribution of their flooring products, participating in offsite due diligence sessions, demonstrating via power point presentations the status of her region to upper management as well as dealing with client-based operational concerns and issues.  In her professional opinion, the future of this particular field is bright and ripe with long term growth possibilities.  There are many new construction projects underway as well as remodels and repairs.  Their product, while it is durable, it is also a limited life product, requiring replacement after its wearability has diminished.  Long term sales are projected to expand.  This is one extremely positive aspect of this career field. With new technologies many fields are changing and possibly shrinking or dissolving. This particular field is enhanced and streamlined with technology, with the sales force as well as distribution still an ongoing necessity.  The inevitability of change supports this business field as new design choices keep their products relevant.  It is important to look to the future and the opportunities available when considering possible career choices. We must ask, will there be a market and here the answer is, yes.  While Mannington does not offer a focused intern program, they work directly with many other small businesses that take on interns.

We then, discussed the ways in which her daily schedule and duties vary.  Often, these tasks take her to different locales, requiring regular travel.  Ms. Harkins says, she is never bored, each day holds a new adventure.  She finds her company environment to be both caring and warm.  While she doesn’t particularly dislike anything about her occupation, she believes the most challenging part is finding, hiring and training new people.  Her daily routine and its variety makes this career choice appealing to me because it would be hard to get stuck in a rut. I enjoy new experiences, places and people as often as possible. I see great potential in any career that makes this possible.

Ms. Harkins discussed how imperative strong communication skills are in her occupation.  She expressed how important it is to listen and gain a clear understanding of the clients’ needs and desires.   She shared how increasing technological skills are needed, especially in sales presentations and reports.  A vital piece of personal advice, she shared with me, was to be open to change and adaptable. She then suggested, I pursue classes in communication, books and opportunities to enhance my interpersonal skills.  This interview, helped me realize that I also possess strong communication skills and with some polishing of my interpersonal skills I would be well suited for a career in the sales end of business.  During this semester at OSU, I have taken several road trips to see and experience more of this great country, I would enjoy a career that enabled me to travel.  I learned that while I may enjoy this field to start my career, I also want my focus to be more finance based.  Ms. Harkins referred me to Mr. Thomas Prioux who is in Finance at Raytheon.  Mostly, I learned, how much there is still to learn and how very important communication skills are in business.  I look forward to fine tuning my specific career choice.