Lincoln Mercury Helps UC Irvine MBA Students Gain Access to Digital Economy's Most Sophisticated Marketing Tools
16 November 2000
Lincoln Mercury Helps UC Irvine MBA Students Gain Access to Digital Economy's Most Sophisticated Marketing Tools
IRVINE, Calif.--Nov. 16, 2000--Gift Will Support Advances in Marketing Lab and Encourage Curriculum
Innovation and Faculty Research on Marketing in a
Technology-Driven Economy
Lincoln Mercury is teaming up with the UC Irvine Graduate School of Management to help MBA students prepare for future management roles in a technology-driven economy.
The company will provide funds to the school -- ranked among the top business schools in the nation for its Information Technology for Management (ITM) focus -- to make the latest and most sophisticated marketing information systems available to students as they gain hands-on experience in a course that will be named the Lincoln Mercury ITM Lab in Marketing.
The gift of $500,000 from Lincoln Mercury also will support curriculum innovation and faculty research on how businesses can use the power of information and technology to develop marketing strategies that will give them a competitive edge.
The UCI Graduate School of Management is ranked 1st by Financial Times, 5th among Techno-MBA programs by Computerworld and 10th by U.S. News & World Report for its focus on preparing students to make strategic use of the wealth of information that technology brings to business decisions.
Lincoln Mercury's gift will make it possible to continually update the software and databases used in the school's marketing lab, enabling students to master the same tools employed by leading companies as they learn critical marketing concepts by doing their own market analyses and sales forecasts for various products and services.
"We are very excited about this collaboration with a forward-looking company that recognizes the importance of educating business leaders who can harness the power of information and technology -- regardless of the type of business they are in," UCI Graduate School of Management Dean David H. Blake said.
"We are grateful to Lincoln Mercury for its support and look forward to a long-term relationship that will help us ensure that our marketing curriculum is always at the leading edge."
Jim Rogers, general marketing manager of Lincoln Mercury, said: "This is a win-win situation for Lincoln Mercury and UCI. We will all share in the knowledge gained through this unique information and technology lab. This is a case of helping our neighbor and, in the end, the University helps us."
In the Graduate School of Management's marketing lab, Professor Connie Pechmann teaches students how information and technology, combined with an understanding of the fundamentals of marketing, can be used to gain competitive advantages by improving key strategic and tactical decisions.
Students use geographical information systems (GIS), census data and other types of databases to select the best location for retail stores. They prepare five-year sales forecasts projecting revenue by product and service. Transaction data generated by scanners at retail checkouts are used to develop customized marketing plans for individual stores in specific cities.
The school plans to update the marketing lab this year by giving students access to MapInfo, a leading geographic information system that is used by such companies as Sprint, AT&T, MCI WorldCom, Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo and CIGNA Insurance.
"Lincoln Mercury's gift makes it possible for us to expose students to the hottest new products and the latest analytical tools that are being used at the types of companies where they will eventually be employed," Pechmann said.
"This requires a big commitment because it's very expensive to acquire these information systems, get them up and running and provide ongoing technical support.
"Our students are very excited about the support the school is receiving from a company as prestigious and sophisticated as Lincoln Mercury. It's an affirmation that they are on the right track and that businesses value the MBA education they are receiving here."
The UCI Graduate School of Management is ranked among the top 50 of the nation's 700 MBA programs by Financial Times, BusinessWeek and U.S. News & World Report. Its focus on Information Technology for Management prepares students to lead rapid and continuous change in a technology-driven society, whether they are reinventing established companies or creating and launching new ventures.
Lincoln Mercury became an Irvine resident when Ford Motor Co. moved the Lincoln Mercury World Headquarters to Orange County in 1998.