When hearing the word “Bayer”, Americans tend to only think of the Aspirin product produced and sold by the company—but know little else about the corporate giant. Last week, the business students at AIB made an excursion to the international headquarters of the German company in the nearby city of Leverkusen, where we learned more about such a globally significant organization, and observed their management practices. During a guided tour of the impressive, interactive visitor center, we learned that the international company is not only the healthcare provider that us non-Germans imagine, but also leads two more industries through their involvement in crop science and material science. We analyzed the underlying marketing value of such an expansive visitor center, and also got a lesson in the sciences—something business students can become pretty deprived of in college! Later on in the visit, we received a short, discussional lecture from Bayer’s Head of Human Resources in Germany regarding the recent re-organization of the Business Services subdivision. He focused on how the topic of change management has recently applied to the structure of the business—which worked well as a real-life lesson in what we are currently studying. Who would have thought—a business management lesson and an interactive science lesson all in one afternoon!
Written by Dane Vaughn, NEP Spring 2013
