The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the landscape of business around the world. More and more employees now work from a home office, rather than a shared space. In this semester’s new special topics 400-level business course “The Future of Work,” Hammack School of Business students looked at how the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the way we traditionally do work through a medium most had never explored — making a podcast.
When this project was first announced in lieu of a traditional final exam, many students admitted they had never done anything like it. This assignment was meant to challenge students to adapt to their new, remote learning environment by making something completely new. Collaboration was key to producing a polished final product.
Working in teams of two to three, students were challenged to create two podcasts that explored topics related to the future of work. Each team was evaluated on their ability to produce a podcast that was polished, succinct and well-researched. In addition to presenting information knowledgeably, students needed to pick appropriate music and edit their recordings to create a podcast with flow.
In today’s job market, many professions that were historically technology-free now require workers to learn new programs. Being able to quickly adapt and learning something unfamiliar is one of the founding principles of the liberal arts approach to business. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a host of challenges for those entering the work force, however, these student-made podcasts show Oglethorpe students’ ability to work together to overcome such challenges.
Professor of Economics and Business Administration Dr. Lynn Guhde had proposed this course to prepare business students to confront a rapidly-evolving job market. With students attending class remotely, Dr. Guhde capitalized on the opportunity to teach students to adapt.
“I enjoyed doing something different and using this unfortunate yet unique opportunity to change the structure of my class,” says Dr. Guhde.
In the podcasts below, representing some of the highlights from this project, students discuss a variety of business topics, including compressed work weeks, the impact of remote work on collaboration, and skill-based education.
