Mitchell A.

Phelps
Jeri Ricketts
Business Ethics
August 21, 2015
2015 LHP Domestic Experience
The LHP Class of 2018 embarked on a domestic journey that has
changed all of our lives. Whether good or bad, small or large, an
impact was made and learning was accomplished. I had begun the trip
with an open mind to learn and that is exactly what happened. I was
able to absorb a large amount of information and gain insights into
more of my personal likes and dislike in regards to my future. I greatly
enjoyed the fact that the destinations we visited were very different
and had abundant offerings in diverse avenues. This trip truly made
great relation to the American Business History and Regulations and
Business Ethics course. Below are key items I learned from the
different experiences that were taken.
I. Senator Brown
The trip began with a view from the regulatory side of the nation,
also known as the Government. I was personally very excited to visit
the United States government headquarters because I have frequently
envisioned myself working in a governmental capacity at some point in
my career. Since middle school I have been interested or involved in

my school student governments or local community politics. Viewing

national, large-scale politics from its core was remarkable.
Senator Sherrod Browns office gathering was very relevant to
the cases that we studied in our courses this summer. Throughout the
summer I tried to pay close attention to what the opinions of each
political side typically stand by on different categories of issues such as
regulation. I distinctly paid attention to the opinions of the far left and
right sides. I frequently wondered why they are so opposing and
thought that it was not necessary or helpful in bipartisan decisionmaking. What I was surprised by was how important the far left and
right side members actually influence decisions of the moderate group.
When I take the time to think about this it makes full sense.
Without the thoughts from the extreme sides of the political
spectrum many issues may never be brought and presented to the
American public. This was made clear to us during our meeting with
Senator Browns committee chair. I now understand that those opinions
are necessary to listen to although they may seem to be extreme and
have no power or influence when decisions are made.
A second thing I learned during this visit was to keep an open
mind about where I see myself in the future. A man that spoke to us
named, Gideon, was originally in the music business and performance,
but now he has transformed with other passions and has gone the
political route. Many think it is impossible to graduate in one area and

work in a completely different one but this man is an example that it

can be done. I believe that I will have to keep focused toward my
passions and let faith lead me to the final destination for a workplace.
II. CBX
Visiting CBX was a great experience as well. This is mainly
because it is very relevant to the type of business I am currently
pursuing. CBX is involved in the designing and planning of consumer
product packaging and also consumer experience in retail
environments. My passions within the marketing field have been
focused on consumer products and branding similarly. In the future I
wish to work as a brand manager for a consumer good or service.
This past spring I worked for a brand innovation start-up
company called SpiceFire. SpiceFire is mostly in the design and
innovation agency for consumer product goods. There I worked as a
client service co-op, thus I had many experiences similar to those of
Adam since that is the role he is in CBX. This coming fall I will be at a
different company called FRCH Design. FRCH frequently works on
architecture of retail spaces. My role at this company will be Brand
Strategy. Essentially the specialties of my two co-op experiences could
be combined to make CBX. What I found to be unique about CBX was
the amount different functions they have in their company. Also their
employees are very skilled in a broad array of areas so they are able to
help their company with efficiencies.

When viewing CBX from the lens of a potential future employer I

do not believe it would be the right fit for me even though it is directly
related to what I currently do. I greatly enjoy the company culture of
creative spaces but do not see that environment as a potential future
job in the long term. I am mostly using these experiences to learn the
most I can in the branding and design world. These experiences will aid
the most in my dream of becoming a brand manager. I feel that my
current roles are perfect for understanding what it is like to be on the
agency side of the brand building business.
III. VanWagner Group
VanWagner was truly an inspirational visit in my eyes. From
beginning to end I was taken away by the entrepreneurial journey of
Richard Schaps. Mr. Schaps is not only a smart businessman but he is
also a charitable man with many philanthropic aspirations. As a future
business leader and entrepreneur I hope to attain qualities like the
ones he possesses.
In the early 1970s Richard Schaps had a vision for a new model
of advertising within the city of New York. This vision would eventually
come to fruition and the entire industry of billboard advertising would
change. The initial key characteristic that I identified from Mr. Schaps
was his ability to forward think. Imagining the future and scaling the
advancement on many levels is a skill that I believe few posses. In my
understanding of entrepreneurship I see this as a necessary quality to

have. In my quest to become an entrepreneur it will be helpful for me

to begin taking time to think of the future and come up with ideas of
how the world and consumer culture might evolve overtime.
Also, Richard Schaps was working in a field that he is passionate
about. Passion is the next most important quality that I saw that has
seemed to lead into his success. This was also included as part of the
advice he had given to the group. If one does not enjoy what they are
doing they will not work at it to there full potential. In my personal
career goals I do not believe that I have truly found my passion yet. I
know what type of work I would like to get involved in but I am still
unsure of the exact industry I would like to work in. My belief is that
this passion will emerge from the experiences that I continue to gain.
Lastly, it is important to look at the generosity of Richard Schaps.
He told many story of his charitable donations and how he gives back
to not only his employees but his community as well. His acts show
great character and I admire that the most. If I show vision, passion,
and character in the future there is no doubt that I will be successful.
IV. JP Morgan
Although financial banks are not of full interest to me I have to
admit that JP Morgan was one of my favorite visits of all. To begin, I was
honored to simply be in the building. All I could do was think back to
the history of the company since its inception. This summer I was
amazed by JP Morgans initial business and how that business has

evolved into one of the largest banks in the world. Our hosts, Lori Beer
and Lester Owens, were remarkable to learn from. I enjoyed that they
are both on the technology side of the large banking business because
it is a different perspective than most have on the banking systems.
What excited me the most was hearing about the large amounts of
inflow and outflows that they are able to see daily. I believe the
number was about 6 trillion dollars that they are able to see move per
day.
Another aspect of our visit to JP Morgan that I took time to reflect
on was the amount of diversity they have in their offices. In the past,
white male employees have mainly filled financial banks. During the
visit I took notice that there were many woman and African Americans.
I was excited to see this representation. It shows that these companies
and the banking industry as a whole saw the absence there was when
it comes to diverse employees and the different perspectives these
individuals provide to the banks. Many companies like JP Morgan have
internal programs and are parts of groups that help recruit and retain
diverse candidates.
The impact this JP Morgan visit had on my future is that it truly
changed the outlook I have on the banking industry. I have frequently
had a negative perception of the big banks ever since the 2008 crisis.
It has been very difficult to trust them, but being able to speak with

individuals that are very high in the corporation has helped build my
trust.
V. City Bank
Unlike the previously mentioned company visits I unfortunately
had somewhat of an opposite takeaway from our City Bank visit. City
Bank is a company that I was not very familiar with until I had learned
we were going to visit their offices. The company shaped out to be
similar to the other large investment banks. The portion that was most
negative for me was the company culture that I grasped. I do not
believe their entire company culture is poor, I just think that what we
were presented was on the side of business that is not of interest to
me.
The trading side of banking seems very interesting from looking
at investment platforms and how those are able to generate cash, but I
did not enjoy seeing the background of how it works. During our
meeting with the panel I felt that each individual was either exhausted
from long hours or just worn out from working too hard. With much of
the explanation of the day-to-day job I was beginning to realize that
the work-life balance was not present for entry level trading floor
positions. Personally I was not very surprised. This summer I have
learned a lot about the grueling hours that go into working in the
financial industry.

The portion of the City Bank visit that I enjoyed the most was
seeing their trading floor. Their floor was just like the movies, a very
large room with many computers and endless amounts of workers. This
sight was amazing because I could simply picture scenes from some of
the Frontline and Wall Street movies I have seen in Ethics and Finance
class. In total City Bank does seem like a great company but it is not
one that I would see myself working for in the future.
Overall Experience
My times outside of the company visits were well spent.
Washington D.C. was filled with a lot of sight seeing of our American
history. I had visited many of the monuments and sights in the past but
during this visit I was able to take time to fully appreciate the locations
I was viewing. The Lincoln monument was one monument in particular
that I greatly enjoyed. There I was able to stand at the feet of where
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood and imagine the vastness of influence
he had on a large crowd standing among the National Mall. Another
place in D.C. that I enjoyed viewing was the Department of Justice. At
the Department of Justice I was pleasantly surprised to see that their
offices were in need of business students as employees. This is not too
much of an interest but I believe it would be a great experience to
have.
On the contrary New York City had a community that was more
conducive to the type of business world I see myself entering someday.

Initially I was frightened by the amount of people surrounding the

streets but I eventually settled and was able to manage the chaos
around me. Being able to see these cities made me realize that there is
a lot more to see around the United States and that I should definitely
look into co-oping and working in different cities around the nation.
Overall, this trip has had a tremendous impact on my life. Washington
D.C. and New York City are two of the most influential cities in America
and it was an honor to travel to these places as part of my Lindner
Honors-PLUS experience.