DEPARTMENT OF MIS, OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, & DECISION SCIENCES

300 College Park, Dayton, Ohio 45469-2130

Phone: (937) 229-3382

To: Whom it May Concern:

From: Dr. Michael F. Gorman

University of Dayton University of Dayton Department of MIS, OM and DSC Dayton, OH 45469-2130

I have been asked to provide a recommendation for Jason Stewart. It is my pleasure to do so. I have known Jason for over two years. He has taken two classes with me, a junior-level process analysis class, and a senior Capstone Course in which he participated in a consulting project with a student team and a live client. He has also done some “extra credit” consulting for me that I will explain below. In short, I know Jason better than I know most students. In both classes, he showed a great ability to assimilate new and complex material and apply it admirably. His grades were strong in both courses, completing both with an “A”. To my knowledge, he has received A’s in all of his major courses, has a strong overall GPA, and is one of the top, if not the top students in his class in the Operations Management major (a class of over 40 students). I would like to discuss his performance in each course, and in the extra-curricular consulting project he conducted for me. In the first course, he showed high levels of engagement, enthusiasm and interest. He regularly scored in the top of his class in most assignments and tests. Further, he was a “go-to” person in class for discussion topics and answers to tough questions. He clearly understood the material quickly and easily, and mastered it as well as any student I have taught in the course. Simply, he is a smart guy, and catches on quickly in an academic setting to new material. In the second course, the Operations Management Capstone Course, I was able to work with him in a small team setting, observing his ability to communicate and work with teammates, client and advisor (me). It should be noted he took this course while undertaking a full time Co-op at General Electric Aviation in Cincinnati – over an hour away from the University of Dayton. He could only do this with my approval, which I granted due to his strong performance in the previous class. His teammates were aware of this arrangement and consented to working with Jason “long distance”. The client, who I will not name, was a new client (which always poses a risk in such a class), also was aware of Jason’s arrangement. As is the case with any “real world” project, there are risk and challenges, and this one had many. The project did not go well. The client was somewhat non-responsive, hard to work with, and their data was exceedingly confusingly organized. The project also required learning sophisticated scheduling software. All of this lead to challenges for the team, further complicated by Jason’s scheduling and geographic challenges. His teammates badly

DEPARTMENT OF MIS, OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, & DECISION SCIENCES

300 College Park, Dayton, Ohio 45469-2130

Phone: (937) 229-3382

underperformed in their responsibilities, and their deliverables were of low quality, lacked depth and breadth, and were sometimes inaccurate. This does not sound like much of a ringing endorsement, I realize. Life is unpredictable and complicated, as are these projects. What is noteworthy to me is how Jason handled this adversity. It is a testimony to his drive and determination, leadership, and dedication to quality. From his disadvantaged position, he tried to lead his teammates both through example and pitching in on their portions of the work. He worked directly with me, his advisor, on carving out a deliverable that he could be solely responsible for, so that we could deliver value to the client in some way. He carried the final presentation, though he understandably might know far less than his teammates, he demonstrated far greater mastery of the software, the data, the problem, and the solutions. His score for the project was far greater than his teammates (we offer differentiated grades for teammates based on advisor, team member, and client feedback on individual performance) – one of the greatest differentials I have ever given. The response was unanimous; all constituencies of the project agreed that Jason’s contribution was far superior to the others. Though he made the most of a bad situation, his situational disadvantage was too great to earn an A. He contacted me at the end of the semester, acknowledged that he probably didn’t deserve an A given the project was such a disappointment, and wondered if there was any way he could “conduct another senior project” to show what he could do. I understood Jason’s request completely. He wanted to get an A, to be sure, but I felt he actually had a burning desire to be part of a success, to make a difference, to have a “win”. In order to help him bring his senior project experience to a positive conclusion, I gladly gave him that opportunity. It so happened I had another team that did well, but, simply, ran out of time to really deliver great value to their client (a different client). I put Jason on the job. On his own time that summer, he spent six weeks extending the other teams’ project, doing deeper dive analytics, providing more detailed insights and pointed recommendations. He essentially redid their project (with the advantage of a great head start, no doubt), with occasional guidance from me. He was easy to work with. He regularly responded to my suggestions with quick, accurate and on the mark changes. (He listened well!) He provided keen insights that were well documented. He provided a nicely organized and convincing final document. He developed an intuition for the problem that allowed him to suggest concrete ways the ideas could be implemented. He participated actively, professionally, and enthusiastically (via phone; he was still working full time!) in the final presentation. The recommendations were spot on, and of high potential value to the client. I told him afterwards – that was one of the best meetings I have ever been in, in terms of fluidity, comprehension, and client acceptance of the results. Of course, he earned an A. As a final testimony to Jason’s admirability – he later emailed to ask “what ever happened to that project – are they doing it?” He cares about his work. I told him that the client is now actively seeking ways to implement the recommendations. I am working with them on work that I believe

DEPARTMENT OF MIS, OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, & DECISION SCIENCES

300 College Park, Dayton, Ohio 45469-2130

Phone: (937) 229-3382

is publishable in a research journal based on this work. Of course, Jason offered to help if needed. If published, Jason will be acknowledged as a key contributor to the project’s success. I highly recommend Jason for any position requiring leadership, hardwork, analytical sophistication and direct, honest, and open communication. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like more information. Sincerely, Michael F Gorman Sincerely,

Michael F. Gorman Michael.gorman@udayton.edu