Associate professor of strategic management and entrepreneurship, Nastaran Simarasl leads service-learning senior project course bridging campus and community
The College of Business Administration at Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ has long been a staple supporter of local area businesses within the San Gabriel Valley region of Southern California, and thanks to a new business consulting project between the school and the city of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, those regional ties will only continue to validate the school’s reputation among area business leaders.
"The business consulting opportunity is a great example of our polytechnic identity at the College of Business Administration at Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ," said Nastaran Simarasl, associate professor of management and human resources. Simarasl holds a doctorate in organization and strategy from the University of Tennessee Knoxville and a doctorate in business administration, organizational behavior from the University of Isfahan.
Simarasl’s vision for her Senior Project experiential course was for Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ students to provide evidence-based business consulting to a local nonprofit community organization. For the pilot implementation, Simarasl and her undergraduate students partnered with the , and began the project in the spring 2024 semester, allowing students a focused timeframe to engage deeply in helping the chamber identify how to better support Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ entrepreneurs for business success. The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Chamber of Commerce serves as a central voice for the local business community and works to promote economic opportunity through business and community leadership, and to enhance the social and civic environment of the City of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ.
"I have been interested in offering organizational consulting through my classes for a while. During one of my exploratory conversations with a CPP colleague, Grace Yao from CPP Government and External Affairs, she mentioned the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Chamber's need for a consultation service," Simarasl said. "This was the beginning of a seven-month journey, involving several meetings with Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Chamber President Monique Robles and the Chamber's board of directors to develop the project as a service-learning senior project course."
Simarasl found support from Management and Human Resource (MHR) Department Chair Steve Guo, along with CPP Center for Community Engagement (CCE)’s interim director, Lydia Chen Shah, and her team member, Lizette Rayela.
After months of developing a project that aligned with both the goals of the Chamber of Commerce and Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, this Senior Project began in the spring of 2024. Students worked intensively to gather insights, analyze data, and develop solutions, ensuring their recommendations to the Chamber of Commerce and Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ-based businesses were well-informed and actionable within the given timeframe. At the end of the semester, students presented their recommendations based on their research to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Chamber President Monique Robles and the chamber's board of directors.
The Beginning
The project began with an immersive tour of downtown Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, guided by the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Chamber of Commerce and the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Historical Society. The tour provided students with a look into the city's evolution from past to present and connected them with local entrepreneurs to gain firsthand insight into the area’s business landscape.
“In my role as president and CEO, my primary objectives have been advocacy for our members, creating career pipelines for local businesses, and economic development,” said Monique Robles, president and CEO of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Chamber of Commerce. “Our main goal was to gather insights from local business owners about their experiences operating in Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, with a focus on the challenges they face daily. After identifying key areas of need, we developed targeted solutions, including tools and resources to support those businesses.”
One such business is Lopez Urban Farm, a community wellness project of Community Partners 4 Innovation in collaboration with the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Unified School District. It is supported by Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, the city of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, the California Strategic Growth Council, the Greenlining Institute, Kickstarter, Western University, and other area supporters. Named after Ignacio Lopez, a noted civil rights activist and graduate of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ High School, aims to create a model for a fully functioning urban farm that can be applied in other cities and urban spaces. The farm serves the community by providing green space, fresh produce, education, and community engagement at no cost to visitors.
“The MHR 4610S project vividly illustrates Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's "learn by doing" approach by combining theoretical learning with hands-on experience, fostering a deep understanding of consulting through practical application and direct involvement.” – Karla Sevillano (MHR ’24)
The Process
Following the tour and city overview, students conducted a comprehensive literature review using insights from past research on business-friendly cities and their observations of and interactions with the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ business community during the tour to design an online survey to collect data about local entrepreneurs’ support needs to run their businesses more successfully.
“In approaching the research for our project, my classmates and I used a collaborative and adaptive methodology under the guidance of our professor,” said Karla Sevillano, (MHR ’24). “The creation of the survey played a crucial role in enhancing our data collection and analysis. By asking well-structured questions and using robust analytical techniques, we were able to produce reliable data that informed our understanding of the chamber's current state and potential areas for growth. The data collected through the survey provided a solid foundation for our recommendations."
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“The students discovered through survey results that close to 30% of small businesses in Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ do not have any website, social media, or digital promotion.” – Nastaran Simarasl, associate professor of management and human resources, Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ |
The insights gained not only revealed actionable opportunities for the Chamber of Commerce but also contributed significantly to the students' growth as future business leaders.
“Working as a team allowed us to approach challenges from diverse perspectives while being united by a common goal. We leveraged our strengths to enhance the project,” Sevillano added. “The camaraderie and mutual support among my classmates, especially as graduation approached, made the journey both productive and enjoyable.”
The insights gained not only pointed to actionable opportunities for the Chamber of Commerce but also contributed significantly to our growth as future business leaders and professionals.
The Findings and The Future
The project concluded with a presentation of findings to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Chamber of Commerce, its board of directors, the College of Business Dean, Sandeep Krishnamurthy, and Steve Guo, the MHR Department Chair. The ongoing goal is to provide insights that help the chamber enhance its support services and ultimately boost the success rate of local businesses. The output of this initial course will also equip the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Chamber with recommendations to strengthen the city’s entrepreneurial spirit.
“This is a win-win opportunity for our students and our nonprofit community partner, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Chamber of Commerce,” said Simarasl. “During the course, students learn the foundations of organizational consultation, survey design, data collection, data analysis, and how to offer high-impact recommendations to an organization. By the end of the semester, students gain knowledge and experience in evidence-based and research-oriented organizational consulting.”
Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Chamber president Monique Robles agreed. “In the future, I envision the chamber further developing our partnership with Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and conducting more research on our local businesses. This will allow us to provide better support in areas such as access to capital, education, safety and security resources, marketing tools, and strategies. By fostering these partnerships, students gain practical experience, while the chamber and local businesses benefit from innovative solutions and stronger community engagement. This collaborative approach ensures all parties are better equipped to navigate and thrive in Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's dynamic economic environment.”
Nastaran Simarasl’s commitment to benefiting the local community is exemplified through her studies to understand how entrepreneurs succeed, despite the significant hardships they experience. Her research has been published in distinguished journals, such as the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Family Business Review, Business Horizons, and the European Management Journal.