“This teacher is great! He links what’s happening in the real world to the class, so it’s immediately relevant. When I took the course the Katrina disaster had just happened. We studied the effects, both personal and financial, on someone who had lost everything and how they would have to survive, as well as the insurance ramifications.”
John Nardi, Humber alumni
Instructor George O’Neill says it’s important for all individuals to understand a certain level of business and finance. That’s one reason the course he teaches, People, Money, and Markets, is part of the Liberal Arts and Science program at Humber. “I guarantee that each student will find at least one thing that will have value in their life - either personal or professional.” George says on a personal level, this course provides an overview of finance and the markets, which impacts anyone with mortgages or car loans - or who is considering them. On a professional level, students learn how provincial, national, and international economic factors may influence and impact the company they work at, and thus affect their career - no matter what that career may be. “I asked one girl, a music student, what she planned to do as a career and she said she wanted to be a professional musician. I said, ‘You basically want to run your own business. This will help you manage your career like a business, which your career really is, if you think about it.’ She dug in and almost led the class by the end of the semester.”
Relevant Discussions
Although he did not develop the original course outline, he developed the material used in lectures and discussions with the students, and continuously modifies it to keep it relevant and current. He feels it’s critical to make the information relevant for students. “Every week I update the class with current events relevant to the topic. It really blows my students away when I come up with news of that day and find ways to describe why that news article is relevant to the topic.” George says people need not worry about coming into a classroom where they’re talked at - instead they are talked with. “I try to speak plainly, in a manner they’ll relate to - no lectures. I present information and have a discussion.”
Top Credentials
George feels he’s uniquely suited to teach this course, “First of all I bring practical business experience - I work in the real world. I have been an instructor in industry, teaching courses to professionals as well as at other academic institutions. This coupled with the work that I currently do - as a management consultant for a wide range of clients on issues important to their success - keeps me on top of the latest business developments, current activities and trends.” When he’s not instructing at Humber, George O’Neill is the Vice President of Advisory Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He’s responsible for leading the Canadian Business-IT Alignment and Strategy Practice, assisting top level executives to ensure the investments they are making in IT return value to their organization. As well, he is involved in practice development (sales), organizational development (methods and tools) and client engagement leadership (deliverables management, P&L). George also brings to the classroom the wealth of his education and past experience - he started out with B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Mechanical Engineering, later earning an MBA with a focus on finance. George has worked in the U.S. and in Canada, and was one of the youngest executives at one of Canada’s largest companies before moving to his current role.
Positive Results
George says he never ceases to be amazed at the different ways students use information learned in the course. “One student was a semi-pro golfer. After college he wanted to make a living by winning tournaments. After taking the course, when he had a choice of where in the world to play in a tournament, he would look at the exchange rate of the money of those countries and use that to determine the place he chose to compete based on the estimated earnings from his winnings.. This is a real application of the concepts - he chose to play where he would get the most money in Canadian dollar terms if he won.” Even years later, George says he receives positive reviews from former students. “They’ve come up to me in malls and airports saying this course was one of the most valuable they had taken, very relevant to their everyday lives.”
George stresses the benefits of this course are numerous. He feels, however, that the single most important thing students come away with is an understanding of the key economic and financial terms that define and affect our world. “This is a practical real-world course that everyone can benefit from... you will find something of value that you will carry with you the rest of your life - guaranteed!”
