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Southwestern is located in Nashville, TN. Originally named Southwestern because back in 1855, when the company started, Nashville was in the Southwestern part of the US. HISTORY The company was established in 1855 by Rev. J.R. Graves in Nashville, TN.http://www.southwestern.com/images/TimeLine.jpg In 1867, Graves moved the company to Memphis, TN. In 1868, after the Civil War had ended, Southwestern began its summer work program,http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/imagegallery.php?EntryID=S070 having university students market bibles directly to families. The head office returned to Nashville in 1879. In 1969, Southwestern was sold to the Times-Mirror Company The Times-Mirror Company was acquired by Tribune Company in 2000 http://www.tribune.com/about/history.html. In 1959, Spencer Hays, a young student at Texas Christian University, entered Southwestern's Summer Sales Program and would come to play a pivotal role in its future. Hays would become President in 1973, passing on the reins to current President Jerry Heffel in 1980. In 1982, Hays, Heffel and other Southwestern employees came together to purchase the company back from Times-Mirror and formed Southwestern-Great American, Inc. Hays was named Executive Chairman of the Board, a position which he continues to hold today, and Ralph Mosley was named Chairman and CEO. In the 70s, Southwestern started to expand its operations, starting with Great American Opportunities (fundraising for schools) in 1975 and then acquiring FRP, an award-winning cookbook publishing company, in 1978. In 1982, after gaining its independence, SBR (International Headhunting) was formed, followed by Family Heritage (supplemental insurance) in 1989. Since 1999, Southwestern-Great American has partnered with, acquired or establish 10 other companies around the world, for a total of 16 companies within the corporate family. These companies' services range from non-profit fundraising to public speaking to consulting to financial services to insurance and real estate. Since regaining independence in 1982, Southwestern-Great American revenues have grown from $24 million to more than $280 million in wholesale sales. In 2006, Ralph Mosley retired as CEO after nearly 25 years. He was succeeded by Henry Bedford. In 2007, Jerry Heffel retired as President of the company. He was succeeded by Dan Moore. SUMMER WORK PROGRAM Southwestern's summer work program, started in 1868, is the backbone of the Southwestern / Great American Corporation. In 1986, Southwestern ventured into the international market by opening up the Canadian division. Southwestern UK Ltd. was established in 1994 in Bristol, England. Southwestern now works with approximately 3000 students from 400 campuses in 57 countries each year. Students who participate in the program represent colleges and universities from the United States, Canada, Europe, South Africa, and South America. Students participating in the Southwestern program are independent contractors, not employees, and as such run their own businesses during the summer months. The money that they earn is solely determined by their sales revenue and their expenses including the cost of goods sold. Southwestern Training School is provided, in Nashville or the UK, nominally free to student dealers. However, the students are responsible for the cost of their transportation and accommodation (i.e. housing, food, etc.) to and from training school. Being independent contractors, the participants are not guaranteed any wages and are not given any health insurance. The independent contractor model affords Southwestern two advantages. First Southwestern's financial risk is limited. Secondly, if one of the students breaks the law or is put in danger while on the job, they are responsible for their own actions because he/she is an independent contractor. Students are encouraged to make 30 product demonstrations a day. Typically, it is advertised that they should expect to work approximately 80 hours a week. Some students choose to work even more than this. These numbers apply to time actually spent in the field and does not include time spent on bookkeeping, talking to student managers or at sales meetings on Sunday. Students entering the program may not be fully aware of the difficulties they would face, but attend a week long sales school in order to better prepare them for the challenge. Some student salespeople are invited to return in subsequent years as student managers. Student managers recruit their own teams during the school year and earn a percentage commission on the sales of their team, so are encouraged to help the team members be as successful as they can. PRODUCTS Southwestern markets family-orientated reference books and software. The lead products (The Volume Library and Student Handbook) are educational reference books to help families with school work from Kindergarten to College. Also in the product line are kids books (My Fun With Words dictionary, Explore & Learn children's encyclopedia) and software (titles include Clifford Reading, Sponge Bob Typing, math and science programs to help with different grade levels, College Prep including SAT and ACT practice). Customers have an option of receiving annuals to go with their Volume Library or Student Handbooks, and also the option for a kids book every other month. CONTROVERSY Controversy around the operations of the Southwestern company center around its recruiting practices and the financial risk to students whose profits from sales do not substantially cover their expenses. During both the recruiting process and the actual sales school, students are told that the position is an internship and there is potential for college credit. Because students are independent contractors Southwestern expects students to fully finance thier entire experience, even attendence to sales school and weekly meetings. Foreign students in particular carry a major financial burden, as they must pay for their visas and airfare themselves. Plus, it is a common practice for the company to send student workers to differnt states while selling the books. There has also been concern about the safety of participants- students find accommodation by knocking on doors and asking around for rooms to stay in. There are no company procedures in place for vetting their prospective landlords or the safety of the neighborhoods where they live much less any company recommendations from willing boarders. In the event the student is unable to find accommodations, student managers in the organization that have worked previous summers come to help find a place for them to stay. It is common for students to have run-ins with local law enforcement - particularly as some managers actively encourage participants to flout local permit restrictions in order to work the long hours taught by the company. On occasion, a student might be arrested for solicitation. If this happens, it is up the the students group to assist them - Southwestern offers no legal assistance what so ever. Students are also encouraged to leave their mobile phones at home even as they work in unfamiliar neighborhoods, in order to force them to solve their own problems during the day. http://southwesterncompanytruth.com/. In the UK on the University Of Durham 's campus, the Students' Union had voted to ban Southwestern as a result of improper business actions.http://www.durham21.co.uk/archive/archive.asp?ID=2878 According to a report from a Southwestern representative, this ban had been lifted, but according to the referenced DSU Union Policyhttp://intranet.dsu.org.uk/policy/display.php?policy=Southwestern+Books it is still in force.http://southwesterncompanytruth.com. The Guild Of Students at the University Of Birmingham passed a motion in May 2006 banning the company from its premises and encouraging the University to do the samehttp://www.bugs.bham.ac.uk/getinvolved/guild_council/Papers/Papers071206/pdfs/05%20Southwestern%20motion.pdf. NEWSPAPER & MAGAZINE ARTICLES ''Full Articles''
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WMTV News, April 2007 AFFILIATIONS ''International Sites:'' Southwestern is a member of REFERENCES |
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