Students will work with the small business (client) throughout the term (mid-April to mid-June) and will do the following:

1. Organizational diagnosis

2. Proposal

3. Revised proposal

4. Students' evaluation of their managerial skills

5. Final report and presentation

How companies will benefit:

This course (BUSI 660) is an exit course for the UCW MBA students - meaning, the small business will get to work with the final term MBA students for three months. Students already had diverse academic and work experiences before joining the MBA program. Now, they are just one step (term) away from having an MBA degree. It will be a great opportunity for the small business to work with the MBA students who will actively engage with and contribute to the small business from initial diagnosis of the problem to writing a proposal to executing a final report and presentation. Similarly, students will also get valuable first-hand and real-world experiences by working with the small business.

Students will work with the small business throughout the Spring 2022 term (mid-April to mid-June) and will provide the following deliverables:

(1) Organizational diagnosis, (2) proposal based on the diagnosis, (3) revised proposal, (4) students' evaluation of their managerial skills, and (5) final report and presentation.

Instructions to the potential client (small business owner):

1. The business should be a legally registered and ongoing small business. A new business is fine.

2. The business should be based in Canada.

3. The business owner should be willing to work with the four or five student groups (around six students per group) for three months. Communications could be done virtually.

4. The business owner should be willing to spend a few hours per week speaking with students, responding to their queries, etc.

5. For the purpose of confidentiality and data privacy, it is expected that the business owner will provide a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) form that students and the business owner will sign.

6. If the business owner agrees to the points mentioned above, the business owner will have an initial virtual meeting through a video call with the course instructor. The course instructor will discuss the details of the course, expectations, etc., and will answer any questions or concerns of the business owner.