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Schulich MBA Strategy Study (Capstone Consulting Project)

MGMT 6100
Closed
Schulich School of Business
Schulich School of Business
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Ingo Holzinger
Ingo Holzinger He / Him
Director, Strategy Field Study
(5)
6
General
  • Graduate; Capstone
  • 250 learners; teams of 6
  • 250 hours per learner
  • Dates set by experience
  • Learners apply to projects
Preferred companies
  • 5/5 project matches
  • Anywhere
  • Academic experience
  • Family owned, Large enterprise, Non profit, Small to medium enterprise, Social enterprise
  • Any industries
Categories
Business strategy Data analysis Market research Operations Competitive analysis Financial modeling
Project timeline
  • September 11, 2023
    Experience start
  • October 13, 2023
    Phase 1: Preliminary Assessment and Research Plan
  • December 8, 2023
    Phase 2: Research and Analysis
  • February 16, 2024
    Phase 3: Strategic Direction
  • March 15, 2024
    Phase 4: Final Presentation to Faculty Panel
  • March 29, 2024
    Phase 5: Presentation to Client
  • April 1, 2024
    Experience end
Overview
Details

Schulich MBA student-consultants will undertake a comprehensive strategic study of your organization and its external environment to identify key strategic issues and develop actionable recommendations - including an implementation plan - to help your organization achieve its goals.

Feedback from past clients indicates that they most appreciate the in-depth analysis and objective assessment of their operations and the new insights and perspectives introduced by the students.

Please note: For this capstone project, only companies/organizations with established products and an existing customer base can be accepted (proxy: $2.5M annual revenue). We cannot accommodate start-ups without a track record.

Deliverables

Final deliverables include:

  1. A 40-page business-style report summarizing the assessment and presenting strategy and action recommendations backed up by specific research appendices with summaries of the purpose, the methodology, and the major findings of the research.
  2. A 20-minute presentation summarizing the research findings and arguing the value of the recommended strategy and action plans.
Project Examples

Beginning in September 2023, a team of six MBA students will spend up to a combined 1,500 total hours completing a comprehensive study of your company and all of its business functions. Based on their in-depth research and analysis, the student-consultants will identify future prospects for the organization and recommend specific strategic actions, including a detailed implementation plan and an outline of the financial implications.

Area of Focus:

Instead of focusing on one area of your business, the team will perform a comprehensive analysis of your organization, including internal (e.g., financial health; customer base; strategic capabilities; human capital) and external (e.g., competitors; industry and market trends; customer behaviour; technological developments) factors. This will lead to insights and recommendations that address the needs of your organization, holistically. However, organizations are encouraged to provide a goal or suggested area of focus to guide the students' direction.

Areas that students may focus on include, but are not limited to:

  • New market entry
  • New product offerings
  • Sale of the company
  • Streamlining operations or channels
  • Changing organizational structure

Typically, a successful application to this course would submit an open-ended project idea with a high-level goal relating to the potential student areas of focus or course learning outcomes. These capstone student-consultants will work with you to decide on the best direction to take the project.

To be eligible for this study, your organization should have annual revenues of $2.5M+ ($1.5M for non-profit organizations). Entrepreneurial companies with a fully developed product/service, some sustained revenue, and a proven track record (i.e., scale-up rather than start-up) may also apply. Please include annual revenue in your application to determine eligibility.

Your project proposal should answer the following questions:

What problem/opportunity would you like students to address through this project? What are the benefits of this project to your organization/customers? What information and/or data set(s), if applicable, will you provide to student teams? Please describe the format. If students will be using publicly available data, can you please provide a link to a representative data set?

Required questions to apply

Companies must answer the following custom questions in order to apply to this experience:

What's your annual revenue? (Eligibility criteria: $2.5M+ in annual revenue ($1.5M for non-profit organizations). Entrepreneurial companies with a fully developed product or service, sustained revenue (at least ~$1M), and a proven track record (i.e., scale-up rather than start-up) may also apply. PLEASE DO NOT APPLY IF YOU DON'T MATCH THIS CRITERION.

We will provide students access to required internal financials (at a minimum, balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements for the past 3 years) and other information as required to complete the project. An NDA will be provided by the Schulich School of Business.

Members of the management team will be available for a minimum of 10 to 12 hours over the course of the project (7 months) for interviews and meetings (virtual or in-person).

We will dedicate a contact/liaison who will respond to information requests and scheduling over the duration of the project.

I and/or members of the executive team will attend the final presentation in person or virtually.