Ideal Project Characteristics

Projects A good consulting project is one that six MBA students can complete in a single 14-week semester. Good projects often have a strong research and analysis thrust. Combinations of personal interviews, database searches and limited surveying tend to work well where data collection is required. Large-scale surveys rarely can be completed in one semester. Likewise, projects with a heavy implementation component are problematic given student time constraints, lack of organizational resources and authority.

The project should address an issue or concern that has visibility with senior management, but that may not have been deeply investigated thus far. Successful projects tend to be those that the client organization already has some background information and experience with and now wishes to explore further.

The client organization should be comfortable with sharing information of a sensitive nature. Non-disclosure agreements are commonplace and taken very seriously by the Smith School faculty and students.

Consulting engagements cover a broad spectrum of issues in both the traditional functional areas such as Finance, Marketing, Strategy and Human Resource Management, as well as cross-functional projects investigating the impact of leading edge information technology on business processes and client relationships, for example in Electronic Commerce and Supply Chain Management.

Examples of Past MBA Consulting Projects include:

Decision and Information Technology

  • Automated Electronic Bill Payment Service
  • Metadata Warehouse Design
  • Online Service
  • ROI on Electronic Commerce
  • Sales Decision Support System
  • Web Development
  • Econometric Forecasting
  • Staffing Decision Model

Logistics, Business and Public Policy

  • Inventory Simulation
  • Production Forecasting and Scheduling

Marketing

  • Best Practices Analysis
  • Competitive Analysis
  • Customer Lifetime Value Analysis
  • Direct Marketing Strategy
  • Government Contracting Analysis
  • Marketing Planning and Strategy
  • Marketing Research
  • New Product Development
  • Product Distribution
  • Product Extension
  • Product/Service Launch
  • Product Packaging
  • Vertical Market Analysis
  • Web Marketing

Management & Organization

  • Core Competency Development
  • Employee Evaluation and Feedback
  • Human Resource Planning
  • Performance Assessment
  • Team Behavior Development
  • Industry Analysis

Finance

  • Acquisition Study
  • IPO Analysis
  • Worth Valuation