SPRING 2005
VOL. 6 NO. 2

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LEADERS Digest:    Grading "The Apprentice"   •   Global EMBA Program   •   Goodwill Gets a Helping Hand   •   More

Goodwill wanted to explore employment markets that involved the use of technology. They were particularly interested in the possibilities of document imaging services. “Our members view document imaging as a better opportunity than janitorial work, which is the core of our business currently,” says Doug Allen, Goodwill’s manager of contracts development. “A job using technology is very exciting to our constituents.”

Document imaging also had appeal because it offered job opportunities for Goodwill clients who struggle with severe disabilities. Before documents are processed they have to be unstapled and unclipped. Folds need to be smoothed out. This presents opportunities for those severely disabled individuals who might otherwise have a difficult time finding a job.

Through an MBA Consulting Project, Smith’s Advisory and Collaborative Services helped Goodwill flesh out their ideas, providing a tremendous amount of research and background information. Allen and Patrick Daniere, Goodwill’s director of membership development, worked with a consulting group comprised of second-year MBA students advised by one of Smith’s top-ranked faculty. “The consulting group helped us synthesize our knowledge and focus our future efforts,” says Allen. “One chart they produced helped me understand where Goodwill fit into the scope of the industry. It was a real eye-opener. We realized we were only playing in a certain-sized field, and that we could expand the field we were playing in. It was a very insightful analysis.”  Daniere adds, “The group opened doors for us. They spent a lot of time developing contacts with prominent members of the industry, which would not have been possible on our own. That has been invaluable for us; we have already begun to follow up.”

Goodwill Industries International holds no authority over member organizations, acting rather as an advisor and facilitator for member organizations around the country that bear the Goodwill brand. “Individually, a Goodwill in Ohio may not have the time or resources to explore the challenges and pitfalls involved in a new business line. Our job is to present potential opportunities, identify new business lines and help them leverage best practices. The consulting group’s final report is a great tool we can use to communicate these ideas throughout our 207 member organizations,” says Daniere.

The MBA consultants received top marks from the nonprofit. “They were very prepared, they were extremely enthusiastic, and they were very responsive,” says Daniere. “They demonstrated great teamwork.”

Allen and Daniere found the MBA team to be outstanding, but they also appreciated the time and effort put in by the team’s advisor, Smith adjunct professor of marketing Charles Skuba. Under his guidance, Goodwill’s initial project scope was pared down to a more manageable level. And even after the project was complete, Skuba continues to answer questions and provide insight to Goodwill’s executives.

“The MBA Consulting Program gives our students experience with real-time, real-world business problems,” says Scott Koerwer, assistant dean for executive education, entrepreneurship and marketing communications. “This team really helped Goodwill unlock its potential by identifying some key areas of new growth. The fact that it was an organization as worthy as Goodwill makes the project particularly satisfying.”

For more information about consulting projects, contact Christine La Cola, managing director of Smith Advisory and Collaborative Services.