Implementation and challenges of commercial student led consultancy projects at level H

1
Implementation and challenges of commercial
student led consultancy projects at level H

• Background information
• I have been advising final year students engaged
  in Consultancy Projects since 1990-
  BABS,BATS,BALM,
• and BARM and BAHM since 1992.
• I wanted to ensure that our graduates had the
  requisite business and commercial skills that
  would make them stand out and enhance their
  careers.
• The Consultancy Project pre dates and mirrors
  Fusion in that it straddles education, research
  and professional practice.

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Implementation and challenges of commercial
student led consultancy projects at level H

• In a recent article in the Sunday Times about
  graduate employment the value of courses with a
  vocational focus was highlighted
• Companies want more than just academic
  qualifications. The key attributes they identify
  as important and in short supply are
  communication skills, an ability to work in a
  team and an understanding of business, often
  gained through work experience
• There is no doubt that the sandwich year helps to
  prepare finalists for the Consultancy Project at
  level H

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Key benefits of Consultancy Project

• Improves employment prospects
• Improves ability to become a senior manager
• Retail alumni 10 Chief Execs/M.Ds, and 26
  Directors
• plus numerous Heads of Marketing, Heads of
  Buying, etc.
• Develops leadership and team working skills
• Improves consultancy skills
• Enhances presentation skills
• Builds personal networks

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Implementation and challenges of commercial
student led consultancy projects at level H

• Make sure you have selected the companies, and
  the key contact well before the start of the
  autumn term.
• It is preferable to target alumni as they are
  familiar with BU and may well have engaged in a
  consultancy project themselves so understand the
  nature of the challenges faced by the finalists.
• Wherever possible select a well known company who
  has the resources to support the intervention and
  may well hire graduates later in the year

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Critical success factors

• Selecting the right companies at the outset,
  preferably blue chip/well known companies
• Guiding the clients on the strategic nature of
  the projects
• Compatibility of the personalities involved in
  each team and ability to handle conflict
• Focus on the clients needs
• Awareness of underlying problems
• Regular contact with external and internal client
• Expect and demand outstanding interventions
• As a tutor deal with any problems and resolve
  them quickly and effectively

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Critical success factors

• Determination, creativity, teamwork, research
  skills, quantitative/qualitative analysis
• Awareness of constraints
• Establishing of priorities
• Awareness of the clients intentions
• Honesty in specifying what can be delivered
• Encourage groups to select a strong team leader

7
Essential reading

• Levi, D - Group Dynamics for teams
• 2nd edition, Sage publications
• Wickham, P.A Management Consulting,
• FT publishing

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Characteristics of successful teams

• Hackmans 5 factors for successful teams
• Clear direction and goals to focus efforts
• Good leadership to manage internal/external
  relations
• Projects should be complex and challenging
  requiring the integrated efforts of team members
• Necessary resources to perform tasks.
  Client/tutor
• Supportive environment. Organizations must
  allocate sufficient power and authority to allow
  team members to make and implement decisions

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Characteristics of successful teams

• Levi and Slem(1995) 4 factors for team success
• Evaluation and rewards teams need fair and
  objective criteria for evaluation
• Social relations teams need social skills so
  they can resolve internal conflicts and function
  smoothly
• Projects should be complex and challenging
  requiring the integrated efforts of team members
• Task characteristics teams need clear direction
  and goals, tasks that are appropriate for
  teamwork, and work that is challenging and
  important
• Leadership leaders need to facilitate team
  interactions and provide assistance when problems
  occur

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Common features of successful teams

• Teams have clear goals that provide direction and
  motivation
• Team leaders structure tasks and facilitate group
  processes
• Their organizations provide supportive contexts
  for the teams to grow
• Teams are held mutually accountable for the
  success of their teams and rewarded for their
  efforts

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Motivation and social loafing

• The potential of teamwork is that the whole is
  greater than the sum of its parts
• However, working together can cause a decrease in
  motivation due to social loafing, which is the
  reduction of individual contributions when people
  work in groups
• The sucker effect (Johnson Johnson, 1997) is
  when good performers slack off in teams because
  they do not want others to take advantage of them
• When work teams are given challenging tasks, when
  they are rewarded for group success yet have
  identifiable individual performance indicators,
  and when there is commitment to the team, social
  loafing does not occur

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Motivation and social loafing

• A balance of individual and team based rewards is
  necessary to encourage both a commitment to the
  team and an incentive for individual performance.
  (Thompson, 2004)
• The more people value membership in the group,
  the more motivated they are to perform. Cohesive
  groups are less likely to experience social
  loafing (Karau Williams, 1997)
• Highly cohesive groups have more commitment to
  their tasks and perform better (Wech, Mossholder,
  Steel, Bennett, 1998)

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Cooperation and Competition

• When individuals or teams in an organization
  compete against each other, changes occur that
  prevent the team from being successful (Tjosvold,
  1995)
• A successful team has members who work together
  to reach a common goal. When team members compete
  against one another, individual goals can
  conflict with the team goal. Team members then
  distrust one another because they are uncertain
  of one anothers motives. Over time, internal
  competition reduces communication within the
  team.

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Cooperation and Competition

• Groups that work cooperatively have less tension,
  fewer conflicts, and fewer verbal confrontations
  (Tjosvold, 1995)
• Team members sometimes go along with the team
  leaders solution to avoid disagreements and
  conflict. This can lead to poor decisions and the
  formation of sub groups.
• Team members should speak up in meetings and
  communicate their real feelings to avoid future
  fragmentation.

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Consultancy Projects Feedback

• Finalist feedback
• I feel that the Consultancy Project has and
  will prove to be the most worthwhile and
  important piece of work that I have undertaken
  this year. I believe that it is the commercial
  experience that this project provides which sets
  the Bournemouth retail degree apart from others

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Consultancy Projects Feedback

• Finalist feedback
• Overall the Consultancy Project has played an
  invaluable part in my development this year and I
  believe that the experience will stand me in good
  stead to leave University and move into an
  excellent graduate position.

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Consultancy Projects Feedback

• Finalist feedback
• Effectively the Consultancy Project is what
  separates the Retail Management degree at
  Bournemouth from other degrees and is highly
  respected amongst employers

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Consultancy Project

• Group report 50
• Group presentation 50

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Consultancy Projects 2011/12

• B Q
• What should the B Q customer proposition be
  within the marketplace for the Shelving and
  Storage category to improve both its sales and
  margin contribution? Team to consider market
  position, market size, trends, customer decision
  tree, B Q versus competitors for range, space,
  merchandising layouts/displays,
  attributes/characteristics, merchandising flow.

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Consultancy Projects 2011/12

• Argos
• Argos wants to increase its share of the
  university/college
• spend. Given the multi channel capabilities of
  Argos, what
• recommendations would you suggest to increase our
  share
• of this segment? Plan a multi channel campaign to
  drive
• sales and market share for the start of term,
  2012

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Consultancy Projects 2011/12

• Philips
• How can Philips optimise the market for
• LED technology products for the general
• public, the public sector and small and
• medium enterprises?

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Consultancy Projects 2011/12

• Poole Town Centre
• A retail strategy for Poole optimisation of
• key retail centres in Poole- Dolphin
• Shopping Centre, the Quay, the High Street,
• and the new Central Regeneration Area.

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Consultancy Projects 2011/12

• Tesco
• Tesco has a vast amount of Petrol Filling
• Stations, each with small footage shops yet
• large customer footfall. Do we make the
• most of the range and layout of these sites
• and what can we improve.
• In scope improve product ranges, retail
• section store layout, space given to product
• types, outdoor range, design and marketing.

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Consultancy Projects 2011/12

• Waitrose
• How could CRM (customer relationship
  management) be used to drive personalisation
  within Waitrose stores?

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Consultancy Projects 2011/12

• West Quay
• The impact of multi channel shopping and
• mobile communications on prime Shopping
• Malls and an exploration of the opportunities
• it generates. For example, in centre
• collection facilities, ordering on Amazon, etc.

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Consultancy Projects 2011/12

• WHSmith
• Identify what a WHSmith store in the Departures
  Lounge of
• an international airport within the UK could look
  like in 5
• years time including, but not limited to
• What products are sold, how products are
  merchandised and
• promoted, what services are offered, how
  customers are
• served, and how new technologies might improve
  both the
• customer experience and the efficiency of the
  business.
• You should aim to isolate and expand upon the
  changes and
• innovations that will make the biggest difference
  to the
• success of the business in 2016, explaining
  clearly how these
• can be implemented and what their benefits will
  be.

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Question time

• I am happy to answer any questions