MBAD710

This course exposes students to complex real world business problems requiring the application of business tools and concepts. Students in the class are broken into teams of approximately four to seven students. The course is an interdisciplinary experience incorporating knowledge the students in each team have gained through prior college or graduate level course work.

Under faculty supervision, students are assigned to teams that will be “hired” by local businesses and non-profit organizations under a consulting arrangement and tasked with evaluating a specific real-world corporate problem. Projects are primarily sourced from area for-profit and nonprofit companies and must be vetted in advance by the MBA Director and Faculty Advisor. Potential projects are judged on their own merits and measured against the learning objectives set forth below.

The number and size of the teams will be determined by the complexity of the projects available as well as the professional skills of the cohort. Teams of 4-7 students collaborate with their faculty advisor, company executives and team members. Students are evaluated based on their individual contributions, the team’s written report and oral presentation, peer reviews, company partner input, and the collective quality of their analysis. Teams are responsible for establishing their own division of labor, data collection and analysis. The division of labor should include the selection of a team leader. After 15 weeks of preparation and rigorous industry and company analysis, each team submits a written report and delivers a formal recommendation to company executives.