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.
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
Key benefits of Consultancy Project
• Improves employment prospects
• Improves ability to become a senior manager
Retail alumni – 10 Chief Execs/M.D’s, 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
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
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 client’s 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
Critical success factors
• Determination, creativity, teamwork, research skills,
quantitative/qualitative analysis
• Awareness of constraints
• Establishing of priorities
• Awareness of the client’s intentions
• Honesty in specifying what can be delivered
• Encourage groups to select a strong team leader
Essential reading
• Levi, D - Group Dynamics for teams
2nd edition, Sage publications
• Wickham, P.A – Management Consulting,
FT publishing
Characteristics of successful teams
Hackman’s 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
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
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
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
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)
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 another’s motives. Over time, internal
competition reduces communication within the team.
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 leader’s
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.
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’
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.’
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’
Consultancy Project
Group report
50%
Group presentation 50%
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.
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
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?
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.
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.
Consultancy Projects 2011/12
Waitrose
How could CRM (customer relationship
management) be used to drive personalisation within
Waitrose stores?
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.
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.
Question time
I am happy to answer any questions