Undergraduate Course: Enterprise Consultancy Project (BUST10120)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This project based course provides an opportunity to apply, in an integrated fashion, the knowledge and skills acquired elsewhere in their degree programme, in the context of a new small but growing business. |
| Course description |
This project based course provides an opportunity to apply, in an integrated fashion, the knowledge and skills acquired elsewhere in their degree programme, in the context of a new small but growing business. It aims to develop inter-personal, analytical and presentation skills; to give detailed insights into the challenges and problems of a growing new business; and to gain practical knowledge in a live company of how these problems may be overcome and growth successfully generated.
There will be a period of formal workshops and preparation at the start of the course. These will introduce consulting, the consulting process and the skills and tasks necessary to successfully undertake a short-term consulting assignment in a new growth orientated business.
The central part of the course involves a consultancy assignment undertaken for the owner-manager of a new local business, to be recruited before the course starts. The businesses will be chosen under the direction of the course co-ordinator, who will also agree the briefs with the companies in general terms. Students will be assigned to teams of between three to six members. It then becomes the responsibility of the team to negotiate the details of the project with the client, to negotiate resources (such as office space, telephone, faxes etc.), to schedule meetings and to produce, and present, such interim reports as the client deems necessary.
The course will start with workshops on the consultancy process, research methodology, and advanced small business growth. Part two starting on Week 3 will be to conduct the consultancy research for the chosen company. Clinics will be provided to advise and mentor the students. Part 3 starting on Week 9 will conclude the project by providing workshops on presentation skills, report writing, and presentations to the companies.
PART 1
Week 1
Introduction to the course
What is consultancy? Special issues of consulting in small businesses The consultancy process.
Special issues in planning the growth of a new small firm.
Week 2
Managing the client: Expectations and Interpersonal Issues.
Research and Methodological issues/How to conduct consultancy research.
Week 3
Evening session - meeting the companies and discuss the briefs
PART 2 The consultancy projects
During this period the group must maintain regular contact with the company, and with the course tutors at the project clinics.
Week 4 Seminar on Group Work Dynamics
Week 5 Project Clinics
Week 6 Project Clinics
Week 7 Report Writing Workshop and Presentation Skills Workshop
PART 3 Concluding the Project
Week 8 Project Clinics
Week 9 Times to fit into convenience of companies. Presentations to company.
Draft report to be ready by the start of this week .
Week 10 Final Report to be handed in to companies and for final assessment.
ETHICS
All research conducted in the project must be monitored by the course co-ordinators to ensure it conforms to the ethical standards of the University.
Student Learning Experience
Clinics will review progress and give the tutor an opportunity to offer suggestions and advice on any problems relating to the conduct of the assignment. It is not necessary for every member of the team to attend each clinic BUT at least one team member will be expected to report in.
Additional seminars on group work dynamics have now been included in week 4 and these are designed to prepare students better for working in groups.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Innovation & Entrepreneurship (BUST08015) and Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation (BUST10117) equivalents |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2017/18, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 30 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Assessment will be in four phases:
1) The Group Report to the Company (40%)
2) The Presentation to the Company (10%)
3) Reflective diary (10%)
3) An individual assignment based on the consultancy experience (40%)
1. Group Report
At the end of the consulting assignment each student TEAM is expected to produce a consultancy report. This must be a quality, typed and bound management report capable of professional dissemination of findings to the client. Ideally it should be informative but brief (no more than 20 pages of main report, though appendices can be added as required). It should contain:
i) an executive summary
ii) a clear description of the brief and its background
iii) the approach taken
iv) the work/research carried out
v) the findings
vi) conclusions
vii) recommendations
2. Presentation
The written report will form the basis for a formal presentation made to the client company at the end of the assignment. Each member of the team has to contribute to the presentation and answer questions. The overall presentation mark will mostly be based on the group effort, but there is also a mark for individual contribution worth 5% of the total marks.
The presentations should also follow the core structure of the report.
The Diary
This should be a weekly log of activities kept by each student, with reflective comments on what major problems were encountered and how they were dealt with. The diary should be countersigned by the other team members.
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| Feedback |
Generic feedback on your coursework, together with individual marks, will be available on Learn on DATE (to be confirmed). You will also be able to review your individual feedback electronically via Grademark on Learn from SAME DATE.
Your examination marks will be posted on Learn (together with generic feedback and examination statistics) as soon as possible after the Boards of Examiners¿ meeting (normally end of January/beginning of February). You will have the opportunity to look at your examination scripts in early February in the UG Office (Room 1.11, Business School, 29 Buccleuch Place). Note that you will not be able to remove any examination scripts from the UG Office as they may be required by the Board of Examiners. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand and critically discuss practical management and understand the problems faced by a real start-up company in planning and implementing business growth.
- Gain practical experience of undertaking business consultancy.
- Understand and critically discuss entrepreneurial growth processes in new and small firms.
- Demonstrate academic understanding and practical skills of the consultancy process.
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Reading List
Kubr, M. (2005) Management Consulting: A guide to the Profession (4th edition). ILO Geneva
Margerison, C. (2001: 2nd Edition) Managerial Consulting Skills: A Practical Guide, Gower.
Wickham, P. and Wicham, L. (2008: 3rd Edition) Management Consulting: Delivering an Effective Project, FT Prentice Hall.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Enhance academic understanding and practical skills of the consultancy process.
Enhance the career potential of students by developing consultancy skills.
Cognitive skills
On completion of the course students should be able to:
- Analyse different business situations where entrepreneurial growth opportunities are present or possible.
- Generate and assess critically growth options and strategies arising from their consultancy research briefs.
- Assess the resources required to implement growth plans effectively.
- Develop a business growth assessment and plan with others that can guide the growth process and access resources.
Transferable skills
Students will gain skills in:
- Working together in a team to deliver a multifaceted project to a tight deadline.
- Working with entrepreneurs and business managers in pursuit of common goals.
- Carrying out independent research.
- How to work closely with business clients in a professional manner.
- Learning how to present a live consultancy report concisely and professionally to a panel of clients.
- How to cost a consultancy project .
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| Keywords | ECP |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Benjamin Spigel
Tel: (0131 6)51 5552
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Anne Cunningham
Tel: (0131 6)50 3827
Email: |
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