Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "MGT 470"
COURSE NAME: "Strategic Consulting"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2023

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Riccardo Maiolini
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MW 8:30 AM 9:45 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisites: MGT 301, MKT 301. Recommended: FIN 301
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is intended to introduce students to the field of management consulting from the perspective of both the individual consultant and the consulting firms. It is important to those who are especially interested in consulting careers, those whose current or planned jobs involve staff consulting or line management using consultants, as well as those who are planning to launch their own business activity and need to be familiar with the consultancy attitude and mindset.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

The objective is to give students a clear understanding of what a career in strategy consulting is about on a day-to-day basis and to give them a heads up to enter top consulting firms by actively exercising problem-solving, decision-making and business writing skills. More generally, this course will help any student who is planning a management career where problem-solving, decision-making and writing skills are crucial.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Students who successfully complete the course will:

· Acquire knowledge of management consulting practices.

· Learn to address problems that are commonly encountered in management consulting.

· Develop and practice the ability to establish a consulting practice

· Assess their inclination for the field of consulting.

Specifically, they will be able to:

· Identify key factors and issues relevant to a consulting engagement

· Elaborate the data understanding the explicit and implicit linkages

· Present analyses of organizational problems in an accurate, clear and interesting manner from the perspective of a consultant

· Be able to write reports and white papers as general outcomes

Students will also be exposed to the recruitment process used by strategy consulting firms. They will be given a chance to practice cases and will attend a mock interview session led conjointly with a team from a leading international consultancy company (eg. KPMG; Ernst & Young; Price Waterhouse Cooper; McKinsey; Deloitte) in partnership with the Continuing Education Division.

TEXTBOOK:

NONE

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
	• Class participation and attendance (10%) • Mid-term case analysis (20%) • Final consulting field project paper (30) • Final team presentation (30%) • Peer to peer collaborative evaluation (10%)

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
This course is intended to introduce students to the field of management consulting from the perspective of both the individual consultant and the consulting firms. It is important to those who are especially interested in consulting careers, those whose current or planned jobs involve staff consulting or line management using consultants, as well as those who are planning to launch their own business activity and need to be familiar with the consultancy attitude and mindset.

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

Week	Class	Topic

1	1	Introduction
1	2	Problem based methodology
		I State the Problem
2	3	The TOSCA Framework
2	4	Situation Analysis
		II Structure the Problem
3	5	Pyramids and Trees
3	6	Analytical Frameworks
4	7	Case study
4	8	Case study
		III Solve the Problem
5	9	Eight Degrees of Analysis
5	10	Design Thinking
6	11	Review Class
6	12	Mid Term
7	13	Selected strategy frameworks
		PESTLE 5 forces BMC
	14	Selected strategy frameworks
		VRIO Boston Consulting Matrix Artur Dilittle Matrix
8	15	Case study
8	16	Selected organization and change frameworks
		75s Kotter McKinsey Influences Models
9	17	Case study
9	18	Selected finance framework
		P&L framework Breakdown structure Breakeven ROI
10	19	Selected finance framework
		WACC NPV Valuation methods
	20	Case study
		IV Sell the solution
11	21	Core Message and storyline
11	22	Create an Effective, Modular Report
		Mock interview session (TBD)
12	23	Use Conceptual Charts
12	24	Review Class
13	25	Consulting field project presentation
13	26	Consulting field project presentation
14	27	Consulting field project presentation
14	28	Consulting field project presentation