2012/2013  BA-HA_E168  Competing in North America: the consultant’s perspective

English Title

Competing in North America: the consultant’s perspective

Course information
Language	English
Exam ECTS	7.5 ECTS
Type	Elective
Level	Bachelor
Duration	One Semester
Course period	Spring Monday 11.40-14.25, week 6-11,15-18. Changes may occur.
Time Table	Please see course schedule at e-Campus
Max. participants	30
Study board	Study Board for BSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
Patricia Plackett - Department of Operations Management
Main Category of the Course
Innovation and entrepreneurship Management Corporate and Business Strategy
Last updated on 25-10-2012

Learning objectives

This course aims to provide students with an opportunity to develop the skill sets particularly valuable for consulting positions, and business advisory roles in general, with a particular focus on the North American business context. By the end of the course the student should be able to: 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the models, concepts and theories in the curriculum aimed at facilitating effective case study analysis and solution formulation and presentation. 2. Demonstrate an understanding of practice examples in the curriculum aimed at facilitating effective case study analysis and solution formulation and presentation. 3. Demonstrate an understanding of business practices in North America based on the case studies and other materials from the curriculum.

Prerequisite

A basic knowledge and understanding of business management practices.

Examination

Super Consultant – North America: Learning case competition skills based on North American cases

Super Consultant – North America: Learning case competition skills based on North American cases: Type of test Oral with Written Assignment Marking scale 7-step scale Second examiner Second internal examiner Exam period Spring Term Aids Please, see the detailed regulations below Duration 20 Minutes

Examination

Individual oral examination (20 minutes, no preparation) based on a 10-page mini-project – a Case Study Team Reflections Report that provides team insights on their leaning process in relation to the three learning objectives for the course. 1 page is counted as 2,275 characters including spaces. The make-up/re-exam will be held in the same way and with the same conditions as the ordinary exam.

Course content

Case study competitions play a central role in this course. These competitions can help students to finely tune their capabilities in analyzing business cases, in presenting solutions and in responding to challenging questions about their solutions. Because case study competitions require small teams of students to work under severe time constraints, they also offer practical experience with team building for intensively focused cooperative learning.   The case method is highly valued in business schools around the world as a way of providing students with exposure to everyday issues in the increasingly complex world of global business. In this course the cases will all focus on North America – USA, Canada and Mexico – in order to provide insights on the intricacies of federal, regional and city governments, history and culture and a range of other factors that are shaping current business climates in North America. The course will make use of case studies produced by Ivey, Harvard, Darden and other institutions that cover diverse business topics focusing on corporate priorities today including sustainability in a range of industries. Because case studies simulate the actual business context as precisely as possible, the value of using current North American cases cannot be overemphasized.   The course will also draw on the CBS partnership with the University of British Columbia through some specific virtual initiatives with faculty and students in its Sauder School of Business aimed at adding additional insights on North American business consulting.   There will be competitions held throughout the course with the winning student team having an opportunity to represent CBS at one of the case competitions in North America. Judges for presentations will be invited from the major consulting firms in Copenhagen.   The grade for the course is based on an oral examination that has as its starting point a Case Study Team Reflections Report that presents the insights of the team on their learning processes related to the three course learning objectives.   The course's development of personal competences: The course aims to provide students with an opportunity to gain practical hands‐on experience with the highly competitive world of consulting specifically focused on North American businesses and to reflect academically on theory and practice relevant to this subject.

Teaching methods

The intention is that students work in teams of four on a range of North American case studies, including the often understudied SMEs. Presentation of the solutions developed by the student teams to external judges from consulting firms is a central element of the course. The lecture content is intended to support the case study work of the teams and the feedback provided on the case presentations made is intended to fine-tune student analysis and presentation skills.

Expected literature

The literature for the course will include case studies on American, Canadian and Mexican businesses and a range of papers chosen to provide useful information related to the analysis of case studies, the formulation of solutions and the presentation of recommendations. Selected case studies.   Articles on theory and practice relevant to the case studies. Articles on best practices relevant to case study analysis, solution formulation and recommendation presentation.