Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/58915
"Employers who sponsor the educations of your students already think your program has value. It makes sense to ask them if they would like to realize more value by sponsoring a global consultancy project." —Gary McLaughlin, University of Manchester MBA project coordinator to plant cashews and legumes. Suddenly, the students had to learn everything there was to know about cashew and legume farming—and revise their entire approach to the project. In late April, all teams finalized their recommendations to their clients: n The Mad Imports team developed a new pricing strategy and a new accounting system in Excel. It consolidated Word files that the company had used to track orders into a single customer relationship management system in Access. n The ALT team created a preliminary business plan for the farming co-op, complete with cost and revenue projections. n The Habitat for Humanity team recommended, among other things, that the organization create a system of pre- payments to give borrowers a sense of ownership in the loan process and mitigate risk. The team also built a Web An artisan from Mad Imports board—the students did all the work necessary to make the consultancy projects happen. "If I or another faculty member had designed the tem- plate for the project, secured the funding, and told the stu- dents, 'Here's where you're going, and here's what you'll be doing,' it would have been a very different experience for them. It wouldn't have had the same hands-on involve- ment or the same meaningfulness," says Keohane. "Much of the value of the GSE consultancy project is that students thought of the possibility of going to Madagascar. They chose the companies, they made the schedule, and they secured the funding." That level of involvement and initiative creates an envi- ronment where students take ownership of the experience, he adds. In fact, Keohane notes that two students who participated in the GSE Madagascar consultancy projects returned to the country once the project and the school year ended. They are currently working with nonprofits they had encountered during their research. "GSE participants may never write business plans for coconut plantations again, but they learn the unique prob- lems that businesses in these markets face," says Barry, now an MBA graduate. "They face new challenges and stretch their skills and thinking in new ways." In other words, these students emphasize, global consultancy experiences provide students with opportunities that no traditional course or study trip can easily duplicate. For more information about the Global Social Enterprise program at Yale University's School of Management, visit students.som.yale.edu/sigs/GSE/. site, created an e-newsletter, and developed new volunteer opportunities to help Habitat create and maintain better relationships with its volunteers and donors. GSE volunteers take special pride in the completion of the Madagascar project. Not only did they provide a valuable service to their chosen companies, but they also designed and implemented the entire program from start to finish. Nathaniel Keohane, assistant professor of economics at the Yale School of Management, served as the GSE advi- sor. He emphasizes that his role was mainly as a sounding Tapping Global Potential As these examples show, global student consultancy proj- ects can take many forms—they can be faculty-run or stu- dent-run, university-funded or privately funded, at some expense to clients or completely pro bono. Business schools can choose the particular features of their own programs according to their unique circumstances. What's important, say these directors, is that students emerge from their experi- ences with enhanced skills and changed perspectives. These directors also would like to see more business schools start their own global consultancy programs, so that more organizations are aware of the expertise and enthusiasm student consultants bring to the toughest global business problems. Their stories offer a starting point for any school that wants to add a global consultancy to its curriculum—and a rich, worldwide network of corporations and nonprofits to its contacts. n z BizEd JULY/AUGUST 2006 41