The most valuable aspect of this experience was the opportunity to help an organization that I love to enhance its business. The most challenging experience was to fully understand the core of the problem, and start writing from it. Putting pieces of information together and connecting them directly to the problem was not an easy task for me. However, at the end, I felt completely satisfied when I realized that I made a big difference in people’s lives just applying what I was studying and writing about. It was the feeling of plenitude of helping people to become better ones, and organizations to develop their business.
Thaissa / “Instituição Beneficente Nosso Lar” Case
AYUDA is an organization I care deeply about. I think it is a necessary resource for diabetes communities who have limited access to knowledge about how to live with the condition and how to manage their life in a healthy way. I really feel strongly about wanting to enact positive change in the world, and I feel as though this organization works to do just that. Working on the case for this organization gave me the opportunity to get an inside look on how nonprofits operate as well as the challenges they face in their work. I learned a lot about the industry they operate in and if I choose to work in the non-profit sphere, this information will be extremely valuable.What’s next?I feel that this project was an important part of my journey in becoming a global manager. Having the skills to create a consultancy report such as the one we worked this semester is essential for understanding how to analyze different markets around the world while simultaneously understanding each area’s unique culture and customs. I learned so much about my organization as well as the two markets we studied extensively and will bring this knowledge with me into my future career. I am happy to have learned these various frameworks that I can use to breakdown various organizations and markets, and feel that these elements are some of the most important topics I have learned this entire semester
Hannah / “AYUDA” Consulting Case
I think it was a wonderful idea of Dr. Ivy to let us choose a consulting case to work on for the master course, especially in biotech. The industry isn’t clear on how someone could move from a site to a corporate position and with an MBA that’s where students really want to be. The professional capital perspective, this case helped me outline my biopharma trajectory. It also helped me improve in my love for solving problems and collaboration to learn different perspectives.On the social capital investment, I find people’s stories to be fascinating and working with four wonderful people who I would never have had the opportunity to work with otherwise was very interesting. I feel that when working on a project, if you can understand where someone is coming from or how they are looking at the same problem, then we can solve the issues of the problem more efficiently than if we were just strong-arming our own perspective.What’s next?I think I’m going to use this case in interviews when I move on from my current role. It covers a variety of situations from the PESTEL model that affect a drug going into market or a company building a facility in a country. Understanding social implications also help when being audited by different regulating countries while being a US manufacturer. Being aware of their values, norms, and beliefs will allow me to not make an error that could be seen as unprofessional.
Jenn / “Novo Nordisk” Consulting Case
The space I envision for myself in the global market is in a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) department for a large scale company to make positive, sustainable changes in the large scale. The AYUDA case was an excellent opportunity for me to dive into something that I care about and genuinely try to help an organization that helps others. AYUDA operates in the non-profit space which I am very much interested in. Although healthcare is not a particular field of interest for me, they are contributing to the greater good.I wanted to really understand the issues that those that are in the company face in order to properly come to a recommendation that would actually be viable. One of the most important aspects of being a consultant and a leader is to also be a listener. In the effort to generate value, I did a deep dive of secondary research into the markets of Argentina and Mexico to see if these would be viable options for AYUDA’s next markets. It was important for me to make sure that I give recommendations that were based on supported logic.What’s Next?This project was a perfect example of how I can apply my international business knowledge to organizations that are trying to do work that results in a positive impact on the world. Going forward, I will be able to show potential employers that I have the know-how and skill to be able to do research and recommend strategy backed by this research.
Joshua / “AYUDA” Consulting Case
The case making journey was beneficial for me in terms of encouragement and thinking outside the box. I improved my strategic thinking by solving a real-life dilemma as well as by being a consultant to a small retail business. I learned to communicate and convince my client, a business owner, to discuss his business with me. I also learned to make my clients feel comfortable regarding the business information and its confidentiality.
Ishraka / “A Convenience Store’s Dilemma of Growth” Case
Since I was a kid, all the Airtek employees know me and see me growing up as “the daughter of the owner,” which made highly challenging for me to change the way how the Airtek employees and my parents see me and establish myself as a future company’s executive. Through the BE-EDGE process of my capstone project for Masters in International Management, I conducted research, analyzation and consultation for the Airtek case. I was able to nurture my skills, sharpen my voice and views, and show Airtek managers my expertise in international management. This project provided me with the opportunity to show a different dimension of me that they had not have a chance to see before.
Sherry / “How Could Airtek Win Shanghai’s Market?” Case
The capstone course was very meaningful in enabling me to reflect on my skills and abilities and build attainable goals for my professional development. It provided a vehicle for this process and was an opportunity for me to flex my acquired knowledge as well as stretch my abilities in a "real-life" and tangible way. I was free to explore the impacts of business strategy in the music industry; this made the project more personal and meaningful. In my professional career I have leveraged our The Lilypad capstone project in interviews and it has proven a competitive advantage over other applicants and highlighted my strategic thinking skills.
The BE-EDGE experience allowed me to find the source of the problem in my family business. After graduation, I went back to my country and applied the knowledge into a practical issue. For example, the consulting case revealed that the culture was critical for my organization – more than other management components. Though I still had a long way to learn and needed to gain more experience, I relied on the BE-EDGE experience to establish myself as a transformational force. I introduced a task force effort to transform the culture, and together with my team, we made it successfully. The fundamental and practical knowledge we have learned from Dr. Ivy was the greatest power and a lifetime skill for us to be the survivor in the future, and it also helped me establish my own voice as a leader.
Henry / “JL Cambridge International, Inc. (Taiwan branch)” Case
Being a recent graduate from the undergraduate level, I was absolutely terrified at what the future would hold for me. The biggest driver for me to pursue further education so early on was to feel more secure in myself and my abilities to perform in the career path I wish to pursue. Prior to taking a course with Professor Ivy, I had no idea where to start or how to start defining my path and creating a competitive portfolio of my characteristics. From day one in professor Ivy's program, I knew that I would find these answers. Primarily, I have been using the knowledge of crafting my EDGE to create a more in-demand portfolio for myself that is targeted at the career I want. Much like we learn quite early on in her book, I was able to define my industry, and then ultimately following those steps throughout the semester, I was able to envision myself at the point I want to get to in my career; something I was unable to see before. Also, beyond crafting my EDGE, I purposely chose to complete a second course with professor Ivy as the information from these classes directly enriched my professional goals.
Tamara / MSIM “Beyond Meets” Consulting Case
The consulting project was yet another way for me to get a hands-on experience of applying the concepts I have learned, especially considering my group chose to explore a very close family friend’s company. This meant that I was responsible for gathering the necessary data from my connection and I had a large role of responsibility for the project. This alone taught me how to properly communicate with high-level executives of a company, despite me knowing the said person for my entire life and being as close as family.It really showed me how the business world operates outside of class and the knowledge I had learned in class helped me outline the project in greater detail and it gave me a solid foundation to pitch the project from. By the end of the project, I really felt as though I worked for a consulting company on this project. Ultimately, I felt that the project was a great way to demonstrate the importance that all the little, minute details that we explored in class and that all of the little things must be accounted for in order to successfully evaluate the “going global” decision. In my future, I can see myself referencing this project.
Nicholas / “Threshold.world” Consulting Case