Regarding the semester market entry consulting project, I found the experience to be quite unique because I have never been required to conduct a research project before, no less one that involves working with a real company and providing genuine recommendations for its operations and business model.
Besides the fact that I was able to apply information that I learned in the class and gained an understanding of how grueling collaboration can be at times in the workplace, I also enhanced my social and professional capital by learning how to apply my acquired knowledge to a realistic business setting, communicate effectively in a business context, and present a convincing analysis for a dilemma faced by a business.
What’s next?
I plan to utilize this capital by fostering relationships with as many people as possible in a working environment, communicating consistently with those in command, and offering a critical global-minded perspective when dealing with large-scale issues. I hope to implement these skills in my repertoire in order to pursue a successful career in the business sector, and I plan to further investigate world business affairs as well as experiment with my newly acquired competencies in future courses at Northeastern that require realistic evaluations rather than hypothetical solutions.
Joshua / “Threshold.world” Consulting Case
I have been using BE-EDGE to prepare for my interviews and I got my dream job! I use BE-EDGE to gain employers’ trust and enable them to picture themselves working with me in the future. Based on my personal experience and observation, people usually buy products that are emotionally related to them. It is the same rationale when hiring managers are making job offers. There are so many prospective job candidates who have the same degrees and the same years of experience as you do. This means that many people seem to be qualified for the job position.
Through my own experience, I have found Employers are looking for employees who can solve challenges and support company’s current success and future development, so understanding your core values and the industry that you wish to devote yourself to is very important. Following the advice in the Crafting Your Edge for Today's Job Market, I do heavy research on company’s organizational culture, evaluate main issues, find root causes, and devise action plans to address problems. I implement my plans, monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of the plans, and demonstrate the results to employers to solidify trusted relationships between us and achieve future goals. I have found that this strategy not only can be utilized when you are working, but also can be utilized when you are searching for a new job opportunity.
I have always wanted to be a nonprofit consultant, so this experience served as the perfect opportunity to take what I have learned in my MS in Nonprofit Management program at Northeastern and put it into practice with an organization. I learned the value of listening to leaders of organizations and understanding what is most important to them for their mission and how I can be a part of the solution to their challenges. I learned that in order to change or influence behavior surrounding differences in belief systems, I need to spend a lot of time understanding where they are coming from and why they believe what they do.
Abigail / “Sustainable Development of a Nonprofit Organization for Veterans” Case
Working on the HC consulting case gave me confidence to seek strategic partnerships in my own career. As a commercial real estate agent, I have used the skills learned from the case to form alliances with institutional real estate companies and investors. Working with foreign investors and international companies with an interest in US assets, I have found it very helpful to consider the frameworks discussed in the case when working with my clients.
Ali Choucri / HC Security and Investments” 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
The case writing competition was a very rewarding experience, not just for me, but for those who were involved in the case itself. When we look at an organization on the outside, we actually have no clue of what devious behaviors may lurk on the inside from the perspective as an employee. As a future entrepreneur and CEO, I have learned to never dismiss my employees’ concerns. I believe that the "Making Your Case" experience with Dr. Ivy has allowed me to grow professionally and personally and has given me technical writing skills that will become sharper with time. From here, I will be starting my own corporation 4Q2015. I also want to become a business consultant to Disabled Veterans, like myself, who want to start and grow a business but don’t know how. I would also help existing businesses succeed by isolating organizational issues that may cause dysfunctional conflict.
Edward / “Genesis HealthCare LaPlata” Case
My biggest takeaway from the BE-EDGE journey with Dr. Ivy was the experience of interacting with real corporate problems and finding the means to better answer my CEO’s dilemma. The emotion behind researching, interviewing, and feeling that I can add value made this experience so enriching.
What is next? I am planning to implement the plan that I suggested, and the company is willing to sponsor my travel and put in place what was written
Mauricio Rey / “ZenithOptimedia, The Agency ROI” Case
The Consulting Case in my Capstone course ended up being relevant in ways I didn’t expect. Working through this case brought attention to a different way I want to look at my future. I have always felt that by not fully understanding what I want to do with my career, I wasn’t able to make strides until I figured it out. This project showed me there are far more aspects to success then a defined vision. I understand now that an emergent strategy can truly set me up for success through analyzing my core competencies like we did with the consulting case. In addition, our topic was very relevant to the industry I am going into. Working with a distribution company and analyzing supply chain efficiency in a company will be part of my career moving forward.
Jessi / “Brewery Distributing” Case
The most rewarding thing for me was proving to myself that I can do complicated research about the industry I knew nothing about. I was able to communicate with the company’s executives and provide my recommendations based on my theoretical knowledge.
I've spent a lot of time researching the industry, the company, and it's a new technological tool to be able to discuss it during the interview and get details for my case. I also realized that I really like to do this kind of project.
Jane / “GrabCAD. Social Marketing Strategy” Case
I was thinking about my capstone course at Northeastern University a couple of days ago and thought of you. I really enjoyed your class and I remember mentioning that I wanted to go to Columbia University in my final "personal strategy" assignment. Thank you for making us do this "professional core" exercise and developing a case for GM Développement: Inc. It was an important factor in helping me visualizing getting in Columbia and graduating with my master's in Real Estate Development from there. Thank you again, Dr. Julia!
Josephine / “GM Développement: Inc.: A Partnership of Love and Business” Case
