Management Consulting

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

An estimated total time commitment of at least 155 hours:

31 hours of instruction (12 hours of lectures, 15 hours of skill-based workshops and up to 3 hours of consultations), plus a minimum of 40 hours based at the client organisation (4 hours over 10 weeks). Approximately 2 hours of personal study and 5 hours of team collaboration each week is required to achieve a satisfactory level of performance.

A minimum of 150 points total accumulated at the commencement of the subject, including MGMT20001 Organisational Behaviour.

• Students can gain credit for only one of: MGMT30012 Business Consulting, 325-330 Business Practicum, MGMT30017 Global Management Consulting or 175-300 Managing Work and Projects
• BCom (Hons) students intending to complete this subject must seek permission to do so from their Honours Convenor.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

MGMT30012 is a capstone subject designed to provide students with an enriched learning experience. Working in cross-disciplinary teams, students will be assigned to a client organisation and will be required to draw on their prior knowledge gained from their studies to address contemporary business problems/opportunities at the individual (e.g. employee satisfaction, customer experience, etc), organisational (e.g. process analysis/improvement, organisational design, etc.) and industry/societal (e.g. industry analysis, go-to-market strategies, etc) level.

Students will be supported by formal lectures that cover practitioner-oriented methodologies. The mastery of specific consulting tools and techniques will be achieved through skill-based workshops led by experienced instructors. Students will learn to work with unstructured and incomplete information, to develop research and networks to support their enquiry, to work successfully in teams, and to present their findings and seek and receive constructive feedback in a range of settings. Students will also be encouraged to plan, reflect and modify their approaches to improve the outcomes of their efforts in managing their business project.

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

• have experienced how the theory and practice of tertiary studies in commerce contribute to resolving real-world business issues;
• research, analyse, evaluate and propose practical business options given the project constraints;
• identify key strategic questions, assess options, communicate progress and check direction with both team members, academic mentors and the client organisation; and
• demonstrate key attributes sought by employers in new commerce graduates, including interpersonal skills, time management, commercial awareness, initiative within ambiguity, independent learning and team skills.

• 3 team progress notes (Team Contract, Project Charter & Data Collection Plan), due between Weeks 2 and 10 (15%)
• 20 minute team presentation, due between Weeks 9 and 10 (15%)
• 5,000 word team report, due in Week 12 (50%)
• Workshop participation, ongoing throughout semester (10%)
• Client evaluation of individual performance, due in Week 12 (10%)

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Successful completion of this subject will further develop the following skills:

• verbal and written communication skills through discussion and assigned tasks;
• project management;
• team work;
• communication skills in a business context;
• research, problem solving, critical thinking;
• documentation, preparation and presentation skills, through assigned tasks and the consulting exercise;
• interpersonal skills, through assigned tasks and consulting exercise;
• collaborative learning, problem solving, application of theory to practice, interpretation and analysis, critical thinking, synthesis of data and other information, evaluation of data and other information, accessing data and other information from a range of sources and receptiveness to alternative ideas.

This subject has a strict quota of 60 students and entry into the subject is competitive. Selection is determined via an application process and is contingent on permission from the Subject Coordinator.

This subject has special entry requirements including strict application deadlines. See http://fbe.unimelb.edu.au/csc/experience/capstone/business_consulting for further information.

Although this is a level-3 subject, high performing students commencing second semester in second year are encouraged to apply.