Students of the MSc Business and Management programme (MBM) impressed consultants from Accenture with their analysis of a dynamic 'living' organisational case study when they visited the class on February 24. Class members spend four intensive weeks in email contact with the 'staff' of a security services organisation and are charged at the outset by the 'Managing Director' with deciding upon the right way forward for their company. In fact, course director – Dr Peter McInnes - plays the role of the MD and all 12 staff members, answering questions and providing information that helps shape the class's understanding of what is going wrong within the firm.
Of course, talking to different people - or asking different questions - can lead to quite different conclusions and the class are invited to engage with and try to influence members of the company's board of directors ahead of the presentation of their final proposals. Class members have variously described the experience as 'intense', 'exhausting' and 'much, much harder than it looked'.
The visitors from Accenture acknowledged the parallels between the case and their real life experience of firms looking for a way forward. While they were impressed by the quality of the work produced by the class, what really made the day was the lively discussion between the class and the consultants on how to work with management and how to build a winning proposal.