Programma MGMT Consulting Biennio Bocconi 2019 2020 PDF

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Department of Management & Technology

Via Röntgen 1

IT 20136 Milan

20325 – MANAGEMENT CONSULTING a.y. 2019/2020 Credits: 6 Course Syllabus F. Pennarola, C.A. Carnevale Maffè COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES The management consulting profession has today acquired a well known reputation among the service industries. Consultants offer their professional advice to client organizations by leveraging their know-how in the fields of management. Consultants often assist clients in the change process, and in some cases act as key characters in the implementation phase. This course is an advanced program in consultancy and it provides detailed insights on the following aspects. First, the nature of the ‘profession’ is explored by analysing intervention techniques, consultancy models and methods, and trust-building approaches in different fields of management (organization, accounting and control, marketing, operation and information systems, etc.). Second, the course focuses on the dynamics of professional service firms in areas such as access to partnership, hiring and retaining professionals, managing knowledge capital, managing alliances and inter-organizational relationships. The course aims at giving a comprehensive overview of the most widespread competitive strategies, comparing the approaches of multidisciplinary practices, “boutique” firms, and more focused local and regional firms. At the same time, specific consulting knowledge is developed in areas such as business strategy and organization design. The course combines both theoretical and applied materials. Emphasis is placed upon case discussions and insights offered by visiting speakers from a variety of consulting firms. The aim of the course is to provide students with hands-on experience with issues of organization, strategy, and operational effectiveness as they emerge in modern management consulting firms. The course is thus well-suited for those interested in pursuing careers in management consulting as well as those interested in learning more about how to analyse the integrated strategic, organizational and operational options and opportunities of a business.

BENEFITS FOR ATTENDING STUDENTS Knowledge You should be able to: • Demonstrate understanding of the key principles of intervention practice • Demonstrate the ability to carry out a project intervention / consultancy assignment within an organisation • Demonstrate the ability to scope and define a client problem or opportunity • Be able to prepare a proposal to undertake a consulting project • Demonstrate successful operation of a piece of consulting work with a specific client

Skills You should be able to: • Negotiate and communicate effectively in the course of the engagement • Develop skills associated with data collection, analysis and presentation • Demonstrate personal skills associated with the management and operation of a piece of advisory work • Show an ability to be able to reflect upon progress throughout the project and to evaluate its outcomes • Demonstrate general project management skills Values/attitudes You should be able to: • Appreciate the contribution of a specific intervention to the development of an organisation • Appreciate client contextual factors (politics, structure, decision-making factors) as they impact project work • Be able to integrate specific, technical skills from other modules within the generic consulting paradigm • Appreciate key success factors in each of the main consulting stages. COURSE CONTENT SUMMARY • • • • • • •

Professional service firm management: definitions and characteristics The role of professions in the service economy Intervention models and techniques Consultancy models and approaches in various management fields: organization and human resources, strategy, marketing, information systems, etc. Governance issues and access to partnership: splitting the profit pie and partners’ performance measurement Knowledge management Alliances in the consulting field

The main Learning Tracks of the Course are the following: - A. The management consulting industry: fundamental concepts and trends of evolution. - B. The management consulting profession: required skills and capabilities. - C. Delivering the service: the process side of a consulting project. - D. Organizational practices and people management in consulting firms. - E. Operational models and practices of management consulting firms COURSE ORGANIZATION AND RESOURCES Attendance Students are free to attend this course. In case attendance is NOT chosen or attendance records are NOT respected (at least 18 sessions out of 24) students will take the final exam at the end of the semester in official exam dates for code 20325. Please refer to the “textbook paragraph” below for non-attending students. Non-attending students DO NOT need to download and prepare reading materials from the elearning; they only have to study the textbooks. In case attendance is chosen, instructors recommend following carefully the development of the course with a weekly reading of all the theory material and participation in the debates in class and on online class resources. Attending students will sign up at every session with the Bocconi Attendance System (www.unibocconi.it/attendance) (you need a smartphone/laptop/tablet to access the system). Please follow the below instructions: The pin code to record your presence with the Attendance procedure must be entered in the classroom in the presence of the faculty member who handles the recording. For "Attendance", presence for the entire duration of the activity is intended. In case of an improper use of the Attendance recording procedure by students - e.g. entering the pin to record attendance while outside the classroom, unexcused exit from the classroom before the end of activities - a disciplinary sanction equal to a six-month suspension from exams/graduation will be given to the student.

Online participation Online participation requires an individual diligent access (at least weekly) to the Bocconi Blackboard platform, reading and both uploading and downloading group work material and participating to the eventual online discussions. Online participation is accounted individually (and not on a group basis), in other words, accessing to the online resources by one group member on behalf of all IS NOT online participation. The only official place to upload documents (i.e. group assignments) and download reading material is the Bocconi Blackboard resource. Class announcements and social media All class announcements will be made through the Blackboard platform. In case you want to follow announcements on Twitter the course account is: @PENNAROLA. Online resources: Blackboard SW Platform – for attending students only Like in real-life environments, attending students will coordinate and learn on line as well as consultants do. Management consulting firms are admired for state-of-the-art groupware technology services and infrastructure. Content sharing technologies are the most popular resources used in the consulting industry. Thanks to the fortunate coincidence that the on-line learning infrastructure at Bocconi University is the one adopted by consulting firms, the course has always offered the opportunity to leverage learning using this special technology feature. Only attending students will be required to: -

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access to the Bocconi Blackboard Learning platform (user id and password are the same of your Bocconi network access / email access passwords) further assistance is available via: o helpdesk assistance in computer labs on campus o send a mail to [email protected] download additional material like required readings and case studies participate to on-line forums either moderated by instructors, either by other attending students; establish group-level additional forums to coordinate and exchange material in team-work activities.

Team work consulting projects Students are required to actively participate to the following 2 projects within the course: -

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Form groups of 6-8 people to participate to two sessions of the Consulting Simulation (see schedule). Each team will work on the given case study and it will present analysis and results. The grade will be given on a group-basis and it will account for the 15% of the total individual grade; Same groups of 6-8 people (see above) to participate to an Internet Web based Consulting Project, acting as consultants and serving a demanding client. Groups will have to select one of the proposed research topics (see following paragraph). Consulting projects will take place off-line class hours and will be presented to instructors on dedicated sessions in the ending part of the course (Dec 2, 2019 ALL DAY). Groups are requested to submit a MS Power Point presentation as well as proofs of the Internet sites visited and references + a MS Word report (PDF files are NOT accepted). The grade will be given on a group-basis and it will account for the 30% of the total individual grade. Each presentation will last a max of 30 minutes. Eventual free riding and contribution to the group work will be managed by team members and not by the instructors: instructors will act only as “clients” that look and evaluate group output. Changes in group composition will have to be promptly communicated to the instructors, even though they are not recommended since they can impact the team performance. Once groups are formed, any withdrawal from course attendance (i.e. changing status from attending to non-attending student) will be penalized in grading up to FAIL. The rationale is the following: withdrawals from groupwork are a serious betrayal of teamwork obligations; teamwork capability is one of the pillars of becoming a consultant. Faculty strongly recommends to make a wise decision to be attending or non-attending student BEFORE groupwork activities start.

Team Composition This course assumes that students will freely team-up, choosing their preferred teammates. Instructors WILL NOT assign students to teams, neither interfere with issues regarding team composition and team management. Instructors will limit their work to evaluating output (the “product” of a real-life consulting team) and students will do the job of finding partners. This is adopted as an “ethical rule” of the course, to avoid any conflict of interest on the Faculty side, being those that give grades to team output and also interfering in team composition (input of the process). Peer Evaluation An eventual peer evaluation system will be offered at the end of the course. In this case the grade received by peers will account for 5% of the total grade and the Final Exam grade will be 50% (instead of 55%). Individual work Students are required to take a final exam (55% of the final individual grade). Class participation and ELearning participation will also be evaluated and they will impact on the final individual grade. Attending students are asked to actively participate in the forums on-line and off-class course hours; instructors also expect that group members will circulate ALL the electronic material via E-Learning, including final and work in progress documents related the group projects. Class participation will account for an extra +1/30 for a maximum of 5 students that will distinguish their contribution during the overall semester. Summary of evaluation criteria for attending students Attending students will receive an individual evaluation at the end of the course composed as follows: - Consulting Project (teamwork activity) = 30% - Consulting Simulation (teamwork activity) = 15% - Final exam (individual) = 55% - Class participation (individual) +1/30 to max 5 students - Eventual Peer Evaluation system Matrix skills / assessment methods Class Participation (individual) Leadership Analysis Creativity

X X

Consulting simulation (group) X X

Consulting project (group) X X X

Final exam (individual) X

A “pass course” is issued ONLY in case each one of the above grades is >= 18/30. Grades registration, exams and exam feedback All grade registrations will be completed at the end of the exam date. Exams can be taken only by students that have registered in advance. If no subscription is available, the exam will NOT be graded and it must be retaken in a further date. Feedback on exams is available ONLY at scheduled office hours (immediately after grades publishing – check the Bocconi student’s agenda to know time and location). Once feedback sessions are completed, exams will be archived and grades registered. Archived exams are no longer available and grades will not be modified. Exam feedbacks cannot be handed out in online meetings, telephone conversation or Skype conference. Exams Dec 17 th, 2019

Attending students

Dec 17 th 2019

Non attending students

Reading material Final written test (55% of total on Blackboard grade) Textbooks Written exam (100% total grade)

Jan 7 th 2020

Attending students

Jan 7 th 2020 Jan 23 rd, 2020

Non attending students Attending students

Jan 23 rd, 2020 Sept 2nd, 2020

Non attending students Non attending students

Reading material on Blackboard Textbooks Reading material on Blackboard Textbooks Textbooks

Final written test (55% of total grade) Written exam (100% total grade) Final written test (55% of total grade) Written exam (100% total grade) Oral exam (100% total grade)

Dec. 17th 2019 Exam is reserved to students that are leaving Bocconi (e.g. exchange or departing for internships), as certified by the International Relations Office. One special section of the exam will be reserved to the non attending students as well. Jan 7th 2020 and Jan 23 2020 are reserved to the remaining group of attending students. One special section of the exam will be reserved to the non attending students as well. Attending students that receive a FAIL in the Jan 7th exam can retake the exam on Jan 23 keeping their attending status and group work grades. Sept 2nd 2020 is reserved only to NON attending students (oral exam on textbooks only). Please check the Bocconi website for detailed information regarding exam hours and reserved rooms and confirmation of dates. Exam dates and hours cannot be changed, due to interferences with the general Bocconi University exam schedule. Exams structure For both attending and non-attending students’ exams (written test) will be organized as follow: - Part One: 2 obligatory questions (max 9 points each) - Part Two: 2 questions out of a choice of 4 (max 7 points each) - Max time = 75 minutes (total of 4 questions, answering to more than 4 questions will not improve your grade) - Bocconi University will decide if running exam tests in computer rooms to avoid writing on paper (you will be logging in an exam system online and take your exam using the computer keyboard) - All questions are NOT multiple choice and answers must NOT look like bullet point items. Questions are broad and will refer to: a) attending = only the reading material + slide set available on Blackboard; b) non-attending = only the textbooks

TEAMWORK CONSULTING PROJECTS Proposed subjects for the teamwork Consulting Projects are the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

Self-driving cars (level 5): myth or real? Social media and stock markets: do rumours influence stock performance? The food supplements industry, strategic moves and competitive dynamics: is this for better health? The recyclables: circular economy and business opportunities in handling trash Luxury goods distribution: online strategy vs branded stores Will free floating bike sharing solve traffic congestions in the future? To pay or not to pay? War against banks and credit card companies has started. Alternative transaction payment methods and tools A world of batteries: will they electrify cars in the future? The value of top management teams in public traded companies: how financial markets value executives Pay as you drive: the booming of the free-floating car sharing services Digital identity and privacy protection in information – based societies Disruptive health science innovations: business and supply chain implications Venture capital firms in the Silicon Valley: what are the latest investment strategies? The value of education rankings: is this a good choice mechanisms? The luxury hospitality: strategy and competitive dynamics The future of world class manufacturing for the car supply chain

17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

Tesla and friends: electric car competition around the world Online store to buy your next car: will ecommerce hit significantly the car sales? The “other” entertainment services: online betting and gaming Hollywood is back: the TV series production invading the world and crowding internet cables Food home delivery is booming? Networking and business opportunities Life and activity tracking: emerging industries built on big data Increasing concerns for health and quality of life: the health solution strategy of Apple and friends Good, healthy and easy to prepare: food recipes wars online and offline The market for anti-aging strategies: products and services offered

Form your team, choose your preferred subject (please indicate 5 alternatives), hand out to the instructors (or fill the form online on Blackboard) by September 30 or September 23 (before class start). Teams will receive via E-Learning an engagement letter issued from their client, that will explain the subject topic in detail. TEXTBOOKS AND SUGGESTED READINGS Attending students, that will regularly access on-line resources, will prepare: -

Pennarola, The Process Side of Management Consulting, (chapters for attending students available only on E-Learning). Other readings and cases available online through Blackboard.

Non-attending students: -

D. Maister, Managing the Professional Service Firm, The Free Press, 2003. D. Maister, True Professionalism, Simon & Schuster, 2000.

COURSE ETIQUETTE In your own interest and of your colleagues, please observe the following courtesy rules: 1. Arrive in class on time; do not leave early. 2. Keep your mobiles off; do not use wireless network emailing, web browsing or Facebook chatting in class. 3. Participate actively in class. 5. Pull your weight in group/joint work. Do not free-ride on your colleagues! 6. Ensure that corporate interviews do not clash with the classes. DETAILED SCHEDULE (find updates on-line) Each session belongs to one of the following Learning Tracks: - A. The management consulting industry: fundamental concepts and trends - B. The management consulting profession: required skills and capabilities - C. Delivering the service: the process side of a consulting project. - D. Organizational structure and work dynamics in management consulting firms - E. Operational models and practices of management consulting firms The following table reports the detailed class schedule for 2019 fall semester. Each session belongs to one of the Learning Tracks described above.

SS DATE

HRS

1 2

08.45 - 12.00 Pennarola Carnevale M.

Mon 9/09/2019

PROFESSOR SESSION CONTENT

NOTES AND LEARNING MATERIAL

A. Course Introduction Slides and B. The history of the MC profession learning material on Blackboard

3 4

Mon 16/09/2019

08.45 - 12.00 Pennarola

B. Professional skills and attitudes of mgmt consultants A. What do consultants do

Slides and learning material on Blackboard

C. How consultants deliver their service

5 6

Sun 22/09/2019

DEADLINE

DEADLINE: SUMBIT YOUR GROUP COMPOSITION SHEET BY ANSWERING TO THE ONLINE FORM ON BLACKBOARD. ONCE YOU ARE IN, GROUP WITHDRAWALS WILL BE PENALIZED WITH GRADES

Mon 23/09/2019