Industry Consulting Project
Overview
This unit aims to provide students with the experience and skills to work on a real-world problem-solving project by building on Design Thinking, experiential learning and management consulting principles. Students will develop and demonstrate their career-readiness by researching, planning, and developing innovative solutions (e.g. business models and plans/marketing plan/project plan or any other strategic plan for a business/an organisation); exhibiting an ability to assess the risks and opportunities in operationalising the proposed solutions; presenting a high level of competence in comprehension of the innovation process; and communicating that knowledge to others in a collective and multidisciplinary working environment.
Requisites
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Apply business management principles, concepts and theories using problem-solving techniques together with Design Thinking tools to analyse a business problem.
- Demonstrate the ability to formulate and justify innovative plans/recommendations for achieving client’s project goals.
- Demonstrate the skills and abilities to critically evaluate their own personal learning and development whilst working on a consulting project
- Apply professional communication skills to effectively present innovative solutions using diverse mediums and utilise interpersonal skills to collaborate with others in order to solve business problems
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Face to Face Contact (Phasing out) Class | 3.00 | 12 weeks | 36 |
| Unspecified Learning Activities (Phasing out) Independent Learning | 9.50 | 12 weeks | 114 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Swinburne Online and OUA
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online Directed Online Learning and Independent Learning | 12.50 | 12 weeks | 150 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Individual | 15 - 25% | 1,2 |
| Assignment and Presentation 1 | Group | 40 - 60% | 1,2,4 |
| Peer Evaluation | Individual | 10 - 20% | 4 |
| Reflection | Individual | 15 - 25% | 1,3 |
Content
- Introduction to Consulting
- Business Strategy Frameworks
- Information sources and research ethics
- Empathy as a means to innovate
- Problem defining and analysis
- Generating creative ideas to solve the problem
- Solution development and creative experimentation
- Testing your creative solutions
- Evaluating strategic options and refining ideas
- Developing recommendations
- Developing Implementation plans
- Critical reflection
- How to pitch a brilliant idea?
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.