ADventure Consulting
By Cathelina Wang and Chiraz Yunianto
In 2023, Management Consulting was delivered in person with options for students to conduct remote, in-person and hybrid client visits. Cathelina and Chiraz shared their group’s experience working together on a business project for the ANZ Innovation Team (Institutional).
Management Consulting provided our team, ADventure, with the opportunity to engage as student consultants for the Innovation Team at ANZ (Institutional). Our project delivered an analysis of wide-scale digitisation in current supply chains and addressed challenges faced by organisations today. Over twelve weeks, we adapted to the project's challenges, learned to work collaboratively, and gained hands-on experience in solving complex real-world challenges.
Our group's expectation was that Management Consulting was going to be a challenging subject. From Week 1, we had to be organised as the subject involved more self-directed learning than other subjects. This was a new and unique experience for us, making Management Consulting interesting. Although we felt pushed out of our comfort zone, we became better students. Through having to engage with a variety of company stakeholders, being disciplined in conducting our own learning and putting in consistent effort in our work, we were able to maximise our experience in this subject.
Teamwork
Although working in a team can be a challenge, this was a particularly rewarding experience for us. We strongly encourage new student teams to take the time to get to know each other in an informal setting. Getting to know individual members and understanding what they hope to learn can help the team work better together to accomplish collective goals.
We considered each person’s individual strengths. Rather than expecting every team member to have the full skillset required to complete a project, we chose to capitalise on each member’s strengths. This led to working more efficiently in a positive environment and we were able to produce better deliverables.
The value of Management Consulting
We would absolutely recommend completing Management Consulting. Unlike other university subjects, Management Consulting provided a unique opportunity, allowing us to apply academic knowledge in a real-world context. We developed essential skills, learnt to work with a client, and gained insights into the world of consulting.
While not everyone on our team intends on becoming a consultant, it was valuable to learn about what consulting is all about. It can help develop valuable skills required to frame and tackle a challenge, regardless of profession. We also discovered that a real understanding of consulting can only be acquired through first-hand experience.
Management Consulting was transformative, challenging, and rewarding. Our expectations for the semester were exceeded, and the experiences which we gained were highly valuable. Completing this subject helped us broaden our horizons, tested our abilities and left us better prepared for our future careers.
Acknowledgements
We would like to extend our appreciation to everyone who played a pivotal role in the formation and completion of our project. We are grateful for the invaluable guidance and expertise from the ANZ team: Madhujith Venkatakrishna, Jessica Paterson, Hariram Janakiraman and Cindy He. We also thank our lecturer, Dr George Panas.
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