ISSUE 5, SEPTEMBER 2016
The
Willis News Bi-annual newsletter for the Work Integrated Learning subjects. Connecting past and present alumni, students and clients.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: FEATURE STORY
Exploring the future of alternative payment solutions PAST STUDENT REFLECTION
From Berlin to Shanghai AN INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE
Insights from The Huddle WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Kim Liu & Maria Teresa Sagaria MELBOURNE BUSINESS PRACTICUM
Practicums in Practice at Oxfam
Welcome Welcome to the fifth edition of The Willis News. This bi-annual newsletter celebrates Work Integrated Learning at the Faculty of Business and Economics. The Willis News endeavours to connect current students and clients of the practicum and consulting subjects to past clients and alumni of the programs. We hope that this newsletter highlights the great achievements that have come out of the projects over the past six months. First the first time ever, the July Global Management Consulting (GMC) program visited Seoul, South Korea and the students experienced a truly unique culture, while working on some exciting projects. Our industry partners in Seoul included Tourism Australia, ANZ, IBM, Eukor and Covestro with each company providing an exciting project for our students to work on. The July GMC also visited three additional cities; Berlin, Shanghai and Singapore. Each city hosted 20 of our BCom students, with groups of four working as consultants. Our students found this experience quite challenging and full of valuable learning opportunities in a new culture and environment. Management Consulting in Semester 1 this year once again produced some great projects for a diverse mix of clients such as Treasury Corporation Victoria, KPMG, ARCA and Wesley Mission. We had 60 students participate in the program, working on projects for 13 different clients. We introduced for the first time, the FBE Management Consulting Team Prize, which is awarded to the highest performing team for the semester. This $2500 team prize was awarded to the student group that worked on a project with Deloitte. Congratulations Team Deloitte! In Shanghai the July Global Business Practicum teams worked with Rio Tinto, PWC, ANZ and AustCham. Our Shanghai host companies were astonished by the high quality of the student work, and could not believe what had been achieved in only two weeks. With the help of AustCham Shanghai and hosted by CPA Shanghai, the Faculty held an event for the first time in Shanghai where students from both the undergraduate and graduate teams joined their industry hosts and university alumni to celebrate their work together. Kuala Lumpur teams worked with Bluescope, QBE, Eastin and PurelyB. A first time partner shared with us that it was a pleasure to host our students, who are now much missed at their office. Our partner enthusiastically encourages future industry partners to take advantage of this opportunity. Meanwhile back on home turf the Melbourne Business Practicum grew compared to previous years and teams worked with longstanding partners ANZ, Royal Botanical Gardens and The Huddle. Teams were also welcomed by new partners Oxfam, Mecca Cosmetics and Boral. The CFO for Oxfam Anthony Alexander was so impressed by the team’s work that he agreed to be a guest speaker at the celebration event back on campus. To conclude, we would like to recognise the commitment and hard work that students and clients, past and present, have put into making these subjects a great success. We look forward to these programs continuing whilst growing our alumni and client network.
Professor Prakash Singh Professor Nasser Spear Deputy Dean, Melbourne Business School
Head of Department, Management and Marketing
MANAGEMENT CONSULTING
MELBOURNE BUSINESS PRACTICUM
A final year Bachelor of Commerce subject where student consulting teams work on a ten week project. Offered in both semester one (commencing March) and semester two (commencing August) each year, with students working in-company for half a day per week throughout the semester.
Masters students across the range of business disciplines engage in an intensive two-week in-company team based consulting project. Projects run during February and July.
Work Integrated Learning Subjects The Faculty coordinates four key work integrated learning subjects that place undergraduate and graduate student teams in “real world� business projects that deliver results for our partner organisations.
GLOBAL BUSINESS PRACTICUM
GLOBAL MANAGEMENT CONSULTING
A two-week overseas in-company team project for Masters students. Destinations include Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai. Projects run during January and July.
An intensive two-week in-company project in an international setting for teams of final year Bachelor of Commerce students. Destinations include Singapore, San Francisco, Bangkok and Berlin. Projects run during January, July and December.
FEATURE STORY: MANAGEMENT CONSULTING
Exploring the future of alternative payment solutions Our client, Deloitte, approached us with the task of developing an understanding of the potential future of alternative point-of-sale (POS) payment solutions, in the context of consumers and small retail merchants (SRMs), within the next two-five years. We further extended our findings in the small retail space, by creating an understanding around the potential impact of alternative payment solutions on Australia’s major banks. As part of our project we surveyed over 140 Victorian consumers, interviewed 20 SRM decision makers and seven payment experts. These primary findings were used to support our analysis of secondary research, enabling us to generate unique local insights for Deloitte.
1
The Changing Payments Landscape Technology is rapidly transforming the payments landscape through the way in which value is exchanged as well as the payment interaction itself. The global payments landscape is forecasted to grow at 7% p.a. over the next three years to $USD 320 billion. In Australia, it is evident that cash and cheque use has steadily decreased as card payments have become increasingly popular. A plethora of alternative payment technology continues to come to market, with notable names such as Square, Apple Pay and Skip, a Melbourne-based company, all increasing in popularity.
The Project Management Consulting Melbourne, Australia Semester 1, 2016 Deloitte Christopher Chen Bachelor of Commerce, major Actuarial Studies Chris Hunt Bachelor of Commerce, majors Economics and Finance Qingyang Liu Bachelor of Commerce, major Actuarial Studies Jonathan Tharapos Bachelor of Commerce, majors Finance and Management Christopher, Chris, Qingyang and Jonathan were the recipients of the Management Consulting Team Prize for Semester 1, 2016.
Consumer Insights Consumer preferences affect the future of POS payments by influencing the products that payment solution providers offer. Research shows that Australian consumers rank security, convenience and reward offers as the most important aspects of their payment experience. Comparing cash, card and mobile wallets, our analysis found that mobile wallets have the best potential to meet consumer preferences, with their adoption predicted to be most prevalent among those aged between 22-45. However, for mobile wallets to become a mainstream solution, this technology must overcome the misconceptions around the lack of security related to fraud and theft, a view held by 43% of Australians. Given similar security misconceptions regarding contactless card technology were overcome rapidly by Australian consumers, our analysis indicates that misconceptions of mobile wallets will quickly dissipate. The ‘tap and go’ mentality has been firmly established; now only what is being used to ‘tap’ - a mobile wallet - needs to change. In the next two-five years we anticipate significant growth in mobile wallet usage as the capabilities of mobile wallets improve and technology giants such as Apple enter the market and partner with Australia’s leading banks. Merchant Insights Merchants are expected to be a key driver of the success of alternative payment solutions because of their high willingness to change. This is due to their slim operating margins and the existence of asymmetric pricing structures that disadvantage SRMs compared to larger retailers. A future payment solution needs to better capture merchant needs by not only providing faster payment processing and simple pricing structures, but by also helping SRMs gain insight into consumer behaviour, and integrating and streamlining their business operations. This will allow them to make more informed business decisions. A range of alternative payment solutions are targeting merchant preferences in different ways, highlighting the fragmentation of the payments ecosystem, with no single solution able to effectively integrate a merchant’s whole payment experience. In the next two-five years, successful payment solutions will be able to integrate different aspects of the merchant’s
“The growth and advancement of payment solutions has transformed customer expectations, threatening the existing relationships between banks and their customers.” needs, specifically relating to data-driven capabilities, fast payment processing, and increasingly transparent pricing. External Factors Influencing Adoption The future of alternative payment solutions depends largely on their ability to meet the preferences of consumers and merchants. However, there are additional external factors that influence the adoption and future success of alternative payment solutions. Scale and reach are two key challenges impacting the growth of alternative payment solutions. Payment solutions require scale to maximise their potential customer base, and reach to fully capture and engage potential users. Alternative payment solutions need to tackle these challenges by ensuring their solution is relevant and creates value for the majority of its users, whilst simultaneously ensuring their solution is widely available and accessible. The future success of alternative payment solutions will depend on how well they can address the challenges of scale and reach, giving banks a major advantage over smaller companies in driving the future of alternative payment solutions due to their large established customer bases.
consumers. Our analysis found that the most effective response to this disruption is through collaborating with FinTechs and aiming to streamline and simplify their customers’ payment experience. So, what will Australian Payments Landscape look like in two-five years? The future of alternative payments in the next two-five years is complex and uncertain. As merchant and consumer preferences change, both groups seek to adopt alternative payment solutions that add value to their payment experience. Our analysis and insights show that mobile wallets are likely to play an important role in the future Australian payments landscape. Further, we found that SRMs highly desire solutions with fast and simple payment processing and account management capabilities. However, the success of an alternative payment solution is dependent on its ability to achieve scale and reach. As the payments landscape continues to change and evolve, Australia’s major banks face threats from the increasing competition of alternative payment solutions but also have the opportunity to integrate the payments ecosystem.
Implications for Banks Australia’s major banks lie at the centre of the payments ecosystem and are therefore directly affected by the disruption occurring within the payments space. FinTechs in payments exist as direct competition to the payment solutions major banks currently provide. The growth and advancement of payment solutions has transformed customer expectations, threatening the existing relationships between banks and their customers. These payment relationships are crucially important to banks as they provide the stepping stone to sell profitable banking products, such as loans, to both businesses and
2
PAST STUDENT REFLECTION: GLOBAL BUSINESS PRACTICUM
Yiling Chen Master of Management (Marketing)
Globalization. This is one term that a Melbourne Business School student is guaranteed to hear many times. We learn in classes how it is impacting the market, the workforce and the entire future of business, but what does globalization mean for us? Shanghai, China
3
It means that as we prepare to enter the workforce, or take that next step in our career, we must embrace a whole new set of skills: the ability to understand different business cultures, to think analytically, solve problems and work in diverse teams. From the first day of the Global Business Practicum, we were challenged to build on these skills. Within 24 hours of landing, our team arrived at the ANZ Shanghai office and received our brief: provide an industry analysis and future outlook for the Chinese Oil and Gas market, as well as a deep-dive on two of the dominant players. This seemed like an overwhelming task for our team of Accounting and Management students. Oil and Gas is a complicated industry, as is the Chinese market. Undertaking such a huge research project within two weeks really stretched our team. It forced us each to individually test our limits, whilst also requiring us to very quickly work out how to work as a team. Initially there
The Project Global Business Practicum Shanghai, China July 2016 ANZ Yiling was the recipient of the Global Business Practicum Award for July 2016.
were bumps in the road, but by the day of our final presentation, we were ready. Facing a team of industry experts and business leaders, we delivered our findings and were rewarded with both positive feedback and a room full of questions that, whilst difficult, showed that we were treated as valued members of the business. The experience of the Global Business Practicum was challenging, but it taught me many lessons and I am now looking forward to a global career in the future!
Frederick Lee Master of Management
When I first met my Global Business Practicum team I felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
I was excited to be going to Kuala Lumpur to work on a business transformation project for the fivestar Eastin Hotel Kuala Lumpur, yet I was nervous about working in a team with unfamiliar people. My initial concern was that prior to my studies at Melbourne Business School I had come from a social science research background and I was worried I would have little input on the ‘hard’ aspects of our project. After our first in country team meeting I felt overwhelmed and outside comfort zone. We had been given a blue-sky project where our hosts were happy for us to provide new ideas and strategies to transform the business without having us consider resource limitations. This was actually an extremely challenging project as we felt that there were many ways the business could be transformed and our various cultural and educational backgrounds all gave us a different take on how this could be best achieved.
The Project Global Business Practicum Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia July 2016 Eastin Hotels
I soon learned the value of participating in the Practicum. I cultivated so many of the soft skills that will assist my future transition from student to professional. I felt the entire experience of working in a foreign country, with unfamiliar people with different cultural and educational backgrounds developed my teamwork and cross-cultural communication skills immensely. The Global Business Practicum is indeed a very challenging experience. However, if you invest in it with your best efforts and try to keep an open mind you will learn much more than you expect or realise.
4
AN INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE: MELBOURNE BUSINESS PRACTICUM
Insights from
The Huddle
5
Cameron McLeod is the General Manager, Community Engagement at North Melbourne Football Club. The Huddle is the NMFC’s non-profit initiative to enhance social inclusion, and works with young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds across inner Melbourne.
The Huddle has been a Melbourne Business Practicum host for the past three years. We asked Cameron about his experience with the subject.
They need fantastic listening skills, analytical problem solving skills and strong communication skills. They need to be able to be part of our workforce, and get on the same page.
What are the benefits of being involved in the Melbourne Business Practicum from your perspective?
Do you have any advice for new students doing the Melbourne Business Practicum?
The topics we’ve chosen have been real business issues that we’ve tried to find solutions for. When you’re involved in the business every day you might not see all the possibilities, but the students come with fresh eyes.
Have an open mind; don’t come in with preconceived ideas about what the answers might be. Some students have a tendency to just jump in, but you need to really understand the issue first. Take the time to frame the issue, and then the solutions will be stronger. Make sure you identify the issue before you try to develop the solution! High achieving students will always want to make sure that they do the best that they can, but you need to be willing to experiment. Sometimes ‘failure’ leads to the best outcomes when you learn from your mistakes, so don’t be afraid to take risks.
It’s highly beneficial to engage the younger generation they are our future leaders and they’re going to be the head of the game in years to come. Their theories and solutions come from robust business thinking, and their different backgrounds mean that the ideas they bring come from a new perspective, to deliver very practical outcomes. What kind of personal qualities do you think a student needs in order to be successful in the Melbourne Business Practicum? We’ve been involved for three years, and seen a variety of different students. They are always passionate, talented and driven. They are placed into an unfamiliar environment, and need to quickly immerse themselves so as to know as much as possible.
Are there any memorable moments from your involvement with the Melbourne Business Practicum which stand out? One student in particular stands out. His intelligence and drive came through his presentation, and we were impressed by how supportive he was of his peers. This student continued to keep the conversation alive with us after delivering his final presentation. He wanted to get involved, and so we helped open doors for him with other businesses. He’s since commenced a graduate program through a contact of mine, which led to a full-time position.
“Their theories and solutions come from robust business thinking, and their different backgrounds mean that the ideas they bring come from a new perspective, to deliver very practical outcomes.”
6
PAST STUDENTS: MANAGEMENT CONSULTING
Where are they now? Kim Liu Kim Liu is an Economist at Deloitte Access Economics in Melbourne. He participated in Management Consulting in Semester 2, 2013 and completed a project for TexSkill. He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours in Economics in 2014. What are you doing with yourself these days?
What was your most memorable moment in Management Consulting?
Any words of wisdom for new students doing the subject?
I am working as an Economist and Consultant at Deloitte Access Economics. I do primarily clientbased work in economic consulting and policy advisory, mostly in education policy.
My most memorable moment in the subject was working on a real world task with a group of completely new and very different people - with respect to majors, their background and career interests – on-site with a client. We had to interact with a client who had very different needs and expectations than any university lecturer or tutor.
I would say definitely try and take advantage of all the resources available to you. Absolutely think outside of the usual constraints, questions and frameworks of your regular BCom subjects. Try to think about what your client wants from this experience - ask them questions!
If you had to describe your experience in Management Consulting in three words, what would they be? Learn to team.
7
PAST STUDENTS: GLOBAL BUSINESS PRACTICUM
Hong Kong
Melbourne
Maria Teresa Sagaria Maria Teresa Sagaria is a Management Consultant at Accenture Interactive in Melbourne. She participated in the Global Business Practicum in January 2013 and completed a project for Toll Global Forwarding in Hong Kong. She graduated with a Master of Management (Marketing) in 2014. What are you doing with yourself these days? I am a Management Consultant with Accenture Interactive, part of Accenture Digital. I’ve been with Accenture since 2014 and love every minute. Completing the Global Business Practicum in Hong Kong actually encouraged me to look into consulting as a career path, and I am so glad it did.
What was your most memorable moment in the Global Business Practicum? The Global Business Practicum was easily the best subject I did during my Masters. The opportunity to work in a cross functional, culturally diverse team with a real-life client on a real-life problem was really special. The most memorable moment for me, was seeing all of our tireless hours and hard-work pay off when we presented to five senior leaders at our client, some of whom had flown in from other parts of Asia to hear our presentation. It was really rewarding for our presentation to be extremely well received by our client’s leadership team with plans to implement our strategy.
Any words of wisdom for new students doing the subject? Go in with an open mind. Understand that it will most likely be a steep learning curve at the beginning, but I promise you will learn a lot about yourself as well as something new from your project.
If you had to describe your experience in The Global Business Practicum in three words, what would they be? Exciting, Challenging, Rewarding!
8
STUDENT DIARY: MELBOURNE BUSINESS PRACTICUM
Practicums in Practice. Graduate students Linzi, Rachelle, William and Ruby-Jean participated in the Melbourne Business Practicum in July 2016. They worked for two weeks on a project for Oxfam Australia. We asked them to document their time with the company.
Induction Week - Linzi Tian Master of Management (Accounting) We were excited to start our Melbourne Business Practicum journey at Oxfam Australia. Induction Week provided us with the overall assessment criteria and the expectations of a successful practicum. I got to know my team members, and looked forward to working with people from diverse education and cultural backgrounds. Induction Week was packed with various teamwork and skills building sessions, which helped build the foundation we needed to start the two weeks incompany project. We were taught how to apply consulting skills to our project. The library session explored some valuable research approaches, which would prove very helpful when doing market research. I also gained a better understanding of my role in the team, as well as my teammates’ strengths through the Belbin test. We had a presentation for our research proposal on the last day of induction week. Before that, my team had a meeting with our academic supervisor at Oxfam to discuss and confirm the scope of project, which lead to a successful presentation. Our project was absolutely a challenge for all of us, but we were ready to explore new experiences at Oxfam.
9
The First Day In-Company - Rachelle Hughes Master of Management (Accounting) On our first day at Oxfam Australia’s offices we arrived ready to delve into the complex operations of the organisation, which allow them to make an impact on achieving their goal of alleviating poverty. Tasked with outlining Oxfam’s Business Model Canvas we met with the Chief Financial Officer. He was able to provide us insights into the breadth of Oxfam’s work and with so many facets to their work; just how crucial each part is in achieving their goals. Having constructed an initial outline and developed an understanding of their organisation we began further preparation for our meetings with key members within Oxfam. We soon realised just how challenging the task ahead of us was, but were excited at the opportunity to interact with crucial members of Oxfam. It was a successful first day, as we were welcomed in and also learnt how valuable our contribution was for them as an international nongovernmental organisation.
“It’s amazing how much you can learn in such a short time frame from an immersive experience.” The Half Way Point - Jiayu (William) Lin Master of Management (Accounting & Finance) Our first week in the Practicum was intense and challenging. A large part of our project was information gathering through interviews, which most of our team had never experienced before. We prepared a set of questions and a framework for our further analysis. After the first week, we were happy to find that the questions we prepared covered our initial research objectives and provided us with an effective framework to complete our project. More than eight hour-long interviews with senior management provided us with extensive information to draw a snapshot of Oxfam’s current operations and environment dynamics. The four of us also really started to develop the chemistry needed to work together as an efficient team. Conducting interviews has taught me lots of things that cannot be learnt in
lectures. Interviews are always dynamic and ongoing. To get the most out of the interviews we had to be prepared, but interviewing itself is by no means a rigid process of asking prepared questions and getting feedback. What amazes me the most is that the depth an interviewee can explore on the same question may vary so much depending on his or her personality, experience and position. You must use different tactics for different targets, and this can only be learned through the interview process.
Final Presentation - Ruby-Jean Jenkins Master of Management (Marketing) What a whirlwind three weeks! We worked feverishly and gelled so well as a team, that to finish up the Melbourne Business Practicum was both a relief and a huge pat on the back. We went into our final presentation with a cool confidence, and were well received. It’s amazing how much you can learn in such a short time frame from an immersive experience.
Having access to senior management was a fantastic opportunity, which we would not have in regular subjects, to develop our interpersonal interview skills. I was really proud of how my group’s public speaking skills grew as the project progressed. There was a significant difference in our proposal presentation in Induction Week and that of the final presentation to our host, only two weeks later. The considerable growth in confidence and cohesion as a team made the fast paced and sometimes stressful experience all the more rewarding. Our team had a great group dynamic and I would happily and eagerly work together again. We produced a great standard of work within the scope and timeframe, and we hope that it will be used as a foundation for Oxfam Australia to better articulate their business model.
Ruby-Jean was the recipient of the Melbourne Business Practicum Award for July 2016.
10
PAST STUDENT REFLECTION: GLOBAL MANAGEMENT CONSULTING
Ronald Zhang
Bachelor of Commerce (majors Economics and Finance)
The first day of a new job never comes without a little nervous trepidation. If you are also in an unfamiliar country, with a team of peers you’ve just met, and in an industry you’re unfamiliar with, it adds to the sense of uncertainty. Berlin, Germany I wondered - were we going to come together well as a team? Would we be able to deliver on the client’s expectations in the time we had? What were the cultural nuances we needed to be aware of in this foreign environment? Happily, we were to have a successful two weeks on all these fronts – the team had a fantastic time working together, and ultimately, our client came away fully satisfied with the
11
outcomes of our work. Personally, I had one of the best learning experiences of my time at university. One of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of GMC was the imperative to coordinate a significant number of deliverables within a limited period of time. Two weeks is shorter than the average university assignment, and yet our task was greater.
In order to succeed, we had to prioritise the most important lines of analysis, delegate effectively, and maintain a clear understanding of the interdependencies between each of our individual pieces of work. Another area in which we were pushed to upskill was managing stakeholder expectations. Unlike the usual academic process, where the question is clearly defined, the first task in the GMC is to work with the client organisation to define what our task actually is. Unsurprisingly, that meant reconciling a range of often conflicting perspectives in a constructive and consultative way.
The Project Global Management Consulting Berlin, Germany July 2016 Berlin Partner Ronald was a recipient of the Global Management Consulting Award for July 2016.
To go from an unacquainted group of peers to a highly performing team, and all in the space of two weeks, was a major challenge, but one that taught me about both my own working style, as well as practical processes and approaches which help build a team. The GMC provided many valuable insights into the day-to-day realities of professional employment. I grew much more through the experience than I would have thought possible in such a short timeframe, and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity. It’s one I would take up again in a heartbeat!
Jiani Chen
Bachelor of Commerce (major Actuarial Studies)
I was both excited and anxious when I received my offer to participate in Global Management Consulting, as I expected the subject to challenge me and develop my practical skills in fields outside my major of Actuarial Studies. Seoul, South Korea
The subject certainly lived up to my expectations! Our client was Tourism Australia, so the project was primarily marketing based, which I had never been exposed to before. Walking into our first team meeting, I began to doubt the value I could bring to the team and the client. Nonetheless, everyone in our team was understanding of the different strengths and weaknesses that we each had, and respected that the subject was a learning opportunity. Whilst my numerical skills were not needed for our project, the structured thinking process and logic developed through my numeracy-based subjects assisted me in clearly conveying information at the final presentation and providing clarifications whenever necessary. Through the program I was able to apply the skills I had learnt through my studies on real life projects, and I was challenged to consider how these skills are transferrable to new areas. I have learnt that projects require a diverse set of skills, and the ability to apply existing
The Project Global Management Consulting Seoul, South Korea July 2016 Tourism Australia Jiani was a recipient of the Global Management Consulting Award for July 2016.
skills, and that listening and learning from others will be crucial when I start out in the workforce. Participating in Global Management Consulting provided me with the opportunity to work in a real world environment overseas. We were encouraged to observe and understand the customs of other cultures. Our society is a multicultural one, and the ability to understand and respect other cultures will be essential in our future careers.
12
PAST STUDENT REFLECTION: GLOBAL MANAGEMENT CONSULTING
Yating (Sarinie) Ning Bachelor of Commerce (majors Economics and Finance)
Global Management Consulting was an opportunity not only to gain insights into management consultancy, but also to improve my employability skills. Singapore
The most important thing I learnt is how to deal with uncertainty and take initiative to tackle ambiguous situations. When our team first read the project brief, the project - to conduct a market-entry feasibility study - seemed daunting. Our client, a real estate company, wanted to test the feasibility of developing elderly activity centers for the mid-upper class to supplement its current operation. Positioned in an infant industry, it was difficult to find data and statistics available online. However, we started our own primary research, conducting surveys with elderly people in Singapore and interviewing professionals in the industry. Our ongoing surveys and interviews enabled us to use primary data to fill the gap and conduct further analysis and evaluation. The experience working with my team was certainly valuable. My team was culturally diverse, consisting of a group of people from Australia, China, New Zealand and Malaysia. With effective communication and openness to new ideas, our unique backgrounds and experiences converted potential tension
13
The Project Global Management Consulting Singapore July 2016 Daniel Teo & Associates Sarinie was a recipient of the Global Management Consulting Award for July 2016.
to our advantage, as we could approach a problem from different perspectives and provide more well-rounded recommendations for our client. Global Management Consulting was an exciting and precious experience for me. It was especially rewarding to see our work making a meaningful impact on our client. Having completed the subject I feel more confident and better equipped with key employability skills; such as critical thinking, time management and public speaking, that are crucial for my professional career.
Jun Wei Wong
Bachelor of Commerce (majors Accounting and Finance)
Before the commencement of the Global Management Consulting subject, I was filled with a mix of both nervousness and excitement. Shanghai, China
While I was looking forward to being immersed in an entirely new environment and being assigned a real life consulting case, I had my reservations as to whether I would be sufficiently equipped to tackle the task. Upon receiving my project brief, I was relieved as it was more structured and guided than I had anticipated, but I was pushed outside of my comfort zone by the actual task – to design a training program for new staff at KPMG - as it was in an area that neither I nor my team-members had a background in. In the pre-departure seminar conducted in Melbourne, all of us were told to anticipate changes in the project, and even to embrace this if possible, as it reflects the actual nature of consulting work. We heeded this piece of advice when our project did change and evolve in scope over the first week, we coped by liaising with our academic support and by having regular meetings with our main contact person at KPMG. Our team bonded very well in the face of this challenge, and produced an appropriate final product to show for it.
The Project Global Management Consulting Shanghai, China July 2016 KPMG Jun was a recipient of the Global Management Consulting Award for July 2016.
Undertaking Global Management Consulting was an invaluable experience as it allowed me work with a large and reputable company as well as providing me with a deeper insight as to the work of consultants. It also gave me an opportunity to be exposed to the work-culture of another country while building my professional network and receiving mentoring advice regarding my future career prospects.
14
Key staff
Our supporters
ACADEMIC SUBJECT COORDINATORS:
>> Amcor >> ANZ
Global Business Practicum & Melbourne Business Practicum:
>> ARCA
Sharon Soltys Academic Subject Coordinator
>> ArtWrap >> AustCham >> BASF
Management Consulting:
>> Berlin Partner
Austin Chia Academic Subject Coordinator
>> Blackmores >> Bluescope >> Boral
Global Management Consulting: Dr Tine Koehler Academic Subject Coordinator
>> Covestro >> Daniel Teo & Associates >> Deloitte >> Digital Affair >> Disability Sport & Recreation
PROFESSIONAL STAFF:
>> Eastin
Amanda Marotta, Margaret Herczeg, Hayley Wolfert, Tracey Skordos, Amy Stichbury and Clementine Bendle-Thompson.
>> e-tip >> EurKor >> Genpact >> Global Challenges Foundation
Looking to host a student team?
>> Graduate Student Association >> Grant Thornton
Confirmation of projects is sought approximately three months before each offering commences. To get involved, please contact: Hayley Wolfert and Tracey Skordos
>> IBM >> IMAX >> KPMG >> MECCA
Email: fbe-industryprograms@unimelb.edu.au
>> Medibank
Phone: (03) 9035 6707
>> Melchers >> Moral Fairground >> MTU
Are you a student looking to do a Work Intergrated Learning Subject?
>> Myer >> NAB >> Oxfam >> PHD
Students are selected for these subjects via a competitive entry process. Applications open in the preceding semester. For more information:
>> PurelyB >> PWC >> QBE
fbe.unimelb.edu.au/students/bcom/enrich/gmc-july
fbe.unimelb.edu.au/students/bcom/enrich/management-consulting
>> RedFig Consulting
fbe.unimelb.edu.au/students/mbs/enrich/global-business-practicum
>> Remondis
fbe.unimelb.edu.au/students/mbs/enrich/melbourne-business-practicum
>> Qualitas
>> Rio Tinto >> Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria >> The Huddle, NMFC >> Tourism Australia >> Treasury Corp Victoria
We are pleased to continue to partner with respected global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney.
>> Wesley Mission
From 2014, the A.T. Kearney Australia Prize has been awarded to the student with the highest mark in the Management Consulting subject each year. A number of our program alumni have gone onto successful consulting careers at A.T. Kearney and we look forward to an ongoing relationship in the years to come.
Graphic design by Made Visual