Leonie Acker Business Consultancy LJMU

Like last week, I'd like to start this blog entry again with a quote: "None of us is as smart as all of us." This line by Ken Blanchard brings me to the main topic of our last week in business consultancy: working on our presentation for Odysses Arts in teams. The reason why I chose this quote at the beginning of this week's blog is that I often prefer to work on tasks alone. And that's because group work often brings with its certain difficulties or challenges, and I don't like to tackle these issues.  For example, I find it difficult to deal with someone who is unreliable or fails to meet deadlines.  On the other hand, group work has many advantages. This is exactly what I would like to point out with this quote, because often the results are better and more profound if more people think about a topic and we use all our knowledge concentrated. In the blog of this week I would like to answer the following two questions: What are the basic rules to follow ...

I would like to start with a quote of Confucius: “Learning without reflection is a waste. Reflection without learning is dangerous.” Last week was all about reflective writing and the lecture and seminar should prepare us for our final essay. When I think about reflection in general, I would like to address the following thoughts. I have often noticed my following character trait. Especially when it comes to criticism, I can sometimes only deal with difficulties. I am always happy about constructive criticism because I think that it contributes strongly to my personal development. Nevertheless, it is often difficult for me to accept it at first. Therefore, I always try not to say anything in affection, but to keep the points in my head and think about them in a quiet minute. This helps me to develop a differentiated opinion on the topics and to deal with them.   Often the statement is correct in its core aspect and if you allow this understanding and then recognize the t...

Last week we had no lectures or seminars. Therefore I used the time to research our task and to read various articles in the topic area. We got to know our customers the week before and asked them questions to better understand their business. The client makes interactive films, allowing the viewer to control the characters and create their film process. I think this approach is more relevant than ever. Nowadays, customers are increasingly demanding the individualisation of products. This trend can be observed in many areas and can therefore easily be transferred to the film industry. The trend towards individualisation essentially means freedom of choice for the customer. It is so profitable because, with the individualization of products and services, the needs of customer groups and each customer can be met as well as possible. This is very important in our highly competitive economy and is particularly well received by Odyssey Arts. In my opinion, this point will help the co...

Last week’s business consultancy lecture was different and special because we got to know our client Odyssey Arts, so we had our Project Kick-Off. In the beginning, our future customer started with a brief introduction of the company and afterwards, we were able to ask questions. Personally, I immediately understood, why we learned about questioning techniques and the importance of identifying the problem, or as we defined it in one of the previous sessions, the gap between where the client is right now and where he should be. Particularly at the start, I had the feeling, that our questions did not bring us the answers we expected and needed, which was caused by us not using the right questioning techniques respectively asking the wrong questions. But the more questions were asked, the better and more concrete they got, and, in the end, I felt like we were able to address the costumers needs, wishes and expectations.  In our seminar, at first, we presented our possible strat...

The last week dealt with the topic of stakeholders and their importance. We started with the stakeholder theory model, in which four large interest groups (shareholders, customers, suppliers and employees) have an impact on the company, and then we expanded it by four additional groups (government, political groups, trade associations, communities). We emphasized that stakeholders are not the same as shareholders. Although shareholders are always stakeholders, stakeholders are not necessarily shareholders. It is also very important to assign different importance to different stakeholder groups, depending on how the stakeholder group influences the company. Stakeholders always have some power over the company, but the company also has some power if it knows its stakeholders and can manage them accordingly. These two powers have to be properly linked to create a tension between the company's own internal power and the power of interest groups.  I think that it is very importa...

In last week's lecture, we briefly summarized the main topics of the previous session, namely the definition of a problem, a research plan, the development of process consulting solutions, and the SAFe criteria for evaluation. We then talked at length about the different phases, ergo questions, assumptions, hypotheses and solutions, why it is important to test your hypotheses and which are the main models for testing them. Before elaborating the models in detail, I would like to point out that I think there is an enormous advantage in trying hard enough in each stage because you can avoid complications that can come into effect if you move too quickly into the solution phase. Therefore, you should invest as much time as needed in setting up assumptions, hypotheses and in testing them. Two of the most common frameworks for the investigation of hypotheses are the McKinsey S-7 model and the Porter's Five Forces Framework. While McKinsey's S-7 model focuses on the in...