Leonie Acker Business Consultancy LJMU

The last week was dedicated to the completion of our group presentation. After we had already fixed the content of the presentation in the team the week before, it was now a matter of further elaborating individual contents and constantly improving the presentation. For this, we met regularly and discussed different topics. In addition to these individual elaborations and group meetings, my further task was to create a PowerPoint presentation. I think that this task is very important for presentations because it can have an underlining effect. Besides, a good presentation shows that you have taken the time to consciously prepare and that the task is important to you. Especially if you don't just want to present your idea but also "sell" it, presentation and visualization are very important in addition to the professional appearance.  After I have started to visualize my contents in the presentation, I gradually developed more and more contexts in my head,...

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...

The main topic of last week’s business consultancy lecture was process consulting to come to solutions. At first, we summarized and repeated last week’s key points, and afterwards we spoke about the definition of process consulting, methods that are often used in this approach (like for instance a research plan, solution development and the SAFe criteria for evaluation), and we also learned about the required or desired skillset for management consultants. At the beginning, I would like to briefly summarize what process consulting is all about. With process consulting it is important to point out that it differs greatly from the expert or doctor/client approach. A consultant who uses process consulting does not focus on being an omniscient expert whose solution is an enormous improvement over anything the client has ever done before. He tries to build a relationship with the client and create a productive atmosphere to find the best possible solution to the real problem. He does...

In last week's business consultancy lecture, we spoke about business problems, group problems, group dynamics, the 5 stages of group development, the 3-level question technique and stakeholder management. As far as the definition of business problems is concerned, to be honest, I have never heard a more appropriate and versatile definition. We have assumed that a business problem is a gap between where the customer is now and where he wants to be. To tell you the truth, I've never thought about problems that way before. Personally, I've always seen problems as issues that need to be addressed because someone made a mistake or external factors changed and you didn't anticipate the development and impact on your business. Looking at problems as gaps means that you can solve any problem by finding the missing part, while my previous point of view implied that to solve a problem, a mistake must be corrected. Another thing that made me think about previous projects...

At the beginning, I would like to briefly explain why I chose Business Consultancy as a module during my exchange semester at LJMU. During my studies, I was often asked the question in which area I would like to work later and I still cannot clearly define it. On the one hand, I enjoy working with numbers and logical contexts. On the other hand, I like to give presentations and social contacts during work are very important to me. I would like to work in an international context and love to travel and have often lived in other European countries for several months. Based on these points, I have often been recommended to look at the area of management consulting, especially in the M&A or financial advisory area. I think this would fit very well and I will also do an internship in the future. The course is intended to give me a deeper insight into the work as a consultant to broaden my previous knowledge as well as to make it easier to decide on, for example, my field of stud...