And the winners are....
This was the AT Kearney 2004 Global Prize Consulting Competition – an annual event in which Cranfield MBAs participate.
Acting as management consultants in teams of four, we take on case problems that simulate actual client engagements with A.T. Kearney consultants acting as the client. The occasion is an exciting competition that offers future business leaders the opportunity to demonstrate the quality of their thinking.
The competition, now in its eighth year, consists of two stages. During the first stage, up to fifteen teams from each participating school vie for a chance to compete in their regional finals. First and second place teams share a significant cash prize and the winning team will move to the competition`s second stage. During the second stage, the local winners share a trip to the regional competition. At this stage, school teams compete for the satisfaction of being the best in their respective region, plus another shared cash award and a share of the Global Prize.
Every year the hypothetical scenario reflects a current and compelling business issue. Last year’s competition asked each team to make strategic and operational recommendations for a global goods’ manufacturer.
The competition began this year in the second week of October 2004. Teams of four were invited to register for the case competition and the first 15 teams were selected from the school. A case on a start-up automotive venture was provided with some pieces of information. The first part of the competition involved brainstorming within one’s team and preparing a set of questions to be put before AT Kearney consultants (who were to enact the roles of the characters given in the case). Each team got a fixed slot of 15 minutes per interviewee and the objective was to put insightful questions to them. For any question, if the interviewee had more details to share, s/he would hand over a slide. So the first stage of the competition was to extract as much information (and slides) as possible. And believe me, it was not an easy task.
This was the first simulation for me and it was a great learning experience. In real life too, one may not have clients who are forthcoming and keen to share information. It is the skills of the consultant that are needed to approach the task and client with maximum effectiveness.
In the evening hours after the interviews were over, one could see anxious teams trying to figure out how they fared. Did any other team manage to get more slides than theirs? Our team had managed 7 slides, some other teams had more, and others had lesser. Thereafter, each team had another few days to prepare their presentation and submit to AT Kearney.
Three teams made it to the finals scheduled for today. The panel of judges comprised of two AT Kearney consultants and John Glen, our FTMBA Director.
It was a nerve wracking, nail biting exercise with very close competition and tough moments for the judges. Ultimately there had to be only one team. And that was Blue 4. Amidst thunderous applause, Arvind Gupta (India), David Stark (Britain), Theodore Papakonstantinou (Greece) and Miah Tolha (Britain) walked up to accept the congratulations and a cash award of £2000. And from here, it only gets tougher.
The team now proceeds to Netherlands later this month to participate in the regional finals. Good luck Blue 4. And they have a huge task ahead – not only to prepare for the finals, but prepare for this while going through the rigorous Cranfield MBA!
Acting as management consultants in teams of four, we take on case problems that simulate actual client engagements with A.T. Kearney consultants acting as the client. The occasion is an exciting competition that offers future business leaders the opportunity to demonstrate the quality of their thinking.
The competition, now in its eighth year, consists of two stages. During the first stage, up to fifteen teams from each participating school vie for a chance to compete in their regional finals. First and second place teams share a significant cash prize and the winning team will move to the competition`s second stage. During the second stage, the local winners share a trip to the regional competition. At this stage, school teams compete for the satisfaction of being the best in their respective region, plus another shared cash award and a share of the Global Prize.
Every year the hypothetical scenario reflects a current and compelling business issue. Last year’s competition asked each team to make strategic and operational recommendations for a global goods’ manufacturer.
The competition began this year in the second week of October 2004. Teams of four were invited to register for the case competition and the first 15 teams were selected from the school. A case on a start-up automotive venture was provided with some pieces of information. The first part of the competition involved brainstorming within one’s team and preparing a set of questions to be put before AT Kearney consultants (who were to enact the roles of the characters given in the case). Each team got a fixed slot of 15 minutes per interviewee and the objective was to put insightful questions to them. For any question, if the interviewee had more details to share, s/he would hand over a slide. So the first stage of the competition was to extract as much information (and slides) as possible. And believe me, it was not an easy task.
This was the first simulation for me and it was a great learning experience. In real life too, one may not have clients who are forthcoming and keen to share information. It is the skills of the consultant that are needed to approach the task and client with maximum effectiveness.
In the evening hours after the interviews were over, one could see anxious teams trying to figure out how they fared. Did any other team manage to get more slides than theirs? Our team had managed 7 slides, some other teams had more, and others had lesser. Thereafter, each team had another few days to prepare their presentation and submit to AT Kearney.
Three teams made it to the finals scheduled for today. The panel of judges comprised of two AT Kearney consultants and John Glen, our FTMBA Director.
It was a nerve wracking, nail biting exercise with very close competition and tough moments for the judges. Ultimately there had to be only one team. And that was Blue 4. Amidst thunderous applause, Arvind Gupta (India), David Stark (Britain), Theodore Papakonstantinou (Greece) and Miah Tolha (Britain) walked up to accept the congratulations and a cash award of £2000. And from here, it only gets tougher.
The team now proceeds to Netherlands later this month to participate in the regional finals. Good luck Blue 4. And they have a huge task ahead – not only to prepare for the finals, but prepare for this while going through the rigorous Cranfield MBA!
posted by Sandeep Gupta at
8:02 am
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