#SpeedUpSustainability – How can SMEs improve their environmental sustainability fast?

The goal of this project is to identify barriers and opportunities for environmental sustainability in Austrian SMEs. Student teams will research the status quo using a variety of methods: desk research, interviews with leadership representatives of SMEs, with their suppliers and customers, as well as with public institutions and/or NGOs. Students are expected to propose solutions based on their findings.

More details on specific tasks and research questions will be provided in the beginning of the project.

Knowledge and Understanding:

After completing this course, students will have:

• extended their knowledge on strategy processes  
• learned how to collect, analyze, and structure data
• developed project management skills
• received feedback from practitioners on the outcome of their analyses and the viability of their recommendations

Cognitive & Subject Specific Skills:

Upon completion of the course, students will have the ability to:

• develop critical thinking and defend their developed arguments in class and in front of practitioners
• apply tools for analyzing challenges in the global environment

Key Skills:

Students upon completion of the course will have the ability to:

• conduct research on global strategy processes
• gather and filter information efficiently and effectively on a specific research topic
• organize teamwork including presentation and report writing skills
• shift material quickly and efficiently to structure it into a coherent argument and to present it in a concise way tailored to a professional audience
• present this business project to the partner in a professional way, through personal presentation skills and support of suitable media,
• utilize the theoretical knowledge and the interpersonal skills developed throughout their studies to solve a real-life challenge.

As this course format heavily relies on personal interaction between students, McKinsey consultants and faculty, presence in sessions is mandatory. More than two times absence during the sessions announced at the beginning of the seminar will lead to exclusion from the seminar.

In a kick-off session, student groups will be formed and challenges and milestones of the project will be outlined. At the same time, students will be familiarized with the guiding principles of project work, with the project plan and rules in handling the supervising faculty and McKinsey interaction. McKinsey consultants will outline the challenges from their perspective and provide useful input for the project (e.g. experience on former, related projects) and the specific challenges to be dealt with. As a result of that, students will come up with the precise scope of the project.

Subsequently, students will start the collaboration with McKinsey. Throughout the process, various feedback loops (in coaching and feedback sessions with the faculty and/or McKinsey) will be put in place to make sure that students are on the right track and get relevant input needed in each project phase.

Results will be presented to McKinsey representatives at the end of this process. The verbal and printed presentations will be assessed. Students will have to actively participate in class, hold group presentations and summarize their findings in a final report (final presentation document). It is the policy of the class that no late assignments will be accepted under any circumstances.

Assessment is based on the quality of the mid- and end-term presentation, the participation during the classes, group members’ peer ratings, and the final report (final presentation document).

Group assessment:

• Mid-term Presentation (PowerPoint Document): 20%
• Mid-term Presentation (oral Presentation): 10%
• End-term Presentation (PowerPoint Document): 30%
• End-term Presentation to Corporate Partner: 20%

Individual:

• Peer rating: 20%

Students will be assessed on:

• their ability to understand and analyze international strategy and/or management challenges,
• their ability to use the appropriate analytical techniques and to come up with relevant advice,
• the quality of the presentations and the written reports; by quality in this context we mean the clarity and persuasiveness of each bit of work. This implies an ability to work in teams.

Students failing to participate in their teams will lose the marks for that piece of work.

WU will retain a copy of all coursework for Teaching Quality Assessment as part of the ongoing quality assessment program. It is important, therefore, that students make a second copy for their own purposes.

German language knowledge may be required to conduct some of the interviews.