International Consulting Projects

The application of business concepts is a primary tenet of USD's graduate business curricula. The international business practicum experiences have been designed to provide students with the opportunity to apply business concepts to real-world, business situations abroad. These experiences will assure that students are prepared to manage effectively the challenges of working in a global business environment.

The international business practicum is a field-based, short-term consulting project for a corporation in another country to address a current and significant problem identified by that organization. In some cases project teams consist of University of San Diego students working with graduate business students from a university in another country. These projects are typically organized in January (between the regular semesters) and locations vary each year. In the last two years we have had projects in Rio de Janairo (in cooperation with COPPEAD Graduate School of Business), Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Shanghai, Singapore, Munich and Ghana. Projects in January 2013 will be in Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Dubai, Delhi, and Shanghai.

Selected Summaries of Projects:

Endesa; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Endesa is a holding company for electric power providers in Brazil. They serve the state of Rio de Janeiro as well as several other locations. Electric power provision was recently privatized in Brazil and is still highly regulated by the government. Because they provide electricity to many very poor and poor, yet upwardly mobile, customers, they have a major problem collecting on accounts receivable and from customers accessing electricity by informally tapping into the system. The team was challenged to create a program, or programs, that would increase collections from these customers. The team found several other electric companies around the world with similar problems and developed a matrix of best practices used, in addition to designing new methods specifically for the Brazilian context. This structured approach was very well received and Endesa is looking forward to further assistance in implementing the recommendations.

Callaway Golf; Shanghai, China: Two different teams of student consultants were invited by Callaway Golf in China to assess their current retail strategy, as well as help establish a proposal for expanding the demand for, and knowledge of, the sport of golf in China. The teams worked in China on the entire range of consulting project tasks, including interviewing clients and retailers, analyzing data, setting-up presentations and presenting their recommendations to the top company leadership. The projects were highly successful and the quality of the final material was praised repeatedly in the organization for the level of analytical tools used as well as the clarity of highlighted solutions. USD student consultants have been invited to return to continue the implementation.

Banco Galicia; Buenos Aires, Argentina: Banco Galicia is one of the largest private sector banks in the Argentine financial system and a leading financial services provider in the country. In alignment with the World Resources Institute (WRI) protocol and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBSCD), Banco Galicia understands their responsibility in reducing carbon emissions. For the last two years, with a focus on sustainability, they have calculated the amount of greenhouse gases produced in their day-to-day activities (through burning fossil fuels for electricity, gas and airplane transportation) in units of tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. The student team was charged to identify current major emission sources and opportunities for savings in the future incorporating various bank branches. The MBA consultants recommended adjustments to their organizational structure, as well as specific networking and communication activities that would motivate and encourage execution of their current and future goals. They also designed a specific timeline to implement best practices across the branches that included targets for success.

Selected Examples of Previous International Consulting Projects:

Organization: GlaxoSmithKline - GSK (Rio de Janeiro)
Industry: Health Care
Project: Propose cultural organization changes to improve efficiency in their production line

Organization: Wal-Mart Argentina (Buenos Aires)
Industry: Retail
Project: Developed strategies to consolidate its organizational culture and reputation as one of the best places to work in the country

Organization: RM Asia (Bangkok)
Industry: Manufacturing
Project: Design market entry strategies to Africa

Organization: Children's Malaria Hospital (Mbarara)
Industry: Health Care
Project: Propose enterprises that could generate profits to cover the hospital’s operating expenses, while also enaging the community

Organization: EcoWatch (Bangalore)
Industry: Environmental Services
Project: Develop a plan by which EcoWatch could partner with other organizations to expand its reach, effectiveness and viability

Company: Arcor (Buenos Aires)
Industry: Food services
Project: Develop entry strategies for two product lines for entry into the US market

Company: Telfónica del Perú S.A. (Lima)
Industry: Utilities
Project: Logistical support for the "phone stores" to improve customer services

Company: Panificadora Bimbo del Perú S.A. (Lima)
Industry: Food services
Project: Develop a commercial plan to identify new target markets to increase market share

Company: Petrobras Distribuidora (Rio de Janeiro)
Industry: Oil and Gas
Project: To design a preliminary plan for improving both the staffing of the call center and the service provided to customers

Company: Cybercellar (Pty.) Ltd (Cape Town)
Industry: Beverages (wine)
Project: Investigate alternatives for international funding and to recommend strategies for next round of financing

Company: Shell Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)
Industry: Oil and Gas
Project: Devised a plan for the creation of "virtual expertise centers in Brazil" to identify areas of expertise available in the Intranet and areas of interest for dissemination within the Shell Brazil Group

Company: RenalRio (Rio de Janeiro)
Industry: Medical Equipment
Project: Determine market potential and ways to reach customers for the new product

Company: Century City Property Developments (Cape Town)
Industry: Real Estate
Project: Determine complimentary property usages that should be planned