Overview:

Wharton students’ experience in this course is highly focused on their particular global project team and client.  Each project supports a client's efforts to enter or enhance their position in the North American market.  This course is project-based, with weekly team meetings (Tuesdays, 4:30pm - 7:30pm in Philadelphia full-time program, TBD for WEMBA East and West) and meetings with teaching assistants/coaches and project faculty during Quarters 3 and 4 as well as a small amount of work during Quarter 2.

Developing projects are reviewed regularly by the faculty and teaching assistants, feedback provided to each team including suggestions about how a team can access skills from the range of faculty teaching the GCP.  The conceptual frameworks and analytical tools required for these projects are drawn from Wharton core courses and – when necessary – supplemented by course faculty.

 
Students in this course are often required to learn more about managing in rapidly changing technological environments.  Students perform primary market research to gauge a new product’s value proposition, and most projects require an evaluation of costs to prospective users and service providers. Many students improve their consulting skills in this course.  To this end, this year several leading strategic consulting groups are providing workshops on key topics. 

Credit: 
      

GCP is the first and only 1.5 credit unit course at Wharton, offering a cross-functional learning experience in Quarters 2, 3, and 4 to first year students and serves as a capstone course for second year students.

GCP is open to full-time MBA students and Executive MBA students alike.

Projects:

The GCP projects for 2008-2009 will be announced at the Recruiting and Information Meeting for Students in August and September 2008as will be posted on our website (see Projects 2009 and applicants will express their preference for particular projects. 

For additional information as to past projects see Past Company Participants.

Course Requirements:

• Professional and ethical conduct.
• Prepared attendance at weekly team meetings with team, teaching assistant, faculty.
• Detailed work plans and operational plans for research.
• In November-December, consulting proposal including deliverables to which client agrees.
• Trip to meet client and teammates is during Winter Break (late December-early January).
• Devils’ Advocate presentation in January to get feedback on research methodology.
• In March April consulting progress reports and agreement with client on final deliverables.
• Final report (both oral and written) to client in May.
• Defense of the final conclusions and final recommendations in a two day meetings with clients at Wharton (Philadelphia, PA or San Francisco, CA in May.

Grading:

Team Grades are assigned by the faculty.  Individual contributions cause a flexing up or down from the team grade.  Each team member will evaluate the performance of their team.  The grading is purely merit based and does not involve a grading curve.

Materials:

Handouts and required readings which are customized to projects, are identified by students, teaching assistants, clients, and faculty. Materials and Intellectual capital are housed on our web cafe in our resources toolbox, tapping into the public intellectual capital of major consulting firms.

Prerequisites:

Students apply for admission to this program.  (Applicants usually number more than twice the number of places.)  Students are interviewed by teaching assistants.  Participants are chosen on the basis of commitment, abilities, skills, and experience they bring to the project teams.  A balance of second and first year students has proved highly effective.

If you are a first year student, you may not delay taking a core course to enroll in the GCP.  Specifically, students cannot defer FNCE 602 to their second year.

Time Requirements:

GCP is a rewarding, but demanding, course. There are requirements during Quarter II, Quarters III and IV as described below.

During Quarter 2 - Weekly meetings including introductory workshops.  Students prepare for the client trip which takes place during Winter Break.  Between early October and Winter Break, students have several meetings with their team members, TAs/coaches, and faculty.  They also contact their teammates abroad.   The purpose of these activities is preparation for the trip and visit to client during Winter break.

During Quarters 3 and 4 - Weekly meetings and required class time, Tuesdays, 4:30pm - 7:30pm.

During Winter Break - Each student visits their client country once: at the end of Winter Break in late December - early January

May Colloquium - The clients' management team, teammates from partner schools, and faculty from all our partner schools come to Wharton in early May. The "May Colloquium". as we have come to call it, includes the formal presentation of the team's final report to the client at an all-day session that allows the client to ensure that they understand the team's recommendations and their reasoning for it.  The team also arranges at least a day of activities for the client's management team.  These activities "bring alive" the recommendations and often include meetings for the client with potential business partners.   The May Colloquium's main objective is to prepare the client to take over the implementation of the plan.  The week also includes some social activities.  This week is often the most satisfying week of the GCP.  The Wharton team as a whole has the responsibility to provide hospitality as well as results to their partner teammates and to their clients. 

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