1-2 pargraphs response to 2 Colleagues Assignment

ECE LOGIC TREE DIAGRAM

Club was not improving year after year due to bad results

Application process was flawed

Disconnect between the expectations of a potential client and the resources of the club

Students had scheduling conflicts

2nd year leaders did not show as much interest

It was unpredictable to determine how many projects the club would have

Poor quality of work on prior projects

Dissatisfied clients discouraged others from using club

Club members needed better training

Quality of projects were low

Staffing vs number of projects was not managed properly

Leadership team was not effective

Student club has developed a poor reputation in the community

The student club for the Opportunity Consultants, Inc (OCI) at the Darden Graduate Business School was starting to concern the school due to the bad reputation that created. The purpose of the club was to provide free consulting services to the community, however the club started producing poor quality of work which created a negative light on them. The leadership team needed to think of ways to improve the work within the club so they would not have to be disbanded.

Some of the issues within the club included lack of leadership from the leadership team and too many club members with not enough projects. The leadership team consisted of 2nd year students because they had the experience and knowledge to know how the club should be ran. The problem from the leadership team is that some of the members were not as invested as they should have been due to being dissatisfied with the club’s prior results. “It was club policy never to turn away members, the job of staffing projects required skill,” (Landel & Reynolds, 2007). This created problems if there were not enough projects for the number of members that were in the club. This created low productivity and created dissatisfaction from the members. The club members also needed better training to eliminate any members not knowing how the club works. One of the ways I feel these issues could be solved is by providing training and creating a policy book that the club can follow. It would help eliminate a lot of the problems they seem to have.

Other issues the club has been faced with are low quality projects being offered to the club and the club having a bad reputation in the community. Since the club developed the bad reputation the amount of quality projects has decreased. This is due to the club producing poor work and former clients giving them bad reviews to their peers. The dissatisfied customers were telling others not to use the club because they were not providing services up to their standards. I think if the club shows they are able to produce better work it will help them to get better quality projects. Even though they offer pro bono work they are still required to provide the best service possible. Once their reputation improves in the community they will hear from more prospective clients. There should also be a clear understanding of what the club can offer their clients so there is no misunderstanding of what they should expect to receive.

I feel if the club follows the advice given, they can work there way back to having a good reputation and they can become a club that is looked at in high regard by the school. Having a strong leadership team is one of the first things that need to change. I feel that if there are 1st year members who show they possess the leadership skills needed then they should be allowed to become a part of the leadership team. The team should not consist of members just because they were on the team before. You need a leadership team that will dedicate the time needed to get this club where it needs to be. With these changes I feel the club could repair their reputation within the school year. By next year there could be way more projects available for more members which will allow the club to continue to grow.

Reference

Landel, R., & Reynolds, W. (2007). Opportunity Consultants, Inc., 2007 [Case study]. HBS Case UV0833. Charlottesville, VA: Darden Business Publishing.