“Consultancy Project” Group Members: Sadikshya Laxmi Thapa: Student & Krishna Tayal: Student

Background Information: Sadikshya and Krishna are TBC Alumni of the batch of January 2019 MBA. As a part of the MBA final project, students are expected to take on the applied research as a consultancy project. This group of students had the opportunity to work for Divine Stream Network Pvt. Ltd as a consultant for 4 months. Below is their reflection on the process of MBA Consultancy Project and their overall experience of the MBA programme at The British College.

Name of the Client: Divine Stream Network Pvt. Ltd (Mero TV)

Mero TV is a leading entertainment company in the local market of Nepal. Our research area of interests was more towards HR and Organizational Behaviour. As we were exploring a suitable client company to work with for our interest area, we found Mero TV who also needed help with HR Management. We completed the process of getting client’s approval to work with them through an interview with HR Manager and we progressed ahead with the project proposal which was handed over to the client that showcased the roadmap of the project.

We have introduced with the CP (Consultancy Project) module in MBA 2nd semester. While we assumed that the CP project was just applied research which focuses on solving the client’s problems, we realised it was more than that. As we moved ahead with CP classes, research process and report writing, we were introduced to different research philosophies, methodologies, tools and techniques for data analysis and interpretation. All this changed our perception and knowledge of research. We realised the importance of empirical research for CP where the entire focus of research happens to be the solution of the client's problem through evidence-based findings.

Throughout the project, our Module Leader guided us in all the possible ways. In addition, we were assigned a Supervisor who wholeheartedly supported us by providing continuous feedback and to improve the project. We were supervised beyond regular college time. We regularly communicated with our Supervisor via meetings, emails, WhatsApp and phone calls. Regular communication with Supervisor ultimately contributed to developing a better understanding of the project, the client's problem, application of applied research and developing an effective team.

Before COVID-19 lockdown, we had weekly face-to-face meeting sessions with our Supervisor to formulate and shape our project. Communication was an essential part of our project because we needed continuous supervision for the best output of the project. Due to COVID-19 lockdown in Nepal, our regular face-to-face meetings got interrupted and we were worried about not getting the expected results because of the interruption in our regular meeting and research process which included human interaction. We believed that a face-to-face meeting was a vital step for us to move ahead. Amidst our worries and challenging times, our Supervisor provided time through a virtual session which motivated us to complete the project. The fact that we were able to continue our final research project of MBA in the middle of a pandemic with all the help of Supervisor, College management and client’s support tells a lot about the support we received to complete the project.

The consultancy research that we did for the client was considered an important aspect of solving the problem of the client. From the beginning of the research, each step was carried out precisely with continuous feedback and improvement from mentors. We have used validated questionnaires for surveys which were derived by reviewing the literature to find the root cause of the problem. We have critically divided those problems into categories and prepared a model which has changed the perspective of the Client to look into their problem. Afterwards, with the analysis output, we provided recommendations which were practical and validated.

From our CP experience, we believe that fresher’s should always communicate with Supervisor while doing research because if students try to complete the project on their own without guidance, this will create a lot of confusion. It is important to take the entire process of the MBA CP very seriously if students want the best outcome of the project. Research is a very continuous process which keeps questioning us in every phase of the project, hence patience and teamwork is a must. It is also equally important to understand the theories and it’s practical approach while doing the research. For this, The British College has provided us with an opportunity to fulfil the gap between practical and theoretical knowledge and it is not limited to performing consultancy projects but for the entire modules of the MBA programme.

After completing the final project of an MBA, what matters the most is the skills we gained from our group work. Because of the final project where we got a chance to work in a group, we have developed research skills, analytical skills, social skills, and the skills in data visualisation and analysis. We are now capable of conducting our own research in future, both academic and applied. These lifelong skills have given us a competitive advantage to work as professional individuals.

Lastly, we are sincerely thankful to Ms Sunita Basnet and Mr Prajwol Shrestha for immensely supporting us throughout the project. We feel very fortunate for continuous guidance from our mentors.