“Consultancy Project” Aakriti Shrestha: MBA Jan 2019 Batch – TBC

Background Information: Aakriti Shrestha is a TBC Alumni of the batch of January 2019. 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 Surya Paints and Chemicals Industries Pvt. Ltd. as a consultant for 4 months. Below is her reflection on the process of MBA Consultancy Project and her overall experience of the MBA programme at The British College.

Name of the Client: Surya Paints and Chemicals Industries Pvt. Ltd. (SPC)

SPC is one of the growing and emerging chemical and paint manufacturing companies of Nepal. As a part of the MBA Consultancy Project (CP) which is the final project of TBC MBA, I had a chance to approach SPC who planned to hire consultants for the extensive market research for their new product launch. I approached them with the proposal of the business consultancy project, and the client was happy to let us work for their company.

In the initial phase of proposal development, I was unaware about the depth and extensiveness of the CP, the area of research covered by the project as the academic projects which I had worked on earlier were not so rigorous and vast. They were mostly confined to basic concepts and theories only and were not much practically implementable. But, with the relevant academic theories and research methodologies introduced and delivered by our Module Leader in the report phase, gradually, I was able to plan, restructure, reframe and realistically carry out the overall project.

Furthermore, with proper guidance and support from my Academic Supervisor, Module Leader as well as the Client Supervisor, I was able to scrutinize and narrow down the Client’s problem and then elect a specific area of the problem for the consultancy project. They also helped me understand and identify the essential elements that were inter-linked with the project and further guided me to carry out the project step-by-step. In addition, the overall project also contributed in enhancing my understanding of applied research. Unlike other market surveys, in this CP, even to prepare a final questionnaire which would best suit the main objective of the project, a number of pilot testing had to be conducted. Likewise, this overall project contributed in developing my skills as a team player and further improved my communication skills from regular meetings, discussions and coordination.

Due to the COVID-19 situation, it majorly impacted my data collection and survey part of the project. When the nation-wide lockdown was announced on 24th March,2020 I had just started my market survey part of the project. At that particular time, I had only completed one-fourth of the total survey. It was a really challenging time for all of us especially to concentrate on studies with so much chaos going around. But, despite all, our supervisory team helped us keep ourselves focused by using virtual classes and they provided all the required materials and guidance to complete the project. It was really thoughtful of the LBU and The British College to shift the deadline for a month considering the situation and mentoring the students to complete the project using all possible tools and techniques. This helped me a lot to stay positive and patient.

With the help of the market survey, I was able to present a competitive paint market scenario of Kathmandu valley which included the market reach, customer preference, competitive advantage and other major aspects of top four paint brands including international and national brands. It further included the information related to the preference and perspective of dealers and retailers towards different existing paint brands as well as new local brands. From this, I was able to present all the possible ways through which SPC could successfully launch their new product line in the paint market of Kathmandu. Likewise, by further analysing and interpreting the collected data and also by using different theories, a set of practical and implementable solutions required to achieve the desired objectives in the product launch process of SPC were also recommended.

I would like to share that the overall business consultancy project helped me acquire a wider perspective about the depth, importance and possibilities of research that can contribute to any organizational growth and success. Further, from my experience of MBA final CP as a fresh researcher or consultant, I think that it is best to take guidelines from the supervisors so as to systematically carry out all the activities required to deliver a meaningful and most importantly useful outcome as lack of experience might lead to misdirection or disregard of some important research aspects of the project.

Some of the major skills that the MBA Consultancy Project helped me to develop were critical-thinking skills, analytical and interpretation skills, strong communication and coordination skills, complex problem-solving skills as well as presentation skills. All these skills will definitely be useful in my career. Furthermore, those skills will act as a plus point for me in the future research, survey or project that I will be conducting professionally and it will also help me excel in my field in future

I would also like to thank The British College for introducing such an advanced module in the MBA programme as a final project. Also, the overall modules included in the MBA program offered were not only theoretical but also included a wider range of practical knowledge and experience which are very beneficial for students. So, my overall learning experience at The British College has been immensely valuable and has definitely prepared me for my future endeavors.

Likewise, I would also like to thank my Module Leader Mr. Prajwal Shrestha and my Supervisor Ms. Sunita Basnet for their continuous support and guidance throughout the project.