Business Consulting
Fall 2016
Section 28122 MH 120
TuTh 230 4:00
Carl Scott, Ph.D.
Office:275F Melcher Hall
Office Hours: Tuesday 1:00 P.M.. or by appointment
E-mail:
Phone:713-743-4753
Purpose:Students in this course will work on “Real World Projects with clients of the Executive Service Corps of Houston. The course is open to all majors in the Bauer College of Business, Computer Science Majors (Business Option) and Computer Information Systems (with Instructor’s Permission). The Honors College offers the course as well.
Typical projects are:
Information Systems:Cloud Use; Hardware & Software selection and implementation plan
Accounting: Office Automation using Quickbooks, informal auditing
Operations Management: Management of client projects to include all aspects of business systems. Service management, Volunteer management
Marketing: Development of Marketing Plans for:
Increase Donations and Fund Raising
Improved marketing of Services
Management: Business Leadership, Human Relations, Customer Relation Management
Statement of Work:
There is a Statement of Work for the project and is developed by the student outlining the expectations for the client and student including the billable hours. At the end of each project there is an Acceptance of Work detailing all work was accomplished by the student and signed by the client and student.
Attendance: Because of the team nature of the course, attendance is mandatory on Tuesday. It is by attending class the status of projects is determined and new projects become available. Each unexcused absence will result on the loss of 10 billable hours from the student’s final grade. This course uses BB Learn.
Projects: ESCH consultants initiate Client projects.
Activity Report: The student consultant provides a weekly activity report via e-mail, to the ESCH project mentor(s) and Dr. Scott. The goal of the report is to keep the instructor, and ESCH mentor(s) up to date on activities of the individual student consultant. If the student consultant is working on more than one project, the student consultant will identify in their report the different projects and send the activity report to the ESCH mentors for the projects and Dr. Scott. The student consultant will use email to turn in the activity report by 2359 Sunday night. Appendix A shows the format for the report.
Progress Report: The student consultant provides a Tollgate Progress report via e-mail, to the ESCH project mentor(s) and Client. The Progress report will be in a Word format and will summarize what the student consultant accomplished in the Tollgate, billable hours applied and the goals for the coming Tollgate. The goal of the report is to keep the client, and ESCH mentor(s) up to date on billable hours against SOW of the individual student consultants and progress toward project deliverables as specified in SOW.
Grading:Your grade is based upon projects completed, quizzes, and activity reports.
Quizzes: There are several quizzes with the lowest one dropped from the total grade. Quizzes will be given at the beginning, during and at the end of class. Quizzes typically are multiple choice, fill in the blank, true false and short essay.
Grade(projects completed/Billable hours) / Tollgate 1
End of first 6 weeks of Semester / Tollgate 2
End of second 6 weeks of Semester / Tollgate 3
End of last 4 weeks of Semester / Total projects and hours for the Semester
A / 1/40 / 1/50 / 2/50 / 4/ 140 and up
B / 1/40 / 1/40 / 1/40 / 3/ 120 to 139
C / 1/33 / 1/33 / 1/33 / 3/ 100 to 119
D / 1/20 / 1/30 / 1/30 / 2/ 80 to 99
E / 19 / 30 / 1/30 / 1/Less than 80
Project Hours / 80%
Quizzes / 10%
Activity Reports
Progress Reports / 5%
5%
Extra Credit Hours: An additional 10 hours will be awarded for each additional project requested from a client whose project you are working on.At the end of each “Tollgate” ESCH provides a confirmation from the ESCH Clients that the student has satisfactorily completed the hours specified in the student generated SOW and Tollgate progress report (with billable hours). The student’s grade will then be assigned for that “Tollgate”. At the end of the semester the three “Tollgate” grades are averaged to give the students final grade.
Program ManagerIn the event that one client has several student teams, a student program manager is appointed. This individual will coordinate the student projects to insure integration of the projects. This individual submits a weekly activity report via e-mail, the ESCH project consultant, the TA for the course, and Dr. Scott on Sunday. The activity report will summarize the work of the teams with an emphasis on coordination between the teams, the team’s last week’s achievements, the team’s goals for the coming week and any problems facing the different teams. The goal of the report is to keep the stakeholders up to date on activities of the team. See Appendix B for formatting of the activity report. The student Program Manager bills the client for the time spent coordinating the various projects.
Text: There is no course text.
Extra Credit:After meeting with their clients, student may develop new systems requests for their client. For each additional systems request submitted by the student three things must happen before extra credit is awarded. First, the executive director must approve the request. Second, the ESCH mentor must approve the request. Third Dr. Scott must approve the request. If all of the approvals are made the student, submitting the request will receive 10 extra credit hours at the end of the semester.
Instructor Availability
I am available online from 7 a.m.-10 a.m. and 7 p.m.-9 p.m. Central Standard Time on most days, but I attempt to reserve Sunday for my family. On Saturdays, I tend to be online in the morning only. If these times are not convenient for you, please let me know. I will be happy to accommodate your schedule, if possible. I provide you with these times to make it easier to communicate with me, and not to limit our contact.
I want you to know that, should you need to contact me outside these periods, you should not hesitate to do so. The best way to arrange this is by sending an email to . If the UH system is down, use my personal email at .
For emergencies, when you are not able to gain access to messages on BlackBoard please send a message to my personal email address. In the event a third party needs to contact me, please direct them to my contact information. No third party should use your login credentials to gain access to the classroom.
Late Assignments
Late assignments receive a 20% deduction for each day they are late if not posted by 11:59 p.m. C.S.T. on the day they are due. Assignments more than 2 days late are not accepted. Technological issues are not valid grounds for late assignment submission. Unless a student receives an incomplete grade, student assignments submitted after the last day of class are not accepted.
Academic Honesty:
The University of Houston Academic Honesty Policy is strictly enforced by the C. T. Bauer College of Business. The instructor will not tolerate violations of this policy. A discussion of the policy is included in the University of Houston Student Handbook, Students are expected to be familiar with this policy.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:
The C. T. Bauer College of Business would like to help students who have disabilities achieve their highest potential. To this end, in order to receive academic accommodations, students must register with the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) (telephone 713-743-5400), and present approved accommodation documentation to their instructors in a timely manner.
Appendix A
Email Activity Report Format
Email addresses:ESCH Mentor for each project, Dr. Scott
Email subject line: Subject: Doug Olsen - Activity Report (Sunday date)
Body: Include the following information in the email body:
Good Evening,
Project Title:Home Decorating
ESCH Project mentor: Jim Rather
Student Name:Doug Olsen
Client organization name: Martha Stewart Homes
Client primary contact: Martha Stewart
Key Accomplishments: (For Example - In the week one)
1)Formed a group of 4/5 members and assigned their respective roles.
2)Created and Agreed upon the team norms.
3)Met with the client representative/about to meet them.
4)Started gathering requirements (If already met).
KeyActivitiesfor Next Week:(For Example - In the week oneList the pendingactivities, which you plan to address the next week)
1)Meet with client at Starbucks in Melcher Hall
2)Determine client requirements
3)Draft business case.
4)Add tasks to Trello
Problems facing me in completing this project
1)Client has no email
2)Client has not responded to phone messages
3)Team member Smith out sick for next two weeks.
Repeat the above for each of your projects.
Sincerely yours,
Doug Olsen
In General:
1)Always try to involve your ESCH mentor in your meetings with client. Keep him addressed in all your communication with client, at least until you get familiar in working with your client.
2)Use appropriate business email etiquette at all times. Review
3)Do not mail your activity reports or share any documents directly with your client, unless approved by Dr. Scott and ESCH Mentor.
4)Use a word processor to compose your reports. Use the spellcheck/grammar check function to review your report. Once you have done that “cut and paste” into email.
Appendix B
Program Manager Email Activity Report Format
Email addresses:Your ESCH Mentor(s), Your TA, Dr. Scott
Email subject line: Subject: Program ManagerDoug Olsen -Team ABC, Team XYZ –- Activity Report #
Body: Include the following information in the email body:
Good Evening,
Project teams: Team ABC Team XYZ (as needed)
Project Titles:Home Decorating, Home Landscaping
ESCH Project mentor: Jim Rather, Carl Garrison
Program Manager:Doug Olsen
Client organization name: Martha Stewart Homes
Client primary contact: Martha Stewart
Key Accomplishments: (For Example - In the week one)
1)Formed a group of 4/5 members and assigned their respective roles.
2)Created and Agreed upon the team norms.
3)Met with the client representative/about to meet them.
4)Started gathering requirements (If already met).
KeyActivitiesfor Next Week:(For Example - In the week oneList the pendingactivities, which you plan to address the next week)
1)Meet with client at Starbucks in Melcher Hall
2)Determine client requirements
3)Draft business case.
4)Add tasks to Trello
Problems facing the team
1)Client has no email
2)Client has not responded to phone messages
3)Team member Smith out sick for next two weeks.
Sincerely yours,
Doug Olsen
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
EXECUTIVE SERVICE CORPS OF HOUSTON INTERNSHIP
PROJECT GUIDELINES
The University of Houston Executive Service Corps Internship Program is a partnership with the University of Houston’s C.T. Bauer College of Business and the Executive Service Corps of Houston (ESCH). The program is designed to provide ESCH clients with business solutions via access to the knowledge and technical skills of the faculty and students of the University of Houston.
The program helps ESCH clients with their business needs, and at the same time provides a valuable, practical business experience for the students. Student teams, under the supervision of a DISC faculty member, work on business projects. Projects could include:
- Office automation & integration
- Cloud Use, database or network implementation plan(s)
- Hardware & software selection and implementation plan(s)
- ISP selection
- Accounting
- Finance
- Marketing for increased donations and client services
Format
- Student teams consisting of 2-3 persons, with a Student Lead (primary contact) having the overall responsibility for the project.
- Typically, each student works on three to five projects per semester.
- Time frame for each project depends on the magnitude of the project.
- ESCH Lead Consultant selects clients for participation in program.
Process
- ESCH Consultants input the project information via email to the course instructor.
- The Student Lead contacts the client to discuss the project and perform an assessment. The ESCH Consultant is also contacted via e-mail to acknowledge that the client has been contacted and that the preliminary evaluation has begun.
- The Student Lead prepares the Statement of Work (SOW) and submits it to the supervising faculty member for review and approval. The SOW is then forwarded to the client (with a copy to the ESCH Consultant) for approval.
- Status of each project is tracked on-line. Summary of the SOW is on-line. Update the work progress on a timely basis.
- Tollgate Progress reports will be sent to client and ESCH to summarize tollgate goals accomplishments and billable hours for consultants for the tollgate.
- Upon completion of the project, an Acceptance of Workis submitted to the client for their final review and approval.
- All hours and final disposition of the project is posted on-line.
Project Communication Issues
- ESCH Consultant remains involved throughout the entire process. They will monitor each client’s project progress on-line.
- Initially, the Student Lead will attempt to resolve project concerns/issues. The supervisor will intervene and assist as needed.
- If issues are still not resolved, Student Lead will contact the Consultant to discuss.
Client Responsibilities
- Be available to meet initially to discuss the scope of the project with the student team, and to respond in a timely manner during the work phase.
- Provide all content material for the project. This includes:
- any and all purchases, such as hardware or software, needed to complete the project
- visuals such as digitized pictures for a web site (students will digitize up to 10 pictures)
- web host information (student teams can recommend but client must enroll)
- e-commerce services such as PayPal or Verisign enrollment (done by client the assistance of the student team)
- Change of content material is discouraged.
Student Responsibilities
- Recognize that in many instances the non profit is juggling many different tasks. Their priority is to operate the non-profit.
- Clearly communicate needs to the client and allow time for a response.
- Keep web site updated so that the ESCH Consultant can track the status.
- Call the ESCH consultant if concerns are not being resolved, e.g. non-responsive client; information not being provided, etc. Again, client may be putting out fires or responding to there own customer demands.
- Client’s needs may change. They may not have fully articulated, or do not have a clear understanding of their desires and as the project progresses, their request may evolve.
ESCH Consultant Responsibilities
- Provide client project detail on-line.
- Clearly communicate to client program outline and the client’s responsibilities.
- Monitor the status of client projects.
- Assist the Student Leadif concerns are not being resolved, e.g. non-responsive client; information not being provided, etc.
- Document client files with supporting project data.
Post Semester
- Student Lead will submit the Acceptance of Work to the client for their final approval and signature. Web site updated with hours and summary of work completed.
- ESCH Consultant follows up with client to determine level of satisfaction and to see if any further work is required. Obtain testimonials!
- For any incomplete projects, or if additional project work is requested, ESCH consultant will re-enroll client during the semester or in the following semester.
Student Profile
Student Name ______
Your Interests ______
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I want to learn the following in this class:
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