version Date: April - The Wharton School of the University of ...

Management 621 The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania MBAExec (West) – Summer 2012
The focus of this project is applying concepts and theories from the course to real life
organizational problems in an integrative fashion. You will choose which specific problem to work on,
and in which organization. Most teams choose the organization of one team member as the FAP site,
while other teams find their FAP sites through other organizational connections of team members (e.g.
a place where someone volunteers; via a family member.)
We will devote certain class sessions to meetings about FAP between the instructor and each
learning team. The first meeting, roughly 25 minutes per team, is scheduled for Saturday, June 9.
Teams should plan to develop a one-page summary for the FAP that includes a statement of the
problem, the planned scope of work, and a preliminary approach to exploring the problem. This onepage
summary should be e-mailed to me by Wednesday, June 6. The second meeting is scheduled
for Saturday, July 21. This will be a progress report, again roughly 25 minutes per team. Please
email a written progress report to me by Wednesday, July 18.
The final report for FAP is due on the last day of class, Saturday, August 4. The FAP
reports should be 20 pages long, or roughly 5000 words (word count not needed; appendices not
included in page count). A case format can prove quite valuable, organizing the report in multiple
parts, e.g. part 1 that focuses on pure description of the problem or decision situation, part 2 that
provides your team’s analysis of the problem; and part 3 that provides your team’s recommendations
for action. Further guidance on the structure of the project report will be provided during the course.
This report will count for 35% of your course grade.
Each learning team will also present its work on FAP to the class on the last day of the course.
The presentation will count for 5% of your course grade. In addition to providing an opportunity to
present ideas before a group of peers, this also has the advantage of sharing the learning from your
project. While the percentage of your grade that depends on your FAP presentation is low, the implicit
motivation to do well on the presentation is high, in my experience, given the natural competitiveness
of MBAExec students and the feeling of pride that team members have about their FAP work. The
team should prepare a one page summary of their presentation for distribution to the class.
By way of illustration, some project titles from the past several years are:
• Mind the Gap: Confronting Generational Myths among Cisco Employees
• Improving Attraction and Retention of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists
• Black Rock-Barclays Global Investors Merger: Morale and Motivation at Black Rock SF
• Oracle: Managing Developers, Developing Managers
• Glengarry GlenSABIC: The New Leads Initiative at Saudi Basic Industries
• Sid’s Hardware: Jayworking on Jay Street
• Implementing Cost Savings in the Legal Division of Bristol-Myers Squibb
• KLA-Tencor Customer Feature Requests: Climbing Out of the Black Hole
• BOC Edwards: Motivating Employees During Philadelphia Plant Closure
• Retaining New Mothers in Demanding Jobs: Fox News, Washington Bureau
• Allegiant Travel: Managing Culture in a Growing Company
• The Princeton Review: Cracking the Acquisition Test
• Engaging Associates in Times of Change at Capital One
• Transitioning to Alternative Legal Fee Structures
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