MGMT 372: Startup Business Consulting

4 credits
Winter 2021

Instructor: Bruce Pashko

Contact information: bap92@drexel.edu

Office hours: by appointment

Office and mailbox location: n/a

LeBow Tech: lcbtech@drexel.edu

Important Student Information:

1- The course will be conducted in remote synchronous format on Wednesdays from 6-9:50 pm ET and
attendance is required. I also strongly recommend and strongly encourage all students to have their
cameras on during class to ensure student engagement. In order to have a productive, virtual consulting
experience, students need to be present and participate in real time. If having your camera on presents a
challenge, please reach out to me so we can discuss.
2- A SharePoint site will be used for this class. The site should be used to share client information, to
facilitate team collaboration, and store final deliverables. Students are discouraged from using other
collaboration platforms (such as Google Docs). Project documents should remain within university-
sponsored platforms (Microsoft OneDrive/SharePoint and BBLearn) to ensure security of confidential
information.

Zoom Meeting Details:

First Class - Jan 13, 2021 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) and then every week on Wednesday,
until Mar 17, 2021, 10 occurrence(s)    

Bruce Pashko is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://drexel.zoom.us/j/88203221153

Meeting ID: 882 0322 1153

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Required and Recommended Texts:

N/A

Required Course Materials

No textbook is required for this course. Please refer to Blackboard for important documents posted during the
quarter, including the project scope of work, framework guideline, status scorecard, and research report and
presentation templates.
Recommended Course Readings (in Blackboard)
 Industry Analysis: The Fundamentals (Chapter 3 from Contemporary Strategy Analysis by Robert M.
Grant)
 Market and Feasibility Studies: A How-to Guide (by Lee R. Novak)
 How to Conduct a Market Analysis (CO – by U.S. Chamber of Commerce)
https://www.uschamber.com/co/start/strategy/market-analysis-guide-for-business.
NOTE: This website in general may be useful, it aims to help business owners with organizational growth.

Course Description:

Drexel LeBow’s Start-up Consulting course enables students to work in teams with faculty and peers to derive
insights and develop research-driven solutions for organizations. Throughout the quarter, students complete a
comprehensive project to solve business challenges identified by a participating partner organization. In addition
to working closely with faculty, students also interact with and present to industry stakeholders from the partner
organization. The class will meet with the organization virtually to discuss the scope of work, gather information,
and deliver findings and insights.

This project-based course will combine interactive discussions, lecture, research and data collection, readings and
an emphasis on team collaboration via breakout rooms and group deliverables.

Participating Organization: AOX foods; www.aoxfoods.com

We study the science of functional foods and try to figure out how to blend some of the world’s healthiest foods into
something we can eat every day. We aren’t necessarily against synthetic vitamins and fortified foods…but we think that
real, whole food is better. We use only whole foods. Nothing artificial ever, including so-called “natural flavors” (we all
know what those really are). Scientific studies are validating what ancient cultures and our grandparents believed about
certain foods - they are the original glamour products for beautiful skin; the original medicine for everything from
stomach ulcers to gut issues; and the original protectors of your cells so your immune system is an infection-toxin-
microorganism-fighting machine.

Project scope of work:

Working in assigned teams, students will complete the following projects for AOX, concluding the course with a
collective report and presentation to the company of the class’s research findings, insights and recommendations:

Industry + Competitor Study

Students will conduct an in-depth study of AOX and the superfoods and nutrition industry, which will encompass:
 An industry analysis to examine industry size, trends, seasonality, and growth potential
 A competitor analysis to identify AOX’s direct and indirect competitors, develop competitive strategies in
relation to product, price and promotion, and determine approaches to help AOX differentiate itself from
other companies and products
  A gap analysis to identify areas that could be developed or improved in order to meet AOX goals – with
proposed solutions for helping to bridge identified gaps 

Consumer Analysis + Market Potential

Students will conduct a literature review to identify the drivers that could influence consumer purchase decisions
in the superfoods and nutrition industries, including sociocultural, economic, geographical and lifestyle factors.
Using findings from the study, students will design and conduct a survey to understand the general public’s
awareness and knowledge of superfoods.

Integrating findings from primary and secondary data, students will distinguish the consumer segments that AOX
should pursue based on characteristics that align with consumer identities and behaviors. Segments will be
examined to answer and provide recommendations for questions such as:
 What is the market potential for AOX products?
 What is the profile of the target AOX customer?
 What approaches could be used to reach the identified customer segments?

Students will also develop an infrastructure to house customer data, recommending data fields for collection that
align with potential relational and strategic outcomes.

Visibility + Brand Identity

Students will conduct an audit of the AOX identity, including brand elements such as mission, emotion, image
consistency, and perception and provide recommendations for positioning and strengthening the overall AOX
brand.

Building on their findings and recommendations, students will offer strategies to engage customers through
AOX’s online presence, including:
 Enhancing the AOX website
 Developing an AOX social media strategy
 Optimizing AOX’s existing blog
 Proposing content ideas and strategic messaging for various platforms
The team will also recommend potential strategic partnerships that could be developed to advance the
organization, grow the customer base and build alliances within the industry – exploring activities, engagements
and relationships that AOX could pursue to build and strengthen brand awareness.

Course Purpose within Program of Study:

This course fulfills an elective for BSBA majors and is a required course for the Business Consulting minor. This course
is not repeatable for credit. Students in this course will develop and build sought-after competencies including: complex
problem-solving, creativity, project management, emotional intelligence, decision-making, cognitive flexibility,
communication, collaboration, confidence in industry interaction, and commercial awareness.

Statement of Expected Learning:

By the end of the course, students will demonstrate the ability to:
 Clearly identify, contextualize, and define the business challenge
 Critically evaluate potential concepts, techniques, and frameworks to solve the business challenge
  Derive and evaluate potential business solutions
 Effectively communicate insights through an oral presentation and a written report

Grading Matrix:
Grades are determined based on (not limited to) the following:

Participation 10% (Individual)

Attendance, discussion

Group homework assignments 15% (Group)

Demonstrated understanding of concepts, submitted by deadline

Individual collaboration with, and contribution to, team 30% (Individual)

Peer evaluations (15%), instructor observation (15%)

Project output 45% (Group)

Quality of team report, slides, and presentation delivery

Grade Scale:

The parameters for applying letter grades to the numerical averages are:
% Grade % Grade % Grade % Grade
>97 A+ 87-89.9 B+ 77- C+ 60-69 D
79.9
93- A 83-86.9 B 73- C <60 F
96.9 76.9
90- A- 80-82.9 B- 70- C-
92.9 72.9

Grading Criteria:

Attendance at all class and group meetings, client interactions

Participation Attendance 5%
and site visits.
(Individual grade)
Discussion 5% Participation in class discussion.
10%
Group Homework
Assignments Demonstrated understanding of concepts, submitted by
Assignments 15%
(Group grade) deadline
15%
Collaboration with Group members’ evaluation of their peers' contribution to the
Peer evaluation 15%
and Contribution group project
to Team Faculty evaluation of student contribution to the group project
(Individual grade) Faculty evaluation 15%
based on observations and interactions throughout the quarter
30%

Final Deliverables Presentation Delivery Oral presentation of final deliverables to organization

 15%
(Group grade) Visual component of final deliverables to organization (slides,
Visuals 15%
45% dashboard, etc.)
Written report 15% Formal report of recommendations for organization

Course Calendar and Assignments:

Week Topic or Activity Assignments

Week 1

01/13/21  Course overview: business problem solving  Assigned readings

 Framework/scope of work discussion
 Examining project areas of focus
 Develop questions for AOX
 Discussion and overview with AOX 7:30pm
– 9:00pm
 Project Planning
 Each team determines a team leader
o Email leader name to instructor by 1/19/2021
(11:59 pm ET)
 Teams determine additional questions to ask AOX
pertaining to their specific areas of focus
o Determine why/how each question contributes to
the team’s objectives
o Upload to Blackboard by 1/19/21 (11:59 pm ET)

Week 2

01/20/21  Guest Speaker, Brand Stategist  Conduct literature reviews

 Discussion and overview of project status
scorecard
 Integration, connectivity and alignment
among teams
 Conducting literature reviews
 Teams submit insights and synopsis of literature
review containing at least 5 sources
o Upload to Blackboard by 1/26/21 (11:59 pm ET)
 Provide project status update via Scorecard
o Upload to Blackboard by 1/26/21 (11:59 pm ET)

Week 3

01/27/21  Research methodologies  Teams identify sources that contribute to their specific
 Exploring secondary data area of focus - at least 5 sources with accompanying
descriptions
 Understanding and identifying research study
o Upload to Blackboard by 2/2/21 (11:59 pm ET)
questions
 Teams develop research study questions pertaining to
 Discussing and finalizing research study their specific areas of focus.
questions and distribution o Upload in Blackboard by 2/2/21 (11:59 pm ET)
 Provide project status update via Scorecard
o Upload to Blackboard by 2/2/21 (11:59 pm ET)
Week 4

02/03/21  Discussing and finalizing research study  If needed, teams continue finalizing strategies for
questions and distribution distributing research study and generating responses
 Teams develop proposed strategies for o Upload to Blackboard by 2/9/21 (11:59pm ET)
 distributing research study, generating  Begin data collection via study distribution
responses, and meeting goals  Provide project status update via Scorecard
o Upload to Blackboard by 2/9/21 (11:59 pm ET)
Week 5

02/10/21  If needed, complete data collection via study
distribution
 Discussing findings from secondary data
collection
 Data analysis, interpretations and discussion
 Team progress updates to class and/or
potential AOX check-in (to be confirmed)
 If needed, complete data collection via study
 Complete data analysis
 Begin developing presentation and report
 Provide project status update via Scorecard
o Upload to Blackboard by 2/16/21 (11:59 pm ET)

Week 6

02/17/21  Data analysis, interpretations and discussion  Continue developing presentation and report
 Integrating primary and secondary data  Provide project status update via Scorecard
 Work on project o Upload to Blackboard by 2/23/21 (11:59 pm ET)

Week 7

02/24/21  Identifying recommendations and strategies  Continue developing presentation and report
 Presentation techniques and writing report o Upload drafts to Blackboard by 3/02/21 (11:59 pm
 Work on project ET)
 Provide project status update via Scorecard
o Upload to Blackboard by 3/02/21 (11:59 pm ET)
Week 8

03/03/21  Presentation “workshop”: planning,  Developing/finalizing presentation and report

storytelling, and delivery o Upload FINAL drafts to Blackboard by 3/09/21
 Finalizing presentation and report (11:59pm ET)
 Provide project status update via Scorecard
 Practice presentation
o Upload to Blackboard by 3/09/21 (11:59 pm ET)
Week 9

03/10/21  Finishing touches - presentation and report  Finalize presentation and report
 Presentation “workshop”: planning, o Upload FINAL versions to Blackboard by 3/14/21
storytelling, and delivery (11:59pm ET)
 Provide project status update via Scorecard
 Practice presentation
o Upload to Blackboard by 3/14/21 (11:59 pm ET)
Finals Week

03/15/2  Deliver presentation to AOX Exact time/day TBD; hoping it will be during normal class
1 time, stay tuned.

Submission Information:
The main output of the course is a comprehensive report and a presentation to the client and instructor
documenting the team’s research, results, and recommendations. Assignments will be completed in BlackBoard
Learn.

Instructor Feedback:
Professor will provide feedback regarding student development. Attendance and assignments will be submitted
and graded via BlackBoard Learn. Professor will evaluate individual student contribution to and collaboration
with team. Professor will provide verbal guidance and assessment of presentations during practice sessions before
final delivery to the organization. The final report will also be assessed before delivery to the organization.

Course Policies:

To participate in this course, all students must agree to and sign a Standards of Comportment document. This
document is your agreement to participate in this consulting course with integrity and confidentiality. For student
reference, the entirety of the document is included below:

1. Consulting Role
Consulting projects are offered as an experiential learning opportunity. This experience may be added to a
resume or LinkedIn profile. However, students must refrain from describing themselves as “consultants” for
the client company and disclosing project scope of work to anyone outside of the consulting team or
classroom. Students may use the title “student consultant” as a position and “Drexel University LeBow
College of Business” as a company.

2. Confidentiality
Inherently, consulting projects allow students access to sensitive and confidential information. By accepting a
role on a consulting project, students commit to keep all client information discussed throughout the duration
of the project confidential. Students may not extract or reproduce any client information – especially if the
information in question will be disclosed beyond the consulting team or classroom. Students may not disclose
any confidential data outside of the academic environment.

3. Responsibility
A component of experiential learning, consulting projects often engage students outside of the classroom.
Though not always in a traditional classroom setting, students are required to attend all class and team
meetings, client interactions, and site visits. Students are required to make valuable contributions to the
project and adhere to instructions from faculty and staff.

4. Site Visits
 Site visits and client interactions are an important component of consulting projects. Students are expected to
be engaged at all site visits and are required to respect all company safety and security requirements. Students
are expected to uphold the highest standards of professionalism.

5. Conduct
Students are required to be attentive, respectful, and professional at all times. Students must adhere to project-
related processes and may not directly contact individuals within the client company unless approved by staff
and faculty.

6. Team Dynamics
When participating in consulting projects, students may collaborate with interdisciplinary peers across the
college and/or university. The success of consulting projects requires a combination of communication skills,
collaboration, respect, honesty, and individual contribution.

7. Schedule
Students are expected to be punctual and present for all activities including class and team meeting times,
client interactions, and site visits.

8. Integrity and Ethics

It is expected that students will act with integrity and honor in the pursuit of knowledge. All student, client,
staff and faculty interactions should comply with the ethical standards set forth by Drexel University, and any
deviation should be immediately reported to faculty or staff.

Academic Policies

Academic Integrity, Plagiarism, and Cheating Policy:

Drexel University and the LeBow College of Business hold the highest possible standards for academic honesty.
Instances of cheating, plagiarism, collusion, or any type of dishonesty will be treated seriously.

When a student is suspected of violating the academic honesty policy, the faculty member will:
 Notify the student
 Seek an explanation from the student
 Investigate and determine whether a violation of the academic honesty policy has occurred
 If it is determined that a violation has occurred, the faculty member will notify the Associate Dean of
Academic Affairs
 If the Associate Dean agrees that a violation has occurred, a sanction will be determined (see below)
 The student may appeal the sanction to 1) the Dean of the College and 2) the Provost
 The incident will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (215 Creese
Student Center) and will be a part of the student's disciplinary record
 The report should include documentation of all communication between the faculty member and the student
and the final sanction determined for the incident

For the first infraction, the sanction may include one of the four options:
 An "F" for the assignment
 Reduction of course grade
 Failure for the entire course, with the inability to withdraw, or
 Other action deemed appropriate by the faculty member. Examples include, but are not limited to, requiring
the student re-complete an assignment, or complete an assigned exercise.
 Any infraction beyond a first offense is subject to the sanctions described above, as well as to disciplinary
sanctions that may be imposed through the University Conduct process.

When a student suspects that another student has violated the academic honesty policy, a report should be made to
the appropriate faculty member. Information regarding Academic Honesty can be found online at
https://drexel.edu/provost/policies/academic-integrity/

Students with Disabilities Statement:

Student with disabilities requesting accommodations and services at Drexel University need to present a current
Accommodation Verification Letter (AVL) to faculty before accommodations can be made. AVL's are issued by
the Office of Disability Resources (ODR). For additional information, contact ODR
at https://drexel.edu/oed/disabilityResources/students/, 3201 Arch St., Street, Suite 210, Philadelphia, PA 19104,
215.895.1401 (V), or 215.895.2299 (TTY) or email disability@drexel.edu.

https://drexel.edu/oed/disabilityResources/students/

Course Add/Drop/Withdrawal Policies:

Please refer to the following University policies regarding adding, dropping, and withdrawing from courses:
http://drexel.edu/provost/policies/course-add-drop/
http://drexel.edu/provost/policies/course-withdrawal/

Communicating Revisions to the Course:

Because of the possibility of outside factors, the faculty reserve the right to make changes to the syllabus,
schedule, assignments, or other course details as needed. Any changes to the course will be communicated via
email and Blackboard.

Bruce Pashko, Drexel University

Bruce is a passionate global leader with 35 years of experience working at Johnson & Johnson within Information
Technology and Compliance. His career started as a Drexel co-op student at Johnson & Johnson where he
worked as a programmer/analyst in Fort Washington, PA. During his career at, he worked at various Johnson &
Johnson Operating Companies and at J&J’s World Headquarters. Bruce’s career path led him to work in the
Consumer, Pharmaceutical and Corporate Sectors partnering with almost all business functions within Johnson &
Johnson.

While working his way up through the management ranks within IT, Bruce had the opportunity to lead large
global technology programs and lead global teams. He had the opportunity to be actively engaged in process
redesign programs, continuous improvement programs along with new technology deployments all which
delivered results impacting the businesses bottom line.

Bruce has led global teams in the Corporate Sector of Information Technology for both infrastructure and
applications. These leadership positions focused on IT Compliance including areas such as security,
privacy/GDPR, GxP, SOX, internal/external audits and records management. Additionally, Bruce had
responsibility for Compliance for Global Services, a global internal shared service organization, whose scope
included Finance, Human Resources, Procurement and Information Technology functions.

Given his passion for talent and talent development, Bruce also led J&Js IT recruiting efforts at Drexel University
and served as Sector Key Contact for IT recruiting within J&J for many, many years. During his career, Bruce
recruited hundreds of co-ops and new hires into J&Js IT Leadership Development Program. Many of these hires
have continued their careers with Johnson & Johnson, have joined the management ranks and continue
recruiting following Bruce’s footsteps.

As a Drexel University alum, BS and MBA, Bruce chairs a Graduate Advisory Council at Drexel’s LeBow School of
Business and is currently an adjunct professor at Drexel teaching MIS and Business Consulting classes. Bruce is
currently working as a fulltime consultant for a software development company who focuses on Quality
Management Systems for the Life Sciences industry.

Bruce is married and live in Bucks County, PA with his wife and has two adult sons who both live and work in
Philadelphia.