FIELD CONSULTING PROJECTS

In 1992 ALBA became the first graduate business school in Greece to have teams of MBA students deliver practical value to a select group of Greek companies, through our Field Consulting Projects (FCPs). Each student team brings no less than 2000 hours of hands-on, solution-driven work to their project, under the careful supervision of both an advisor from inside the partner company, and a member of ALBA faculty.  We are writing today to ask what ALBA Graduate Business School can do for you. Which problem can our student teams help you to tackle? Which opportunity can they help you exploit?

We are especially interested in challenging projects, which demand advanced analytic, research and planning skills from our students, across a range of management functions, from accounting and finance to HRM, production management and marketing.

We are very proud of the achievement of our student teams, and enormously grateful to the companies which have provided the teams with this chance to excel. Last year our company partners included Elinoil, Etem, Coco-mat, Kraft Europe, Johnson and Johnson, the National Bank of Greece, SC Johnson and Microsoft.  Students engaged in topics as diverse as the development of an Activity Based Costing system for spotting executive talent, marketing plans to 're-launch' a variety of products, and a computerised model using a range of real data to assist in business planning. As well as Greece-based studies, our students have undertaken projects based largely in Romania, Cyprus, Croatia, Bulgaria, FYROM, the Lebanon and Syria.

We are happy to have this chance to thank our partner companies once again for their vital contribution to ALBA FCPs. Here are just a few comments from some of these companies, to highlight what our student teams could do for you:

'The team has combined analytical approach with results orientation and to my satisfaction succeeded to conclude with an exceptional deliverable, comparable to those from consulting firms'

'We would like to express our warm thanks upon the completion of the project...to the whole student team, for the most excellent collaboration and the development of the study'

'For the company and for me personally, the deliverable of the team is extremely valuable, as it recommends how to organize available cost data and provides a practical guide on how to use them'

What does ALBA ask of you in return for these benefits? First, and most importantly, we ask for your commitment to the FCP project, as you define its objectives, develop your proposal, and guide the team through their work, from May to August. We also ask that you attend the team's final presentation in September. Secondly, we do not charge companies for participation in the FCPs. However, if you are delighted with the results, you may wish to consider making a donation to ALBA. These donations typically range from EURO 3,000 (for corporate members of ALBA), to EURO 4,000 for other organizations.

If you would like ALBA to create value you can use, by running an FCP in your company then please fill in the application form we have attached. We'd like to ask you to return your form to us by March 13th. We will announce successful projects, their student teams and faculty advisors, on 26th April. This time lag allows us to collaborate with you in fine-tuning project proposals.

For further information, you may contact Dr. Sarah Drakopoulou-Dodd, Assistant Professor of Enterpreneurship, or Ms. Erato Paraschaki, MBA Director, tel: 210 8964531.