Mba Capstone Project Personal Reflection

One of the most challenging and yet exciting projects I worked on was a study conducted on a small business as part of the MBA capstone project. The firm is a local retailer of specialty sporting gear, which was struggling with persistently declining sales being below its historical average figures.
The project was challenging because I did not have much information to begin with, I had to demonstrate the application of theory gained through the MBA program, and I had to deliver a feasible solution within a short timeframe. Meanwhile, it was exciting because I got to experience working on a real world problem and, in hindsight, it is very rewarding to see that the recommendations made were appropriate and fruitful and so I was able to directly observe and measure the value of my work.
It was further fascinating to see how the theory learned during the MBA program can be applied in practice. For example, as part of the problem solving process, I had to decipher the mission statement and affirm that the business tactics are in line with the mission and the overall firm strategy; while the company’s mission statement reflected a nation-wide ambition, the business did not seem to have any expansion plans in perspective and was …show more content…
For this, I had to conduct frequent interviews and progressively elaborate and refine the business problem, comprehend the business strategy, review and analyze the business sales records, understand the competitive environment, study the target market demographic and behavioral traits, and access and benchmark relevant statistical data available in the public domain; it was a highly dynamic and integrative process requiring an intimate knowledge of the business and all the internal and external forces affecting the business