Wharton-Fudan GCP for 2010-2011

What is the GCP?

The Wharton Global Consulting Practicum (GCP) is a cross functional course given within the curriculum of the Wharton MBA program.　 Established in 1978, this unique program pairs teams of Wharton MBA students and faculty with teams from partner universities (in Africa, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Israel, Peru, Spain, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates) to consult with a client company (either profit making or non-profit social impact) interested in entering or expanding its position in the U.S. market, or somehow leveraging a relationship with North America. The mission of the program is two-fold: to provide exceptional learning value to the students and innovative, operational plans which add value to clients.

The Wharton-Fudan GCP

Since 2005, the Wharton GCP has started, the first time in China, to cooperate with Fudan MBA program to launch Wharton-Fudan GCP. In the past five years, Fudan and Wharton have successfully worked on a wide range issues for clients in sectors as diverse as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and restaurant services.

The format of the project is as follows:

• The project is consisted of five Fudan MBA students and five Wharton MBA students.
• The team delivers an international consulting project to a Chinese firm with the intention to enter or expand in the USA.
• The project will start in November. From November to December, the team works out the project specifics.
• Wharton students will come to China for a week in December to work with the client and the Fudan teammates.
• From January to May, the team works on the project.
• Fudan students will spend a week at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in May with the client for the final presentation and bring-alive sessions.
• Fudan students earn 2 credits of an International Business elective for the Spring semester.

Benefits for Students

• A reality education experience in which students apply concepts, methods, and paradigms they have learned in the classroom
• An international virtual team experience which allows students to build horizontal self-managed team capabilities
• An opportunity to develop the ability to be a trusted advisor in any field: consulting, brand management, international project management, etc.
• Entrance into a international professional and academic network of resources
• Travel to America with expenses paid by client
• Develop and expand a global professional network
• Earn 2 credits in International Business
• Have fun and make great friends around the world as you undertake demanding work.

The GCP Project for 2010-2011

CHINA HOME AND GARDEN

China Home and Garden is a privately-owned leading design house, manufacturer, wholesaler and importer of lifestyle products for home and garden. With a broad offering of almost 10,000 products covering all material categories, China Home and Garden is committed to enhancing life with exceptional products known for their quality, beauty and functionality. They have expanded globally with facilities in the US in Ningbo, China. The company employs around 2000 people on a global basis and serves international distributors from EU, Canada, Japan and Middle East.

　Although the scope and vision of this engagement will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on discussions with the client, the following areas may need to be addressed:

• How to utilize the existing resources to realize B2B branding?
• Evaluate need/value-based customer segmentation to find best segments using interviews and focus groups with retail samples.
• How to turn B2B branding into B2C marketing driving forces?
• How to enter the e-commerce area in China directly addressing the end-consumers and how to leverage their US experience to help this succeed？　

The ideal team for the China Home and Garden project should include students with:

• Sector expertise in B2B marketing
• 　B2C marketing and e-commerce experience

Students who work on this project will likely develop the following skills:

• 　A deeper understanding of the emerging opportunities in the Chinese consumer market B2B and B2C branding and marketing
• Develop robust segmentation strategies
• Develop robust segmentation strategies
• How to manage transitions from B2B to B2C efforts
• Deploying e-commerce strategies

Project Requirements:

• Professional and ethical conduct.
• Prepared attendance at weekly team meetings with team, faculty and the client.
• Detailed work plans and operational plans for research.
• In January, consulting proposal including deliverables to which client agrees.
• Devils’ Advocate presentation in February to get feedback on research methodology.
• In March, consulting progress report and agreement with client on final deliverables.
• Final report (both oral and written) to client in May.
• Defense of the final conclusions and final recommendations in a day-long meeting with clients at Wharton in May.

　Key Milestones for the Wharton-Fudan GCP(2010-2011)

Important Dates	Event	Time	Location
Sept. 28, 2010	Information Session	19:00 – 20:30	Room 403, Starr Building
Oct. 8, 2010	Application Deadline	12:00 pm
Oct. 12, 2010	Interview	18:30 - 21:30	Room 705, Starr Building
Oct. 15, 2010	Acceptance Notification
Oct. 26, 2010	GCP Student Orientation	17:00 - 18:00	Room 704, Starr Building
Nov. 3, 2010	Kick-off meeting with the Wharton students ( by teleconference)	TBD	Room 704, Starr Building
Dec. 29, 2010- Jan.3, 2011	Meeting with Wharton students	9:00 – 18:00	Starr Building
Jan. – Feb. 2011	Primary research/1st phase
Feb. 13, 2011 (Tentative)	Devil’s Advocate	TBD	Room 704, Starr Building
Mid February and early March	Progress review with client
Late February through April	Strategy formulation/ 2nd phase
Tentatively *Tuesdays March 1 – May 3，2010	Class	19:00-21:00	Room 704, Starr Building
May 7-13, 2011	Final Colloquium (Full attendance is mandatory – Colloquium is considered the final for the class.)		Wharton School, Philadelphia

　

Applicants:

Registered Fudan MBA students

Application Process

Students apply for the admission to the program. The first- pass screening of applications will be done on the basis of your cover letter and resume. 15-20 students will be selected for the interviews by Fudan faculty and the client company. Subsequent to the interview process, 5 students will be selected on the basis of their:

• English proficiency
• commitment to the program
• relevant experience and skills　
• leadership and teamwork　
• balance of strengths need for a particular project.　

Application Materials:

A. Cover Letter

　Please indicate in the upper left hand corner of your cover letter: your name and class, student ID, email address and phone number.　 Please include in your cover letter　(2 to 3 pages in length) the following information:　

1)　 The reasons for your interest in participating in GCP, and your expectations for personal gain from participation in a GCP project.　

2)　 The strengths, knowledge and work expertise that you can bring to the project. Specifically, describe:

• Experience closely related to the subject or industry of the project.
• Previous consulting or marketing experience.
• Previous international experience.
• Previous teamwork and leadership experience.

B. Resume both in English and Chinese

C. Letter of commitment

Please read the attached commitment letter carefully.　Be certain at the time you apply that you are able to commit to the scheduled dates for the program's trips and seminars.　You will be asked to sign that you understand and will be able to keep these commitments as part of the application procedure.

Application Deadline

Please send your cover letter, resume and the letter of commitment to the MBA Office (Room 709, Starr Building). Application via email will NOT be accepted. All submissions will be received by 12:00 noon on Friday, Oct. 8, 2010.

For more information, please visit https://www.fdsm.fudan.edu.cn/fdrs/jump?link=!!mktgweb!@wharton!@upenn!@edu/gcpcourse/ , http://www.fdsm.fudan.edu.cn/fdmba/gcp.aspx or contact Huang Xuan at 55664739, Room 709, Starr Building.　　

　

Attachment: Letter of Commitment

　

MBA Program

Sept. 15, 2010