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Author: floris_liu3

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Participating in a hospitality consulting project seemed pretty straightforward. Then, COVID-19 hit.

This spring my International Business Strategy class, taught by Professor Laura D’Antonio, was given the unique opportunity to do a virtual consulting project with Marriott International. We were tasked with researching and presenting recommendations for Marriott’s growth strategy in the Asia Pacific region over the next five years. Despite the nerve-racking high stakes of working with a real client, my classmates and I were thrilled for the chance to engage in hands-on learning. 

When the course started in January 2020, COVID-19 hadn’t yet reached pandemic status. The virus didn’t even have a name. Soon after we began, however, it became evident that the effects of the pandemic’s disruption on the global hospitality industry would be unignorable and long-lasting. 

Over the course of the project we worked closely with members of the Hong Kong-based Marriott International Asia Pacific leadership team including the Sr. Director of the Strategy Management Office and the Chief Financial Officer. Gregg Rockett, a GWSB lecturer and industry expert, also provided valuable insights by critiquing our projects and hosting an informative webinar on hospitality industry finance. 

Throughout the semester, Professor D’Antonio worked closely with the Marriott team to refine the scope of our projects in light of the evolving pandemic. My team pivoted our focus from analyzing expansion opportunities to predicting new opportunities arising from changes in post-COVID consumer behavior. We analyzed similar shifts in consumer behavior following other global crises such as the 2003 SARS pandemic and the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, and our findings were able to inform our recommendations as well as our classmates’ projects. 

The pandemic’s evolution certainly threw a wrench into the planned course of this engagement. Fortunately, we knew from the beginning that we needed to be adaptable when working with a live client and Professor D’Antonio had prepared us to succeed amid ambiguity from Day 1. 

Ultimately, the challenges experienced from engaging in this project-based learning experience during COVID-19 created a more rich, unique and meaningful learning experience for myself and my classmates. 

Nicole Fitchett  is a ’21 MBA Candidate at The George Washington University School of Business.

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How do you hold yourself accountable? I write checklists and receive unfounded joy when checking a box off. I rely on systems to monitor and prioritize tasks whereas for others, it’s more passive and all about consistent routines and creating the right setting. But as memes about day pajamas and night pajamas or wearing blankets as pants circle the web, adjusting to the demands of 2020’s WFH lifestyle requires professionalism and self-discipline against distressing news. Finding the silver lining takes effort as we navigate a bizarre semester that puts our self-accountability to the test. 

After two months into the stay-at-home order, I’ve been impressed by the speed at which colleagues and faculty have adapted to new technologies. As a Graduate Assistant for the Global MBA’s signature Consulting Abroad Project course, our student teams did not miss a beat working with clients in Germany, Singapore, and South Africa. Our clients may be scattered across the globe but their dedication as a Global Partner never wavered. The in-country travel was suspended yet rather than wallow in disappointment, our teams continued to refine their recommendations in the wake of the pandemic. With many online communication trainings available, our teams have had to keep their heads up and embrace the challenges required by virtual presentations. 

The shift to all online meetings has created the expectation for all of us to be comfortable on a multitude of online platforms. Student rehearsal presentations were judged externally and provided students with best practices for online presenting: lighting, centering your face on the screen, smiling and projecting enthusiasm posed challenges different than those of presenting to a room. In group meetings, small talk and mic sharing play more critical roles in maintaining relationships when separated by physical distance. While some may prefer one mode over another, the experience is growing an important skill set that might have otherwise gone unnurtured. This experience forces everyone to adapt and keep their heads up. 

A GW professor lent me Angela Duckworth’s book, Grit, last semester who writes, “One form of perseverance is the daily discipline of trying to do things better than we did yesterday.” We hold ourselves accountable to keep persevering and must honor the learning required by distanced relationships and virtual communication. Across my networks at GW, friends, colleagues and advisors help keep me accountable and satisfied. We share a collective accountability through frequent communication and scheduled FaceTime happy hours. 

I am fortunate to be healthy and surrounded by friends and colleagues that maintain positivity and grit in this unprecedented challenge. As we all prepare to enter the global job market, our accountability is being put to the test and growing our virtual communication skills is important. Aim to do better than the day before and you might find yourself motivated to persevere. Now that I’ve written this, I can check another item off my list.  

Drew Otto is a ‘20 Global MBA Candidate at The George Washington University School of Business.

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Upon learning that the Consulting Abroad Program (CAP) would not include travel to South Africa in May, students and faculty alike were understandably disappointed. There would be no in-person visits to the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. No late evenings perfecting the presentations at the hotel in Cape Town. No opportunity to meet face to face with the clients at Cenfri, Discovery, Darling Sweet and Lulalend. However, as the Student Administrative Assistant supporting this program, I have been very pleased at how everyone involved in CAP, from students and faculty, to Global Partners and guest advisers, have demonstrated commitment to ensuring the success of the program.

A screenshot of team Lulalend's final presentation deck. 

This occurred because G&EE swiftly decided the program would continue to the fullest extent possible via distance learning. Communication between the students and the Global Partners, which is always done virtually throughout the semester, has continued with minimal interruption. The students have been working diligently to provide valuable recommendations and insights to their clients. Faculty, Student Administrative Assistants, and guest speakers have remained committed to setting the students up to succeed.

Throughout CAP, students gain hands-on experience practicing some of the most important 21st century business skills, such as teamwork, communication, client engagement, satisfying requirements from multiple stakeholders, and presentational speaking. In addition, students have also gained skills working with a variety of virtual communication platforms including Blackboard Collaborate, WebEx, Adobe Connect. Proficiency with these tools will undoubtedly be in high demand, even as life slowly returns to normal.

On April 20th G&EE hosted the virtual Panel Presentations, during which each student team presented their preliminary findings to a group of experts. The South Africa cohort was especially fortunate, as they received feedback and guidance from professionals from Deloitte, the World Bank, and the Embassy of South Africa. As I write this, the students are hard at work incorporating this new advice and putting the finishing touches on their reports and presentations. Although the presentations were delivered virtually, GWSB’s strong professional connections and alumni network in DC were instrumental in securing the evaluators’ participation.

It has certainly been a challenging semester, both inside and outside the classroom. People often say that what really matters in life is not what happens, but how you react to it. Everyone involved in CAP has been very resilient, and I am confident that the students have learned a great deal during the process. Next week, the students will deliver final presentations to their Global Partners, and we will conclude with a virtual happy hour. Although we will be unable to celebrate in South Africa, hopefully we can bring a bit of South Africa’s spirit to DC. Virtually, of course.

Mike Bonfatto is a ‘20 Global MBA Candidate at The George Washington University School of Business.

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Dr. Kirsten Martin, Associate Professor of Strategic Management and Public Policy, partnered with Global & Experiential Education (G&EE) to develop the Business & Society Series course Corporate Fraud and Corruption to help students better understand the scope of corporate fraud and corruption, identify fraud and corruption in accounting statements, as well as appreciate the significance of trust in organizations and markets. 

The latest iteration of this intensive experiential course took place January 8-11, 2020. Participants spoke with experts working in Washington DC’s many major regulators and law enforcement agencies including the SEC, FBI, DOJ, as well as criminal defense attorneys and whistleblower experts. Students also heard the perspectives of private industry ‘insiders’ such as general counsels and accountants.

Below is 2020 PMBA candidate Maisha Williams’ reflection on her experience taking this unique and important course.

I was surprised by the varying perspectives that each of the speakers brought based on their roles in the investigations. Having the opportunity to hear from prosecutors, FBI investigators, the SEC, a reporter, a defense attorney and an attorney representing whistleblowers was extremely powerful. It was interesting how those on the side of investigating potential fraud cases were less sympathetic to the defendants and more supportive of whistleblowers while those responsible for representing defendants believed that most people involved in fraud cases were good people at their core and just found themselves in bad situations.

Despite the varying perspectives, there were several common themes that were shared among all of the speakers. Each of the speakers mentioned that many defendants rationalized their behavior and would never quite admit their wrongdoing. The speakers also agreed that fraud was generally born out of an environment with weak internal controls and ineffective compliance offices where the company culture accepted small wrongdoing setting a tone for playing outside the rules. 

I was surprised to hear how important both interpersonal skills and trust were in all of the speakers’ jobs in order for them to be effective. I was also surprised by how many people were aware of wrongdoing but did not speak up.

As a CFO, this course was extremely valuable for me in a very practical way. In my role, I am responsible for certifying my organization’s financial statements, establishing the culture and setting a tone at the top. I now have a better understanding of my responsibility as a CFO and have very concrete actions to take to ensure that I set a solid example for how people are supposed to behave and to create a culture that fosters openness and accountability in the event that anyone finds themselves at an impasse to ensure that they are incentivized to do the right thing all the time.

Maisha Williams is a ‘20 PMBA candidate at The George Washington University School of Business. She is Vice President of Finance and Administration & Chief Financial Officer at Marymount Manhattan College in New York.

 

 

To read more Business & Society Series reflections on our blog, click here.

To learn more about the Business & Society Series, click here.

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