IBD Objectives
The participants in a typical Haas course
include the students and the instructor. In the IBD program,
however, a third group of participants plays a very significant
role. These are the client companies. Without them, the
program can not be successful. We need to see how this third
group's objectives alter the environment in which we operate.
Student Objectives
The objectives for the students involved in IBD are varied
but generally include: obtaining a rewarding educational
experience, exposure to a new country and culture, and an
opportunity to work on an interesting, relevant, real life
project with the potential to contribute towards a significant
result.
Client Objectives
Clients generally participate for one of two reasons (or
both). The most important objective is to obtain assistance,
from a competent source, in solving a problem that confronts
them. In addition, they may be interested in recruiting
from amongst the Haas student body and see participation
as a means of evaluating potential candidates.
Objectives Can Conflict
Experience indicates that these two sets of objectives can
conflict. For example, a client may need assistance on a
project in Japan. The team assigned to such a project would
obviously require Japanese language ability to perform effectively.
Yet, a speaker of Japanese may already have experience in
Japan and be desirous of an experience in some other part
of the world, for example Africa or Latin America. Likewise,
a Spanish speaker may wish to work on a project in Asia,
or someone with a finance background may wish to try their
hand at marketing.
The Client Comes First
In assigning teams to clients, student preferences for location,
function, type of industry, etc., will be honored as much
as possible. However, in order to provide the highest quality
team possible to each and every client, compromises must
be made. Thus students generally cannot expect to get their
first preferences in all categories. Every student will
be assigned to a project that provides new challenges in
a new environment. Although it might be a familiar country,
industry or function, other aspects will be entirely new.
