Strategic Management: The CSI Sequel

By Gabriella de la Torre, MBA in Hospitality Management, Mexico & USA, 2012-2014 2nd Year

The month of June has flown by for the graduating IMHI students, who have been diligently working on the deliverables for their capstone project.

The Mission: Create a branding or development strategy over the next ten years for Steigenberger Hotel Group (SHG).

After countless sleepless nights, hours of research, report writing, group meetings and feedback sessions with Professor Nicolas Graf, the final reports have been turned in, and the groups are now looking forward to July 1st, when our findings will be presented to SHG representatives.

Looking back on this experience that occupied virtually every waking moment for the IMHI students, we have the chance to hear about the CSI / Strategic Management challenge first hand from different group members.

Gaelle Nziwoué, Second-Year Student
“CSI or Human Resources? The experience would have been beneficial if the only objective of this exercise was to be good consultants and truly satisfy the needs of the company we were advising regarding its international expansion plan. However, the real challenge was to come together and work non-stop with five people with different experiences and personalities. Nevertheless, each of us learned to be patient, to respect others and to let go of his or her ego for the benefit of the greater team. All of us were conscious of the need to adopt this philosophy in order to overcome the workload that was imposed on us. In the end, with only a few weeks before the end of our studies, there was not a better way to prepare us for the professional world.”

Bruno Trenchard, Second-Year Student
“A tough, demanding, but highly enriching experience that taught us how to work in a professional context with all the issues involved. Managing a team, explaining different concepts, motivating teammates, and working in a good atmosphere are the things that are best learned on the field, and through this project.”

Sara Semaan, Second-Year Student
“Contrary to everything I have heard from students who already did the project—‘It is hard.’ ‘You will get into fights with each other.’ ‘You will hate your group after CSI.’ My experience was contrary to everything I was expecting. CSI was great! It was challenging, since it required us to sum up and combine everything we have learned during the previous two years in one long project. It was time consuming. We couldn’t focus on other courses, and even annoying at some point! But at the same time, it was fun! You should choose your teammates wisely, since you are going to spend literally two months with them. I could not be happier with the choice I made from a team standpoint. It was an incredible team! These two last months are what I will remember the most from IMHI!” 

Luc Jiguet, One-Year Track Student
"CSI has been by far the biggest challenge of the MBA. It asked all members of the team to [come together to] make a strong analysis for the hotel company. The core competencies and other theories learned during the program were utilized in order to create the best teamwork possible for the project. A good experience to remember for any hardship that we may encounter at work. Just three words would summarize CSI: never give up!”

With a variety of viewpoints and feedback, CSI and Strategic Management have proven to be a challenging experience from a number of standpoints that has prepared us for difficulties we may face in the real world. Stay tuned for the results and experience of our final presentations on July 1st!

Current IMHI student status: Sleep-deprived...