" The world does not benefit when you are merely trying to copy someone else...The world as a whole benefits most when you do something new or when you do it better or differently."

-Roger Ward Babson, 1935

BCAP Key Features at a Glance

• Two-semester projects starting at the beginning of the Fall semester and finishing at the end of the Spring semester
• 1st-year MBA teams of four to six students
• Faculty or Executive in Residence assigned as a Project Advisor

How the Babson Consulting Alliance Program Works

Business leaders have recognized that there should be more interaction between business schools and the business community. This kind of curriculum is addressed through Babson's BCAP Program (formerly the Business Mentor Program). The purpose of the program is to provide cost effective competitive analysis and consulting services to alliance companies while providing a real world business environment for MBA candidates to utilize what they have learned in the classroom.

In the BCAP Program, groups of five or six first-year MBA candidates are matched with alliance companies from industries in which they have expressed a career interest. In the past, students have acted as consultants to both for profit and non-profit organizations of varying sizes in diverse industries. The students' relationships with these organizations last through the entire first year. Guided by an advisor, BCAP teams work directly with company representatives to complete an "exercise" and a "major project."

The first, an assessment exercise, is an analysis of the company's industry structure and competitive environment. During the Fall semester, each team draws upon the analytic techniques and skills taught in Modules I and II of their MBA classes to prepare a comparative investigation of the alliance company against one of its major competitors. Students conclude this exercise with a written report and group presentation to alliance company executives and a faculty panel.

The second project is typically a consulting project that addresses a current issue of the company's choice. The project is designed to address specific alliance company needs and should address the tactical aspect of strategy implementation rather than strategy formulation. Past projects have focused on topics such as market segmentation, organizational design, performance measurement, activity analysis, and costing skills that are developed in Modules III and IV of the MBA curriculum. The project concludes with a written report and presentation of the evaluation and recommendations of the team to company executives.

Babson's Innovative Curriculum

In the past, business leaders have stated that a strictly functional approach to management education is no longer useful in today's complex global business environment because real business problems do not come in discrete functional blocks. In order to meet the demands of this new international marketplace, the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College (the "Olin School of Business") developed an MBA program curriculum to address these specific needs of corporations. The Two-Year MBA is a coordinated curriculum based on the theme of developing entrepreneurial management skills for a changing global environment. First-year discussions and course work trace the business development cycle from the assessment of opportunity through development of products and services, to creation of marketing and delivery systems, and on to the growing business in a changing global environment. The following program fundamentals are addressed in discussions, case studies, and field-based projects:

• Innovation as a strategic tool
• Entrepreneurial thinking
• Quality as a competitive advantage
• The importance of a global mindset
• The value of leadership.

Using the concept of integrative learning, the first year MBA curriculum utilizes the following four modules to accomplish its academic objectives:

1. Creative Management in Dynamic Organizations
2.  Assessing Business Opportunities
3. Designing & Managing the Delivery System
4. Growing & Renewing Businesses

These modules provide MBA graduates with the perspective and the cross-functional skills necessary to handle the challenges of a dynamic business environment.

The Babson MBA Candidate

Since our Two-Year MBA curriculum is a dramatic break from tradition, it attracts candidates who desire a hands-on approach to management. These candidates have the skills and interests necessary to compete in, and contribute to, today's rapidly changing management structure. The students are interested in global management, and they work enthusiastically in a team setting. They also appreciate the creativity that is inherent in management and are able to confront the ambiguity that is part of every business decision.

Babson Advisors to the BCAP Program

Babson faculty or Executive In Residence act as advisors to the Babson Consulting Alliance Program and bring extensive business experience and knowledge to the program and are able to guide the BCAP teams with lessons from their own careers. The experience of faculty members varies: they are practitioners and scholars, executives and teachers, and researchers and consultants. Ninety percent of the faculty have doctoral-level degrees. Furthermore, the advisor plays a key role not only by keeping the interest of the company in mind but also by recognizing the importance of the learning experience for the students.

Babson: A Tradition of Successful Business Partnering

The Babson Consulting Alliance Program is Babson's most ambitious effort to tie curriculum to business study. Babson has successfully partnered with a number of different businesses for many years. For the BCAP Program to thrive, we rely upon the input and participation of sponsoring companies. Therefore, we invite companies of all sizes to become alliance companies. If your company is interested in becoming a participant in this exciting program, please complete the BCAP Program Application, and contact Tom Simon, Manager Corporate Outreach.