Emma Bauer
BMGT 495
For my practicum, I took BMGT 495, which is a strategic management course. In this course, we were assigned a team and company that we then had to advise through a semester long project. From this course, I learned how to effectively analyze a company and how to advise one, too. I also had to learn how to be an effective team member and leader in order to complete our tasks.
How I have Grown as a Leader, Student, and Professional
BMGT 495 has taught me how to analyze companies through critical thinking skills. Each week, we had to write a discussion post and case study regarding specific companies and different topics. For example, we learned how to do an external and internal analysis of companies and how to tell if they were disruptive innovators or not. Also, I was given the company Uber to analyze for my semester-long project. The attached artifact is my analysis on what their current issues are and how they can solve these issues.
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Artifact:
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Uber is currently struggling with the problem of decreased profits and increased threats from competitors. This is due to the fact that they all perform the same services with the same efficiency and offer similar prices. In order for Uber to be successful in solving their problem, they need to differentiate themselves. To accomplish this they need to expand into other industries. Since Uber is in the connecting business, they can use this to their advantage by connecting people to other services. Some of these services include trucking, fitness, and parking. For example, if they expand into the fitness industry, they can use their technology capabilities to connect someone to a personal trainer through their app. Something else Uber needs to do to gain a competitive advantage against their competitors, such as Doordash and Lyft, is integrate all of their services onto one app. Currently, Uber has separate Uber and UberEats apps. The separation of their different services doesn’t encourage users to take advantage of all of the different services they offer. Creating one app with every service offered will increase convenience for users and help increase customer loyalty by making it easy for users to go to one place for many different types of services. They can also increase customer loyalty through the creation of a rewards program that encompasses all of their services, which would encourage users to choose Uber over one of their competitors when using a particular service.
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Moving Forward
I can apply my practicum to my life moving forward through the skills I have learned. I now know how to use my critical thinking skills to analyze situations. During the rest of my time at UMD, I hope to continue to get more involved on campus and to learn more about my majors and future career options. A field I am potentially interested in is wealth management, but I am not completely set on what I want my career to be. In my job search I will use the leadership skills PL taught me and the experiences I've had to show I'm a well-rounded person.
Resume
Elevator Pitch
Throughout my time in PL, I have learned more about being a leader than ever before. It has taught me how to approach team situations and how to be a strong leader in these situations. PL got me out my business major mindset and has helped me grow as a person. I now approach situations with a more creative mind and more empathy. Combining the critical thinking skills I learned from my practicum and the soft skills learned in PL, I am prepared for any career I end up with in the future.