Equipping yourself for the future: The valuable lessons to learn in consulting
by Alyse Pasqualini
February 8, 2022
I worked with a team throughout the semester to develop a consulting case for a company. Working on this case provided me with a real world understanding of consulting which aligns with my vision of working in Healthcare Management, as the profession will require me to work in teams to create recommendations for the improvement of healthcare processes. This case served as a steppingstone to my personal strategy by introducing me to this area of business and allowing me to develop the skills that are necessary to collaborate effectively in a team and provide quality research and recommendations to support the decision-making process of a company.
Choosing the Case
Our team chose Lucid Motors as our company of focus for the consulting case. Lucid is an up-and-coming luxury electric vehicle company that delivered its first round of cars to customers in October, 20211. Because the company is a prominent player in the electric vehicle market and is growing at a rapid rate, our team thought that it would be exciting to develop a case regarding the expansion of its vehicle production to other countries.
Personally, I was excited to learn more about the development of the electric vehicle industry around the world and the way in which electric vehicles are revolutionizing transportation. Our team’s enthusiasm and feeling of personal investment in this case enhanced our final product.
The Challenge
As of November 15, 2021, Lucid had over 17,000 reservations on its Lucid Air model 2. The company currently operates one production facility in Casa Grande, Arizona, but as demand for its electric vehicles accelerates globally, our group determined that the company will likely need to establish additional production facilities in new locations to keep up with demand.
As a team, we identified Spain and South Africa as potential locations for the expansion of Lucid production due to the inclination of these countries to establish themselves as electric vehicle manufacturing hubs.
Working with a Team
The experience of working with this team taught me several useful skills that I can apply in my future endeavors. I learned about the importance of effective communication and the strategic division of responsibility within a group in determining the success of a team. I was also surprised by the connections that I formed with my groupmates throughout the semester as we worked on this project.
“I will be able to use this experience to collaborate with groups in future academic pursuits and in my professional life as well.”
– Alyse Pasqualini, BE-EDGE Case Consultant
Investment in Employability
One main takeaway that I learned from this consulting case is the importance of collecting detailed evidence and data to support a decision-making process. I also learned about the value of viewing a situation from multiple perspectives and presenting important information in a clear and concise manner. The style of writing that we employed while writing the case was unfamiliar to me, but by the end of the semester I felt as though I had improved my ability to write in a succinct and direct manner.
Consulting is an area of my professional interest, so these will be important skills to use in the professional world when providing presentations and recommendations. Overall, working on the consulting case introduced me to a variety of new skills that will be valuable to keep with me in the future.
If you want to try a role of a case consultant, check out the BE-EDGE Consult-a-Thon.
About the author:
Alyse Pasqualini is a first-year student at Northeastern University. She is studying Business Administration and Health Science in the University Honors Program. She has also declared a concentration in Healthcare Management & Consulting. She plans to pursue a career as a hospital administrator or a quality improvement manager for a healthcare organization.
