Every PSU undergraduate business student completes a capstone course, Business Strategy: The Formulation and Implementation of Business/Organization Strategies, that takes students out of the classroom and into the business world by using the knowledge they've gained at PSU to consult a community organization. From marketing to finance, students will work in a team to experience and respond to the same risks and uncertainties faced by all businesses, under the guidance of an instructor with professional consulting experience.
For Community Partners
Community partners can be any type of organization in the Portland Metro area, from startups to nonprofit agencies, needing thorough analysis to address important strategic issues. Small and emerging businesses can find the support they need at Portland State University. The Business Strategy Capstone is a way for business students from different majors to combine their knowledge and work together in the field with an external partner. Students conduct a comprehensive analysis of an organization, its industry, competitors, and general environment to inform viable strategic alternatives. Deliverables range from a business plan to more targeted analyses such as a feasibility study for a new product or service.
A key component of the course is ethical and social responsibility, specifically in the area of sustainability. Students are exposed to some of the leading strategies in the pursuit of social and environmental missions as well as the traditional economic mission. These strategies include entry into green energy and the pursuit of the triple bottom line by companies in different sectors. The students are encouraged to consider these approaches in the context of their client projects.
These services are provided to community partners at no cost and happen over a 10-week academic term. Any small business, startup or nonprofit agency interested in becoming a community partner for this program should visit our Community Partner page.
"They laid a road map for what our long-term vision is. Having 10 PSU business students work on our nonprofit for an entire term, we really got a ton out of it." - Shelley Darcy, Executive Director, Super Project Lab
For Students
The course is structured around interdisciplinary student teams working directly with a community partner. The student teams work to identify their partner organization’s strengths and weaknesses while developing a comprehensive written business plan. The purpose is for students with different business majors to work together to apply all of their business academic course work and test their core competencies in a real-world project with a real-world client. Students experience and respond to the same risks and uncertainties that their client faces on a daily basis under the guidance of the course instructor, who has professional consulting experience.