MBA Capstone Experience

The Capstone Experience is the comprehensive application of the MBA curriculum in a strategic context. Working in small teams with a faculty advisor, students take a strategic business perspective to frame and analyze an issue posed by an area organization. The team a) develops an enterprise-level understanding of the organization's industry and business model, b) applies an appropriate analytical framework to address the client's functional concerns, c) presents recommendations to the client, and d) reports to the MBA faculty with a summary of the situation and its strategic analysis. Clients come from all over the Midwest, but primarily represent businesses and non-profit organizations in northeast Iowa. The projects meet the specific needs of a client, but typically address strategic planning, marketing analysis, process analysis, or feasibility questions. The projects occur year from January through August. The teams consist of three to five students with sufficient diversity to analyze a business problem from a strategic perspective. Each team will include members with expertise across a range of business functions, business cultures, and analytical methods. A mentor from the graduate faculty works with each team, and the team makes several reports to the entire MBA faculty over the course of the project. Our aim is to insure that each team has access to the expertise and resources it will need to effectively complete the project.