Description
Overview
Business Organization and Development (BOND) is a student run non-profit organization based in Ann Arbor, MI. We focus on providing consulting services to local businesses and non-profit organizations. BOND seeks to benefit small and medium sized businesses and non-profit organizations that are unable or unwilling to employ professional external consulting services. The organization comprises of an interdisciplinary base of University of Michigan undergraduate students who are interested in the consulting industry and in learning skills pertaining to professional development in the same.
Mission Statement
Our mission is to help our members develop a business mindset by providing them with the right training, experience and exposure to the business world that helps them learn the skills required to be successful in the same.
Value Proposition for Members
While many of our consultants are or plan on pursuing careers in consulting, many are interested in other fields of business. We, at BOND, feel that the mindset of a good consultant is a valuable tool regardless of industry or profession, and this is what we seek to provide our members with. We seek to instill an understanding of the importance of critical analysis, efficiency and feasibility analysis; the ability to think outside the box, to take initiative, and to understand the broader perspective of all procedures. Most importantly, we present our members with a real-world professional experience. The projects we work on are mostly paid for by our clients. The compensation we receive goes to the organization and none of the members, including the officers and the leaders, get a share of this pay. This procedural mode within the organization demands an added level of professionalism, client confidentiality and process standardization. We, thus, actively seek to present our members with a year-long "internship". Consulting is about ideas therefore we seek to teach the importance of having this mindset regardless of the activity. Our objective is to prepare our members to become as successful as possible in whatever field they may pursue in the future and to guide them to discover their full potential.
This approach, coupled with the first hand business experience gained serves to benefit all members regardless of their professional aspirations. Each person within the project group assumes equal responsibility regardless of their grade standing. Those specifically interested in consulting careers can utilize our corporate official and non-official sponsors and contacts to better position themselves for postgraduate consulting opportunities.
BOND strives at all times to add exceptional value to the educational careers of its members. The underlying philosophy of our organization is that consulting is all about learning. While members are expected to gain valuable real world experience from working with clients, it is hoped that members will use this opportunity to understand the client's organization and its market dynamics in order to gain an intrinsic understanding of how a real world business works. It is further hoped that members do not treat the job at hand as "homework", and that they take time to understand and analyze the problem at hand so as to gain a better understanding of the problem. While it is not always possible to arrive at a conclusively correct solution to a given problem, it is expected that the process of understanding the problem, and the various factors associated with it, will prove to be insightful for the members. Learning is our top priority.
How to get involved
Membership
Interested students are highly encouraged to apply to join the organization at any time. However, while interviews and recruiting take place throughout the Fall and Winter semesters, newly recruited members can only start working at the start of an upcoming semester which is when new projects begin. Our members consist of University of Michigan students from all disciplines. All our members are chosen through a very selective recruiting process consisting of two rounds of interviews and an application process.
Eligibility:
Anybody from all majors, years and degrees may apply to BOND. Prior experience or knowledge is not necessary. We also do not require our applicants to be interested in a consulting career. There is no membership fee.
Interview Process:
All applications are carefully studied and selected applicants are invited to an interview with the President. Following this interview, selected applicants are invited to a second round interview with the project managers to see if there is a match in keeping with our current needs. All selected applicants are then formally invited to join BOND.