MBA Students Analyze Case Study With Chant Aljian

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YEREVAN, Armenia — On October 17, the American University of Armenia (AUA) Master of Business Administration (MBA) program hosted Strategy Consultant Chant Aljian within the scope of the second of the guest speaker series organized in the current semester. The session entitled “Effective Strategies at Minco” focused on a case study aimed at immersing students in devising strategies within a specific industry context. 

At the beginning of the session, Aljian presented the strategy pyramid of Minco, a junior exploration mining company with a few projects currently underway, searching for polymetallic mineral deposits with the objective of maximizing shareholder wealth.

The students — assuming the role of strategy consultants for Minco — touched upon various concepts to solve the case. They identified the potential impact of the business using SWOT analysis, followed by identifying its objectives using SMART criteria. The students also analyzed market demand and industry supply using the HOOF approach and Porter’s five forces, relying upon data presented by the speaker in various charts. Sketching the matrix of resource capability, strengths and weaknesses and analysis of various scenarios helped the students portray the current and targeted level of competitiveness and lay out Minco’s risks and opportunities.

The objective of this and similar sessions within the frames of Strategy class is to enhance students’ analytical abilities and teach them to critically evaluate and synthesize a business case, as well as conceptualize the big picture. This specific guest session gave the students a unique experience in ideating, thinking beyond solving problems, and designing strategic initiatives on behalf of Minco. The students were able to express their own understanding of the current situation, complications and prospects in the economic/political landscape and gain experience in solving business cases using qualitative and quantitative analysis.

“Strategic foresight is an important domain for all businesses, irrespective of size (small, medium or large), organizational type (start-up, public organization, NGO or a private business), as well as industry. The fundamental question in the field of strategic management is how firms achieve and sustain competitive advantage. This is especially imperative nowadays as competition is fierce and firms are operating under high uncertainty. Hence, we want to ensure our students think through those lenses when defining what’s next for their organizations both in terms of maximizing current efficiency and exploring new opportunities. Those dynamic capabilities are essential when navigating through the modern day business environment to not only create but also sustain a competitive advantage. Both in academic literature (behavioral theory) as well as practice we witness firms that seize innovative opportunities are likely to have managers with sufficient strategic foresight. Our role in MBA is to enhance and calibrate those distinctive competencies. Through such academia-industry immersion we sustain our cutting-edge knowledge delivery to our MBA students, broadening their horizon to develop systems-thinking within the macro and micro environment of businesses,” summed up MBA Program Chair and College of Business and Economics Associate Professor Dr. Beglaryan.

The MBA program places priority attention on the practical component of the program, providing state-of-the-art knowledge and continually challenging and encouraging its students to become the very best professionals as entrepreneurs, industry leaders and responsible citizens.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, affiliated with the University of California, and accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission in the United States. AUA provides local and international students with Western-style education through top-quality undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values.