Dr Bethania Mendes De Brito Antunes

This course is compulsory on the MSc in Management (1 Year Programme) and MSc in Management (1 Year Programme) (Work Placement Pathway). This course is not available as an outside option to students on other programmes.

This Capstone Course connects management theory to practice through an intensive consulting project that challenges students to apply knowledge from across the MSc Management programme, including strategy, marketing, operations, organisational behaviour, and finance, to real business problems. 

The course centres on a client company consulting engagement delivered over two key phases. During the Winter Term reading week, students travel internationally to visit companies and immerse themselves in their industries, competitive contexts, and strategic challenges. Building on insights from this trip, as well as professional skills developed through the Careers team's leadership programme, student teams tackle their client's business problem(s) during a dedicated sprint week in London in the Spring Term. 

Working in groups, students create managerial recommendations that can improve and defend the client firm's competitive advantage. Success requires balancing company objectives with available resources, applying analytical techniques alongside strategic reasoning, and moving fluidly between big-picture thinking and fine-grained detail. The capstone demonstrates students' ability to integrate theoretical knowledge, practical skills, and collaborative problem-solving under real-world constraints. 

Approximately 30 hours of work during each of an international trip in the Winter Term and a project week in the Spring Term, with preparatory seminars ahead of each. 

In its Ethics Code, LSE upholds a commitment to intellectual freedom. This means we will protect the freedom of expression of our students and staff and the right to engage in healthy debate in the classroom.

In the first part of the course, in-class case discussions will prepare students for the individual essay.

In the second part of the course, formative feedback will be provided on the basis of preparatory seminar work.

• Baaij, M. G. (2022). An Introduction to Management Consultancy (Second Edition). Sage Publications.
• Rasiel, E. M. (1999). The McKinsey Way: Using the Techniques of the World's Top Strategic Consultants to Help You and Your Business. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Schein, E. H. (2017). Organizational Culture and Leadership, 5th edition. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
• Yukl, G. A. (2012) Leadership in Organizations.

Project (60%, 2000 words).

Essay (30%, 1500 words).

Learning Log / reflective learning report (10%).

This course is assessed on an individual essay (30%), project report (60%), and a reflective learning report with a peer evaluation component (10%) that makes use of the concepts from the course and their application illustrated in the international trip. Details will be discussed during lectures.

For detailed assessment information, including all deadlines and timings, please see the relevant course Moodle page. Assessment timings will be available at the start of each term.