Field Casework: Methods for Consulting to Small and Startup Businesses

An indispensable guide for students who consult to businesses. --Jerry Katz, Series Editor Thousands of students participate in fieldwork experiences every year. Field Casework addresses the common questions and concerns of students engaging in consulting projects for small and startup businesses. Offering practical guidance, this informative text supports and directs the reader from the initial project assignment and client meeting to the closing presentation and exit meeting. Primary chapters are devoted to establishing client relationships, conducting the information search, maintaining a cohesive student consulting team, and developing recommendations for the client business. A unique feature of this book is the incorporation of student reactions, responses and advice in each chapter. Information about the role of the Small Business Administration, and Small Business Institutes, confidentiality, and ethical considerations is included in two appendixes. This book is an excellent resource and essential guide for students of management, organizational studies, economics, and marketing or a variety of other courses that require consulting projects. The real-world examples, sound methods, and student feedback provided make Field Casework an extremely relevant text. ^B^

Lisa Gundry is Professor of Management in the Charles H. Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University, where she teaches courses in Creativity in Business, Entrepreneurship & New Venture Management, and Entrepreneurship Strategy.  She is Director of the Leo V. Ryan Center for Creativity and Innovation at DePaul.  The Center offers programs on creative discovery and business innovation to the academic and business communities.   Dr. Gundry was awarded the Innovation in Business Education Award in 1997, by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Mid-Continent East Association. She has also received the DePaul University Excellence in Teaching Award.   

Her most recent book is entitled, Breakthrough Teams for Breakneck Times: Unlocking the Genius of Creative Collaboration (Dearborn Pub: 2001, with L. LaMantia). She is also co-author of Blueprints for Innovation, with Charles W. Prather, 1995, Amacom, and Field Casework:  Methods for Consulting to Small and Start-up Businesses, (Sage with A. Buchko, 1996). Dr. Gundry has published numerous articles in journals including, Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of Management, Journal of Business Ethics, Human Relations, Journal of Small Business Management, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Journal of Enterprising Culture, Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, and Organizational Dynamics. She conducts research on issues related to innovative processes in organizations, entrepreneurial growth strategies, and creativity in business. Her work has been featured in media such as The Wall St. Journal, Newsweek, Business Week, Chicago Tribune, Crain’s Chicago Business.