Learning more about Alcatel-Lucent, Deloitte and Accenture

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

By Sabaah Choudhary, Banreet Garcha and Marco Tascona

Continuing on with the Business in Europe trip after a day off on May 1^st due to a national holiday, students from the Telfer School of Management MBA program had the pleasure of visiting Brussels and Antwerp, Belgium, and some of the successful enterprises these cities boast.

We had the honor of visiting Alcatel-Lucent, Deloitte and Accenture. The purpose of these visits was for us to learn more about European corporations’ business functions and strategies, while taking into consideration the various political and economic contextual factors.

Alcatel-Lucent is a global telecommunications conglomerate that has its headquarters in Paris, France. It is a corporation that is at the forefront of innovation and research in the telecommunications industry due to its world renowned Bell Labs. You may not have heard of the Bell Labs, however the innovations that have come out of the labs have been impressive enough to be recipients of Nobel prizes and other accolades.

We then traveled to Brussels, where we met with Deloitte. Two of their employees and one of their partners shared their thoughts with us on the current economic situation in Europe. Their presentation was clear, frank and very informative. The professionalism and sophistication of the organization was evident throughout.

They explained the wide range of consulting services that they offer for governmental clients. Deloitte Consulting has been growing rapidly in the EU, as their expertise is highly valued given the economic and political uncertainty that permeates the region.

Afterwards, we visited Accenture, where we met an employee who worked as a Lobbyist and Business Development Manager. Her presentation was very interesting and she clearly outlined the challenges she faces on a daily basis. Her role mostly consisted of persuading and informing EU governmental authorities on issues that are of interest to her company.

Both presentations were outstanding and left the group with a much better understanding of the political intricacies and economic challenges that exist on the European continent.