Master
2022/2023
Research Seminar "System Thinking and Problem Solving"
Type:
Compulsory course (Strategic Management and Consulting)
Area of studies:
Management
Delivered by:
Department of Strategic and International Management
Where:
Graduate School of Business
When:
1 year, 4 module
Mode of studies:
offline
Open to:
students of one campus
Master’s programme:
Стратегический менеджмент и консалтинг
Language:
English
ECTS credits:
3
Contact hours:
24
Course Syllabus
Abstract
This research seminar is a part of a professional cycle of disciplines and a block of disciplines providing training for students applied for a master’s program “Strategic Management and Consulting”. The project seminar has a practical focus and is intended to provide skills in problem solving by constant system thinking approach. During this seminar, the knowledge and skills gained by students in the field of strategic management, financial management and marketing are applied. As part of the seminar, students learn the set of most versatile and value-adding tools used by the world’s leading business analysts, transformation experts and management consultants. During the practical part of the seminar, students form small project groups (pairs and/or 5-7 people each) to further proceed with tools implementation in cases that happened to real companies, where they solve the tasks in consecutive and logically interconnected way. Students are intended to make small presentations showing the result at the end of each case. At the end of the course, the exam will be held to test the knowledge and skills.
Learning Objectives
- 1. Decompose tasks based on the decision tree approach
- 2. Create hypothesis while solving the problem
- 3. Select and apply methodologies and tools generally accepted in the practice of consulting companies when collecting and analyzing data, interpreting the results of the analysis and developing structured decisions and recommendations
Expected Learning Outcomes
- 1. Identify problems based on careful information collection;
- 2. Choose tools for information processing in accordance with the assigned management task, analyze the results of the analysis and substantiate the conclusions;
- 3. Find relevant information from various sources, including using modern information and communication technologies, evaluate it and use it to solve the assigned management task;
- 4. Find solutions to problems in professional activities, including the international environment, based on critical analysis and synthesis of information;
- 5. Conduct business communication and public speaking, conduct negotiations, meetings;
- 6. Propose rational organizational and managerial decisions, taking into account their social significance, and evaluate the conditions and consequences of the proposed decisions;
- 7. Apply key methodologies and tools, including: Data collection planning, Five ways, Hypothesis Capture, Pain Point Analysis Tool, and others;
- 8. Work effectively in a team, understanding the main roles of team members and taking into account intercultural diversity;
Course Contents
- 1. Introduction to system thinking and problem solving
- 2. Tools to identify problems and conduct a data collection
- 3. Hypothesis creation and assessment tools
- 4. Tools to drive and plan the changes inside organization
- 5. Transformation readiness tools
Interim Assessment
- 2022/2023 4th module0.4 * Exam + 0.2 * Individual case assessment + 0.4 * 4 group cases
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
- Grant, R. M. (2016). Contemporary Strategy Analysis (Vol. Text, Ninth edition). Chichester: Wiley. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1639480
- Porter, M. E. (1998). Competitive Strategy : Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors (Vol. [New ed.]). New York: Free Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1964532
- Strategic management : Concepts and Cases, 9th ed., 1035 p., Thompson, A. A., Strickland, A. J., 1996
Recommended Additional Bibliography
- Grant, R. M. (2016). Contemporary Strategy Analysis : Text and Cases: Vol. Text and Cases, Ninth edition. Wiley.