Courses

This course focuses on the sources of innovation (with a specific focus on digital technologies), the tools and techniques that organizations deploy to innovate routinely, and the strategic implications of technical change at different levels of analysis: individuals, firms and whole ecosystems.

Lecturers: S. Brusoni, A. Zeijen

This course is an introduction to general management. This course follows a systemic view of organizations and adopts the congruence model as a framework to analyze the critical, interconnected elements of organizations.

Lecturers:Z. Zagorac-Uremovic, D. Baschung, J. O'Neil

Alliances within innovation ecosystems are essential for developing new business models that address the increasing complexity of technologies and systems, as well as the intensifying global competition. Organizations are compelled to prioritize selected partnerships for value creation. We will emphasize the role of alliances and collaborations in driving innovation within these ecosystems.

Lecturer: C. G. C. Marxt

The course gives a detailed introduction on various aspects of professional project management out of theory and practice. Established concepts and methods for project organization, planning, execution and evaluation are introduced and major challenges discussed. The course includes an introduction to specialized project management software as well as agile project management concepts.

Lecturer:  C. G. C. Marxt

The bloc-course is about change leadership. It provides MAS students with coaching and mentoring from two senior change leaders in the attempt to develop critical management skills and bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Lecturers: J. O'Neil, D. Röttger

In this course we use the latest research on how individuals can improve at solving problems creatively to foster their careers, and the performance of their organization.

Lecturer: D. Laureiro Martinez

This course focuses on adaptive leadership, which is the ability to adapt one’s leadership approach to different situations, organizations, and people. Adaptive leadership is a fundamental skill in today’s dynamic environment characterized by uncertainty, rapid technological innovation, and continuous strategic and organizational change. The course departs from the premise that in order to be good at leading others and organizations in today’s dynamic environment and organizations one needs to first be good at leading oneself. Being good at leading oneself requires self-knowledge. In this course, we will focus on the cognitive foundations that make for effective and adaptive leadership, help participants gain knowledge about their own relevant cognitive foundations, and help them to develop strategies for expanding them.

Lecturers: D. Laureiro Martinez, C. Feser

In this course, we shall discuss principles for designing and governing digital platforms and corresponding digital products and services. We will analyse in depth underlying mechanics of digital value creation and shed light on this interesting phenomenon from different angles, including platform solutions, network dynamics, incentives, control issues, and one- versus two-sided platforms. Moreover, we would like to sensitize our students to more fundamental issues around the next stages of the platform business. We shall discuss possible downsides to digital platforms for society (e.g., privacy, co-optation, manipulation possibilities, etc.), and discuss how benefits gained from platforms may be unevenly divided (e.g., changing relationships between firms and local communities, employment protection for gig workers), in order to ensure that our students gain a full perspective on platformization and related strategic options.

Lecturers: S. Brusoni, A. Zeijen, J.Marco Leimeister

In this course we will focus on one paramount skill that lies beneath most of our behaviors, that is, the skill to switch our ways of thinking according to the environment that surrounds us. Cognitive flexibility is the skill to effectively adapt one’s cognitive and behavioural strategies in response to changing task or environmental demands. Participants will gain knowledge about their own cognitive flexibility and will develop strategies for training it.

Lecturer: D. Laureiro Martinez

In this course we will focus on critical creative thinking abilities involved in problem-solving. We will adopt the dual process view of creativity, which relies on two fundamental underlying cognitive abilities: divergent and convergent thinking. These abilities allow creative leaders to look at problems from different perspectives and to generate the most novel and appropriate solutions. Participants will gain awareness of their own creative thinking abilities and will practice and reflect upon ways how to leverage them in their everyday lives.

Lecturer: Z. Zagorac-Uremovic

In this course, we will focus on foresight as a skill that drives accuracy in our future decisions and actions. We use our foresight every day. Recent research has shown ways to improve this skill. Participants will discuss their foresight, apply it to exercises and compare their results to those of other participants and other people. We will also discuss the so-called «superforecasters» and we will break down the key components of their skill. Participants will gain knowledge about their foresight and will develop strategies for training it.

Lecturer: D. Laureiro Martinez

In this course we will focus on empathizing and active listening, the cognitive and emotional skills to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Empathy is an enabler, and antecedent for many other leadership skills such as conflict management, influencing, coaching, leading teams, and inspiring, among others.

Research shows that people who report to empathic leaders are more more innovative, more engaged, less likely to leave the organizations, feel more included, and experience a better work-life balance. The course leverages one concrete and specific technique – empathetic questioning – that helps participants further develop their empathetic capabilities.

The course is highly interactive, and the participants spend a significant amount of time practicing.

Lecturer: C.Feser

This course explores social influence as a fundamental mechanism through which leaders enact their leadership. The module starts with an examination of theoretical foundations related to influence tactics, primarily drawing from studies by Yukl (Farbe and Yukl, 1992) and Cialdini’s work (2016) on weapons of influence. Students delve into the most commonly employed influencing approaches, their frequency of use, and their effectiveness. Aditionally, participants learn to apply the WAPL framework (Feser, 2016) to tailor the influencing tactics according to motivation, context, experience, and mindset.

Lecturer: A. Procopio Schön, C.Feser

In this course, we will focus on integrative complexity, a way of thinking that allows leaders to take a systemic view on complex situations. Specifically, integrative complexity refers to the recognition of the different dimensions that operate as causal mechanisms in complex situations, and the ability to understand the interdependencies between such dimensions. At its highest level, integrative complexity manifests as the ability to identify overarching principles that integrate different, even conflicting, dimensions.

Lecturers: D. Laureiro Martinez, Z. Zagorac-Uremovic

Firms today operate in an ever-evolving business landscape, shaped by trends that fundamentally transform their practices and place a growing emphasis on social responsibility. To remain competitive, businesses must undergo radical transformations in their models, balancing the three pillars of people, planet, and profit—failing which they risk sharing the fate of companies like Blockbuster and Kodak. A recent McKinsey study revealed that 92% of CEOs believe their current business models are not economically sustainable (McKinsey, 2018). Simultaneously, firms are increasingly expected to integrate their wider societal impact into their strategies. Yet, despite this awareness, few companies possess a clear strategy for transformation.

Inb this course, students will draw on their experiences, knowledge, and creativity to assist partner organisations in developing innovative business models that simultaneously generate positive social, environmental, and economic outcomes. With their diverse backgrounds and strong business acumen, students will leverage the latest tools and theories for transforming existing models. They will apply these insights to partner organisations to create radically new approaches that align with emerging trends and challenges within their ecosystems.

Lecturers: S.Brusoni, F.Takacs

Over the course of the emba X programme students have gained insights into various leadership and technology disciplines (Essentials) and learned to integrate those through the Integration courses, SIP, and the BMI projects. They have also gained a deeper understanding of their own personal strengths, biases, and inclinations (PDP), besides building their leadership skills (LSLs).

The final project – a five-month field and forum process – serves as a culmination of learning. It aims at using the acquired knowledge, skills, and mindset to make an impact on the participants’ organizations and society. In doing so, students are confronted with real management challenges in their working environments, and the focus is on impact, on making change happen. Besides leveraging concepts and methodologies acquired during the emba X program, the Company Impact Project, hereafter CIP, adds knowledge and builds capabilities in the management of change and transformations.

The final project is an individual assignment.

Lecturers: A. Procopio Schön, C.Feser