IESE Business School

This module is devoted to case teaching. Case teaching involves making the student an active participant in the learning experience; it assumes that students have more to offer than professors. The aim is to help students bring to the surface their individual knowledge and perspectives. In this way, learning becomes a collective experience, where the mental models and the frames of relevance that are brought into class are shared by all students. Cases are actual business situations, framed to address specific aspects of business. With this approach, theory becomes a cane that helps the student navigate through real business problems. The role of the professor leading a case discussion is significantly different from that of a teacher in a traditional classroom. The ultimate goal is not to transfer knowledge from teacher to student. Instead, the professor facilitates discussion so that mindsets are challenged and enriched. The objective of the module is to introduce professors to this way of teaching. Consistent with the case teaching approach, the students will experience different case method classes and find out what has worked and what has not worked in each one of these classes. The discussion of the case method base in a real classroom setting ideally helps professors grasp this approach and incorporate it into their teaching tool kit.

The track on case writing aims to help participants learn how to write good teaching cases. In an initial lecture, we will review the case writing process by exploring the key success factors at each step of this process. Even though we will identify the key phases in the process, writing a case is a highly personal process. Different case writers may have different writing styles and may use different "tricks." Case writing experience varies and depends on the field of study. Thus, editing a marketing case may require different skills from an accounting case or a human resources case. For this reason, during the program, IESE professors from different academic departments will share their own personal experiences on case writing. Furthermore, lectures on Teaching notes writing will be included. Finally, an additional overview on how cases are handled at IESE will be offered.

This seminar is based on the idea that every professor, at some point during his or her academic career, will have to design a course in his or her area of specialization. The main objective of the module is to provide a basic framework for course design applicable across different fields or disciplines, for courses that differ in duration (mini and full courses, seminars, workshops, distance learning, etc.), and in terms of the target audience (undergraduates, MBAs, executives). Although no universal method to course design exists, we will address the issue of course design in a systematic way, following a hands-on approach where theory and practice are intertwined, and providing tools, tips and techniques to make the task of designing a meaningful course more efficient and enjoyable. Participants will have the opportunity to critique one or more course designs of their choice, and they will design their own course.

Leadership challenges are key to almost any subject matter in the field of management and organization studies. This course will therefore review the basic components of leadership. Using the case method approach, we will address the main challenges of leadership in different contexts and levels of the organization. These challenges include promoting commitment, coaching subordinates, managing individual careers and dealing with diversity. Through case discussions, we will also address issues of teaching preparation and also link case learning with theories and technical notes.

The purpose of this module is to stimulate introspection about what it means to be an academic or a scholar, considering the broader context of the profession and how time influences what may be desirable at each stage in a scholar’s career, and to encourage a quest for excellence in the profession. The module includes the following subjects: the scholar’s vocation content and agenda, stages in the development of a scholar’s career, the sense of serving society (ethics in academia), etc.

In today’s companies, the ability to communicate persuasively has become an essential skill. Gone are the days of hierarchical organizations in which information was delivered top-down and there was little need to win over superiors and colleagues with your ideas and opinions. Indeed, gone are the days when employees accepted that their bosses were right. In this module, we will outline the three key elements of persuasive communication: credibility, environment and argumentation. We will also explain why rhetorical tools such as metaphors, examples, analogies and illustrations are essential in persuasive communication.

Business schools are organizations that need to be managed. Very often management positions are filled by faculty members who, on occasion, devote a large share of their time to administrative tasks. We will hear from several senior faculty members with extensive experience in business school management who will share some examples of business school management, development (IESE has participated in the early stages of more than 15 business schools around the world) and program management (MBA, GEMBA, Executive Education).

How do adults learn? How can teachers better approach their students? What are the main features of adult learning? How can teachers take advantage of adults’ experience? Much attention has been devoted to the learning process in the early stages of life, but many of the people attending business classes are adults. We need to analyze how the age and experience of our participants affect the learning process. In this module we will cover some of these questions.

The research and teaching environment at a university - affiliated business school differs from that of a department of economics or sociology in that it is closer to the issues faced by business. Furthermore, a private university has to finance itself and cannot rely on government subsidies. Thus, research and teaching have to be of value to our clients, be they MBAs, Ph.D. students or executives. This provides a challenge and explains the concurrent focus on both academic rigor and practical relevance in our work. In this module we will address the following issues:

• What are the key elements of teaching the case method?
• What are the differences between teaching in a Ph.D., an MBA and an executive education program?
• How can we use simulations as a teaching tool in operations management?
• What are some “trade secrets” in executive education?
• General reflections on working in a business school and using lectures, cases and simulations.

The current economic crisis is shedding light on the need for MBA and executive education programs to improve the way leadership skills, values and attitudes are taught. Character and positive habits are the core competencies of virtuous leadership. In order to foster these dimensions, management education must reach a higher level geared toward personal self-development (i.e., self-awareness, interpersonal savvy, contextual mindset, purpose and meaning, resilience, maturity, etc.). Motivation and practical tools for enhancing these competencies can be facilitated through coaching. This seminar presents some fundamental notions about coaching, namely, understanding oneself, understanding others and facilitating personal change.

Participants will have the opportunity to prepare and teach cases during the program. A faculty member will be available for the selection of the case, the preparation of the session and a debriefing on the session outcome. The case presentation is a unique opportunity for participants to put case teaching skills into practice and gain a sense of individual teaching style. These sessions also help uncover common pitfalls in the early stages of case teaching.