Syllabus

Title
4561 International Business Project E
Instructors
Marlene Gruber, MSc(WU),MIM(CEMS), Assoz.Prof Dr. Christof Miska
Type
PI
Weekly hours
4
Language of instruction
Englisch
Registration
03/06/23 to 03/06/23
Anmeldung durch das Institut
Notes to the course
Subject(s) Master Programs
Dates
Day Date Time Room
Wednesday 03/15/23 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM D1.1.074
Wednesday 03/22/23 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM D1.1.074
Wednesday 03/29/23 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM D1.1.074
Wednesday 04/12/23 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM D1.1.074
Wednesday 04/19/23 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM D1.1.074
Wednesday 04/26/23 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM D1.1.074
Wednesday 05/03/23 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM D1.1.074
Wednesday 05/10/23 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM D1.1.074
Wednesday 05/17/23 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM D1.1.074
Wednesday 05/24/23 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM D1.1.074
Wednesday 06/14/23 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM D1.1.074
Wednesday 06/21/23 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM TC.4.04
Wednesday 06/28/23 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM D1.1.074
Contents

The CEMS International Business Project (IBP) is designed as a real-life learning experience for students, providing a unique opportunity to gain insights into corporate practice of an international player. Student teams deal with a real-life management challenge as a one-term activity tutored by university faculty and the CEMS IBP partner.

Project title: Sustainability & Future of Work: Interfaces and Challenges

Project partner: Deloitte

Focus: Sustainability; Sustainable HR; Green Workers; Future of Work; Sustainability Strategies; Organizational Transformation; Green Skills

Project brief: The aim of the business project is to perform a holistic analysis of the implications of sustainability in the future of work with the specific focus on human capital challenges and interfaces. The project scope is narrowed down by two core research questions:

  1. How can organizations transform their workforce to become sustainable from an environmental, social, and governmental perspective?
  2. How will this sustainability shift impact the skills & capabilities needed in future organizations? What will the jobs of the so-called green-collar workers look like? What skills and capabilities will be needed?

Moreover, the students are encouraged to elaborate on the relevant measurement and key performance indicators companies can utilize on their journey towards sustainable transformations.

The project comprises both, secondary as well as primary research. Considering the former, the students shall explore academic research as well as existing business insights on this topic. While there are no limitations considering the materials chosen, the students should focus primarily on the Austrian & German geographical region. The primary research will be conducted in the form of interviews with representatives of Austrian and/or German companies. Deloitte will provide a list with potential interview partners that the students may contact. However, students are more than welcome to leverage their own contacts not included in this list.
Consequently, the overreaching goal of the project is to combine the results gained in the holistic market research with the current interview insights and derive strategic directions & areas of focus for the practitioners operating in the sustainability field.

Useful prerequisites: Besides interest in and previous knowledge about corporate sustainability, fluency in German is beneficial due to the focus on German speaking countries.

Learning outcomes

The aims of the CEMS IBP are

  • to investigate and structure a complex management challenge that an aspiring international player faces
  • to provide an in-depth analysis of the current state of affairs
  • to provide strategic recommendations that are viable under the given organizational conditions

After completing this CEMS IBP students will have

  • gained insights into what challenges an international firm faces in its management environment and how it deals with such issues
  • learned how to analyze and structure real-life management situations
  • combined and applied several conceptual approaches to the international management challenge
  • received feedback from various stakeholders on the outcomes of their analyses and the viability of their recommendations

Students will have the ability to

  • develop critical thinking and defend their arguments in front of corporate representatives
  • organize teamwork and "sell" their solutions in a professional way, based on in-depth research and through solid presentation skills
Attendance requirements

Attendance of all scheduled sessions and meetings is a firm requirement for participation in this CEMS IBP project.

Please note the following:

  • Possible changes: Due to the dynamic nature of projects, all information, contents, and dates can be subject to change.
  • Workload: When you plan your semester, consider that the CEMS IBP will require substantial time (approx. half the workload of a full semester). Thus, have in mind the workload of a CEMS IBP when determining your semester's workload.
  • Attendance: Continuous attendance of all scheduled sessions and meetings is a firm requirement in this CEMS IBP. The current syllabus contains ALL possible meeting dates. After registration, you will receive a schedule that delineates all mandatory meetings for which the standard WU 80%-attendance requirement applies

Depending on the COVID-19 situation, this CEMS IBP may be shifted to a fully online setting that involves life sessions instead of in-class meetings. In this case, any presentations in front of the corporate partner will have to be pre-recorded to be broadcast during life sessions. Attendance requirements will apply analogously.

Teaching/learning method(s)
Inhalte im VVZ veröffentlicht

The sessions involve a mix of presentations, discussions, and workshops with both the project partner and WU faculty. Attendance of all scheduled sessions and meetings is absolutely essential as it is critical to the success of the project and will determine your grade. In order to support your work throughout the project, you will have plenty of opportunities to get qualified input and feedback.

Assessment

Students' grades will be determined as follows:

65% team grade

  • 5% work-plan discussion
  • 15% mid-term presentation
  • 20% final presentation
  • 25% final project report(s)

35% individual grade

  • 15% IBP commitment
  • 20% peer review
Prerequisites for participation and waiting lists

Only CEMS MIM students are eligible to take this course.

Readings

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Last edited: 2023-03-01



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