Study Programmes 2016-2017
GEST1076-1  
Strategy and Sustainability - Seminar
Duration :
30h Th
Number of credits :
Master in law, professional focus in management4
Master in management, professional focus in law4
Master in management (120 ECTS)4
Master in business engineering (120 ECTS)4
Lecturer :
Nathalie Crutzen, Marc Deschamps
Coordinator :
Nathalie Crutzen
Language(s) of instruction :
English language
Organisation and examination :
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite :
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents :
General Description: Referring to the current world context (multi-polar world, increasing awareness for global environmental and social challenges, technological (digital) revolution...), this intensive  seminar is dedicated to a better understanding of the concepts of strategic management in relationship with the concepts of Sustainability. This seminar aims at raising awareness amongst students regarding the increasing importance of considering economic, but also social and environmental aspects, in strategic management (in a company, but also in a city or on a given territory)
High-Level Program divided into four Fundamental Modules
1. "PREPARATION" : complusory readings of a series of relevant scientific and practitioners' articles before the start of the seminar and preparatory research work related to the case study.
2. "FOUNDATION" : theoretical foundation of the seminar. Plenary presentations made by guest speakers (academics and practitioners) on: - Strategic Management
- Key global challenges (societal, economic, techonlogical...) and the concept of Sustainability                           
- Sustainable and Smart Cities
3. "ILLUSTRATION"  a. Illustration of the "theory" on the basis of several conferences and meetings with experts (panel discussion, speed meetings): presentation of the current global context and conferences made by high-level representatives of various organizations engaged in sustainability and smart city initiatives.
4."CASE STUDY"  Resolution of a strategic case study, in relationship with the aspects presented before, by group of 5 students. Each Universe is managed by a coach who will support each team in the resolution of the case. ORGANIZATION of the Case Study - Two main steps: CHALLENGE: At the end of the seminar, semi-finals are organized to select a series of teams which will compete in the final run. During a part of the closing ceremony (on December 15, 2016), the selected teams will defend their project in front of a jury composed of high-level representatives (top managers from private and public institutions) and academics. Each team has 10 minutes to present their recommendations followed by a 5 minutes question time. At the end of this jury, an award will be given.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit :
After this seminar, students should be able: - To integrate in a holistic view the various management concepts studied during the 4 first years of their university education, to synthesize and bear in mind the essential ones in each discipline;
- To broaden their knowledge of Sustainability, Strategy and Smart City/Smart Region in particular.
-Within the challenge, to make strategic decisions in teams (time and conflict management, negotiation abilities) stressing the interdependence of any organization's activities;
- To live a "last and unforgettable" moment in their training


This course contributes to the following Intended Learning Outcomes :
 
ILO-1 : To strengthen knowledge and understanding of management disciplines and its legal, policy and social context
 
ILO-2 : Gaining the knowledge and understanding of one of the proposed fields of concentration or to gain deep knowledge in the field of the management being already specialized thru a first University Master Degree . 
 
ILO-3 : To understand, in management situations, the transversal tools of quantitative reasoning, information systems and project management
 
ILO-4 : To acquire the capacity to research autonomously and methodically the information needed to solve a complex, transversal management problem, 
 
ILO-5 : Integrate autonomously researched information, tools, knowledge and context to build and propose, either individually or as part of a team, original, creative and viable solutions to concrete complex management problems, whether real or simulated, taking into account, when necessary, the human, social and legal context.
 
ILO-6 : Ability to speak 2 foreign languages: C1 in English and B2 in one other language.
 
ILO-7 : Being capable of professional team work 
 
ILO-8 : Developing leadership 
 
ILO-9 : Developing a critical sense (arguing)
 
ILO-10 : Developing a transversal, global vision 
 
ILO-11 : Creative conception of solutions 
 
ILO-12 : Professional capacity for oral communication
 
ILO-13 : Professional capacity for written communication  
 
ILO-14 : Faced with a management problem, suggesting solutions that are ethical and socially responsible and that respect the principles of good governance.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills :
Basic knowledge in all the fields of management (finance, marketing, HRM, supply chain management, marketing, strategy, etc)
Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
Several teaching methods are used in this multidisciplinary seminar:
- Academic lectures 
- Conferences with guest speakers in Strategy, in Sustainability and in Smart City/Smart Territory
- Speed meetings with experts
- Coaching (based on a specific case study)
- Pre-readings and preparation of the conferences
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
Face-to face (mainly): lectures, conferences, coaching...
Distance learning: preparation of the conferences and pre-readings
Recommended or required readings :
- Reference book: "Exploring Corporate Strategy with MyStrategyLab: Text & Cases", 8th Edition, Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, 2010, ISBN-10: 0273731564 - Power Point Presentations that will be progressively posted on Lol@
Assessment methods and criteria :
The evaluation is twofold: A. Individual evaluation: - Pre-readings and preliminary evaluation (25% of the final grade) - Participation during the various conferences (preparation of the conferences, questions posted on Lol@) (10% of the final grade) - Individual contribution to the team work (case study) (15% of the final grade)
B. Group evaluation : resolution of a case study by team of 5 students (50% of the final grade): Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Case study (40%) - Final Report (10%)
Criteria for the team group assignment are: 1. Clear situation analysis- how students understand the various components of the case and how they structure their analysis and recommendations. 2. Team collaboration - how students participate in groups and distribute tasks effectively. 3. Analysis exhaustiveness - the level of scientific approach (justification of the approach and capacity of integrating the multi-disciplinarity of the recommendations (link with the portfolio and the Quiz). 4. Interesting point of view - how students are committed in finding a solution to the problem and in opting for specific choices. 5. Originality of the presentation - how creative students are in their solution and in the way they present it. 6. Pertinent recommendations - how valuable and coherent the recommendations are. 7. Oral presentation - how students can professionally present their solution in front of the jury.
Relative weigthing of individual assessment: 50%
Second session: The evaluation is 100% individual: Written report (about 30 pages) on a corporate strategic issue related to the notions of Sustainable Development and Smart City/Region 
Work placement(s) :
Organizational remarks :
Official language: English
If local actors are involved in the sessions, a limited number of conferences and documents could be in French.  
Contacts :
Nathalie CRUTZEN (Associate Professor) - ncrutzen@ulg.ac.be
Jonathan DESDEMOUSTIER (PhD Research) - jdesdemoustier@ulg.ac.be
+ Student Assistant (TBC)