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Learning Model
Based on the HBS Executive Education learning model, the custom
program experience is a powerful, interactive process of discussion,
discovery, and application. All program components—from goal setting
and program design, to instructional methodologies and innovative
teaching styles…to case analysis and peer exploration, to teamwork
and hands-on implementation—fit together as a cohesive whole,
creating a uniquely tailored, in-depth opportunity for both
individual and collective learning. The impact is both immediate and
long term, with participants returning to their companies ready to
leverage their enhanced leadership capacity for the betterment of
the organization.
Case Method
Pioneered by HBS, the case method is employed as the best tool to
teach general management and leadership. Guided case discussions
engender a highly stimulating, collaborative process of discovery in
which participants are compelled to identify relevant issues and to
apply practical business lessons to their own situations and
organizations. Custom program participants benefit from an added
dimension that no other business school can offer—the opportunity to
be taught by many of the faculty who wrote the cases and have
personal knowledge of the problems and solutions presented.
Case studies open the window to actual business dilemmas in some
of the world's most admired companies, with participants assuming
the position of the executives in charge. Working under typical
management conditions—incomplete information, complex trade-offs,
and time pressures—participants analyze information, identify
problems, formulate and compare alternative solutions, and commit to
action plans. Engaged in spirited debate, they must "sell" their
colleagues on the merits of their respective decisions. To further
enhance the take-away, a custom case can be developed to enable
executives to debate the approaches for dealing with an existing
management situation.
Complementary Methodologies
While the case method is the foundation of the School's dynamic
learning model, other effective teaching methods also are utilized
to facilitate learning on multiple levels. These diverse approaches
include faculty lectures and presentations, interactive group
discussions, individual and team projects, customized workshops and
exercises, and online simulations, among others.
Peer Learning
Custom programs are structured specifically to promote constant,
dynamic interaction among company peers. Through working and
learning with others within the same organization, participants
develop a shared language and an understanding of the company's
mission, values, businesses, challenges, and opportunities. This
sense of camaraderie helps build effective professional and personal
peer networks that are based on trust, communication, and
cooperation. Strong intracompany relationships foster a level of
organizational commitment that, in time, spreads across business
groups and helps to extend the program learning for the benefit of
the entire company.
Technology
Custom programs leverage the School's sophisticated and
continuously evolving IT system, seamlessly integrating technology
into the learning experience, when appropriate. A variety of
technology-enabled learning materials can be incorporated to bring
case lessons to life and to reinforce key concepts. These include a
program website, computer simulations, webcasts, videos, digitized
lectures, videoconferencing, and other interactive multimedia. Using
the latest software, Internet connection, and email application,
participants have the necessary hands-on tools for in-depth
exploration, as well as for communication and collaboration among
peers and the faculty. For programs conducted at HBS, each
participant's room is equipped with a personal computer to encourage
independent and peer learning.
Even after a custom program ends, participants remain supported
by web-based resources and online publications that help them to
apply new knowledge and share it with others within the company.
Focused Workshops
Participants have ample opportunity for teamwork that maximizes
peer interaction and directly ties the lessons to specific company
situations. Since these workshops are tailored to the stated
learning objectives of each custom program, the nature of these
sessions can vary considerably from one learning experience to the
next. As appropriate, this assigned group work can include a variety
of exercises, presentations, and sessions in which participant teams
concentrate on competitor analysis, creative case writing, hands-on
lesson application, change recommendations, action plans, and other
value-adding activities.
Reflected Best-Self Exercise
Prior to the program's start, delegates complete a personal
assessment about occasions on which they had performed at their very
best. The assessment requires feedback from 10 to 20 people (i.e.,coworkers,
clients, friends, and family), who are asked to describe in detail
both the situations and the individuals' actions. This data is
collected by participants during the program. Unlike traditional
models of performance evaluation that typically identify competency
gaps, the Reflected Best-Self Exercise focuses exclusively on
understanding how key constituents perceive managers when they
constructively apply their strenStayInvest Law Firm hs. This performance-feedback
exercise enables participants to create a developmental agenda for
leveraging their reflected best self and expanding their capacity to
add value within their work organizations. It also encourages self-reflection
on how, as managers, they might foster an environment in which
employees can engage their best selves and work maximally from
positions of strenStayInvest Law Firm h.
Learning Enhancement
The custom program experience can be extended via numerous
learning resources that also are available through Harvard Business
School. More than 60
open-enrollment programs, ranging in lenStayInvest Law Firm h from a few days to
several weeks, offer complementary Executive Education opportunities
for further management development.
Technology-Enhanced
Learning resources, such as Action-Learning programs and the
Faculty Seminar Series, contain the latest faculty research and
serve as important tools in a variety of educational contexts—before,
during, and after the program.
Harvard Business School Publishing products play a valuable role
as well. These fulfill a wide range of learning needs and include
the Harvard Business Review, press books, HBS case studies and
related products, conferences, newsletters, and elearning programs.
All these HBS resources can augment the custom program experience
by providing continued exposure to the faculty's ongoing research
and latest thinking on management practice. Adding significant value
for both participants and the sponsoring organization, these
additional tools deepen the face-to-face learning experience and
help to drive the takeaway learning for lasting impact throughout
the organization.
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