1. Managerial decision making in the MBA classroom Gyrgy Bgel [email_address] 2. Who am I?

Professor of Management at CEU Business School

Economist by profession

Strategic advisor at KFKI Computer Systems Corp.

Teaching experience of 20+ years

Authorandco-author of 8 books and many articles

Present field of interest: ITs influence on management and company organization

3. Action Learning in a nutshell

It is anintegral partof our FT MBA program (3credits)

It islearning by doing : solving real managementproblems

It isteamwork

The learning process isorganized, supported and monitoredby professors (tutors)

It can be run together withacademic partners

It isnot only for MBAs

It has a specialmethodology

4. Many sources are available 5. For us it is alsoa survival game Unknown territory Complex problem Limited time Limited resources Ambiguity Moving targets Su r prise s Responsibility 6. We need problem owners 7. Our recent partners 2009 2010 2011 Cisco Nextent Gravity SAP Labs Budapest Bank Comforce KSZ Nextent Gravity SAP Labs Selenium Joobili TESA FHB-Psion ThalesNano GE Healthcare MyPartyGenie ThalesNano Customer Impact 8. Professional problem solving needs professional structuring and planning Core problem Topics Sub- topics Analyses Outputs A problem tree or a mindmap may help a lot Report and presentation Calendar planning 9. Working with a hypothesis Define the problem Develop a hypothesis Test the hypothesis Present the solution Proved Disproved It is how scientists work 10. Example: testing a hypothesis Expensive administrative functions can be outsourced Is it enough? Data on suppliers costs Systematic cost comparison Are outside services cheaper? List of potential suppliers Selection criteria Supply side analysis Are there outside service providers? Strategic plan Criteria for core Core business and core compatency analysis Is administration a core function? Data needed for the analysis Analyses needed for the answer Question to be answered 11. Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 Cl.S. 1 Apr 18 Cl.S. 2 May 2 Cl.S. 4 May 23 Cl.S. 7 July 4 Cl.S. 8 July 11 Intro Project work with the clients Final reports for the clients Problem definition Problem frame Project plan Progress reports Test reports April 18 July 20 The process Cl.S. 3 May 9 Cl.S. 5 May 30 Cl.S. 6 June 27 12. Mindmap: here is an example 13. It is a project plan 14. Awell designed and understandableslideshow is recommemnded as the format of the final report Discuss the expected format with the client! 15. Presentation organized by the pyramid principle TITLE OBJECTIVES SCOPE CONTENT RECOMMENDATIONS 1/ 2/ CONCLUSIONS 1/ 2/ CONCL. 1 findings CONCL. 2 findings REC. 1 actions REC. 2 actions Data Data Action plan Action plan Evaluated by the client 16. Managers know precisely what they want Managers tell you precisely what they want The goal will not change Everybody at the company will help Managers have time forthe project Company evaluation will be fair The bigger the better Teamwork is easy The professor must be satisfied Many times they dont There might be hidden agendas One trimester is very long People resist change They dont Not always SMEs may be more interesting Teamwork is hard The customer must be satisfied Dreams and reality 17. Summary What we need Challenging projects Managerial attention Straightforward feedback Great learning opportunity What we offer Help for innovation Fresh ideas Analytical insight Realbusinessvalue 18. Thank you for your attention!