Educate to Innovate by Design - 2010 Thesis

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EDUCATE

TO INNOVATE BY DESIGN

Mackenzie King Weatherhead School of Management Case Western Reserve University Spring 2010



TO INNOVATE BY DESIGN An examination of the process to conceive, create, commence and cultivate a transformational teaching and learning experience that merges design and management This case study follows the organizational change, student experience and brand management of Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.



EDUCATE

TO INNOVATE BY DESIGN

Introduction . . . . . . . . . .7 Conceive . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Create . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Commence . . . . . . . . . . 55 Cultivate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Readings . . . .. . . . .. . . . .91


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DESIGN + MANAGEMENT

Collision of Theory, Practice & Pedagogy


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INTRODUCTION Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University is undergoing extensive efforts to re-define the Masters of Business Administration (MBA) student experience through the application of “managing by design” principles. In both theory and practice, these principles collide with a teaching and learning philosophy that has trained managers for decades and has thereby dramatically shaped the business sector. In the late 1950s, The Ford Foundation and the Carnegie Commission invested in the process of further enriching the management school curriculum with statistics and quantitative applications. (Boland 16). Now, leading management schools aim to re-frame this approach by challenging the prescribed heuristics, formulas, techniques and labels. Today’s workforce calls for an interpretor, a facilitator, a value-creator and a creative problemsolver. Our economy is shifting to embrace ‘disruptive innovations,’ ‘blue ocean’ markets, co-creation and transformational consumer experiences. Managers of leading companies across nearly all industries are applying design principles to enhance both daily operations and strategic business decisions. Semantics aside, the fusion of design, innovation and management exists; the question of how to infuse these concepts into the MBA education system has taken center stage. Both management and design schools have approached the process by building upon their unique strengths to formulate new programs with varying formats and results. With a bachelor’s degree in industrial design and related work experience in management, education and design, I sought out to analyze this transition with the questions: Why is this change occurring? Who will these programs attract? How does an organization shift its way of thinking and brand both internally and externally? I examined Weatherhead’s process through a 4 step ‘conceive, create, commence and cultivate’ frame, while showcasing my personal venture of merging theory and practice into my design-integrated MBA experience.



CONCEIVE

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Today’s MBA vs. Student Expectations Needs of the Workforce Strategy in a Competitive Market


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MBA? MFA? MSF?


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WHAT IS TODAY’S MBA? EUREKA! “The ‘Eureka’ moment was when I could draw a data point between a hotshot, investment bank-oriented star lawyer and an elementary school principal. I thought: ‘Holy smokes. In completely different situations, these people are thinking in very similar ways, and there may be something special about this pattern of thinking.’ ” (Wallace 1) Roger Martin, Dean of Rotman School of Management at University of Tornoto, is referring to the concept of integrative design-thinking that has received growing attention over the past decade. While different managers and educators may use varying terms, the premise is similar–”students needed to learn how to think critically and creatively every bit as much as they needed to learn finance or accounting” (Wallace 1). Seeking opportunities for innovation requires that managers approach problems from multiple perspectives. Is the “MFA is the new MBA” (Pink 25)? While management schools shift their former quantitatively-heavy MBA focus shifts to its own degree category. Have student expectations shifted as well?

CREATE A DIFFERENT GRADUATE? “For the last fifty years, management education has followed a path of least resistance and embraced formulas for approaching organizational problems that have outlived their usefulness” (Boland xi). The new approach will undoubtedly produce a new graduate. Steve McConnell, a managing partner of NBBJ, an architecture firm based in Seattle, noticed a distinctly different approach in the students he hired from Rotman. They seemed to be naturally free of the bias or predisposition that so many of us seem to carry into any situation. They brought a set of skills in how you query and look into an issue without moving toward biased or predetermined conclusions that has led to unexpected discoveries of opportunity and potential innovation. (Wallace 3)


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PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS Diverse Expectations

Career Enhancer

None of the Three

Personal Developer Career Switcher

FIGURE 1: MBA MOTIVATION MATRIX SOURCE: GMAC,Figure 5, p6


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B

�R BR�

B

BRAND ME IN A WAY THAT GIVES ME LONG-TERM CAREER POTENTIAL.

PROVIDE CERTIFICATION THAT I HAVE ATTAINED A CERTAIN LEVEL OF EDUCATION.

GET ME A JOB.

MAKE ME QUALIFIED TO GET THE PROMOTION.

HELP ME SOLVE A PROBLEM.

Whic h exp ectat ion doe design s the +bus iness stude nt ho ld?

n pectatio Which ex OM does WS tisfy? aim to sa

FIGURE 2: STUDENT EXPECTATIONS SOURCE: Adapted from Christensen, p102


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DREAM JOBS

MBA Graduates Preferred Employers 2009 Ranking 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Company Google McKinsey & Company Bair & Company Goldman Sachs Apple Computer The Boston Consulting Group Walt Disney Nike J.P. Morgan Johnson & Johnson The Blackstone Group Microsoft General Electric Morgan Stanley IDEO Deloitte Procter & Gamble Amazon.com Coca-Cola PepsiCo

FIGURE 3: MBA PREFFERED EMPLOYERS SOURCE: GMAC,Figure 5, p6


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MOTIVATIONS, EXPECTATIONS & DREAMS The economic downturn of recent years has re-shaped industries and redefined the role of management. The tough job market of 2009 and 2010 left millions of twenty-somethings unemployed or underemployed, causing the number of applications to graduate programs to increase dramatically. Studies show that the motivations of obtaining an MBA tend to fall into three categories with a relatively equal number of students within each: ‘career-switch,’ ‘professional development’ or ‘career-enhancement’ (GMAT 6). Through his studies of ‘disruptive innovation,’ Clayton Christensen has defined the motivations of students seeking higher education range from measurable short or long term objectives to more general skillsets (Figure 2). Expectations constantly evolve and in turn have sparked the ‘student-as-customer’ debate among MBA raising the question of both accountability and expectations. “The university is society’s gatekeeper. Students see degrees as tickets of admission to the big show: the marketplace.” “The world needs more M.B.A.s who develop in transformational environments, not M.B.A.s on the buy end of transactions” (Trachtenberg 1). Should the students have more say over what they are taught? Is what is being taught truly reflect the needs of the workforce or the career aspirations of the MBA students? In a survey of over 6000 students in the 80 leading MBA schools, research firm Universum USA determined the top 20 ‘dream jobs’ of MBA students (Figure 3); the list features firms that are committed to design and innovation. Engendering students with toolkits of rigid analysis methods and qualities of conformity will in fact make MBA graduates less competitive in their desired job market. “The era of ‘left brain’ dominance—and the Information Age it engendered—Is giving way to a new world in which ‘right brain’ qualities—inventiveness, empathy, meaning—will govern” (Pink).


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sHIFT TO CONCEPTUAL AGE

Impact of Affluence, Technology & Globalization

From the Agriculture Age to the Conceptual Age

ATG (affluence, technology, globalization)

Conceptual Age (creators and empathizers) Information Age (knowledge workers) Industrial Age (factory workers)

Agriculture Age (farmers) 18th Century

19th Century

20th Century

21st Century

SOURCE: Figure 3.1, Pink, p49

FIGURE 4: TRANSITIONING A WORKFORCE SOURCE: ,Figure 3.1, Pink, p49


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DEFINING THE SKILLS OF lEADING CEOS What will the toolkit of ‘the new MBA graduate’ consist of? In March, professors from Harvard Business School, Insead and Brigham Young University completed a six-year study of more than 3,000 executives and 500 innovative entrepreneurs, that included interviews with high-profile entrepreneurs including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Michael Dell, founder of Dell computers. The research identified five “discovery skills” that distinguish the most creative executives: associating, questioning, observing, experimenting, and networking (Dyer 20). “We found that innovative entrepreneurs (who are also CEOs) spend 50% more time on these discovery activities than do CEOs with no track record for innovation” (Dyer 23). Yet, the concept of discovery is difficult to quantify and measure within the confines of previous management systems. An hour of discovery may not yield a measurable outcome or deliverable. The Agricultural, Industrial and Information Ages of the past centuries have provided workers and their managers a tangible way in which to measure productivity: a bushel of wheat harvested, a widget off of the assembly line or a software programming code completed. The conceptual age may require a work relationship that embraces ambiguity, exploration and creativity. Daniel Pink discusses a future in which “artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers” are a greatly valued asset to any firm. The design-integrated MBA aims to infuse the skillsets of these creative career positions into the role of manager and facilitator.

Innovation in Emerging Economies “Virtually every US, European, Korean and Japanese company knows but doesn’t publicly say, this model of copying but not paying ... is the paradigm in China” (Nussbaum 1). Yet in contrast, the number of patent applications in Asia is increasing.


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FOREIGN STUDENTS

Culture Shift: Made in China vs. Invented in China

GDP, Human Capital, Global Impact

INVENTED IN CHINA

1990

2000

2010

2020

FIGURE 4A: TRANSITIONING A WORKFORCE IN CHINA SOURCE: King


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U.S. Patent applications from the Asian countries of China, India, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan grew by 759% from 1989 to 2001. Patent applications from the U.S. during the same period grew more slowly at 116 % (though, as with the above, it should be mentioned that the Asian countries started out at a much lower base level) (American 12). The process of building and strengthening an infrastructure to support design and innovation has begun; the Chinese government is taking notice of the shifting needs of their workforce and adapting their education systems to address opportunities in innovation. “Reforms in training at all levels are necessary ... especially to encourage the cultivation of innovative talents and the training of educators to further an innovative model,” Sun Xiaobin, director of the Ministry of Education Policy and Regulation Department” (Zhang 1).

EDUCATION SYSTEMS The number of Chinese students taking the GMAT entrance exam for MBA programs globally has increased 128% since 2005, and 181% for Indian students (Gilroy 1). Chinese and Indian students represent over 60% of Weatherhead’s current full-time MBA student body. While the demand for the MBA degree increases, two questions arise: Is there a corresponding growth in the interest in a design-integrated MBA curricula? As noted above, the Chinese government is interested in supporting innovation, but are these students interested and prepared for an educational experience so drastically different from the one they grew up in? “In China, where students have grown up on rote learning and the ruling Communist Party has tried to discourage any creative thinking that may lead to challenging its authority; education officials are now struggling to transform the nation’s industry from “Made in China” to “Invented in China” with reforms aimed at cultivating a nation of innovative minds” (Zhang 1). Sites of traditional education systems, such as China, are often cited as ex-


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dEFINING MEANING

Cross-Cultural Sensitivity in Globalization Age

FIGURE 6: COLORS IN 10 CULTURES SOURCE: McCandess, p76


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amples of systems that stress “performance;” performances tend to be ritualized, memorized sets of sequences and patterns that are initially exhibited by teachers and that students are expected to accurately model (Gardner 189). In contrast, the West is thought to highlight “understanding”—the capacity to probe beneath the surface, to figure out underlying causes, to dissect a text or a work of art and illustrate the principles on which it is built (Gardner 190). Performance-based education has proven to be less effective in both information retention and critical thinking. Cognitive researchers including Howard Gardner have proven this theory; one study, composed of MIT and John Hopkins students that had received high grades in physics demonstrated the following habits. Within class, students often appear as if they understand, because they are able to furnish back to their instructors factual and rule-governed information. But once out on their own, once expected to figure out which of the school-learned concepts, facts, or skills are actually applicable to a new situation, they show themselves to be incapable of understanding, often mired at the same level as the proverbial five-year-old” (Gardner 192). Weatherhead must be sensitive to these habits and experiences in order to support students as they learn how to engage more proactively.

UNCOVERING MEANING Design-integrated learning naturally embeds within it opportunities to think critically and creatively about one’s role as a consumer and thereby meanings consumers project upon products and services. “Products embody notions of identity that are socially recognized and thus become tokens in the symbolic exchange of meaning” (Margolin xix). Even the color choice for a new product can project a meaning that could be very different from one culture to the next (Figure 6). The power of symbolism has taken on a powerful role in our inter-connected, globalized society. Any Millenial will undoubtedly agree that their iPhone or Prius serves a


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MANAGER AS FACILITATOR Seeking Interpreters as Resources

Listening

Addressing Interpreting

FIGURE 7: PROCESS OF DESIGN-DRIVEN INNOVATION SOURCE: Verganti, Figure 6-3, p134

FIGURE 8: CATEGORIES OF INTERPRETERS SOURCE: Verganti, Figure 7-1, p144


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purpose beyond that of function; they have prescribed to brands through a multi-faceted relationship that extends beyond the ‘task’ or ‘job’ and into the shared experience and the projected identity. With social networking sites such as Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter, there are evermore spaces for defining one’s identity. Understanding the meaning behind choices even as seemingly mundane as a color palette can help a young manager or a firm project their desired identity. Understanding how to think critically about these concepts will inform a more authentic and accurate portrayal of a brand or product.

ROLE OF INTERPRETER & THE COLLECTIVE PROCESS The Conceptual Age that Daniel Pink refers to will require managers to define meanings for products that are both unexpected and whimsical, yet appropriate and marketable. Robert Verganti titles successful variations of this process ‘design-driven innovation.’ The process acknowledges the fact that innovative product development and service design can not exist within silos or simply through a firm-consumer relationship; the act of pushing new meanings into new markets must happen through the activation of a community of players called ‘interpreters’ (Verganti, 134). Managers of a firm are no longer left to design behind closed doors, but instead are encouraged to engage in a cyclical process of listening, interpreting and addressing (Figure 7). The firms ready to embrace radical innovations must ask “Which actors can help me envision how people could give meanings to things?” (Verganti 144). They must engage key interpreters that will activate new markets, also termed as ‘blue oceans.’ Interpreters shape the sociocultural and technological scenario: artists with their artworks cultural organizations with their dissemination activities, companies with their new products and services, suppliers with their technologies, pioneering projects with their landmark experiments, schools with their programs, designers with the designs they propose to several cli-


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A DESIGNER’S APPROACH

Enrich the Hospital Experience for Children 1. LISTEN: interview & observe

2. INTERPRET: determine opportunity

.V. An I ! Pole 3. ADDRESS: sketch concepts, prototype, test

FIGURE 7A: A DESIGNER’S PROCESS SOURCE: Sam Cahill, 2010


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ents, early adopters who play with innovative proposals, and, of course, the media that look at all this” (Verganti 192). The seductive power of the interpreter must be harnessed by the manager through the collective process of defining the new marketspace, the product/service and the consumer.

DESIGNERS VERSUS MANAGERS We now know that great value lies in the skillsets of creativity, critical thinking and ‘meaning-making.’ Where then should I be trained with these skills? “Should design schools create more business-focused creatives, or should business schools foster creative thinking in their MBAs?” (Wong 1) Variations of this debate can be found in blogs and publications including Bloomberg Business Week, Core77 and Fast Company. At times, the debate is in fact very heated; the core values and principles of one another’s education systems are being re-evaluated. Figure 7A illustrates the design process undertaken by Sam Cahill, Cleveland Institute of Art Industrial Design student for his senior thesis project. The images clearly resemble the steps of Verganti’s design-driven innovation process. If you speak with Sam about his process, he may not use the term ‘interpreters,’ but he will tell you stories about his interviews with the pediatric pharmacist, the child life specialists and of course the children of the pediatric ward at University Hospitals. He observed the consumer experience and interpreted the opportunity within it. If designers are so familiar with this process, is there a need for a generation of managers looking to replicate their skillset? Then, what is Sam’s role in the process? Is he the interpreter that the design-driven innovation firm would seek to hire, or is he in fact the facilitator of design-driven innovation? The concept of design-integrated management has taken on titles ranging from design-driven innovation and design-thinking to managing by design, in-


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STRATEGY MAP

Comparing WSOM to Competitors The Strategy Map of MBA Programs High

UPenn- Wharton & NYU-Stern

Does W curre SOM’s nt tar ge marke t valu t e attrib utes? these

CWRU-Weatherhead

Low

Scholarship Availability

Location Ranking (Access to metropolitian areas w/ high employment options)

Job Placement Rate

Experiential Learning

Partnership w/ Leading Design/ Engineering Schools

Specialty Critical/ Creative Thinking

Small School Collaborative Environment

FIGURE 9: STRATEGY CANVAS, MY ATTRIBUTE PREFERENCES SOURCE: Adapted from XXXXX, Pine 178 SOURCE: adapted from Table 2-3, Kim p32

FIGURE 10: MBA PROGRAM ATTRIBUTE PREFERENCES SOURCE: GMAC, Table 4, p12


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tegrative thinking and disruptive innovation. Nonetheless, the fusion of design and management is becoming a term that educational institutions and firms alike are eager to align with.

A CoMPETITIVE MARKET Aspiring managers looking to pursue their MBA have immense buyer power; choosing from among the more than 4600 graduate management programs requires students to weigh the importance of varying program attributes. Differentiation and specialization has become increasingly more important for MBA programs existing in this competitive market space. Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland Ohio has embarked upon the ambitious process of re-defining their place in this competitive market. Understanding the previously described needs of today’s workforce has played a key role in the school’s process of re-structuring their programs, enhancing their curricula, training their faculty and enriching the student and experience.

WEIGHING ATTRIBUTES, DEFINING CORE VALUES Defining core values and attributes as a community and then being honest and transparent about them through this organizational change is paramount. Figure 10 outlines the results of a 2009 survey by Graduate Management Admissions Council. While surveys like this can help forecast admissions trends and attributes that are important to the masses, this may in fact be counter-productive in planning the most appropriate branding strategy and experience design for a school committed to a new way of educating managers. The strategy map of Figure 9 outlines my personal rankings of the defined attributes for the noted schools. In the ‘create, commence and cultivate’ chapters to follow, I will analyze Weatherhead’s process of defining this unique culture. It will highlight my experience and recommendations for the school as they continue on their



CREATE

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Higher Education as Transformation A New Management Education Professors within the Experience Realm Action and Application


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EMPLOYMENT

Transitioning from Commodities to Transformations

FIGURE 11: EMPLOYMENT & GDP IN ECONOMY SECTORS SOURCE: Figure 10, Pine p186


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MORE THAN A COMMODITY, MORE THAN A SERVICE As discussed, the ‘meaning’ of products and services has become a key area of consideration for firms and consumers. However, firms that have limited their offerings to simply commodities, goods and services will quickly find that their competitors offering ‘transformations’ are taking over their market share. Joseph Pine and James Gilmore declare that society is quickly moving into the Transformation Economy (Figure 11). “In the Transformation Economy manufacturers will transformationalize their goods—design and sell goods that help customers become something distinct. Here the focus moves from using to user: how the individual changes while using the good” (Pine 175). Consider the popularity of ‘The Biggest Loser,’ a prime-time reality television show that features obese Americans that shed pounds via a rigorous exercise regiment in order to stay in the game for another week. While ‘Biggest Loser’ began as a television show featuring transformations, the brand experience is now available to the masses through the offering of integrated coaching programs via the internet, video game systems or onsite at one of the ‘Biggest Loser’ ranches. They have extended their brand beyond self-help books; the actual customer is now the product and the brand is accountable to that product. If for instance, the show’s contestants this season did not loose a hundred pounds and exude an uninhibited sense of self confidence, the brand would loose all credibility thereby its entire consumer base. Higher education can similarly be viewed as a transformation.

HIGHER EDUCATION AS TRANSFORMATION In management and design schools, students learn how to create and facilitate these developments as well. Understanding the stages required to launch integrated transformational products and services) is a critical


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CULTIVATE

“The basis of success will be in understanding the aspirations of individual consumers and businesses and guiding them to fully realize those aspirations.� SOURCE: Pine, p173


FUTURE INITIATIVES

component of the student educational experience (Figure 12 & 13). Professors, as educators, then must be familiar with the process and prepared to facilitate the transformation itself. . Not only is a professor taking part in a transformation, the success of their students in the workforce is a measure of success. Educators that impart knowledge without ensuring that students can apply what they learn ascend to the experience business (at best). (Pine 179). These theories have raised considerable debate among scholars within the MBA education sphere. “Is the MBA student a consumer or customer?” (Trachtenberg 1). Either way, higher education institutions now must understand the aspirations of their students in a much deeper way than past generations.

PROFESSOR AS ELICITOR “Doctors who treat physical diseases without considering their patient’s emotional needs do only half the job, a realization that is slowly dawning on the healthcare community.” (Pine 180) Healthcare is no longer just a service of diagnosis and treatment. Instead, a holistic approach is required. Similarly, education can no longer be limited to dispensing information via the traditional lecture-based method of recall. Instead, professors will need to look to differing teaching and learning philosophies that will most successfully elicit the transformation and help guide students to realize their aspirations. For both students and professors the process revolves around the concept of questioning. Named after the Classical Greek philosopher Socrates, Socratic Questioning illuminates the importance of questioning in learning. “It illuminates the difference between systematic and fragmented thinking. It teaches us to dig beneath the surface of our ideas. It teaches us the value of developing questioning minds in cultivating deep learning” (Paul).

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TRANSFORMER GENERATION

Transitioning from Commodities to Transformations

Economic Distinctions

Economic Offering

Commodities

Goods

Services

Experiences

Economy

Agrarian

Industrial

Service

Experience

Economic function

Extract

Make

Deliver

Stage

Nature of offering

Fungible

Tangible

Intangible

Memorable

Key attribute

Natural

Standardized

Customized

Personal

Method of supply

Stored in bulk

Inventoried after production

Delivered on demand

Revealed over duration

Seller

Trader

Manufacturer

Provider

Stager

Buyer

Market

Customer

Client

Guest

Factors of demand

Characteristics

Features

Benefits

Sensations

FIGURE 13: ECONOMIC OFFERINGS OF EACH SECTOR


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Phases of Guiding Transformation

Diagnose Aspirations

Curre n vs. Fu t ture

Stage Experience/s Is th e buy-in re ? p

Follow Through

rofe to fa ssors cilita t Stud e? exper ents to ience?

How is th is meas ured?

FIGURE 12: STAGES TOWARDSSOURCE: TRANSFORMATION Adapted from Figure 9-4, Pine 178 SOURCE: Table 9-4, Pine p178

Services

Experiences

Transformations

Service

Experience

Transformation

Deliver

Stage

Guide

Intangible

Memorable

Effectual

Customized

Personal

Individual

Delivered on demand

Revealed over duration

Sustained through time

Provider

Stager

Elicitor

Client

Guest

Aspirant

Benefits

Sensations

Traits SOURCE: Table 9-1, Pine 171

SOURCE: Table 9-1, Pine p291


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The failings of management are most directly attributed to a famine of good ideas. SOURCE: Boland, p7


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TEACHING & LEARNING PEDAGOGIES If our previous generation of managers lacks comfort and skill in idea generation and problem-solving, the teaching and learning methods of ‘the new MBA’ must engage students differently. While the Socratic method encourages questioning and empowers students to participate in their learning, there are a range of other methods established in the 20th century that have been enriching the learning experience in education institutions for decades and could enhance the MBA experience. • Project Based Learning: John Dewey is often credited with the influence of Project Based Learning which places students in active role of researchers in an engaged atmosphere. “Once we have a theory of experience, then as educators, we can set about progressively organizing our subject matter in a way that it takes accounts of students’ past experiences, and then provide them with experiences which will help to open up, rather than shut down, a person’s access to future growth experiences, thereby expanding the person’s likely contribution to society” (Dewey). • Collaborative Learning(C-L): C-L challenges the authority of the old figure of the Lecturer, whose model of learning is top-down, rather than peer-to-peer (and face-to-face) or even jointly with the professor and community. (Caesar 1). MBA programs are particularly wellknown for their hierarchical, recall-based learning environments. Collaborative learning better reflects the team-based environment of the workforce. • Action Learning (A-L): Instead of reading and writing about theory or recalling terms from memory, students are applying concepts. Knowledge emerges from practicing the concepts. At times, ‘unlearning’ is required as the student must “step out” of a frame. Scholar Otto Rank compares this process to that of an artist “as they struggle to give birth


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CULTIVATE

[Creativity] is like exercising your muscles -if you engage in the actions you build the skills.� SOURCE: Dyer, p62


FUTURE INITIATIVES

to fresh ways of seeing the world, perspectives that allow them to see aspects of the world that no artists, including themselves, have ever seen before” (Rank 70).

EVALUATION METHODS Such experiential forms of teaching and learning negate the need for ‘bubble-answer exams’ and ‘short answer tests.’ Instead, professors are encouraged to embrace a wider range of evaluation instruments. “Projects (and not just term papers) ought to be a regular option for students, and all students ought to have the opportunity to carry out and then evaluate (and have evaluated) some of their projects” (Gardner 185). Howard Gardner, scholar of education theory, proposes instead, that portfolios of projects take a more dominant position in assessment. The state of Rhode Island agrees; all students must submit a digital portfolio to graduate high school as of 2008. With portfolios, students are empowered to tell their story of learning. As they edit and shape their story, students find relevance to their personal career path. When professors invite students into the assessment process early in the project cycle, a partnership forms allowing students a space to verbalize aspirations. This method holds great value for managers as learning how to assess, guide and support staff can create a stronger leader; these skills are best learned through practice and personal experience.

ART VS. MANAGEMENT EDUCATION In a 2000 study by researchers Boyatis and Mainemelis at Weatherhead and neighboring Cleveland Institute of Art, the differences between art and management education were synthesized into a list of clear opposition. Over arching values, implementation techniques and overall student experience differ considerably (Figure 17).

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TEACHING & LEARNING

Comparing Art/Design & Management Programs

Comparison of Arts Education and Management Education

Arts Education

Management Education

Aesthetic Demo-practice -production-critique Recursive Theory and practice Showing Expression Is W S Individualized aiming OM t merge o Diverse faculty the two? ?

Scientific Text driven Discursive Theory Telling Impression Batched Abstract faculty

FIGURE 17: PEDAGOGY: ART VS. MANAGEMENT

SOURCE: (Study by Boyatis and Mainemelis 2000) Managing by Designing 243

SOURCE: Boland, (Study by Boyatis and Mainemelis 2000), p243


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DESIGN ATTITUDE AS SKILLSET Design is about more than creativity. Managers must be able to deal with abiguity and approach ‘wicked problems’ with an open mind that can see both the larger strategic goals of an organization as well as the minute day-to-day operations and team dynamics. Engaging stakeholders via interviews, observation and co-creation can offer insight and authenticity. Figure 14 illustrate the values and skills encouraged by this approach, termed ‘design attitude’ by Kamil Michlewski in 2008 through a study of internationally recognized, design-led organizations (IDEO, Nissan Design, Philips Design and Wolff Olins). Richard Boland and Fred Collopy compare this concept to what they call a decision attitude, which is more representative of the MBA of the past. A decision attitude carries with it a default representation of the problem being faced, whereas a design attitude begins by questioning the way the problem is represented (Boland 7). In many cases, the skills are counter-intuitive to the MBA education of the past, instead a ‘way of thinking’ is the skillset.

INTEGRATION OF DESIGN How does a professor instill these values in their students? Weatherhead Professor Fred Collopy has recommended the following activities as the faculty assesses their curricula for opportunities of integrating design principles. • Spending time identifying design opportunities in your subject area; • Employing the language of wicked problems where it is appropriate; • Exploring the impact of a product, policy or technique on the multiple stakeholders affected; • Consciously choosing and engaging in a design process suited to the material and circumstances;


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DESIGN CULTURE

Defining the Concepts, Values & Skills

Design Attitude: Concepts & Values

Consolidating multidimensional meanings

Engaging personal & commerical empathy

Concepts & values in a culture of design

Engaging polysensorial aesthetics

Creating, bringing to life

Embracing discontinuity & openendedness

FIGURE 14: CONCEPTS, VALUES & SKILLS IN DESIGN CULTURE


ty

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Design Attitude: Skills

Seeing the whole operating in analytic-synthetic loops reconciling objectives

Empathize with customers focus on the human side commercial Skills required for a deep (authentic) listening culture of design

Thinking through drawing relying upon tacit knowing feeling aesthetically

Manifesting ideas making visible

Managing uncertainty accepting risk avoiding premature closure enjoying improvisation embracing change SOURCE: Michlewski' via design.case.edu SOURCE: Michlewski via http://design.case.edu


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EXPERIENCE REALMS

Comparing Art/Design & Management Programs

The Experience Realms: Comparing Business & Design Programs

Absorbtion

Goal: a for t im he swee t spo t Educational

Entertainment

Active Participation

Passive Participation

Esthetic

Escapist WSOM CIA/Pratt

Immersion

Stern/Warton SOURCE: Adapted from XXXXX, Pine xx

FIGURE 15: EXPERENCE REALM: ART VS. MANAGEMENT SOURCE: adapted from Figure 2-1, Pine p 30


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• Making use of observation, concept mapping, scenarios, and other design techniques; • Conducting critiques (Collopy 1). Offering an MBA student a learning space that builds a ‘designer’s attitude’ requires significantly more attention than simply inserting some new terms into the curricula. It requires a culture shift in the role of the professor, the atmosphere of the classroom, the format of the instruction, the evaluation methods and the overall student experience.

THE EXPERIENCE REALM OF EDUCATION Art and management education provide such differing student experiences that the experience itself may provide an insightful lens by which to examine and define the ‘experience’ that ‘the new MBA’ seeks to offer. The four quadrants of Joseph Pine’s Experience Realm diagram delineates the character of different types of experiences. “Entertainment experiences can alter our view of the world, while educational experiences can make us rethink how we fit into the world. Escapist experiences can boost our personal capabilities and characteristics to new levels, while esthetic experiences can imbue a sense of wonder, beauty and appreciation” (Pine 30). While intuitively a professor may automatically assume that they should strive towards the educational quadrant, in fact a combination is best. In Figure 15, I mapped my experiences with art schools (Pratt and Cleveland Institute of Art) and management school (Weatherhead) with reference to more traditional MBA program. As expected, even experiences within each program vary; the goal however is to touch each realm. “The most engaging life-transforming experiences will center around the sweet spot, composed of multiple elements from all four realms—for it is in the sweet spot that an experience best engages us and focuses our attention on its transforming nature” (Pine 30).


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Behind-the-scenes

My Engagement in Student Leadership Roles Chair of Academ ic Aff airs, Gradu a t e Busine ss Stu dent Assoc iation

Focus Gro Leader up Managin, by Des g ign

‘Managing by Design’ Experience at WSOM

t Studetnative, n e RepresSOM W ulum Curric ittee Comm

PartVP of Net nership Imp s act WSO Chap M ter

ger, Blog M WSO er t Mas g o l B

FIGURE 17: MY ROLES AT WEATHERHEAD SOURCE: King 2010


47

MARRYING THEORY & PRACTICE VIA DESIGN Linking theory and practice through the creation of experiential learning environments has been a core element of my experiences as both a student or educator. Similarly, I approached my Weatherhead experience on a quest for the ‘sweet spot’ that Pine proposes. The process of creating an experience that embraces each realm requires the skills and values represented by a ‘design culture’ (Figure 15). While mapping out this book and my research, I used thinking through drawing techniques to see the whole (Figure 16A). I brought [my research] to life, by improvising and engaging stakeholders through deep listening. I engaged polysensorial aesthetics while consolidating multi-dimensional meanings to cooperatively plan and execute experiences (Figures 17A,B,C & D). Then, I came up for air! For insight into the organizational change and school mission, I joined the school’s Curriculum Committee as one of two student representatives; there I saw beyond the current operations and into both past and future intiiatives. In leadership roles, I practiced skills in collaboration and facilitation in order to assemble key interpreters, manage a multi-disciplinary team and engage stakeholders on multiple levels.

ANALYSIS & CREATION OF PROCESS MODELS The sequence and approach for addressing a firm’s problems or opportunities can take as many forms as do the problems themselves. As depicted in Figure 16, new process models have been created over time and illustrate a systems-based approach to seeking opportunities and solving problems. While some professors may shape a class around a deep-dive into one particular model, as I have done with the ‘4C’ model that frames this book (Loomis). Techniques like mind-mapping, sketching, mood boards help capture inspiration, ideation and key ideas. My process followed a non-linear path of both exploration, application and reflection.


48

DESIGNING THIS BOOK

Organizing the Concepts via Sketching

FIGURE 17A: WHITEBOARD SKETCHES FOR BOOK


49

SOURCE: King


50

B.School + d.School Workshop & Exhibit

INTERDISCIPLINARY LEARNING “I was able to help the designers look at the product from a business perspective, focusing on price, cost, distribution, and target markets. Overall the workshop was a very fun event, allowing both WSOM and CIA students to learn from each other.” -MBA Student Participant

FIGURE 17A&B: EVENTS


51

B.SCHOOL + D.SCHOOL

Benefit Event

connecting stakeholders “This was the best event I’ve been to since I came to Weatherhead. I learned about a great nonprofit in the area that is doing important work in Haiti as well as other regions in need. I was able to meet students of the law and engineering school, as well as professionals from a range of organizations.” -MBA Student Attendee

SOURCE: King


52

B.School + d.School Showcase

INTERDISCIPLINARY LEARNING “I wasn’t that familiar with the critique process. The kit gave me an introduction to some concepts I should consider when I assess the market viability of a product. The happy hour event was a great opportunity to get to know the design students in a casual setting; a great way to kick off the competition.” -MBA Student

FIGURE 17C&D: EVENT/CONTEST


53

B.SCHOOL + D.SCHOOL

Collaborative Competition

TURNING DESIGNS INTO BUSINESSES “We need more opportunities to interact with the business students. Through the competition, I learned about the process of taking my product to market. It was a valuable experience for me and my classmates. Some of them actually decided to file for provisional patents the week after the competition.� -Design Student Participant

SOURCE: King



COMMENCE

55

Establishing Place and Space Defining a Brand Identity Impacting Decision via Recruitment


56

SPACE TO WORK & CREATE B.SCHOOL & D.SCHOOL ise in Expert , crafts ls, materia . t p e conc

Engineering Innovation Consumer goods

ion

nct vs. Fu Form

CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART

Experience ‘of’ designing

STANFORD D.SCHOOL

SOURCE: King, 2010

FIGURE 18: COMPARISON OF DESIGN STUDIOS

SOURCE: Hasso


57

Integr ative t hin MBA/ Design king er as Facilit ator/ Consu ltant

ROTMAN SCHOOL OF MGMT

SOURCE: Rotman

Man a Des ging by MB i A/D gn/ing Fac esigne i r Con litator as / sul tan t Non pro fits

WEATHERHEAD sCHOOL OF MGMT

SOURCE: King, 2010


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SYMBOLIC PLACE

Gehry-Designed Home of WSOM

SOURCE: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

SOURCE:King, 2010


59

WHERE DOES THE DESIGNING ‘HAPPEN?’ Leading design and management schools have each tailored their learning environments to align with the culture they aim to achieve. Many feature floor-to-ceiling walls to post work, ideas and inspiration. Spaces for team meetings and brainstorming sessions welcome students to collaborate. While management schools and design schools differ slightly, they all agree that space plays a key role. “Space can fuel the creative process by encouraging -- or discouraging -- specific behaviors” says Witthoft Codirector of Stanford d.school’s Environments Collaborative (Tischler 1).

BUILDING A SPACE, DEFINING A CULTURE Weatherhead does not limit ‘design’ to the studio. The 20th century philosopher, Henri Lefebvre exclaims that space transcends the physical realm. “Social space is a social product - the space produced in a certain manner serves as a tool of thought and action. It is not only a means of production but also a means of control, and hence of domination/power.” (Lefebrve ). How and where the concepts of thought, action and control infiltrate a learning institution defines its culture. The process of actually designing and building Weatherhead’s home was given tremendous attention and care in defining a culture of interaction, innovation and collaboration. “The Lewis Building was intended to be a background that is not predictable--you can get lost in it. When it’s filled with students, it should be pretty exciting. The circulation patterns, the ways that people will get around in it , are built in a way so that students and faculty will collide with each other--will come across each other in unexpected ways. They will find certain places where they want to go when they need to sit down and talk. Those places are going to be their niches. And that’s what a building needs to do. It has to facilitate that type of spontaneity and comfort of interaction” (Gehry/Boland 20).


60

BUILDING A BRAND Faculty & Associates

SOURCE:Weatherhead


61

The whimsical space evokes true awe. On a daily basis, camera-toating tourists flock to the site to gaze up at the building’s shimmering canopy. It is a symbol of innovation and design excellence. The story of the process architect Frank Gehry followed gives terrific insight into the managing by design process embraced at Weatherhead. He explains. “I tell clients at the start that we are going to be in a liquid state for a lot of the time. In the liquid state, there is information gathering and agonizing about program issues. We make a lot of models, and some of the models are pretty scary looking. When we show them to a client, they get pretty nervous. We call them schreck models. It’s a Yiddish expression for making people nervous. I do that so they can follow along with the trajectory of my thinking, which I believe is linear actually. It’s not predictable, but it is linear. I push something here, and then I see something, and then I take that and incorporate it. I think it’s an opportunistic kind of process.” (Gehry/Boland). Ambiguity is uncomfortable, but in the end can yield innovative results. As we examine the organizational change that Weatherhead is currently experiencing, we find the liquid state, yet it is linear in the sense that time will continue to move forward; through it all however, a sense of opportunity, play and experimentation exist. The process a designer follows as he or she envisions a system, product, or in this case a building and organizational culture can vary drastically. Figure 19 demonstrates this evolution of the process model; Weatherhead students examine these in year one.

DESIGNING & LEADING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE “When it comes to radical innovation of meanings, a products’ culture reflects the culture of the executive who has launched it” (Verganti 227). Weatherhead’s ‘radical innovation’ closely reflects the culture and objectives of its dean, faculty members and associates (opposite page). Scholars and designers have been shaping the concepts of ‘design-thinking’ and ‘managing by design’ over decades (Figure 19 & 20 & 21).


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DESIGN PROCESS MODELS Diversity in Approach

1981

1967 1976

1982

FIGURE 19: TIMELINE OF PROCESS MODELS

1990


63

1995 1996

2000

2002 2009

SOURCE: All except 2009: Dubberly; 2009: IDEO


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DESIGN-THINKING BOOKS Thought Evolution and Popularity Growth

1985 1969

1996 1995

2001 2002

FIGURE 20: TIMELINE OF DESIGN-THINKING BOOKS


65

2006 2005

2008 2009

SOURCE: Amazon.com


66

PHILOSOPHY OF DEAN ROGER MARTIN Rotman School of Management, Toronto University


67

SOURCE:Gabio


68

WEATHERHEAD GRAPHIC IDENTITY Cool, Forward-Thinking & Fun

SOURCE:Weatherhead


69

Weatherhead entered the ‘design-thinking’ conversation over a decade ago with publications by Richard Boland, Fred Collopy and Richard Buchanan, all current professors at Weatherhead; this was well ahead of many management schools. Figure 20 illustrates the growing popularity and attention directed at this merging of design and management by following the books that explore the topic. While the school may be on the map through the lenses of like-minded scholars, the true challenge of integrating these concepts across the school’s community of faculty is buy-in, knowledgesharing, support and assessment; great weight lies upon the dean. When an executive sets the direction and decides to invest in a radical new product, he has no handrail, no excuse, no place to hide: he is embracing a new meaning. He is proposing to people a vision of their context of life” (Verganti 227). Dean Mohan Reddy is not looking to achieve the ‘aha’ moment from his faculty. Instead he is looking for a more gradual approach to organizational change in which faculty make changes to their teaching methods and business philosophies over a series of years; buy-in will not happen overnight. Silos among academic disciplines will dissolve and themes will become more and more infused into the fabric of the Weatherhead culture. Some faculty may shift their thinking quickly, others may resist. Branding and timing, along with dissemination and professional development methods require careful consideration and a collaborative spirit.

MANAGING THE BRAND Weatherhead must differentiate their service (or transformation) in order to recruit a student body and faculty that truly aligns with their core values, program and curriculum. Developing a reputation both locally and globally has been an important focus for the school. Our identity extends beyond our graphic identity (opposite page); through conferences and convenings that bring together diverse sets of stakeholders.


70

GLOBAL COLLABORATIONS

Convening Leaders of ‘Best Design Schools’ CONVERGENCE SUMMIT

World’s Best Design Schools 2009

SOURCE: Wong

The Summit will bring together an international group of scholars who share an interest in how management and design can benefit each other. Discussion will include: • • • • • • •

How to bring the ideas and methods of design into management education How to bring the ideas and methods of management into design education How to develop appropriate “cases” for use in education How to use studio education in management programs Integrating design across the management curriculum of MBA programs Designing and managing networks for innovation New theory and practice in organizational change and organizational design

-Summit Organizers, WSOM


71

LOCAL COLLABORATIONS

Engaging the Local Arts Non-Profit Community RESHAPING BOUNDARIES SEMINAR

SOURCE: Stacey Manz / Youngjin Yoo

The idea behind the workshop was the movement between stakeholder experience and the invisible structure that generates that experience. The participants were given a persona of a stakeholder and asked to start from the reflection of their current image to the imagination of the future. The first day ended with a 2D sketch of the future experience and structure. During the second day, participants worked to construct 3D representation of the ecology of future. Managers never have a “clean� slate. They are always thrown into a situation -- messy and clumsy. The world is a heap of accidents and the task of managers is to make sense of them and do something about it to make it a better place.

-Youngjin Yoo, Workshop Facilitator and Participant


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RECRUITMENT Impacting the Decision

FIGURE 21: INFLUENCE OF PUBLICATIONS & MBA WEBSITE SOURCE: GMAC Registrants p11

his Is tbest the cation ? allo ources es of r

FIGURE 22: MBA PROGRAM RECRUITMENT BUDGET SOURCE: GMAC Applications p12


73

LINK THE ‘SELL’ TO THE ‘JOB’ Surveys show that students want to work for today’s most innovative firms (Figure 3), yet surveys at Weatherhead state that the current student body did not choose to attend due to their design/innovation curricula (Fall 2009 Survey). The question then becomes: • Was the curricula not articulated in interactions with the brand, thereby attracting students disinterested or unaware of the design theme? • Are students interested in the theme not coming across Weatherhead in their research? Is the brand positioned in the appropriate outlets? • Do students understand the value of the design theme? Harvard’s well-regarded marketing professor Theodore Levitt used to exclaim, “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole” (Christensen 23). To build brands that mean something to customers, you need to attach them to products that mean something to them (Christensen 25). Weatherhead must tell prospective students that these new skills align with their career aspirations. This shifts the entire paradigm of ‘traditional MBA’ recruitment in which admissions representatives set up a booth at trade-show-sized events (Figure 22), that are typically awash with ‘traditional MBA’ applicants that may or may not know that they ‘need’ design skills. Christensen proposes a new tactic-- “take advantage of asymmetric motivation by using unique methods to target different students; new players could develop unique capability to deliver customized and convenient programs” (Christensen 191). The MBA applicant may not look like those of the past.

PROMOTE NEW EXPECTATIONS IN NEW PLACES While the school’s website and leading publications will continue to be critical outlets for promotion and recruitment (Figure 21), Weatherhead must consider new outlets that allow the school to interact with a diverse


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CASE COMPETITIONS Students Promote the Brand

del

Mo SE: E RELEA New Business a MEDIAT FOR IM e the Case for ak MBAs M

FIGURE 22: CASE COMPETITION ARTIFACTS SOURCE (powerpoint):King SOURCE (letter): Aspen Institute


75

set of prospective students that are at varying stages of their decisionmaking process to both choose to pursue an MBA, then choose the school at which to attain it. Some ideas include: • Case Competitions (Figure 22): Case competitions offer an opportunity to showcase the talents of the school’s students. Students apply for the competitions and depending upon the case are required to solve the challenge a firm is facing or determine an untapped market opportunity. In some cases, students are given a specific task such as marketing a new consumer product or a more broad intention such as creating a business that enhances the sustainability values of the firm. This year the school had great success with case competitions. My team and I advanced to the final round of the Net Impact Case Competition, hosted by University of Colorado. Another Weatherhead team won the prestigious Aspen Institute Case Competition. These honors feature not only the students, but they enhance the school’s brand. Consider engaging design schools and undergraduate programs; feature the theme of design with leading corporate sponsors. • Design/Education Conferences (see pages 76 &77): These convenings can promote the brand, while enriching the knowledge base of faculty and students. Think out of the box. Host a cocktail party that demonstrates the culture and showcases student work. Hand out a unique puzzle, game or booklet that illustrating an event. Send students to events as they tell the story best. People appreciate authentic stories that feature successes and lightly mention challenges as well. • Outreach/Workshops/Modules: Weatherhead’s long-standing tradition of hosting workshops could expand into new formats like webinars, blogs, videos and design charettes. Clayton Christensen forecasts that the higher education industry will offer “hybrid low-cost/ new-market models in partnership with for-profit institutions, corporate training programs, and community colleges (Christensen 119).


76

dESIGN CONFERENCES Domestic & International Recruitment

“Make/Think” AIGA Design Conference Business Innovation Factory (BIF) Net Impact Conference Creative Places + Spaces PopTech: America Re-imagined Design, Complexity & Change Design/Management

OCTOBER JULY AUGUST

NOVEMBER

IDSA International Conference and Education Symposium Business Perspectives for Creative Leaders (AIGA & Yale School of Management)

Aspen Design Summit ICSID World Design Congress & General Assembly Opportunity Green In a Planet of Our Own


77

Hong Kong Business of Design Week Design Korea International Conference South by Southwest Interactive International Contemporary Furniture Fair / NY Design Week

DECEMBER MARCH FEBRUARY

MAY

APRIL

CompostModern

Milan Design Week Gel

Send ts! studen

Hav e cre them dis ate a the play o i f (dig r lea r ital & e nings xh ibit

)



CULTIVATE

79

Building Brand Equity Developing Experiences & Artifacts Defining Future Initiatives


80

ENGAGE & CO-CREATe

A Process of Development & Refinement

FIGURE 23: DEVELOPMENT OF BRAND EQUITY SOURCE: Berry, Figure 1, p200


81

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE & BRAND MEANING Brand awareness can no longer follow the path of the past through channels including print brochures, websites and school visits. The brand must extend its reach into new channels that exemplify their commitment to innovation. Before doing this, Weatherhead it must develop a working strategy to engage stakeholders in building brand equity on multiple levels. From the interrelationships among the presented brand, external communications, and customers’ experiences emerge brand awareness, meaning and, ultimately, equity (Berry 1). This begins with the customer experience. Authenticity is critical. Even the most minute details of an experience are being examined by the student. “If a theme is to succeed, it must be completely consistent with the character of the business that is promoting it. Anything less appears disingenuous and detracts from the experience rather than improve it” (Pine 52). The school must embrace this approach and offer a forum for analysis as and creative ideation. While students may be studying the process models illustrated in Figure 19, they also must be able to think critically about the one in which they are engaged in. Remember, these students are not simply aspiring ‘designers’ or ‘managers,’ they will be responsible for creating ‘experiences’ and ‘transformations.’ As far back as 1934, education scholar John Dewey discussed the tremendous value of processes and experiences. Education is no longer a means to an end or a box to check. The focus is no longer on the physical manifestations in the object, but instead to the process in its entirety, the development of an ‘experience’ (Dewey). The teaching and learning experience must invite the community into the school’s ‘space’ while also extending beyond the institute’s ‘space’ beyond its walls. The consumer of the MBA program is no longer limited to those of their program; because management roles regularly take on the responsibilities of a facilitator, management schools now must interact with outside


82

PROPOSED CONCEPTS

Collaborative Events/Projects Ideation SHOWCASE

Cultural Fashion Show

design & build

SustainabilityWorkshops

to vel Tra eums ? s Mu hools c &S

Creativity

Expression

Celebration

Visu Storyt al elling

Crosscultural

outreach

Miniature Golf

ion communicat

gn Desi ild u B & shop k Wor

Collab

oratio n & Compe tition

Sus tai Educ nability ation w com ith m part unity ners

Renew a Energ ble PoweryIncu ed Food Tbator? ruck?

FIGURE 23A: CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE / BRAND MEANING


83

COMMUNITY Winter Festival

V m D E g

PARTY

eXPERIENCE

Black-Out Ping Pong

Gallery / Event Space

Experie nce Design Netwo

rking

Party Art

Fun

Sketching

Snow Play

Rock

‘n Rol l

Conse

rvation

Messa

ge

Comm unity Revitil ization Stakeh o Engage lder ment

Showc ase Projec ts

Intera

ct-Re

lax

l yfu Pla n NeoLight k Blac ro Ret

SOURCE: Miscellaneous images, King 2010


84

CO-CREATION

A Process of Development & Refinement

Contin uous engagem ent & assess ment

FIGURE 24: USER-CENTERED DESIGN PROCESS SOURCE: (Vredenburg Process Model) Dubberly p76


85

departments and firms. To showcase this experiential ‘action learning’ and ‘community partnership’ concepts, Weatherhead’s Dean Reddy proposes a unique three-year program structure in which students will be able to take the second year to immerse themselves into a role within a nonprofit organization; this will provide an outlet for the altruistic young manager to learn how to incorporate both social and environmental consciousness into business while empowering students and their community.

ENHANCING BRAND EQUITY VIA CO-SOURCING As the transition in management towards design occurs, traditional ‘product-based’ design programs are shifting to encourage students to explore systems, services or experiences. Weatherhead has developed a strong partnership with Cleveland Institute of Art that allows students and faculty to collaborate. Students are empowered to take leadership roles and create projects, events and experiences that engage their mind and community. An ideation (or brainstorming) session with students of CIA and Weatherhead resulted in the mood boards and concepts in Figure 23A. As demonstrated with the events outlined, something as simple as a party or lounge can spark a conversation that can lead to a lasting network of creative professionals or an influential event series. Weatherhead’s culture of networking and collaboration illustrates a commitment to co-creation on both small and large scales. Corporations use these methods as well (Figure 24); Abbas Rizavo of EDS believes “outsourcing is done to you, cosourcing is done with you. [EDS is] really in the business of helping our customers evolve, align, regenerate, and restructure” (Customer 169).

ENRICH CURRICULA; OFFER ARTIFACTS & TOOLS “[Harvard Business School’s] vast intellectual resources—professors, classes for both undergraduate and graduate degrees, executive education programs, the Harvard Business Review and Harvard Business School Press,


PROPOSED CONCEPTS

Artifacts, Products & Services Ideation

TALK

Shared Vocabulary / Flashcards

SOURCE: adapted from BoomBoom

develop

Tools & Coaching

SOURCE: Orvall

FIGURE 23A: EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS/ PRESENTED BRAND


87

DEMONSTRATE

Digial and Hard Copy Portfolios

SOURCE: Participle and IDEO

PROMOTE

Tours, Exhibits & Outreach

SOURCE: Pilloton

SOURCE: Miscellaneous images, King 2010


88

BRAND EQUITY OF WEATHERHEAD ‘Management + Design’ Integration

INSTITUTE FOR DESIGN INNOVATION & ENTREPRENUERSHIP

Brand Awareness, Theme Integration, Student/Professor Buy-in Innovative Teaching & Learning

Incubator 3year Nonprofit & Abroad Programs

Recruitment: Design Conferences /Competitions Faculty Dialogue/ Professional Development Cases, Artifacts, Products & Services Global/Local Convenings Collaborative Events/Projects Philosophy, Vision, Space & Leadership

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016 2018

FIGURE 25: PATH TO ENHANCING BRAND EQUITY SOURCE: King


89

and various newsletters, videotapes, CD-ROMs, Web sites, and other teaching resources—make it a perfect enterprise for transforming individuals into business executives prepared to face any strategic challenge (Pine 168). Publishing cases, enriching curricula and establishing teaching resources will enhance the Weatherhead brand. Artifacts, tools and services can help extend brand beyond the current students and faculty and into segments including business or design professional as well as educators or youth. For example, a team of students and faculty proposed the idea of flashcards addressing the fact that designers and managers communicate in different ways from one another (Figure 23A); learning one another’s language will further encourage opportunities for collaboration today, while helping them “yield more creative problem representations and enable the development of better designs” tomorrow (Boland 15). While secondary to the larger consumer transformation, artifacts can be valuable in building brand equity and telling stories that exemplify the customer experience.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS Weatherhead will continue on its path to enhancing their brand equity as a leader in merging design and management (Figure 25); it will prepare leaders in the delivery, process, communication and assessment of an innovative stakeholder experience including that of their consumers, employees, as well as local and global communities. They will not limit the firm’s economic offerings to commodities, instead considering experiences and transformations. While goals of personal and professional development reign, this pedagogy aims to develop a workforce that thinks critically and analytically in both creative and ethical arenas. While this examination proves that organizational change is not fast or easy, my research illustrated the power of integrating theory and practice into a learning environment, which has further equipped me with a unique and multidisciplinary toolkit as a designer, educator and manager. As I consider this to be a working/living document, I encourage any and all readers to contact me and help keep this important dialogue alive.



READINGS 91


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READINGS Aakar, David. “Innovation: Brand It or Lose It” California Management Review Fall 2007 Vol. 50 No.1 ICMR 376 11/01/07 Berry, Leonard L. and Kent D. Seltman. “Building a strong services brand: Lessons from Mayo Clinic” Kelley School of Business, Indiana University Business Horizons 2007 50, p199-209 Boland, Richard and Fred Collopy. Managing as Designing. Stanford University Press: Stanford, CA, 2004. Boom Boom! Cards, 2010. http://boomboomcards.com/store “Building Brand Community on the Harley-Davidson Posse Ride” 9-501-015, November 1, 2000 Harvard Business Review Caesar, Terry. “Adjuncts and Ignorance in Collaborative Learning.” Inside Higher Ed, April 27, 2006. http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2006/04/27/caesar Chesbrough, Henry. “The New Business Logic of Open Innovation” Harvard Management Communication Letter, Harvard Business Review S0307D Christensen, Clayton M., Scott Cook and Taddy Hall. “Marketing Malpractice” Harvard Business Review December 2005 R0512D Christensen, Clayton M., Erik A. Roth and Scott Anthony. Seeing What’s Next: Using Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change. Harvard Business School: Boston, 2004. Collopy, Fred. “Design in MBA.” Memo to Weatherhead Faculty, November 2, 2009. Corstjens, Marcel and Jeffrey Merrihue. “Optimal Marketing” October 2003 “Customer-Driven Innovation.” Harvard Business Review, May 2008 10098


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Dewey, John. Education and Experience. New York: Macmillian;1938. Dubberly, Hugh. “A Compendium of Models.” Dubberly Design Office: San Francisco, 2004. Dyer, Jeffery H., Hal B. Gregersen, and Clayton M. Christensen. “HBR: Innovator’s DNA” Harvard Business Review, December 2009, p.60-67. http://hbr.org/2009/12/the-innovators-dna/ar/1 Fall 2009 Survey; Student Services. “Class of 2011:Weatherhead School of Management; Survey of Year One of Fulltime MBA Program.” December 2009. Gabrio, Jon. “Roger Martin: Design of Business.” Mindmap illustrating interview: Patnaik, Dev. “Reinventing the MBA: 4 Reasons to Mix Business With Design Thinking .” Fast Company, November 10, 2009. http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/devpatnaik/innovation/reinventing-mba Gardener, Howard. Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice. HarperCollins, New York, 1993. Gilmore, James H. and Joseph Pine II. The Experience Economy. 1999. Gilroy, Marilyn “GMAT Takers Up, International M.B.A. Applicants Down at U.S. Schools”. Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, The. FindArticles.com. 29 May, 2010. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3184/is_20100405/ai_n53240083/ Graduate Management Admissions Council, MBA.com Registrants Survey 2009, http://www.gmac.com/NR/rdonlyres/99B4D1C3-4347-4F12-969C-0D9DB1E5481F/0/mbacomRegistrantsSurveyReport2009.pdf Graduate Management Admissions Council, MBA.com, Applicants Trends Survey 2009, http://www.gmac.com/NR/rdonlyres/32D2B92A-776F-4DFA-9903C251B1B7862D/0/2009AT_SR_Web.pdf.


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FUTURE INITIATIVES

Hammer, Michael. “Deep Change: How Operational Innovation Can Transform Your Company.” April 2004 R0404E Hasso Platner School of Design at Stanford University, http://dschool.stanford. edu/ Kim, W. Chan and Renee Mauborgne. “Blue Ocean Strategy” Harvard Business Review October 2004 R0410D Kim, W. Chan and Renee Mauborgne. Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant. Harvard Business School: Boston, 2005. Kim, W. Chan and Renee Mauborgne. “Value Innovation: The Strategic Logic of High Growth.” Harvard Business Review July-August 2004 R0407P “Let the Users Take the Lead” Harvard Management Communication Letter, Harvard Business Review May-June 2005 S0505E “Idea Generation: Innovation’s Starting Point” Harvard Business Review, 2009 p.147 7218BC “Innovation at the Lego Group (A)” 2008 IMD International Institute for Management Development, Lausanne, Switzerland IMD380 28.03.2008 Lefebvre, Henri. The Production of Space. Blackwell 1991, p. 26 Lodish, Leonard M. and Carl F. Mela. ‘If Brands Are Built Years, Why Are They Managed over Quarters?’ Harvard Business Review July August 2007. Loomis, David. “Conceive, Create, Commence, Cultivate.” Process model. McCandess, David. The Visual Miscellaneum: A Colorful Guide to the World’s Consequential Trivia. CollinsDesign, 2009. Nussbaum, Bruce. “The Truth Behind China’s BYD Car Company--And Warren Buf-


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fet’s Investment.” Business Week, February 11, 2010. http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/NussbaumOnDesign/archives/2010/02/ the_truth_behin.html Ohrvall, David. “Crack the Case.” http://www.mbacase.com Participle. http://www.participle.net/ Paul, R. and Elder, L. (2006). The Art of Socratic Questioning. Dillon Beach, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking. Pine II, B. Joseph and James H. Gilmore. “Welcome to the Experience Economy” Harvard Business Review July August 1998 98407 Pink, Daniel. A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future. Penguin: New York, 2005. Rank, O. 1932/1989. Art and Artist: Creative Urge and Personality Development. W.W. Norton. Rotman School of Management, Toronto University, www.rotman.utoronto.ca Rust, Roland T., Valarie A. Zeithaml and Katherine N. Lemon. “Customer-Centered Brand Management” Harvard Business Review September 2004. Ulwick, Anthony W. “Turn Customer Input into Innovation” Harvard Business Review, January 2002 R0201H Task Force on the Future of American Innovation. 2005. “The knowledge economy: Is the United States losing its competitive edge?” www.futureofinnovation.org/ PDF/Benchmarks.pdf. Tischeler, Linda. “Stanford d.school Proves You Really Can Design a Space for Innovation.” Fast Company, April 26, 2010. http://www.fastcompany.com/1627861/ new-stanford-dschool-shows-you-really-can-design-a-space-for-innovation Trachtenberg, Stephen Joel. “Are they Students or Customers: Degrees and the

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Marketplace.” New York Times, January 3, 2010 http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes. com/2010/01/03/are-they-students-or-customers/ Universum USA. ““The American MBA Survey.” http://www.universumglobal.com/ IDEAL-Employer-Rankings/The-American-MBA-Survey Number of participants in 2010: 5,732 respondents Number of employer evaluations in 2010: 21,561 Number of universities targeted in 2010: 50 leading MBA schools Field period: December 2009 to March 2010

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