365-1176-00L Resilience - Beyond Risk Management
| Semester | Spring Semester 2023 |
| Lecturers | O. Kocsis, B. J. Bergmann |
| Periodicity | yearly recurring course |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Comment | Exclusively for MAS MTEC students (2nd and 4th semester). |
| Abstract | In the business world of today classical risk management is challenged at different fronts. Rising complexity of supply chains, distributed production to name a few face increasing levels of natural hazards like floods, droughts, tsunamis but also cyber risks. This makes it hard to apply standard approaches from classical risk management. Hence the new framework of resilience enters business. |
| Learning objective | In this lecture we focus on today’s business mindset that is challenged by volatile business conditions and pushed into decision making under uncertainty and the challenge: How can planning and business be transformed towards a more resilient business? The overall objective of the course is to better understand the concept of resilience and bring it closer towards actionable business insights. • Understand the buzzword of resilience by carving out at the differences to risk management, and business continuity management • Learn to know resilience in different systems with practical considerations from natural to manmade environments: - Understand resilience of natural systems and their link to biodiversity - What is the role of resilience in climate change, e.g. for critical infrastructure and adaptation of livelihoods? - How to foster resilience in business contexts: evaluate innovative digital solutions in complex supply chains • How can resilience be fostered in a system on a short (operational), a medium (tactical) and a longer-term strategic time scale? |
| Content | Resilience comes with many definitions and different contexts. It can be seen as a basic attempt to create a new understanding of how humans and nature interact, adapt and impact each other amid change and refers to the capacity of a system, be it an individual, a forest, a company, a supply chain or an economy, to deal with change and continue to develop. It is about how humans and nature can use shocks and disturbances like a financial crisis or climate change to spur renewal and innovative thinking. This 4-day bloc course brings in the views of external experts as guest speakers from different contexts such as biodiversity, hospitals, supply chains, risk & insurance management as well as challenges from e.g. climate change to cyber risk, some of them as practical cases for group work. During the course we will start from characterizing systems as well as their environments and aim at influencing the systems as well as their characteristics; from contrasting positions such as resilience vs. efficiency towards: how to combine resilience as well as efficiency? Understanding, leveraging, and managing resilience in natural, organizational, and business contexts: From understanding the notion of resilience - as inherent characteristic of natural systems with their rich biodiversity; - as a key factor in mastering climate change; - bringing it into the organizational and business context: to measuring resilience and making it a competitive advantage. As such the block course will build on critical thinking and reflection on current environments and how to change and influence them under uncertainty, beyond the known deterministic prediction and planning approach. As such the course builds capabilities, which considering the upcoming transformation of the societal and business environment might change overcome the paradigm of the efficient, yet vulnerable system and environment. |