Duration
45h Th
Number of credits
| Master in sales management, professional focus (en alternance) | 5 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
The objective of this course is to provide students enrolled in the Master "Sales Management" an introduction to the issues of innovation management and change management. The course is composed of two complementary and interrelated parts: Innovation Management & Change Management
The "Innovation Management" part raises the issues of product or service innovation within contemporary organizations. The course particularly emphasizes the customer / user-centric approach. As such, students will discover how to use the "Design Thinking" approach to design products and / or services (innovations) that meet customer needs and expectations. Students will also familiarize themselves with the concepts of "job to be done", "pretotyping" and the use of the "business model canvas" in a "design thinking / lean startup" type approach.
The "Change Management" part presents various complementary perspectives relating to the issues and challenges of change management within contemporary organizations. The course first presents different ways to describe the change processes, their nature, their importance and their temporality. The course then discusses different approaches which, combined in a so-called "5 forces model", make it possible to explain the processes of change and innovation from complementary perspectives. This model is then used to assess the dynamics of change and to qualify their degree of success or failure of the innovations implemented. Finally, the course pays particular attention to the way in which innovation and change processes can be managed, referring to the polyphonic management style, directly inspired by the "5 forces model" presented previously.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
The objectives of the course are as follows:
- Analyze the issues and challenges of innovation dynamics and change processes within contemporary organizations
- Develop students' theoretical and practical knowledge in the field
- Develop students' critical outlook on issues of innovation management and change management
- Teach students how to usefully use concrete tools for managing innovation and change (Especially : Know and apply the concept of job-to-be done in a project; Know, understand and apply the steps of "Design Thinking"; Identify, mobilize and involve stakeholders in a co-construction process; Identify and build a pretotype ; Identify and build a "business model"; Evaluate the success / failure of innovation processes and change dynamics using a multidimensional approach ; Etc.)
- Develop the students' ability to conduct interviews and observations to identify the needs / expectations of customers / users and identify the interests / positions of stakeholders
- Bring students to manage an innovation project from A to Z, from its conception to its effective implementation, favoring user-centric approaches and the dynamics of effective stakeholder involvement
In line with the key learning outcomes of the studies in Management at HEC Liège the main objectives of the course are consistent with the following skills development axes :
- To develop students' skills regarding the establishment and the implementation of a strategy to optimize an organization and/or a project
- To invite students to take into account the legal, social, societal, and technological context of private companies and public institutions in the establishment and in the implementation of a strategy aiming at optimizing an organization and/or a project
- To work on students' capacity to research autonomously and methodically the information needed to solve a complex, transversal management problem
- To boost students' capacity to integrate researched information, tools, knowledge and context to build, propose, and implement original, creative and viable solutions to concrete complex management problems
- To develop students' critical sense (arguing) and to invite them to question their managerial practices with a responsible and ethical mind
- To ask students to show creativity, antonomy and entrepreneurial spirit, especially in the conception of solutions related to innovation project management and change management
- To enhance students' capacity to communicate efficiently about a company and a project through a professional perspective
- To develop students' capacity to work efficiently in a team
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
In addition to the preparatory readings for certain class sessions, the work required is of two types:
- reflection work carried out as part of the course: case analyzes, analyzes of interventions by guest speakers, application of concepts to real or fictitious cases, exercises in sub-groups, etc.
- transposition of the lessons learned into concrete projects
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
The course will be given via face-to-face sessions. Students will work in groups during several sessions. The theory and skills required for these group exercises will be taught in face-to-face and through online courses made available through the Lol@ virtual campus.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Recommended books:
PICHAULT, F., CASTRO, J.-L. & CHEVALIER, F. (2022), Towards a Polyphonic Approach to Change Management, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
NECK, H.; NECK, C.; MURRAY, E. (2018), Entrepreneurship The practice and Mindset, Sage Publishing
Presentation materials as well as additional self-study resources will be available online, via the Lol@ virtual campus.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam ( multiple-choice questionnaire, open-ended questions )
Written work / report
Further information:
1st session:
Realization of a group work, consisting of the development and implementation of a concrete innovation on behalf of a company (group work based on a case study, requiring the mobilization and integration of concepts of the two parts "Innovation Management" and "Change Management")
2nd session:
Individual written exam, covering the entire course material
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
Contacts
Olivier LISEIN,
HEC Liège - University of Liege,
E-Mail: O.Lisein@uliege.be
Frédéric OOMS,
HEC Liège - University of Liège,
E-Mail: fooms@uliege.be