GEST7076-1

Duration

45h Th

Number of credits

	Master in sales management (120 ECTS) (work and study master)	5 crédits

Lecturer

Olivier Lisein, Frédéric Ooms

Language(s) of instruction

English language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

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.

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

Innovation and Change Management