• Flankova Svetlana

The course is limited to 20 selected students. Participation list will be finalized at the end of the first week of the Spring semester.

This course introduces students to the concept of organizational resilience in multinational corporations (MNCs). Recently, companies worldwide faced a range of disruptive crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, financial downturns, geopolitical tensions, and natural disasters. Such events underscore the increasing unpredictability and volatility in today’s business landscape, making it essential for companies to build resilient strategies. Organizational resilience refers to an organization’s ability to anticipate, respond to, recover from, and learn from adverse situations, enhancing its adaptability and long-term success.

The international operations of MNCs increase their exposure to disruptive events, as some crises are global (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic) while others are region-specific (e.g., political instability in a particular host country). However, internationalization also provides these firms with valuable learning opportunities that can strengthen their resilience.

In this course, we will explore key debates on corporate resilience from both academic and practical perspectives. Topics will include resilience-related concepts, including decentralization, circularity, agile principles, and digital transformation, among others. The course will be highly interactive, and class attendance essential.

The course will also include guest lectures from industry practitioners across various sectors. These experts will share insights on organizational resilience, drawing on real-world examples from their careers to illustrate resilience strategies in action. Their diverse perspectives will enrich our discussions, bridging theory with practical applications.

By the end of this course, students should:

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of organizational resilience and key related concepts
• Analyze and discuss both academic and practitioner literature on resilience
• Collaborate effectively in teams to complete a project and deliver a presentation of their findings to the class

(Selected readings)

DesJardine, M., Bansal, P., & Yang, Y. (2019). Bouncing back: Building resilience through social and environmental practices in the context of the 2008 global financial crisis. Journal of Management, 45(4), 1434-1460.

Ralph O. (2020). Swiss Re calls for transparency from companies over cyber attack risks. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/13bed6c2-dd89-4c22-a86a-d9a584dd2b06

Suarez, F. F., & Montes, J. S. (2020). Building organizational resilience. Harvard Business Review, 98(6), 47-52.

Written exam (50% of the grade; 60 minutes)

Group project and presentation (40% of the grade)

Participation (10%)

Only the final exam can be repeated in case the total grade for the course is < 4.0. The grades from the continuous evaluation (participation and group work) cannot be repeated.

Course with continuous evaluation: after the registration period, you can no longer cancel your registration (see session calendar on the Faculty's website).

Written exam (60 minutes)

Retake exam only