20558 - MADE IN ITALY INDUSTRIES AND CREATIVITY MANAGEMENT
ACME
Department of Management and Technology
Course taught in English
Go to class group/s: 31
Course Director:
GABRIELLA LOJACONO
GABRIELLA LOJACONO
Course Objectives
The goal of this course is to highlight the reasons behind the extraordinary performance of these companies; how industries are structured; what are the sources of innovation and how innovation impacts over competitive and economic performance; and what are the main managerial challenges. We expect students to mature a solid understanding of the drivers of success of these companies and develop the capability to deal with issues like international growth, management of creativity, customer orientation, partnership and co-makership with other companies etc.The course is included in the Specialised track on Fashion, Luxury and Made in Italy of the Master of Science in Management.
Course Content Summary
The concept of Made in Italy is quite controversial and subject to an intense debate. The question is around what industries and companies can be included into this cluster representing the excellence of our entrepreneurial spirit, creativity and production abroad.We consider products and services in which Italy has a strong degree of specialization and innovation, a historical tradition, an outstanding quality profile, a high level of customization (also for serving industrial clients). These industries sustain Italian international competitiveness in terms of export. We refer to companies from Food, Beverages, Wine, Hotelerie, Furniture, Textiles, Apparel, Shoes, Sunglasses, Mechanics and Automation, Cosmetics. The major part of these industries is analyzed in this course, while fashion and design fields are subject of other specialized electives.
These industries are analyzed in terms of career opportunities, growth and innovation strategies, IP protection, internalization versus co-makership along the value chain, business models, economic and financial highlights. The teaching experience is enhanced by the participation as lecturers of managers from different industries. The course interacts closely with the practical issues involved in key Italian industries. The connection between the Italian factor and management practices is dealt by using cases and professionals. Such an in-class interaction forms a central part of the learning process. Students are expected to read cases assigned for each session in advance and to carry out group projects both following a brief given by a company on a relevant managerial issue and working on a business game competition (FAST©) simulating some strategic decisions formulated and implemented by a new creative company willing to achieve a profitable international growth
Detailed Description of Assessment Methods
For Attending Students:The 10 credits final grade will be made as follow
First part (60%)
• 36% individual final exam in the form of a short essay
• 24% teamwork. 10-page ppt for the session with the company for a max 30’ min.-presentation illustrating goals, methodology, analysis and final results. We kindly ask students to integrate the ppt file with a short word document.
Second part
• 40% Business game Competition (FAST©). Assessment of student performance is based 100% on the results of a business plan simulation played in three full days. For this reason attendance is compulsory during briefing and tutorship sessions and students signatures will always be collected.
The overall individual grade can receive an upgrade for outstanding class participation (max 1 point).
For Not Attending Students:
• For the 6 credits the evaluation is based 100% on final exam. Students will be asked to take the final exam in the form of a short essay. The business game (4 credits) is reserved to attending students only.
Textbooks
Handouts available on e-learning; papers and case studies available on course reserve.
Last change 13/06/2016 17:30