The course is designed into three streams - Theory, Tools, and Tradecraft - and is grouped into 4 clusters of 3 sessions each. The clusters cover the link between strategy & stakeholders and control, the link between organization design and control, the design of performance measurement systems, and technology platforms as interfaces for management control. Two of the teaching hours in this course are dedicated to CSR, ethics, social and environmental issues.

Every cluster will cover all three streams of Theory, Tools, and Tradecraft. An individual session will be dedicated to either Theory, or Tools, or Tradecraft. The Theory sessions provide conceptual frameworks and perspectives on control. The Tool sessions cover the instrumental aspects and elements of management control. The Tradecraft sessions focus on immersion in the praxis of the CFO/Controller role, emphasizing the tacit knowledge required to navigate in a business partnering environment. Tradecraft sessions revolve around casework by students, CFO/Controller guest speakers from practice, and the development of course paper based insights on a self-selected topic within Management Control. The course paper acts also as a warm-up for the Master Thesis by developing the ability to think conceptually.

The course is based on Design Thinking and uses a “flipped classroom” model where students work with the materials in advance of class sessions, which are then used for discussion and interpretation.

It uses Miro as the learning platform throughout, emphasizing collaborative learning within case groups as well as for the course paper. The use of the Miro platform serves several purposes: (1) to promote conceptual thinking through the visualisation of causal relationships and the critical evaluation of these relationships, i.e., how the learning material is understood in a multidisciplinary way, (2) to introduce critical thinking through collaborative learning and peer-to-peer sense-making, i.e., educational value is created in collaborative visual processes, (3) to overcome barriers of narrow functional interpretation and domain language through visualisation, (4) to develop the insight that focused knowledge communities (i.e., teams) are the future format for the digital era, thus enhancing students’ employability and career progression.

All course elements will have a pre-defined basic template on Miro from which the student journey can be started for each session topic. All students will also have an individual board on Miro for their own individual learning purposes.

Student groups work on MIRO to analyse readings, prepare cases, and develop the course paper step by step. Students work in groups, a larger group for the case work and smaller groups for the course paper. The larger groups are subject to group composition requirements in terms of gender diversity, while the smaller groups have no group composition requirements.

Students will be required to obtain the two Miro badges “essential skills” and “diagramming & mapping” as part of the pre-course work to ensure they have the appropriate skills to work on the Miro visual collaboration platform.

Students will be provided with a protocol for working with the use of the AI tools on the Miro platform.

All student group work will follow a steady chronological learning pace with calendar deadlines.

Computer-based tools

To further enhance learning, students will have access to four sets of AI tools that are embedded in the course design and used iteratively: the generic GPT-UiO for initial comprehension, a PDF AI for analysing reading material, a research and academic writing AI for the course paper, and Miro’s own built-in AI for visually constructing and refining lines of argument. The AI toolkit is subject to change as technology advances.

If AI is used to analyse readings, proper referencing in the bibliography is required, similar to website visits. If used to develop the course paper or the case analysis, the sequence of prompts must be submitted in an Appendix.

Qualifications

As part of the course pre-work and in order to have the appropriate skills to work on the Miro visual collaboration platform, all students are required to obtain the Miro Essentials and Miro Diagramming and Mapping badges from Miro Academy, before being granted access to the pre-set learning journey on Miro. The two Miro badges are formally accepted by LinkedIn in the “Licenses & Certifications” category.