MAN 5024 Innovation and Business Development

MAN 5024 Innovation and Business Development

Course code: 
MAN 5024
Department: 
Communication and Culture
Credits: 
30
Course coordinator: 
Peder Inge Furseth
Course name in Norwegian: 
Nyskaping og kommersialisering
Product category: 
Executive
Portfolio: 
Master of Management
Semester: 
2018 Autumn
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Master
Teaching language: 
Norwegian
Course type: 
Associate course
Course codes for multi- or associated courses.
MAN 5025 - 1. semester
MAN 5026 - 2. semester
Introduction

Innovation is to create something new and selling it on the market. The new is what we will base future national income on. This requires understanding of current and future markets. The objective of the programme is that participants shall become better able to manage business development of new products, processes, concepts and services, and thereby creating extra value for their own performance unit and company. The programme provides a thorough and concrete review of theory and practice about the iinnovation process, and how to apply this for companies and institutions in new, demanding, and changing environments.

The programme focuses on understanding current, future, and non-existing markets, and solving the varied and complex managerial challenges in the work of developing and realising new business areas and business models. Such areas include the use of new technology, new marketing channels, new organisational forms and communication media, and, not least, the development of new products, processes and services.

Business development is also about restructuring an activity in such a way that the development work will yield a sufficient financial return.
Each participant must develop a project paper that applies insights from the programme to the development or business development of an innovation that is expected to give increased profitability for one’s own company, performance unit or for a customer/client.

Målgruppe
Programmet er primært rettet inn mot ledere og mellomledere som arbeider med strategi, forretningsutvikling, markedsføring, organisasjonsutvikling eller IT og som ønsker å utvide sin kunnskaps- og ledelsesmessige kompetanse innen innovasjon. Programmet er også relevant for ansatte i offentlig sektor som arbeider med innovasjon, kommersialisering og verdiskaping på nasjonalt, regionalt, eller lokalt nivå eller som er engasjert i utviklingen av offentlige tjenester overfor publikum.
 

Learning outcomes - Knowledge
  • To have knowledge about and insight into core concepts and perspectives within innovation management in the various phases in this process, from idea generation to commercialization.
  • To have insight into the most central tools that are being used to implement innovation processes, in particular when it comes to business models.
  • To have knowledge and insight into how to carry out products- and service innovation and hybrid combinations of these, as well as develop insights into what may promote and hinder such processes.
  • To have knowledge about some of the most innovative enterprises in Norway and beyond, in particular in Europe and in the United States.
     
Learning outcomes - Skills
  • To be able to analyze and develop a business potential for a new idea.
  • To be able to make a concrete strategy for both invention and commercialization, and to implement this strategy for any kind of businesses, new as well as established ones.
  • To develop and renew one's own understanding of innovative work.
  • To be able to develop and commercialize products, services, processes and business concepts.
  • To create a culture of innovation in a company or organization, whether in the private or public sectors.
Learning Outcome - Reflection
  • The participants shall be able to see their own experiences in a professional light.
  • The participants shall develop a critical understanding of core models in the field of innovation.
  • The participants shall be able to communicate and discuss insights about innovation in contact with businesses and organizations.
Course content

Course module 1: Introduction to the field of innovation.
Course module 2: Development of new products, processes and services.
Course module 3: Business development of innovations
Course module 4: Best practice and emerging trends in entrepreneurship and innovation in Silicon Valley
Course module 5: Implementation of an adjusted business model for one’s own company or performance unit

Learning process and requirements to students

The programme is conducted through five course modules over two semesters, a total of approx. 150 lecturing hours.

Project tutorials differ in each Executive Master of Management programme. It will consist of personal tutorials and tutorials given in class. Generally the students may expect consulting tutorials, not evaluating tutorials. The total hours of tutorials offered is estimated to 4 hours per term paper.

Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all programmes, it is the student's own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/ itslearning or other course materials.

The students are evaluated through a term paper, counting 60% of the total grade and a 3 hours individual digital written exam counting 40%. The term paper may be written individually or in groups of maximum three persons. All evaluations must be passed to obtain a certificate for the programme. 

The term paper is included in the degree’s independent work of degree, cf national regulation on requirements for master’s degree, equivalent to 18 ECTS credits per. programme. For the Executive Master of Management degree, the independent work of degree represents the sum of term papers from three programmes.

 

Software tools
No specified computer-based tools are required.
Additional information

The programme structure and framework  

The programme is structured as a process-oriented course that comprises 150 lecture hours distributed over six course modules of 25-30 hours each, all in one academic year. The modules are organised in the following three sub-programmes: 

1) Theory and preparation for overseas studies (modules 1, 2 and 3) 

2) Studies overseas (San Francisco, Berkeley & Silicon Valley) (module 4) 

3) Follow-up work and project reporting (module 5) 

Throughout the course, the participants will be working on a business development project which will be submitted in the form of a project paper. Some of this work will take place in groups. 

Part 1: Preparation and theory 

Preparation for the overseas studies (in California) consists of three ordinary course modules of 25 hours’ teaching each. About 80 per cent of the literature will be covered in lectures during modules 1-3. There will be a subject-matter progression through the first three modules. Module 1 will be an introduction to the disciplines of entrepreneurship and innovation theory. Module 2, which focuses on the development of new products, processes and services, represents the core topics of the course. The third module, which has business development as its main topic, also emphasises more elaborative literature that helps problematise key approaches, concepts and issues.  

During this period the participants must have carried out an active sifting of the literature and have applied parts of it to their work on the project paper, and they must prepare for their studies in California by selecting relevant companies to be visited, so that the necessary appointments can be made. They must also clarify their expectations and ambitions for their overseas studies by preparing questions and investigations based on whatever might be most relevant for their own project work as well as for their understanding of the wider contexts in which the work of innovation, business development and value creation takes place in California. 

The participants must develop their project paper through presentations and discussion in smaller groups during the course modules, and through improvements made as they encounter new relevant literature during the programme.  

The participants must undertake a simple self-evaluation which focuses on charting their leadership qualities and skills. Tasks, responsibilities and challenges will be determined on the basis of this throughout the course, which involves carrying out and being trained in management-related activities.  

Part 2: Studies overseas: 

The programme has a key focus on studies/investigations taking place in a location where there is much to learn and where BI has established an extensive professional and practical collaboration on implementing the course with local partners. In module 4 the participants will come into close contact with one of the world’s most innovative environments, study this at close quarters and apply insights derived from it in their project paper. These two modules will take place in San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Berkeley in northern California, and will take place in the course of one week.  

Our Academic Directors at the Department of Innovation and Economic Organisation and Department of Communication and Culture has built up a company network and contact network with partners in this region, e.g. with researchers at Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley and Leavey School of Business at the Santa Clara University.  

The study/investigation period in California will comprise about a total of 50 hours and will be take place over one week. The course module will consist of 2/3 lectures and 1/3 company visits, field studies and group work with a focus on developing the participants’ project papers and provide insights into innovation and business development. Some of the company visits will be for all the participants, while others will be for smaller groups with a more specialised interest.  

During the program in California, there will be 3 days of plenary sessions, and 2 days of track sessions. Participants are expected to take the trak on Commercialization strategies. As there are several parallel tracks, some participants may, if they strongly desire, to follow one of the other tracks. The other track will be arranged if there are 10-15 external persons attending. The tracks are: Open innovation; service innovation; green business, multi-channel strategies, and experience economy. There are descriptions of these tracks available on the website for the San Francisco-seminar arranged by BI, on www.bi.no/sf09  

Part 3: Follow-up and project reporting 

Follow-up after the study period in San Francisco consists of one course module (module 5) which focuses on a summing up, presentations and discussions of the knowledge which the participants have acquired during the programme. The literature, the study tour, experiences and the continuing work on the project paper will provide a new insight and understanding of what difficulties and challenges are entailed in the work of innovation, business development and value creation in a company. This programme will point to solutions to such challenges.  

Part of the follow-up work will also be to complete the project paper and conduct a new evaluation of each participant’s management skills. 

Educational approach 

From a teaching point of view, the goal of the programme is to stimulate to process learning. Process learning has been defined as a definite goal partly because the programme participants are adults and competent people whose knowledge should be utilised during the learning process, and partly because the (Norwegian government’s) quality reform as well as education research underlines that process learning promotes a deeper and thus more useful and lasting type of knowledge. The focus of the programme will therefore shift from teaching to learning.  

Although theory is central to the first three modules of the programme, the participants will be expected to participate actively right from the start, sharing their experiences and reflections related to the project work. The participants must choose whether to work on a specific project from their own work situation or on a project unrelated to their own daily work. If they choose the latter, the course director will be able to suggest topics for them to work on. The topic chosen is likely to direct the attention of each participant. In order to stimulate to as much reflection as possible, the academic director therefore needs to make sure that the topics are formulated with a relatively wide scope. During the last two modules, the participants will be given plenty of time to apply and investigate the theoretical basis that was presented and discussed in the first modules of the programme.  

The programme is structured in such a way that goals, the practical framework, contents, students, course structure and evaluation are related to each other. The teaching goals for the programme, to promote learning as a process, has for instance resulted in teaching methods that allow for student activity. Specifically, each participant must for example write a brief reflection memo on what is most important from the module with regard to their own company. 

During the last part (3 hours) of modules 1-3, the participants will work in groups and will discuss the relevance of the module content for their own sub-paper. The participants and the ambulant lecturer will give feedback on each draft. In module 5, each participant will present a draft of the entire project paper for a group of eight people who provide final feedback concerning structure, reflections, the use of theory and presentation technique. 

Management development 

Management development will be at the core of modules 1 and 5, but the topic will be inherent in the other modules as well.  

Products from the programme 

The programme participants will complete a project paper which is relevant for the development of new business areas or business models in their own company, performance unit or department. As an alternative the challenge can be related to other activities where the person is involved in the capacity of consultant, supplier, customer, etc.  

Academic resources 

The academic resources come primarily from the Department of Innovation and Economic Organisation and Department of Communication and Culture at BI Norwegian Business School: Professor Heidi W. Aslesen and Associate professor, Dr. polit. Peder Inge Furseth respectively. 

Qualifications

Bachelor degree, corresponding to 180 credits from an accredited university, university college or similar educational institution
The applicant must be at least 25 years of age
At least four years of work experience. For applicants who have already completed a master’s degree, three years of work experience are required.

Exam categoryWeightInvigilationDurationSupport materialsGroupingComment exam
Exam category:
Submission
Form of assessment:
Written submission
Exam code:
MAN 50241
Grading scale:
ECTS
Grading rules:
Internal and external examiner
Resit:
Examination when next scheduled course
60No2 Semester(s)Group/Individual (1 - 3)Term paper, counting 60% of the total grade.
Exam category:
Submission
Form of assessment:
Written submission
Exam code:
MAN 50242
Grading scale:
ECTS
Grading rules:
Internal and external examiner
Resit:
Examination when next scheduled course
40Yes3 Hour(s)
  • No support materials
Individual Individual 3 hours digital written exam, counting 40% of the total grade.
Exams:
Exam category:Submission
Form of assessment:Written submission
Weight:60
Invigilation:No
Grouping (size):Group/Individual (1-3)
Support materials:
Duration:2 Semester(s)
Comment:Term paper, counting 60% of the total grade.
Exam code:MAN 50241
Grading scale:ECTS
Resit:Examination when next scheduled course
Exam category:Submission
Form of assessment:Written submission
Weight:40
Invigilation:Yes
Grouping (size):Individual
Support materials:
  • No support materials
Duration:3 Hour(s)
Comment:Individual 3 hours digital written exam, counting 40% of the total grade.
Exam code:MAN 50242
Grading scale:ECTS
Resit:Examination when next scheduled course
Exam organisation: 
Ordinary examination
Total weight: 
100
Sum workload: 
0

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 30 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 800 hours.