Designing Solutions for Wicked Problems

The thrust of this course is on designing innovative solutions for wicked problems-problems requiring large-scale sustainable transformations in environments that tend to deeply favor the status-quo. The palette on which the course will anchor on is New Zealand, a country that I have, over the years, developed a deep relationship with. In my mind, New Zealand has always been one of the most innovative and progressive countries in the world, economically, socially and environmentally. This has come from a unique partnership between the government and the private sector, giving rise to several government enabled, private sector led initiatives. Students in this course will work with leaders and entities within New Zealand's primary sector, including key Maori business leaders/entities and the Ministries of Primary Sector and Trade. The projects with deeply integrated interdependencies will feature large-scale challenges that fall in the category of wicked problems. It will involve scaled interventions that will need to simultaneously satisfy economic, social and environmental needs. The course will give students as future leaders with an immersive experience of dealing with highly integrated and holistic solutions that are required to solve the wicked problem of large-scale sustainable transformations. This course is part of the GSB's Action Learning Program, in which you will work on real business challenges under the guidance of faculty. In this intensive project-based course, you will learn research-validated foundations, tools, and practices; apply these tools and learnings to a real project for an external organization; create value for the organization by providing insights and deliverables; and be an ambassador to the organization by exposing them to the talent, values, and expertise of the GSB. You will also have the opportunity to gain practical industry experience and exposure to the organization, its industry, and the space in which it operates; build relationships in the organization and industry; and gain an understanding of related career paths.