Content and structure

DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE

At the Gordon Institute of Business Science our focus is on building personal and organisational business competitiveness. The Global Executive Development Programme is aimed at exposing senior executives to local and global best practice.

The ever-changing global market place, rapidly evolving new technologies and challenging business environments are just a few of the issues facing South African business. Both present and future business leaders require management skills of a depth and breadth that cannot be achieved through work experience alone. Without doubt, new knowledge and skills will be needed to compete successfully in our new international environment, and we believe that the GIBS GEDP will meet these demands effectively.

The 2010 programme will take place in Johannesburg, India and Dubai. The modules will be led by hand-picked faculty from top business schools around the world, who will cover a wide range of business disciplines in which best practice is a central component. Participants will be exposed to both local and international best practice alongside world-class faculty, fellow delegates and globally successful companies.

Professor Nick Bindell
Director: Gordon Institute of Business Science

INTRODUCTION

The Global Executive Development Programme (GEDP) is a premier programme for executives and experienced senior level managers. It is designed to boost considerably your capacity to lead your organisation into the future. It will expand your horizons and enhance your understanding of the evolving role of senior leaders in today’s organisation. It will immerse you in new ideas, re-energise your vision and provide you with the tools to strengthen your effectiveness as a senior executive.

This comprehensive programme encompasses the context of global awareness and organisational wide thinking, through the challenges of leading change and transformation, to updating your knowledge and skill on the functional aspects of management, and finally through the personal journey of critically examining your leadership style and ability to build a culture of execution.

You will emerge with the ability to more effectively –

Formulate strategic direction
Lead self and others
Build a strong performance culture

Formulating Strategic Direction

Delegates will be able to –

Bring a broad understanding of the global context to the strategic process
Have insight into the specific challenges that face South African organisations and explore the opportunities which exist within this context
Understand the main drivers to value creation and competitiveness and build strategic capability within the organisation
Formulate a clear, powerful and attractive vision for the future of the organisation
Analyse complex situations insightfully
Come up with effective solutions to problems
Introduce his/her own creative and innovative thinking

Lead Self and Others Effectively

Delegates will be able to –

Inspire a shared vision, set an example and build commitment that encourages and motivates individuals and teams
Enable others to grow, develop and act
Stretch others to develop beyond their comfort zone
Create winning teams
Lead transformation and act as an effective change agent
Challenge existing ways of doing things
Take tough decisions when necessary
Negotiate effectively which results in a ‘win-win’ outcome for all

Build a Stronger Performance Culture

Delegates will be able to –

Effectively move from ideas to action
Be personally committed to high standards of delivery and performance
Insist on high standards of performance from all
Implement consequences for non-performance
Set up and improve systems, processes and structures to achieve optimal results
Empower others to take initiative, make decisions and work effectively on their own

Integrated Learning Approach

The GEDP is rooted firmly in an integrated learning framework which ensures coherence for the delegate. It drives real transformation and aims at delegates emerging with a new vision and a clear framework that will guide a different approach.

ACTION LEARNING ORIENTATION

To ensure that delegates emerge with tangible value, opportunities are created for lessons to be applied to real situations at work:

Integrative Action Learning Project

Delegates are required to complete a project which is work-based and which creates the opportunity to apply lessons from the GEDP, to further a current strategic objective of the organisation, and to involve the company mentor, and GEDP faculty in its development. This process ensures clear return on investment for the sponsoring organisation.

Company mentor involvement

To ensure that the action learning project is relevant to the company’s strategic objectives and has support from senior representation within the organisation, delegates are required to identify a senior manager within their company who will act as their mentor. The company mentors are involved in the conceptualization, development and support for the implementation of the action learning project and are required to assist with grading the project.

Highly challenging business simulation

This highly challenging business simulation requires that delegates, in teams, make regular and increasingly more complex decisions which ensure that the simulated business remains viable and competitive. This process simulates realistically the real-life business decisions which are demanded of executives daily and is an effective method of developing problem-solving and decision-making skills in complex business situations.

Learning Log

The ability to reflect on lessons learnt is an important part of the action learning process and delegates are encouraged to do so regularly by using learning logs and executive journals.

First-hand experience of Global Best Practice

Delegates will experience global best practice first-hand through their personal interaction with leading global corporations and their senior management on both the local and international modules. These personal experiences are often what remain as enduring lessons.

Group learning

Delegates will find themselves on the programme with experienced and highly skilled fellow delegates who will provide the opportunity for significant learning and sharing. A large proportion of the learning occurs within carefully designed syndicate groups in which issues are debated.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

Pre-programme preparation 6 weeks prior to programme

First module - Johannesburg 2 weeks at GIBS (August)

Preparation for international leg Back at work for 3 weeks

7 days in India
International module 10 days (September)

3 days in Dubai

Back to work - complete project 4 weeks to submission

Final day - mobilize for the future 1 full day at GIBS (November)

PROGRAMME OUTLINE

Personal Development Plans

Psychometric testing and 360 degree feedback
Development of a Learning Log
Reflection sessions
Development of a Personal Development Plan

Leadership and Transformation

What do leaders really do?
The role of top management
Organisational culture and values
Organisational politics
Why do transformation efforts fail?
Revolutionary change
Institutionalising change

Coaching for Business Success

A model for executive coaching
The process of coaching
A personal strategy for coaching

Negotiation

The nature of negotiation
The impact of the agenda
A Bargaining Model
The behaviour of successful negotiators

Building Strategic Capability

The context for competitive strategy
Competitive strategy
Value creation
Defining core competitive capabilities

Environment of Business

Macro Economic theory
Supply and demand analysis
How markets function
The political environment
The business/government interface

Business Innovation

The drivers of change in the business environment
Organisational change
Entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship
Discontinuities and limits
Introduction to innovation
Creativity
The agile and entrepreneurial organisation

Global Competitiveness

The basis for global competitiveness
Business models that open up the global firm
Lessons from companies and countries that have moved from emerging status to high income developed status

Strategy Implementation and General Management

Structure, systems and culture
Designing high performance organisations
Leading organisational change from ideas to action
Integration of strategy and organisational design

Strategic Marketing and Branding

Developing and delivering a Total Value Proposition
Distribution and channel management
Brand leadership and brand positioning
Relationship marketing
Global marketing challenges

Operations Management

Processes used to create efficient and lean operations
Aligning operations to market needs
Functional vs corporate strategy
Alternate delivery systems
Focusing on problems

Strategic Human Resource Management

The evolving role of the human resource function
How human resource strategy complements the company’s strategy
The challenge of talent management

Financial Management

Understanding and use of financial statements
Valuation of financial assets and liabilities
Cash flow analysis
Capital budgeting
Using financial statements for decision-making

Societal Responsibilities

Black Economic Empowerment
HIV/Aids in the workplace
Triple bottomline

Corporate Governance

Corporate governance and managing risk
The role of Board Members
Legal obligations and governance practices and standards
The role of corporate governance in business decision making

IN SUMMARY THE GIBS GEDP OFFERS YOU:

A high-powered and challenging experience that sets the benchmark for modern day executive performance, and global best practice
An integrated, highly relevant two-week programme at GIBS, led by top local and international faculty; ten days in Dubai and India and visits to best practice companies in Johannesburg, India and Dubai to experience, first hand, why they are successful
An opportunity to challenge and develop your personal leadership skills
A balanced combination of lectures, teamwork, skills practice, discussions, simulations and networking
Guest lectures by achievers in business
An action learning approach with emphasis on skills development and immediate application of learning into your organisation
An opportunity to meet and interact with South Africa’s top executives and companies.