CourseS: Strategy and global Strategy

Since the Spring of 2017, I have taught AEM 2601: Strategy.  This is a core class that is required for undergraduate business majors, and most students take it in the Spring of their second year.  I designed this class to rely on the case method and discussion of real-world events, thereby giving students the opportunity to learn by doing. In class, I act as moderator, facilitator, and lecturer to help the students gain a better understanding of strategic analysis. My goal is that students not only become familiar with the content of the course but also learn to master the process of analysis that is a central aspect of strategy, as well as communication of that analysis.

In the Fall of 2021, I added AEM 5310: Global Strategy to my courses. For AEM 5310, I tried to translate some of the successes of AEM 2601 to the audience of CEMS Masters students, including with the use of case discussion and simulations. I found it exciting and challenging to teach to this new audience, with this diversity of academic and global backgrounds. Engaging with the CEMS program more broadly, including presenting my work in a CEMS Webinar Series on Banking the Unbanked, has been a wonderful outcome of this teaching opportunity as well.

Case Method

I have focused on case studies as a primary tool to engage students with the material.  To this end, I attended the HBS Case Workshop in the Fall of 2018 and incorporated some of the tools and tips learned there into my course.  In particular, with sections of about 70 undergraduate students, I attended the workshop to understand how to successfully bring active participation into a larger classroom setting.  I have used this experience to advocate for engaged and case method learning more broadly.

Part of the value of the case method is to deliver on one of my goals of prioritizing career preparation and readiness.  Beyond the current issues and relevant cases discussed in my class to help the students gain a better set of “real-world” tools to use for decision-making, I bring in executive external speakers who discuss their career paths and answer questions from students.  In addition, I organize a panel of prior students who are graduating and pursuing careers in strategy-related positions to discuss their process and future career plans.  This allows my students to learn how they can incorporate my course material into various internship and job functions and provides them with additional career possibilities. 

Diverse Classroom

I prioritize equity and diversity in the design of my class and teaching methods.  In 2018, I took the Teaching and Learning in a Diverse Classroom course offered through Cornell’s Center for Teaching Innovation (CTI) for this purpose.  In addition, I worked with the CTI to put together promotional materials for this course to help encourage other faculty to gain these valuable skills. These efforts have helped improve the accessibility of my course.

One example of this is how I aspire to make the class feel welcoming to all students, while still encouraging active participation. Thanks to the suggestion of my graduate TA, Anne Byrne, I integrated a “comment” card at the end of every class so that students who were more intimidated about asking questions in a larger lecture still had an opportunity to ask questions and actively participate.  I followed up at the beginning of the next class to address these comments and students felt more engaged in the class as a result.