Trade war and global tension, disruptive technologies and the constant uncertainty around customers and competitors - organizations are under increasing pressure to make critical decisions, often with limited information and shrinking timelines. More than ever, Resilience has become the key to not just to survive - but to thrive.
But what is resilience? And how can organizations actually build it?
In the workshop “Organizational Resilience” students of the International Degree Programme Global Management (ISGM), Hochschule Bremen - City University of Applied Sciences (HSB) created concepts under the supervsion of their lecturer Dr. Regine Komoss.
Trade war and global tension, disruptive technologies and the constant uncertainty around customers and competitors - organizations are under increasing pressure to make critical decisions, often with limited information and shrinking timelines. More than ever, Resilience has become the key to not just to survive - but to thrive.
But what is resilience? And how can organizations actually build it?
That’s the challenge the ISGM-students tackled in the undergraduate Strategic Management course, organised in cooperation with the Foreign Business Club Bremen and the World Trade Center Bremen.
Since no widely accepted framework exists, the students created one based on research, reflection and intense debates.
The result is a practical framework build around key elements which had been presented in the workshop. It builds on the idea that resilience starts from within – as a mindset supported by structure and processes that foster continuous learning and innovation.
Several teams explored how to bring these principles alive by
▪ Team: Challenging bureaucracy
▪ Team: Reframing leadership
▪ Team: Fostering psychological safety
This lead to the hypothesis: A resilient organization must do more than cope – it must adapt and anticipate.
▪ The Adaptation Team introduced the PROTECT model which addresses how to continuously adapt to change and how to turn uncertainty into opportunity.
▪ The Anticipation Team presented Strategic Foresight as a tool to “spot the dots on the horizon” with the intention to shift from reacting to shaping the future.
▪ The North Star Team emphasized that resilient organizations must set clear direction and ensure that purpose is lived.
The workshop gave a chance to share ideas and receive feedback from a diverse group of guests. For three hours the room was filled with insight, exchange, stories – and a few good laughs.
The journey continues.
The framework we developed over one semester is still evolving. The developed hypotheses are ready to be tested.
➢ The students are open to collaboration on future research such as case studies or surveys. They are happy to share the workshop documentation.
Feel free to reach out: regine.komoss@hs-bremen.de
The International Degree Programme Global Management B.A. (ISGM) focuses on 'emerging economies' in Latin America, Asia and Africa, of which Costa Rica, Thailand or Brazil serve as good examples. These regions are among the most economically intriguing regions in the world. Over the course of your studies, you will acquire a broad range of knowledge from the fields of international and intercultural management as well as economics and cultural studies, law and languages, which will prepare you to take on leadership roles in companies and organisations around the world.
