MODULE IDEA

The word ‘consultant’ comes from Latin and means ‘advisor’. The module is aimed at developing professional consultancy skills that help achieve lasting change and create value.

We live in times of change. Business environment, people and organisations experience rapid changes. Modern coordination of business operations requires ever more varied competencies, especially those of consulting and this is exactly the skill that employees in Lithuania lack the most.

Lithuanian companies grow into neo-bureaucratic systems with improvised management, project-based operations and autonomous staff. In companies of the kind every individual is performing two to three roles at a time. 30–60% of staff in every organisation badly needs consulting on a daily basis.

Under these circumstances those capable of quick adaptation, change generation and management, those capable of inspiring and leading their team create the biggest value. Ability to work together with all others, but at the same time take a helicopter look at an organisation; ability to work in an organisation, but still give an objective external assessment are greatly valued.

This module is aimed at training greatly needed competent advisors for future companies and organisations.

LEARNING POINTS

The module covers the areas of management, sociology, psychology, anthropology, political science and philosophy. Having learned the theory and finished related practical training you will have learned to manage organisational change and:

• identify, recognise and assess existing problems and opportunities;
• choose the right impact techniques and effective communication;
• analyse organisational change by evaluating prospects of various stakeholders (clients, staff and shareholders);
• be efficient at achieving organisational goals and more productive at implementing organisational plans;
• identify priorities and opportunities in terms of managerial problems;
• assess and define your own qualities and strengths as a consultant and define areas for your own professional development;
• advice on the implementation of sustainable changes in an organisation.

MODULE CONTENT

CONSULTANT’S ROLE IN AN ORGANISATION

• Forms of organisational consulting
• Types of management consultants and their role in an organisation
• Indispensable consulting skills and competencies
• Client-consultant relations
• Coaching as a form of consulting

MANAGEMENT CONSULTING PROCESS AND ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGY

• Alignment between a consulting process and an organisational strategy and goals
• Identification of strategic change directions favoured by the client
• Stakeholder identification and management
• Planning a consulting process​

PROCESS OF ORGANISATIONAL CONSULTING

• Selling a consulting idea to clients
• Methods to identify clients’ needs
• Methods to collect and process information
• Decision implementation
• Ethics in consulting

WHAT IS AN ORGANISATIONAL CONSULTANT?

• Getting to know yourself as an organisational consultant, including professional development
• Efficient communication with your clients and working groups
• Conflict management in consulting

WHY THESE STUDIES?

• Organisational consulting is a progressive study module developed with a focus on the organisations which aim for valuable and sustainable change, including improvement of their managerial competencies; organisations which search for internal solutions, are willing to save time and money and aim for the best overall result by creating and properly managing their change process as well as reaction to change.

• The module is meant for managers who are competent to operate efficiently within their area of responsibility and give advice. Knowledge gained as a result of these studies, including respective practical training, will result in a wider range of professional and career opportunities. Consulting competencies both create sustainable value for organisations and help managers to smoothly move from one position to another within a company thus building a successful career.

• The module has been developed by experienced Lithuanian and international consultants together with a team of experts. Some lectures are held in English. Master’s students are offered opportunities to discuss with foreign lecturers on issues which are of importance for them.

Module Manager

Dr. Rasa Katiliene

Module contents

• Business finance management decisions.

• Investment solutions.

• Decisions of choosing long-term sources of financing.

• Risk analysis and assessment.

• Value distribution decisions: dividend policy, stock redemptions.

• International business finance management: exchange rates, interest rates and their risk management.

Module idea

A manager who is able to analyse and assess the financial position of the business and make the right decisions increases the business value.

This idea forms the basis of the entire financial management module, designed for business owners and managers – people making managerial decisions. They choose businesses for investment, sources for “buying” money in order to achieve the most important financial goal – increasing the company’s value.

These key questions are answered in the financial management module by examining the three typical financial decision groups: investment, financing and distribution of value.

Learning is conducted by solving specific problems, analysing real business situations and adapting the theoretical and methodological knowledge. When writing a group research work, the study participants will have an opportunity to solve a practical enterprise’s or individual investor’s problem, such as the comparison of several investment alternatives, identifying the value of a business or individual shares.

Why these studies?

• Although not being a financial expert in the field, you will gain sufficient knowledge to make financial right management decisions and evaluate them.

• You will learn how to plan cash flows and choose investment projects the most profitable in financial terms.

• You will gain practice in assessing the value of the business or shares being purchased or sold.

• You will learn to evaluate business risks and determine how much risk the company can assume and choose certain long-term funding sources.

• You will learn buying strategies and when business owners should choose to pay dividends, reinvest profits or issue equity.

Module contents

• Individual psychology of personality: self-cognition techniques and their application.

• Personality maturity criteria in modern life.

• Personality integration in the group.

• Team dynamics and reflection, constructive solutions to problems.

• Creativity and synergy of the team.

• Career: balancing of individual and organisational interests.

• Change management psychology: losses and discoveries.

• Management style. Leadership as influence-making

• Organisation as a complex dynamic system.

• Organisation as a personality – the corporate culture.

• Leadership in the modern organisation. Practitioners’ forum.

• Organizational creativity

Module idea

The module aims to reveal the causality of human behaviour in the organisation and intrinsic motivation, understanding what the organisation expects from the employee and why and what the employee should expect from the organisation.

One of the main objectives of the program is to provide knowledge about the psychology of the organisation and develop effective leadership, communication and influencing skills by applying the methods of modern psychology.

Why these studies?

• You will learn to use the various personality commission tools: to know yourself and others and to recognise basic interpersonal communication errors while educating your tolerance.

• You will learn how to reveal the group and team patterns affecting corporate processes, how to measure and reveal the human traits necessary for managing group dynamics.

• You will gain the skills needed to organise career development and changing phases and steps and to mobilise corporate support measures for the individual’s career.

• You will know how to implement changes in your organisation, understanding what is lost and what is being discovered while making changes.

• You will learn how to use your influence and power for successful implementation of the goals, how to identify and develop employee motivation competence.

Module Manager

Margarita Pilkienė

Module contents

Fundamentals of strategy

• Strategic thinking.

• Strategy content.
• Strategy context.

Strategy building

• Business ethics and social responsibility in strategic management.

• Determination of corporate goals.

• External business environments and internal analysis of the company.

• Generation of innovative strategies.

• Choosing between strategic alternatives.

• Strategy implementation

• Strategic change initiation and management.

• Strategy implementation and management tools.

• International development of organisation.

• Strategic implementation practices.

Module idea

The strategic management module addresses the main practical aspects of strategic management: from the choice of strategic thinking and strategies to strategy implementation. The module helps to build a broad understanding of the organisation as a system of interrelated activities. Strategic decisions are made and implemented within that system in order to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the business environment, to develop core corporate competences and accumulate competitive advantages in the market.

This module aims to promote a deep understanding of the strategic challenges and their creative solutions. The module uses practice-based approaches. Each lecture analyses certain corporate situations where decisions made illustrate the relevant module topic. Study participants will discuss their own situations and situations of other companies in groups or individually, looking for solutions and sharing their experience.

Why these studies?

• You will acquire strategic management knowledge and skills.
• You will learn to discover, analyse and utilise the company’s strengths and opportunities.
• You will learn to identify, strengthen and utilise your company’s competitive advantages.
• You will analyse models and practices of the world’s leading businesses.
• You will learn to develop and implement business strategies.

Module Manager

Benas Adomavičius

The module covers major topics of macroeconomic thought and implications on country governance, market and business developments, followed by microeconomics that explains behavior of market actors (competitors and consumers). The major focus is on competitiveness, which is analyzed on the level of business, markets, regions, and countries. Studies of competitiveness are based on Harvard Business School course “Microeconomics of competitiveness”, that is exclusively granted to ISM University of Management and Economics for the delivery in Lithuania.

Module contents

• Leadership classic.

• Master of power: authoritarianism and nature mythologisation.

• Theories and principles of power manipulation.

• Ethical problems of government: Machiavellianism and moralisation.

• Social capital and corporate responsibility.

• Leader’s emergence and survival.

• Concept of existential personality: personal authenticity and uniqueness.

• My life and business philosophy, its unique meaning (existential practice).

• Leadership values and fundamental change in consciousness.

• Vision of leadership and direction of the leader.

• Resonance leadership.

• Leader’s charisma.

• Leader’s rhetoric.

• Leadership myths.

• Leadership in periods of extreme change.

Module idea

To lead, you have to follow (Lao Dze)

The main objective of the program is to build the life and business philosophy of participants as leaders, to reveal their charisma and key powers by enhancing the power and identity of personality, influence and emotional intelligence. Based on existential and phenomenological philosophy, the students learn how conscious choices and leadership sense perception can become valuable powers of the leader.

To lead means to believe. The values the leader believes in, their mission and perception of reality builds the vision and the power of influence. The leader’s vision must render meaning and identity of those who will follow him.

Leadership means knowing yourself. The objective of this module is to demonstrate this for each participant and enable them to build a conscious approach to their role.

Leadership means to influence followers and to awaken their positive feelings, create a resonance which releases their most perfect abilities.

Leadership means becoming a charismatic personality as they seek to change the status quo and it is able to see the new environmental opportunities, motivating their followers to pursue the best result.

Effectively combining theoretical lectures, analysis of practical cases, visual material exercises and team tasks, sustainable vision and resonant leadership knowledge are consistently presented as well as essential twenty-first century leadership skills; and the personality of the creator of the future is demonstrated.

Why these studies?

• You will build a conscious approach to leadership.

• You will extend the perception of the unique meaning of your life and business philosophy.

• You will answer your own question: Do I want others to follow me, or do I want to follow others?

• You will gain understanding of what and how leaders influence others.

• You will learn to reveal the vigour and true power of your personality.

Module Manager
Dr. Alisa Miniotaite.

Module contents

Operative project management

• Project scope management.

• Project time and indefiniteveness management.

• Project time and indefiniteveness management.

• Project risk management.

• Project human resource management.

• Strategic project management

• Projects and corporate structure.

• Program management.

• Project portfolio management.

• Project management service.

• Project experience management.

Module idea

One of the most prominent contemporary trends in general management (strategic and operational management) is the increasingly frequent project-based work organisation in the private and public sectors. Project management in the twenty-first century is associated with the implementation of changes in organisations, ensuring economic benefits of project results and positive social and environmental impact for present and future generations.

Studies of subjects and materials allow a better understanding of the advantages of applying the PMI, IPMA, PRINCE2 and other international project management standards and the new alternative methodologies (AGILE, SCRUM).

The main objectives of the module include the analysis of the project management specifics of different sectors, success assumptions and efficient implementation methods and to decide how the corporate strategy implemented through projects and how projects are managed in the corporate context.

Why this module?

Constantly changing business environment and business opportunities require regular update, enhancement and development of our knowledge and skills in the field of business management. This module is meant for both top managers and heads of units, including project management services and project managers. It will definitely change the approach and work methods of project owners, product and service managers.

• You will be able to perform a project management process analysis and objectively assess an organisation’s abilities to perform project-based activities.
• You will learn to identify priority areas for improvement and harmonise them with organisational strategy.
• You will become more constructive in planning and implementing identified improvements.
• You will trust your own solutions more and will be able to substantiate and implement them with less effort thanks to the newly attained theoretical and practical knowledge and experience.
• You will have a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges that stem from agile project management.

Head of module

Dr. Saulius Šimkonis

Consultant and lecturer with over 20 years of practical experience in project, programme and portfolio management.  First national IPMA certification expert in Lithuania certified in IPMA-A, Project Management Professional (PMP) and PRINCE2 Practitioner. Field of research interests: imparting experience in project-based environment.

Content of the Module

Business process management is a systematic method of management intended to match the business processes of an organisation and the demands of a client. Business processes define an organisation`s works creating value for clients and other stakeholders and realising the strategic goals and tasks of an organisation. A process approach is one of the most effective ways to handle chaotic, historically existent processes. High efficiency, growing sales, satisfied staff and customers – these are the usual process improvement outcomes. When competitiveness increases only those companies that operate most effectively remain, therefore business process management is becoming increasingly popular both in Lithuania and globally.

The study module analyses the most popular business process management methods and tools (Lean, 6 sigma, process re-engineering, etc.) and recommends when to apply any of them. A systematic approach towards processes is formed, they are linked to the company`s strategy, goals and measured by indices. It discusses what challenges will be faced in the organisation implementing business process management principles and advises how to implement process change projects and raise the organisation`s business process maturity in a consistent way.

The business process management module provides pragmatic knowledge and forms practical skills. Many practical tasks are carried out, cases are analysed and visits to companies are made. Lectures of the module are delivered by experienced Lithuanian business process management practitioners (Vilma Nasteckienė, Airidas Laugalis, Ugnius Savickas, Mindaugas Kulikauskas, Indrė Liutkevičienė) as well as famous Lithuanian and overseas academicians (Dr. Vytautas Būda, Dr. Saulius Šimkonis, Prof. Marlon Dumas).

Manager of the Module

Vilma Nasteckienė
Manager of the Executive MA “Business Process Management” module at ISM Executive School. Currently she is pursuing doctoral studies in the field of social science, management at ISM University of Management and Economics. Vilma Nasteckienė is a LEAN organisational culture consultant, a business process and integrated risk management coach, a credit and operational risk management practitioner. During more than a decade at international companies she led teams of various sizes, worked actively on efficiency increase and innovation implementation projects, accumulated experience at model change and activity assessment projects. Since 2011 she has been providing consultations to company managers on risk strategy formation, implementation of risk management standards and effectiveness of the processes. Vilma Nasteckienė acquired her MA degree in Management at Vytautas Magnus University; she studied at Weber State University, the USA.

Although one fifth of Lithuanian GDP is created by industrial companies, their productivity and added value indicators are lagging behind the EU average. TOC Operations and Production Module offers systematic approach for industrial companies managers how to find and exploit their companies‘ potential, and increase added value more rapidly than costs.

Fully acknowledging complexity and uncertainty of business environment, module covers major analysis and decision making tools that will help managers finding sustainable competitive advantage, reducing fires in production, aligning manufacturing principles to the particular industry type or manufacturing flow. Typical industrial management topics such as distribution management, marketing decisions, operations management are addressed through the principles of Theory of Constraints, supported with practical examples of its application in Lithuanian companies.

Graduates of the module will have the following knowledge and skills:

• Structured knowledge on the flaws of common business practices, including those acquired on the ground of their own professional managerial experience;
• How to deal with the inherent complexity of the manufacturing organization, especially when deciding where to focus improvement efforts and scarce resources or when trying to predict the impact of changes on the organization as a whole.
• How to deal with strategic and day-to-day policy or resource allocation conflicts within the plant between stakeholders from the same or different parts of the system, especially in environments where there is significant distrust;
• How to deal with invalid behavior of people that has resulted or could result in significant undesirable effects for the organization;
• To use of acquired knowledge and creative thinking to develop effective strategies and tactics to exponentially grow business by finding the leverage points and focus all efforts on capitalizing on these.

Module contents

• Traditional and modern activity based costing methods.

• Justification of cost management and pricing decisions.

• Financial business planning.

• Investment assessment.

• Financial control in the organisation.

• Balanced scorecard.

• Practical aspects of management accounting systems implementation in enterprises.

Module idea

The task of executives is to increase business value through the most efficient use of internal company resources. To be effective, a variety of process improvement solutions are commonly used, reviews of the product or service packages being sold and their pricing are evaluated, the revelation of investment projects are addressed and even decisions about the need for individual business are made. It is very important for managers not to make mistakes in assessing financial benefits of such decisions. This can only be short by objective accounting information provided by well-designed corporate planning and control systems.

The topics of this module of studies are set out in accordance with the sequence of business management functions: planning, decision-making, control. Management accounting and analytical methods are taught as decision support methods for each stage of this sequence. According to modern activity-based costing, module participants first learn to evaluate the costs of different objects. In solving practical tasks, they become skilled in using such information for managerial decisions. The module is completed with abstract topics such as management accounting and control systems.

Why these studies?

• You will acquire methodological knowledge of how not to make mistakes when assessing the costs and value for the company of individual company divisions, products and their portfolio, as well as service projects or work. You will learn to accurately formulate your requirements for the information accounting systems implemented in the company.

• You will learn which cost-effectiveness criteria should be applied in different situations, such as deciding on long-term or short-term pricing, outsourcing services or processes, improvement of resource utilisation.

• You will be able to prepare simple forms of income, balance sheet and cash flow budgets that will help you to conveniently and quickly create change-sensitive business financial projections and analyse scenarios and risks.

• You will better understand how organisations should focus their formal control systems of financial and non-financial indicators to the achievement of strategic objectives and how these systems can positively or negatively affect the behaviour of the entire organisation, its individual departments, employees and managers.

Module Manager

Assoc. prof. dr. Dalia Kolmatsui

About the module. Constantly changing business demands and market conditions force companies to respond to a variety of market challenges very quickly and to be ready to forecast major changes in the external and internal business environment. To enhance the competitive ability of the company, the management of the company often faces the need to ensure effective information support of the decisions to be made by installing technologies of business intelligence and data processing, and promoting the development of analytics culture in the company.

In this context, this module introduces managers to business data management principles, basics of analytics, business data processing and analytics-based technologies which help the company management to adopt optimal strategical and tactical solutions, define and implement business analytics strategy, achieve the objectives set for the analytics by elaborating and implementing the information needs of the company. Moreover, the module contains various aspects of improving business information awareness and strategically important data management issues, and introduces the advanced business intelligence techniques.

This module is for you, if you are an innovative thinking leader trying to improve business information awareness and sharing of information and knowledge, as well as to develop analytics within your company.

The module will help you to:

• familiarize with the technologies of business intelligence and data analysis;
• understand how to form tasks for analysts and turn their responses into value-generating solutions;
• learn about the current trends and challenges in business analytics and data management;
• to navigate the abundance of products on the IT market.

Upon completing this module, you will be able to identify information needs, necessary for the successful business analytics application in the company. You will be able to form strategical and tactical issues and foresee the guidelines of their solution and implementation with the help of information platform of the company. You will know how to organize and apply data management and business analytics processes within your company. You will be able to identify characteristics of analytical and other related IT products corresponding to the actual needs of the company, as well as gain basic knowledge of advanced analytics.

The head of the module dr. Michail Kazimianec has many years of experience in data management and business analytics. He is the author of research articles on business intelligence and data mining, also the Head of Data Integration and Modelling Department under the Business Intelligence Service at JSC Swedbank, and has a PhD in Information Technology (Free University of Bozen-Bolcano, Italy).

Module contents

The module analyses both traditional business models (product-to-cash) and the new models and value creation principles emerging in the networked world. To deliver a clear and transparent understanding of the marketing process, the core themes of the module correspond to the neoclassical marketing planning stages. Initially, students are given strong fundamentals of market analysis; they learn to use market information creatively. Later they study the substance matter of the marketing strategy – market segmentation, the optimal selection of target markets, formulation of a value proposal for target markets. After creating the marketing strategy, students address their implementation issues: development of a product or service meeting the future market requirements, its pricing, communication, marketing channel design. As marketing is one of the most changing areas of the management functional, the module content is regularly supplemented with themes and case analysis which we cannot predict today.

Module idea

One of the most important skills of the business executive is the ability to understand, develop and communicate value to consumers, customers, employees and other internal and external trading partners. It is easy to notice that these expertise areas are very strong in successful companies and the marketing function acts the body’s central nervous system, ensuring the viability of the entire organisation and sustainable and long-lasting business results.

The objective of the ISM marketing strategy and management module is to present the systematic methodological framework for the executive of any level and any business function. To this end, the module applies the holistic (total) approach to marketing. It expands both the marketing and the product concepts: the product here is not only a physical product or a service, but also an organisation, a person, a potential employee, a location, an event, an idea, etc. At least half of the module study time is dedicated for the Lithuanian and foreign real business case study seminars and discussions, learning to analyse and manage uncertainties like in real life. In addition, each module participant has a unique opportunity of becoming an author of solving his business problem of concern!

Why these studies?

• After completing the study module you will be able to see the latest consumer and market trends and timely predict the changed customer demands.

• You will learn to perform a comprehensive, structured analysis of any market or professionally evaluate and comment the analysis carried out.

• You will gain practical skills in selecting and applying the latest marketing solution and analytical planning tools.

• You will train your ability to properly prioritise strategic and tactical marketing issues and examine the issues of marketing financial reporting.

• The method of case analysis will help to generate the bank of analogies of marketing solutions which will be your basis in finding innovative ideas not only in the marketing work.

Module Manager

Kristina Maikštėnienė