EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

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Advanced Executive Program

The Program Philosophy

As a general manager, you are responsible for the strategy and performance of your organization. Here at the Kellogg School, we understand that general management is not just a higher form of functional management; rather, it involves far more complexity, conflict, ambiguity, and accountability. Although a decision may seem clear from a functional perspective, the general manager recognizes that it may involve multiple trade offs and hidden risk.

Over the years, the Kellogg faculty have developed a unique curriculum and teaching methods for the general manager. Our first order of business is to provide you with the tools, conceptual frameworks, and metrics that you need to navigate the general manager's world. We also strive to provide exercises that demostrate how to apply this information precisely as the general manager should - in a holistic and integrated fashion. While customers and competitors receive in-depth treatment, we also recognize that many non-market players, such as the press, special interest groups, and governments, may significantly impact your organization's performance. Strategies must also be developed to address the unique needs of these key stakeholders.

Maximizing Your Experience
The Kellogg School recognizes the commitment you must make to devote a month of your time away from the office, and our executive education programs have repeatedly been recognized for providing incredible value for both time and money. Our senior faculty have designed an intense and interactive learning experience with a scope and depth of coverage that rivals much longer programs. We have paid careful attention to the pacing and sequencing of topical areas.

Outstanding Peer Learning Opportunities
The live-in learning experience builds both formal and informal exchanges of ideas into the program. Teamwork and collaboration are hallmarks of the Kellogg School experience, and they have contributed to our position as a premier global resource for management leadership education. Discussion groups, case studies, and team projects stimulate fresh thinking and encourage you to reexamine and reformulate both your professional and personal goals and strategies. To provide an exceptional level of peer learning, the AEP admissions committee carefully assembles classes with comparable managerial experience from diverse industries, companies, and continents.

Applied, Integrated, Real Time Learning
Because the defining challenge of general management is the integration of all organization functions around an explicit strategy, a hallmark of the AEP is the “live” case exercise during the fourth week. This unique and exciting assignment requires participants to apply holistically the program’s concepts, tools, and best practices, as well as their extensive experience, to an actual organization in real time. The integrative case is “live” in the sense that the class has the opportunity to question in-depth the case company’s senior management team and to present their ideas and recommendations directly to the company’s CEO.

During a recent Advanced Executive Program, the live case was a publicly held manufacturer, distributor, and marketer of prestige fragrances, skin care products, and cosmetics. A recent acquisition had doubled the size of the company with dramatic and far-reaching implications:

• International sales increased 50x and added distribution in ninety countries;
• The fundamental nature of the business changed from distributing the brands of other companies to a much greater share of sales and profits emanating from owned and licensed brands; and
• A large number of brands were added to their portfolio, as well as products in new categories.

In addition to the immediate challenges of integrating the acquisition and restructuring the balance sheet, the company’s markets and distribution channels were undergoing fundamental changes. Men were increasingly using “beauty” products, along with rapid growth in Hispanic and Asian segments. This was accompanied by a shift in distribution channels from traditional department stores to mass retailers, the Internet, and specialty stores, especially in Europe. The company was facing serious channel conflict. Working in small teams and thoroughly briefed by the company’s leadership team, the class’s assignment was to recommend to the CEO a strategy for the future. Of particular importance were the organizational arrangements - culture, structure, skills, information, and people - in support of the envisioned strategy. Following the presentations, the CEO provided the class with his reactions to their ideas and fielded a wide variety of questions.