The UCU Business School held a charity lecture on the topic of «Organizing for Resilience: Building Businesses that Grow During Periods of Violence and Terrorism». Let’s share the details!
Approximately 40 participants had the opportunity to engage with Dr. Ryan S. Coles, an associate professor in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship at the UConn School of Business and the founder and chief scientist at Daigle Labs, UConn School of Business.
«When you’re trying to operate a business in a violence time, selfcare becomes even more important than before. Be a leader, start with you. People in your business are looking to you for help, for direction, for leadership. So you`ve got to maintain a practice to keep yourself on point, to build your mental resilience», – guest lecturer at the MSc in Innovations and Entrepreneurship in UCU Business School discussed current research on the resilience of global businesses during times of terrorism.
Dr. Ryan S. Coles provided a detailed explanation of how the social context shapes the level and direction of strategic entrepreneurial activities. He also highlighted important factors that business owners should pay attention to in order to enhance their company’s chances of survival:
«You need to remember – knowledge and foundational research don`t travel very far, even in the age of distance demolishing technology. To commercialize that knowledge you have to be really close to scientists who did it. Because of that fact you can’t just rely on foundational researches from universities in other countries. Because knowledge doesn’t travel that far. You should invest in local research funds. It’s important to keep up with innovations».
Olexander Akymenko, Director of the program MSc in Innovations and Entrepreneurship spoke about the main objective of the lecture: «It is crucial to have such professional researchers who teach and lecture not only at the top universities in the United States but also worldwide. Among them, Ryan specializes in economies operating in complex conditions of entrepreneurial activities. It is of great value to have academic connections with him and provide Ukrainian students with access to such knowledge as business resilience in the face of terrorism and war. Secondly, we organized this event specifically to involve a broader community beyond the Business School students and allow them to listen to scientific insights from research related to conducting business in challenging times. All the advice has a practical nature and can be utilized by any market leader in Ukraine».
Thanks to the collective effort, we successfully replenished the Oleg Vorobyov Scholarship Fund. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all participants.
What impressions and insights did the participants of the event gain?
«It was very beneficial for me as I simultaneously manage teams and am a part of a team. Therefore, it was interesting to learn about global practices based on real research: how to influence company results, organize team work. The most intriguing insight was that during crises, teams with slightly blurred lines of responsibility perform the best. Our corporate culture tends to be either very strict or chaotic. The fact that a small dose of chaos can be beneficial was an insightful revelation», – Khrystyna Martsinkovska, participant of the MSc in Innovations and Entrepreneurship program.
«I remember the research on company names. Specifically, companies that had some religious component in their name had better results. This can be considered an insight for me. Overall, the lecture had a very positive atmosphere, and I enjoyed it», – Oleksandr Kushnir, owner of Fin Beasts company.
«The topic related to corporate culture and talent management was valuable to me as it directly relates to my profile: how to attract people to the company and what employers should provide nowadays», – Oleg Pikh, Talent Marketing & Employer Branding Specialist at Xenoss company.
During these days, Ryan Coles taught the participants of the MSc in Innovations and Entrepreneurship program. By the way, the enrollment for the master’s program is still ongoing. To learn more about the studies, follow the link https://lvbs.top/2f1
