Online Course Guide of WHU –
Find all modules and courses of our degree programs.
Please use the filters below to select the term (spring or fall) as well as the respective program (BSc, MSc, MBA, Exchange, Doctoral) of your choice for an overview of all modules offered at WHU. The courses are listed under the modules. Please click on a module to see which courses are part of it. If you would like to find out more about a certain course, click on the name of the course to see detail information. The location of the lecture will be revealed after your course registration on myWHUstudies.
Spring term counts from January - August, fall term counts from September - December.
Important for Exchange Students: As the Full-Time and Part-Time MBA Programs utilize a modular course structure, the dates on which students begin and end the exchange are flexible. Please find here a chronological overview of the preliminary course offering for Fall and Spring.
Structured Problem Solving
(Please note that exchange students obtain a higher number of credits in the BSc-program at WHU than listed here. For further information please contact directly the International Relations Office.)
Course Content
In the case study, information is not given upfront as a package to be analzyed by your team, instead you will collect information actively and decide what is important for your work. In addition, interaction with the faculty is not limited to the lecture and your final presentation, instead you will conduct interviews and present preliminary findings. Both may alter the course of your analysis. Finally, intensive and timely feedback is a key element of the course. Feedback is not limited to your final grade, instead we will provide immediate feedback after each interview and each presentation.
Professor Utz Schäffer can look back on many years of experience in consulting, and can provide insights and detailed feedback on skills required in real life problem solving processes, which are not only required for consultants, but likewise for managers and entrepreneurs.
Class Dates
Date
Time
Learning Outcomes
- Develop a profound and practical understanding of how to define problems.
- Develop a profound and practical understanding of how to structure a problem solving process and how to work in a hypothesis-driven way.
- Develop a profound and practical understanding of how to analyze problems.
- Develop a profound and practical understanding of how to communicate problem solutions effectively.
- Gain first experiences with team issues in a problem-solving class.
Literature
- Minto, B. (2009): The Pyramid Principle, 3rd rev. ed., London et al.
- Rasiel, E. (1999): The McKinsey Way, New York et al.
- Zelazny, G. (2006): Say it with Presentations, 2nd ed., New York et al.
- Conn, C./McLean, R. (2018): Bulletproof Problem Solving: The One Skill That Changes Everything, Hoboken, New Jersey.
Optional readings
- Reynolds, G. (2011): Presentation Zen – Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery, 2nd ed., Berkeley.
- Graebig, M./Jennerich-Wünsche, A./Engel, E. (2011): Wie aus Ideen Präsentationen werden, Wiesbaden.