1.
Program Outline 176th
Session (Spring 2009)
Week 1
Beginning on Tuesday, two days of the program will be devoted to the evolution of the Nike
Company over time, using an integrated series of cases that will introduce you to the case
method and the faculty. These initial days highlight a number of themes and ideas that will
be covered in detail during the remainder of the program.
Living Group Acceleration Exercise
On Thursday, April 2, an interactive exercise provides a series of challenges aimed at
developing the living groups as teams capable of enhancing one another’s learning.
Introductory module in Accounting and Finance
To equip you with the skills required to analyze and solve business problems, the classes on
Friday, Saturday, and Monday will provide an intensive review of basic accounting and
finance techniques.
Weeks 2–6
The next four weeks include seven courses, running simultaneously. These courses cover
the different subject areas in depth, although many of the issues covered overlap. The
subjects are:
Business, Government and the International Economy (Richard H.K. Vietor)
This course examines regional trajectories of growth, development, and governmental
strategies that are leading the world economy toward globalization. In the process, it
teaches the essentials of competitive analysis—national income accounting, balance of
payments, fiscal and monetary policy, and real exchange rates. You will develop an
analytical framework for analyzing national economic management and international
competitiveness in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the United
States. This session examines growth strategies, and also explores the implications of the
global recession.
Financial Management (William E. Fruhan, Jr.)
This course does not assume a background in finance beyond that developed in the
Week 1 module, but progresses rapidly toward the frontier issues of the global
financial marketplace. The objective is to build a framework for understanding the
financial dimensions of a company’s competitive strategy, and to use this framework
to manage more effectively in the difficult environment of the current global financial
crisis.

2.
Leading Innovation and Organizational Effectiveness (Michael L. Tushman)
Focusing broadly on organizational effectiveness, this course is broken out into three
modules. This course is closely tied to AMP’s Personal Development Module and its
culminating Reentry and Leadership Modules (weeks 7–8).
• Module 1: focuses on organizational alignment and change, including the
identification of key success factors, necessary conditions for change, and
different strategies for effecting change
• Module 2: focuses on the role of leadership in corporate transformation
• Module 3: deals with individual effectiveness
Marketing (Sunil Gupta)
How do you create value for customers in this highly competitive environment? How
do you manage two key assets of a firm—its customers and brands? How do you
launch new products to maximize their odds of success in the marketplace? How do
you create effective marketing strategies in the new digital world? This course
discusses these and related questions from a top management perspective across a
wide range of industries.
Leadership and Corporate Accountability (Lynn S. Paine)
This course focuses on the responsibilities of companies, their leaders, and their
boards. Its aim is to deepen your understanding of the economic, legal, and ethical
dimensions of these responsibilities and to provide practical guidance on how leaders
drive responsible performance. Through a series of difficult dilemmas set in different
regions of the world, we will build a framework for accountable decision making and
explore the elements of good governance. You will also have opportunities to
consider the role of business in society and to reflect on your own philosophies of
business leadership.
Negotiations (Max H. Bazerman)
The course will provide executive negotiation skill building and will allow you to
evaluate your own negotiation behavior. You will plan, negotiate, receive feedback,
and discuss negotiation strategy. Additionally, the course seeks to improve analytical
abilities in understanding the behavior of individuals and organizations in competitive
situations. Specific attention will be given to negotiating in times of financial crisis
and negotiating in emerging economies.

3.
Strategy (David B. Yoffie)
What are the competitive forces at work in industries today and how can firms create
and sustain competitive advantages through strategy? This course explores how to
analyze industries, how firms can create superior competitive positions, and how to
anticipate competitor moves. In addition, the course explores the complexity of
strategies in times of crisis, in highly diversified settings, as well as strategic
problems associated with the Internet and Web 2.0.
Senior Teams and Learning Organizations (Amy C. Edmondson)
This course examines the dynamics of senior management teams and the impact of
senior team process on an organization’s performance in uncertain and complex
environments. A distinctive feature of the course is the variety of teaching material—
exercises, multimedia tools, and paper cases—about executives in private and public
sector organizations, in settings ranging from the U.S. White House to patient care
delivery to space exploration.
• Module 1: examines human cognition and group dynamics in senior
teams, and explores techniques for shaping and leading processes in
crises and other high-stakes decision contexts
• Module 2: examines senior teams in the context of organizational and
competitive pressures.
• Module 3: introduces the key components of an organization's learning
strategy, including the role of failure, the mindset underlying success in
a dynamic environment, the delicate dance of psychological safety and
accountability, and the need for multiple types of innovation.
Additional Sessions on special topics are taught by Harvard faculty throughout the program.
Topics in the past have included:
• Authentic Leadership
• Corporate Governance
• Competitive Advantage of Nations
• Emerging Markets and Disruptive
Technologies
• Energy and the Environment

4.
Weeks 7–8
The last two weeks focus on personal renewal and the process of effective reentry into
your company.
Special Topics in Executive Leadership
As the program moves toward closure, the emphasis shifts to integration and action
planning for reentry to business and family life. During these final two weeks and on
specifically identified days throughout the program, AMP addresses special topics
that are of importance to executives at the top level of the organization including:
restructuring, leadership values, and corporate responsibility, and challenges facing
particular parts of the world.
Graduation Activities
Your spouse or guest is invited to the campus for the last two days of the program to
share the experience of AMP. While you will have final summary lectures, guests
have their own classes using cases taught by the AMP faculty. The program
concludes with a graduation ceremony and closing celebration reception and dinner
on Friday evening, May 22.