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WDI Marks 10 Years of ‘Mini MBA’ Program

Monday, May 9, 2016

WDI’s Education Initiative is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its popular, intensive two-week Strategic Management Program – also known as a “mini-MBA” – at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, Latvia (SSE Riga).

Participants in the 2014 SMP in Riga.

The program, tailored for high potential, mid- to senior-level managers, begins today (May 9). But before the 21 participants arrive in Riga, they will have taken part in two e-learning modules on competition and finance, custom-designed for this program by WDI.

“The e-learning modules give an excellent overview on finance and competition, and get the participants thinking about strategic issues at their organizations before they arrive,” said Amy Gillett, Vice President of WDI’s Education Initiative. “The online modules also allow participants to learn as their schedule permits, and we can provide them more content without more time away from work.”

The Strategic Management Program (SMP) features four modules – strategy, finance, marketing, and leadership – and is structured around an integrative strategic framework. The sessions present both foundational general management principles and the recent business management theory.

Additionally, participants from Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, and nonprofits grapple with real situations faced by their peers in their own business environments.

The program combines lectures, discussions, cases, and exercises. Participants also conduct group work, which enhances their critical thinking, decision-making, and teamwork skills.

WDI has organized the program annually since 2007 in cooperation with SSE Riga. Past participants have come from Latvia, Estonia, Vietnam, Russia, and Lithuania. The program is conducted in English.

Three of the participants – from Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia – are attending the program free of charge as WDI Teeter Scholars, named in memory of Robert M. Teeter, an advisor to U.S. presidents from 1968-1992 and a WDI board member. Through the scholarship program, WDI awards 20 full-tuition scholarships annually to managers from small- and medium-sized enterprises and NGOs in emerging markets to attend WDI Professional Education programs.

“The Strategic Management Program features leading faculty delivering the latest cutting-edge tools to managers, and providing them new ideas and strategies that they can apply at their organizations,” Gillett said.

This year’s SMP  faculty include:

  • Strategy: Yusaf H. Akbar, associate professor at Central European University Business School in Budapest
  • Finance: Neil Cohen, associate professor of Finance at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
  • Marketing: John Branch, assistant professor of business administration and a lecturer of Marketing and Strategy Marketing at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan
  • Leadership: Jacqueline M. Stavros, professor at Lawrence Tech University in Michigan
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