The capstone project consists of a case study that must be addressed to complete the specialization.
In the case study, you will be asked to assume the role of the incoming chief executive officer of a fictitious privately held medical device company. From the company’s standpoint, its customers are the clinics that use and dispense its products, rather than the end-users of the company’s products. The company is currently facing a range of challenges, including obstacles to access for world-wide users of the company’s product, as well as internal conflict about the company’s priorities and a new disruptive technology. You will be asked to help the board address key changes in the industry, by developing a strategy to meet these challenges. Specifically, you will submit artifacts responding to a series of challenges related to the case. The artifacts will be peer-assessed on how effectively you applied concepts and skills explored throughout the specialization, assessed your own skills as a leader, evaluated the data to help you make an informed decision, developed a customer-facing design process, and communicated your strategy to relevant stakeholders.
Overview
Syllabus
- Welcome to the Capstone
- This capstone project will put all that you have learned in Northwestern University's Organizational Leadership Specialization to the test by asking you to address a series of challenges related to a case study.
- Shaping a Culture that Supports Growth and Innovation
- In this module, you will apply the skills gained across the specialization to assess the current culture and devise a plan for shaping a culture that supports growth and innovation for the company in the case study.
- Discovering Opportunities
- In this module, you will apply the skills gained across the specialization to discover opportunities for growth and innovation for the company in the case study.
- Defining and Taking Advantage of Opportunities
- In this module, you will apply the skills gained across the specialization to define and take advantage of opportunities for the company in the case study.
- Communicating with Your Audience
- In this module, you will apply the skills gained across the specialization to develop a plan for effectively communicating with the audiences relevant to your primary opportunity for the company in the case study.
- Crisis Response
- In this module, you will apply the skills gained across the specialization to create a crisis response plan for the company in the case study.
- Leading People and Fostering Collaboration
- In this module, you will apply the skills gained across the specialization to address issues regarding leading people and fostering collaboration for the company in the case study.
- Capstone Wrap-Up
- Congratulations! You have completed Northwestern University's Organizational Leadership Specialization. Please take some time to reflect on your experience and respond to your peers in the discussion forums.
Taught by
Candy Lee, Daniel J. O’Keefe, Elizabeth Gerber, Florian Zettelmeyer, Pam Daniels, Sanjay Khosla, Ernest Duplessis, Tom Collinger, Edward Colgate, Barbara O'Keefe, Leigh Thompson, Greg Holderfield, Hud Englehart and Greg Carpenter
