IXP Course: Japan; Innovating for Relief: Organizational Strategy Post-Disaster

Course Number 6065

Professor Hirotaka Takeuchi
Several on-campus meetings during the Fall and Winter Terms
Program fee & travel costs (see details on financial aid eligibility)
January Term travel
1.5 credits applied toward Winter term requirements
Enrollment: Limited to 15 students

Career Focus

Post disaster settings provide opportunities to examine the effectiveness of leadership in mobilizing people and resources in highly dynamic settings. This course focuses on the links between strategy and innovation that prove useful in spurring more rapid recovery in post-disaster settings. Students will examine and compare the styles and approaches of people working for a variety of different types of organizations operating in Japan, seeking to develop more general lessons about the effectiveness of alternative methods and business models in challenging settings.

Course Content and Organization

Students will work in teams to undertake a project with an organization, with the purpose of enhancing recovery from the 2010 earthquakes and tsunami. Teams will travel to Tokyo and the Tohoku Region to work on these projects, providing an opportunity both to contribute to the progress of the organizations with which they are working and simultaneously to examine the nature of leadership and the effectiveness of different approaches in such settings. Teams will gather in a larger group over the course of the IXP to identify and probe elements of the organizations they are observing.

During the fall term, the course will meet for four two-hour sessions to focus on general lessons about the effectiveness of alternative approaches to recovery based on recent major disaster recovery efforts.

During the fall term, teams will work with organizations to define and scope projects that will take place in January. In January, teams will travel to Japan, where they will both contribute to the ongoing progress of the organization and attempt to identify more general leadership lessons about what kinds of leadership approaches and behaviors seem particularly productive in enhancing the rate of recovery.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites.

Course Credit and Fees

Students who successfully complete this IXP will earn 1.5 course credits, which will be posted in the winter term. HBS will provide in-country logistics for IXPs (including accommodations, select meals, and local travel) but students will need to contribute a fee of $2,500 towards defraying a part of these costs. In addition, students are responsible for their round-trip air travel to Japan. Students who have applied for financial aid may submit for additional financial support to participate in this IXP. Please see the Financial Aid website for more information on financial support for IXP courses.

Please see the IXP website for information regarding student accommodations on IXP courses.