International Exchange between IAE Paris Sorbonne Business School and Bologna Business School: an Innovative Approach to Crisis Management in Organizations

4 June 2024

The regular academic exchange between the students of the Professional Master in HR & Organization at BBS and IAE Paris Sorbonne Business School took place on May 27 in Bologna under the title CRISIS AS THE NEW NORMAL. Designing Organizations for Responsiveness and Well-being. The event offered participants the opportunity to explore new perspectives on organizational design, crisis management, and team well-being.

The opening day saw the group from IAE Paris visiting the city center of Bologna accompanied by Bologna Welcome, before moving to Villa Guastavillani for the start of the program. Professor Ludovico Bullini Orlandi, scientific co-director of the Master in HR & Organization, gave a presentation on “Designing teams for responsiveness and well-being”. The day concluded with a networking session, creating an ideal environment for exchanging ideas and professional connections.

The second day included a company visit to Lamborghini S.p.A., followed by a session with Francesca Saracino, CEO and co-founder of Perspective Developing People S.r.l., on the theme “Building the team well-being”. The day closed with a case study challenge led by Professor Bullini Orlandi, focused on balancing responsiveness and well-being in the context of ING Bank.

The third day was highlighted by a visit to VEM Sistemi S.p.A. and a presentation by Stefano Cozzi, Senior HR Business Partner at ING Bank, on “Designing organizations for responsiveness and well-being: a perspective from ING Bank”. The teamwork session provided participants with the opportunity to apply the knowledge gained in a practical context.

The program concluded on May 30 with a visit to the Bologna Airport and the final team presentations. After an intense day of preparations and presentations, the winning team was elected, and the evening ended with a farewell dinner, celebrating the success of the exchange and further strengthening the ties between the two institutions.

This exchange represented a valuable opportunity for participants from both schools to share innovative knowledge and practices in the fields of human resources and organization, demonstrating how international collaboration can enrich learning and stimulate new ideas to address contemporary challenges in the workplace.

“Once again this year, the international exchange between Bologna Business School and IAE Sorbonne Business School has been renewed,” explained Prof. Bullini Orlandi. “In the current scenario, we have decided to reflect on the theme of the ongoing crises that, on an international, economic, and climatic level, increasingly involve people and companies. In this context, global data on worker well-being show critical issues and are still far from pre-pandemic levels.”

“We have therefore reflected,” Bullini Orlandi continued, “through testimonials from managers, team-building activities, and visits to participating companies, on how organizations can, in this context, act to promote the psycho-physical well-being of people and enhance their skills while simultaneously promoting talent retention. I conclude by thanking all the companies and managers who supported us with their participation and made this exchange program possible.”