The “Departitioning” Program That
Breaks Corporate Silos and Stimulates Horizontal Cooperation

This mind broadening training program complements the traditional « catalog » of competency training available in most large and medium size organizations. It gives middle managers a business education covering a wide range of subjects while stimulating inter-division/department collaboration. Participants are also expected to implement an innovative or change management project for the benefit of their organization; this hands on learning experience brings their employer tangibles deliverables.

The MicroMBA aims to provide participants with adequate management tools to

• Increase the collaboration with other divisions and break silos (“departitioning”);
• Improve their engagement and effectiveness;
• Introduce them to the holistic management of a business unit combining various disciplines;
• Encourage them to behave in a more entrepreneurial manner (intrapreneurship);
• Increase their autonomy;
• Develop their ability to work in multidisciplinary groups;
• Help them better factor in the human aspects of their work (including team building activities) ;
• Develop their personal (and informal) networks.
• Increase their desire to register in the relevant corporate training workshops that can help them improve the skills they have been exposed to ;

In addition, the MicroMBA allows conveying messages concerning the corporate culture as well as explaining the corporate strategic objectives. It is an effective deployment vector for the corporate strategy to a management level that is usually not effectively reached by the strategy.

The program consists of several modules, which cover the fundamentals of entrepreneurial management and behavior.  It was conceived by an entrepreneur to train intrapreneurs and heads of business units.  It is deliberately focusing on concrete and practical results, while integrating a conceptual support.  The attached list of modules specifies the topics being taught.  One of the modules could, for instance, be partially facilitated by the CEO or other senior executive (see below).  The time between each module gives the participants the Opportunity to apply what they learn in their daily work while being coached by the trainers. 

The training methodology relies on concrete examples, practical checklists and the relevant theoretical concepts suitable for managing corporate entities or units.  The courses include experts’ facilitation, case studies, group work, debate as well as written course materials. 

Several groups are created who must, at the end of the program, implement, a real innovation project within the organization. Each group is requested to write a report and make a compact presentation for a jury including the other groups and some trainers.  The groups are coached by the program director to supplement the MicroMBA training and increase their chances of success.  These innovation projects must translate into concrete results benefiting the corporation (this creates a real return on the training investment). 

One of the objectives is to lead participants to change the way they look at their work and their ability to contribute.  They are encouraged to share what they have learnt with their colleagues, which extends the reach of the MicroMBA beyond the participants’ circle.  Their direct superiors can be associated to the process by providing opportunities to use the MicroMBA content in the participants’ actual job. This helps maximize the participants’ as well as the corporation’s benefits.  

Each module usually lasts half a day. With this format, participants do not perceive that they have been « deprived » of a day of work that they will need to “catch up”. Since the modules take place every other week, their workload is not negatively affected. Participants do not have problem dedicating a half day to their personal development. (25 pers.).

Sessions are preferably taking place in a convenient location for the participants (even in their organization premises) to minimize work disruptions. 

The MicroMBA has been designed by Dr. Raphael Cohen, who designed and managed the first state of the art Entrepreneurship programs of EPFL and University of Geneva.

Raphaël H Cohen is a clinical professor at Thunderbird University (Phoenix) and obtained his Ph.D. in Economics in 1982 while managing the international group of companies, including several start-ups, which he still directs. His working experience on 3 continents led him to develop expertise in strategic analysis and business development, management, negotiation, HR, coaching and mentoring, financial engineering, legal affairs (intl. taxation, licensing, real estate, M&A, etc.), asset management, turning-around businesses, interim and crisis management.

As active CEO and business angel, he brings his hands-on experience in his lecturing and consulting activities providing coaching and management services to senior executives, bankers, directors and entrepreneurs. The IpOp Model he has developed leads intrapreneurs to identify, analyze and seize opportunities bringing competitive advantages to their company. He thus trains executives in large organizations willing to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurial behavior.

He has published in 2006 a challenging book "Concevoir et lancer un projet", which opens new avenues for stimulating innovation and intrapreneurship. He serves on the board of several companies and is a regular contributor for l’agefi, PME Magazine and other business publications.

In addition to his lecturing and teaching activities, he designed and manages the University Of Geneva Certificate Of Executive Education in Entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship, which leads to the first Executive MBA in Entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship in Europe, as well as the management skills education programs for physicians and executives at HUG (the Geneva University Hospitals) and other institutions. He is also the MBA European Academic Program Director of Thunderbird University.

Modules are selected according to the objectives of each organization while taking into account the participants’ level and needs. Modules content are customized to take fit the corporation culture, technology and business environment (i.e. cases and examples). They could also focus on the specific needs of a particular audience
(i.e. engineers or senior management).

The MicroMBA concept has been adopted by several organizations, including the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG), the City of Geneva, Edipresse, banks like the Geneva cantonal bank and others.

The number of modules is a function of the organization’s objectives. For instance, the EPFL program was very compact (about 60 hours), while the HUG program represents 80 hours.