Perspectives for HR Leaders on the Future of Work - Our Programmes

An MGA Exclusive Executive Education Programme

Perspectives for HR Leaders on the Future of Work

How Leading Organisations are Addressing the Challenges

BY PROFESSOR KISHORE SENGUPTA

Professor of Operations Management, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge

MyCo ID

202501012329

Programme ID

10001558632

Dates

16 July 2025

Time

9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Venue

Hilton Kuala Lumpur Hotel

Fee

RM 2,800

per person

The cost of the programme includes lunch and other refreshments, as well as programme materials for one participant. It is not inclusive of any applicable taxes.

This programme can be delivered in-house for your organisation. However, this option is on a first-come-first-served basis as availability is limited to the duration of Prof Sengupta’s visit to Malaysia.

Programme Outline

Morning Session

PERSPECTIVES ON THE FUTURE OF WORK
Learning Objectives
Understand the effect of technological and other changes on roles and careers
Understand how these changes affect the nature of organisations
Formulate guidelines for managing individuals and teams effectively in such situations
This session examines how leading organisations are addressing the challenge of dealing with disruption
from rapid changes in technology, industry boundaries and consumer preferences. In the aggregate, these
changes promise to redefine the very nature of work.

The first part of the three-part session looks at the effects of changes on organisations, business models,
individuals, and careers. We then consider a vignette on a telecommunications organisation implementing
a very significant change in its technology. The change affects the organisation’s business model as well
as the careers and professional identities of its employees. Participants are asked how they would handle
this transformation.

We then consider a vignette on a telecommunications organisation implementing a very significant change
in its technology. The change affects the organisation’s business model as well as the careers and
professional identities of its employees. Participants are asked how they would handle this transformation.
In the final part, we present results from our own research and look at the practical implications of how to
define organisational structures, roles, assessment mechanisms, develop talent, and shape professional
identities.

Afternoon Session

MANAGING COMPLEX STRATEGIC PROJECTS IN HUMAN CAPITAL
Learning Objectives
Understand how strategic projects can tip unknowingly into disasters
Formulate mechanisms for understanding whether a strategic project is in trouble
Leaders implement strategy in organisations through projects, with the overall direction set by boards.
Strategic initiatives are inherently risky, and many projects end in failure. Inevitably, the bad news is
discovered late, after expending considerable time and resources. This creates lost value and sometimes
disasters. An important aspect of effective strategy is to understand if an implementation is on track; and
keep to the course or change trajectory.

The session starts with an “in the shoes” simulation wherein participants make decisions on InnoCar, a
(real life) large project involving the development of a chip for the next generation entertainment systems
of automobiles. If successful, the chip will generate “super profits” for the organisation.

Following a debrief on participants’ decisions, we ask why experienced leaders often do not realise before
it is too late when key projects are either failing or are off-track. Using frameworks of dynamic complexity,
we identify heuristics that leaders use in these situations, and how they lead to decision traps. Participants
focus on solutions and leave with clear frameworks for use in strategic projects.

Learning Methodology

The programme will be a blend of lectures, vignettes/case studies, simulations and in-class development of
practical illustrations to allow for a hands-on and deep learning experience.

Programme Faculty

Professor Kishore Sengupta

View Bio

Professor Kishore Sengupta

Professor of Operations Management

Judge Business School (CJBS), University of Cambridge

Prof. Kishore Sengupta’s current research, teaching and consulting activities are focused on managing complex projects, complexity in organisations, and the future of work in the age of technological discontinuity.

His academic and professional career has been in the United Kingdom, United States of America, France, Hong Kong and India. He joined CJBS in 2014 and was CJBS’s Director of Executive Education during 2016-2019. In this period and its immediate aftermath, the FT rankings for CJBS Executive Education rose sharply - the fastest year-on-year rise in the table of rankings in that period. Prof. Sengupta is Senior Member and Fellow of Hughes Hall, a College in the University of Cambridge.

Before joining the University of Cambridge in 2014, Prof. Sengupta held faculty positions at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France (2000-2014), the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, USA (1989-2000), and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (1996-1998). He has also worked at the AT&T Network Software Center and Ernst and Young. He has served as advisor on complex projects to large organisations and the U.S. Government Department of Defense. Prof. Sengupta’s consulting activities involve organisations in Europe, Asia, and the United States.

Prof. Sengupta has taught extensively in executive education, MBA and EMBA at CJBS, INSEAD, and the Seoul National University. He has created several executive education programmes at CJBS, including the flagship Senior Management Programme, Leading Strategic Projects Successfully and Integrating Risk into Strategic Decision Making. Prof. Sengupta teaches Leading Effective Projects and Innovation Management in EMBA. He has created several teaching cases, simulations and other pedagogical material for which he was awarded the European Case Award.

Prof. Sengupta has published in top journals in various academic disciplines, including Management Science, Organization Science, Academy of Management Journal, MIS Quarterly, and IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering. He has also published in the business literature, e.g., Harvard Business Review, Financial Times, and European Business Review. Among them is a widely acclaimed article in the Harvard Business Review on how managers fail to learn from experience. Prof. Sengupta has also contributed to the online section of the Harvard Business Review. His research has been highlighted in the Wall Street Journal and Forbes. His most recent writing for senior leaders is in the Financial Times . Prof. Sengupta has co-authored a recent article on How Megaprojects Are Damaging Nigeria and How to Fix It. He is currently working on a book on how we spend time in the workplace.