When did you first become interested in management?

In terms of my career, I have slipped into management, so to speak. I will now be leading a team of five people. I already have leadership experience from previous positions, but I am now looking forward to learning from the leadership modules (Leadership and Leadership Communication). Leading organizations and people is complex, multifaceted and challenging. Accordingly, I find it important to update my knowledge in this area.

How did you hear about the new CAS in General Management program?

As a real estate expert with over 25 years of experience in the industry, I wanted to expand my knowledge and broaden my management skills. I was looking for further training at a renowned institution that could provide both the theoretical foundation for management and leadership challenges and impart practical knowledge. This would allow me to apply the knowledge I had acquired in a variety of ways. Hence “General Management” at the University of Zurich.

I had often researched what courses were available in this area. Often these were courses with a rigid program, where certain courses did not appeal to me. When I discovered that the CAS in General Management has a modular structure and that you can put together the exciting content individually, I decided to apply to Executive Education.

Originally, I was only interested in individual modules. After an informative consultation with the program director, it was suggested to me that the modules as a whole could be credited towards a CAS degree. After that, I quickly decided that I wanted to do the CAS in General Management.

Why did you choose an offer from the University of Zurich?

It was important to me that I could complete further training at a renowned university. I did some research and talked to friends and colleagues both inside and outside my industry. I learned that the University of Zurich, especially the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, is a leader in the field of management and economics. It was also important to me that a theoretically sound institution can also build a bridge to practice. I would like to use the continuing education program to learn from the experiences of other managers from various sectors and to develop personally. This is a welcome broadening of horizons.

What is your impression of the CAS program so far?

Really very good! I am positively surprised at how widely you can apply the knowledge you have learned.

Even in my first classroom module, business simulation, I was completely flabbergasted - in a positive sense. When I read in advance that it was based on a board game, I was expecting something along the lines of Monopoly. We were allowed to playfully analyze the entire value chain of a young company and simulate it over several rounds (years). The game offered deep insights into complex leadership and management decisions that can later have a massive impact on the health and performance of a company. Over the course of two days, we dealt with essential analyses and decisions in the areas of strategy, production, logistics, marketing and finance. I was impressed by how this method can be used to run through the whole reality.

In Strategic Management, I liked the fact that theoretical elements were shown, linked to practice and then placed in a larger context with real case studies of well-known successful organizations. My group was allowed to solve the Harvard case study on Uber. Uber struggles with regulatory hurdles, intense competition and safety issues, while at the same time having to ensure long-term profitability and driver satisfaction. Interesting discussions ensued with the other groups, who were allowed to work on case studies on companies such as NIO, Manchester City, Roche, etc.

University is normally associated with theoretical and analytical content, but I was pleasantly surprised by the realism and practical relevance of the modules so far. In this respect, the level and pace were always very high. The learning curve was extremely steep. On the one hand, we learned the theoretical foundation behind the various frameworks and models for strategic management. On the other hand, the models were applied directly using real practical examples.

I also thought it was great that the lecturers and their backgrounds were visible in the module descriptions. I could already guess that many people from the field would be sharing their knowledge. But I hadn't expected the link between theory and practice to be so strong. And the theoretical background is also taken care of with the teaching materials and literature references that are provided.

Which topics from the first modules did you find particularly interesting for your professional work?

In the Business Simulation module, I was made very aware of the importance of liquidity and long-term planning in addition to the topics of strategy, production, logistics and marketing. In large companies with thousands of specialized employees, the topic can quickly slip into the background in everyday life. However, it is omnipresent and of the utmost importance. In my job, I rely on little outside capital and have finance specialists who closely monitor liquidity requirements. But if you are responsible for liquidity planning yourself, you realize during the simulation what a bottleneck means.

What I take away from the “Strategic Management” module is that a framework or model is not a tight corset, but that these frameworks help us to structure our analyses and thoughts clearly in order to derive solutions for the company. In addition, dealing with the numerous models has helped me to apply the findings in my job when developing real estate portfolio strategies.

How have you experienced working with your fellow students so far?

I was positively impressed by the diversity of the participants: I was able to work on strategic solutions in a class with (prospective) managers from a wide range of sectors and industries. Our cohort consists of people with master's and doctoral degrees or with many years of experience - a harmonious mix. You could tell that the program management had deliberately thought about the composition of the participants so that a diverse exchange could take place.

What challenges have you encountered?

With my family, job and further training, I don't have much free time. I have resolved to pay attention to time management and to organize my time well. I need to develop a sense of how I can organize everything.

What are your expectations or hopes for the rest of the training?

Expectations are very high after the first modules! (laughs) My hope is that the content will continue to strike an ideal balance between a theoretical foundation and real, practical implications in everyday business life. But based on my experience so far, I am very confident. In addition to the leadership modules, I'm also eagerly awaiting the AI for Business module, because now is the time to get involved in the topic and help develop it.

Would you recommend this training to others and if so, to whom?

I've already done it several times.

The CAS in General Management is for anyone who appreciates practical training and doesn't just want dry theory. The modular structure is perfect for people with a practical background. For example, I recommended the business simulation module to a colleague who had founded a start-up. Anyone who founds a start-up should complete the module - the insights are worth their weight in gold.

People who want to continue their training on a selective basis can easily do so thanks to the modular structure. And you can continue spontaneously and book further courses at any time. So you might start with a single course and even complete an MAS at the end. Exciting content is available in any case.

Thank you very much, Murat Saydam!

(Here you will find more information about the CAS General Management.)