A Resilient Future: Building organisational and societal resilience
The 2023 School of Management Alumni Conference focused on helping organisations thrive in an ever-changing environment and society.
Relive the day and find your post-event resources below.
Businesses and society are recovering from a series of disruptive events that we were ill-prepared for. We are also comprehending the enormity and long-term ramifications of trends such as climate change, biodiversity loss, political uncertainty, social change, economic turbulence, and rapid digitalisation. Resilience is not only about preparing for and bouncing back from shocks and disruptions but also adapting to challenges to prosper and be future-ready.
The UK Government Resilience Framework outlines a new strategic approach to resilience and highlights business contribution. It is based on three core principles:
1. A developed and shared understanding of the risks we face is fundamental;
2. Prevention rather than cure wherever possible: a greater emphasis on preparation and prevention;
3. Resilience is a ‘whole of society’ endeavour, so we must be more transparent and empower everyone to make a contribution.
At this conference we discussed two key questions:
1. How might you build the strategic capability for your organisation to prepare for and respond to disruption; adapt in a timely and appropriate manner; and thrive in a changing environment?
2. What is the role of business in a whole society approach to resilience?
Attendees left the 2023 School of Management Alumni Conference with new insights and ideas to help their organisation be future-ready, as well as new contacts and friends.
Agenda
|
Time |
Session Details |
|---|---|
|
09:15 |
Welcome |
|
09:25 |
Setting the scene: Connected resilience and the five capitals |
|
09:30 |
Reflections on resilience and leadership |
|
10:25 |
Break |
|
11:10 |
Natural capital and built capital Professor Jim Harris, Professor of Environmental Technology Dr Rosina Watson (PhD in the School of Management 2018), Head of Sustainable Business Group and Associate Professor of Sustainability |
|
12:00 |
Human and social capital Dr Chibuzo Ejiogu, Reader in Human Resource Management Dr Lyn Lanka, Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour, Organisational Behaviour and Applied Psychology |
|
12:50 |
Lunch |
|
13:50 |
Outlook for the Global and UK Economy Professor Joe Nellis, (PhD in the School of Management 1990), Professor of Global Economy and Deputy Dean, Cranfield School of Management |
|
14:50 |
Parallel Sessions: Building resilience - Cross sector lessons from industry
Professor David Denyer, Professor of Leadership and Organisational Change, Lead for the Cranfield Resilience Institute and Conference Chair
2. Cyber Richard Archdeacon (MBA 1982) Advisory CISO, CISCO International Mike Sutliff (MDes Design Strategy and Leadership 2019), Senior Lecturer in Innovation and Change
3. Aviation and tourism Anita Mendiratta, Special Advisor to the Secretary General UNWTO Dr Fabian Steinmann (PhD in Transport Systems 2022), Lecturer in Organisational Resilience and Change |
|
15:40 |
Break |
|
16:10 |
Is the UK prepared for the unthinkable and the uncertain? Lord Toby Harris, Chair, National Preparedness Commission |
|
17:00 |
Closing remarks Professor David Denyer, Professor of Leadership and Organisational Change, Lead for the Cranfield Resilience Institute and Conference Chair |
|
17:10 |
Drinks Reception |
|
18:00 |
Close |
Speakers
Post-event resources
Thank you to those that attended, and made the 2023 Alumni Conference such a great day.
You can carry on sharing your takeaways from the conference on social media using the #CranfieldAlumni hashtag or tag @cranfieldalumni on Twitter – we can’t wait to see and share them.
Session slides
- Human and social capital session
- Outlook for the UK and global economy session slides
- Cross-sector lessons from industry - Finance session slides
- Cross-sector lessons from industry - Cyber session slides
- Cross-sector lessons from industry - Aviation and tourism session slides
- Is the UK prepared for the unthinkable and uncertain? session slides
Additional session slides will be added as we receive them.
Additional resources
Resilience reimagined: A practical guide for organisations
Resilience reimagined: a practical guide for organisations was produced by Cranfield University, in partnership with the National Preparedness Commission (NPC) and Deloitte. The report presents insights from business leaders from a range of sectors and makes seven recommendations for organisations on how to become more resilient.
Download the report
Building organisational resilience: 3 ways leaders can prepare for disruption, and adapt and thrive in a changing environment
Professor David Denyer explains why organisational resilience is so important and how leaders can encourage employee involvement to better prioritise, anticipate and prepare for future disruptions.
Read the article
The 2023 alumni conference saw the launch of The Resilience Institute.
The purpose of The Resilience Insitute is to help ensure critical systems and services are better able to prepare for, adapt to, and learn effectively from anticipated or unexpected shocks and stresses – now and in the future.
Making use of high levels of specialism and collaboration across technology and management, the institute works with policymakers and practitioners to understand and address local, regional and national resilience challenges.
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