Class Report: Design Thinking

"Before the millennium, the world changed slowly. Populations were localized, product choices were limited, and customers had homogeneous tastes. Business problems were therefore well-defined, and managers could take linear approaches to products and services."

This is how Dr. Ricardo Lim from the Asian Institute of Management in the Philippines introduces his course on Design Thinking to the MIM (MSc in Management) students at the NUCB Business School. His approach to input and output empathy is one of the cornerstones of his course design. In contrast to the way the world was, he challenges students in his class today to think about the problems which need solving tomorrow.

"Today our problems have become ill-defined and more complex. Populations have grown and become “Borderless”; tech change is rapid; customer segments have become segments of one (each customer is unique and and needs customized “experiences”) and product choices are unlimited. Because of mobility, choices, globalization, and tech, business problems are more wicked. Generating solutions to these “wicked’ problems requires a different approach."

Professor Dr. Ricardo "Ricky" Lim has held a number of apex level positions in academia and professional firms. He is a Professor and chair of the Analytics, Information, and Operations Department at the Asian Institute of Management. In academia, he is also the former President of the AAPBS, a consortium of 60 Asia-Pacific Business schools, Chair of the Philippine Academy of management, and academic board member of the Global Business School Network, GBSN, in Washington, DC.