0  

Certificate program primes professionals for risk analysis in business

Computer mainframe lit up by blue light. Small dots of red and yellow punctuate the rest of the mainframe with several computer chips.

Every company and venture comes with risk. In eCornell’s Risk Analysis certificate program, developed by Linda Nozick, director of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell, professionals learn how individuals and businesses can avoid, mitigate, share and diversify risks. The certificate includes four key modules: risk analysis foundations, risk evaluations, risk modeling and risk perception.

In a recent conversation with eCornell, Nozick discussed how the program charts out risk in a quantitative and statistically focused manner.

How do we quantify risk?

“Measuring risk is actually really difficult. It is one thing to say: Something’s risky. But once you have to ask ‘how risky,’ you have this question of how to put that risk in context with other risks. And we can talk about this really in an interesting way, when we think about valuing human life or how we handle risk in the public sphere. We make very different decisions about investment for risk mitigation on the highway system than we do in a nuclear power plant. You see the massive difference in funding. We try to illustrate that by looking at specific application domains and statistics with understanding that probability distribution. How likely is an outcome and how bad is it?”

What is risk perception and how does risk attitude affect decision making?

“Risk has a lot to do with how people interpret things, and we don’t interpret them all the same way. And so I think it’s important in the risk space to kind of understand how your perceptions, your attitudes toward risk make you more vulnerable to risks or help you mitigate risks. Somebody who’s really risk prone doesn’t worry so much about risk, and they take more risks than their company would like them to. You are trying to understand how risk attitudes affect decision making. Attitudes actually do drive how you make choices . . . that’s really what this whole thing is about: How does your mental headspace impact your decision making when it comes to risk?”

Is this course content constrained to risk professionals?

“Not at all. This course really is agnostic with respect to the application domain. We talk about financial risk. We talk about health risks. We talk about all sorts of risks. There really is that opportunity to see the applications across different types of business professionals and roles and industries, which could really give folks interesting perspectives and a lot of fundamentals as they’re changing careers or moving up in their career.”

Equip yourself with the tools to identify risks and apply strategies that protect you and your hard work — no matter your industry — in eCornell’s Risk Analysis certificate program. Learn more and enroll now.

  0  

Cornell Keynotes podcast: AI today – laws, ethics and protecting your work

Abstract multi-colored objects on blue background

Understanding the ethical and legal use of AI is important for any business. In a new episode of the Cornell Keynotes podcast from eCornell and the fourth installment of the “Generative AI” series, Cornell Tech professor Karan Girotra pairs up with professor Frank Pasquale from Cornell Law School to discuss the laws and ethics of generative AI while looking at performance guarantees as well as unintended consequences and outcomes.

The conversation highlights how organizations in finance, health, education, media and manufacturing are using these technologies in clever ways and charts a path for the next generation of use cases — ones that go beyond using assistants to enhance individual productivity.

Read more on the Chronicle.

  0  

Professionals apply techniques for digital transformation in AI certificate program

AI has broadened how companies integrate technology and digital transformation into their operations. For Karan Girotra, the Charles H. Dyson Family Professor of Management in the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, AI prompts questions about a new wave of automation..

The AI for Digital Transformation certificate program, authored by Girotra, combines academic theory and practical executive experience in business and technology into one seamless journey through the new opportunities and potential pitfalls that AI brings. Girotra explains how businesses can utilize these new tools for success through data collection and experimentation. The program concludes with tips for encouraging a culture of learning and leadership through AI.

Girotra discussed the power of data-driven AI enhancements and digital transformation in a recent conversation with eCornell.

How essential is learning AI for professional development right now?

“That really comes down to the question: How is the world going to change [from this breakthrough]? We’ve seen from previous generations of automation that when we automate physical work, the new efficiency forms a pattern. This time, the automation of cognitive language work allows us to benefit in certain ways, including increasing productivity of individuals and organizations. People who don’t work on implementing these ideas risk being left behind and won’t reap the benefits of automation.”

How have you worked to make digital transformation, specifically with AI, accessible for a general audience?

“The program is not basic in ambition, but it is basic in style. The technical language is minimized, and [the courses] do not use jargon. In fact, there is a whole module that I call ‘Cut through the techno babble.’ So it’s designed to be extremely accessible.”

With AI constantly evolving, does this course have longevity in its application?

“Right now, there are so many hyper-specific courses in the AI boom. You have marketing with AI or trading with AI or one of a million other subspecialties. The problem with specific versions is that they change and lose their value with [any procedural innovation]. But if you learn AI more generally – what it can do for any role – then you can invent new ways to use it without copying the current ways people are using it. In a way, there’s a trade-off. When you get more narrow, AI becomes more relevant [for current issues], but it becomes less useful as the world changes. With this course, we teach the conceptual knowledge behind AI in digital transformation to let individuals chart their own procedures in a changing environment.”

Keep pace with the rapid advancements in AI and digital technologies in the AI for Digital Transformation certificate program. Learn more and enroll.

Quotes have been edited for clarity.

  0  

Cornell Keynotes podcast: Mismanaging hybrid teams

Worker distracted by dog during virtual meeting

The shift toward hybrid work exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since become a staple in all types of organizations.

Although hybrid teams can offer a number of benefits, leaders often find that the practices they have come to depend on for managing in-person teams do not translate well to the hybrid context. And with hybrid team management being the responsibility of both leaders and team members alike, where can you look for opportunities for improvement?

In a new episode of the Cornell Keynotes podcast from eCornell, professor Brad Bell, director of the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies at Cornell’s ILR School, shares ways that hybrid teams are mismanaged and presents strategies for effectively managing hybrid teams.

Read more on the Chronicle.

  0  

Leaders strategize for new corporate environment in Hybrid Work Strategy certificate

Woman sits in an office set up. In front of her, there is a meeting on her monitor with six people displayed.

Since 2020, organizations all over the world have shifted to hybrid work models. This change has forced leaders to reevaluate how remote collaborative processes can still drive organizational culture. Brad Bell , Donna Haeger and Theomary Karamanis , faculty authors of Cornell’s Hybrid Work Strategy Program, spoke to the eCornell team about the challenges and opportunities posed by hybrid work.

Is it possible to replicate an in-person environment in a virtual workspace?

Theomary Karamanis, Senior Lecturer, SC Johnson College of Business: “That’s the biggest mistake that organizations make: They feel that they need to simulate everything that happens organically in an in-person environment into a virtual environment, and you cannot do that. Instead, try to have less live meetings, less synchronous communication and a bit more asynchronous [work]. Live meetings should usually be limited to problem solving, creativity and conflict resolution.”

How does the hybrid work environment affect the leadership structure of an organization?

Brad Bell, Professor, ILR School: “In these semi-remote environments, leaders can’t be as hands-on, they can’t see everything that’s happening, so a lot of the leadership has to be assumed by the team members themselves in these hybrid and remote settings. This opens a gap [inside the organization’s leadership structure]. Someone that is not a leader might look at courses like [Hybrid Work Strategy] and assume they need to be in a management role to benefit from this. But without usual in-office interaction, those concepts and tools have become importantly applicable to both the leaders and the members.”

What can leaders do to ensure that their hybrid organizations are consistently productive?

Donna Haeger, Professor of Practice, SC Johnson College of Business: “Oftentimes at work, whether it’s hybrid or not, everyone’s focused on ‘task, task, task’, ‘get the work done.’ That’s become even more of a pressure because things do become disjointed when people are not colocated . . . An organization’s culture and productivity are tied together. Tasks and relationships, and the synergy between those, are what really create productivity. [Fostering that synergy] is really essential in a hybrid work environment: The research has shown that the stronger the culture, the more productive the workplace will be.”

Begin developing your confidence as a hybrid team leader with eCornell’s Hybrid Work Strategy certificate program. Learn more and enroll now.

—

Justin Heitzman, an eCornell writing intern, contributed to this post.

  0  

Cornell Keynotes podcast: Mid-year trends in generative AI tech

3D chrome brain statue, generated with AI

What are the latest breakthroughs in generative AI? What’s just noise?

In a new episode of the Cornell Keynotes podcast from eCornell, Karan Girotra, the Charles H. Dyson Family Professor of Management and professor of operations, technology and innovation at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and Cornell Tech, explores what’s new in the world of AI, including updates on Apple Intelligence, Anthropic and advancements in China.

Read more on the Chronicle.

  0  

Cornell Keynotes podcast: Drive sales and marketing success with AI and academic theory

Photo of Clarence Lee

How can you leverage generative AI today to reach key goals in the workplace?

As co-founder of Eisengard AI, Clarence Lee spends his workdays examining how businesses can leverage cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) technology to improve their workflows. The use cases for marketing and sales are abundant — from copywriting, A/B testing and customer relationship management to pipeline operations, pitching and cold call strategy.

In a new episode of the Cornell Keynotes podcast from eCornell, Lee, also a former professor at Cornell’s SC Johnson College of Business, shares how companies can apply academic theory to create AI business frameworks for those routine lead- and revenue-generating practices.

Read more on the Chronicle.

  0  

Cornell Board of Directors Forum set for October in NYC

Cornell live immersion program participants engage in discussion

From geopolitical instability to artificial intelligence (AI), companies are facing an increasingly complex business environment that presents both challenges and strategic opportunities. Following the success of last year’s program, the 2024 Cornell Tech Board of Directors Forum – slated for Oct. 29 and 30 in New York City – is designed to provide corporate leaders with critical skills and actionable insights to bring to their boardrooms.

According to LizAnn Eisen, faculty director for the forum and acting professor of the practice at Cornell Law School and Cornell Tech, the program will cover cutting-edge governance issues and research, delivering leading-edge frameworks and best practices for addressing critical issues.

Read more on the Chronicle.

  0  

Cornell Keynotes podcast: Current trends in generative AI tech

Handshake between a human hand and a robot hand, each extending from laptop computers

Each day brings a new headline on artificial intelligence. Which stories should capture our attention and which are just clickbait?

In a new episode of the Cornell Keynotes podcast from eCornell, Karan Girotra — the Charles H. Dyson Family Professor of Management and professor of operations, technology and innovation at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and Cornell Tech — explains the current capabilities of AI and shares the most newsworthy updates about the technology.

Listen to Episode 35, AI Today: Current Trends in Generative AI Tech and read more on the Chronicle.