Information Knowledge Strategy

The primary objective of this course is to become familiar with the typical phases of an internal or external consulting project. The course is designed to provide a deep understanding of the typical challenges, opportunities,  phases, and methods for conducting a successful consulting assignment for knowledge-based organizations. A  typical strategic consulting assignment includes the following phases: organization assessment, sponsor/client  relationship, gathering data, diagnosis issues, implementation, and measurement. Drawing on examples from a  variety of organizations, this course will focus directly on strategies for building a successful knowledge service or  product for organizations or institutions. We will provide knowledge of foundational frameworks and theories and  the need for tailored approaches for different clients. Students will get hands-on experience diagnosing and  proposing knowledge strategies for improving organizational effectiveness and competitiveness.

Successful consulting, whether internal or external, requires many capabilities and, at heart, is dependent on the  client-consultant relationship. Students will be engaged in working on a simulated consulting assignment based on  the current organization in which they work. Alternatively, students may discuss with the faculty to be assigned to  work with a voluntary organization seeking student input. During the term, each student will complete individual  and team assignments that build on the deliverables needed for an actual consulting assignment. By developing  expertise in strategic leadership consulting, students will gain credibility, competence, and confidence in their ability  to communicate, design, develop, and provide knowledge and change services to an organization and society.  During the semester, students will learn strategies for building knowledge services, including the models, methods,  processes, and social factors that promote successful change.

This course is designed for students who are or will be working in positions that require internal or external  organizational consulting skills or in positions that require managing organizational change initiatives. No  prerequisites.

OVERVIEW: In this course, students will explore how people analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) can be leveraged to align HR and talent strategy with organizational performance and long-term workforce transformation. As AI and other advanced analytics become embedded in core workforce systems, students will examine how data-driven decision-making operates across hiring, performance management, learning, job design, and organizational culture. The course integrates strategy, organizational behavior, and data science to help students understand how analytics can drive measurable impact while strengthening trust, fairness, and human-centered leadership in the digital workplace. Students will develop a critical perspective on the use of AI-enabled systems in workforce management and will learn how to assess whether analytics practices promote responsible governance, ethical integrity, and sustainable competitive advantage in an evolving regulatory and global landscape.

CONTENT & GOALS: Through case-based discussion, experiential exercises, team-based projects, and guest lectures from senior leaders at Fortune 500 companies and innovative startups, students will develop the analytical and strategic skills required to design and evaluate people analytics initiatives. Topics include workforce data fundamentals; AI-enabled hiring and talent development; performance analytics; digital feedback systems; learning, reskilling, and workforce augmentation; AI–human systems interaction; organizational culture; and the intersection of ethics, regulation, governance, global norms, data privacy and other regulatory regimes that govern data collection & use across jurisdictions (including frameworks such as the EU AI Act, GDPR, among others), cybersecurity, fairness, and responsible technology use. Students will gain practical exposure to predictive modeling concepts, bias assessment frameworks, network analysis, and diagnostic visualization techniques, while focusing on translating insights into strategic action.

LOGISTICS: This course is an elective in the MS Information & Knowledge Strategy (IKNS) program and open to all graduate students. It is particularly relevant to students interested in strategy, leadership, and the future of work. The course meets online once per week. No prerequisites or background in advanced statistics are required.

Within this course, students will explore how practices from human-centered design (HCD) can be applied to the end-to-end data science workflow—problem (use case) definition, data collection & preparation, data exploration, data modeling, and communicating and visualizing the results— in order to build trust in data that is used to drive strategy and decision making and impact organizational change. Students will learn about fundamental human values and how methods from the behavioral sciences and HCD can inspire ethical use of data to drive strategy and change in the modern, data-driven workplace. Students will understand how keeping “humans in the loop” is beneficial, and they will develop a critical eye for assessing whether the data they rely on to make decisions at work is human-centric, particularly as we become more reliant on data science and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to inform our insights, strategies, and decision making at work.

Content & Goals: Through hands-on, project-based work, students will work individually and in project teams to practice designing human-centric information and communication experiences, leveraging audience-focused data visualizations and storytelling techniques to drive a strategic workplace objective, motivating leaders and employees into action to create traceable organizational impact that benefits people. Students will have an opportunity to practice their writing and presentation skills through practical course assignments.

Logistics: This graduate-level elective course is designed for students in Information & Knowledge Strategy but is open to other students at Columbia University. This course would be relevant to students studying management and technology more broadly. The course will be delivered in person on Columbia’s campus during the spring semester.

No prerequisites.