Humanities and Management, when NEOMA BS co-creates its courses. Interview with Christophe Giolito – Preparatory class teacher at the Lycée Saint-Cyr
Published on 04/15/2019
NEOMA's world
Thematics :
Since the beginning of the 2018 academic year, NEOMA BS Master in Management students have had the opportunity to follow a comprehensive Humanities course. One of the programme's key modules is the "Humanities and Management" course. Comprising 5 sessions in the original format, this module has allowed students to take a closer look at various aspects of work as an object of study and reflection. 3 of the sessions were developed in partnership with a preparatory class teacher.
Christophe Giolito, a preparatory class teacher of philosophy at the Lycée Saint-Cyr, co-designed the final session on the meaning of work. He looks back at his experience and shares his opinion.
NEOMA BS: How was the course co-created with the NEOMA BS teachers? How do you think you complement one another and how is this expressed?
Christophe Giolito: During the course development phase, we held a lot of discussions with the other course creators with the aim of offering students a homogeneous module and keeping to a common co-developed standard.A really positive working relationship has emerged between the teachers of Preparatory Classes and NEOMA BS. In the preparatory class, competition plays a positive role when it comes to helping students progress. At Business School, other work situations are prioritised, such as cooperation and collaboration during group work, for example.
Furthermore, NEOMA BS professors provide students with additional resources designed to help them shape their careers and to be innovative. On the other hand, Preparatory Class teachers must respect a standard teaching model in relation to the competitive entrance exams. This joint project is therefore a unique initiative to be enhanced and developed. This work has enabled us to forget our institutional differences.
NEOMA BS: According to you, how important are the Humanities, and more broadly the human sciences, in Business Schools today?
Christophe Giolito: I think it's important that students understand the world and their professions, especially those the business schools prepare them for.In preparatory class, we are demanding with the students and they have little room to define themselves. The Humanities clearly help give meaning and provide students with the resources to define their own "self" and their own paths.
Organisational sociology, for example, can be used to help gain a better understanding of the groups they will be involved with: companies, public organisations, associations, etc.
Philosophy can be a valuable asset if you want to reconcile your career with the meaning of life. We all need elements that allow us to make comparisons, especially when we are called upon to take up management positions. Philosophy gives the ability to not judge or dictate, but to be capable of following a clear and logical argument, on many levels. Economics, on the other hand, now accounts much better for issues like sustainable development and Corporate Social Responsibility.