Solving complex business problems - Study

Understanding and solving complex business problems

17 SEPTEMBER 2025

9.00am - 4.30pm

Curtin University, 137 St Georges Terrace, Perth 6000

Cost

$890 for the general public, $790 for Curtin students.

Don’t miss out on our Early Bird Offer! Register and pay for any masterclass before 31 January 2025 to enjoy an automatic 15% discount.

Note: If this program is rescheduled or cancelled, a full refund or credit note to use at another Executive Education program valued at the same price will be provided.

Houston, we have a problem!

We are living in an era of unprecedented complexity and interconnectedness. Some decisions we make might be so routine that we may make them without giving them much thought, but challenging or complex decisions demand much more consideration.

It takes practice to recognise complex systems, and the challenges that come with embracing the unknown and facing novel situations that have many variables, with no one right answer. These are volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environments, and they present unique challenges and opportunities for professionals and their teams.

How do you make effective decisions amidst:

Multiple and, at times, competing factors in play
Gaps in information or data
New situations
No single right answer
High stakes and big consequences
Stakeholder-rich environments

Don’t despair – our masterclass in Understanding and Solving Complex Business Problems will provide evidence-based approaches to clearly identify the problem at hand and help participants apply effective decision making in VUCA environments.

Learning outcomes

This masterclass aims to provide participants with:

A better understanding of the forms of complexity and some methods for managing them.
An appreciation of how complex problems differ from difficult problems and some approaches specifically designed to address these messy, wicked problems.
An understanding and hands-on experience of an approach which takes a systems thinking perspective and thus allows for deeper and holistic understanding of the situation as well as assisting with the identification and assessment of options.
An opportunity to work on a current complex problem.

Who is the program for?

This program is designed for those in public, not-for-profit and private organisations who have decision-making responsibility and who are looking for fresh ideas to resolve organisational problems. You might be in project management, a COO, operations, marketing, innovation, strategy, product development, CEO, MD or a Board Member. This program provides participants with tools and techniques that are easily adopted and implemented into organisational practice.

Program schedule

Time	Description	Facilitator
9:00am-10:30am	Introduction Understanding forms of complexity – what makes your problem complex? Methods for dealing with complexity	Professor Fran Ackermann
10:30am-11am	Networking morning tea
11am-12:30pm	Complex problems vs difficult problems – is there a right answer? Exploring problem structuring methods	Professor Fran Ackermann
12:30pm-1:15pm	Lunch
1:15pm-2:45pm	Taking a Systems Thinking Approach – using a mapping technique to manage complexity rather than reduce it (This provides participants with the opportunity to use the technique on a complex problem)	Professor Fran Ackermann
2:45pm-3:15pm	Networking afternoon tea
3:15pm-4:30pm	Understanding dynamics and counter intuitive outcomes A brief consideration of ‘why decisions fail’ Reflections	Professor Fran Ackermann

Resources

Credit for recognised learning

About the facilitator

Professor Fran Ackermann

Professor Fran Ackermann is a Research Professor in Curtin’s School of Management. Her key research interests are in complex project management and systemic risk; and strategy development concentrating on elements of strategy making. Within these areas, she conducts industry-funded research projects and delivers bespoke executive education programs.

She is a Fellow of the British Academy of Management Fellow, a senior editor of the journal Decision Support Systems, and a former grant assessor for the Economic and Social Research Council (UK) and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UK). She has held positions at Bordeaux Business School, The University of Western Australia, Tillburg University and has research linkages with the University of Minnesota and State University of New York.