Nobel Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman famously argued, 'I don't understand something until I can build it.' Culture is vital to organizations, yet few know how to build it. This course will teach you how to harness cutting edge data analytics - including social networks, natural language processing, and artificial intelligence - to strategically build organizational cultures from a managerial perspective, without requiring detailed understanding of these algorithms at a technical level. Topics will include (i) modeling, triggering, and controlling the spread of ideas and behaviors through social networks; (ii) measuring and understanding how teams communicate, learn, innovate, and adapt; (iii) spotting algorithmic bias and snake-oil in the market of AI tools applied to culture; and (iv) using robust AI to enrich team performance and expand your managerial influence. We will further explore frontier methods for how to build simulated cultures among AI agents to pilot test your cultural initiatives and hone your strategies before deploying in the wild. This course is ideal for anyone seeking a career as a people manager, human resources professional, data scientist, politician, policy maker, business leader, or CEO.
3 units · GSB Letter Graded
Nobel Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman famously argued, 'I don't understand something until I can build it.' Culture is vital to organizations, yet few know how to build it. This course will teach you how to harness cutting edge data analytics - including social networks, natural language processing, and artificial intelligence - to strategically build organizational cultures from a managerial perspective, without requiring detailed understanding of these algorithms at a technical level. Topics will include (i) modeling, triggering, and controlling the spread of ideas and behaviors through social networks; (ii) measuring and understanding how teams communicate, learn, innovate, and adapt; (iii) spotting algorithmic bias and snake-oil in the market of AI tools applied to culture; and (iv) using robust AI to enrich team performance and expand your managerial influence. We will further explore frontier methods for how to build simulated cultures among AI agents to pilot test your cultural initiatives and hone your strategies before deploying in the wild. This course is ideal for anyone seeking a career as a people manager, human resources professional, data scientist, politician, policy maker, business leader, or CEO.
Offered in Spring 2027 at Stanford University.