B4921 - SEMINARS STRATEGY (Gr.B)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the Seminar the student will have acquired specific skills relating to the economic and organisation sector of a fashion company, with a particular focus on strategies for the fashion system.

Course contents

Seminar: The Architecture of Uncertainty. Fashion Buying in Volatile Markets

Tutor: Dr. Davide Latini (Teddy Group)

The workshop aims to provide students with theoretical and operational tools to understand fashion buying as a decision-making process exposed to radical uncertainty, market volatility, cognitive biases, and digital transformations.

Through structured sessions, the course addresses the buying environment as a non-linear and counterintuitive ecosystem, in which the buyer does not act simply as a trend forecaster, but as a “Risk Engineer” capable of assessing scenarios, managing incomplete information, and designing resilient assortments.

The activities will address, among other topics, the concepts of Mediocristan and Extremistan, cognitive biases applied to purchasing decisions, market non-linearity, the Barbell Strategy, Open-to-Buy, symmetric negotiation with suppliers, the critical use of artificial intelligence, and the construction of decision-making memory through evaluation tools and data autopsy.

Students with specific learning disorders or temporary or permanent disabilities are advised to contact the relevant University office as soon as possible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it ) and to get in touch with the lecturer, in order to identify together the most effective strategies for attending classes and/or preparing for the exam.

Readings/Bibliography

The reference bibliography will be indicated during the workshop in relation to the topics addressed in the individual sessions. In particular, the workshop will draw on texts by authors relevant to the understanding of uncertainty, decision-making, causality, negotiation, and risk management in complex contexts.

Teaching materials, slides, exercises, simulated cases, and working tools prepared for the classroom activities will be made available to students and are to be considered an integral part of the workshop.

Teaching methods

The learning methodology adopted in the workshop emphasises an experiential and laboratory-based approach. Students will not simply be recipients of theoretical content, but will be actively involved in simulations, exercises, and decision-making processes that reproduce some of the conditions of uncertainty, time pressure, and incomplete information typical of fashion buying.

Each session will be organised into successive phases — ice breaking, theoretical introduction, applied experience, debriefing, and closure — designed to progressively connect theoretical concepts, practical activity, and critical reflection. The short theoretical introductions will provide the necessary vocabulary and conceptual tools, while the classroom activities will allow students to experience concretely issues such as market volatility, cognitive biases, the non-linearity of decisions, negotiation with suppliers, and the critical use of data and artificial intelligence.

The workshop will use operational tools such as buying simulations, budget allocation exercises, unexpected scenarios, decision-making canvases, individual journals, and moments of self-assessment. Particular attention will be devoted to decision journaling, understood as a tool for making hypotheses explicit, assessing the degree of confidence in decisions, and developing greater awareness of one’s own cognitive processes.

Participants will work both individually and in teams, alternating moments of personal reflection, small-group work, and collective discussion. This structure is intended to foster active participation, collaboration, the ability to argue for one’s choices, and the transformation of theoretical learning into operational skills that can be applied in complex professional contexts.

Assessment methods

Assessment is based on attendance, consistent engagement throughout the workshop, participation in individual and group exercises, and completion of the required laboratory activities.

In order to obtain the pass mark and the related credits, students are required to attend at least 80% of the scheduled hours, corresponding to 24 out of 30 hours, and to participate actively and continuously in the planned activities.

Students with specific learning disorders or temporary or permanent disabilities are strongly encouraged to contact the relevant University office in good time (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it ). The office will propose any necessary adjustments to the students concerned; these must in any case be submitted to the lecturer for approval at least 15 days in advance. The lecturer will assess their appropriateness also in relation to the learning outcomes of the course.

Teaching tools

Teaching activities will be supported by materials prepared by the lecturer, including slides, operational sheets, simulated cases, working canvases, budget allocation exercises, and tools for decision assessment.

During the workshop, physical and digital supports designed to foster experiential learning will be used: product samples and textile materials, market scenarios, simulated alerts, decision journaling tools, decision-making matrices, and models for the analysis of risk, negotiation, and Open-to-Buy.

Office hours

See the website of Ines Tolic