Elective Courses

A survey of the main ideas and techniques of game-theoretic analysis related to bargaining, conflict, and negotiation. Emphasizes the identification and analysis of archetypal strategic situations in bargaining. Goals of the course are to provide a foundation for applying game-theoretic analysis, both formally and intuitively, to negotiation and bargaining; to recognize and assess archetypal strategic situations in complicated negotiation settings; and to feel comfortable in the process of negotiation.

Business strategy and public issues in energy and environmental markets. Topics include development and effect of organized spot, futures, and derivative energy markets; political economy of regulation and deregulation; climate change and environmental policies related to energy production and use; cartels, market power and competition policy; pricing of exhaustible resources; competitiveness of alternative energy sources; and transportation and storage of energy commodities.

This course explores the international economic and financial environment of business and financial institutions. It provides economic concepts which serve as the basis for a better understanding of the performance of national economies in a global context. The course also gives an opportunity to follow current economic issues as they relate to the present economic and financial crisis and its international economic policy dimensions. By the end of the course you should be able to (1) analyze the economic development of a country in the context of its relationship to the global economy; (2) assess a county's macro-economic environment and the opportunities and threats which have an impact on the country as a business location; (3) write and discuss knowledgeably about present global economic and financial issues as they affect international business decisions; and (4) understand key issues in international trade and finance in the context of the present economic and financial crisis.

This course provides a framework for business analysis and valuation using financial statement data and shows how to apply this framework to a variety of business decisions. Prerequisite: a good working knowledge of accounting, finance, economics and business strategy. The focus is on integrating key concepts from each of these areas and applying them to financial decision-making.

The course is aimed at users of financial statements. The definition of users is broad and includes lenders, equity analysts, investment bankers, board of directors, mergers and acquisition analysts, hedge fund managers, private equity, corporate/business development manager, and others interested in evaluating and monitoring corporate performance. The course objectives are to develop students' understanding of the environment in which financial reporting choices are made and help them understand GAAP rules so that they can read, interpret, evaluate, and analyze financial statements.

This course is concerned with how a manager uses accounting information within his or her organization. Managers need information to perform three essential functions in an organization: (1) planning operations, (2) controlling and evaluating performance, and (3) making decisions. The purpose of this class is to show what information is needed within an organization, where this information can be obtained, and how this information can be used by managers to plan, control, and make decisions. The course will emphasize that there is no perfect (cost) accounting system and will present the trade-offs that managers have to make between designing systems for reporting, decision-making, control and performance evaluation.

This course covers elements of behavioral decision theory and its implication in financial markets. The course will start by exploring the psychological processes by which people make judgments and decisions and the heuristics and biases associated with these decisions. The course will also cover the dynamics of asset markets, evaluating how prices are formed by the interaction of traders with different information, opinions and biases within different market structures.

This course will study the principles underlying alternative financial arrangements and contracts and their application to corporate financial management, including: asset acquisition and replacement, capital structure, dividends, working capital, and mergers, as well as development of theory and application to financial management decisions. In particular, it will examine the impact of incentive, moral hazard, and principal-agent problems that arise as a consequence of asymmetric information, government intervention, managerial incentives and taxes, on financial decisions regarding capital budgeting, dividend policy, capital structure and mergers.

This course will analyze the role of financial markets and financial institutions in allocating capital. The major focus will be on debt contracts and securities and on innovations in the bond and money markets. The functions of commercial banks, investment banks, and other financial intermediaries will be covered, and aspects of the regulation of these institutions will be examined.

This course explores the broad range of portfolio management in practice. The class will examine the assets, strategies, characteristics, operations, and concerns unique to each type of portfolio. Practitioners will present descriptions of their businesses as well as methods and strategies that they employ.

Survey of the day-to-day practices and techniques used in change of control transaction. Topics include valuation, financing, deal structuring, tax and accounting considerations, agreements, closing documents, practices used in management buyouts, divestitures, hostile takeovers, and takeover defenses. Also covers distinctions in technology M&A, detecting corruption in cross border transaction attempts, and betting on deals through risk arbitrage. Blend of lectures, case studies, and guest lectures.

The premise of this course is that spreadsheet financial models are often too big and too complicated to be helpful to real people in real-world organizations. This course focuses on designing spreadsheet financial models that work because they are small (i.e., fit easily on one or two laptop screens), simple (i.e., involve only basic arithmetic), easy to understand (i.e., a non-MBA can follow the thinking shown with no struggle and no assistance), and fast to build (i.e., in an hour or two, once you get the hang of it).

Survey of the formulation, solution, and interpretation of mathematical models to assist management of risk. Emphasis on applications from diverse businesses and industries, including inventory management, product distribution, portfolio optimization, portfolio insurance, and yield management. Two types of models are covered: optimization and simulation. Associated with each model type is a piece of software: Excel's Solver for optimization and Excel add-in Crystal Ball for simulation.

Supply Chain Management involves the flows of materials and information among all of the firms that contribute value to a product, from the source of raw materials to end customers. Elements of supply chain management have been studied and practiced for some time in marketing, logistics, and operations management. However, they are rarely executed in an integrated fashion. We will attempt to integrate these different perspectives to develop a broad understanding of how to manage a supply chain.

The course objectives are to develop modeling skills and to provide new concepts and problem-solving tools that are applicable to the design and planning of supply chains. This course will extend your understanding of well-known strategies (such as risk pooling and collaborative planning) by introducing the real-world challenges that companies face in implementing them. By the end of the course, you should have developed an appreciation for the challenges in applying state-of-the-art supply chain theory and have extended your abilities to use analytical tools to design and optimize a supply chain.

Advanced study in the field of manufacturing and operations. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester.

A study of the negotiations process, including negotiations among buyers and sellers, managers and subordinates, company units, companies and organizational agencies, and management and labor. Both two-party and multi-party relations are covered. Course work includes reading, lectures, discussion of case material, and simulations of real negotiations. Emphasis on the role of third parties in resolving disputes.

This course addresses the art and science of influence in organizations. Organizations are fundamentally political entities, and power and influence are key mechanisms by which things get done. After taking this course, students are able to: (1) diagnose the true distribution of power in organizations, (2) identify strategies for building sources of power, (3) develop techniques for influencing other, and (4) understand the role of power in building cooperation and leading change. Topics include communication skills, control issues, rewards and penalties, and politics within the organization.

This course addresses practical skills for global managers. It examines common issues and best practices for managing a global workforce as well as relations with important customers and partners. Managers with keen strategic insights often fall short when it comes to practical implementation because they lack the skills required to interface effectively with their counterparts from around the world. Generic cross-border management issues are discussed and then applied to specific skill areas, including establishing credibility, building relationships, obtaining information, evaluating people, giving and receiving feedback, training and development, meeting management, motivation, persuasion, sales and marketing, negotiation, and conflict resolution. Beyond such person-to-person skills, global organization development and consulting skill areas such as multicultural team building, technology transfer, innovation, and change management are also covered. Geographical examples are drawn from Asia, Europe, Latin America, Russia, and the Middle East.

Examines concepts and theories from behavioral science useful for the understanding and prediction of market place behavior and demand analysis. Emphasizes applications to the development of marketing policy planning and strategy and to various decision areas within marketing.

This course develops the skills necessary to plan and implement an effective market research study. Topics include research design, psychological measurement, survey methods, experimentation, statistical analysis of marketing data, and effective reporting of technical material to management. Students select a client and prepare a market research study during the course. Course intended for students with substantive interests in marketing.

The focus of this course is on developing student skills to formulate and critique complete marketing programs including product, price, distribution and promotion policies. There is a heavy use of case analysis. Course is primarily designed for those who will take a limited number of advanced marketing courses and wish an integrated approach.

High technology refers to that class of products and services which is subject to technological change at a pace significantly faster than for most goods in the economy. Under such circumstances, the marketing task faced by the high technology firm differs in some ways from the usual. The purpose of this course is to explore these differences.

This course will focus on the most important aspects of sales: how to create a sales strategy, manage the sales process, and convince skeptical customers to believe in you and your solution. In this course you will learn how to formulate an account strategy based upon customer politics, evaluator psychology, and the human nature of decision makers that are unique to every business. You will gain an understanding of how to manage the sales process. Finally, you will learn how to become a more persuasive person because successful customer communications is at the foundation of all sales.

This course provides detailed exposure to business to business and personal selling techniques. Emphasis is placed on creating a sales strategy, the planning and delivery of sales presentations, and techniques to persuade people to change their opinions and beliefs in face-to-face meetings.

Provides frameworks, knowledge; and sensitivities to formulate and implement marketing strategies for competing in the international arena. Regions and countries covered include the Americas, Europe, Japan, China, India, Russia, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Issues covered include global versus local advertising, international pricing strategies, selecting and managing strategic international alliances and distribution channels, managing international brands and product lines through product life cycle, international retailing, and international marketing organization and control.

This three-module course aims to equip students with proven concepts, techniques, and frameworks for assessing and formulating pricing strategies. The first module develops the economic and behavorial foundations of pricing. The second module discusses several innovative pricing concepts including price customization, nonlinear pricing, price matching, and product line pricing. The third module analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of several Internet-based, buyer-determined pricing models. .

This course examines the role of systematic information gathering in providing sound decision guidance for managers. It helps students appreciate the potential contributions and limitations of market research data. Emphasis will be placed on both qualitative and quantitative aspects of marketing research and how they help managers in addressing substantive marketing problems such as: market segmentation, estimating market potential, forecasting market demand, developing advertising and pricing practices policies, and designing and positioning new products.

Strategic planning theory and methods with an emphasis on customer, competitor, industry and environmental analysis and its application to strategy development and choice.

Taught by longtime in-house counsel and legal advisors to US and foreign-based business entities, this course aims to create an awareness of the legal rules and regulations in governing business activities. In short, you will become an informed and intelligent client, cognizant of the reasons company lawyers may provide counsel which runs counter to the views prevailing in the company. The course will cover the fundamental legal topics of contract, torts, employment, intellectual property, criminal and corporate law (transactions and governance). In addition, the course will also address such other areas as international, litigation, and constitutional law.

This course focuses on the challenges, opportunities and risks of doing business in emerging market economies, with particular emphasis on China and India. The course is designed to enhance students' ability to start, manage, lead and invest in businesses operating in emerging markets. Emerging markets are home to nearly 80% of the world's population and are expected to account for nearly half of global GDP growth over the next 25 years. The course will analyze emerging markets from several different perspectives-the perspective of multinationals from advanced industrial countries seeking to grow and/or to reduce costs through operations in emerging markets; the perspective of local firms and indigenous entrepreneurs seeking to build world-class businesses; and the perspectives of policymakers in both developed and emerging market economies seeking to understand and respond to globalization.

This course is an intensive review of literature in the theory of land utilization, urban growth, and real estate market behavior; property rights and valuation; residential and non-residential markets; construction, debt and equity financing; public controls and policies.

Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of real estate financial analysis, including elements of mortgage financing and taxation. The course will apply the standard tools of financial analysis to specialized real estate financing circumstances and real estate evaluation.

This course analyzes cases in residential and non-residential development and financing, urban redevelopment, real estate taxation, mortgage market developments, equity investment, valuation, and zoning.

This course focuses on the entire process of real estate development, beginning with the acquisition, entitlement and development of land all the way through to construction completion, marketing, leasing and management of the finished project. Major elements of development covered in this course include site assessment, market feasibility, design aesthetics, environmental constraints, the entitlement process, financial structuring, project management, marketing/leasing and deal making.

This course is designed to examine the strategic issues that confront the management of the development-stage biotech company, i.e., after its startup via an initial capital infusion, but before it might be deemed successful (e.g., by virtue of a product launch), or otherwise has achieved "first-tier" status. The intention is to study the biotech organization during the process of its growth and maturation from an early-stage existence through "adolescence" into an "adult" company.

This course is designed to introduce students to the innovation process and its management. It provides an overview of technological change and links it to specific strategic challenges; examines the diverse elements of the innovation process and how they are managed; discusses the uneasy relationship between technology and the workforce; and examines challenges of managing innovation globally.

This course is an introduction to evaluating strategic options and their consequences, anticipating the perspectives of various industry players, and viewing the IT industry through the eyes of a general manager or CEO of an IT firm. Students will analyze the role of regulatory, technological, economic, and market forces in shaping the information technology industry structure, value chain, business and operating models, competitive strategy and dynamics, and barriers to entry. Special emphasis is placed on identifying new opportunities and understanding the challenges for startups and other new entrants.

No other technology in the history of this planet has proliferated as quickly to as many people as the mobile phone. Yet, despite this explosive growth, there are significant and unique challenges in creating a commercially successful wireless service. In this course, students will examine both successful and unsuccessful case studies of new wireless services to understand the key ingredients to creating successful businesses in the wireless industry. This course is fundamentally about strategy and general management, but we will draw from a variety of disciplines including public policy, law, marketing, economics, finance, and engineering to identify the key issues, analyze the potential options, and understand the consequences of the decisions made by management.

Discusses the field strategic of CSR through a series of lectures, guest speakers, and projects. It will examine best practices used by companies to engage in socially responsible practices. It will provide students with a flavor of the complex dilemmas one can face in business in trying to do both "good for society" and "well for shareholders." It looks at CSR from a corporate strategy perspective and how it supports core business objectives, core competencies, and bottom-line profits.

Once considered an aside in the investment world, social investing has begun to attract significant attention from academics. Some of the issues raised by social investors bring fresh light to controversies in investment and management theory. Moreover, concerns over globalization and climate change have challenged the widely-held view that social and environmental concerns must be subordinated to financial ones in capital allocation decisions. This course will review eight strong recent studies of issues in social investing from different academic fields including management, finance, and economics.

This course prepares students conceptually and practically to create, lead, and manage nonprofit organizations. Focuses on the centrality of the mission, governing board leadership, application of strategy and strategic planning, and strategic management of issues unique to or characteristic of the sector: performance measurement, program development, financial management, resource development, community relations and marketing, human resource management, advocacy, and management.

The purpose of this class is to acquaint Evening & Weekend Master of Business Administration students, many of whom will be asked to serve on nonprofit boards throughout their careers, with the nonprofit sector and the roles and responsibilities of nonprofit boards. Students will learn why nonprofit boards exist, how they are structured, how they differ from corporate boards, what their legal responsibilities are, how boards and chief executives relate to each other, and how boards contribute to the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations.

The course focuses on financial management issues faced by board members and senior and executive managers in nonprofit organizations. Students learn tools and techniques for effective planning and budgeting and how to control, evaluate and revise plans. Use and development of internal and external financial reports are studied with an emphasis on using financial information in decision-making. Tools and techniques of financial statement analysis, interpretation, and presentation are practiced.

Social Sector Solutions, or S-cubed, is a partnership between the Haas School of Business, the Center for Nonprofit and Public Leadership, McKinsey & Company, and select nonprofit clients. Students enroll in a 3-unit class in which they work in teams, coached by a McKinsey consultant, to help nonprofit clients succeed in entrepreneurial ventures and are introduced firsthand to professional consulting and the nonprofit sector.

The development of creative marketing strategies for new ventures, as well as the resolution of specific marketing problems in smaller companies which provide innovative goods and services. Emphasis is on decision-making under conditions of weak data, inadequate resources, emerging markets, and rapidly changing environments.

This is an advanced case-based course intended to provide the background, tools, and themes of the venture capital industry. The course is organized in four modules of the private equity cycle: (1) fund raising -- examines how private equity funds are raised and structured, (2) investing -- considers the interactions between private equity investors and the entrepreneurs that they finance, (3) exiting -- examines the process through which private equity investors exit their investments; and (4) new frontiers -- reviews many of the key ideas developed in the course.

This workshop is intended for students who have their own experimental venture project under development. The business concept may be in the startup mode, or further along in its evolution. The pedagogy is one of "guided" entrepreneurship where students, often working in teams, undertake the real challenges of building a venture. Students must be willing to discuss their project with others in the workshop as group deliberation of the entrepreneurial challenges is a key component of the class.

This is a course about financing new entrepreneurial ventures, emphasizing those that have the possibility of creating a national or international impact or both. It will take two perspectives-the entrepreneur's and the investor's-and it will place a special focus on the venture capital process, including how they are formed and managed, accessing the public markets, mergers, and strategic alliances.

Most entrepreneurial venture business models evolve through periods of experimentation. Understanding the components of an integrated business model, how to characterize and analyze the competitive aspects of business models and how to efficiently construct and test business models are critical skills for entrepreneurs, whether they are launching a startup or trying to build a new venture from inside a larger company. Our objective is to provide students with the skills and knowledge to rapidly identify, assess, shape and – when necessary – change business models to their advantage in constructing enterprises of scale. The course will examine the elements of business models, explore how they differ across industries and phases of a firm's growth – from high-tech to social ventures and from the earliest startup phases through realization of significant value.

Leaders must be capable of inspiring commitment in their constituencies rather than merely demanding compliance. This course develops the basic building blocks of impactful communication--e.g., concentration, energy, voice, physical expressiveness, spontaneity, listening, awareness, and presence--by drawing upon expertise from theater arts. Active, participatory exercises allow for the development and embodiment of effective communication skills. Class readings, lectures, and discussions address participants' specific workplace applications .

The objective of this course is to help students understand the nature of why innovation fails, and assist students in developing the skills needed to manage the process of developing new businesses and products within an existing organization. We will explore the nature of the entrepreneurial spirit, how corporate culture can affect new business development efforts, and how innovation must reflect the type of business and the business’ position in its life cycle. The course emphasis will be on leadership and what it takes to move an organization toward the implementation of new business ideas, services and products. Using cases we will look at how some organizations have succeeded and how others have failed. Several guest speakers will share their experiences dealing with the challenges related to these activities.

This course will provide students with the "best practices" knowledge and cutting-edge strategies to effectively communicate with corporate boards. Seminar panels will feature speakers from various industries who presently serve on the Board of Directors and as Senior Executives interfacing with Boards. Students will receive an extensive briefing on SOX; review the duties of Directors; learn the elements of effective Boards; examine proven crisis management strategies; and understand the importance of Director recruiting and Board composition. This course follows the same curriculum offered at professional conferences for current Corporate Directors of both public and private companies.

This introductory course explores the theory and application of improvisational techniques to business communication situations. This course covers the broad principles of improvisation--a performing art form that has been shown to enhance individual spontaneity, listening and awareness, expressive skills, risk-taking, and one's ability to make authentic social and emotional connections. Such "soft" skills grow increasingly critical as leaders rise within organizations, and this course strives to develop students' business communication leadership skills while enhancing both interpersonal intuition and confidence. No prior experience with improvisation or performance is necessary or presumed. Specific topics include (1) introduction to improvisational theory, (2) speaking and spontaneity, (3) listening and awareness, (4) emotional intelligence, and (5) status and influence. In all of these topic areas the emphasis will be on applied business communications.

Examines optimal production and pricing policies for firms in competitive environments; optimal strategies through time; strategies in the presence of imperfect information. How differing market structures and government policies (including taxation) affect output and pricing decisions. Social welfare implications of decisions by competitive firms also explored.

Identifies the management challenges facing international firms. Attention to business strategies, organizational structures, and the role of governments in the global environment. Special attention to the challenges of developing and implementing global new product development strategies when industrial structures and government policies differ. Efficacy of joint ventures and strategic alliances. Implications for industrial policy and global governance.