Management (MGMT-SHU)

The world is going through fundamental and structural changes. The Global Strategy course discusses the implications for business strategy and challenges and opportunities that companies face. As the process of globalization and digitization accelates, business organizations are exploring new ways to adapt and grow. The emphasis will be placed on how companies operate in different socio-economic, technological, and institutional environments and overcome these differences, what kind of analytical tools may be used to assess international market conditions, and the sources of competitive advantage in a dynamic global context. Students will learn methods to build strategic mindset and capabilities to navigate in a fast changing global environment. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or above. Fulfillment: BUSF Non-Finance elective; BUSM Non-Marketing elective; Business Management track; IMB Business elective.

This course provides an introduction to the basic frameworks of modern strategy that aim to help firms establish and sustain competitive advantages. The objective of this course is to introduce students to the role of the “general manager,” who is faced by core strategic choices that concern the long-term performance of the firm, and provide them with the necessary skills to formulate and implement effective strategies. This course is equally relevant for students who want to work with companies as consultants, attorneys or investors, helping clients understand and solve critical strategic issues. From this course, you’ll learn to think critically and analytically about competitive business situations. You’ll also learn to embrace uncertainty, ambiguity and complexity of these situations, and to help firms improve the decision making process with sensible and actionable solutions. Firm performance is jointly determined by external economic and internal organizational forces. As a general manager, students need to have the ability to conduct strategic analysis at both the firm and industrial levels. To help them develop these analytical skills, this course is organized around four questions that are central to firms' strategic decisions: • What is the firm’s external environment? • What is the firm’s competitive advantage? • With whom should the firm compete? • How should the firm compete? To answer these questions, we will cover the following four main topics in this course: • Industry analysis: the environment, opportunities, threats, industry competition • Firm level strategy: competitive advantage • Competitive dynamics • Corporate strategy This course combines interactive lectures and case analyses. While the lectures provide a synthesized theoretical framework as the guidance for logical thinking, the case analyses offer an opportunity to integrate and apply the theoretical framework in a practical way. Prerequisite: second year or above students. Fulfillment: BUSF Non-Finance elective; BUSM Non-Marketing elective; Business Management track; IMB Business elective.

This course addresses contemporary management challenges stemming from changing organizational structures, complex environmental conditions, new technological developments, and increasingly diverse workforces. It highlights critical management issues involved in planning, organizing, controlling, and leading an organization. Ultimately, it aims to strengthen students’ managerial potential by providing general frameworks for analyzing, diagnosing, and responding to both fundamental and complex organizational situations. It also provides opportunities for students to enhance their communication and interpersonal skills, which are essential to effective management. The structure of the course encourages learning at multiple levels: through in-class lectures, exercises, and discussions; in small teams carrying out projects; and in individual reading, study, and analysis. Prerequisite: Not open to first-semester students Fulfillment: This course satisfies BUSM/BUSF business core elective, Business Management Track; IMB Business Flexible Core. This course can count for the CAS Business Studies Minor for Study Away Students.

The objective of this undergraduate research methods course is to provide a “guided” tour of the key areas of organizational behavior and key methodologies used to study each area. The course seeks to provide a forum in which to learn the process of doing research on a variety of topics including motivation, diversity, decision-making, and social network. How do we study someone’s social network? How do we measure the level of motivation correctly? How do we know whether one’s decision was “good” or “bad”? Every week, students will be asked to read a research paper, to learn about how the researchers actually tested their hypotheses, using diverse methods including laboratory experiments, longitudinal surveys, and computer simulations. Prereq: Management and Organizations (MGMT-SHU 301) and Statistics for Business and Economics (BUSF-SHU 101) and junior standing or above. Fulfillment: BUSF Non-Finance elective; BUSM Non-Marketing elective; Business Management track; IMB Business elective.

An organization’s performance depends critically on its ability to implement strategic change. Particularly in the fast-paced environment of business today, organizations must regularly plan for and deal with strategic change. A major challenge for global leaders at all levels, then, is to anticipate the need for these strategic changes and to introduce them in a way that maximizes acceptance and commitment across the organization and beyond. Prerequisite: Management & Organizations (MGMT-SHU 301) Fulfillment: BUSF Non-Finance elective; BUSM Non-Marketing elective; Business Management Track; IMB Business elective.