Download Syllabi by Department

How should one formulate and integrate market and nonmarket strategies in a complex global economy? Most business strategy courses focus on the organization of the firm and analysis of the market environment within which companies operate. Yet an important element in pursuing competitive advantage is the ability of a firm to mold or influence the nonmarket business environment—the rules, regulations, domestic institutions, and international regimes that define the context of the market in which they operate. Many actors influence the nonmarket environment including governments, international organizations, the media, non-governmental organizations, and a host of activist groups. This nonmarket environment often determines the profit and loss opportunities and perils for firms in many industries including biotechnology, telecommunications, the automobile industry, and consumer electronics, to name only a few. Firms that take the nonmarket environment as given often fall behind their competitors despite havig developed strategies for the market in which they operate.This class focuses eclusively on non-market (social) players/stakeholder groups.

This course will provide an integrated study of the principles of international business and their application in the disciplines of economics, political science and socio-economics. Instruction will focus on the global business environment, the multinational challenges of changing market structures, and the impact of rapidly changing technologies on the international marketplace. Examining the historic and current forces that are shaping small and large businesses and organizations globally, we will study how they must adapt to various cultural, political, environmental and economic factors in the competitive marketplace. Students will be involved in a range of individual and group activities including case analyses, in-class discussions, and a team project: Country and Political Risk Analysis, Industry Assessment and Feasibility Study of taking a product or service abroad. This project is linked with the Spring 2007 trip to Spain and Portugal for those going on this trip, or, to China for the remainder of the class.

This is a highly interdisciplinary course where we bring together strategy, environmental sciences, energy engineering, ethics and organizational behavior in a single framework to think about sustainable ways of doing business. One of the major challenges of sustainable strategy development is to get various stakeholders to commit to the sustainability agenda. This commitment depends on how much one believes in the need for developing sustainable strategies and its usefulness to the organization and the society. Therefore we will start the class with a discussion on expectancy and then transition to ethics.

This course focuses on the non-market forces that managers encounter. The emphasis is on the political, regulatory, social, and natural environment in which business operates. Business operates in both a market and a nonmarket environment. Successful corporate strategy aligns the firm’s capabilities with the demands of both its market and nonmarket environment. This course examines the following: - The role of markets, governments, and society in a market economy - Markets, market failures, the role of government in correcting market failures, and government failures - Systematic analysis of politics as it relates to business - Analysis to the international level - The role of business in society and in nature - Social or environmental challenges as opportunities for business - The debate over corporate social responsibility and considers business ethics We explore each on its own in the context of the nonmarket approach to management.

In Business Government Relations, the course focuses on the interaction of business, government and other stakeholders in the public policy process. To understand those interactions we study issues where there are multiple policy issues. A number of them are environmental (climate change, large dam development). All of them involve social issues (environment, natural disasters, impact of the financial meltdown). All of them involve ethical questions because there are ethical issues associated with how businesses present their cases to government officials.

Corporate Governance is designed to give students an in-depth look at the corporate governance triad, as indicated above, that controls the modern corporation. Accordingly, this course will deal with the control, composition, functions, roles, and structure of boards; board responsibility and accountability, CEO tenure and compensation, shareholder and other stakeholder representation; corporate boards vis-à-vis social responsibility and ethics; and comparative corporate governance across North America, Europe, and selected Asian countries.

The objective of this course is to enhance managers’ understanding of the economic environment of firms operating in the global economy with emphasis on emerging economies. Managers misreading of emerging economies and associated government polices leads to less than optimal strategies by firms to enhance profits or prevent losses in these markets. The course examines the factors underlying economic policies in emerging economies including policies toward macroeconomic problems, international trade and foreign exchange systems, financial and currency crises, and economic liberalization and the role of international institutions such as IMF and the World Bank. Attention will be given to lessons learned from government and international responses to financial crises in Asia and Latin America, the problems encountered in Eastern Europe as well as to liberalization and development of large emerging economies such as India and China. The class structure is a combination of lectures and case study discussions. Current events are discussed through recent articles from The Wall Street Journal and The Economist. A significant portion of the course is focused on policies to reduce poverty in emerging markets.