In this interactive course, students will explore the many factors leading to
durable corporate success through the strategic application of entrepreneurial
principles. Students will investigate the urgency of entrepreneurial algorithms
as mechanisms for change within the corporation, successful / unsuccessful models
of corporate entrepreneurship and how an entrepreneurial culture can survive
and thrive within an established corporation. The conversion of opportunity
and value proposition into an attractive corporate investment, sustainable competitive
advantage, competitive advantage for business units and the corporation will
also be reviewed.
Building a profitable company in today's dynamic business climate is an immense
challenge. It is not "business as usual". New and different forces are shaping
the global competitive landscape:
- Hyper-rapid technological development is
radically changing the way that we all live, work, purchase, collect information,
communicate, and even think;
- the World Wide Web did not exist a mere ten
years ago; now it dominates the strategic mindset of every company, further
eliminating global barriers to commerce;
- Entrepreneurship has emerged as
a world priority as more and more companies are searching for opportunistic
exploitation of global markets.
We can determine what our competitors are doing
in the "www.fishbowl", but how do we gain sustainable competitive advantage?
This seminar provides an introduction to several advanced topics in the field of strategic management. The course explores various aspects of the field’s theoretical and conceptual foundations. Thematically, the course focuses on two specific areas: (i) Market and Competitive Analysis; and (ii) Strategic Position and Dynamics. Within these broad categories, the course explores strategic decision-making from a number of vantage points, blending general economic principles of strategy with sound business practice. The course presents a number of qualitative and quantitative paradigms and conceptual schemes that have been developed for structuring and evaluating complex strategic decisions, where risk and uncertainty are pervasive elements. The course concludes with an in-depth look at the interface of strategy and risk management. As part of this discussion, students will be exposed to several analytical tools and methodologies that have proved useful in numerous corporate settings for managing and diversifying risk, and for improving the quality of an organization’s strategic planning processes. The frameworks and concepts presented in the course are illustrated throughout via case studies and readings drawn from the popular business press.
This course will serve as an introduction to the field and literature of knowledge management (KM). Many argue the field is a chaotic mixture of views and objectives. In contrast, three distinct views will be introduced: knowledge as data, as meaning, and as effective practice. In this sense the field seems to be made up of three separate bodies of literature, any one of which seems not to speak to the concerns of the other two.
While the differences between these views are interesting, the relations between them are even more so. Students will be introduced to the argument that argues that these views can, in fact, be nested within each other. Thus the most commonsensical notion of knowledge is that it is data – which one either has or does not have. This is nested within the notion of meaning – what does the data actually mean? One may have the data but, not knowing its meaning, not realize that is the case. It points us towards thinking about how data gets its meaning. It seems more complicated than the idea of knowledge as data. This is because we are actually adopting a different epistemology. Finally students will see the notion of meaning is itself nested in social practice. The important thing is that this note is not an epistemological discussion – it is conducted in terms of the KM literature.
This course will review the current state of corporate responsibilities
of officers, directors and financial managers, delving into
the concepts of fiduciary duty and conflict of interest as
are currently understood and accepted. A review of various
ethical principles and bases for right action will be combined
with a discussion on the Enron/Andersen cases and their implications
for the future in corporate management and accounting, including
present state of law.
Once the accepted mechanisms and policies have been established,
the corporate manager must see to it that there is compliance.
Various techniques to help ensure ethics and legal compliance
will be explored, including email concerns and controls.
A discussion of company attitude to wealth creation and
the sharing of reward will be held. Students will also look
into crisis avoidance and management, damage control, as
well as the various types of liability, including; products
liability, discrimination and management law suits. Finally
the US and European fair competition rules will be examined
by concentrating on actual examples of their application
and implication for the future. Corruption and bribery limits
will also be covered coupled with a look at E-contracts.
Alternative dispute resolution will conclude the seminar's
topics.
This course is a workshop that covers project management concepts and techniques such as those included in Project Management Institute’s Project Management Body of Knowledge, PMBOK. The course emphasizes the students’ application to their own projects in such areas information technology, construction, marketing initiatives, research and development, conferences. A student learns to focus and align a project with the organization’s goals; plan the project’s tasks and determine and secure the needed resources; and control the project by tracking, evaluating, and adjusting performance.
This course focuses on international business and the process, difficulties, and opportunities of management across borders. Globalization of products, services, and markets is evidenced throughout the world and is a driving factor in every economy. Almost every business in any country is affected in some manner by international events, monetary policy, governmental policies and competition. Companies and countries must develop strategies to remain competitive in the face of global competition. By knowing and understanding the international business community, cultural differences, different business systems and organizations, students will have a better understanding, and appreciation, for effective and successful management across borders.
This seminar will commence with a general discussion on Empirical research to establish terminology and procedures. Qualitative and quantitative research will be examined as well as the research process: the development or a research proposal, the five stage process of research, and preparing research to conduct on a group. Desk research, questionnaire construction, probability and non-probability sampling, and statistical methods used in research will conclude the seminar.
Examines theory, concepts, and techniques for designing,
managing, and evaluating advanced information technologies
to meet specific information needs. Students engage in a
project applying theoretical constructs to the provision
of advanced information technology resources.
Students should expect to develop competencies in (1) the
ability to understand organizational and system requirements,
(2) the ability to evaluate and manage the implementation
of technologies to meet these requirements, (3) ability to
choose appropriate technologies to suit a given problem,
and (4) developing an appreciation for the implications of
system implementations in light of emerging technologies
and practice trends.
These competencies will extend into enabling businesses to
operate across and among international enterprises using so-called
enterprise solutions. Enterprise solutions, by definition,
require the ability to distribute applications across many
computers, perhaps even across large geographical distances.
This seminar will introduce participants to the range, variety
and structure of international business transactions. The
professor will lead a review of the strategies underlying
the choice of a particular type of transaction, and students
will practice structuring transactions. Through case studies
and negotiation simulations, participants will learn how
to construct and negotiate international trade contracts
and how to manage basic international payment devices such
as the letter of credit. Participants will be introduced
to international legal frameworks (e.g., the Vienna Convention
on the International Sale of Goods), international trade
documents (e.g., export licenses, bills of lading, insurance
policies and inspection and consular certificates), and standard
international trade terms (e.g., Incoterms). Students will
also be introduced to the primary forms of international
expansion and distribution, including agency, distributorship,
franchising, licensing and joint ventures. International
e-commerce will also be covered.
Developed to provide participants with both knowledge in
working with capital markets and practical experience in
dealing with the complexities of international capital markets.
Participants will establish a virtual ‘Exchange' and actively
trade a virtual portfolio of capital market instruments throughout
the course in the context of the theoretical framework.
With the increasing array of markets, instruments and players
in the international capital market arena, and with additional ‘emerging'
markets now opening up, it is critical that every international
business executive has a good fundamental knowledge of international
capital markets and understands the latest developments.
Even for those business executives involved in only one area
of business or finance, a thorough understanding of international
capital markets and how they operate and interrelate is becoming
imperative. Aimed at an international audience and assuming
no prior finance knowledge, fundamental concepts are rigorously
examined and clarified before advanced theories and practices
are considered at each stage of the course.
Financial valuation is used to evaluate firms and projects
such as rapidly growing firms, initial public offerings,
merger/acquisition candidates, joint ventures, sale or spin-off
of divisions, and leverage buyouts. The evaluation techniques
will include sensitivity, scenario, simulation, and real
options analyses. Recent use and misuse of several financing
procedures and financial reporting practices will be examined.
This seminar will focus and examine venture capital with
emphasis upon the foundations of venture capital as a business,
and the three phases of venture capital: Investment, Development
and Exit. Also covered will be the contrast between private
venture capital funds and corporate venture capital funds
and change management as a constant consideration for each
phase.. The practical focus is to give each seminar participant
a richer understanding and practical knowledge of the business
of venture capital.
The objective of this course is to introduce the student
to theory, problems, and practices involving international
financial management. The course will discuss the forces
which help to determine currency exchange rates, and how
to forecast and manage exchange rate risk. Much of the course
will be based on analysis of currency hedging cases.
The teaching objectives will attempt to synthesize the theoretical
aspects of management strategy with the practical application
of management principles in a work environment. This will
be accomplished through the text readings, case discussions,
class presentations, and through the course requirements.
Students will be encouraged to use a creative mind in the
class activities to analyze corporate actions, successes
and failures, strategy effectiveness, and an evaluation of
company bottom line results, in view of corporate strategic
objectives.
Students will be exposed to all components of the strategic
management process during the three-day class, preparation
before the class, and through the course paper. The strategic
planning/management case will be analyzed and presented in
a team format.
Because of several factors (such as globalization, corporate
governance, competition, etc) risk management is becoming
a very important discipline. Many corporations and governments
are creating a new position called the “Chief Risk Officer” (CRO).
This is an acknowledgment of the importance of managing risk
in the modern world. This course is a introduction to a strategic
approach to managing the operational risks in an organization.
Students learn the five steps of the risk management process
and immediately apply this knowledge to a real business case.
Upon completion of the course students should be able to:
know the importance and consequences of risk in the business
world; understand a logical process for managing risk; understand
how to create a risk management program; be able to identify,
measure, and evaluate risks; know the theories and techniques
of risk control and risk financing; be able to justify their
risk management decisions; and know how to evaluate the success
of their risk management program.
This course covers advanced theory and the application of
this advanced theory of Corporate finance in making day to
day business decisions. It's true that managers learn from
experience on how to cope with routine problems, but the
best managers are also able to respond rapidly to change.
This requires a sound knowledge of current financial theory.
Throughout the course we use sound financial theory to solve
practical everyday business problems which we face as managers;
not just as financial managers but also managers from other
corporate functions. The course centered around looking at
ways to deal with the financial decisions facing today's
corporations. Good financial theory helps us understand "how" businesses
function. As we are dealing with advanced issues in Corporate
Finance, the course assumes a basic level of knowledge; a
good understanding of NPV and the concept of risk and return,
some basic knowledge of corporate valuation models, and understanding
of capital structure and debt and equity financing, and some
knowledge of hedging.
This course will introduce students to a wide range of concepts
essential to managing the New Product Development function
in for-profit firms. Students will gain insight into the
strategic importance of innovation across several different
industries. The course's readings and case studies are intended
to introduce students to the most important issues managers
face in organizing, planning, and executing development projects.
Students will also be exposed to some of today's best cutting-edge
thinking on the topic of strategic innovation.
The course will be taught using the case study method – that
is, each class session will center on a comprehensive discussion
of a case study describing a firm facing a complex product
development issue. The seminar will not be taught
with lectures. Students will be expected to thoroughly prepare
to discuss three case studies each day. Readings are strongly
recommended background for the case discussions. Cases and
readings have been selected for their brevity and conciseness.
All readings and cases are available online and may be downloaded
from the Harvard Business School Publishing website
In this seminar participants will explore the interplay
of international business practices and differing national
cultures. In particular, participants will learn to apply
concepts from the disciplines of cultural anthropology and
sociology to specific problems and situations encountered
in international business. Using case studies, team projects
and simulation exercises, participants will practice applying
cultural insights to business dilemmas in the fields of marketing,
negotiations, human resources, business communications, organizational
structure and management.
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Executive
Finance
