OIM7565 Blockchain Ventures
1.5 Elective Credits
This course is for students wishing to explore blockchain technology (and specifically NFTs). Kicking off with a review of the technology's initial application, the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, students will gain an understanding of the commercial, technical and public policy fundamentals of blockchain technology, distributed ledgers and smart contracts in both open sourced and private applications. We then will deep dive into the Ethereum ecosystem, where we cover how it works, review 'the merge', and provide case studies of NFTs in gaming, music among other industries. Along the way, we will explore the markets and regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies, DAOs, coin offerings, other tokens, as well as new forms of financing through crypto. An important distinction will be made between leveraging the technology of Blockchain into a business, and NFTs, which are a specific use of blockchain technology.
SEN1342 Bop to the Top: Practicum in Artist Management
(Student Instructor: Divya Achanta) Baby, to be number one you got to raise the bar. Grind out [your] best, anything it takes to climb the ladder of success. Despite being active consumers of music, many of us do not get the opportunity to be a part of the industry. In this course, students will learn an overview of music-specific concepts tailored to their interests. With an emphasis on artist management, this seminar covers branding, touring, merchandising, and musical career development for singers like Tyler the Creator and Taylor Swift. Students will end with a capstone presentation making career-sustaining recommendations for an independent artist of their choice.
Wednesdays 6:30 - 9:00 pm
MKT4515 Brand Management
4 CreditsBrand Management is an advanced marketing course that will prepare students to lead a brand-centered marketing team in the consumer products/services arena. The emphasis in the course is on marketing plans and day-to-day decision-making. Marketing decisions are usually made in a context of imperfect information, decision models that combine analysis with judgment, and a marketplace that is fast-changing. The course will prepare students to operate successfully in this real-world environment. The concept of _brand equity_ will be a unifying theme throughout.
Prerequisites: SME2011 or MKT2000
MKT7572 Brand Management
3 CreditsBrand Management is an advanced marketing course that will prepare students to lead a brand- centered marketing team in the consumer products/services arena. Branding and marketing decisions are usually made in a context of imperfect information, decision models that combine analysis with judgment, and a marketplace that is fast-changing. The emphasis in the course is to explore _what every brand/product manager needs to know_ to operate successfully in this real-world environment. The concept of _brand equity_ is the unique aspect of this course versus other marketing classes and will be a unifying theme throughout. Understanding how to build strong brands is the strategic imperative of the course.
This class will first cover the role market research plays in helping make informed brand decisions. Next, the course will explore key branding concepts and frameworks that lead to effective management of these brands. Finally, the course concludes with applying these key strategic branding concepts to the more tactical aspects of executing a brand's marketing efforts. In this final section of the course, we will devote 4 classes to building brands in the Web 2.0 world.
In addition, given the course's focus on _what every brand/product manager needs to know_, 4-5 contemporary branding experts in key fields, such as branding law and digital/social media, as well as senior marketing executives, will be guests in class, adding their current and relevant branding experiences to the class discussions.
Prerequisites: MKT7200 or MKT7800 or equivalent core
LAW3573 Building Contracts for New Ventures
4 General Credits
Every business operates in a supply chain in which it buys and sells goods and services. The links to these suppliers and customers are formalized in contracts, which is why all managers should know something about how to read and write a contract. This course will teach you how to do that. We will review basic principles of contract law and apply them in a wide variety of transactions. The course will be writing intensive and will equip you to do on the spot drafting and to understand drafts produced by your counterpart. This skill will enhance your ability to negotiate and structure deals. The foundation law course is a prerequisite, as is a solid ability to write.
EPS9508 Building a Corporate Innovation Capability: Strategy and Tactics
(Formerly Corporate Innovation as a Profession: Designing Innovation Roles)
Corporate Intrapreneurs get by through breaking rules and seeking protection by senior leaders. It doesn't need to be this way. Companies are undertaking much more systematic approaches. To build a capability for truly Strategic Innovation that helps a company disrupt itself before others do, a new set of competencies and supporting management system must be instituted. In this course we will examine the elements of that management system and focus on two aspects that are most pressing in today's companies. The first is strategic, that is, Senior leadership's role in setting direction for and governing Strategic Innovation Initiatives, by defining and committing to Domains of Innovation Intent for the organization. The second is more tactical, and that is the issue of talent management. Leading edge companies are working to design innovation functions that require clearly defined innovation roles. We'll examine emerging roles for the corporate innovator, possible career paths, and newly designed tools for their selection and development.
MOB3523 Building an Inclusive Organization: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging in the Workplace
4 Advanced Management Credits
People in the workplace are constantly interacting with peers, managers, and customers with very different backgrounds and experiences. This course is designed to help students navigate diverse settings more effectively and improve their ability to work within and lead diverse teams to build more inclusive organizations. It also offers students the opportunity to develop their critical thinking on topics such as identity, relationships across difference, bias, and equality of opportunity, and specifically, how these topics relate to organizational issues of equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice. Class sessions will be experiential and discussion based. Readings, self-reflection, guest lecturers, case studies, organizational audits, and a team project will also be emphasized.
Prerequisites: (FME1000 and FME1001) or (MOB1010 and EPS1000)
MOB7543 Building Inclusive Organizations
(Formerly Managing in a Diverse Workplace)
3 CreditsThis course focuses on how to build inclusive organizations for enhanced innovation and performance. We will explore this essential topic for today's business world through the lenses of social context, individual leadership, and organizational policy and culture. The course begins by examining the opportunities and challenges to building inclusive organizations. Next, the course takes the personal perspective, considering what entrepreneurial leaders can do to build an inclusive organization. The course concludes with a focus on organizational policies and culture -- and how inclusive workplace practices contribute to positive outcomes. The emphasis throughout the course will be on how building inclusive organizations provides an opportunity for individuals and organizations to develop and thrive. Students will work independently and in learning groups.
For more information click this link: www.kaltura.com/tiny/n728b
OIM7529 Sustainability Innovation
1.5 Elective Credits
Our economic systems are running on an enormous ecological deficit. However, there's some good news for entrepreneurial leaders everywhere; everything needs to be redesigned. What you get when you have new technologies, new user needs, new markets, and new business plans is new opportunities for sustainable development. With this mindset, the industrial and economic systems are in sustainability transformation from the industrial age to the climate change and social impact age.
In this new age, entrepreneurial leaders must understand the socio-ecological impacts of their businesses, and integrate sustainability risks and opportunities into discussions and decisions on risk, revenue, and business strategy. They must explore and develop innovations with sustainability priorities for their markets and industries. They must be able to evaluate value and impact at scale in the context of short- and long-term strategic decision making. Otherwise, their businesses will be inevitably extinct in the climate change and social impact age.
This course aims to prepare entrepreneurial leaders for critical sustainability transformation. Students will gain knowledge about the sustainability challenges (e.g., energy, transportation, waste, carbon management, agriculture, production and consumption) and practical skills for exploring sustainability innovations and accelerating the growth of sustainable businesses (e.g, net zero, zero-carbon tech, decarbonization, ESG, UN SDG). Students will 1) learn and employ integrated systems thinking to address social responsibility, ecological integrity, and value creation; 2) apply an innovation process framework to generate sustainability ideas and develop business strategies; and 3) assess the suitability, scalability, and sustainability of innovations for consumers/users, investors, and other stakeholders of interest.
Students who are interested in any of the following roles may find this course useful:
- An entrepreneur wanting to understand sustainability as a business opportunity
- An individual or corporate strategy group developing a sustainability strategy
- An individual or corporate strategy group seeking growth through sustainability innovations
- A leader wanting to develop a culture of sustainability and organizational change
- An R&D group aiming to integrate sustainability into its innovation process
- A financier deciding whether to invest in a sustainability-oriented entrepreneur
ECN3645 Business and Economic Policy in Developing Countries
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis course discusses the latest research in economics on the two fundamental questions of economic development: 1) why are some countries rich and some poor and what can be done about it, and 2) why are some individuals poor and remain poor for generations, and what can be done to alleviate poverty. In answering these questions, the course introduces students to the economic and political environment in poor countries. Topics include measures of development, economic growth, macroeconomic poverty traps (such as conflict, being landlocked, and low quality of institutions), foreign aid, and microeconomic poverty traps (such as poor nutrition and health, low educational endowments, and incomplete markets). The course introduces empirical strategies in economics to identify causal effect, such as randomized controlled trials, instrumental variable, difference-in-differences and regression discontinuity.
Prerequisites: (SME2031 or ECN2002) and ECN2000