Professor Richard A. D'Aveni
This course is designed to analyze the strategic lessons learned from the fields of military science, political science, international relations, and history, especially of the history of world empires from Ancient Rome to the British and even modern America. Applying these lessons to business, this course examines when and where to use guerilla versus traditional war fighting strategies, defensive versus offensive strategic postures, brinkmanship versus cooperative strategies, and revolutionary versus counterrevolutionary strategies. Part of the course is devoted to the use of portfolio strategy as a competitive weapon to create mutual assured destruction, to shift the balance of market power between competitors, and to create the conditions for profitability and stability by guiding the evolution of industry structure. To apply these concepts to business, the course develops visual tools such as price-quality analysis, stronghold analysis, know-how and smart-bombing analysis, as well as competitive pressure mapping and sphere-of-influence analysis. The course is designed to provide an alternative to traditional economic and strategic planning frameworks, sometimes presenting a contradictory viewpoint.
Professor B Espen Eckbo
This course surveys much of the scientific evidence in the field of corporate finance. The purpose is to help students develop a way of thinking about and quantitatively frame corporate finance decisions facing executives, management consultants, and investors. The readings and class discussions are largely non-technical, but students must have a good understanding of basic statistics and regression analysis. We discuss studies addressing (1) costs of alternative methods of raising capital, (2) capital structure choice and dividend policies, (3) costs associated with financial distress and bankruptcy, and (4) shareholder engagement policies and corporate control transactions. Working in groups of two, students are responsible for submitting weekly summaries of assigned readings, presenting individual articles to the class, as well as a final term project.
Professors Gregg Fairbrothers, Philip J. Ferneau
This course is integrative and experiential in nature, drawing from a broad range of business basics. Its main focus will be in-depth exposure to the process of opportunity recognition, starting, and scaling an enterprise from an idea and business plan into a company. The course will cover: 1) opportunity recognition and evaluation: developing a startup idea involving technology, a product, or a service; 2) crafting a promising execution strategy and validating market potential; 3) developing a credible business plan and delivering effective presentations; 4) building a team of employees, partners, and investors; and 5) marketing, sales, and operations. Starting a company can appear to be an overwhelming task. I believe that acquiring the skills before engaging in a venturing process is valuable. Our class discussions and analyses will sharpen our understanding of the process and the business problems that entrepreneurs face. In order to gain from experience we will play the entrepreneurship simulation game. In this game teams will play the roles of entrepreneurs and investors. As an entrepreneur you will formulate a plan to take an idea into execution, present and articulate elements of this plan in multiple sessions, defend it against challenge and criticism, and negotiate funding with investors. There will be a special effort to integrate concrete, operational, and execution-related information, to define key areas of which an entrepreneur should be aware, to expose you to a variety of successful entrepreneurs and investors, and to provide a framework of "toolkit" resources relevant to startup execution. As an investor you will evaluate, provide constructive critique, make an investment decision, and negotiate terms with peer entrepreneurial teams. The class will be structured to accommodate both students with a pre-existing plan and those wishing to develop an idea.
Professor Phillip C. Stocken
Advanced Issues in Accounting will be structured as a continuation of the core financial accounting course. Topics include: accounting for investments (e.g., marketable securities, affiliated companies-equity accounting, and subsidiaries-consolidations); accounting for pension and other post employment benefits; foreign currency translations; accounting for derivatives, and off-balance sheet finance arrangements (e.g., variable interest entities-the financial structures used by Enron). The course will be structured so that some of the more difficult issues discussed in the core will be briefly revisited (e.g., accounting for deferred taxes). Compared to the core accounting course, this course will be more case-based and less lecture orientated. Nevertheless, we will still work through a summary set of notes in class to ensure a solid understanding of the fundamental concepts before applying them within the context of a case. This course should prepare students well for analyzing financial statements.
Professor Mary M. Munter
This mini-course will improve students' ability to speak effectively only in "tell/sell" presentations (such as technical and sales presentations) -- and not in "consult/join" facilitations (such as meetings and brainstorming sessions).
APS is highly experiential -- requiring full class participation, extensive preparation of various presentations, and extensive in-depth peer feedback and self-analysis. Students will give and receive feedback on both communication strategy (speaker style and credibility, audience analysis and motivation, and rhetorical structure) and communication skills (delivery, organization, and visual aids).
Professor Kenneth R. Baker
Building on the optimization coverage in the core Decision Science course, this course provides advanced tools that are useful in many industries and functions. After reviewing and extending the formulation and interpretation of linear programming models, the course introduces data envelopment analysis, a sophisticated approach for evaluating the efficiency of similar businesses or business units. The course touches briefly on the solution of nonlinear optimization models and then covers formulation and solution of integer programs, with emphasis on marketing and logistics applications. The coverage then moves on to heuristic programming and the use of evolutionary algorithms to solve problems that do not fit easily into the traditional optimization frameworks.
Professor Stephen G. Powell
This course provides experience in practical modeling for decision making. The course is built around a series of cases, each of which represents a realistic decision situation. Students structure the decision problem, develop a model for it, analyze the model, and present recommendations for action. The cases are drawn from a wide range of sources: corporate decisions, personal decisions, and governmental decisions. The emphasis is on creative problem structuring and solution, not on mastering specific modeling tools.
Professor Pino G. Audia
The objective of this course is to help students identify actions that will increase their leadership effectiveness. We will use 360-degree feedback from former co-workers collected before the course begins to identify each student’s unique strengths and opportunities to improve as a leader. The theoretical framework underlying the 360-degree feedback highlights the relationship between leadership styles and the demands on leaders in different work settings. The central premise is that whether certain behaviors constitute effective leadership depends on the demands of the work setting in which the person operates. In other words, what is required to be an effective leader in a Wall Street firm likely differs from what it takes to be a leader in a consumer goods company or a start-up. Using this theoretical framework, we will assess how student’s unique leadership profiles match the demands of their jobs, focusing on both the jobs they held prior to joining Tuck and their likely jobs after they leave Tuck. Based on a gap analysis, we will identify development needs and actions for improvement. To create an environment conducive to learning and personal growth, we will devote the second half of each class in which feedback is returned to small group discussions of the meaning of your findings. In addition, students will discuss cases and will take part in structured role-play exercises that identify effective behavioral approaches to leading others. By allowing students to collect and analyze feedback from former co-workers, this course complements the 360-degree feedback exercise run by the Cohen Leadership Program which uses feedback from Tuck study group members.
Professor Anant Sundaram
Dealing with the likely impacts of climate change has become one of the momentous societal and economic concerns of our time. Regardless of one’s personal viewpoint on the issue, it is important to recognize that forward-thinking companies worldwide are aggressively addressing it, since they are the constituency with the largest cause/effect relationship to climate change. Through their resource use and emissions, companies are a cause; the effect of mitigating and adapting to it will be a source of costs (for some) and benefits (for others). Looking ahead, sizeable public and private resources, perhaps trillions of dollars, will be devoted to addressing climate change. The focus of this mini-course is to examine the links between climate change and the firm as viewed through an economics/finance/public policy lens. The course goals are: (1) To develop your awareness of the facts and debate on climate change, and the challenges/opportunities it presents for business; (2) To expose you to the science, forecasts, and public policy on climate change, as well as the key players, their roles, and agendas; (3) To develop the tools and frameworks for you to understand the economics of regulatory responses, and the value-at-risk consequences of companies’ exposure to climate change risks, fossil fuel use, carbon footprints, and GHG emissions; (4) To develop the your understanding of the emerging landscape of corporate responses to climate change. There will be a ‘fossil fuel beta’ project, and a term paper.
Professor Donald P. Conway
This course focuses on the intersection of business and medicine. The primary objective is to understand the business side of healthcare and be able ultimately to answer the following questions:
• At which point and what data would you require to invest in a healthcare product/company?
• What factors would you consider and which variables would have the most impact upon your investment decision?
These fundamental questions will be analyzed from an industry (pharma/biotech/device), investor (VC/I Banking), and also an entrepreneurial point of view.
As healthcare is a highly regulated industry worldwide, emphasis will be put on understanding regulation and formal requirements which impact commercial success of an enterprise. Variations in strategies for development and successful commercialization will be highlighted. Focus will also be placed on anticipated competitive response.
Professor Andrew A. King
Companies now face challenges and opportunities created by concerns about their environmental and social impact. General managers need to understand the factors that drive business value when dealing with these concerns. This course will evaluate how firms are responding to these challenges. It will also explore how firms are strategically influencing the regulatory and competitive context in which they operate. The course will consider examples related to climate, natural resources (renewable and non renewable), and human health. It will incorporate in-class strategic simulations, case examples, and speakers
Professor Constance E. Helfat
Business Strategy for Internet Companies deals with strategy for companies whose business is primarily on the web. The course seeks to uncover strategies through which companies can make money on the web in a sustainable, long-term manner. The course will include substantial student involvement in researching emerging business models and strategies on the web.
Professor Susan M. Hanson
This course investigates program- and project-driven collaboration between for-profit business and non-profit organizations, and the potential for win-win outcomes. We explore value creation at the intersection of business and the social sector, and how capacities, constraints, and strategies might differ from business managers to their non-profit counterparts. We use a number of frameworks for analyzing cross-sector collaboration, in order to identify the range of challenges that confront business and non-profit partners over the life-cycle of a partnership. Throughout, we embrace the larger question of how differences among partners may or may not drive learning and transformation of the partners themselves, and how to approach this analysis.
The course is motivated by current debates regarding the role of firms in society. It takes a global perspective on corporate responsibility and stakeholder management, paying particular attention to the challenges that firms face in managing collaboration with social sector actors across boundaries of both markets and cultures.
The cases and readings selected aim to develop an appreciation of innovative partnership models and how they link firm, society, and public interests. Readings and class discussion seek to develop an appreciation of the range of viewpoints that might be expressed by different actors – from the business manager, to the non-profit manager, the social entrepreneur, and the public sector actor. Overall, the course seeks to develop a better understanding of the risks and challenges that are characteristic of cross-sector collaboration, especially as partnerships reach globally.
Professors Julie B. Lang, Stephen G. Powell
Problem solving is the essence of management. Managers are typically not employed to carry out routine operations day after day or to apply a set of pre-specified rules to make decisions. Rather, they are expected to recognize problems and opportunities in the environment, invent and analyze appropriate solutions, and implement them in a way that resolves the problem or exploits the opportunity.
Major problems are not solved by a manager acting solo, nor are they solved instantly. Managerial problem solving is typically carried out through projects that extend over weeks or months. Thus the well-trained manager must know not only how to solve problems on his or her own, but how to do so effectively using projects.
During this course, students will learn to solve significant problems in project teams. The frameworks and concepts learned in the course will allow the student to:
clearly define a problem; structure the problem-solving process; collect and synthesize the relevant quantitative and qualitative data; and design effective recommendations.
This course draws on methodologies that have been developed and refined primarily in the management consulting industry, and the methodologies are vital to consultants. However, collaborative problem solving is not restricted to consultants and is required for all managers.
Current real-world business dilemmas will be brought to class through case studies, readings, and speakers. Students will learn to apply tools and best practices through practice and feedback.
This course is not intended for students with significant backgrounds in consulting. Please contact either professor to discuss whether this course is suitable for you.
Professor James G. Rice
Theater is heightened communication. Since the beginning of human culture, theater as an art form has been a crucial element in intellectual, emotional, and spiritual cultures worldwide. Theater communicates great ideas and inspires action. The actor is the instrument through which the message of the play is communicated. Therefore, it is the actor’s communication skills—developed through arduous training in use of the voice, body and expressive language—that determine whether the message of the play actually reaches and affects the audience. The task of the actor is to be present, and with that unique ability, to capture the heart, mind, ears and eyes of the audience through galvanizing communication. The leader whose responsibility it is to persuade, inspire and motivate must possess similar abilities. The difference between the two pursuits is that actors dedicate themselves to the acquisition of those skills; leaders all too often do not have that opportunity.
This course will be an active examination of what it is that comprises “presence” in communication. It will utilize a practice of certain actor-skills and behaviors to facilitate an ability to walk on the “stage” of everyday academic or business life with a strong communication capacity that projects energy, confidence, clarity of thought, and physical and vocal expressiveness. Each session will build on a progression of physical and vocal techniques incorporated in weekly spoken exercises intended to establish and reinforce the qualities of the leader as an energetic, active communicator.
Professor Elizabeth J. Winslow
Tuck strives to teach students to become better leaders; yet leadership is a multi-facet and often controversial topic. The purpose of this course is to give students a better understanding of leadership from multiple angles and perspectives. We will examine proven leaders like Margaret Thatcher, Orit Gadiesh, Coach Bobby Knight, Charlotte Beers, and the famed artic explorer Ernest Shackleton. The course will explore the different ways leadership has been studied and defined over the last century, the similarities and differences between the most common leadership theories, and the way leadership has been demonstrated in business, military and, athletic sectors. Students will read about leadership theory, read cases portraying leaders who exemplify these theories, benefit from visitors who are proven leaders, and explore through case studies, class discussions, written assignments, and role-plays the relevance of leadership theory to the work they will do as business leaders
The first three class sessions will be devoted to a review of the history of leadership theory. Through case studies examining actual leaders, students will learn about the progression from Trait, Skill and Style Theories to Situational and Contingency Theory, to the more current theories that define leadership as a relationship. Two classes will be devoted to the study and discussion of leaders in the military and athletic arena. By reading about and discussing such leaders, students will gain an appreciation for the lessons they can learn that can be applied to leadership in a business or professional organization. Three classes will then cover a set of leadership tasks frequently encountered by all leaders. We will examine and discuss cases where individuals have to lead change efforts, manage employee performance, and deal with conflict. Students will analyze the actions of leaders in these situations, and pose and defend possible solutions.
The last class will be devoted to a discussion of the leadership accomplishments of Earnest Shackleton. We will examine the ways in which Schackleton did (or did not) lead effectively using the theories developed throughout the course.
Professor Petia K. Petrova
This course is designed to provide knowledge of (1) the psychological foundations of consumer behavior, (2) the mechanisms of influence that are most likely to lead consumers to change their attitudes, their beliefs, and, most importantly their actions, and (3) how to engage these mechanisms in building persuasive communications. Classes will consist of short lectures, class discussions, and team exercises. Along with its focus on designing effective marketing communications, the course provides broader practical knowledge on how to create and sustain change in business settings.
Professors Donald P. Conway, Paul B. Gardent, Michael Zubkoff
As a relatively new field of commercial endeavor, biotechnology has an incredible impact on society over the past thirty years. The advent of genetic engineering has revolutionized drug discovery and development, adding hundreds of novel therapies to physicians’ arsenals for treating and preventing disease.
Students will gain an appreciation for the biotechnology industry, its premise and continued promise, as well as what is required for biotechnology entrepreneurs in the 21st century to attract investment capital.
Professor Paul A. Argenti
This minicourse focuses on the changing environment for business and the corporate communication function. Building on the first-year curriculum, it covers, in greater detail, the changing environment for business (as viewed through literature and film), media relations, financial communications, corporate advertising, reputation management, and crisis communication. Students also work on written and oral communications skills through case analyses, experiential exercises, and presentations.
Professor Rafael LaPorta
This course uses case study to examine how important financial decisions --capital structure, risk management, security issuance, payout policy, acquisitions, and financial engineering-- can affect the value of firms.
The first half of the course develops tools that we will use throughout the course. In particular, we will use Crystal Ball to build a framework to deal with risk and uncertainty in corporate finance. We will learn how to use derivative securities and corporate risk management techniques to enhance shareholder value. Specific topics of discussion include hedging, Value-at-Risk, the management of exchange rate risk, interest rate risk, credit risk and operation risk. Finally, we will use this framework to value real and financial options.
The second half of the course covers capital structure, payout policy, and financial engineering. Specific topics for discussion include the value of control, convertible debt, hybrid securities, structured finance, the use of options to reward management, and financial engineering solutions to incentive problems.
The good news is that this course exposes you to some of the most important advances in corporate finance of the last two decades. The bad news is that this course is very demanding. Class preparation should take no less than 10 hours a week. Accordingly, this course is only suitable for students who intend to pursue a career in finance and are able to make a significant time commitment.
Professor Paul A. Argenti
This mini course starts with the premise that corporate social responsibility is good for business and focuses on how leaders can balance the needs of their organizations with responsibilities to key constituencies. Through cases focusing on the social, reputational, and environmental consequences of corporate activities, students will learn how to make difficult choices, promote responsible behavior within their organizations, and understand the role personal values play in developing effective leadership skills.
Professor Anant Sundaram
Students will have an opportunity to estimate cash flows and discount rates in order to establish values for projects and firms. In addition to traditional discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis, the course explores alternative valuation methods, such as real option valuation and comparable company analysis. The contribution of corporate financial decisions regarding capital structure, cash distribution policies, and performance evaluation schemes to value creation and destruction are also investigated. The course will use a mixture of lectures, cases, projects, and guest speakers. Prerequisite: Corporate Finance or its equivalent.
Professor Matthew J. Slaughter
This course focuses on countries, firms, and the interactions between them in the arenas of international trade, investment, and finance. The first half of the course focuses on the economic analysis of countries. Case studies provide a quick tour of the opportunities and challenges faced by nations at various stages of development. The objective is to understand the country analysis required to analyze the global expansion options of a business. The second half of this course focuses on the causes and consequences of exchange-rate fluctuations and country risk. Cases and a simulation exercise are used to study the following topics in a variety of global industries: corporate operating decisions on pricing, output, and investment; corporate valuation; cross-border financing; and corporate hedging policies.
Professor Mary M. Munter
(1) HOW cultures and genders differ (in terms of nonverbal, verbal, time, power, relationships, and social contexts); (2) WHY they differ (psychological and cultural underpinnings of these behaviors); and, most importantly, (3) HOW to use and consciously choose behaviors to be effective in different environments. The course will be highly experiential-including short role-plays (to identify default behaviors and practice new ones); mini-cases and mini-presentations; journals; and debates and seminar-style discussions. The course is designed for men and women from all cultural backgrounds; the goal is not to teach "right" or "wrong" behaviors, but rather "effective" behaviors which may vary in different environments.
Professor Richard J. Rendleman
This course will focus on the valuation of fixed income securities, fixed income derivatives and investment techniques employed in the hedging and management of fixed income portfolio risks. We will review the basic concepts of fixed income instruments, such as yield-to-maturity, the term structure of interest rates, the zero-coupon yield curve, duration, and convexity. Next, we will focus on the use of stochastic (random) interest rate models as tools for pricing and managing the risks of interest-sensitive portfolios with complex option and default features. Although much of course will focus on default-free securities and related derivatives, we will also study subprime mortgage CDO structures and the combined role of interest rate risk and credit risk in fixed income security pricing.
The course should be of interest to any student who plans to work in the area of fixed income portfolio management, equity portfolio management (since modern portfolio management involves a tradeoff between equity and fixed-income investment), commercial banking, corporate treasury, or debt underwriting including real estate finance. Many of the course topics are covered on the CFA exam.
Professor Kenneth R. Baker
A decision support system (DSS) is designed to provide organizations and individuals with informative analyses that enhance decision making. A DSS is made up of a model (or models), a source of data, and a user interface. When a model is implemented in Excel, it is possible to use Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to make the system more efficient by automating interactive tasks that users would otherwise have to repeat routinely. VBA can also make the system more powerful by extending the functionality of a spreadsheet model and by customizing its use. This course covers the programming skills needed to build spreadsheet-based decision support systems.
Managing international business in a transition economy like China presents both opportunities and challenges. For some years China has been in the process of transitioning gradually from a command economy to a market economy. This gradual transition has resulted in a complicated and uncertain business regime. In addition, Chinese culture is different from those in other parts of the world, which can often frustrate foreign managers. Using real-world cases, this course focuses on the experiences of transnational corporations in managing business in the business environment as it actually exists in today’s China.
Professor Diederik Vandewalle
This course is meant to provide students with an introduction to the financial,legal, cultural and social contexts of conducting business in the Arab Gulf states, i.e. the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. The course is primarily meant to provide both the necessary background as well as an introduction to a variety of practical issues that foreign executives and managers will likely encounter while working within one of the six countries that have become fast-growing emerging economies with substantial assets in Sovereign Wealth Funds. The course is meant as well to blend a combination of academic research and skill sets with the experience and insights of management practitioners working in the region. The Doing Business in the Arab Gulf States course has a dual focus. The first is to provide students with the knowledge necessary to understand and function effectively within the different business systems of the Arab Gulf area. The second is to make clear and understand the more specific and unique aspects that underlie these systems: for example, how to deal effectively with informal arrangements, brokerage arrangements, and patronage; how to successfully negotiate gender issues in a business environment that has traditionally eschewed public roles for women; how to navigate within countries that have unique mixtures of state-owned and private enterprises; to understand the scope and role of Islamic finance; and to understand the dilemmas and strategies in dealing with large segments of expatriate labor. In order to anchor the readings and discussions within a real life perspective,guest speakers who either live in the area or who have extensive experience in its business environment and can provide an insightful prespective on these issues will be invited to participate in the course.
Professor Robert G. Hansen
This research-to-practice seminar will be a deep dive into the economics and finance of the credit crisis, with a focus on the subprime mortgage market and especially the practices of securitization. At the end of the seminar, I expect students to have a strong theory- and evidence-based understanding of the facts of the 2007-8 global credit crisis. Beyond that, students should have also acquired an appreciation for the way that economists go about exploring a subject, from our reliance on theory and principles to careful empirical analysis. This part of the seminar’s learning should transcend the specific topic at hand and be of value throughout your career, no matter where that should take you.
The normal class session will involve student-led discussion of research papers. Grading will be based primarily on your performance in the discussion, but there will be a requirement for a short presentation on some aspect of what you have learned.
Maximum 15 students. In case of excess demand, selection will be a combination of an initial screen for prior coursework and career interests, and a lottery after that.
Professor Ron Adner
The essence of entrepreneurship is new combinations – combinations of ideas, resources, partners, customers – in the effort to create new market space. The entrepreneurial challenge is one of selecting among the many potential combinations that you see, and then finding a way to organizing the venture (whether startup, corporate, or non-profit) that will allow you to realize your ambition for the opportunity. In this course we will examine the challenges of entrepreneurial innovation. How should we approach the challenge of picking the right opportunity, aligning the right partners, and targeting the right market and, perhaps most importantly, setting the right expectations for a new venture. We will focus on the challenges and opportunities confronted by venture leaders. However, we will also consider the perspective of non-entrepreneur stakeholders (e.g., analysts, investors, partners, employees) who are not directly in charge of the new venture, but are directly impacted by its success, and must conduct their own due diligence before committing their allegiance and resources. We will develop a set of analytic lenses that will help us assess the potential of new opportunities and to strategize about how to best exploit them.
Professor John H. Vogel Jr
There has been a worldwide explosion of entrepreneurial activities by organizations whose primary focus is on improving the health, education, and well-being of individuals and communities. Most of this activity has been undertaken by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) or nonprofit organizations, which in the United States generate revenues greater than the gross domestic product of Brazil, Russia or Australia. In recent years, some entrepreneurs working in the social sector have chosen to incorporate as for profit organizations rather than nonprofit organizations. Both models will be considered in this course though the vast majority of cases will be about nonprofit organizations like Habitat for Humanity and City Year. This course will focus on the tools and skills required to launch or grow a successful enterprise in the social sector. Because of the nature of the funding in this sector, all but the largest organizations rely on an entrepreneurial style of management. During this course students will meet outstanding social entrepreneurs who have succeeded in creating sustainable enterprises that combat important social problems.
Professor John H. Vogel Jr
This minicourse is a continuation of Entrepreneurship in the Social Sector I. It enables students to deepen their knowledge of this sector. Teams of students work on projects sponsored by nonprofit organizations. In addition to an intellectually challenging project, students enjoy the opportunity to help a worthy organization.
Professor Christopher R. Trimble
To stay on top, corporations must learn to continuously create, grow, and profit from completely new ways of doing business. They must simultaneously pursue both excellence in their existing business and creativity in generating new businesses. This minicourse will take two perspectives. The first is that of the CEO of a corporation. How can a CEO build a corporation that can balance managing the present with creating the future? How is such an organization structured? What policies need be put in place? The second is that of the CEO of a new venture within a larger corporation. How is the relationship between the new venture and the parent best managed? What tensions naturally arise? How may they be overcome?
Professor Richard S. Shreve
In this brief mini-course, we will have the opportunity to consider the ethical challenges that arise across the spectrum of business activity. Several faculty members from diverse disciplines will lead discussions of ethical issues in cases involving their particular areas of expertise. We will look at several specific ethical issues faced by businesses in the current environment both in the US and in the global marketplace, where different local practices and cultural norms seem to muddy the ethical water. Our purpose in this course is to acquire some practical business skills: the ability to identify the ethical dimensions of business problems, the ability to make practical, reasoned decisions when faced with ethical dilemmas, and the ability to justify those decisions in language that is both clear and persuasive.
This course is open to students who wish to experience a more focused, goal-oriented summer internship. The lectures/discussions, contrasting American business organization with alternative business systems, take place in the spring term of the first year. After their summer internship, students submit a research report.
Professor Philip J. Ferneau
This course provides hands-on experience working with private equity practitioners and growth ventures so students can learn to plan, manage, and invest in the contexts in which they operate. Graduates lacking such experience are at a disadvantage in getting jobs at private equity firms and are less prepared to succeed when presented with private equity or growth venture opportunities. Unlike independent study, in which student teams report only to their faculty sponsors, this course requires teams to present their work to their classmates, so all may learn from each other. More specific learning objectives will depend on each project's topic.
Professor Dennis E. Logue
Commercial banks, investment banks, investment managers, insurance firms, and trading markets are at the heart of the financial system. This course analyzes these institutions and markets and addresses the fundamental
problems faced in managing these institutions, the cause
and effect of incentives faced by different players in the financial services sector, and how changes in technology and regulation are reshaping financial institutions. The course aims to give students intuition that will remain valid and strong even as tremendous change in this sector unfolds.
Professor Robert J. Resutek
This course is designed to prepare the student to analyze, interpret, and use financial statements effectively, both from a general manager and investor perspective. A central theme is "value creation"-- how a manager may use financial statements to guide value creating behavior and how investors may use statements to identify value creating opportunities. The course will review and extend some of the accounting topics introduced in first year FMAR, and examine extensions and modifications to the accounting and financial (ratio) analyses developed in that course to achieve a value creation emphasis. The course will utilize a four component framework: (1) business strategy analysis, (2) accounting analysis, (3) financial (ratio and cash flow), and (4) prospective (forecasting and valuation) analysis. Emphasis will be placed on financial and prospective analysis. The framework will be applied to a number of industries and companies consisting of startups, high growth, high tech, mature, and troubled situations. (FRSA is an alternative to FSIA. Students may not take both courses).
Professor Robert A. Howell
This course is designed to prepare the student to analyze, interpret, and evaluate financial statements effectively. The viewpoint is that of a heavy user of financial statements, whether that be in the context of private equity, investment banking, asset management, or securities analysis. A variety of businesses will be considered, including startups, high growth, high tech, mature, and troubled situations. This is not just another accounting course, although a strong underpinning of accounting is assumed, and expected, as many significant issues will arise in the context of the industries and companies studied. Students should feel confident about their accounting skills acquired in first year Financial Measurement, Analysis, and Reporting (FMAR), have actually used their accounting skills in a work environment (might even have a CPA or CFA), or have some experience in financial statement analysis prior to this course. (Students taking FRSA may not take this course).
Professor Richard J. Rendleman
This course will provide an introduction to options, futures, swaps and credit derivatives and the applications of these securities to the management of stock portfolios, fixed-income portfolios and other financial and business risks. Emphasis will be placed on real-world applications of theoretical (or conceptual) material developed in class and using the theory of derivatives pricing and risk management to better understand 1) the role of derivatives markets in our financial system, 2) derivatives trading, and 3) some of the root causes of the recent financial crisis. Although the pricing of derivative securities and the applications of such securities to portfolio and risk management is mathematical by nature, most of the math in the course will be algebra-based.
Specific topics include: no-arbitrage-based option pricing relationships; the binomial and Black-Scholes option pricing models; option investing from a risk-return perspective; using option pricing models in portfolio management; futures and forward markets, pricing and hedging; an introduction to interest rate futures, interest rate swaps and credit derivatives; value-at-risk (VaR). The course will incorporate lectures and student discussions in covering the various topics. Students will be required to prepare several application-based projects as a basis for class discussion.
This course should be useful to students interested in portfolio management, derivatives trading, risk management, management consulting, executive compensation, commercial banking, investment banking, industry finance or any other field involving financial decision-making.
Professor Peter N. Golder
This course will develop your skills in evaluating, developing and implementing global marketing strategies. You will (i) develop a greater appreciation for external forces shaping marketing decisions (i.e., economic, cultural, legal, political); (ii) learn how to identify and evaluate opportunities in global markets; and (iii) adapt marketing programs for specific markets.
The course structure is flexible, so that each student can tailor the course to meet his or her personal goals. The course consists of three general topics: Global Marketing Environment, Global Marketing Strategy, and Global Marketing Mix. Lectures and readings will be used to introduce frameworks and findings on each topic. Cases will then be used to expand and apply this knowledge in a broad range of global scenarios.
We will analyze and discuss about 10 cases during the term. Each student will work with other students to analyze and present recommendations for one case. You will prepare your presentation as if you are trying to convince the CEO to follow your recommendations. Each student will also work with other students to play the role of CEO by questioning a presenting group and suggesting alternative recommendations. Afterwards, the entire class will discuss each case. Finally, each student will prepare a one-page write-up for about 1/3 of the cases.
In addition to case assignments, each student will complete a project focusing on a specific region and/or industry. The topic you select and the group members you choose (up to three others) are up to you. If you are the only student interested in a particular topic, it is fine to work alone. The project assignment is to conduct an intensive analysis of a country or region and a global marketing situation within that environment. Potential topics include conducting a feasibility study for entering a new market or writing a marketing plan for a specific product in a specific country.
Professor Vijay Govindarajan
The central focus of this course is strategy implementation.
The importance of the subject matter covered in this course is captured in the widely accepted “truism” that over 90 percent of businesses (as well as nonprofit organizations) founder on the rocks of implementation; either the strategies never come into being or get distorted, or the implementation is much more costly and time consuming than anticipated. However laudable strategic intentions may be, if they do not become a reality, they usually are not worth the paper on which they are written. Conversely, high-performing companies excel at execution. This course will provide you with concepts, frameworks, and tools to help you gain that “execution advantage.”
Professors Donald P. Conway, Paul B. Gardent, Michael Zubkoff
Industry Structure & Critical Issues of the Healthcare Industry. Healthcare is a major area of interest for business leaders today and in the future. Healthcare represents the largest sector of the US economy with healthcare spending now at 16% of the gross domestic product and projected to be at 20% by 2015. Healthcare organizations, and corporations serving those organizations, are a major business sector offering significant career opportunities in management. Biotech research and development is one of the most active areas of entrepreneurial and small business activity. Healthcare represents a major focus for investment banking and consulting. Healthcare benefits and financing are major issues of concern for all US businesses.
This course is designed to provide a foundational understanding of the healthcare industry and critical issues in healthcare today for business leaders. It will provide an industry-wide view from the differing perspectives of providers, suppliers and payers and the unique market dynamics among these players. It will introduce students to the structure, organization and financing of healthcare in relationship to business and the economy.
Professor B Espen Eckbo
This course analyzes international corporate governance issues from the perspective of active institutional investors such as pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and, increasingly, mutual funds. What are the key issues for these investors, and what are the cost-benefits of activism? How do you effectively engage companies you are invested in, and what is the likely impact on portfolio performance? What constitutes basic shareholder rights, and how costly is it to exercise those rights? How do shareholder rights differ internationally? What are the costs of proxy contest, and what should shareholders do about draconian takeover defenses? How should firms ideally respond to the growing shareholder activism? What are the implications for company directors? Does it make economic sense for shareholders to have "say on pay"? How do directors and managers react to the shifting the balance of power between shareholders and company insiders? Have U.S. capital markets been weakened or strengthened by the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002? Is the European "comply or explain" principle superior to the U.S. approach to governance? What does "socially responsible investment" entail, and what are the effects of negative portfolio screening? The course debates these and other controversial issues through a combination of lectures, articles, and in-class debate with industry leaders.
Professor Gregg Fairbrothers
This course is designed to provide basic education in commercialization of technology, entrepreneurship, and the starting of new business ventures. The course will address fundamentals in major areas of conceptualizing and launching a successful new business, including: concept development, market and competitive assessment, business plan development, team building, financing and investor presentations, and execution. Students will be exposed to the startup process in detail. The course will combine lectures and visiting speakers, workshop sessions, and readings. Throughout the term, participants will develop an executive summary of a business idea, which they will present to a panel of potential investors at the conclusion of the course.
Professor Kenneth R. French
This course examines financial theory and empirical evidence that is useful when making investment decisions. The topics covered include portfolio theory, equilibrium models of security prices (including the capital asset pricing model and the arbitrage pricing theory), the empirical behavior of security prices, market efficiency, performance evaluation, venture capital, and behavioral finance. The course: (1) provides an understanding of the equilibrium pricing relationships in asset markets, as these relationships form the foundation for financial decision making and management; (2) develops a specific set of analytical tools that can be used to solve investment problems; (3) improves students' understanding of financial institutions and markets; and (4) helps students develop a way of thinking about and framing investment decisions.
Professor Ella L. Bell
Exceeding performance expectations is not enough in today's business climate if an executive is to succeed. Executives must find ways for developing their employees in order to get the very best productivity. Wise leaders recognize that people are a source of corporate wealth. A potent leader co-creates with his or her people to push the company ahead of the competition. But before a leader can assume this role and responsibility, they must be willing to engage in their own developmental journey. In this course, we take leadership out of the box by studying the lives of extraordinary leaders while engaging in our own self-exploration. Our intent is to appreciate the strengths and frailties all leaders possess, and to understand the learning edges we all experience. This course creates the space to study, reflect on and discuss principles of leadership, such as self-awareness, identity, faith, vision, courage, passion, mindfulness, and commitment. By studying the lives of others, we learn how the context shapes the experiences and choices of leaders over the course of their lives. We also recognize the power of the historical moment that enables certain men and women to come to the forefront at critical times.
Professor Paul B. Gardent
The health services industry is a large and dynamic sector of the economy with many unique characteristics. It includes hospitals, health systems, ambulatory clinics, medical group practices and other organizations providing healthcare services. Successful leaders must be well grounded in traditional management knowledge and practices yet at the same time appreciate the unique aspects of the health services industry. Suppliers to the health industry must understand the strategic and financial issues facing leaders of healthcare organizations in order to successfully compete. Among these issues are the unique character of organizational relationships, the dynamics of the healthcare workforce, multiple reimbursement arrangements, important supply chain relationships, and distinct regulatory requirements. The goal of this course is to provide students with the knowledge and understanding of key leadership and strategic challenges within health services organizations.
This course will cover important functions of healthcare management, including strategy, finance, and operations. It will introduce students to leadership issues in performance improvement, change management, organizational leadership and strategic alliances. The course is appropriate for students who are interested in careers in health services management or who will be working in companies serving the healthcare service organizations including consulting, banking, and medical supply companies.
Professor John F. McGuire
More and more we are seeing companies, organizations, individuals, and groups experiencing disaster scenarios. These disasters may be triggered by external factors or internal ones (sometimes years of neglecting to take appropriate action early enough. Either way, disasters require urgent appropriate response as they can threaten the very existence not only of the organization itself, but also of others connected to it. Anticipation, risk management, mitigation, operations management, communication are all critical to the ultimate outcome. All too often, the management of these crises is ineffective and management is second guessed and criticized. And yet, the same leaders who are criticized for their management during disasters are often regarded as very capable, competent leaders in their organizations during normal times. For-profit businesses such as Exxon, government organizations such as FEMA, and not-for-profits such as the American Red Cross have all faced disaster situations and been found wanting. Very often the valuable lessons that disaster situations uncover for organizations are not noticed, understood or acted on; and thus these same organizations and others who could benefit from their experience do not improve.
Disasters need to be understood and managed with potentially different leadership skills than normal business operations. This is true not only in organizational communications during a disaster, but also in the basic management concepts needed.
This course will focus on leadership and management principles necessary during disasters, and, where applicable, their relevance, or lack thereof, in normal business operations. While some discussion of communications and ethics during disasters may arise, this will not be a major focus of the course as it is covered in other courses. During the course we will explore such concepts as anticipating disaster, risk management, leadership in crises, corporate culture and crisis response, and long term organizational transformation based upon disaster.
Professor Robert A. Shumsky
This course develops a business process view of service delivery and focuses on the analysis and design of processes to achieve organizational goals. The notion of services is broadly construed to include both “pure” services, such as banking and health care, and the service components of manufacturing, such as after-sales support and product design. Course content will include a mix of case discussions and lectures.
Professor Richard C. Sansing
This course uses the concepts of opportunity cost and organizational architecture as a conceptual framework for the study of managerial accounting. Opportunity cost is the conceptual foundation underlying decision-making; organizational architecture is the conceptual foundation underlying the use of accounting as part of the firm's control mechanism. We examine these issues using both a textbook and case discussions. The major topics include cost behavior; accounting costs versus opportunity costs; divisional performance measures; transfer pricing; budgeting; cost allocation; activity-based costing; and cost variance analysis.
Professor Kent L. Womack
The course Managerial Decision Making differs from most MBA courses in
that instead of proceeding normatively (i.e. how people and managers
ought to make decisions), it focuses on providing descriptive insights
of how people and hence managers actually do process information and
make decisions, often inaccurately. That is, it studies the judgment
and decision-making heuristics and biases that are profoundly wired in
the human mind. In a fast-changing corporate world, managers are
constently faced with making risky decisions under tremendous
uncertainly. This course, while developing a sharper probabilistic and
Bayesian mindset in students, sheds light on why inferior managerial
decisions are repeatedly made in various contexts - budgeting, project
finance, and marketing etc. and offers prescriptive insights.
Though built on a rigorous academic literature, the teaching method of
this course is interactive and intuitive. Throughout the course, we
will conduct short surveys to help students examine their own judgment
and decision making heuristics and biases.
Professor John T. Broderick Jr
Managers and the Law is designed to provide students with practical knowledge of legal issues and principles that often arise in the business environment. The course will also arm students with the ability to spot potential legal problems and minimize their risk to a business. The range of course topics include: jurisdiction, contract law, employment law, ADR, sexual harassment, employment privacy issues, copyright and trade secrets, business torts, forms of business organizations, duties of officers and directors, corporate criminal law, corporate governance, and securities regulations. The class has a hands-on, interactive atmosphere, and several topics are led by distinguished speakers who have attained top positions in their fields and acquired extensive specialized knowledge and experience.
Professor Leonard Greenhalgh
This minicourse focuses on how to manage strategic business relationships. Managers in today's organizations must negotiate, use power, and resolve conflicts to manage across the organizations' boundaries. The course explores relationships with value chain partners, competitors, parent organizations and subsidiaries, different functional units, bosses, subordinates, and unions. Students participate in simulated situations, with guided self-appraisal and analysis of videotaped performance, to develop an effective approach for dealing with people and groups. The course focuses on the individual student and helps to develop an understanding of personality predispositions, strengths and weaknesses, and ethical constraints and obligations.
This class uses a mix of lectures, class discussions and case studies to survey firms engaged in international business. We commence by examining the causes and consequences of increased global and regional economic integration, including an introduction to the impact of increased integration on firm strategy. We then use a combination of cases, international trade theory and details on international trade policy to analyze a central question of where firms should locate international operations. Cases involving footwear companies and a German chemical firm will help us develop a broader notion of the source of national location advantages, including the importance of related and supporting industries, proximity to supplies and customers, and the structure of domestic competition.
Professor Kusum L. Ailawadi
The distribution channel through which a firm markets its products and services to end customers is routinely categorized as of the four Ps of the marketing mix. But, managing the marketing channel is an ongoing strategic challenge where decisions have long-term implications that are often very difficult to change. The unique challenges in managing the marketing channel arise from the fact that a firm not only markets through but also to the channel members. And the channel members, in turn, market not only the firm’s products but also competitors’ products and, increasingly, their own private label products. Thus, channel members are conduit, customer, and competitor rolled into one!
The objective of this course is to help students understand the complexities involved in managing the channel and provide some frameworks that can be used to deal with these complexities. The first half of the course focuses on channel design and coordination. We will cover topics such as designing the channel structure, choosing channel members, and developing marketing strategies and incentives to coordinate the channel. Channel coordination, loosely speaking, refers to the firm’s ability to influence channel members’ decisions even though it does not “own” the channel. The second half of the course focuses on the power balance between the firm and its channel members, and the channel’s role as a competitor. We will discuss how the firm’s and the channel members’ marketing decisions such as advertising, promotion, loyalty programs, and private label introduction influence, and are influenced by, the power balance. Throughout the course, we will take the viewpoint of both the manufacturer and the channel member. In that spirit, one of the two guest speakers in the course will represent a manufacturer and the other a retailer.
Professor Constance E. Helfat
Market Entry & Growth Strategies examines strategies for market entry, business growth and development, and market exit. Although the course will focus primarily on established firms, we will also discuss strategic entry and growth for new companies. In addition, we will examine these issues for new industries as well as for existing industries.
Professor John Fyfe Marshall
This course takes an analytical approach to the study of the marketing function in the context of the network economy. Attention focuses on the challenges and opportunities that organizations face in applying traditional marketing skills in the electronic marketplace. Guest speakers and case studies will be used to illustrate the key issues in developing effective marketing strategies for e-commerce. The major objectives of this course are to provide students with (1) an understanding of the role of marketing in the context of the network economy; (2) a sound conceptual and theoretical “tool kit” for analyzing marketing problems faced by organizations in the network economy; and (3) a forum for presenting and defending their recommendations and for critically examining and discussing the recommendations of others.
Professor Kusum L. Ailawadi
This course is designed to give students an appreciation of the scope of marketing research and the nature of marketing research techniques. The goal of the course is to make students knowledgeable users of marketing research information. The first part of the course considers the acquisition of data. Research design, sampling procedures, and questionnaire design are discussed in the context of both traditional and online market research. The second part of the course introduces students to multivariate data analysis techniques, including cross-tabulations, factor analysis, discriminant analysis, and conjoint analysis. The course uses readings, case studies, and hands-on business projects.
Professors Paul B. Gardent, Michael Zubkoff
Employer-sponsored healthcare plays a significant role in the US health system. From the standpoint of business leaders, healthcare plays a critical role in the viability and success of a business. This course will focus on the structure and dynamics of the healthcare system from the perspective of corporate leaders as both payors of care and trustees of healthcare organizations. Through the course, students will understand the importance of business executive's role in improving healthcare as a business and social imperative. The course is intended to 1) demonstrate how all corporate leaders can exercise judgment and control over expenditures for healthcare benefits while protecting the health of their employees 2) enhance the ability of all Tuck graduates to serve as Trustees of healthcare organizations, e.g., hospitals, physician group networks, insurers and purchasing collaboratives and (3) reinforce the applicability of core management concepts and techniques when serving in either of these capacities: employer/payor or healthcare organization trustee.
Professor David F. Sally
This course is designed for students who seek to learn how to become effective negotiators in managerial settings. The course is largely experiential, which means that students learn the theory, concepts, and models underlying good practice inductivelythey learn by doing and then reflecting on their effectiveness. As a result, perfect attendance, promptness, and adequate preparation are course requirements. Simulated negotiations span the range of situations managers will encounter.
Professor Timothy M. Laseter
Operations Strategy and Competitive Cost Analysis will help you become more familiar with some of the major issues and managerial concepts relating to strategic management of the Operations function in manufacturing and the service sector. This course will provide you with frameworks to link an operations strategy to the firm’s competitive positioning as well as tools to understand the economic and technology drivers for a global operations footprint. The nine session course has a particular focus on competitive cost analysis to support strategic operational decisions. Accordingly, it will provide a strong general management foundation to students interested in large multi-national corporations but will also be relevant to those interested in smaller eBusinesses or those planning to consult to such businesses.
Professor Colin C. Blaydon
The purpose of this course is to examine the financial perspective on decisions in entrepreneurial settings. While focusing on financial decisions, the course is integrative in looking at entrepreneurial financial decisions from the perspectives of the business opportunity, the goals of the participants, and the context, as well as looking at the "deal" and the resources employed. The course also offers a close examination of the investor's role and the expanding institutional environment of private equity financing.
Professor Peter J. Regan
This minicourse applies decision science (simulation, optimization, and decision analysis) in the context of a case drawn from professional decision consulting. The case challenge is to value an asset in the context of a spin-off negotiation. Students receive case information in weekly installments and work in teams to design and build spreadsheet models as a means of making recommendations on questions posed by client management. Students present results and modeling approaches in class. CheckThisOut! sessions introduce spreadsheet modeling techniques of general interest with examples that students work through on their laptops. Excel, Crystal Ball, and Solver are used. A course website supports a weekly discussion forum and step-by-step guide to spreadsheet techniques demonstrated in class.
Professor John H. Vogel Jr
The real estate course is designed to provide an overview of the real estate industry
and the basic analytic techniques for investing in this $17 trillion asset class. Real estate knowledge is also important to managers because they must make decisions about where to locate facilities and how to structure leases. Students will find that this course takes a practical, hands-on, problem-solving approach. Cases are used in every class because they reflect the project oriented nature of this industry. It is a general management course that blends quantitative and qualitative analysis. The course also emphasizes the entrepreneurial management style and risk analysis techniques used by successful investors and developers. One of the highlights of this course is the opportunity to interact with industry leaders who expose students to the latest techniques and trends.
Professor John H. Vogel Jr
The real estate mini-course is designed to provide an overview of the real estate industry and provide basic tools for analyzing real estate investments. It also touches on critical management issues like leasing. It is a general management course that blends quantitative and qualitative analysis. Cases are used in every class because they reflect the project oriented nature of the real estate industry. Students often ask about the difference between the mini-course and the full course. The full course allows us to look at a broader range of cases, build stronger skills, get first hand experience with an actual development in Hanover and meet industry leaders. The mini- course tries to cover the basics that every manager and investor should know.
Research to Practice Seminar: International Entrepreneurship
Professor Rafael LaPorta
Professor Praveen K. Kopalle
Following the marketing framework, this course considers strategic as well as the tactical aspects of pricing decisions using qualitative (consumer behavior and psychology) and quantitative (economics and statistics) analyses. Pricing theory is then linked to the practice of pricing; in this regard, we invite guest speakers who are pricing experts in their respective industries. This course examines how pricing policies should be set and compares them with what happens in the real world. It deals with various levels of competition with differentiated and undifferentiated products and concentrates on pricing structure through time, across a product line, and over customer segments.
Professor Howard M. Anderson
Today's business-to-business selling environment is very complex due to globalization, a rapid infusion of technologies, and more competition. This course covers professional selling from the perspective of business development in major accounts under hypercompetitive business conditions. It is targeted toward those who are interested in the strategies and activities associated with key account management; i.e. the process of formulating selling strategies, implementing, and evaluating a sales program. Communication, selling, and negotiating techniques will be included.
Professor Gail A. Taylor
Services are becoming the dominant economic driver in the U.S. economy, and are critical for gaining competitive advantage in companies from all industrial sectors. Superior service quality drives the competitive advantage of leading companies, such as Charles Schwab, Ritz-Carlton Hotels, and FedEx. Even for companies not considered traditional service companies, services represent primary growth and profitability strategies into the 21st century. In this discussion-based course students learn critical skills and gain knowledge needed to implement quality service and service strategies for competitive advantage across industries. Frameworks for customer-focused management, and how to increase customer satisfaction and retention through service marketing strategies will be presented. Students will learn to map services, understand customer expectations, and develop effective relationship marketing strategies. The course places an emphasis on the total organization and how effective marketing and customer focus must be coordinated across multiple functions.
Professor Punam A. Keller
The course examines marketing principles and research methods applied to social causes. You will learn to apply marketing planning frameworks and tools for social causes within for-profits and within not-for-profits. We will also explore analytical concepts and techniques relevant for evaluating social programs. Several social causes are selected to serve as illustrations for marketing applications to other social causes, Retirement Savings, Museums, and Health, among others. The choice was based on the importance of the cause and the potential for marketing to have an impact. Consulting--- Most all consulting firms work with nonprofits as part of their pro bono work. Impress the firm's partner. These sessions will give you ideas you might apply when you are on one of these team. Marketing --- Ever heard of transformative marketing? This new movement uses concepts from consumer research scholarship to market ideas and information that will help people change their behavior for the better. Nonprofits-- How can you increase your ability to meet the needs of your clients? Create impact with your work? Learn how consumer research can be applied to collective health and well-being.
Professor Kevin L. Keller
One of the most valuable assets that firms have is the brand names associated with their products or services. This course addresses important branding decisions faced by an organization in terms of how to build, measure, and manage brand equity. Its basic objectives are to (1) provide an understanding of the important issues in planning and evaluating brand strategies, and (2) provide the appropriate concepts and techniques to improve the long-term profitability of brand strategies. The course consists of lectures, case discussions, guest speakers, and a brand audit project.
Professor Alva H. Taylor
This course provides a framework for managing innovations in businesses. The emphasis throughout is on the development and application of models and analytical tools that clarify the interactions between competition, new ideas, patterns of technological and market change, and the structure and development of internal capabilities. The course also examines the challenge to building and maintaining an innovative organization, and how individuals can successfully innovate in organizations. These tools can provide the framework for insightful planning when deciding how to structure your organization to innovate, how to manage groups that are innovating, which initiatives to invest in, how to structure your resources to gain competitive advantage over other industry participants, and how to use you capabilities to exploit innovative activities. The course should be of particular interest to those interested in managing a business where external or internal innovation is a necessity for competition, those interested in new business ventures, and consulting.
Professor Alva H. Taylor
Professor Gil B. Manzon Jr.
The objective of this course is to help students develop an understanding of the key underlying concepts that pervade the many specific provisions of the tax law and how income tax considerations interact with non-tax considerations in a series of business decisions. Topics discussed include compensation planning, the organization form decision, taxation of earnings of domestic and foreign affiliates, corporate distributions, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate spinoffs.
This minicourse examines the use of manufacturing and operations as competitive weapons. In this class, we formulate a framework for developing and implementing a manufacturing strategy. The main goal is to provide students with simple, powerful approaches for improving operations, particularly at smaller companies. The objectives are to equip future general managers, consultants, and manufacturing managers with the perspectives and skills to effectively use manufacturing as a competitive weapon; to develop a framework for the strategic management of manufacturing; and to develop facility with simple technical tools and frameworks which apply directly to operational decisions and can be useful in adding value to manufacturing firms.
Professor Sydney Finkelstein
This minicourse examines the effects of senior executives on company strategy, performance, and vitality. How can we better understand, predict, and improve organizational outcomes by paying greater attention to top management capabilities and behaviors? Course topics include: executive selection and succession, executive compensation, top management team composition and dynamics, and board-management relations. Though the course is relevant for students who wish to strengthen their managerial talents, it is not a skills-based "leadership" course; rather, it is intended to improve the student's ability to diagnose, critically evaluate, and enhance executive capabilities in a firm.
Professor John B. Owens
Students in this course conduct a three-week on-site consulting project for a major company in a developing country. This is an excellent option for students who want an international experience but do not want to sacrifice time at Tuck. The project work is completed between the end of the first-year summer internship and the beginning of the second-year winter term.
