Derivatives have revolutionized the world of finance. They have supplanted other devices for controlling risk and for gaining business advantage. This course deals with three categories of derivatives: options, futures and swaps. It discusses how investment managers can use these instruments to hedge risk and enhance company value as well as examining the pros and cons of using derivatives, how to quantify the benefits they confer and how they can be combined to maximize coverage.

Managing working capital is becoming increasingly important in financial management. With growing competition and rising investor concern for an adequate return on equity, corporations are recognizing that managing short-term assets and liabilities can significantly contribute to their long-term success. This course deals with various industry practices in working capital management. It explores the impact that such management could have on the overall financial performance of the business, as well as the efficient utilization of income-producing assets.

This course aims to provide students with the conceptual background and technical skills to be able to analyze financial reports prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, scrutinize disclosures made by management and by other intermediaries, become conscious of the underlying information environment in which capital markets operate, and make informed decisions regarding the valuation of equity securities. It draws on several disciplines - particularly business strategy, economics, accounting and financial reporting, and corporate finance as well as integrating relevant aspects from these disciplines into a systematic framework that can be applied in equity analysis and valuation.

This course deals with strategic, financial and operational restructuring within a variety of national and transnational contexts. It discusses the impact of institutional and environmental factors on restructuring approaches, tasks and techniques. It encompasses four basic themes: (1) dealing with "troubled companies" (2) restructuring corporate leadership, (3) valuations and financial restructuring, and (4) portfolio and framework issues. Each theme is addressed in a separate workshop that spans a day.

Businesses, governments and individuals both supply and consume capital. Linking "capital accumulators" with "capital consumers" is the investment banker's primary function. This course examines this function. In addition, it explores various aspects of the investment banking business, such as securities trading, merchant banking, wealth management and investment advisory services. It also discusses recent trends in investment banking, such as bank mergers, consolidations and globalization.

Customer needs, globalization, cost containment, deregulation and technological change require companies to continually rethink their business strategies. More than 70 percent of these new strategies are poorly implemented and have not been fully realized. This course focuses on the techniques and methodologies for improving the success rate of realizing new strategic goals. It deals with developing the optimal design for executing and realizing strategy under the REALIZE Strategy Execution Methodology.

We are all instinctive negotiators. We negotiate at work and at play. But are we as effective as we could be? Structured around individual and group exercises, this course aims to enhance the student's ability to prepare for, and conduct negotiations in an international business context. It culminates in an investment simulation, based on a choice of whether to create alliance in China or India, which elucidates the dynamics of hi-tech international negotiations. Throughout the course, students are expected to prepare a game plan, negotiate with classmates, submit a journal of the negotiating experience, and self-critique their own negotiating skills.

"The world is a global village" encapsulates the interconnectivity of nations and states. To be effective in this global village, international managers must be aware of the personal, cultural and national factors that often influence business decisions. This course aims at heightening this awareness. It applies theory, practice and experiential learning to enhance self-awareness, adaptation and tolerance. It explores the functions, expectations and qualifications of effective leadership in the global village.

To many people, the word "entrepreneur" conjures up an image of a small business start-up. Yet some of the largest companies in the world pride themselves on being entrepreneurial. This course will explore the attitudes and approaches shared by entrepreneurs who operate in organizations of all types and sizes. Worried about financing? This course will look at bootstrapping, venture capital and leveraged buyouts. Not creative? One class will be dedicated to learning techniques that aid in developing business concepts. Each student will be required to create an entrepreneurial plan as part of a team, which will be presented to a panel of financiers.

The final decades of the 20th century saw a massive expansion of franchising. This was particularly the case in the United States, where developers of new products, services, systems and technologies used franchising as a means of accelerating revenue growth, while minimizing risk and capital outlay. This course is designed to give students a broader understanding of franchising. It explores franchising as a vehicle for international expansion and emphasizes the special challenges facing owners/managers in expanding product/service brands beyond the United States.

This course explores the practical aspects of managing an entrepreneurial company in today's business environment. It emphasizes the role and skills of the CEO as general manager, leader and strategist in a changing and dynamic organization as well as examining the various stages of emerging company growth. Finally, it discusses diverse frameworks and tools for managing growth in an international environment. A particular advantage of this course is the featuring of special presentations from "guest entrepreneurs".

The central focus of this course is learning to become a more effective "people manager." In addition to intensive class discussion and lectures, it will progress in four phases: (1) Reviewing journals, periodicals and websites with students identifying "compelling people management issues;” (2) Working as consultants in teams, students conduct a critical analysis of one such issue. Students also integrate knowledge acquired in other courses and develop a list of client "deliverables." (3) Based on this critical analysis, students prepare oral and written presentations that summarize their research findings. (4) Teams deliver the presentations to classmates and guest "industry experts."

The major component of this course is a competitive computer game. It simulates the planning and introduction of a new, frequently purchased consumer good or service in the market. This course is conducted as an intensive workshop over the span of three and a half days. Additional course components include a case study, lectures, class discussion and presentations.

This course deals with the unique elements of marketing and selling industrial and technology-based products and services. It is run as a concentrated workshop. It is based on the following building blocks: choosing the customers to pursue; defining the benefits to be offered; managing customer acquisition, satisfaction and retention. These blocks are studied by frameworks presented in class, case analyses and discussions. A group project summarizes the learning.

This course is an intensive survey of project management. Course materials and exercises are structured to prepare students for the Project Management Professional (PMP) or Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification exams. Students will review the "Project Management Body of Knowledge," on which the PMP and CAPM exams are based. Students will also explore alternative project management methodologies and industry-specific project management practices. Though the course primarily targets students who plan to take the certification exams, it will appeal to any students interested in developing their project management skills.

Growth through innovation is a strategic imperative. More than 95 percent of all CEOs recognize the importance of innovation, yet are dissatisfied with their company's innovative ability. This course encompasses the concept of "innovation" --barriers to and catalysts for the development of innovative products, processes, services, brands, channels, business models and growth engines. The course sets forth core principles of innovation management (platforms, portfolios, partners, pipelines, concept and culture) and illustrates how "fast-followers" and commodities industries apply and manage innovative ideas.

The last 10 years have shaken up strategic thinking in most corporations. The transformation of markets, purchasing power, communications and technology has demanded innovative approaches to conventional problems. This course will serve as a catalyst to these approaches. It will examine the challenges faced by business managers as they shift their focus to developing markets. It will test the viability of business solutions and strategic responses to change. It will take a fresh look at novel strategic thinking approaches, as well as the balance between business and human capital strategies.

This course focuses on integrated international marketing communications. It emphasizes the manager's task of guiding the international communications process as well as investigating factors essential to planning, developing, implementing and evaluating an international communications effort. It highlights how each element of the communications mix. Advertising, personal selling, use of the Internet, sales promotion, public relations, global media and direct marketing combine to form a complete international communications program.

E-commerce plays a vital role in today's business. For small firms, e-commerce provides a means for competing with large corporations. For large corporations, e-commerce offers a vehicle for increasing revenues. This course deals with managing the interconnected, globalized world of e-commerce. It will provide a structural framework for analyzing e-commerce as a business tool as well as examining the strategies implemented by companies within a virtual and globalized business environment. Finally, it touches on supply-chain/value-chain management and alliance management within an e-commerce context.

There is a large gap between the theoretical world of “textbook competitive strategy” and traditional business school cases on the one hand and the real world of strategic and tactical decision-making and applied strategy cases on the other. This course focuses exclusively on the latter: More effective strategic and tactical decision-making in real world competitive strategy projects. Fluffy theoretical strategic concepts that neither have nor can be applied effectively in the real world are excluded from this course. Instead, we will focus on mastering hands-on tools and frameworks that have proven to be valuable at improving the effectiveness of a number of important strategic and tactical decisions, both of strategic planners, marketing and sales managers and strategy consultants.

Managing information is as essential to business as is marketing, finance, accounting and operations. This course presents an overview of the role information plays in giving companies a competitive edge. It treats information as a manageable asset that enables the implementation of corporate strategies in several different areas: structural, evolutionary, supply chain and customer relationships. It explores the basis that information provides for leveraging various types assets: organizational, technological, structural and human. It also examines the impact that IT investments have on company productivity and competitive functioning.