Graduate Courses

Non-Fast Track students will be able to add this class beginning on April 17 when add/drop opens provided there is space and prereqs, if any, are met. All non-Fast Track students will be required to complete blended learning technology pre-work prior to the start of this class. F2F Dates: Sat, June 1 & Fri, July 12 MBA7509 Decisions Decisions, Decisions, Decisions-How managers make good and bad choices (3 credit Elective) MBA students are exposed to a wide variety of concepts and tools which should enable them to make intelligent decisions. However, the decision making performance of corporate managers, most of them trained in these concepts and tools, is very uneven. This course will seek to enable a student to understand some key factors that can influence the quality of decision making. Using case examples from both business and government, the course will build on a basic understanding of analysis and decision making to expose participants to the circumstances that can limit the effectiveness of the techniques they have learned and help them understand the challenges they will face as members of leadership teams making complex choices throughout their careers. Students will also learn about the factors involved in providing information for decision-making, and the roles that information technology plays in decision situations. At the conclusion of the course, students will have an appreciation for the factors they will encounter in leadership roles and the methods they can employ to ensure that they contribute to the making of good decisions. Their exposure to the broad topics presented should also acquaint them with areas which may draw their interest for more intensive study in specific academic disciplines.

Non-Fast Track students will be able to add this class beginning on April 17 when add/drop opens provided there is space and prereqs, if any, are met. All non-Fast Track students will be required to complete blended learning technology pre-work prior to the start of this class. F2F Dates: Fri, May 24 & Sat, June 22 MBA7540 Measuring and Achieving Strategic Results Formerly ACC7540 Students who have taken ACC7540 or MOB9577 or MOB7577 cannot take this course. This course provides extension coverage of topics discussed in MOB9577 and MOB7577. Drawing on a variety of integrative sources of information and different functional material the course explores methods to manage the total firm and its operations in harmony with strategy. Firm and industry value chains along with organizational structures are used to develop balanced measurement systems that drive performance and motivate action. Financial and non-financial analytical techniques are developed to evaluate the design and implementation of a management system. Case studies provide contextual breath by applying the material to a variety of firms. Prerequisites: Evening: (ACC7000 or MBA8510) or ACC7200 Fast Track: MBA7335 or (ECN7201 and MIS7200) One Year: MBA7210 or ACC7200 Two Year: MBA7320 or ACC7301 ACC7200 This course is typically offered in the following semester: Fall

Non-Fast Track students will be able to add this class beginning on April 17 when add/drop opens provided there is space and prereqs, if any, are met. All non-Fast Track students will be required to complete blended learning technology pre-work prior to the start of this class. F2F Dates: Fri, May 31 & Sat, June 29 MBA7540 Measuring and Achieving Strategic Results Formerly ACC7540 Students who have taken ACC7540 or MOB9577 or MOB7577 cannot take this course. This course provides extension coverage of topics discussed in MOB9577 and MOB7577. Drawing on a variety of integrative sources of information and different functional material the course explores methods to manage the total firm and its operations in harmony with strategy. Firm and industry value chains along with organizational structures are used to develop balanced measurement systems that drive performance and motivate action. Financial and non-financial analytical techniques are developed to evaluate the design and implementation of a management system. Case studies provide contextual breath by applying the material to a variety of firms. Prerequisites: Evening: (ACC7000 or MBA8510) or ACC7200 Fast Track: MBA7335 or (ECN7201 and MIS7200) One Year: MBA7210 or ACC7200 Two Year: MBA7320 or ACC7301 ACC7200 This course is typically offered in the following semester: Fall

MBA7150 - Simulation In Mod III One Year students will engage in a cross-functional business simulation that focuses on strategic and operational decision making. The simulation will test the ability to make decisions, take calculated risks, and effectively work with others in uncertain circumstances. Students will work with a new team of classmates to grow your business over several simulated years in the life of your company.

*BECAUSE OF PRE-WORK, THIS SECTION IS CLOSED AS OF 4:30PM ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1ST. STUDENTS CAN NO LONGER ADD INTO THIS SECTION.* MBA9506: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY MEETING DATES AND TIMES: Friday, February 15 (6:00-9:00) Saturday, February 16 (9:00-5:00) Saturday, February 23 (9:00-5:00) ADD DEADLINE: Friday, February 1 (4:30 pm EST) DROP DEADLINE: Friday, February 15 (11:59 pm EST) *THERE IS PRE-WORK FOR THIS COURSE* REGISTRATION: Please register for this course through online registration. If a space becomes available in the course after the regular Spring 2013 add/drop deadline (Tuesday, January 29) but before the course specific add deadline, students must email intensiveelectives@babson.edu from their Babson email account to register for it. These emails will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis. Emails will not be retained for future consideration. Students can drop this course before the end of the day of the first class meeting. Please drop this course through online registration. If online registration is closed, students must email intensiveelectives@babson.edu from their Babson email account before the drop deadline to drop the course. CAPACITY: 42 TIME CONFLICTS: Students are responsible to check the meeting dates and times for all courses, including intensive electives, to ensure there are no time conflicts. If a student registers for intensive electives that have conflicting dates and times, the Registrar’s Office will drop one of these courses. INTENSIVE ELECTIVES POLICY: The maximum number of intensive electives a student may take while at Babson is four (4). It is the student’s responsibility to adhere to this policy. If the student exceeds this limit, the Registrar’s Office will drop the student from an intensive elective. COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course aims not only at understanding Enron-type situations but perhaps more importantly the moral dangers and threats to personal character in everyday business and managerial situations. It critically examines conventional management ideas, such as managing by values, for hidden ethical dangers and threats to personal character, such as unwitting self-righteousness. These ideas are increasingly relevant to Corporate Social Responsibility, which is treated as a question not only of ethics but of sound management and strategy. The challenge of maintaining -- and the danger of not maintaining -- a balance between ethics and performance, between social responsibility and corporate strategy is the main theme of the course. There will be reading to do before the course begins and a short deliverable due at the first meeting of the course.

Blended Elective This course will start online on February 17th F2F dates are Saturday, March 2nd and Friday April 26th (8AM – 5PM) MBA7509 Decisions Decisions, Decisions, Decisions-How managers make good and bad choices (3 credit Elective) MBA students are exposed to a wide variety of concepts and tools which should enable them to make intelligent decisions. However, the decision making performance of corporate managers, most of them trained in these concepts and tools, is very uneven. This course will seek to enable a student to understand some key factors that can influence the quality of decision making. Using case examples from both business and government, the course will build on a basic understanding of analysis and decision making to expose participants to the circumstances that can limit the effectiveness of the techniques they have learned and help them understand the challenges they will face as members of leadership teams making complex choices throughout their careers. Students will also learn about the factors involved in providing information for decision-making, and the roles that information technology plays in decision situations. At the conclusion of the course, students will have an appreciation for the factors they will encounter in leadership roles and the methods they can employ to ensure that they contribute to the making of good decisions. Their exposure to the broad topics presented should also acquaint them with areas which may draw their interest for more intensive study in specific academic disciplines.

Face-to-Face Dates: March 6 - March 9 MBA7401 | BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION (SIGNATURE LEARNING EXPERIENCE) 1 credit Rapid changes in technology (digital convergence of data, voice, and video), greater concern for the environment, significant productivity increases in manufacturing and globalization of services are all causing tectonic shifts in several industries— publishing, music, telecommunications, retail, health care, and even government and nonprofits. During a 30-year period of one’s career, a manager can easily expect to be involved in at least three or four significant business model changes, even within the same industry. During this 3½-day interactive, executive-style workshop, students will explore different approaches to developing new and innovative business models in for-profit, nonprofit, and social enterprise contexts. A multidisciplinary approach will be used that integrates concepts and tools from entrepreneurship, innovation, technology, finance, marketing, engineering, sustainability, and design thinking.

Kick-off Foundations The Kick-Off Foundations SLE will focus on Entrepreneurial Thought and Action, team building, and technology. In addition to sessions on Ideas and Barriers to Innovation, students will participate in a competitive, computer-based simulation (Techmark), develop processes that will support virtual and in-person teamwork, take their first classes in Entrepreneurship and Leadership, and attend a variety of networking events.

Meeting Dates: Saturday February 16th and Saturday March 30th (8:30 AM to 5:00 PM MBA7535 Leadership When it Really Counts: An Action Practicum 1.5 credits Blended Elective “Leadership When It Really Counts” will prepare you to act effectively and with integrity under pressure. The elective is based on a pioneering new approach -- using pre-scripting and rehearsal -- to prepare business managers/leaders for values-driven decision-making and action. Rather than simply talking about these difficult decisions and conversations, you will have the opportunity to practice them. The approach called "Giving Voice To Values" (GVV) has been used in over 275 schools and organizations on six continents and has been featured in McKinsey Quarterly; Harvard Business Review (twice); Financial Times; Stanford Social Innovation Review; BusinessWeek; Washington Post; Huffington Post; etc. Leading corporations like Lockheed Martin, McKinsey, and WalMart have used or are exploring pilots of the approach. In this course, you will come away with an expanded toolkit, as well as practice, in a variety of methods and techniques for voicing and enacting your own values and principles in the workplace. And you will develop and practice leadership skills in "peer coaching," by facilitating sessions with other students. You will also have the opportunity to share cases you develop with business schools and businesses around the world via the GVV platform (www.GivingVoiceToValues.org, www.GivingVoiceToValuesTheBook.com). Prerequisites: none

*BECAUSE OF PRE-WORK, THIS SECTION IS CLOSED AS OF 4:30PM ON FRIDAY, MARCH 22ND. STUDENTS CAN NO LONGER ADD INTO THIS SECTION.* MBA9502: SELLING IDEAS, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES TO EXECUTIVES (formerly titled Business Development Through Professional Selling) MEETING DATES AND TIMES: Friday, April 5 (6:30-9:30) Saturday, April 6 (8:30-4:30) Saturday, April 13 (8:30-4:30) ADD DEADLINE: Friday, March 22 (4:30 pm EST) DROP DEADLINE: Friday, April 5 (11:59 pm EST) *THERE IS PRE-WORK FOR THIS COURSE* REGISTRATION: Please register for this course through online registration. If a space becomes available in the course after the regular Spring 2013 add/drop deadline (Tuesday, January 29) but before the course specific add deadline, students must email intensiveelectives@babson.edu from their Babson email account to register for it. These emails will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis. Emails will not be retained for future consideration. Students can drop this course before the end of the day of the first class meeting. Please drop this course through online registration. If online registration is closed, students must email intensiveelectives@babson.edu from their Babson email account before the drop deadline to drop the course. CAPACITY: 60 TIME CONFLICTS: Students are responsible to check the meeting dates and times for all courses, including intensive electives, to ensure there are no time conflicts. If a student registers for intensive electives that have conflicting dates and times, the Registrar’s Office will drop one of these courses. INTENSIVE ELECTIVES POLICY: The maximum number of intensive electives a student may take while at Babson is four (4). It is the student’s responsibility to adhere to this policy. If the student exceeds this limit, the Registrar’s Office will drop the student from an intensive elective. COURSE DESCRIPTION: The growth of business revenue depends directly on a firm's ability to create additional value for current and potential customers. This 2.5 day intensive course will focus on the professional selling process, to include identifying opportunities, gaining access to and engaging decision makers, asking high gain questions, building long term relationships with decision makers and influencers, presenting winning proposals, handling resistance and objections, completing the sale or obtaining commitments and following up. The course will use the value creation methodology to identify solution options aimed at creating value and enhancing the other party's (e.g., customers) competitiveness. The course will use a number of inputs to share current academic thinking and best practice. Course participants will also be challenged to apply the learning to potential opportunities. The art and science of ethically and effectively convincing another party about self, ideas, solutions, products, services, etc., is an imperative for everyone, whether in family or social settings, profit or not-for-profit ventures. It's a life skill. This course is therefore for everyone.

*BECAUSE OF PRE-WORK, THIS SECTION IS CLOSED AS OF 4:30PM ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15. STUDENTS CAN NO LONGER ADD INTO THIS SECTION.* MBA9520: WEALTH MANAGEMENT I – TAX, ESTATE, AND INVESTMENT PLANNING MEETING DATES AND TIMES: Friday, March 1 (6:30-9:30) Saturday, March 2 (9:00-5:00) Saturday, March 9 (9:00-5:00) ADD DEADLINE: Friday, February 15 (4:30 pm EST) DROP DEADLINE: Friday, March 1 (11:59 pm EST) *THERE IS PRE-WORK FOR THIS COURSE* REGISTRATION: Please register for this course through online registration. If a space becomes available in the course after the regular Spring 2013 add/drop deadline (Tuesday, January 29) but before the course specific add deadline, students must email intensiveelectives@babson.edu from their Babson email account to register for it. These emails will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis. Emails will not be retained for future consideration. Students can drop this course before the end of the day of the first class meeting. Please drop this course through online registration. If online registration is closed, students must email intensiveelectives@babson.edu from their Babson email account before the drop deadline to drop the course. CAPACITY: 42 TIME CONFLICTS: Students are responsible to check the meeting dates and times for all courses, including intensive electives, to ensure there are no time conflicts. If a student registers for intensive electives that have conflicting dates and times, the Registrar’s Office will drop one of these courses. INTENSIVE ELECTIVES POLICY: The maximum number of intensive electives a student may take while at Babson is four (4). It is the student’s responsibility to adhere to this policy. If the student exceeds this limit, the Registrar’s Office will drop the student from an intensive elective. COURSE DESCRIPTION: There are 6 pillars of wealth management – tax planning, estate planning, investment planning, retirement planning, education planning, and risk management (asset protection and insurance). Part 1 examines tax planning – an overview of the income tax system, capital gains, alternative minimum tax, Roth conversion, charitable gifting techniques, and the latest on the Bush tax cuts. Then estate planning covers an overview of the estate and gift tax, standard estate planning documents you need, use of trusts, life insurance in estate planning, and advanced techniques. Finally investment planning starts with basic investment objectives, then modern portfolio theory is covered including expected returns, measures of investment risk, the degree of correlation among investments and asset classes, and the concept of the efficient frontier. Specific types of investments are discussed such as mutual funds, commodities, TIPS, stocks, fixed income, real estate, gold, and exchange traded funds. Asset allocation, inflation, annuity investing, and specific decisions such as leasing versus buying are also covered. Part 1 covers the topics from an individual planning perspective. The course is designed for students who have already accumulated wealth or are in the process of doing so. This could be the successful entrepreneur (or in the process of becoming successful) but also includes students who expect to inherit wealth and those that are interested in helping parents manage their wealth. Also students who have interest in the financial services industry – financial advisors, insurance advisors, bankers, mutual fund managers, etc. will find the course of interest. Prerequisites: None

*BECAUSE OF PRE-WORK, THIS SECTION IS CLOSED AS OF 4:30PM ON FRIDAY, MARCH 22ND. STUDENTS CAN NO LONGER ADD INTO THIS SECTION.* MBA9521: WEALTH MANAGEMENT II – RETIREMENT PLANNING, EDUCATION PLANNING AND RISK MANAGEMENT MEETING DATES AND TIMES: Friday, April 5 (6:30-9:30) Saturday, April 6 (9:00-5:00) Saturday, April 13 (9:00-5:00) ADD DEADLINE: Friday, March 22 (4:30 pm EST) DROP DEADLINE: Friday, April 5 (11:59 pm EST) *THERE IS PRE-WORK FOR THIS COURSE* REGISTRATION: Please register for this course through online registration. If a space becomes available in the course after the regular Spring 2013 add/drop deadline (Tuesday, January 29) but before the course specific add deadline, students must email intensiveelectives@babson.edu from their Babson email account to register for it. These emails will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis. Emails will not be retained for future consideration. Students can drop this course before the end of the day of the first class meeting. Please drop this course through online registration. If online registration is closed, students must email intensiveelectives@babson.edu from their Babson email account before the drop deadline to drop the course. CAPACITY: 42 TIME CONFLICTS: Students are responsible to check the meeting dates and times for all courses, including intensive electives, to ensure there are no time conflicts. If a student registers for intensive electives that have conflicting dates and times, the Registrar’s Office will drop one of these courses. INTENSIVE ELECTIVES POLICY: The maximum number of intensive electives a student may take while at Babson is four (4). It is the student’s responsibility to adhere to this policy. If the student exceeds this limit, the Registrar’s Office will drop the student from an intensive elective. COURSE DESCRIPTION: There are 6 pillars of wealth management – tax planning, estate planning, investment planning, retirement planning, education planning, and risk management (asset protection and insurance). Part 2 examines retirement planning – an overview of the retirement planning process including sources of income in retirement, health care costs, longevity, expected returns, sustainable withdrawal rates including asset allocation and guaranteed income sources. Then tax efficient withdrawals and a model are discussed. Also included is analysis of Roth conversion and net unrealized appreciation. Social Security decision including the basics, taxation, Medicare, breakeven analysis, and normal or delayed benefits are examined along with details on IRA’s, annuities, and distribution options. Education planning starts with background on rising college costs and setting education funding as a goal and includes traditional saving options such as custodial accounts. Also examined are models to estimate education costs and funding. This leads to an extensive examination of 529 College Saving Plans. Advanced techniques such as 529’s and trusts and scholarship accounts are discussed. Risk management includes asset protection – protecting retirement plans and IRA’s; the homestead exemption; umbrella liability insurance; the S corp. versus an LLC for a business owner; domestic asset protection trusts; and offshore trusts. Also included is insurance – home owners, health, disability, and long term care. Part 2 covers the topics from an individual planning perspective. The course is designed for students who have already accumulated wealth or are in the process of doing so. This could be the successful entrepreneur (or in the process of becoming successful) but also includes students who expect to inherit wealth and those that are interested in helping parents manage their wealth. Also students who have interest in the financial services industry – financial advisors, insurance advisors, bankers, mutual fund managers, etc. will find the course of interest. Prerequisites: None

Face-to-Face Dates: December 14-15 and February 1-2

Face-to-Face Dates: December 21-22 and February 8-9

Face-to-Face Dates: December 21-22 and February 8-9

MBA7565 China: The Business Realities 3 credit Elective Abroad This course is for Fast Track students only. COURSE OBJECTIVES: This elective focuses on the critical strategic and operational issues underlying the successful capture of business opportunities that exist within China. More specifically, this course addresses two basic questions that any business professional would have with regard to his/her enterprise and China: * What are the business practices with China that bring significant value-added to my company? * For a company that does business with China, what are the critical operational issues to ensure success? COURSE SUMMARY: This course has been designed from the perspective of a business professional whose company has China business and who aims to improve his company’s performance. This course has been designed for the student enrolled in the Babson Fast-Track MBA program. The course coverage is divided into three parts. The first part is several online sessions before departure for China. The second part is a one-week visit in China. The third part is a session for reflection after the program in China. The pre-departure sessions will introduce and discuss the prevailing challenges of doing business with China in three contexts -- China as a market, China as a collaborator and China as owner-investor in a non-China company. The second part of the course, taking place in China, will have visits with companies who can address the critical issues raised in the pre-departure sessions. A distinctive aspect of this course is that priority for industry sector or specific company scheduling will be given to the Fast-Track students’ companies. For example, if a student’s company wishes to host a visit, it would be given priority. The third part of this will take place after the one-week visit to China. There will be an online session to share reflections and synthesize learning points. Prior to that session, each student will be required to submit a paper which demonstrates his or her grasp of the successful business practices for a company’s engagement with China. The paper will be written after the student returns from China. Prerequisites: Completion of all Fast Track core courses.

MBA7515 Enterprise 2.0 Building Social Networks to Improve Business Performance 3 credit blended elective Meeting Dates: 3 Saturday Face to Face Meeting Dates: September 15th, October 6th and October 20th 8:30 - 4:30PM. The other weeks will be asynchronous, online weeks where there is no specific meeting time. Enterprise 2.0 is the term to describe organizations that use strategies, business practices, and technologies that enable emergent collaboration. Many organizations are now interested in capturing, distributing and applying the knowledge of their employees for business benefit. Also, companies need to keep track of knowledge outside of their corporate walls, for example, understanding market trends and being aware of what customers are saying about their products. Ultimately, the goal of Enterprise 2.0 is to break down traditional information silos and to allow employees and managers to tap into the right expertise when they need it. A major objective of this course is to understand social networks using social network analysis (SNA). SNA is a methodology to analyze the structure of social networks, or the people-to-people connections in organizations. SNA is an increasingly popular application used by both management consultants and internal organizational practices (e.g., Marketing, HR, R&D, and HR-Talent Management) to understand information flows inside and outside a company. The SNA results in both visualizations as well as metrics to determine: where information silos exist in the organization and people's position in the "informal" structure of the organization, such as central, peripheral, and broker positions (i.e., connecting different subgroups). From this analysis, we can then determine knowledge management/talent management/marketing interventions that improve collaboration and business practices. We will also discuss how SNA techniques can be used to analyze employee connections through social media (e.g., who is blogging and responding to other employees' blogs, following other employees' social profile, etc.) Students will gain valuable "hands-on" experience using and applying SNA from their group project. Finally, we will explore how the latest social collaboration tools, including social networking platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, and applications such as blogs, wikis, and bookmarking/tagging tools, are being adapted and used by organizations, for example, to leverage the "wisdom of crowds". Through case studies, group projects, and hands-on exercises, we will discuss the value proposition to companies and their employees from using social media. For example, groups will come up with a social media strategy for an organization, including providing metrics on how to evaluate the success or "ROI" of their strategy. This is a "blended" course - consisting of both face-to-face and on-line classes. The course will consist of lecture material, discussion of real-world case studies, and interactive group exercises. Your grade will consist of three equal components: class participation, group projects, and an individual paper. Prerequisites : none