STR7552 Leading Business Turnarounds

(Formerly MOB7552)

MOB9527 Leading in a Connected World
1.5 Intensive Elective CreditsMeeting Dates TBD

The collaborative intensity of work has snowballed over the past decade as companies have transitioned to flatter or matrix-based structures, layered on collaborative technologies, adopted agile methodologies, deployed increasingly complex products and services, and integrated operations across the globe. Collaborative time demands have risen more than 50% in this time frame with most people spending 85% or more time in a given week on email, in meetings, and on the phone. There are positive outcomes of this new way of working: Companies more seamlessly serve demanding clients, and individuals are able to craft jobs with meaning. But a significant (and unmanaged) consequence of this new landscape is the un-abating collaborative work load, which is hurting company performance and employee effectiveness and well-being.

In this new world of work, networks of collaboration have become central to both organizational effectiveness and personal success. Yet despite the centrality of networks to performance, most leaders do not manage this asset well and often have no transparency into the main thing people do all day long: collaborate with others. Leading in a Connected World addresses organizational, team and individual collaborative drivers of effectiveness in today's networked economy. The course is thoroughly evidence-based, drawing on more than two decades of research in over 300 organizations. At each step, it will focus not only on drivers of effectiveness but also on equipping you with analytic tools (e.g., Organizational Network Analysis) and best practice guides (e.g., Team Agility, Personal Effectiveness) that you can deploy immediately in your organization or as a differentiating skill in interviews.

Prerequisites: None

MBA9525 Leading Innovation at Gorillas, Chimps & Monkeys
(Formerly MOB9525)
1.5 Intensive Elective CreditsThere are only two ways to grow: M&A and Organic. Organic Growth is much much much more difficult than M&A. Growth is the only common thing that all types of firms -- start-ups, small, medium, large, family-businesses, non-profits -- have in common. However, how they go about achieving growth could be very very different. This course focuses on how innovation is a mechanism for growth in a variety of firms and situations.

If you are going to work for a Gorilla / Chimp (Large / Medium Business):
M&A, incremental innovation, risk management and bureaucracy building are all skills and capabilities that are in abundance inside large enterprises. However, organic growth, radical innovation, uncertainty navigation, and entrepreneurial leadership skills and capabilities are all scarcities within large enterprises. Hence, many medium- and large-sized enterprises are creating internal innovation leaders who are able to drive organic growth by building innovation sandboxes and creating and nurturing a culture of innovation.

If you are going to start or work at a Monkey (Startup / Small Business):
Large firms routinely don't want to cater to certain markets and certain customers. They are very picky in terms of what margins they want and will protect. So, large enterprises do not pursue many opportunities. These spurned opportunities are precisely the ones that start-ups and small businesses should go after. Having a clear understanding of how large firms make their decisions in terms of markets and margins will improve the opportunities for start-ups and small businesses. Also, start-ups and small firms are notoriously lacking in resources. Creativity and Innovation is the primary weapon of the entrepreneur to compete against the Gorillas & Chimps. This course will provide several strategies for start-ups and small businesses to compete against the larger enterprises.

If you are from / going-to-join a family business:
All family business leaders have to comprehend that Strategy, Innovation and Leadership cannot be discussed independently and in isolation. They are all highly intertwined. At the heart of this triangle sits an even more difficult concept called "Culture." Depending on the generational, technological and socio-economic changes that are underway in their countries / industries / businesses, family business leaders have to navigate VUCAH (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity & hyperconnectedness) through a careful combination of multi-dexterous skills in terms of Strategy, Innovation, Leadership & Culture. This course will help you gain those multi-dexterous skills.

OIM7522 Leading Sustainable Innovation
(Formerly MOB7522)
3 Elective Credits

If you took and passed MOB7522, you cannot register for OIM7522, as these two courses are equivalent

The era of corporations integrating sustainable practices is being surpassed by a new age of corporations actively transforming the market to make it more sustainable. Enterprise integration is geared toward present-day measures of success; market transformation will help companies create tomorrow's measures. This course prepares entrepreneurial leaders to create systemic transformation and apply practical decision-making with the purpose of socio-ecological and economic value. In this course you will learn different approaches including systems thinking to design, develop and implement sustainability-oriented innovations. After completing this course, you will be able to
(1) Critically examine the relationship between business practices and socio-ecological system,
(2) Understand and apply the concepts of sustainability thinking and practice (externalities, process thinking, and systems and design thinking) to design, develop and implement sustainability-oriented innovations with socio-ecological systemic impacts,
(3) Understand how to operationalize the four elements of sustainability thinking and practice (purpose and strategic intent, stakeholder involvement, metrics, design and implementation of innovations)
(4) Develop knowledge and skillset to take lead in formulating an effective sustainability strategy for the transformation of a conventional organization

MSM6100 LEAP

4.5 Credits

Leap is a year-long experiential course and serves as the foundation for the MSM program. The course is designed as an integrated learning experience that integrates design, entrepreneurship, and organizational behavior. The course is structured as a project-based course in which students will work in small, independent groups as they identify, design, develop, and prepare to launch a new opportunity. Students will develop a deep understanding of the intersection between design principles and fundamentals of entrepreneurship. Students also will learn how to work effectively in a group and organization, critical to the success of any new opportunity. Cocurricular resource sessions will provide students with essential awareness of legal issues that might impact the implementation of their projects.

MSM6101 LEAP

4.5 Credits

LEAP is a yearlong experiential course and serves as the foundation for the MSM program. The course is designed as an integrated learning experience that integrates design, entrepreneurship, and organizational behavior. The course is structured as a project-based course in which students will work in small, independent groups as they identify, design, develop, and prepare to launch a new opportunity. Students will develop a deep understanding of the intersection between design principles and fundamentals of entrepreneurship. Students also will learn how to work effectively in a group and organization, critical to the success of any new opportunity. Cocurricular resource sessions will provide students with essential awareness of legal issues that might impact the implementation of their projects.

EPS7530 M & A for Entrepreneurs
3 CreditsThis course focuses on the strategies and process entrepreneurs and business leaders employ in various types of acquisitions or divestitures (leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, ESOPs, etc.). The course is centered around $10-500 Million revenue companies and its content is applicable for students pursuing either entrepreneurial opportunities or corporate positions where they may be called upon to acquire or divest a division or product line.

We take a strategic view throughout the course discussing and evaluating all phases of the acquisition process: Acquisition planning and targeting, Valuation alternatives, Leveraged Buyouts, ESOPs/Partnerships, Financing buyouts, Tax, legal and accounting issues, Letters of Intent, Due Diligence, Negotiating an agreement, International markets, Lessons to be learned from failed acquisitions, Managing the leveraged company.

Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of accounting and finance will be helpful in understanding valuation, income statements and balance sheet issues

QTM6300 Machine Learning for Business
(Formerly Data Exploration and Analytics)
3 Blended CreditsThis course will examine the methods and challenges faced in turning data into insightful analytics in business. With data sizes significantly increasing in the last decade, extracting meaningful information to compete successfully is essential. You will accomplish this by learning techniques for data gathering, data analysis, and visualization as well as in discussion on companies currently trying to turn the information they gather into business opportunities. We will learn a variety of methods and software for finding patterns(such as regression, neural networks, association rules, CART, forecasting etc.), building models, and ultimately making decisions using large data sets. Guest speakers who are executives and consultants in the field of analytics and visualization will discuss how they address these challenges in their companies. This is a hands-on course with in-class exercises and group projects to help students learn and apply data analysis techniques preparing them for the practical challenges analysts face in the real world. We will address questions such as:

- How does Amazon recommend products based on your past purchases?
- How to forecast energy consumption based on historical weather and consumption data?
- How do credit-card companies detect fraud?
- What challenges does Big Data pose to companies and how to handle these challenges?

QTM7571 Introduction to Machine Learning Methods for Business
(Formerly Business Intelligence, Analytics & Visualization)
3 CreditsThis course introduces statistical and machine learning methods for business intelligence. Given the ease of data collection and storage, extracting meaningful information from data has become an essential trait for competitiveness, for companies large and small. In this course, you will learn a variety of statistical and machine learning methods that companies use to turn data into insights. You will get hands-on experience with the implementation of statistical and machine learning methods, from data pre-processing to generating predictions, and evaluating model accuracy. Your learnings will be in practical contexts, such as:

- Predicting prices of homes as provided by the leading real estate database company realtor.com
- Predicting the statuses of the loans for the peer-to-peer loan lending company LendingClub
- Building a recommendation engine for the music website Last.fm

The various methods covered in this course will be implemented using the RStudio coding language. No prior knowledge of RStudio is required.

Prerequisites: QTM 7200 OR QTM7800

EXP7501 Make Your Internship Matter

(Online)

As freshly hired graduate interns, you have an opportunity to test your chosen field of work and apply what you've learned from the first year of your Babson program. In this wholly on-line, asynchronous course, you will go through modules themed around critical career topics like networking, negotiating, and personal branding, while reflecting on your real-time internship experience. By the end of the semester, you will be equipped with strategies that empower you take ownership of your career development for a lifetime.

International students using their CPT to work in the US are required to take this course.