COM7501 Strategic Writing for Managers
(Formerly MOB7501)
1.5 Credits

If you have taken and passed MOB7501, you cannot register for COM7501, as these two courses are equivalent

This course helps students become more efficient and effective writers of strategic professional communications. Cases, readings, and assignments illustrate challenging communication problems that demand readable, succinct, substantive, and persuasive writing. Assignments may range in applications to as internal formal and informal communications, and external communication such as media and public relations, client relations, and social media. Class activities involve extensive peer review and editing of students' own writing.

Prerequisites: None

MOB6100 Strategy

3 CreditsThe goal of this course is to develop knowledge and skills needed to understand and evaluate a firm's strategy as an analyst, recommend future strategic actions as a consultant, and manage the strategic direction of a firm as a manager. By the end of the course, students will: become familiar with the analytical tools used to perform dynamic industry analyses; discover how competitors' different competitive positionings respond to, and build on, industry structures; understand the nature of competitive dynamics in an industry; discover the link between competitive positioning, internal capabilities, and business model development; understand the specificities of competing in a variety of industries and countries simultaneously; and develop the ability to search for, identify, and research diverse strategic issues, challenges and opportunities, and to design and develop innovative solutions. An important part of the course is devoted to a real-life consulting project, in which students work as a team to develop a strategic recommendation for a partner firm.

STR7800 Strategy

2 Credits (Core MBA)

If you have taken and passed MOB7202/MOB7801, you cannot register for STR7800 as these courses are equivalent

This integrative course focuses on strategic and competitive analysis to enable entrepreneurial action. How can we identify the main strategic issues facing our company? How should we position our business strategically to compete effectively? What sources of competitive advantage can we create, exploit and sustain? What capabilities do we need to launch the business, grow the business, and adapt successfully to changes in the environment? Students will need to demonstrate that they can write coherently about strategic developments and options.

MOB7202 Strategy

2 CreditsThis course focuses on strategic and competitive analysis to enable entrepreneurial action. How should we position our business strategically to compete effectively? What sources of competitive advantage can we create, exploit and sustain? What capabilities do we need to launch the business, grow the business, and adapt successfully to changes in the environment?

Prerequisites: MOB7200, EPS7200, MKT7200 and QTM7200

MKT9501 Strategy and Tactics of Pricing
3 Elective Credits

Pricing decisions determine sales volume and revenue, so pricing strategy and structure are vital to a company's profitability and growth. Price determination is a top priority for managers in charge of marketing strategy or product strategy for existing or new products. Revenue and pricing are financial metrics considered to be table stakes for startups. Pricing is also a key variable for CFOs and controllers who have to forecast and manage the impact of pricing changes on a firm's financial results in competitive markets.

MKT9501 is designed to provide you with the concepts, techniques and knowledge that will enable you to determine the best prices and pricing strategy for your business and identify ways to improve existing pricing practice in companies. In the first part of the course, we will cover the fundamental analytical tools and theoretical frameworks needed to analyze costs, customers, and competition in order to set a proactive pricing strategy. We will focus on articulating sources of customer value and introduce tools companies can use to charge for value. The second part of the course introduces examples of pricing tactics from a variety of industries, and in B2B and B2C contexts. Examples of topics included are dynamic pricing, price discrimination and versioning, product line pricing, pricing psychology, bundling and subscriptions. MKT9501 also explores how companies can respond to pricing pressures and (re)structure their revenue models to adapt to increased competition and technological disruptions in global and dynamic markets.

Pre-requisites: It is strongly recommended that students take ECN7500 Economic Analysis for Business Decisions before or concurrently with this course.

STR7531 Strategy & the CEO
3 Elective Credits

Today's CEOs are viewed either as visionaries and corporate wizards, or liabilities and dead weight leading their organizations to stagnation or ruin. Society and investors increasingly look to the CEO as responsible for a company's strategy and its overall performance. How should CEOs approach their jobs? What are the things only the CEO can do? What are the characteristics of a good CEO?

By examining the role of the CEO, this course aims to deepen our understanding of strategy and leadership. We will bring the CEO perspective into the classroom - through regular guest CEOs, videos and case discussions - and outside of class through live interaction with the leader of your own organization or another of your choosing. Hear directly from CEOs how they think about strategy, what is different about their current role from previous functional leadership positions, and what they have struggled with or been surprised by in the job. Think through the intersection of strategy and leadership through case-based discussions and a simulation in which you play the role of CEO.

At the end of the course, students will have a deeper, more hands-on view of strategy and organizational leadership. Students will learn how taking a "CEO perspective" can improve decision-making, problem solving and one's leadership profile at any level of an organization.

For more information: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/x4wey

Prerequisites: None (strongly recommended to take Strategy (MOB7801 or STR 7800) first)

STR7500 Strategy Execution
3 Credits

This course in Strategy Execution is designed to introduce students to the complexity, and challenges associated with implementing a developed strategy into both emerging and existing markets. There are three major objectives in the course.

1. The first is to help students articulate a philosophy designed to guide in successfully executing strategic initiatives. Here, you will explore the concepts of intended versus emergent strategy, the operating environment versus the executing environment and the various levers of power available to managers to utilize in the successful execution of business-level strategy.

2. The second objective is to explore both successful and unsuccessful firm-level strategy executions. Using the case method, we will explore the various levers of power available to managers analyzing and critiquing the outcomes of various firms' efforts to execute a business level strategic initiative.

3. The third objective is in two parts. The first part is to give students hands-on experience via an online simulation in strategy execution. Strategy execution is best learned by doing. The intent is to expose students to the complexities of strategy implementation where information is incomplete and unanticipated challenges to implementing a strategy emerge from unexpected sources. Students learn to prioritize, work within tight time schedules, learn to cope with limited resources, and respond to unexpected demands. The second part is to fully demonstrate your understanding of the complex relationships that characterize strategy execution during the final exam.

For more information: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/ownhj

Prerequisites: MOB7202 or MOB7801 or STR7800

MOB7500 Strategy Execution
3 Credits

This course in Strategy Execution is designed to introduce students to the complexity, and challenges associated with implementing a developed strategy into both emerging and existing markets. There are three major objectives in the course.

1. The first is to help students articulate a philosophy designed to guide in successfully executing strategic initiatives. Here, you will explore the concepts of intended versus emergent strategy, the operating environment versus the executing environment and the various levers of power available to managers to utilize in the successful execution of business-level strategy.
2. The second objective is to explore both successful and unsuccessful firm-level strategy executions. Using the case method, we will explore the various levers of power available to managers analyzing and critiquing the outcomes of various firms' efforts to execute a business level strategic initiative.
3. The third objective is in two parts. The first part is to give students hands-on experience via an online simulation in strategy execution. Strategy execution is best learned by doing. The intent is to expose students to the complexities of strategy implementation where information is incomplete and unanticipated challenges to implementing a strategy emerge from unexpected sources. Students learn to prioritize, work within tight time schedules, learn to cope with limited resources, and respond to unexpected demands. The second part is to fully demonstrate your understanding of the complex relationships that characterize strategy execution during the final exam.

For more information: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/ownhj

Prerequisites: MOB7202 or MOB7801

OIM7572 Supply Chain Management

(Formerly OPS7572 Supply and Demand Chain Management)
3 Elective Credits

If you took and passed OPS7572, you cannot register for OIM7572, as these two courses are equivalent

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is primarily the management of flows. These flows involve multiple, interactive parties. Thus, asymmetric interests & information pooling often govern the Chain itself as it interprets the uncertainty inherent in both supply and demand. The goal of all supply chains is to satisfy or exceed customer's expectations and to do so at sustainable and reliable levels of profitability. The achievement of these goals is both enabled and challenged by the nature of complex systems in an increasingly globalized economy. In many industries supply chains are the primary determinant of product cost, capital efficiency and customer satisfaction. Indeed in certain firms, Supply Chain Management is a compelling source of competitive advantage and shareholder interest.

This course is a foundational elective designed to provide students with an integrated perspective of SCM; with enough specificity to critically assess the strategic fit of an existing supply chain design and to offer discrete recommendations for improvement. Students will also learn to recognize best practices in supply chain management, identify possible supply chain barriers to effectively scaling a venture, and assess the effectiveness of advanced technologies such as robotics, blockchain and AI to further improve supply chain execution & product/service life-cycle management. As such the course will be an essential component to the portfolio of studies of those pursuing advanced management skills & research. The course is intended for CEO's, COO's, CSO's, Product Managers and Operations leaders in ventures where the supply chain is an instrument of strategic intent & actualization.

This course is structured on the fundamental assertion that a system is more than the sum of its parts. As systems, supply chains may exhibit adaptive, dynamic, self-resilient and even goal seeking behaviors. Our scope of study is through a lens involving networks, platforms and ecosystems - often well beyond the hard boundaries of a firm. For purposes of our course, Supply Chain Management is defined as the transdisciplinary & integrated approach to managing the flow of goods/services, information, and capital, from raw materials through to the end user - and increasingly the conversion of end-of-life products back into sourcing streams.

Prerequisites: 1) NONE for those involved in Specialty Masters Programs (MSBA, MSF, MSEL)

2) Completion of OIM 7800 for all other students

OIM7529 Sustainability Innovation
1.5 Elective Credits

**Students who took this as MOB7529 cannot register for this course.**

Our economic systems are running on an enormous ecological deficit. However, there's some good news for entrepreneurial leaders everywhere; everything needs to be redesigned. What you get when you have new technologies, new user needs, new markets, and new business plans is new opportunities for sustainable development. With this mindset, the industrial and economic systems are in sustainability transformation from the industrial age to the climate change and social impact age.

In this new age, entrepreneurial leaders must understand the socio-ecological impacts of their businesses, and integrate sustainability risks and opportunities into discussions and decisions on risk, revenue, and business strategy. They must explore and develop innovations with sustainability priorities for their markets and industries. They must be able to evaluate value and impact at scale in the context of short- and long-term strategic decision making. Otherwise, their businesses will be inevitably extinct in the climate change and social impact age.

This course aims to prepare entrepreneurial leaders for critical sustainability transformation. Students will gain knowledge about the sustainability challenges (e.g., energy, transportation, waste, carbon management, agriculture, production and consumption) and practical skills for exploring sustainability innovations and accelerating the growth of sustainable businesses (e.g, net zero, zero-carbon tech, decarbonization, ESG, UN SDG). Students will 1) learn and employ integrated systems thinking to address social responsibility, ecological integrity, and value creation; 2) apply an innovation process framework to generate sustainability ideas and develop business strategies; and 3) assess the suitability, scalability, and sustainability of innovations for consumers/users, investors, and other stakeholders of interest.

Students who are interested in any of the following roles may find this course useful:

• An entrepreneur wanting to understand sustainability as a business opportunity
• An individual or corporate strategy group developing a sustainability strategy
• An individual or corporate strategy group seeking growth through sustainability innovations
• A leader wanting to develop a culture of sustainability and organizational change
• An R&D group aiming to integrate sustainability into its innovation process
• A financier deciding whether to invest in a sustainability-oriented entrepreneur

Prerequisite: NONE