Markets, Public Policy & Law

• QST BA 221: Introduction to Data and Business Analytics
  Undergraduate pre-requisite: QSTSM 131 or sophomore standing and QSTSM 131 previously or concurrently. - Exposes students to business data and business analytics. Topics in business analytics include the fundamentals of probability and statistics, but the emphasis is on the collection, structuring, and analysis of data to support business decision-making. Topics include descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics, as well as distributions, sampling, estimation, hypothesis testing, and chi-square analyses. Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Quantitative Reasoning I.
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  • Quantitative Reasoning I
• QST BA 222: Modeling Business Decisions and Market Outcomes with Spreadsheets and Statistical Programming
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: QSTBA 221. - Students must choose either QSTBA 222 or QSTBA 223, and students cannot take both courses. This course examines the use of economic and statistical tools for making business decisions at an advanced level, and prepares students for future study in business analytics. Introduces programming for data analysis (no previous programming knowledge required) and links data analysis to decision making using both spreadsheet modeling and statistical programming. Topics include multiple regression, causal inference, forecasting, predictive analytics, machine learning, demand modeling, and optimization. Case studies apply advanced concepts to practical business problems. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Quantitative Reasoning II.
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  • Quantitative Reasoning II
• QST BA 223: Business Modeling with Spreadsheets
  Undergraduate pre-requisite: QSTBA 221. Formerly QSTQM 222. Students must choose either QSTBA 222 or QSTBA 223 (formerly QM222). Students cannot take both BA222 and BA223. - This course examines the use of economic and statistical tools for making business decisions. The course emphasizes linking data analysis to spreadsheet modeling to support advanced business decision making. Topics include multiple regression, causal inference, forecasting, demand modeling, and optimization. Case studies apply concepts to practical business problems and the principal software tool used in the course is the spreadsheet. Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Quantitative Reasoning II.
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  • Quantitative Reasoning II
• QST BA 305: Business Decision-Making with Data
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: QST BA222 or QST QM222 and either CAS CS111 or CDS DS110 - Explores advanced business analytics topics, including risk and uncertainty, optimization, decision analysis, multi-attributes objective functions, and time tradeoffs. Links data models to strategy and ethics. Relies on both statistical programming and spreadsheet modeling and introduces novel techniques. Cases studies and projects apply topics to practical business problems.
• QST BE 101: Introductory Microeconomics for Business and Strategy
  Business economics provides students with an intellectual framework for understanding how businesses work: how firms interact in markets, and how markets respond to regulation and policy. Business economics has a dual mission: it is both a social science that describes how markets function and a framework that provides practical guidance for business leaders. This course focuses on business-relevant questions of how markets and businesses interact to create and distribute value. The course takes a data-based, empirical approach to these questions and uses experiential learning and interactive activities to enhance students' applications of economics to BU business problems. The course describes how social value is created via innovation and economic growth and how social value can be destroyed through harmful externalities. Effective Fall 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Critical Thinking, Ethical Reasoning, Social Inquiry I.
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  • Critical Thinking
  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Social Inquiry I
• QST BE 102: Introduction to Macroeconomics for Business
  Pre-requisite: CASEC 101 or QSTBE 101. Sound business decision-making requires an understanding of the economic environment in which firms operate. It requires an understanding of key economic indicators, the role of economic institutions, and the mechanics of the macroeconomy,. This course builds upon the Business Economics course in Introductory Microeconomic for Business to introduce students to the economic theories and tools that enable a better understanding of national economic performance; the problems of recession, unemployment, and inflation; money creation, government spending, and taxation; economic policies for full employment and price stability; and international trade and payments, interpreted through the lens of business. The course takes a data-based, empirical approach to these questions and uses experiential learning and interactive activities to enhance students' applications of macroeconomics to business problems. Effective Spring 2026, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Social Inquiry I.
• QST BE 325: Strategy in the Health and Life Science Sector
  Undergraduate Pre-requisite: Sophomore standing. - This course examines the distinctive strategic and economic challenges that healthcare and life science firms face. It explores how innovators, providers, and insurers in the healthcare industry create and capture value. We will develop frameworks of competition specific to the healthcare industry. Public policy responds to the unique features of these markets, and we will examine how this generates new affects business opportunities. The course offers insights into the unique aspects of the U.S. healthcare system and how it compares globally. We explore questions such as: How does payment affect the types of drugs firms develop' How do insurers avoid expensive customers' Who is incentivized to offer high-quality health care' Effective Fall 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Social Inquiry II.
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  • Social Inquiry II
• QST BE 350: The Psychology of Decision Making: Implications for Business and Public Policy
  Undergraduate Pre-requisite: Sophomore standing. - We provide an introduction to how individuals make decisions, applying the tools of psychology and economics. We will learn to identify common mistakes and biases. Students will have the opportunity to evaluate their own decision- making ability and learn how to make improved decisions. We link each aspect of decision-making studied to current personal finance decision, business problem & public policy issue. This course will improve negotiation ability and prepare students to use social science data to support decisions. The course consists of cases, discussions, lectures & project. Effective Fall 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Critical Thinking.
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  • Critical Thinking
  • Social Inquiry II
• QST BE 720: Organizations, Markets, and Society
  Understanding and analyzing the core strategic decisions facing businesses in competitive markets. Students will examine how businesses achieve their fundamental goals given the need to produce goods and services efficiently and a market environment reflecting consumer preferences (demand) and the strategies and strengths of competitors. Students will develop analytic skills necessary for understanding core business models and how different models create value for the business as well as the larger society.
• QST BE 721: Economics and Management Decisions
  Graduate Pre-requisite: QST MO712 or MO713 (QST QM716 or QM717 recommended). The aim of the course is to present many of the decision problems managers face and to present the economic analysis they need to guide these decisions. Microeconomic tools are used to structure complicated decision problems about production, pricing, investment, and other strategic issues, address uncertainty through probabilistic forecasts and sequential decisions. An important part of the course is to develop an understanding of the external environment in which firms operate by analyzing the implications of market structure, macroeconomic developments and policy, and other forms of public policy toward business.
• QST BE 834: Macroeconomics in the Global Environment
  Macroeconomics is the study of the aggregate behavior of global market participants, i.e. consumers, firms, workers, governments, central banks, foreign investors. Decision making by investment bankers, product/sales managers, policy makers, or consumers inevitably rely on an understanding of the main forces driving GDP, inflation, unemployment, interest rates, and exchange rates. Consider these questions: 1. Should new consumer durable products be launched during recessions' 2. Are countries that experience high productivity growth good investment targets' 3. Will interest rates drop if the US government starts buying back its debt' 4. With significant liquidity demands by the US economy from the public sector, the household sector and businesses, what explains the low US interest rates' Are these factors expected to keep interest rates low also in the future' 5. Can the Euro boost productivity in Europe in the medium to long run and what are the competitiveness challenges for US businesses of such changes' 6. What are the economic effects of wars and how should they be financed' These and other issues will come up in the course. The main goal of this course is to provide a coherent framework that you can use to understand economic events as you confront them in your work environment.
• QST BE 845: Improving Your Decisions
  The main aim of Improving Your Decisions is to present many of the decision problems managers face and to identify the most effective ways to make sound decisions -- as well as the pitfalls, biases, and mistakes that should be avoided. A key element of the course is to present students with a series of decision challenges: What would you do' In other words, you must come to grips with actual decisions and defend your actions. The assigned readings also convey the most recent research findings in behavioral economics: how individuals and managers actually make decisions. The second half of the course centers on group decision making: how groups with common and not-so-common interests decide. The focus shifts from individual choices to group decisions that embody both competitive and cooperative elements.
• QST HM 717: Drugs, Devices, and Diagnostics: New Challenges, Strategies, and Execution
  Graduate Prerequisites: QST HM703, QST FE712 or FE722, QST MK723 or MK724, QST SI750 or SI751 - This course will examine issues and opportunities in life sciences focused on the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical devices sectors and the life sciences service industry supporting these sectors, through the eyes of the CEO. The course will investigate who manages these companies and what are the strategies that are used to build successful enterprises. Students will be introduced to individuals and institutions at every stage of the development cycle from idea generation and start-up fundraising to manufacturing, commercialization and global expansion. We will specifically look at key elements of strategy and the execution by examining companies, that have either succeeded or failed, by discussing the pros and cons of different approaches and teasing out the lessons one can derive from leaders in the field and case studies examining their approaches.
• QST HM 820: Strategy, Economics, and Policy in the Health Sector
  Graduate Prerequisites: (QSTPL727 OR QSTPL730) - This course studies the strategic and economic issues facing insurers, providers, and life-sciences companies in the healthcare sector. The course will adapt tools from health economics, strategy, and finance to understand the problems faced by these firms. The course will also examine the problems faced by regulators, who must craft policies that shape the healthcare sector: which hospital mergers to allow; what procedures health insurers must cover; how public programs ought to reimburse life-sciences companies; how quality of care is measured and rewarded; and so on.
• QST HM 848: Driving Health Sector Innovation
  This course examines an array of compelling opportunities for innovation, incremental and disruptive, across products and services, created within existing organizations or by starting new businesses. It bridges design and implementation, examining the unique and complex array of elements that make successful innovation in the health sector so difficult, and developing the skills and knowledge needed to effectively address those challenges. The course provides a conceptual framework, and then emphasizes hands-on engagement, concrete exercises, written cases, and in-class speakers who are engaged in real-world innovation initiatives. Students will have the opportunity to focus on areas of particular interest and relevance to current or future work. They will leave better equipped to drive or support the viable, value-creating innovation so desperately needed in the health sector.
• QST LA 245: Business Law, Contracts, and Regulation
  Undergraduate Prerequisite: QST SM131. - This course provides a broad overview of the fundamental legal issues of significance for business. It examines contracts, business organizations, employment law, intellectual property, and international law. It explores the regulatory environment affecting businesses in the United States and around the globe. The course goals include understanding the basic rules of business law and the underlying social policies and ethical dilemmas that affect business operations and investments.
• QST LA 343: Discrimination and the Law: Implications for Business
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: (QSTLA245) - Many companies struggle with how to support diverse employees, and the need to do so has become even more urgent in the wake of events like the death of George Floyd. Navigating these issues requires understanding how the lived experiences varies systematically among different ethnic groups, genders, gender identities, and sexual orientation. Successfully addressing inequities and adopting practical solutions necessitates understanding the history of racism, sexism, and other "isms" in America. This course will address these and other relevant issues in the context of the corporate environment. It will cover doctrinal issues regarding the ethical and legal obligations of corporations as it relates to managing discrimination in the workplace (e.g., history of antidiscrimination legislation, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964), but will also delve into some of the more practical aspects of the tools and techniques companies can or should adopt to achieve a more inclusive work environment. 4 cr.
• QST LA 346: Business, Justice, and Responsibility
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: (QSTLA245) - This course explores the legal and ethical challenges a leader will face in a highly regulated, complex, global business. We will explore societal issues such as lying, bias, fraud, corruption, stereotyping, religious freedom, discrimination, and whistleblowing, and consider the responsibility of a business and its leaders to address these challenges, and to create a more just society. Students will also consider the competing roles of business, the legislature, and the courts in addressing societal issues. By reading Supreme Court opinions and business cases, participating in oral arguments, engaging in efforts to make social change, and studying current events, students will deepen skills in analyzing ethical dilemmas and thinking critically. This course will teach students to view decisions through multiple frames, develop empathy, and train them to engage in a meaningful, substantive dialogue -- written and spoken -- about sensitive topics in a professional setting.
• QST LA 355: Employment Law and Public Policy
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: (QSTLA245) - An in-depth look at the legal issues involved in the employer/employee relationship. Such topics include: discrimination, affirmative action, harassment, the hiring process, employee testing, and terminating employees (for cause, layoffs). Discussions will focus on the duties and rights of both parties through the stages of employment, from hiring and managing your workforce, to benefits, conditions of employment, and downsizing.
• QST LA 360: Real Estate Law
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: QST LA245. Pre-req for SHA students: SHA HF250 - Real estate can generate spectacular wealth and contribute to unprecedented financial losses. Real estate is an essential component of every business that requires a physical location to operate. Real estate is where we sleep, where we attend school, where we work, where we play, where we go when we are sick -it quite literally is beneath everything we do. Every real estate transaction begins and ends with legal principles. Mastering the basics of property law puts one in a superior position. Knowledge of real estate law is imperative for those who plan to invest in or manage property on a larger scale. This course provides an overview of real estate law for tenants, present and future property owners, developers, investors, and public policy advocates. We examine the nature of real property and property ownership, residential and commercial real estate transactions, and selected issues of real estate development.