Strategy & Innovation

• GSM SI 915: Models & Methods for Causal Inference in Strategy Research
  What should you do when a referee says your paper has an "endogeneity problem" or a seminar participant asks how your empirical model is "identified"? This course will present a set of tools and concepts that should help you produce an intelligent response. There are two main goals. The first is to develop a clear understanding of the conceptual difficulties associated with establishing causality in empirical work. In particular to de-mystify several concepts that are frequently invoked as "problems" or "issues" in applied empirical research, but seldom clearly explained. A good grasp of these concepts will lead to improved research design and a sharper understanding of the relative strengths and weaknesses of various statistical methods. The second goal is to describe some of the practical problems that arise in the application of these methods. The course has special emphasis on testing the key underlying assumptions. This course is designed to complement a traditional two-semester graduate sequence in econometrics.
• GSM SI 920: Organizations in Strategy and Economics
  This doctoral seminar will compare and contrast ideas about organizational design and the performance consequences of organizational decisions from the closely related fields of Strategy and Economics. The first half of the semester will focus on the role of organizations (typically firms) in several schools of thought within Strategic Management. The second half of the semester will cover similar topics from an economic perspective, which places more emphasis on incentives, formal contracts and specific kinds of information problems (i.e. moral hazard and adverse selection). At the end of this course, students should be able to explain how the role of organizations differs across several key theoretical lenses used in Strategic Management (e.g. the Knowledge Based View vs. Strategic Human Capital Theory). Identify the core incentive and informational problems that underpin most economic models of organization. Articulate areas where Strategy and Economics have reached a consensus on the key drivers of organization, as well as questions where the two fields make different assumptions and/or reach different conclusions and describe key empirical regularities and associations that have informed organizational theory-building efforts in both strategy and economics.
• GSM SI 998: Ds: Strat&Innov
  
• GSM SI 999: Ds: Strat&Innov
  
• SMG SI 422: Strategy, Innovation, and Global Competition
  Provides students with a powerful set of tools which will prepare them to analyze, formulate, and implement business firm strategy with the aim of attaining sustainable competitive advantage. Adopts the perspective of the general manager, challenging student knowledge in each functional area in the effort to create integrative strategies that serve the needs of shareholders, as well as other stakeholders inside and outside the company. The course includes conceptual readings, which elucidate the fundamental concepts and frameworks of strategic management, as well as case analyses, which enable students to apply their knowledge to real-world situations and managerial decisions. The course culminates with a final project, which requires student teams to perform a complete strategic analysis on a public company, considering its industry environment and dynamics, its strategic positioning and internal resources, and proposing a course of action for the firm to respond to its strategic challenges. 4 cr.
• SMG SI 430: The Multidisciplinary Sustainable Energy Practicum
  Pre-reqs: SMG SM131 or SM121/122 or SM299; CAS GE150; ENG EK225. Required course for the Undergraduate Minor in Sustainable Energy. Serves as the capstone project providing students with a multidisciplinary experience that applies ALL three disciplines on the Undergraduate Minor in Sustainable Energy, i.e. Business, Environmental Sciences and Engineering. The practicum is offered in conjunction with a "sponsoring company" to provide students with a hands-on experience with a real-world sustainable energy project. 4 cr.
• SMG SI 435: Entertainment Management
  (Offered in Los Angeles) Surveys the application of management concepts and principles to the film, television, video, new media and music industry. This course examines administration and finance, development, production, and distribution, and introduces students to the organizations and people (such as studios, independent production companies, talent managers, and agents) who manage, invest, and eventually profit in this creative industry. Much of the class time is spent in discussion of current entertainment industry trends. Students gain the skills to achieve their own entertainment goals. 4 cr.
• SMG SI 438: Talent Representation and Management
  (Offered in Los Angeles) Using case studies and business models, students examine the manner in which critical players interact and attempt to work together in behalf of clients in an effort to make their "professional dreams" come to fruition. Participants will gain an understanding of the different areas of talent representation, how each one functions in the scope of a talent's career and what the responsibilities are for each position in each area of representation. Participants will also gain a clear view of what the business of Entertainment Representation has to offer as a chosen career. 4 cr.
• SMG SI 444: Entrepreneurship
  Addresses the specifics of planning a business startup or expanding and altering an existing small business, including the feasibility of ideas, market definition, management, and operations and financing requirements. This is a hands-on, experiential learning course requiring integration of previous coursework into a coherent, realistic business plan. Helps students assess and develop their own particular idea and to consider the appropriateness for them of entrepreneurship as a career choice. 4 cr.
• SMG SI 445: Managing the Growing Enterprise
  Designed to help students understand the intricacies of running a small company. The course addresses the major problem areas in smaller companies, including valuation, negotiation, deal structure, personnel and compensation, and marketing and financing. Exposes students to a wide range of business activities, emphasizing significant differences between large and small enterprises. The course uses a competitive computer simulation to provide students with the opportunity to "run" their own business. 4 cr.
• SMG SI 451: Organizing for Design and Innovation
  This course examines how managers and leaders can create the conditions for innovation at the individual, team and organizational levels and how those conditions differ for startup and mature organizations. Managing innovation includes the generation of ideas; the integration of those ideas into new product concepts; and the commercialization of those ideas. While core strategy courses address the questions of what innovations to pursue and whether and when those innovations will bring value, this course addresses the question of how managers can create organizations to deliver sustainable innovations of value. 4 credits. (Spring 2011 pilot course)
• SMG SI 453: Envrnl Sstnblty
  This course description is currently under construction.
• SMG SI 469: Real Estate Development
  Real estate development is a process rather than a product. Too often, assumptions about occupancy, market absorption, rental income growth, valuation and competition are based on guesswork and interest in specific product types. The course reviews the underlying demographic market data that drives demand; utilizing data such as population and job growth, market and marketability analysis. The focus then shifts to site selection and feasibility analysis, the available methods of gaining site control and the process of assembling the professional team. Later, the course reviews the regulatory control process, along with budgeting and contract award and review of the construction control processes. The course is introductory in nature and assumes students have little or no knowledge about the development process. 4 cr.
• SMG SI 471: International Entrepreneurship
  Designed for students who may at some point be interested in pursuing managerial careers in the international entrepreneurial sector, and covers the development of skills to identify, evaluate, start, and manage ventures that are international in scope. Over the course of the semester, the class "travels" to more than fifteen countries on five continents, and analyze operations at each stage of the entrepreneurial process. The course covers market entry, forming alliances, negotiations, managing growth, and cross-border financing. Support from local governments, and the cultural, ethical, legal, and human resource issues facing the entrepreneur is also covered. 4 cr.
• SMG SI 480: The Business of Technology Innovation
  Open only to seniors and juniors in the College of Engineering. SMG students cannot take this course for degree credit. Provides an introduction to entrepreneurship and business for the engineer. Topics include finding business ideas; recognizing good from bad; understanding the importance of business model; turning technology into a business, including what to sell and how to sell it; the role of engineering within a business; business financial statements; and startups and venture capital, including starting a company or joining a startup. 4 cr.
• SMG SI 482: Tech Comrclztn
  This course description is currently under construction.
• SMG SI 498: Directed Study in Strategy and Innovation
  Directed study in Strategy and Innovation. 2 or 4 cr. Application available on Undergraduate Program website.

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