Prerequisites

Course Credits

3.00

Description

This course provides a plethora of analytical tools and strategy frameworks and applications thereof for managing high-technology businesses. You will find the contents of this course to be extremely useful whether your need is to know how to apply technology strategy in your day to day work in consulting, big tech-firms, or new ventures; or whether you work in a non-technology-centric industry such as retail / banking / government, but interface with ebusiness / IT / Internet marketing groups and realize that technology remains one of the biggest influencers on management of your organization. The tools and frameworks learned in this course will also assist you if you decide to delve into technology entrepreneurship in high-tech / biotech / clean-tech industries. In particular, these tools and frameworks will help you in insightful strategic planning while deciding which technologies to invest in and which to avoid, how to structure those investments and how to anticipate and respond to the behavior of competitors, suppliers, and customers. You will also learn to recognize the interactions between competition, patterns of technological and market change, and the structure and development of organizational capabilities. An expertise in crafting and repeatedly applying these tools and frameworks will help you lead your organization / firm / business unit in development of the needed technology / product / solutions strategies as a meaningful and integral part of its business strategy. Businesses that will survive and thrive in today's Global Village will do well to recognize that customer markets, labor markets, supply markets, and capital markets are becoming more and more global, dynamic, competitive. As a business and technology leader in your firm, should you out-source, dual source, or have flexible labor contracts? When should you file for patents and when should you keep your trade a secret? As product innovation and rapid technological change gives way to maturing technologies / markets and process innovation, should "service innovation" be your focus, and should you consider your customers a part of your firm's ecosystem? As a business / marketing leader in your product or services oriented firm, how do you find the right revenue balance and then "servitize" products to create new value added opportunities and "productize" services to deliver themmore efficiently and flexibly? As a manager / business leader, will you be able to create more value by moving beyond conventional thinking about strategy / capabilities to compete on the basis of platforms / complements as is being done by Salesforce.com / Facebook / iPhone? Beyond Google AdWords / AdSense, how do you use the Internet / Social Media (Facebook / Twitter) / Blogs / Collaborative Content / Web 2.0 as an effective marketing and distribution channel? You will be able to brainstorm all this and more in the last class with the professor, who will bring not only a global perspective, but also 20 years of experience in the technology industry (including 10 years in Silicon Valley) to the Class Room.

Term Offered

Offered Fall Term

Prerequisites

Course Credits

3.00

Description

This course is designed to provide you the tools to analyze your organization's competitive situation and develop innovative strategies and proposals that disrupt your competition and are game changers for your industry. You will also learn how to develop blue ocean strategies that create new growth opportunities and bring new customers into your industry. Next, you will learn how to assess existing business models and design business models supportive of your overall innovation-based strategy offerings. Lastly, you will learn how to access and leverage external sources of innovative ideas through the processes of open innovation, including crowd sourcing and co creation and their application in diverse industry settings.

Term Offered

Offered Both Fall and Spring

Course Types

MBA Strategic Management

Prerequisites

FIN-750 OR MBA-750 OR MBA-650

Course Credits

3.00

Description

This course is designed to examine the underlying theoretical foundations and practice of decisions central to corporate strategy development. Since this subject is important to scholars in strategic management, financial economics, and public policy, it is approached from an integrative, interdisciplinary perspective. Topics include: the history of merger waves in America and comparative global trends; types of mergers; merger financial and economic motives; strategic and managerial motives; acquisition processes; synergy of the diversified corporate portfolio; empirical evidence of merger success; post-merger integration; divestment; takeover defense strategies; leveraged buyouts; and public policy issues. Students will develop conceptual and analytical skills required for effective merger and divestment analysis through class lectures, selected readings, case discussions, and guest speakers.

Term Offered

Offered Spring Term

Course Types

MBA Strategic Management