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Graduate Management Courses:
Management 621 Management of People at Work
Management 625 Corporate Governance, Executive Compensation and the
Board
Management 652 Foundations of
Teamwork and Leadership
Management 653 Field Application Project
Management 654 Competitive Strategy
Management 690 Managerial Decision Making
Management 691 Negotiations
Management 701 Strategy and Competitive
Advantage
Management 711 Competitive Strategy and Industrial Structure
Management 714 American
Business History
Management 715 Political Environment of the Multinational Firm
Management 719 Organizational Economics and Strategy
Management 721 Corporate Development: Mergers & Acquisitions
Management 731 Technology Strategy
Management 736X Inside
Indian Business
Management 740 Leading
Effective Teams
Management 751 Strategic Management of Human Assets
Management 773
Managing Organizational Change
Management 784 Managerial Economics & Game Theory
Management 788 Governance and Management of Chinese Firms
Management 801 Entrepreneurship
Management 802 Innovation, Change, and Entrepreneurship
Management 804 Venture Capital and Entrepreneurial Management
Management 806 Formation and Implementation of Entrepreneurial Ventures
Management 809 Private Equity in Emerging Markets
Management 810 Societal Wealth Venturing
Management 811 Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition
Management 816 Building Human Assets in Entrepreneurial Ventures
Management 833 Strategies and Practices of Family-Controlled Companies
Management 871 Multinational Business Policy
Management 900 Economic Foundations of Management
Management 932 Proseminar in Management
Management 933 Psychological and Sociological Foundations of Management
Management 935 Network Theory and Applications
Management 937 PhD Seminar on Entrepreneurship
Management 938 Family Business Research Seminar
Management 951 Organizational Behavior
Management
957 Emotions in Organizations
To view most current syllabus or the syllabus of a
specific instructor, please see the
Course
Schedule.
Prerequisites: None.
Description: Work is a dominant theme in
the lives of most people. The way people are managed at work affects the quality
of their lives as individuals, the effectiveness of organizations, and the
competitiveness of nations. The material in this course develops some of the
basic themes associated with managing people. In many cases, these themes make
use of basic concepts that transcend the work place, such as the psychology of
individual behavior or of work groups. The basic issues associated with managing
employees include issues associated with motivation and job satisfaction, the
design of jobs and employee empowerment, group behavior and teamwork (including
arrangements such as quality of work life programs), and leadership. The course
concludes with a discussion of alternative models or systems of managing
employees - for example, the dominant Japanese employment system as contrasted
with traditional US practices.
Format: Cases, exercises, and other
materials that provide an employment context for these concepts.
Requirements: Class attendance and
participation in discussions.
Materials: Cases and readings.
Prerequisites: MGMT 621 or equivalent.
Description:
The course will be of interest to students/future general managers involved in the design and implementation of compensation
strategies within firms, and will equip students with tools to manage and participate in these systems in a variety
of organizational settings. The class will also be considering the role of the
board of directors in implementing
compensation strategies, as well as the selection and succession of top management. The objective is to provide a general
framework for describing and analyzing organization problems in relation to corporate governance, executive compensation,
and the board of directors.
Format: See instructor.
Requirements: Class attendance and
participation in discussions.
Prerequisites: None.
Description: Increasingly unpredictable
environments now require leadership and teamwork skills earlier in one's career
than ever before. This course focuses on individual leadership skills assessment
and development, team building and performance, and team leadership key topic
areas include self-awareness, working in teams, and leading others.
Format: We examine concepts and build skills
through team projects, class discussions, problem solving, case studies, and
role-playing.
Requirements: The Team Project and Leadership
Analysis Final Paper contribute 30 and 40 percent to the course grade,
respectively.
Class participation contributes 30 percent to the course grade.
Materials: Coursepack and in-class handouts.
Prerequisites: None.
Description: This course is unique since there are no
classroom meetings; all meetings are held in the professor's office in small groups of 4 to 6.
Student teams work with faculty and host managers to construct innovative solutions to real-time issues.
Solutions are integrative and cross-functional in nature. The course encourages creative thinking and
uses cutting-edge ideas like game theory, measuring changes to brand equity, and non-market cap equity indexing.
An emphasis is placed on teaching students how to frame unstructured business so as to convince others.
Some projects are with non-profits, particularly those in microfinancing and the arts.
Format: Teams (4-6 members) meet with faculty on a weekly basis (30-45 minutes).
There will also be 3- 5 meetings with host managers. In addition to meeting with their Faculty Head,
students are given access to "area of expertise" faculty. These faculty members are chosen based on
their prime research areas. Students are given access to the most up-to-date models and information. Weekly team meetings with
faculty project head and a final PowerPoint report and presentation.
Prerequisites: None.
Description: This course focuses on the
competitive strategy of the firm, examining issues central to its long-and
short-term competitive position. The course develops a set of analytical
frameworks that enable students to explain performance differences among firms
and that provide a structure for strategic decisions to enhance firms' future
competitive positions. The first module of the course analyzes strategy at the
business unit level, introducing tools of industry analysis and competitive
positioning. The later part of the course considers corporate strategy,
examining the economic logic for firms to diversify across businesses and for
vertical integration decisions across stages of the industry value chain.
Format: To be determined by the
instructor.
Requirements: Participation in class
discussions, case assignment, and final examination.
Materials: Coursepack and textbooks.
MGMT 690, Managerial Decision
Making
Prerequisites:
MGMT 621
Description: There has been increasing
interest in recent years as to how managers make decisions when there is
uncertainty regarding the value or likelihood of final outcomes. What type of
information do they collect? How do they process the data? What factors
influence the decisions? This course will address these issues. By understanding
managerial decision processes we may be better able to prescribe ways of
improving managerial behavior. Building on recent work in cognitive psychology,
students will gain an understanding of the simplified rules of thumb and
apparent systematic biases that individuals utilize in making judgments and
choices under uncertainty. At the end of the course, students should understand
the decision making process more thoroughly and be in a position to become a
better manager.
Format: Lectures, classroom discussions
and demonstrations.
Requirements: Three short term exercises
and a term paper.
Materials:
Text and Coursepack.
MGMT 691, Negotiations
[Cross-listed with LGST 806 /
OPIM 691]
Prerequisites: None.
Description: Negotiation is the art and
science of securing agreements between two or more interdependent parties. The
central issues of this course deal with understanding the behavior of
individuals, groups, and organizations in the context of competitive situations.
The purpose of this course is to understand the theory and processes of
negotiation as it is practiced in a variety of settings. The course is designed
to be relevant to the broad spectrum of negotiation problems that are faced by
the manager and professional.
Format: The class will include lectures
and class discussions. However, a series of negotiations exercises are also
central to the course.
Requirements: Class participation; group project; individual projects.
Materials: Coursepack.
Prerequisites: MGMT 654 or permission of
instructor.
Description: This course is concerned with
strategy issues at the business unit level. Its focus is on the question of how
firms can create and sustain a competitive advantage. A central part of the
course deals with concepts that have been developed around the notions of
complementarities and fit. Other topics covered in the course include the
creation of competitive advantage through commitment, competitor analysis,
different organizational responses to environmental changes, real options,
modularity, and increasing returns. An important feature of the course is a
term-length project in which groups of students work on firm analyses that
require the application of the course concepts.
Format: Strong emphasis on class
discussions based on prescribed readings and cases. Project presentations by
student groups.
Requirements: Informed participation in
class discussions; a paper and a presentation on the term project.
Materials: Coursepack and in-class
handouts.
MGMT 711,
Competitive Strategy and Industrial Structure
Prerequisites: MGMT 654
Description: This is a course in analyzing
competitive interactions. The course emphasizes a vision of strategy in which
each competitor simultaneously chooses its strategy, taking into account the
strategies of its opponents. Crucial to this vision is the anticipation of the
moves of your opponent and, in particular, the expectation that your opponent is
(almost) as smart as you are. Equal attention will be given to the development
of techniques for analyzing competitive interactions and to the application of
those techniques. Game theory and the economics of industrial organization
provide the basis for the theoretical constructs developed in the course. Topics
that will be explored include: market failures and profitability, competitive
bidding, signaling, entry deterrence, agenda setting, regulations, and price
wars.
Materials: Coursepack and textbooks.
Prerequisites: MGMT 654.
Description: This course examines how the
kind of firms in which most Wharton students will spend the next stage of their
careers came to be as they are today. At a superficial level, the course's
objectives are descriptive and narrative. Its deeper purpose is to give students
some idea of how to think about the future evolution of firms and industries.
The course will discuss the historical development of the business enterprise as
an institution. It will also cover the evolution of competition and strategy and
of corporate finance. The focus will be on American developments, since many of
the innovations took place here; but there will be a number of comparisons in
discussion to institutions in Japan and the leading European economies. The
course considers issues arising in a number of different management disciplines
and shows off their inter-relationships.
Format: Case and other document-based
discussion and occasional lecture, research paper or examination and class
participation.
Description:
This course examines the challenge multinational enterprises face in maximizing shareholder
returns in international operations in which potential value creation is
contingent upon support from political or social actors. Using the case
method to examine instances of conflict and cooperation between multinational
enterprises, host country governments, multilateral agencies and
non-governmental actors in multiple regions and industries, we will develop a
better understanding of best practices in external stakeholder relations.
We will also discuss the international political and macro-economic consequences
of multinational enterprises' choices regarding their external stakeholder
relations strategies.
Format:
See instructor.
Description: This is an advanced strategy course,
which examines how firms create value through organizational strategy. We focus on the role
of specialization, speed, complementary assets, firm boundaries, spillovers and incentives.
Students will develop a sophisticated basis for creating organizational strategies by reading
and discussing cases and other readings and by writing an analytical paper on organizational
economics and strategy.
Prerequisites: None.
Description: This course will explore the
use of corporate acquisitions as a method of affecting substantial changes in
the business mix of larger corporations. The course will focus on the impact of
acquisitions on the acquiring firm and the target firm involved in the
transaction. Equal attention will be devoted to theoretical issues and their
managerial implications. A conceptual framework with theoretical underpinnings
will be presented as a basis for understanding of the phenomenon. Then managerial
issues involved in implementing such transactions will be examined. Topics to be
covered will include diversification strategy, competitive bidding, joint
ventures, contractual arrangements, leveraged buyouts, and the concept of
corporate governance. In each of these topics, both organizational and economic
issues will be dealt with. The conceptual framework of the course will be
developed as follows: first the implications of the major merger waves will be
interpreted, to put the acquisition phenomenon in perspective; then a
theoretical framework incorporating the incentives for firms to acquire or set
up joint ventures will be developed. Pre-acquisition issues, such as selection
of an appropriate target firm and the determinants of the premium will be
covered. Cases and readings will be used to address the organizational and
managerial issues in the post-acquisition process. Finally, areas such as
negotiation strategies and choice of alternative modes of corporate governance
will be addressed. In this context, the currently visible phenomenon of
leveraged buyouts and its implications can be examined. To incorporate a level
of realism in the course, speakers with experience in investment banking,
consulting, and government will be invited.
Format: To be determined by instructor.
Requirements: Two written assignments and
a final paper.
Materials: Coursepack and textbooks.
Prerequisites:
Wharton MBA
students only.
Description: This course presents tools
necessary for managing businesses involved in or affected by
technological innovation. It does so by developing and applying
conceptual models concerned with creating, capturing, and delivering
value. The course is designed to meet the needs of future managers,
entrepreneurs, bankers, or consultants who must understand the
interactive role of technology and organization to derive competitive
advantage. The first half of the course focuses on analytic frameworks
for managing the innovation process. This segment examines the patterns
and sources of technological change and the mechanisms for capturing the
economic benefits from innovation. The second half of the course studies
the strategic and organizational challenges involved in managing
technological innovation. Case studies throughout the course will offer
opportunities to apply the frameworks.
Format: Lectures, active class
participation, and term paper.
Prerequisites:
MGMT 621, MGMT 652, MGMT 654, MGMT 655.
Description:
This project-oriented course focuses on Indian
business. There are several themes underlying the course: the nature of
the economic reforms of 1991, and how established Indian firms,
particularly Indian conglomerates adapted during the 1990s to the
changed competitive landscape; software services and the remarkable
global success of several firms, and their contemporary globalization
challenges; the experience of MNCs in India, with a particular emphasis
on innovative business models (including the 'bottom of the pyramid'
models); telecommunications; and a comparison of China and India, and
the convergences and divergences between them. The emphasis is
integrative, and the course builds upon several required first year
courses in Management. The main perspective of the course spans several
subfields of Management: Organization Behavior and Theory, International
Management, Human Resources, Technology and Strategy.
Format:
The class will involve a mix of lectures, cases and guest speakers.
Requirements: Group term paper on a topic
relation to India business (65% of grade) and class participation (35% of grade).
Materials: Coursepack.
Prerequisites: None.
Description: This
course is designed to develop students’ skills in
effectively designing, leading and consulting to teams in organizations.
This
will be a highly interactive course, with emphasis on class participation and
experiential learning. One of the goals of this course is to provide both the
conceptual understanding and the behavioral skills required to implement
strategies. To this end, class sessions will make use of a variety of
approaches to teaching and learning, including the case method, simulation
exercises, and lectures. We will cover topics such as leading groups, group
formation and socialization, diversity, creativity, group problem solving and
decision-making, conflict, and knowledge sharing. Students will leave this
class with knowledge of how to most effectively lead a team as well as how to be
an effective team member.
Format: The class will involve a
mix of case discussion, simulations, lectures and exercises. Class
participation is an important component and will represent a significant
portion of a student's grade. The course is project based. The major
assignment will consist of a small group project where students will
build a consulting relationship with an actual team within a "live"
organization. The goal of the assignment will involve collecting primary
data from the client team to help identify positive and negative
elements of team functioning in order to make appropriate
recommendations to help improve team performance.
Prerequisite:
MGMT 621 or equivalent.
Description:
This course introduces the student to the strategic role human resource
management might play in creating competitive advantages for firms. We
study P/HRM policies and practices in context and consider broader corporate
strategies, business activities, and competitiveness in an increasingly
global marketplace. We give attention to the diversity of the American
workforce, and to the effects of changing technologies in production and in
provision of services.
Format:
This course covers specific activities typically associated with the
practice of P/HRM: staffing, the assurance of equal employment
opportunity, compensation and employee relations. The final
section of the course comprises customized readings and programs for
study based on student interest. These modules will include
interaction with practitioners where possible.
Prerequisites:
MGMT 621.
Description:
During the last decade it has become clear that in the global economy,
firms must constantly adapt to changing technological, competitive, demographic and other environmental
conditions in order to survive and prosper. The importance of acquiring the knowledge and tools for
changing organizations successfully cannot be overemphasized (particularly for students headed for
consulting and management careers, although not limited to them). This course focuses on specific concepts,
theories and tools that can assist executives entrusted with the task of leading organizational change.
Among other topics, the course will focus on the politics of change, successfully leading change efforts,
downsizing, restructuring and reengineering, and organizational adaptation. An emphasis on both analytical
and clinical skills will undergird the course content.
Format:
The class will involve a mix of case discussions, outside speakers, lectures and exercises.
Participation is an important component, making attendance important.
Requirements:
The course is project based. The major assignment will consist of a small group project working on a real
'live' organization that is undergoing change and drawing lessons from such involvement in the field.
Materials: Coursepack.
Description:
The purpose of this course is to develop students’ abilities to apply game
theory to decision-making. Development of the tools of game theory and the
application of those tools is emphasized. Game theory has become an important
tool for managers and consultants in analyzing and implementing tactical as well
as strategic actions. This course will primarily focus on examples useful for
developing competitive strategy in the private sector (pricing and product
strategy, capacity choices, contracting and negotiating, signaling and bluffing,
takeover strategy, etc.). Game theory can also be used to address problems
relevant to a firm’s organizational strategy (e.g. internal incentives and
information flow within a firm) and to a firm’s non-market environment (e.g.,
strategic trade policies, litigation and regulation strategy).
Requirements: Active class participation and term paper.
Prerequisites: MGEC 621 (intermediate microeconomics) or
equivalent. It is expected that the student has been introduced to some basic
game theory. There will be a quick review of the basics and some recommended
supplemental readings for those who have little or no background in game theory.
Materials: Required bulk pack.
Description: This course provides brief
but intensive information of some of the largest business firms in the Peoples
Republic of China. From 1949 to 1988, business firms as we know them did not
exist in the PRC. In 1988, independent legal status was granted to state-owned
enterprises, which were made responsible for profits and losses; in 1993, state
enterprises were redefined as business corporations, and private businesses were
allowed to incorporate as limited liability or stockholding companies. China's
economy has grown rapidly since, but the development of Chinese firms has been
uneven. A few have large domestic market share and are global competitors, but
most outside of industries like electrical power, petroleum, and
telecommunications remain regional competitors at best and are small by Western
standards. The governance of Chinese firms remains work in progress. Repeated
reforms aimed at corporatizing firms while preserving state control have created
extremely complicated ownership and governance practices, which differ from
industry to industry and from region to region. This course will acquaint
students with the governance and management of some of the largest and best
known Chinese firms, and with the capabilities and liabilities of Chinese firms
and hence their strategic options. It will provide students tools needed to
assess the investment potential of Chinese firms and the opportunity to do
original research on issues of governance and management of Chinese firms.
Format: Lectures.
Requirements: Grading will be based on
short papers, group reports and class participation.
Materials: Case studies.
Prerequisites: Wharton MBA students only
(except in some sections in which a limited number of spaces will be reserved
for graduate students in Engineering).
Description: MGMT 801 is the foundation
course in the Entrepreneurial Management program. The purpose of this course is
to explore the many dimensions of new venture creation and growth. While most of
the examples in class will be drawn from new venture formation, the principles
also apply to entrepreneurship in corporate settings and to non-profit
entrepreneurship. We will be concerned with content and process questions as
well as with formulation and implementation issues that relate to
conceptualizing, developing, and managing successful new ventures. The emphasis
in this course is on applying and synthesizing concepts and techniques from
functional areas of strategic management, finance, accounting, managerial
economics, marketing, operations management, and organizational behavior in the
context of new venture development. The class serves as both a stand alone class
and as a preparatory course to those interested in writing and implementing a
business plan.
Format: Lectures and case discussions.
Requirements: Class participation, interim
assignments and final project.
Materials: Required coursepack.
Prerequisites: Wharton MBA
students only.
Description: This course
will provide a theoretical foundation and a set of practical tools for
the management of innovation, and the change associated with it, both in
corporate settings and start-up situations. For the purposes of the
course innovation is defined as the profitable commercialization of a
new idea: product; market; process; or technology. The theoretical
background will be provided by multiple readings, your knowledge of
which will be tested in a readings report. The practical tools will be
provided via lecture/discussion sessions, your skills at which will be
demonstrated in a group innovation plan for an actual innovation
situation.
Format: Lectures, discussion, class participation.
Prerequisites: MGMT 801 recommended.
Description:
This elective half-semester course focuses on
venture capital management issues in the context of the typical high-growth
start-up company. The course is fundamentally pragmatic in its outlook. It will
cover six principal areas relevant to the privately held high-growth start-up -
these include: (1) commentary on the venture capital industry generally, as well
as a discussion of the typical venture fund structure and related venture
capital objectives and investment strategies; (2) common organizational issues
encountered in the formation of a venture backed start-up, including issues
relating to initial capitalization, intellectual property and early stage equity
arrangements; (3) valuation methodologies that form the basis of negotiation
between the entrepreneur and the venture capitalist in anticipation of a venture
investment; (4) the challenges of fundraising, financing strategies and the
importance of the business plan, and the typical dynamics that play out between
VC and entrepreneur; (5) corporate governance in the context of a privately
held, venture capital-backed start-up company.
Format: Lecture, discussion and case
studies.
Requirements: Classroom participation,
weekly case assignments and final exam.
Materials: Textbook and coursepack.
Prerequisites: MGMT 801
REQUIRED. MKTG 756 recommended.
Description: This advanced
course in entrepreneurship centers on writing a comprehensive business
plan and implementation plan for a venture of your choice. The course
examines ways to profitably launch and exploit business opportunities
(as opposed to what opportunity to explore). It will allow you to
acquire the skill set necessary for crafting a winning business model
for your venture - developing and writing a coherent and effective plan
to start a business, in either an independent or a corporate setting.
The venture must distinguish itself from existing companies through
differential innovation; for example, through an innovative product or
service, an innovative production process, a new business model, or by
creating a new market. Students must have successfully completed MGMT801
before enrolling in this course.
Format: Highly interactive with team progress reports
delivered regularly and student expertise shared with presenters. Class
participation, interim assignments, team project, and team presentation.
Special Note: MGMT 806 and MGMT 810x apply a common theoretical
framework to businesses with differing value propositions; therefore,
students should not plan their course of study to include both of these
courses.
Prerequisites: Completion or
waiver of FNCE 601.
Description: This course
is designed to provide students with a practical understanding of
private equity issues focusing on developing country environments. The
underlying premise of the course is that private equity in these
countries is a distinctly different asset class than in industrialized
countries for a number of reasons that will be analyzed by students,
such as valuation, corporate governance standards and practices,
contract enforcement and regulations, and exit alternatives. Students
will assess these differences that heighten both the risks and the
opportunities for private equity investors compared to more developed
countries. The course will be analytically rigorous and require a high
level of weekly preparation and class participation. The case method of
teaching will predominate, allowing students to gain a realistic
understanding of the roles, responsibilities and analytical skills
required of practitioners, and the tensions that arise between the
various stakeholders, including government officials who formulate
regulations and policies that effect PE investor behavior and
performance. Cases will highlight the challenges and tasks performed at
each stage of the investment cycle, such as structuring a new fund,
originating investment opportunities, conducting due diligence,
monitoring and creating value in portfolio companies, and exiting.
Requirements: Two group and one individual written
assignments, a group term written assignment and active class
participation.
Prerequisites: MGMT801
strongly recommended.
Description: The basic
thesis of this elective course is that many societal problems, if
attacked entrepreneurially, create opportunities for launching
businesses that simultaneously generate profits and alleviate the
societal problem. This approach generates societal wealth as well as
entrepreneurial wealth. The course is distinguished from public sector
initiatives to address social problems, and also from "social
entrepreneurship" programs where social wealth creation is a by-product
rather than the target of the entrepreneurial effort. Student teams are
expected to develop a plan to launch a societal wealth generating
business. The preference is for them to begin the course with already
conceived ideas for entrepreneurial solutions to social problems. They
may also join a team to work on a project proposed by a student who
already has a business idea.
Format: Lecture, classroom participation, live case studies
(presentations of students' own work), interim assignments, and final
business plan.
Special Note: MGMT 806 and MGMT 810x apply a common theoretical
framework to businesses with differing value propositions and therefore
students should not plan their course of study to include both of these
courses
Prerequisites: MGMT 801 strongly
recommended.
Description:
MGMT 811 focuses on the theoretical and practical issues of acquiring a
business. The class focuses on the following topics: locating a
business, obtaining information on the entity, reviewing and analyzing
data, valuation, financing the deal, and the actual acquisition process
in terms of structuring the acquisition. Substantial time throughout the
class will be spent on adding synergy to any potential acquisitions.
Format: The class consists of lectures as
well as in-class presentations from the students.
Requirements: Assigned readings, case
studies and a group project.
Materials: Required textbooks, coursepack
and recommended supplemental and reserve readings.
Prerequisites: MBA students
only.
Description: This course
explores issues pertaining to building and managing human assets in a
high-growth entrepreneurial setting. The purpose of this case-driven
course is to develop the skills necessary to think systematically and
strategically about management of human assets in an entrepreneurial
firm and to develop the competencies necessary to design and implement
human resource systems that support entrepreneurial firms. We will focus
on the following objectives: identifying the talent needed to initiate
and sustain an entrepreneurial endeavor; structuring human resource
policies and corporate culture to prepare for and facilitate firm
growth; assessing the human aspects of valuing entrepreneurial
companies; and responding to conflict and organizational threats within
nascent firms. This course will apply recent research from strategic
human resource management, personnel economics, and organizational
behavior to the practical issues of building and managing human assets
in new ventures.
Format: Case discussion, guest speakers and lectures, active
class participation, final project.
Prerequisites: Open to
Wharton MBA and Penn graduate students
Description: This course
is designed for those persons who desire to understand the distinct
strategies and practices of family-controlled companies and family
wealth management. It will focus on shareholder decision making;
financial and market driven options for long-run competitiveness,
organizational structures and management team issues; strategic planning
from a resource-based perspective; transition planning for the corporate
entity, wealth, leadership and relationships; family dynamics and
communication issues; and leadership empowerment. The course is intended
for those who plan to consult or provide professional services to
family-controlled companies and for those planning a career in a family
firm.
Format:
The class is structured around topical lectures with frequent
utilization of case studies requiring active participation in class case
discussions, as well as on-site and off-site project work time,
submission of several written case studies, and a term research project.
Prerequisites: See Instructor
Description:
This course focuses on the creation of competitive advantage in the multinational firm.
It examines the nature of global competition by exploring the characteristics of global
versus non-global industries and strategies that have been successful in a global context.
The course also considers issues regarding make versus buy, sourcing, location decisions
and alliances - all issues related to designing and coordinating the global value chain
for maximum advantage. Additionally, the course examines how firms attempt to build a
national presence, including examining the market entry decision, the role of the country
manager, as well as design and human resource management policies in the multinational firm.
Format:
See Instructor.
MGMT 900, Economic Foundations of Management
Description:
This course examines some of the central questions in management with economic approaches as
a starting point, but with an eye to links to behavioral perspectives on these same questions.
It is not a substitute for a traditional microeconomics course. Economics concerns itself with
goal directed behavior of individuals interacting in a competitive context. We adopt that general
orientation but recognize that goal directed action need not take the form of maximizing behavior
and that competitive processes do not typically equilibrate instantaneously. The substantive focus is
on the firm as a productive entity. Among the sorts of questions we explore are the following:
What underlies a firm’s capabilities? How does individual knowledge aggregate to form collective
capabilities? What do these perspectives on firms say about the scope of a firm’s activities,
both horizontally (diversification) and vertically (buy-supply relationships)?
We also explore what our understanding of firms says about market dynamics and industry evolution,
particularly in the context of technological change. A central property of firms, as with any organization,
is the interdependent nature of activity within them. Thus, understanding firms as “systems” is quite important.
Among the issues we explore in this regard are the following. Organizational “systems” have internal structure,
in particular elements of hierarchy and modularity. Even putting aside the question of individual goals and
objectives and how they may aggregate, the question of organizational goal is non-trivial.
To say that a firm’s objective is to maximize profits is not terribly operational.
How does such an overarching objective get decomposed to link to the actual operating activities of individual subunits,
including individuals themselves. Recently, there has been some interesting work that links the valuation process
of financial markets to firm behavior. Financial markets are not only a reflection of firm value,
but may guide firms’ initiatives in systematic ways.
MGMT 932, Proseminar in Management
Description: This course is designed to provide
students with a conceptual and practical understanding of qualitative research methods
in organizations, including ethnographic techniques, interviewing, analysis of archival
materials and development of case studies. We will examine the different theoretical and
analytical stances qualitative researchers take towards their topics. This course will
teach the basic ethnographic approach, as well as contrast that approach with other
field methods and discuss the types of research questions for which each method is appropriate.
In doing so, I hope to shed some light on the mysteries and myths of qualitative research.
This course will be useful not only for students interested in undertaking a qualitative study
of organizations but also for those who would like to complement a quantitative study with field
work or for those who simply would like to be able to understand, read and appropriately review qualitative work.
MGMT 933, Psychological and Sociological Foundations of Management
Description: This course, required of all first year doctoral students in
management and open to other Penn students with permission, provides an introduction to the psychological and sociological
roots of management theory and research. The course is predicated on the belief that to be effective as a contemporary
management scholar one needs a background in "the classics." Therefore, we will be reading selected classics from the
fields of psychology and sociology in their original unexpurgated form during this semester.
MGMT 935, Network Theory and Applications
Description:
This course explores network analysis models and their applications to organizational phenomena.
By examining the structure of relations among actors, network approaches seek to explain variations in beliefs,
behaviors, and outcomes. The beauty of network analysis is its underlying mathematical nature – network
ideas and measures apply equally well at micro and macro levels of analysis. In this course, then,
we will read and discuss articles both at the micro level (where the network actors are individuals within organizations)
and at the macro level (where the network actors are organizations within larger communities)
that utilize network constructs such as small worlds, cohesion, structural equivalence, centrality, and autonomy.
MGMT 937, Entrepreneurship Research Seminar
Description: The
seminar seeks to expose students to theoretical and empirical perspectives on
entrepreneurship research. We will focus on the main questions that define the
field and attempt to critically examine how, using a range of methodologies,
researchers have approached these questions. As we review the literature, we
will seek to identify promising research areas, which may be of interest to you
in the context of your dissertation research. In addition to addressing the
content of the received literature, we will examine the process of crafting
research papers and getting them published in top tier journals. Towards that
end we will characterize the key elements of high impact papers and review the
development process of such studies.
MGMT 938, Family Business Research Seminar
Description:
Family firms differ in a number of ways from non-family firms.
These differences may result in differential behavior by and performance of family firms
versus non-family firms. Although family-controlled firms make up the vast majority of businesses
around the world, academic research in this space is sparse. This seminar seeks to expose
students to theoretical and empirical perspectives on family businesses. Throughout the course,
we will focus on the ownership, control, and management issues that set family firms apart.
We will focus on the main issues faced by family firms, and attempt to critically examine how,
using a range of methodologies, researchers have approached these issues. As we review the literature,
we will seek to identify promising research areas, which may be of interest to you in the context of
your dissertation research. In addition to addressing the content of the received literature, we will
examine the process of crafting research papers and getting them published in top tier journals.
Towards that end, we will characterize the key elements of high-impact papers and review the
development process of such studies.
MGMT 951, Organizational Behavior
Description:
The purpose of this course is to examine and understand
theory and empirical research in the field of micro-organizational behavior and to increase our understanding
of people’s behavior in organizations. We will do this in two ways. We will first cover a blend of classic
and contemporary literature so that we can appreciate the prevailing theories and findings in various areas of
micro-organizational behavior. However, for each topic we will then try to go beyond the existing literature.
We will work to increase our understanding by re-framing the research variables, altering the perspective,
bringing in new theory, and comparing levels of analysis.
MGMT 957, Emotions in Organizations
Description:
A relatively new research area within organizational behavior, the study of emotions in organizations
is spreading within the organizational behavior field. We examine existing knowledge of emotions
in organizational life and identify possible future venues of research. We will begin by
examining the nature of emotions in general, and the overarching importance of emotions to organizations.
We will then examine specific content areas in which emotions are currently studied in organizational
behavior research. We will examine affect as a topic in its own right, and as a tool within which to examine
other organizational research domain. By the end of this course, you will gain familiarity with the
psychological underpinnings of the affective construct as well as its implications for
organizational scholarship and practical organizational outcomes.
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