Results for GSBGEN

College campuses have been the incubators for thousands of new business ventures. What makes the difference between a successful entrepreneur and an initial failure out of the gate? It's often not the quality of the idea, but rather the ability of the entrepreneurs to successfully communicate their vision to potential investors, employees, and customers. This seminar will explore successful and failed entrepreneurial communication. Students will learn the basics of persuasive oral and written communication, and then apply these principles to their own ideas.

Even the most artistically accomplished and well-managed performing arts organizations--symphony orchestras, operas, dance companies, and many theaters--tend to live on the edge financially. In fact, most performing arts groups are organized as nonprofit organizations, because they cannot make enough money to cover costs and survive as profit-seeking businesses. In this seminar we will explore the reasons for the tension between artistic excellence and economic security,drawing on the experience of performing arts organizations in the United States and in countries(whose governments have adopted quite different policies toward the arts). Using economic concepts and analysis that we develop in the seminar, you will first examine the fundamental reasons for the economic challenges faced by performing arts organizations. In later sessions, we will consider and evaluate alternative solutions to these challenges in the United States and other countries. The seminar may include meetings with managers and/or trustees of arts organizations.nnBy the end of the seminar, you will be able to assess the economic condition of an arts organization, evaluate alternative strategies for its survival, and understand the consequences of alternative government policies toward the arts.nnDuring the early part of the course, you will prepare two short papers on topics or questions that I will suggest. Later, you will prepare a longer paper applying concepts learned to one of the performing arts or a particular arts organization that interests you. You will submit that paper in stages, as you learn about concepts and issues that are relevant to your analysis. There will also be a final exam.

With leadership comes responsibility. This course explores the numerous ethical duties faced by managers and organizations. It combines analytical frameworks with the latest findings on human behavior to inform a wide range of ethical decisions and strategies. Readings include case studies, insights from experimental psychology and economics, and excerpts from or about major works of moral philosophy. Through online and in-class exercises, discussions, and personal reflection, you will reveal and assess your ethical intuitions, compare them with more explicit modes of ethical thought, and learn how to use ethics in business settings. A diverse set of ethical viewpoints will be considered with an emphasis on not only their implications for ethical behavior but also on the social and cognitive pitfalls that undermine the ability of business leaders to fulfill their ethical duties.

With leadership comes responsibility. This course explores the numerous ethical duties faced by managers and organizations. It combines analytical frameworks with the latest findings on human behavior to inform a wide range of ethical decisions and strategies. Readings include case studies, insights from experimental psychology and economics, and excerpts from or about major works of moral philosophy. Through online and in-class exercises, discussions, and personal reflection, you will reveal and assess your ethical intuitions, compare them with more explicit modes of ethical thought, and learn how to use ethics in business settings. A diverse set of ethical viewpoints will be considered with an emphasis on not only their implications for ethical behavior but also on the social and cognitive pitfalls that undermine the ability of business leaders to fulfill their ethical duties.

GSB students are eligible to report on work experience that is relevant to their core studies under the direction of the Senior Associate Dean responsible for the MBA Program. Registration for this work must be approved by the Assistant Dean of the MBA Program and is limited to students who present a project which, in judgment of the Advisor, may be undertaken to enhance the material learned in the first year core required courses. It is expected that this research be carried on by the student with a large degree of independence and the expected result is a written report, typically due at the end of the quarter in which the course is taken. Specific assignment details and deadline information will be communicated to enrolled students. Units earned for this course do not meet the requirements needed for graduation.

The major objective of this course is to provide the student with an understanding of the fundamentals of real estate investment. The course covers land economics, market analysis, finance, taxation, investment analysis, investment vehicles, real estate risk, development and urban design. Major land uses are discussed including apartments, retail, office, and industrial. The course is designed for students with limited or no background in real estate.

GSB314 - Creating High Potential Ventures in Developing Economies (4 Units)nnNote: Students who only want to participate in the seminar/discussion portion of the class and not do a team-based project (see details below) may enroll in GSB514 for 2 units.nnnThis course addresses the distinctive challenges and opportunities of launching high-potential new ventures in developing economies. Developing economies are attractive targets for entrepreneurs because many are just starting to move up the growth curve, and they offer low-cost operating environments that can be great development labs for potentially disruptive innovations. They increase in attractiveness when their political institutions stabilize and they become more market-friendly. At the same time, developing economies pose serious challenges. Pioneering entrepreneurs take on significant risks to gain early mover advantages. Specifically, entrepreneurs will not be able to count on the same kind of supportive operating environments that we take for granted in the developed world. They often face cumbersome permit and licensing processes, poorly developed financial and labor markets, problematic import and export procedures, unreliable local supply chains, weak infrastructure, corruption, currency risks, limited investment capital, lack of financial exits and more. This course is designed to help would-be entrepreneurs - both founders and members of entrepreneurial teams - better understand and prepare for these issues as they pursue the opportunities and address the challenges to start, grow, and harvest their ventures in these environments.nnnGSB314 combines a seminar/discussion format (Tuesdays) with a team-based project (Thursdays). For the Tuesday sessions, students will read about and discuss the key challenges described above and potential solutions. Guests will describe their own startup and investing experiences in developing economies and answer questions. A framework based on the recently published World Economic Forum (WEF) report on "Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Around the Globe and Company Growth Dynamics" will be used to structure the course. Each student will prepare a short paper on a topic of interest from this portion of the course.nnnThe Thursday sessions is a team-based exercise for students who either have a specific idea or want to join a team of classmates to pursue more deeply an understanding of the team's country of focus and an initial investigation of the idea's viability. Students must come in willing to be team players and do the work necessary to complete this exercise over the full quarter. Each team member's contributions will be assessed by fellow teammates. Teams will be formed before the start of class or on the first day at the latest. The team will describe, in a final presentation, the challenges and opportunities in their country using the WEF framework. The final presentation will also include the team's thoughts on the viability of their proposed venture and how it capitalizes on their country's assets and addresses its challenges. A detailed business plan is not required; however, specific recommendations and plans for next steps that would be carried out during a 3 to 6 month field and market research study in the country will be part of the final presentation.

Business leaders have marketing strategies, expansion strategies, finance strategies, even exit strategies. Successful leaders, however, also have communication strategies. This course will explore how individuals and organizations can develop and execute effective communication strategies for a variety of business settings.nnThis course introduces the essentials of communication strategy and persuasion: audience analysis, communicator credibility, message construction and delivery. Deliverables will include written documents and oral presentations and you will present both individually and in a team. You will receive feedback to improve your communication effectiveness. In the final team presentation, your challenge is to craft an oral presentation that will persuade your audience to accept your strategic recommendations. By doing this, you will see why ideas, data and advocacy are combined for a professional, persuasive presentation. nnThis practical course helps students develop confidence in their speaking and writing through weekly presentations and assignments, lectures and discussions, guest speakers, simulated activities, and videotaped feedback. An important new feature of this course is that a team of external communications coaches work in concert with the professor to ensure that students get rigorous and individualized coaching and feedback.nnIn this course you will learn to:nn- Create communication strategies at an individual and organizational leveln- Develop clearly organized and effective presentations and documentsn- Diagnose and expand your personal writing and oral delivery style n- Adapt your delivery style to different material and audiences n- Enhance oral delivery through effective visual aidsnnStudents at all levels of comfort and expertise with public speaking and business writing will benefit from this course. Waitlists have been long for this course and you're encouraged to keep that in mind as you make your super round selections.

Successful leaders have to conceive, author, rebuild, pivot, differentiate, and finally maintain a personal reputation to make a lasting, recognizable and powerful identity. Reputation Management will explore how you can effectively communicate to create, adapt and maintain your personal reputation. Your reputation remains fluid as you navigate your career decisions and interact with different professionals along your journey. The course is designed along three interlocking elements: reputation management literature, relevant case studies, and curated guest speakers. Students will learn the fundamentals of strategic corporate communication and the risk of not managing reputation effectively. These frameworks will be extended with specific case studies to illustrate where individuals, groups, and firms have faced the challenge of managing reputation effectively. We will focus on both traditional and virtual components of communication including the relevancy of online reputation management. Finally we will invite well-known leaders from a range of industries who have built and sustained their reputations, through effective communication. Each leader has had to manage their reputations in the public eye, and alongside their peers, supervisors, and employees. Guests will be invited to discuss their conscious and unplanned strategies of how to successfully communicate the kind of person, leader, innovator, or public figure they strive to be. Students will benefit from a rich blend of frameworks, cases, and speakers enabling them to successfully enter the work force and create their own, personal reputations. Students will create a case study drawn from their own experience (or personal network), of a reputation dilemma. A final assignment requires students to articulate their own reputation using any media of the student's choosing and share that with others in the course. Throughout the course students will post at least one blog drawn from class concepts and respond to posts by peers in the class.

We will explore selected topics including: the roles of the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors in society; the justifications for tax-subsidized philanthropy; whether giving to the poor is morally obligatory or discretionary; barriers to the practice of strategic philanthropy; evaluating philanthropic outcomes; impact investing; alternative legal and organizational structures to carry out philanthropic programs, including donor-advised funds, direct giving, support organizations and foundations; and whether foundations should be designed and run to exist in perpetuity or to spend down corpus over a finite lifetime. The course will be structured around the perspective of a high net worth individual who has decided to devote substantial resources to philanthropy and wishes to decide which philanthropic goals to pursue and how best to achieve them. Although there are no formal prerequisites for the course, we will assume that students have experience working at a foundation, nonprofit organization, impact investing fund, or similar organization, or have taken an introductory course in strategic philanthropy such as GSBGEN 381. (There is sufficient overlap with Paul Brest's Autumn course, Measuring and Improving the Impact of Social Enterprises (GSBGEN 322), that students taking that course should not enroll in this one.) Finally, you should be forewarned that this course has a fair amount of reading - not more than is common in undergraduate and graduate courses, but more than is typical for MBA courses in the GSB.

This course focuses on actionable measurement in government, non-profit organizations, market-based social enterprises, philanthropy, and impact investing. €œActionable€ means that the measurement is used by managers, investors, and other stakeholders in making decisions. nnThe course explores the intersection of several ideas that seem to be in some tension with each other. (1) You can'€™t manage what you can'€™t measure, (2) Measurement is expensive and its results are often ignored, (3) "Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts"€ (apocryphally attributed to Einstein), (4) "The more any quantitative social indicator is used for decision making, the more subject it will be to corruption pressures and the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor." (Campbell'€™s Law). nnSpecifically the course will include:nn- Logic models, theories of change, strategic planning, monitoring, and evaluationnn- Measuring the social impact of governments, non-governmental organizations, and market-based social enterprises, and asking how philanthropists and impact investors can assess their own impactnn- Corporate social responsibility, socially responsible investing, and impact investingnn- Performance measurement, performance contracting, and social impact bondsnn- Techniques for improving the behavior and accountability of individuals and organizationsnnThe classes will be taught mainly through business school case studies, which place the students in the position of CEOs, managers, and investors called upon to make major decisions.

This course examines trends and opportunities in the sustainable energy sector with a particular focus on low carbon energy. We examine these trends in the context of technological change, emerging business opportunities and the parameters set by public policy. nnSpecific topics to be examined include:n- The State of the Global Cleantech Industryn- The Impact of Regulatory Policies and Tax Subsidies n- Cost Competitiveness of Alternative Energy Technologiesn- VC Perspective on Sustainable Energy Start-upsn- Project Financen- Fossil Fuels and Carbon Capture n- Renewable Energy, including Solar PV and Biofuelsn- Energy Efficiency and StoragenPreliminary course syllabus: www.bit.ly/1jehaA9

Family-controlled private and public companies are the dominant form of enterprise worldwide. Despite their prominence, teaching and research have traditionally focused on analyzing the widely-held model of the firm. This course explores the challenges and opportunities faced by family firms. It is taught by Leo Linbeck III, Lecturer since 2005 at the GSB and President and CEO of Aquinas Companies, LLC. The course balances managerial perspectives with general frameworks. The course is intended for four main audiences: (1) Students whose family owns a business. (2) Students who are considering working for a family firm. (3) Students who are interested in acquiring a private firm either directly (search funds, minority investments, etc) or indirectly (private equity, etc). (4) Students who seek to consult or provide professional services to closely held firms or their owners (wealth management solutions, management consulting, etc). The main objectives of this course are three. First, to understand the challenges and characteristics of family firms. Second, to provide a coherent and consistent set of tools to evaluate the most relevant decisions faced by family firms. Third, to focus on decision-making. The course uses a combination of case studies, guest speakers, lectures, and student presentations to explore the central ideas of the course.nn

This case study-oriented course will focus on the critical skills needed to evaluate, develop, finance (on a non-recourse basis), and complete standalone energy and infrastructure projects. The primary course materials will be documents from several representative projects - e.g. wind and carbon capture - covering key areas including market and feasibility studies, environmental permitting and regulatory decisions, financial disclosure from bank and bond transactions, and construction, input, and offtake contracts. Documents from executed transactions are highly customized. By taking a forensic approach, looking at several different deals, we can learn how project developers, financiers, and lawyers work to get deals over the finish line that meet the demands of the market, the requirements of the law, and (sometimes) broader societal goals.

Transforming the global energy system to reduce climate change impacts, ensure security of supply, and foster economic development of the world's poorest regions depends on the ability of commercial players to deliver the needed energy at scale. Technological innovation is a necessary but not sufficient condition for this to occur. The complex institutional frameworks that regulate energy markets in the United States and around the world will play a major role in determining the financial viability of firms in the energy sector. In this course we survey the institutional contexts for energy enterprises of all types and consider what kinds of business models work in each setting. We study in detail how markets function for carbon (assessing the advantages and disadvantages of different policy tools and considering in particular California's implementation of A.B. 32); electricity (with extensive discussion of wholesale electricity markets, energy trading, and issues of market power); renewable energy technologies (focusing on ways to manage intermittency and on how renewable energy businesses respond to government incentives); nuclear power (as a case study of how the regulatory process affects investment decisions); oil and natural gas (treating both conventional and unconventional resources and emphasizing the key role of risk management in an industry characterized by uncertainty and high capital requirements); transportation fuels (discussing biofuels incentives, fuel efficiency standards, and other policy tools to lower carbon intensity); and energy for low-income populations, for which affordability and distribution pose special challenges. A primary teaching tool in the course is a game-based simulation of California's electricity markets under cap and trade. Student teams play the role of power companies and compete to maximize return by bidding generation into electricity markets and trading carbon allowances. The objective of the course is to provide a robust intellectual framework for analyzing how a business can most constructively participate in any sector like energy that is heavily affected by government policy. Instructors: Frank A. Wolak, Director, Program on Energy and Sustainable Development; Mark Thurber, Associate Director, Program on Energy and Sustainable Development.

This lecture course will explore the U.S. financial crisis of 2008 and the European debt crisis of 2011-13.nnWe will examine the causes of both crises, policies implemented during the crisis, and options for reform.nnThis is an economic policy course rather than a pure economics course. It will focus on the practical intersection of economics, financial markets and institutions, policy, and politics.nnTopics we will examine include the following for the 2008 crisis:n- Did a global savings glut, international savings flows, or Fed policy cause the credit bubble?n- What caused the housing and mortgage bubbles?n- How does a bad mortgage turn into a toxic financial asset?n- Why and how did large financial institutions fail? What's the difference between a solvency crisis and a liquidity crisis?n- What is Too Big To Fail? Is it real? Why was Bear Stearns bailed out but not Lehman?n- Was the global financial system on the verge of meltdown in September 2008? How? Why?n- What was the TARP? The TALF? The CPP? The stress tests?n- What can we learn from comparing the US financial crisis with that in other major economies?n- How effective were various policy tools during the crisis?n- How have policies enacted and implemented since the crisis changed the outlook for the future?nnFor the European debt crisis we will examine:n- The fiscal and economic situations in various European countries;n- The structures and history of the Eurozone;n- Policy options to address problems in troubled European economies;n- The interaction between European financial institutions and European governments; andn- Options for longer-term reform of the Eurozone.n nThere will be no exams. Students will write two individual memos and a group memo.

For students interested in the nonprofit sector, those in the joint Business and Education program, and for Public Policy MA students. The focus is on the missions, functions, and capabilities of nonprofit, public, and private organizations, and the managerial challenges inherent in the different sectors. Focus is on sectors with significant competition among institutional forms, including health care, social services, the arts, and education. Sources include scholarly articles, cases, and historical materials.

This course is designed to introduce major policies defining the U.S. education system today. The policy areas we will cover include, but are not limited to, governance, accountability, choice, finance, and personnel policies for K-12 education. We will also briefly address early childhood education and higher education. We will concern ourselves with policies made at the federal, state, and local levels and consider the implications of these policies for students, families, and communities. We will discuss the goals of policies and the extent to which the intention, implementation and ultimate effects of the policies align.

Topics: the worth of college and graduate degrees, and the utilization of highly educated graduates; faculty labor markets, careers, and workload; costs and pricing; discounting, merit aid, and access to higher education; sponsored research; academic medical centers; and technology and productivity. Emphasis is on theoretical frameworks, policy matters, and the concept of higher education as a public good. Stratification by gender, race, and social class.

The relationships between political and economic analysis and policy formulation in education; focus is on alternative models of the political process, the nature of interest groups, political strategies, policy efficiency, the external environment of organizations, and the implementations of policy. Applications to policy analysis, implementation, and politics of reform. (APA)

This course will examine the world of wine with a fresh and contemporary lens. It will explore the market dynamics of this fascinating global industry. The goal of the course is to provide insight into the branding, marketing, and distribution dynamics that shape what consumers can buy and consume with a focus on the strategies of some of the world's leading wine brands. Attention will also be paid to the legal, regulatory, and market dynamics that define the U.S. wine industry as well as to issues of contested authenticity in the world of wine.

This course will examine the diverse management challenges facing the sports industry. The course will cover issues at the league level, the team level, the athlete/agent level, and the college level. The diverse constituencies with interests in sports issues (athletes, fans, media companies, advertisers, and legislators to name a few) will be discussed. Sports issues at a global level (the IOC) and both U.S. and outside U.S. will be covered. There will be coverage of evolving business ventures related to the sports industry (such as venture backed sports companies and sports networks). nnnA key focus is on how the sports industry is similar to and different from other industries. Key concepts underlying the course are: value creation/value sharing; revenue ecosystem; virtuous circles and vicious circles; disruptive technologies; growth facilitators and growth inhibitors; leveragable assets/inherited liabilities; and entrepreneurship/new product innovations. Over 80% of the sessions typically will include a guest co-lecturer from the sporting industry.

One of every five dollars in the American economy will be spent by the federal government this year. This course will examine how federal spending, taxes, deficits and debt affect the U.S. economy and global financial markets, and how the economy affects the federal budget. We will look inside the federal budget to understand entitlement spending, what causes it to grow so fast, how it could be reformed, and why that's so hard to do. We'll understand where the money goes -- how much goes to infrastructure, education, housing, health care, energy and the environment, parks, scientific research, national defense, and other needs. We'll look at the stimulus vs. austerity debate, both within the U.S. and between the U.S. and Europe. We'll look beyond partisan battle lines and explore various fiscal philosophies that sometimes split the political parties. We'll cover the federal budget process from developing the President's budget to enacting individual spending and tax bills, and discuss process reforms including spending and deficit reduction targets, a balanced budget amendment, and line item veto. We'll cover the major players in the budget debate and understand where the big and small budget decisions are made. We'll look at federal taxation, where the money comes from, how it affects the economy, and how it might be restructured. We'll examine the recommendations of the President's budget commission and see if we can predict what will become of its recommendations. And we'll see if we, as a class, can solve our nation's fiscal problems as Washington has so far been unable to do.

This course is intended for any student interested in a career in managing, developing, or investing in real estate or private equity. The course covers cases involving the perspectives of general partners and limited partners; the attributes of successful real property investment firms; analyses of investment portfolios and individual transactions, primarily in the private equity real estate category. Cases will be global.nObjectives include: How to construct a private real estate portfolio; How to assess the risks in projects and portfolios; How to perform relative value analyses of differing investments; How to manage troubled investments (when to "hold 'em and when to fold 'em"); How to manage a general partner firm. The course is divided into three modules with special emphasis on real estate financial analysis for transactions and portfolios. The first module will focus on portfolio construction issues and how to quantify whether the investor has been successful. The second module will focus on underwriting individual transactions and applying a relative value construct in determining the more attractive investments. The second module will also focus on the management of troubled investments, including deciding when to "double down" and how to protect investments already in place. The third module will address how general partners manage their firms.

Appropriate for any student driven to effect positive social change from either the for-profit or nonprofit sector, Strategic Philanthropy will challenge students to expand their own strategic thinking about philanthropic aspiration and action. In recent decades, philanthropy has become an industry in itself - amounting to over $300 billion in the year 2012. Additionally, the last decade has seen unprecedented innovation in both philanthropy and social change. This course explores the key operational and strategic distinctions between traditional philanthropic entities, such as community foundations, private foundations, and corporate foundations; and innovative models, including funding intermediaries, open-source platforms, technology-driven philanthropies, and venture philanthropy partnerships. Course work will include readings and case discussions that encourage students to analyze both domestic and global philanthropic strategies as they relate to foundation mission, grant making, evaluation, financial management, infrastructure, knowledge management, policy change, and board governance. Guest speakers will consist of high profile philanthropists, foundation presidents, social entrepreneurs and Silicon Valley business leaders creating new philanthropic models. The course will culminate in an individual project in which students will complete a business plan for a $10 million private foundation.

Open to all non-law graduate students at the University, this course will provide non-law students an analytical framework for understanding the core concepts of the law and familiarize students with how lawyers analyze and structure their work. This course will be taught by Vice Dean Mark Kelman and Law School faculty in their areas of expertise, with one to two classes devoted to each topic. It will introduce students to some of the foundational principles of law and will review topics such as contracts, litigation, intellectual property, securities and employment law. No previous study of law or legal systems is required and there are no pre-requisites. It will be offered in the Winter 2012-13 quarter (1/8/13 - 3/13/13), with lectures twice weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:30 - 3:00 pm at the Law School. Additional mandatory TA-led discussion sections will be taught on Tuesday and Thursday - students must also attend one of these TA sessions each week. Students will indicate their availability for specific sections on forms passed out at the first lecture. Readings and assignments will be posted to Coursework; there is no textbook. Grading: The class is graded on a pass/fail basis. There will be no final exam, but completion of problem sets on various topics as well as attendance at discussion sections will be used to determine grading. All students must complete 4 problem sets. Two specific problem sets are required of all students and the other assignments can be chosen from a list of available assignments.

Need approval from sponsoring faculty member and GSB Registrar. There is a limit on the number of units in courses of independent study that may be applied toward degree requirements.

The course's goal is to introduce students to the complexities of military strategy in the modern era. We will cover a variety of types of warfare, ranging from early modern wars, through the great wars of the twentieth century to the strategic challenges posed by present-day counterinsurgency and low-intensity conflicts. Military planners are required to act fast in an uncertain and highly lethal environment. We will examine how, and why, they react to innovations that completely transform their worlds, and try to understand what makes such strategic responses successful. In so doing, we will explore the interlocking relations between strategy and economics, technology, ideology, state apparatuses, and various forms of armed organizations. Course requirements: Students are required to submit 2 assignments: a mid-term project analyzing a successful military strategy, and a final project. The final project will be based on an in-class simulation of a strategic military campaign. Students will be required to submit individual analyses of the simulation, and present their analyses in class.

Giving away money well-i.e., achieving genuine planned impact in a measurable way--turns out to be as hard or harder than earning or investing it. In this seminar, students will decide how and to which nonprofit organization they will make a real $100,000 donation. The students, guided by the instructor, will choose what readings and resources to draw on in making their decisions from a bibliography provided as well as other sources they develop. They will also discover, debate, discuss and decide what evaluation approach approach to use as well as what decision-making process to apply. Students are likely to be asked to research and present knowledge on relevant topics. And a final presentation to a donor trying to decide whether to fund part of the $100,000 is likely also.

In the past decade the notion of impact investing has gained substantial popularity. But what is impact investing and what do impact investors actually do? This course will explore the current role of impact investing in developed economies, with particular focus on the United States. We will review the history of the field and explore the concept of a continuum of risk and impact. The course is designed to examine the practice of impact investing from multiple perspectives. It will broadly cover impact investing across multiple asset classes with a focus on venture capital impact investing. Selected practitioners from leading firms, organizations and portfolio companies will join for a portion of a number of classes to provide first-hand insight. The creation and measurement of social impact while answering financial return expectations, as well as the Limited Partner perspective in impact investing will also comprise a key part of the course's intellectual underpinning. Assignments are created to mimic the real-world tasks and challenges in impact investing, debate the issues that those in the field grapple with today and encourage students to explore how the industry can expand. There will be a final project and presentation for the course. Classes will include both presentation and dialogue, with frequent student participation strongly encouraged. Ideally, at the conclusion of the course, you will not only understand the qualitative aspects of impact investing and the role of metrics, but also the basic financial analysis that underlies investments made across numerous asset classes and in particular venture capital.

This course applies economic concepts to the practice of structuring contracts. The course extends over two quarters, meeting three hours per week the first quarter and two hours per week the second quarter. Students enrolled in the course must take both quarters. All or most of the first quarter is spent in a traditional classroom setting, discussing economics articles and case studies of actual contracts that illustrate the concepts described in the articles. Beginning either at the end of the first quarter or the beginning of the second quarter until the end of the course (the "deals" segment of the course), the class explores the connection between economic theory and contracting practice by studying specific current deals. Students, divided into groups, study a deal beginning in the first quarter. Then, during the deals segment of the course, each group gives a presentation of its deal to the class. The following week, a lawyer or other participant in the deal will come to class and lead a discussion of the deal. When it works, the students' and the practitioners' analyses are mutually enlightening. The course examines new deals each year. Deals that studied over the years have included movie financings, biotech alliances, venture capital financings, cross-border joint ventures, private equity investments, and corporate reorganizations.

GSB514 - Creating High Potential Ventures in Developing Economies (2 Units)nnNote: Students who want to work on a team to investigate a specific new venture idea in addition to participating in the seminar/discussion sessions (see details below) should enroll in GSB314 for 4 units. nnThis course addresses the distinctive challenges and opportunities of launching high-potential new ventures in developing economies. Developing economies are attractive targets for entrepreneurs because many are just starting to move up the growth curve, and they offer low-cost operating environments that can be great development labs for potentially disruptive innovations. They increase in attractiveness when their political institutions stabilize and they become more market-friendly. At the same time, developing economies pose serious challenges. Pioneering entrepreneurs take on significant risks to gain early mover advantages. Specifically, entrepreneurs will not be able to count on the same kind of supportive operating environments that we take for granted in the developed world. They often face cumbersome permit and licensing processes, poorly developed financial and labor markets, problematic import and export procedures, unreliable local supply chains, weak infrastructure, corruption, currency risks, limited investment capital, lack of financial exits and more. This course is designed to help would-be entrepreneurs - both founders and members of entrepreneurial teams - better understand and prepare for these issues as they pursue the opportunities and address the challenges to start, grow, and harvest their ventures in these environments. nnGSB514 is a seminar/discussion format in which students will read about and discuss the key challenges described above and potential solutions. Guests will describe their own startup and investing experiences in developing economies and answer questions. A framework based on the recently published World Economic Forum (WEF) report on "Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Around the Globe and Company Growth Dynamics" will be used to structure the course. Each student will prepare a short paper on a topic of interest from the course.

Successful leaders understand the power of authentic, memorable communication.nnnThis course uses the lens of oral communication and presentations, to introduce the essential elements of the strategic communication strategies that make authentic, memorable communication work.nnnFocusing on oral communication and presentation, we introduce the essentials of communication strategy and persuasion: audience analysis, message construction, communicator credibility, and delivery.nnnDeliverables include written documents, focusing on individual and team presentations, with students receiving continuous feedback to improve their communication effectiveness, and to sharpen their authentic leadership voice.nn nnThis highly interactive, practical course, is focused on feedback to help students at all levels of communication mastery develop confidence in their speaking and writing. Course includes presentations, assignments, lectures, discussions, simulated activities, in-class feedback, and filmed feedback.nn nnIn this course you will learn to:nn-Recognize strategically effective communicationnn-Implement the principles of strategic communication across different platformsnn-Develop clearly organized and effective presentations and documentsnn-Diagnose and expand, your personal authentic communication stylennnAs you make your super round selection, keep in mind that wait lists have been long for this course.

The exponential growth in our understanding of the workings of the human brain has led to a rather startling and maybe embarrassing (even depressing) conclusion. While the human brain is unique among species in its ability to strategize, conceptualize, hypothesize, etc., it is now undeniable that most of our decisions, behaviors and experiences are shaped by instinctual brain systems. Thus, constituting the broad goals of this seminar, it behooves us to first understand the workings of the instinctual brain and then leverage this understanding to craft solutions for real-world issues from the vantage points of the "firm" as well you as an individual, a leader and an innovator. Topics that will be covered from your vantage point include leadership skills including being effective at influencing key stakeholders within and outside the firm and being effective at making decisions, personal as well as professional. Topics that will be covered from the firm's vantage point include crafting superior value propositions at the decision as well as the experience phases of the "customer" journey, fostering an innovative organizational culture and developing incentives to increase employee engagement.

The course explores the role of mindfulness, self-compassion and compassion in the workplace, and the contribution of these qualities to leadership. Topics addressed will include: How can mindfulness enhance clarity in purpose and productivity? What is the connection between mindfulness and compassion? Is compassion in the business world a strength or a weakness? Are compassion and profit motives fundamentally incompatible, or can they support each other? What does compassionate leadership look like? Can mindfulness and compassion be trained at the individual level, and built into company policy? How does self-compassion support effective leadership and recovery from setbacks? Participants in the course will engage with exercises from evidence-based programs targeting the development of mindfulness and the practical application of the skills of self-awareness, self-compassion, and perspective taking in the context of work and relationships.

We will analyze markets that match people to other parties. We will spend one day each on the job market, higher education, and life partners. We will investigate the following issues:n- Can we expect a competitive environment to lead to an efficient outcome? If not, why are there "market failures"?n- What is the role of hidden information in the market?n- How can the problems in the market be solved?n- What are the business opportunities in this market? Do entrepreneurs entering the market make it operate better or worse?nnWe will spend one day each on job markets, higher education, and dating/marriage markets. Each of these three days will be divided into three sections:n- Section 1: Lay out an underlying economic concept related to the market (such as Network Externalities, Signaling, Adverse Selection, or Search Theory)n- Section 2: Analyze a case or a few mini-cases focusing on players in the relevant market.n- Section 3: Discussion with a guest from the relevant industrynnThe fourth day will be a set of shorter analyses of other matching markets, potentially including pets, car sharing, apartment rentals, and the like. Also, if any students in the class have a related business idea they would like to share and discuss, we will analyze that for part of the final day.nnTo determine whether you would be interested in the class, it may be useful to look at the instructor's book Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Economics I Learned From Online Dating (you can Look Inside on Amazon or find excerpts, articles, and videos online if you Google Paul Oyer book). Only one day of the class will focus on dating/partners, but the book will give you a sense of the types of issues we will address on any given day.

Creativity is one of the most coveted attributes of successful business leaders. It is also among the most widely sought attributes that innovative companies like Facebook, Google and Apple are looking for when they hire. Yet, creativity remains a mystery to many individuals. Who has it and who doesn't? Can it be learned? How do successful creators really think and work? Is there anything different or special about the way they organize their lives and manage their work? This new Week 0 course will engage these provocative questions and others. We will explore what recent research tells us about the roots of creativity and its developmental course over the life-span. We will also examine some of the prevalent myths regarding the nature of creativity. The course will take a variety of approaches to mastering these topics, including reviewing the latest academic research (including some of my own work in this area). These ideas will be illustrated, moreover, by provocative and inspiring case studies. You will also have an opportunity to think about your own personal creativity and how to develop it further. The course is designed to be very intellectually engaging, as well as offer you an opportunity for self-reflection lively discussion.

This course is open only to leaders of the Service Learning Trips or Global Study Trips. The course will meet nine times only on Tuesdays (because of the limited time and the fact that the course is experientially based, attendance at all classes are required). In addition, students will meet with a Master Coach just before their trip to review how they are operating as a team. There will be a final lunch meeting in January where the Winter Trip leaders will share their experience with the Spring Trip leaders. nnThe purpose of this course is to help trip leaders in the planning and conducting of the trip so as to maximize the learning for the trip participants and the trip leaders as well as increasing the overall success of the trip. A range of topics will be covered including: articulating a vision for the trip, developing their team as a high performing team, making quality decision, resolving interpersonal issues (within the team and with participants), understanding how to make full use of the faculty member and dealing with the myriad of issues that are likely to arise.nnClass time will mainly be spent discussing and role-playing a series of short cases that have been developed around issues that have come up in past trips. These role plays will be the basis of peer feedback. The cases will be supplemented by short lectures to provide the conceptual underpinning. There will be a very modest reading list.

This course examines trends and opportunities in the cleantech sector with a particular focus on low carbon energy and carbon emission reductions. We examine these trends in the context of changing technology, economic fundamentals, and public policy. A particular focus of the course will be on the role of regulation and tax subsidies in determining the cost competitiveness of clean energy sources.nnSpecific topics and industries to be analyzed include:nn- Expanding role of Natural Gas in Electricity Generation nn- Carbon Capture by Fossil Fuel Power Plants nn- Solar PV industry nn- Cellulosic Biofuelsnn- Energy Efficiencynn- Clean Energy Policies and Investment in China

This is a project-based course on problem solving and creativity. It is expected that everyone who takes the class will work on some significant problem that's currently ongoing (e.g., the design of part of a complex project, a difficult negotiation over a new venture). The course is designed to achieve two goals. First, it will give you tools that should increase the probability that you'll make (hopefully substantial) progress on your problem. Second, it will introduce you to research that explains why it's sensible to try those tools on hard problems---i.e., the point of those tools. nPlease note that the first goal is stated rather cautiously. There are good reasons for this. I expect that most students will be working on hard problems. (Everyone in the class will be getting help from classmates on their particular problem; why bother your peers with an easy problem that you could solve yourself?) An important idea in cognitive science, Newell's Law, says that magic doesn't exist: if a problem-solving method is powerful (very likely to solve a certain type of problem), then it only works on a narrow class of problems. So... this course will not give you tools that are both powerful and general. It can't: such tools don't exist. Happily, improving your problem-solving skills, at least in certain domains, is possible, and that's what the course aims to do.nProgress on hard problems usually requires help from friends and colleagues. Virtually all researchers of creativity agree that most innovations that are both bold and useful involve multiple problem solvers. This course will implement this important pattern by requiring every student to help some classmate with their problem. Carrying out this help will be an important part of your grade. nAnother important empirical regularity in the field of innovation is that when problems are hard many (perhaps most) candidate-solutions don't work out. It's easy to accept that about other people's ideas; about my own, not so much. So a vital component of effective problem-solving is tough-minded evaluation. This implies rejecting bad ideas or bad parts of a would-be solution. Hence, at the end of the course you will be required to evaluate the progress that a classmate has made on his/her problem and to explain your assessment. (For obvious reasons you will not evaluate the same person you're helping.)nIn sum, every student will do three things in this course: generate new ways to make some progress on a problem of their own choosing; help somebody else work on their project; evaluate somebody's progress.

In this class, we will illuminate the power of story in business by revealing the key elements of storytelling, discussing the power of the verbal as well as the visual, and uncovering how storytelling helps build brands and organizations that align their brand value proposition with their internal culture. This skill is important if you are a new venture trying to build a reputation, or you are an established company trying to grow and innovate.

This seminar will explore the nature and role of leadership in organizations. We will examine such questions as (1) What is leadership? (2) Why is it important? (3) What is it that leaders actually do? (4) How do they do it? (5) How are leaders developed? (6) Why do leaders succeed or fail? (7) What about your potential for leadership and your strategy for developing it?nnOur primary objective in this seminar is to achieve a deeper understanding of the nature and role of leadership in organizations. Our approach will be to examine a small sample of the literature, together with the amazing story of Ernest Shackleton and his Endurance crew, and then to probe several key questions through lively class discussion. The discussion, informed by the readings and also by our collective experiences, will seek to develop some general principles and observations about leadership - particularly about how you might better develop yourself as a leader.

The health care system accounts for 17% of US GDP and is one of the fastest growing segments of the economy. This two unit class focuses on the interplay and tension between the main players in the health care field - providers of health care services (individual doctors, group practices, integrated health care systems), payors (insurances companies, employers, consumers, and government), patients, and innovator companies (biopharma, medical device, diagnostics, and health care IT). The course is designed for students with a broad diversity of backgrounds and interests who want to better understand the health care business and system. No prior experience in the health care or medical field is assumed or needed. The focus of the class will be primarily on the US health care system, but there will be limited discussion of non-US systems as well. The course is divided into four modules: - An overview of the US Health Care System and the interplay between payers, providers, innovators, and patients' Provider delivery models, health care information technology, and incentive structures - The relationship between quality, cost, and access - Integrated systems, value-based, and fee for service models - New IT technologies, including electronic data records - The role of information and incentives - Innovator business models and issues - Financing and managing new product development - Clinical trial management and gaining regulatory approval - Marketing, reimbursement, and sales strategies - Business models to drive innovation - Health care system reform and comparisons of the structure of the US Health Care system to that of other countries. The class will be taught primarily from the perspective of a business person operating a company rather than that of a policy maker, academic, or investor. While there will be a few lectures to provide background and frameworks for course topics, most classes will involve a case discussion and prominent guest speakers from the health care industry. Speakers will include CEOs, senior executives, and partners from leading companies and venture firms.nThe course is divided into four modules: n1. An overview of the US Health Care System and the interplay between payers, providers, and innovatorsn2. Provider delivery models, health care information technology, and incentive structures n - The relationship between quality, cost, and access n - Integrated systems and fee for service models n - New IT technologies, including electronic data recordsn - The role of information and incentives n3. Innovator business models and issues n - Financing and managing new product development and portfolio management n - Clinical trial management and gaining regulatory approval n - Marketing, communication and sales strategies (both physician and patient communication and sales) to drive product adoption and gain third party reimbursement n - Business models to drive innovationn4. Health care reform and technological innovationsnnThe class will be taught primarily from the perspective of a business person operating a company rather than that of a policy maker, academic, or investor. While there will be a few lectures to provide background and frameworks for course topics, most classes will involve a case discussion and prominent guest speakers from the health care industry. Past speakers have included CEOs and senior executives from Genentech, UnitedHealth, Intermountain Health, Genomic Health, PracticeFusion, GE, Safeway, Gilead, Intuitive Surgical, and Venrock. nnThe class is taught by Rob Chess, a health care entrepreneur, Chairman of Nektar Therapeutics, and a lecturer at the GSB since 2003.

This two-week, six-session workshop will offer techniques and practical in-class exercises for writing better -- better memos, emails, feedback for colleagues, news releases, responses to media questions, opinion pieces and social-media postings. Glenn Kramon, a senior editor who has helped New York Times reporters win 10 Pulitzer Prizes, will teach the course along with accomplished journalists with expertise in powerful, persuasive writing for business. They will provide not only helpful tips but constructive feedback on students' work, which will be completed mostly in class. They will also share thoughts on how best to work with the news media.

This course is designed for individuals interested in improving their communication skills. As a leader, you will spend the majority of your time communicating with others - team members, subordinates, clients, and other constituents. Right now, you probably don't spend much time thinking about the way you communicate, nor are you likely, in the corporate setting, to get honest feedback on the messages you send. Yet the quality of your communications will have a large impact on your overall effectiveness. This class will help you appreciate the nature and complexity of communication and provide guidelines for both improving your communication style and recognizing the unique styles of others. nnThe class is based on the assumption that organizations are fundamentally political entities, and interpersonal influence through communication is a key mechanism by which things get done. Effective leaders don't simply lead by fiat - they often must influence and persuade others to go along with their ideas. In each session, we'll consider a number of well-studied tactics of interpersonal communication. For each tactic, we'll talk about why it works, when it works best, and what its limitations might be. We'll discuss how you can put these approaches to work in order to support your attempts at persuasion and how to resist them as an unwilling target of persuasion.nnAfter taking this course, you will be better able to: (1) identify strategies for crafting effective communication in the form of everyday conversation, written work, and public presentations, (2) develop techniques for building strong, long-term alliances with your colleagues, and (3) become more persuasive in advancing an agenda, acquiring resources, or eliciting compliance from others. These skills will be invaluable to you throughout your career.

Evidence has mounted that consumer care about issues of authenticity in many kinds of markets. This seminar explores the meanings of authenticity in market contexts. It emphasizes the idea that authenticity attaches as much or more to the characteristics and actions of producers than to characteristics of products. Although these issues arise in many kinds of markets, they are especially intense for food and drink. So the seminar emphasizes these contexts, especially the wine industry. In wine production we see battles over the soul of wine, what it means for a wine to provide an authentic representation of terroir, national traditions, and so forth. Especially interesting for understanding authenticity is the recent success of biodynamic producers.

Course examines investment and financing issues that face a diverse set of participants in the sports industry (defined very broadly). A key theme is using general financial concepts to better structure decision making in the sports industry. Specific topics illustrate the broad set of perspectives considered: Player Payroll Financial Dynamics; Asset Appreciation Opportunities; Assessing the Value of Players (& General Managers); Investment Syndicates in Sports; Investing in Startup Leagues ; Financial Valuation of Sporting Clubs; Financial/Strategy Analysis for a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Venture; and On-Line Sports Venture Evaluation. One hand in requires feedback to the CEO's of several new sporting ventures about ways to expand their opportunity set; the CEO's come to a class and present their venture. The second hand in is a case study of a sports investment where there was sizable value creation or value destruction. Each session typically is co-taught with an industry visitor.

This Sports Marketing course combines (a) a focus on key marketing themes (such as branding, customer attraction/retention, and celebrity power) and (b) an analysis of marketing in diverse areas of the sporting industry: the league level, the team level, the player level, the network level, the advertiser level, the sponsor level, the fan level, and the media level. The nine sessions cover the following: Corporate Sponsorship; Online Marketing; Events as Brand Building Investments; Marketing to Youth; Sports/Entertainment Nexus; Club Marketing Strategies; Brand Revitalization & Strengthening; Motor Sports Marketing; Marketing in a Web 2.0/Social Networking World. Each session is typically taught with an industry visitor.

In this seminar we will explore the intersection of art and commerce in the entertainment industry. We will look at creating films and television programming that are artistically meaningful and/or have the potential for commercial success. Films are also increasingly used as a tool for social change, and we will examine this power.nnThe entertainment industry is one of enormous importance - both from a business and cultural standpoint, and has influence in virtually every sphere of our society. Sometimes the industry can seem baffling, mercurial, and characterized more by madness than method. But despite its uncertainties, Hollywood does have its own rules, rhythms, methods and strategies - and examining and evaluating them will be a key part of this seminar. This is a time when old formulas are being reconsidered or jettisoned, and emergent technologies are bringing further changes - and tracking and analyzing them, will also be part of the class.nnAs a writer, producer, director in film and television, I will also bring my own experiences into the classroom, where I'll discuss my work (including directing, writing, acquiring financing, producing films, executive producing a network series, etc.), and its rewards and challenges, and look at these experiences thorough the intersection of the business and creative sides of the industry.nnThe students in the seminar, working either individually or in small groups, will be asked to generate and present proposals for projects that have artistic and/or commercial merit, and we will examine how they may best fit into the industry - to gain widespread distribution or have social influence. The seminar will cover the entertainment industry from multiple angles and be very discussion oriented.

Politics, perhaps like no other arena, provides a rich and dramatic laboratory for studying the art and science of influential communication. Whether it is a local school bond election or a Congressional race, a Presidential debate or a State of the Union Address, the demanding communications of politics provide insights into our own strengths and gaps as a communicator and leader. Political campaigns, by their very nature, are highly visible, oriented toward very specific objectives, and increasingly leverage a variety of new media platforms. They are often emotionally charged, and rife with conflict and drama. The principles of political communications transcend politics, and are useful guides for leaders in business, the non-profit community, as well as government. How candidates, elected officials, and leaders in all kinds of organizations communicate vision, values, and experience, as well as how they perform in very fluid environments, not the least of which may be during a crisis, has a great deal to do with their career success. nnnIn its seventh year, this highly interactive course allows students to explore both theory and practice behind effective positioning and presentation. Students will analyze and evaluate both successful and unsuccessful communications strategies of political campaigns and candidates. They will explore historic examples of US Presidential debates, from Nixon/Kennedy to the present. Further they will experience political events as they happen -- with each class drawing lessons from political developments around the nation and the world. Students will also hone their own strategic communications skills in a activities requiring both written and spoken communication. This is not a course in political science, American government, or in public speaking. However, the engaged student will gain insights into those areas as well.nnnThe course is taught by David Demarest, Vice President of Public Affairs for Stanford University. Demarest has broad communications experience across the public and private sector in financial services, education, and government. After serving as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative, and Assistant Secretary of Labor in the Reagan Administration, in 1988 he served as Communications Director for Vice President George H. W. Bush's successful presidential campaign. He then became a member of the White House senior staff as White House Communications Director. After leaving government in 1993, he spent the next decade leading communications for two Fortune 50 companies, before coming to Stanford in 2005.

GSBGEN 566 will be an elective course offered to 2nd-year MBA and MSx students. The goal of this course is to improve students' judgment in confronting ethical situations encountered in the normal course of business activities. Classes use the Socratic method to examine ethical questions and build analytical skills. The course aims to sharpen moral reasoning and build judgment without favoring a particular position.nThe course will be taught by Mark Leslie and Peter Levine, Lecturers, and will include additional guest lecturers in many of the specific areas.nnThe course, which will be case-based, will involve frequent student-to-student and student-to-instructor role-playing. Cases will be drawn from a wide selection of business situations, including such topics as raising venture capital, managing major industrial customers, product distribution agreements, board of director fiduciary conflicts, developing financial instruments, senior management mutiny, etc.nnThis class is for two GSB credits and will be graded on a pass/fail basis. Sixty percent of the final grade will be derived from classroom performance; the remainder will be based on a final written assignment.

This elective 2-credit course is offered to 2nd-year, 3rd-year, and 4th-year Medical students, Residents, and Fellows, and to 2nd-year MBA students who aspire to improve their ability to deal effectively with difficult interpersonal situations. The course will be taught at Stanford Medical School by H. Irving Grousbeck, Consulting Professor of Management, Stanford Graduate School of Business, with assistance from Dr. Charles G. Prober, Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education. Teaching techniques that have been successful in helping business school students improve their ability to manage difficult conversations will be used.nnnThe course, which will be case-based, will involve frequent student-to-student and student-to-instructor role-playing in actual medical situations. Physician-experts often will be present to participate as class guests. Relevant principles of professionalism, leadership, and psychology underlie the course pedagogy.nnnThere will be seven classes held on Wednesdays beginning September 24th and concluding on November 12th. (No class on October 22) Each class will begin promptly at 12:35 and end at 2:05, without a break. Due to the abbreviated nature of the class (7 sessions), students will be expected to attend all classes unless excused in advance. nnnClass preparation will include reading of assigned cases; analysis of the cases and recommendations as to how to confront specific difficult conversations (consistent with assigned study questions); and reading of assigned background material. While optional, it is suggested that students form regular study groups. For GSB students, 50% of the final grade will depend on classroom performance; the remainder will be based on a final written assignment of no more than 6 pages. GSB students will be graded on a Pass/Fail basis. The course will be ungraded for Medical School students, Residents and Fellows. All students will be expected to complete the written assignment.nnnClass size will be limited to 35 students per the following: (1) a maximum of 15 MBA2 students and (2) a maximum of 20 2nd-year, 3rd-year and 4th-year Medical Students, Residents, and Fellows.

This course is based on a large number of interviews with MBA grads who have been out of the GSB for 4-10 years. These interviews identified a set of common early career challenges that young MBAs faced--and the lessons they learned from these. This 10-session course is based on these critical transitions, formative experiences, and personal conflicts that characterize the challenges young leaders face. The course objective is to help current students better understand some of the pitfalls they are likely to face as they become leaders and to avoid the career-limiting mistakes that these can bring.

Ever wonder if your online audience is paying attention to your web presentation or meeting? Have you wanted more engagement from your participants? Communicating virtually - €”using conference or video calls, web tools, and mobile devices—is very challenging. Yet more and more communication is happening with presenter and audience connecting electronically.nInformed by scholarly research and industry best practices, this workshop will provide a hands-on, practical introduction to immediately applicable techniques that will help you prepare and deliver engaging, participative, and impactful virtual presentations.nnSpecifically, you will learn techniques for confidently delivering virtual presentations, how to create content that invites engagement, and how to facilitate speaker-audience interactions that invite collaboration without losing control. We will also cover best practices for responding to audience input and questions that will amplify your message and for handling challenging interactions and questions. With these virtual-presenting skills, you will feel more confident presenting and your audience will be more connected and engaged.

During this class, you will: * Challenge your basic beliefs about the nature of crisis * Learn to scan your business practices for political and social risks * Anticipate and prepare for potential crises * Explore techniques for successfully solving problems in high-pressure crisis situations characterized by complex decision environments, time-pressure, high stakes, unanticipated events, and information overload * Develop strategies for managing stakeholders, public opinion, media relations, and public officials * Integrate your crisis management approach into your overall business strategy

This course examines the strategies that highly educated women and men use to combine work and family and the strategies that managers and policy makers can use to help others strike a balance. Topics include the tradeoffs in becoming a stay-at-home parent, the economic value of unpaid labor, the consequences of balancing two high-powered careers and children, the economics of marriage, fertility, child care, and elder care, the gendered division of labor in the home, time-management , workplace innovations, and policy initiatives. Guest speakers add their own perspectives on these issues and describe the roles their organizations play.

Careers are enjoyed in the good times but truly made when challenging situations are successfully managed throughout every business cycle. Individuals who both perform well and communicate effectively in tense situations, gain the attention of senior management and are relied upon to deliver. A key to this success is the ability to successfully navigate crucial conversations. nnnCrucial conversations are those which not only have a bearing on your firm and business but, also can also enhance or destroy your own personal reputation and credibility by poorly communicated situation analysis, facts and the mode in which you deliver information. Sometimes these conversations take place in minutes while others evolve over the course of days and weeks. Regardless, a professional's ability to read the "tea leaves" and execute a communication plan to address is vitally important to long term career success.nnnThis highly interactive course will take you through a series of business inflection points in a simulated firm where you will be expected to navigate different situations and make quick decisions both as an individual and as part of a team. Students can expect to leave this course with a heightened sense of their own gifts as communicators, a greater understanding of the research around effective communication, and specific tools and tactics to use throughout their career when faced with pivotal situations.nnnAttendance at all six sessions is required to pass this course and participation counts for half the grade. Students will regularly give and receive feedback with their peers on their ability to apply course concepts in the simulation as it unfolds. While no prerequisite exists for this course, we expect that students seeking fundamentals of communication consider other course offerings. This course relies on students who are already reasonably comfortable communicating in high-stakes settings seeking greater mastery and nuance in their communication.nnnRequired pre-reading will provide the theoretical frameworks and case background necessary for the six-session simulation. One final reflection paper will be due within a week after the final class session. The balance of each student's grade is based on their participation and learning within the simulation and the depth and quality of their feedback to peers.nnnThis course is co-created and co-taught by JD Schramm and Steve Mellas. Schramm brings over a decade of MBA communication teaching and coaching to the course along with more than 15 years of professional experience in healthcare, financial services, and education. He founded the GSB's Mastery Initiative and co-founded LOWKeynotes. He is a sought out speaker and coach with two talks in the TED library. Mellas serves as a principal at AQR Capital in Greenwich CT where he oversees operations. Prior to joining AQR he worked for Goldman Sachs as a Managing Director in the Investment Management Division with responsibility for Asset Management Operations worldwide. Before that Mellas was with Morgan Stanley where he managed fixed income trading operations. Schramm and Mellas have teamed up on a number of highly ranked courses at NYU Stern since 2005 and hatched this latest collaboration while delivering a Mastery workshop for the GSB in January 2012.

This course covers various advanced quantitative methods with applications in marketing and economics. Topics include simulation-based estimation, dynamic decision processes, and other topics relating to empirical models of demand and supply. The course stresses the conceptual understanding and application of each technique. Students will learn to apply these techniques using Matlab or an equivalent language.

Educators must be experts in their subject matter, but also effective scholarly communicators. This course will examine the theories for effective communication in the wide range of settings that PhDs will encounter: seminars, academic conferences, job talks, and ultimately in the classroom.nnThis course will provide PhD candidates with the opportunity to practice course principles in simulated communication settings and receive direct and filmed feedback on their performance. Students will benefit from participating in observations of GSB classes (within and beyond their discipline), readings on current education and communication theory and practice, class discussion, and visits from GSB professors.nnLearning Objectives:nnBy the end of this course students will:n-Understand the essentials of oral communication in scholarly settingsn-Understand the fundamentals of business education including syllabus development, classroom instruction, case method teaching, assessment and grading.n-Understand and practice the essential elements of effective presentations - the verbal, vocal, and visual aspects of oral presentationn-Articulate essential distinctions of teaching undergraduate, graduate (including MBA), and executive education students, and how to adapt their approach for these audiencesn-Demonstrate effectiveness as a presenter and growth in the ability to plan and present content in a variety of simulated settings from benchmark to final mock classn-Apply course content to job talks, conference presentations, and other professional settings beyond the classroomn-Evaluate peers and other educators on their ability to practice effective teaching and presentation delivery

This seminar examines research on the psychology of judgment and choice. Although the normative issue of how decisions should be made is relevant, the descriptive issue of how decisions are made is the main focus of the course. Topics of discussion include choice, judgment heuristics and biases, decision framing, prospect theory, mental accounting, context effects, task effects, regret, and other topics. The goal of the seminar is twofold: to foster a critical appreciation of existing knowledge in behavioral decision theory, to develop the students' skills in identifying and testing interesting research ideas, and to explore research opportunities for adding to that knowledge.

Doctoral Practicum in Teaching

Doctoral Practicum in Research

Students of all sexual orientations are invited to apply for this unique new seminar looking at the distinct challenge LGBT leaders have faced in communicating effectively. Through the years, many individuals have led the struggle for gay rights and inclusion through a variety of different communication strategies and tactics; some were successful while others were not. This seminar course will explore some of the key leaders in the LGBT community and how they chose to communicate. Together we will search through a variety of film clips, transcripts, news reports, and other historical elements to see how the message, media, and moments work together. A number of guest speakers will also share their perspective on what it means to "Lead Out Loud." Heterosexual identified students as well as LGBT students are encouraged to apply; in fact, we seek to have a true diversity of opinions in the room as we explore this topic. All students will benefit from this exploration of how to communicate about controversial, sensitive, and personal subjects with greater strength and purpose.

Communication is crucial to the success of all leaders, but as you climb within an organization the ability to write and speak effectively is magnified. This course will explore how individuals can develop and execute effective communication strategies for a variety of business settings. nnnThis course introduces the essentials of communication strategy and persuasion at an executive level. We will study: audience analysis, communicator credibility, message construction and delivery. Deliverables will include written documents and oral presentations and you will present both individually and in a team. You will receive continuous feedback to improve your communication effectiveness. Through this highly interactive course, you will see why ideas, data and advocacy are combined for a professional, persuasive presentation. nnnThis practical course helps students at all levels of communication mastery develop confidence in their speaking and writing through weekly presentations and assignments, lectures and discussions, guest speakers, simulated activities, and filmed feedback. This section is specifically designed with the needs of a senior leader in mind and is only open to Sloan Students. Students who elect to take this course in the fall should not also take strategic communication in the winter or spring; the courses will have sufficient overlap in concepts and assignments.

The course explores the role of mindfulness and compassion in the workplace, and the contribution of these qualities to leadership. Topics addressed will include: How can mindfulness enhance clarity in purpose and productivity? What is the connection between mindfulness and compassion? Is compassion in the business world a strength or a weakness? Are compassion and profit motives fundamentally incompatible, or can they support each other? What does compassionate leadership look like? Can mindfulness and compassion be trained at the individual level, and built into company policy? How does self-compassion support effective leadership and recovery from setbacks? Guests from the corporate or non-profit sectors will discuss the challenges of integrating mindfulness and compassion into business strategy and the work environment. Guests from the scientific field will discuss research on mindfulness and compassion as they relate to real-world challenges. Participants in the course will engage with exercises from evidence-based programs targeting the development of mindfulness and the various facets of compassion.

This goal of this class is to redesign our food system through project-based, experiential education and entrepreneurship. Projects will focus on food justice, sustainable food and farming technology and disruptive models of production and distribution. The class will scale change by providing creative spaces and resources for students, faculty, and community partners to learn and apply design thinking to real-world opportunities in the food system.

This course takes conventional managerial perspectives on the "strategic leadership" of organizations and applies them to the design and management of your life. Fundamental notions of "purpose" and "vision" are translated to the personal level in the form of "dreams" and "aspirations." Basic elements of strategy such as "scope" and "competitive advantage" are applied to help you evaluate fundamental choices about how you lead your life. Constructs such as "priorities," "commitments" and "resource allocation" all have analogues in individual life - as does the core objective of performance and success. The class begins with a hard-nosed and broad-based self-assessment of the quality of your life along a variety of dimensions including relationships, career, money, spirituality and health. Based on this assessment you will develop a strategy and a set of concrete goals for enhancing the quality of your life in targeted domains. The course consists of five intensive sessions designed to help you develop the skills and knowledge- but more importantly the insight and capacity - to be more strategic (in best sense of the term) and effective in how you lead your personal and professional life - meaning actively guiding, stewarding, and driving your results to create a life that is truly exceptional. Substantively, the course draws on a variety of different traditions including existential, humanistic, and positive psychology; personal growth, adult development, and the human potential movement; as well as the practice of life and executive coaching. Central themes and learning objectives include: * The development of self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-control * An understanding of the power of choice and "authoring" one's life * The essential role of dreams and aspirations * The art and discipline of knowing and speaking your truth * The challenges and self-limiting impact of negative thoughts and self-theories * Developing a stance towards oneself and others that is rooted in grace and wisdom NB: While we expect the class to be helpful and of interest to a wide range of students, it involves a substantial commitment of time and emotional and intellectual energy. It is not for the faint of heart or those who are ambivalent about introspection, feedback, or constructive confrontation.

The past decade has seen an increasing interest in impact investments, which seek to generate financial returns at the same time as they have social (or environmental) impact. But how does an investor actually achieve impact? We explore this question through a framework that requires that the investee enterprise itself has net positive impact and that the investor's financial or other contribution increases that impact. We consider the challenges of measuring an enterprise's impact, and then turn to assessing the value added by investors, fund managers, and other intermediaries. The course will be taught mainly through case studies that consider investments in different asset classes ranging from those that expect below-market returns to ones that expect risk-adjusted market returns or better. We will look at investments at various stages, from R&D to start-ups to mature enterprises and entire sectors, considering the role of subsidies (for better or worse) and how an enterprise's social mission can be protected upon exit, and also will examine social impact bonds. The course is taught by Paul Brest, http://www.law.stanford.edu/profile/paul-brest. With its focus on assessing impact, it has a different mission than Matt Bannick's winter quarter course, New Business Models in the Developing World, which examines enterprises serving the base of the pyramid, and David Chen's spring quarter course, Impact Investing: Strategies and Tools, which broadly examines the domain of impact investments with emphasis on those yielding market returns. Students will find only slight overlap among the three courses.

Why is it so difficult to change human behavior? Why is it that more than 80% of individuals who sign up for fitness classes drop out within a few weeks, even a few days? Why is it that despite the dramatic increase in devices and apps that are geared for changing behaviors, people still struggle to adopt and maintain new behaviors? The issue is not about a desire to change--it is about using the right methods and techniques to bring about habit change. The primary goal of this seminar is to gain a rich understanding of changing behaviors through frameworks and concepts that are grounded in neuroscience. In this seminar, we will examine (1) ways of characterizing different domains of behavior change, each requiring different methods and techniques, (2) why methods that often work in one domain are often unsuccessful in others and (3) how companies create habits in users and how one can leverage the power of technology to bring about behavior change.

This course will examine the world of wine with a fresh and contemporary lens. It will explore the market dynamics of this fascinating global industry. The goal of the course is to provide insight into the branding, marketing, and distribution dynamics that shape what consumers can buy and consume with a focus on the strategies of some of the world’s leading wine brands. Attention will also be paid to the legal, regulatory, and market dynamics that define the U.S. wine industry as well as to issues of contested authenticity in the world of wine.

This entrepreneurship course is designed to teach students the basic processes and tasks required to construct a business plan en route to the creation of a new venture. nnThe course is designed not only for students with immediate entrepreneurial aspirations, but for any student considering being involved in an entrepreneurial venture at any point in his or her career.nThe course is organized around a number of business concepts that we have selected. With your team, you will study one of the concepts, analyze it and evolve it into a business plan. The class comprises multiple student teams, each working on a different business concept. Each team will also review and critique the work of the other two teams.

This course is designed to expose second-year MBAs to research on creativity in problem-solving. The course has straightforward practical goals: it will explore ways in which individuals, groups, and organizations can become more creative, in useful ways. In order to do this effectively, we will study hardnosed research on problem-solving. We will not read articles entitled "The five-fold path to creativity." If there really were recipes or algorithms for reliably increasing creativity, I would certainly teach them. (Or more likely, I wouldn't need to: they would routinely be taught in the core curriculum of every MBA program.) Instead, we will study what cognitive and social scientists have discovered about novelty and effectiveness in problem-solving. Some of this work---e.g., Scott Page's examination of the value of cognitive diversity in teams---will have relatively direct action-implications. The pragmatic implications of other research---e.g., on organizational norms for resolving conflict---will be more indirect. Because the course's practical goal is easy to state but hard to achieve, some patience is required. nnnAs indicated above, we will study creativity at three levels: individuals, groups and organizations. Because there is pretty good evidence that different kinds of factors are prominent at these different levels, the course's approach is multi-disciplinary. We will read articles and books by cognitive psychologists and cognitive scientists, social psychologists, organization theorists, and perhaps historians who have studied industrial innovation. Disciplinary boundaries are irrelevant: any work that articulates a significant claim about pragmatically useful creativity and backs up that claim with a good argument is grist for our mill. nn nnBecause the course focuses on creativity that makes a difference---i.e., that ultimately makes some organizational stakeholder better off---we will also study how innovations get selected. This inevitably means studying how new ideas get criticized and sometimes discarded. This process is less fun than generating new ideas, but given that brand-new ideas are usually flawed in one way or another, critical and hard-headed scrutiny of innovations is vital. Hence, we will examine psychological, political, and organizational obstacles to the effective criticism and evaluation of novel solutions, and we will also look at some ideas on how these obstacles might be reduced. nnnClasses will be run seminar-style: they'll focus on examining the readings closely and critically. Understanding what a study does not establish is sometimes just as important as understanding what it does establish. Hence, I will expect everyone to read carefully; skimming won't cut it. This effort will probably result in a rather deep and sophisticated comprehension of the topic. Given the importance of creativity and innovation in modern organizations, that should be adequate return for hard effort.

Can you actually prepare for unexpected make or break career challenges you will face in the years ahead? By definition, the future is unpredictable, but understanding and grappling with the types of challenges seasoned leaders describe as the toughest they've faced can help to prepare one for the emotional demands that come with increasingly broad leadership responsibilities. Those challenges include role and team transitions, confrontations and conflicts, turning around poor performance (in individuals or groups), and recruiting or developing talent. This class will draw from a collection of video cases, role plays and exercises, based on real-life examples that are the product of hundreds of interviews conducted with leaders by the school's Center for Leadership Development and Research. The goal is to help students prepare for some of the gut-wrenching choices they will make in leadership roles, while evaluating how their mental and emotional responses influence their own managerial judgment.

This seminar considers the economics, development, and growth of emerging networks that use technology to connect people (typically sharing a purpose) to one another. Each day of the seminar will focus on a different company (or a few companies) and a different theme. The set of companies is preliminary, and is shown here just to illustrate a potential example.nn- Network Platforms/Zynga: Zynga is one of the leading and most advanced network-based consumer services. It has been struggling recently with growth and monetization on Facebook. We'll examine Zynga's business model, Zynga as an application vs. Zynga as a platform, and the choices Zynga has made along the way.nn- Metrics/LinkedIn: We'll examine the use of metrics to track application growth, engagement and monetization. We'll also compare the use of a proprietary social graph vis-a-vis Facebook's, considering the choices made by LinkedIn vs. a few Facebook apps. nn- Growth and Evolution: We'll discuss how network-based consumer services can grow and evolve their business models using a few company examples. nn- Monetization/Pinterest: We'll analyze interest and content networks, focusing on how they may be monetized vis-a-vis Facebook.nnSome of the seminar topics overlap topics covered in OIT 256 or OIT 356. Students who took one of these courses will not be allowed to take this course.

The food system in the United States has contributed to a number of societal and ecological problems, from increasing rates of diet- and food-related illnesses, to "food deserts" in our inner cities, to the loss of farmland to urban sprawl, to agricultural chemical runoff into our water sources, to unjust farm labor practices, to the overuse of antibiotics, to an enormous amount of food waste, to questionable animal husbandry practices, and more generally to a diminishing level of diversity among the people, plants, and animals on whom we rely for our sustenance. These problems create both dilemmas and opportunities for business. This course will focus on how some companies (both for-profit and non-profit) are working to try to repair the damaged food system in the United States. Topics include (but are not limited to): organic and biodynamic agriculture, the economic demise of the family farm, the health effects of our current system of food production and the habits it has engendered, and opportunities for entrepreneurship and new modes of food distribution. We will have several guest speakers, field trips, and cooking/food preparation workshops and demonstrations.

An organizational change approach to the development and introduction of new corporate strategies and product lines that have a sustainability benefit. Students will be given the opportunity to work on real-world cases to help them effectively incorporate sustainability strategy into their chosen career path.nnLearning Objectives: na. Articulate the sustainability challenges facing today¿s corporation in terms that will make executives receptive to actionnb. Employ organizational change management techniques to spur environmentally-friendly product and process innovationnc. Expand the repertoire of techniques for priming the market for new sustainability offeringsnd. Refine collaboration skills within multi-disciplinary teamsne. Improve oral and written presentation skills for executive audiencesnnThis class is appropriate for those seeking positions within large enterprises or business consultancies, or those seeking to refine their thinking on social entrepreneurship.

Organizations are often designed for efficiency or optimization of workflow, not for user empathy. How do you design for both? This pop-up class is geared toward the design (or redesign) for empathy-based organizations. It will teach early-stage leaders about the three basic levers they have for organizational design/re-design: organizational culture, organizational structure (informal and formal), and organizational routines. Emphasis will be placed on how to align these levers to facilitate communication and to structure workflows for empathy-based organizations. The class will work with a fast-growing, design-driven startup, which will articulate to students its goals as a business, as well as its challenges in designing the business. Students will interview and observe multiple stakeholders from diverse teams and use design thinking to address uncovered needs and insights with respect to organizational design.

Growing and scaling a successful business demands familiarity and comfort with financial principles and decision-making. Yet particularly in developing countries, where the need for growth is greatest, a large fraction of the population, and entrepreneurs and managers in particular, lack this basic knowledge. The goal of this project-based seminar is for teams of students to develop education modules for teaching financial literacy to entrepreneurs in developing economies. We will partner with on the ground organizations who work directly with these entrepreneurs, and who can provide feedback on the user's needs and market validation for project teams' approaches. We will examine research on the effectiveness of credit-linked training and review some existing programs offering similar training. Students will be expected to deliver a short training video at the end of the course.

This course accepts that the (CSR) movement linking business, communities and sustainability has moved past the stage of debate. The last decade has seen an increased awareness in regard to environmental and social issues that has found its way up the corporate ladder and into company boardrooms. How companies incorporate CSR programs and strategies, however, is varied and diverse. The course will utilize reading assignments, case analysis and/or company presentations to provide an overview of CSR, the frameworks and models for developing a CSR strategy and the growing utilization of cross-sector partnerships in CSR and innovation efforts. Particular focus will be on cutting edge business strategies for squaring social and environmental responsibilities with competitive demands. The latter part of the course will examine the role of cross-sector partnerships as a critical lever. Cross-sector collaboration is increasingly desirable as a strategy for addressing many of society's problems; however, research evidence indicates that it is hardly easy. Guests will bring to life the challenges and rewards in working collaboratively to implement social change.

This course is open only to students participating in the Stanford-Tsinghua Exchange Program and is required of those students. Requirements include researching and reporting on companies to be visited, attending lectures in preparation for the China visit, attending lectures at Tsinghua, and carrying out and reporting on a project with one or more Tsinghua student. Offered Pass/No Pass only. 2 units. Winter quarter.

This course is offered for students requiring specialized training in an area not covered by existing courses. To register, a student must obtain permission from the faculty member who is willing to supervise the reading.

This course is elected as soon as a student is ready to begin research for the dissertation, usually shortly after admission to candidacy. To register, a student must obtain permission from the faculty member who is willing to supervise the research.