11 - 20 of 80 results for: GSBGEN

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.) nnWe will explore selected topics including: nn- the roles of the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors in society;n- choosing philanthropic goals, and whether giving to the poor is morally obligatory ;n- the justifications for tax-subsidized philanthropy;n- alternative legal and organizational structures to carry out philanthropic programs, including donor-advised funds, direct giving, foundations;n- whether foundations should exist in perpetuity or spend down over a finite number of years;n- fundamentals of nonprofit strategy;n- designing performance metrics (KPIs) and measuring philanthropic impact;n- barriers to the practice of strategic philanthropy;n- fundamentals of investment management for pools of philanthropic capital;n- socially motivated criteria for investing, including PRIs, MRIs, SRIs, and negative screens;n- impact investing and investor-funded pay for success programs.

This course focuses on strategy and actionable measurement in government, non-profit organizations, market-based social enterprises, philanthropy, and impact investing. "Actionable" means that measurement is used by managers, investors, and other stakeholders in improving outcomes. nn nThe course explores the intersection of several ideas that seem to be in some tension with each other. (1) "In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable." (Dwight D. Eisenhower), (2) You can't manage what you can't measure, (3) Measurement is expensive and its results are often ignored, (4) "Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts" (apocryphally attributed to Einstein), (5) "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). nnnSpecifically, the course will include: strategic planning, logic models, theories of change, monitoring, and evaluation; 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 impact; impact investing, performance contracting, and social impact bonds; and techniques for improving the behavior and accountability of individuals and organizations. These issues will be addressed mainly through business school case studies, which place the students in the position of CEOs, managers, and investors called upon to make major decisions. nnnWARNING: The 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.

The disruptive nature of the Internet has set in motion the destruction of business models that have supported traditional media organizations. This course will examine the current state and broader economic challenges facing the media industry. These include: the impact of technology, changing consumer behavior, the rise of mobile, social networks, big data, real-time metrics, innovations in digital advertising and distribution channels, and new business models. Students will analyze new digital media ventures and hear from industry experts facing innovation challenges at the intersection of content, technology and business. The course also will identify paths for entrepreneurs interested in building a media business. And experiment with prototyping new digital media ventures.

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.

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. nSpecific topics to be examined include: (i) the impact of regulatory policies and tax subsidies on the energy mix (ii) the growing competitiveness of renewable energy, in particular solar PV and wind, (iii) sustainable transportation (iv) adaptation by fossil fuel energy sources, (v) innovative financing mechanisms for energy projects, (vi) the venture capital perspective (vii) the changing role of utilities in the energy landscape.

Believe it or not, the "Silicon Valley model" has little or nothing to do with most businesses. Most businesses are not started by MBAs; most startups are not funded by VCs; most employees don't work for tech firms; and most businesses don't sell out to other businesses or go public. Rather, the vast majority of businesses world-wide are started, funded, and owned by families, and these firms create most of the employment in the global economy. Despite the prominence of family firms, teaching and research have traditionally focused on analyzing the widely-held or Silicon Valley model of the firm. This course explores the challenges and opportunities faced by family businesses. It is taught by Leo Linbeck III, Lecturer since 2005 at the GSB and President and CEO of Aquinas Companies, LLC. This course is an outlier in a world obsessed with tech startups and venture capital; it is a "Minority Report" from the heart of Silicon Valley. 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 or consulting with a private firm either directly (search funds, management consultants, etc) or indirectly (private equity, etc). (4) Students who are sick of only learning about cool, sexy startups and the geniuses who get rich from them. The course uses a combination of case studies, guest speakers, lectures, movies, and student presentations to explore the central ideas of the course, which are likely to appear irrelevant to everyone (save the instructor).

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. solar, wind, storage, 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 and economic models tend to be highly customized. By taking a forensic approach, looking at several different projects, 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, in particular climate change, economic competitiveness, and energy security.

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 experiential course will focus on how to make a business decision correctly. The theory will focus on common behavior biases and mistakes. Students will practice making business decisions by analyzing a business case each week.