POLECON 230: Strategy Beyond Markets: Condensed
This course focuses on the firm's strategic interactions with nonmarket players, like politicians, interest groups, activists, regulators, and bureaucrats. These players work within the public institutions that determine the "rules of the game" for market activity. Their interventions, like passing a new piece of legislation or writing new regulatory standards, shape market competition and the opportunities available to firms. The goal of the course is to build a deeper understanding of and appreciation for what goes on beyond the market, and to develop tools and frameworks with which to analyze it. We will focus on building integrated strategies for optimal firm performance that combine elements from within and beyond markets. The course is case-based, drawing on case studies from a variety of countries and institutional environments.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
Instructors:
Martin, G. (PI)
POLECON 231: Strategy Beyond Markets
This course focuses on the firm's strategic interactions with nonmarket players, like politicians, regulators and bureaucrats. These players work within the public institutions that determine the "rules of the game" for market activity. Their interventions, like passing a new piece of legislation or writing new regulatory standards, shape market competition and the opportunities available to firms. The goal of the course is to build a deeper understanding of and appreciation for what goes on beyond the market, and to develop tools and frameworks with which to analyze it. We will focus on building integrated strategies for optimal firm performance that combine elements from within and beyond markets. The course is case-based, drawing on case studies from a variety of countries and institutional environments. Note that
POLECON 230 is a condensed version (2 unit) of this course, which covers roughly the same material as we do in
POLECON 231, but at a relatively more surface or abbreviated level.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
Instructors:
Casey, K. (PI)
POLECON 239: MSx: Strategy Beyond Markets
This course addresses managerial issues in the social, political and legal environments of business. Cases and readings emphasize strategies to improve the performance of companies in light of their multiple constituencies, both within the US and internationally. Most core courses focus on firms' interactions with customers, suppliers, and alliance partners in the form of mutually beneficial voluntary exchange transacted in markets. In contrast, this course considers the strategic interactions of firms with comparably important constituents, organizations, and institutions beyond markets. Issues considered include those involving activist and interest groups, the media, legislatures, regulatory and antitrust agencies, and other forms of political risk. In many of the class sessions, we will draw on theoretical and empirical research in political economy, a field that is particularly relevant for understanding relationships between firms and governments, because (unlike most of economics) political economy focuses on interactions that are neither voluntary nor transacted via money.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
Instructors:
Callander, S. (PI)
;
Martin, G. (SI)
POLECON 342: Finding Religious and Spiritual Meaning at Work: Business Exemplars
This course explores the experience of respected business leaders who have been able to integrate their spiritual and business lives successfully. It also provides an explicit opportunity for students to discuss their own intentions to find deep meaning in and through their business careers. Difficulties, struggles and barriers will be examined as well. Readings will include both biographies of specific business people and background materials on the major religious and philosophical traditions represented. A number of the exemplars whose biographical information will be examined, like Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn, will be invited to class -- initially to listen to the class discussion, and then to provide feedback to students, expand on their own biographies and the background resources read in preparation for each class, and respond to questions and answers. This course will help students elucidate how their business careers fit into what ultimately matters most to them and how to build moral courage and long-term commitment to their ideals.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
Instructors:
McLennan, S. (PI)
POLECON 351: Global Business, Religion, and National Culture
What does one need to know about Islam to do business effectively in an Arab country? How can understanding the Protestant ethic help Mexican managers deal with U.S. partners? How does Confucianism influence Chinese business ethics? What are the business advantages of knowing how different countries rate on the spectrum of individualist versus communitarian values? These are the kinds of issues discussed in this course, which seeks to help students who will be engaged in international business during their careers. It aims to examine the deeper levels of attitudes and beliefs, often unconscious, which lie beneath the way business is done in various countries. Information will be provided on major religious and philosophical traditions like Confucianism, Shinto, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Some cross-cultural frameworks will also be considered. Case studies and background readings are set in nations like China, Japan, India, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Me
more »
What does one need to know about Islam to do business effectively in an Arab country? How can understanding the Protestant ethic help Mexican managers deal with U.S. partners? How does Confucianism influence Chinese business ethics? What are the business advantages of knowing how different countries rate on the spectrum of individualist versus communitarian values? These are the kinds of issues discussed in this course, which seeks to help students who will be engaged in international business during their careers. It aims to examine the deeper levels of attitudes and beliefs, often unconscious, which lie beneath the way business is done in various countries. Information will be provided on major religious and philosophical traditions like Confucianism, Shinto, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Some cross-cultural frameworks will also be considered. Case studies and background readings are set in nations like China, Japan, India, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Mexico and the United States. The class will be discussion-based, drawing on students¿ own life experiences as well as the cases and readings. The hope is to provide a competitive advantage, both theoretically and practically, to students through understanding certain unspoken rules of the game in global business.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
Instructors:
McLennan, S. (PI)
POLECON 549: The Business World: Moral and Spiritual Inquiry through Literature
This course uses short stories, novels and plays as a basis for examining the moral and spiritual aspects of business leadership and of the environment in which business is done. On the one hand literature is used as the basis for examining the character of business people, while on the other hand literature provides illumination of the cultural contexts of values and beliefs within which commercial activities take place in a global economy. The course is organized around the interplay of religious traditions and national identities. Classes are taught in a Socratic, discussion-based style, creating as much of a seminar atmosphere as possible. A two-text method is used, encouraging students to examine their own personal stories with as much care as the stories presented in the literature. This course will be graded on the basis of class participation, weekly reflection papers (1 page), and a final paper. There will be no exam. Course previously offered as
POLECON 349.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2
Instructors:
McLennan, S. (PI)
POLECON 661: Political Economy Research Workshop
Workshop for in-progress work by doctoral students in the PE program. Students present work and get feedback from other students and the faculty instructor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
(up to 99 units total)
POLECON 662: The Political Economy of American Elections
This class will survey classic and contemporary research into the political economy of American elections, including core topics such as ideological positioning and representation, the incumbency advantage, democratic accountability, and campaign finance. Students will be asked to carry out replications of published papers and to work on a research paper of their own. This class is aimed at Ph.D. students interested in the study of American politics. Prerequisites are econometrics and causal inference, intro grad micro, and formal theory, as offered in the Econ, Polisci, or GSB grad programs.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
Instructors:
Hall, A. (PI)
POLECON 680: Foundations of Political Economy
This course provides an introduction to political economy with an emphasis on formal models of collective choice, public institutions, and political competition. Topics considered include voting theory, social choice, institutional equilibria, agenda setting, interest group politics, bureaucratic behavior, and electoral competition. Also listed as Political Science 351A.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
Instructors:
Callander, S. (PI)
POLECON 681: Economic Analysis of Politics
This course extends the foundations developed in P680 by applying techniques of microeconomic analysis and game theory to the study of political behavior and institutions. The techniques include information economics, games of incomplete information, sequential bargaining theory, repeated games, and rational expectations. The applications considered include agenda formation in legislatures, government formation in parliamentary systems, the implications of legislative structure, elections and information aggregation, lobbying, electoral competition and interest groups, the control of bureaucracies, interest group competition, and collective choice rules.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
Instructors:
Shotts, K. (PI)
Filter Results: