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MGMT714/MGMT707 - Careers in the 21st Century Has a New Course Number

After two successful runs as a "topics course" (MGMT 714), Careers in the 21st Century has become a regular course with its own number which is MGMT 707. This course is about how the changes in employment dynamics (more downsizing and midcareer mobility of all kinds, more contract work at all levels and pay scales, more specific hiring criteria on the part of employers, etc.) are changing the way people manage their careers and the options that they have to shape them for more personal success. This is a great course for people who are finishing their MBAs and want to think about how their careers may change going forward. It can also be helpful for people in career transition or who want to manage their direct reports by helping those people have more personally successful careers. It is offered in the fall semester.

Instructor: Dr. Sally Power

Overview:
Continuing globalization, the faster pace of change, flatter organizations, and routine corporate downsizing has made the management of individual careers increasingly challenging. For example, a recent study of post-MBA careers over a 13 year period reported that only 1/3 of those surveyed had a traditional organizational career path. (Reitman, F. & Schneer, J. A., 2003, “The promised path: A longitudinal study of managerial careers. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 18(1), 60-76).

This course will consider the changes in careers that have occurred over the last twenty years and the effects they have on individual career management in early, mid, and later career stages. We will study career building options both inside and outside organizations, challenges individuals face as they learn to manage their careers more independently, and how these changes are affecting or could affect the functioning of large organizations. Examples of course topics include: how the career histories of CEO’s are changing, how careers are being internationalized, the differences in career progression between men and women, and how successful “free agents” feel about their careers.

The overall goal of the course is to help individuals manage their own careers more successfully as well as help them manage organizations and employees to take advantage of the changes in career patterns.

At the end of this class students will:
- Be able to identify major career development options for themselves and others
- Understand the challenges of having a successful career at early, mid, and later career stages
- Have an individualized career management strategy
- Explore the changes in organizations that are coming about as a result of these changes in career patterns, and
- Identify new business opportunities in light of the changing challenges in career management.

FINC714 - Fixed Income Securities

The parameters of this course will include:

Extensive coverage of money market instruments, U.S. Treasury obligations, government agencies, mortgage securities, corporate bonds, tax exempt obligations, private placements, and preferred stocks.

Examination of various features of fixed income securities including term structure, bond yield measures, call and refunding provisions, financial covenants, senior/subordinate positions, price volatility, and weighted average maturities.

Determination of the creditworthiness of corporate bonds through qualitative and quantitative/financial ratio analysis.

Tools and techniques used in active management of fixed income securities such as duration, convexity, negative convexity, bond swaps, static and option adjusted spreads, bond portfolio immunization, dedicated bond portfolios, hedging interest rate risk and others.

In addition, occasional guest speakers will be invited to discuss their particular areas of expertise in fixed income securities.

MGMT714 - Health Care Quality & Safety

The importance of quality and safety has never been higher in healthcare. Quality and safety are strategic imperatives for all healthcare organizations. To minimize harm to patients and reduce costs are essential initiatives for all delivering healthcare to patients. The course will explore the relationship of costs and quality, as well as the business case for safety and quality. It will incorporate the work of Deming, Crosby, and Juran and the application of their concepts of quality to healthcare. Attention will also be paid to managing the risks of human error and the current thinking and understanding of safety and quality in healthcare. The course will include guest lecturers from leaders in health systems. The later part of the course will focus on environments, facilities with equipment and technology, safety and quality processes, and the development of a culture of quality. Assignments for the course will involve reading 4 or 5 books and a project.

ENTR 714 - Tech Based New Venture Strategies

This course examines the challenges of technology entrepreneurship. We explore the existence and identification of technological opportunities, the patterns of technological change, the evolution of the marketplace, the process of technology commercialization, “appropriability” (the ability to be copied or emulated) and intellectual property protection, technical standards, technology entrepreneurship in a corporate setting and, finally, options and other means of managing uncertainty endemic to technology-based entrepreneurship. This course is useful to students interested in understanding how to bring innovations and new technology to the market – the heart of entrepreneurship whether in big companies or small.
Course Objective

The course seeks to:

1) Develop skills necessary to conduct an opportunity assessment, including a market assessment of current or potential competitors and substitute products.

2) Deepen understanding of the elements of strategic positioning, particularly in the context of markets that evolve rapidly and are often influenced by the development of technological standards.

3) Develop strategies for the creation, development, and protection of internal firm resources (e.g. employees, intellectual property, and organizational systems and culture) necessary to fuel growth.

While students will draw on readings in this course that represent the latest thinking on entrepreneurship in the technology context, case discussion will serve as the principal vehicle for learning. Through case-based discussions, students become comfortable with the ambiguities inherent in the opportunity assessment and strategy formation process. In addition, students develop their analytical skills, learn and apply core concepts, and develop strategic recommendations that underscore the need for entrepreneurs to both reflect and act.

MGMT714: Strategic Overview of the Health Care System

This course will provide students with an overview of the health care system, including the strategic positioning of providers, suppliers, insurers, and government within the health care system. It will build an understanding of how the customer/patient fits or does not fit into the existing system and define where the health care system is failing or supporting its stakeholders. It will also address the strategic processes necessary to institute change in the health care system.