Masters in Business Administration (MBA)
MBA 200C Leadership Communication 1 Unit
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 1 hour of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week for 5 weeks.
Leadership Communication is a workshop in the fundamentals of public speaking in today's business environment. Through prepared and impromptu speeches aimed at moving others to action, peer coaching, and lectures, students will sharpen their authentic and persuasive communication skills, develop critical listening skills, improve abilities to give, receive, and apply feedback, and gain confidence as public speakers.
MBA 200P Problem Finding, Problem Solving 1 Unit
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Problem Finding, Problem Solving (PFPS) teaches basic skills drawn from the fields of critical thinking, design thinking and systems thinking that support innovation. Specifically, it covers ways of collecting information to characterize a problem, framing and re-framing that problem, coming up with a range of solutions and then gathering feedback to assess those solutions. Following Confucius’s notion: "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." The class consists primarily of hands-on exercises to experiment with and learn the tools and techniques presented, applying them to the design and testing of alternative business models for start-up and other businesses.
MBA 200S Data and Decisions 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 4 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week for 7 weeks.
The objective of this core course is to make students critical consumers of statistical analysis using available software packages. Key concepts include interpretation of regression analysis, model formation and testing, and diagnostic checking.
Formerly known as Business Administration 200S.
MBA 201A Economics for Business Decision Making 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 4 hours of lecture per week for 7 weeks.
Prerequisites: Knowledge of calculus and algebra assumed.
Business success depends on the successful positioning of the firm and the management of its resources. The goal of this course is to think systematically about achieving competitive advantage through the management of the firm's resources. We will analyze management decisions concerning real options, cost determination, pricing, and market entry and exit. We will use readings and cases along with class discussion to develop practical insights into managing for competitive advantage.
MBA 201B Macroeconomics in the Global Economy 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 4 hours of lecture per week for 7 weeks.
Prerequisites: 200S, 201A.
This course develops and applies models of the world's economies to explain long-run trends and short-run fluctuations in key macroeconomic variables, such as GDP, wage and profit rates, inflation, interest rates, employment and unemployment, budget deficits, exchange rates, and trade balances.
MBA 202 Financial Accounting 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 4 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week for 7 weeks.
This course examines accounting measurements for general-purpose financial reports. An objective of the course is to provide not only a working knowledge but also a clear understanding of the contents of published financial statements.
Formerly known as Business Administration 202A.
MBA 203 Introduction to Finance 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 4 hours of lecture per week for 7 weeks.
Prerequisites: 200S, 202.
This is an introductory MBA course in investments. Students learn how to value assets given forecasts of future cash flows and about the risk characteristics of different asset classes. The first part of the course focuses on the time value of money. The second part of the course deals with measuring and pricing risk. Finally, the course touches on derivative-basics and capital market efficiency. An effort will be made to tie the theoretical underpinnings of finance to real-world examples.
MBA 204 Operations 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 4 hours of lecture per week for 7 weeks.
Prerequisites: 200S.
This course provides a broad overview of strategic, operational, and tactical issues facing manufacturing and service companies. Major topics include process analysis, quality management, project management, supply-chain management, service-systems management, and operations strategy. These issues are explored through lectures, case studies, and videos pertaining to a variety of industries, from fast food to fashion goods to automobile manufacturing to telephone call centers.
MBA 205 Leading People 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 4 hours of lecture per week for 7 weeks.
How can you motivate employees to go above and beyond the call of duty to get the job done? How can you be sure that your decisions are not biased? What influence tactics can you use when you do not have the formal authority to tell someone what to do? This course adds to your understanding of life in complex organizations by covering topics spanning the micro (individual level of analysis), the macro (organizational level of analysis), and also topics that integrate these two levels.
MBA 206 Marketing Management 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 4 hours of lecture per week for 7 weeks.
This course is designed for students who need to understand the basic concepts and techniques of marketing strategy as a foundation for more advanced study in the area. The course treats marketing from the perspective of strategic analysis and provides a framework for the decisions associated with the management of the marketing function in the modern organization focusing on customer analysis, competitive analysis and the analysis of marketing investments.
MBA 207 Ethics and Responsible Business Leadership 1 Unit
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of lecture per week for 7 weeks.
This course provides students with the ability to anticipate, critically analyze, and appropriately respond to the social, ethical, and political challenges that face managers operating in a global economy.
Formerly known as Business Administration 207A.
MBA 209F Fundamentals of Business 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
An introduction to business methods of analysis and terminology for nonbusiness graduate students. The course is taught in three five-week modules: (1) organizational behavior and management, (2) accounting and finance, and (3) marketing and strategy.
MBA 210 Strategy, Structure, and Incentives 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 201A.
This course uses insights from economics to develop structure, tactics, and incentives to achieve the firm's goals. It develops a framework for analyzing organizational architecture, focusing on the allocation of decision rights, the measurement of performance, and the design of incentives. Includes managing the vertical chain of upstream suppliers and downstream distributors, design and operation of incentive and performance management systems, techniques for dealing with informational asymmetries.
MBA 211 Game Theory 2 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 7.5 hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.
A survey of the main ideas and techniques of game-theoretic analysis related to bargaining, conflict, and negotiation. Emphasizes the identification and analysis of archetypal strategic situations in bargaining. Goals of the course are to provide a foundation for applying game-theoretic analysis, both formally and intuitively, to negotiation and bargaining; to recognize and assess archetypal strategic situations in complicated negotiation settings.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
MBA W211 Game Theory (Online Version) 2 or 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: unit(s):7 hours of web-based lecture per week; 3 unit(s):10 hours of web-based lecture per week for 8 weeks. This is an online course.
A survey of the main ideas and techniques of game-theoretic analysis related to bargaining, conflict, and negotiation. Emphasizes the identification and analysis of archetypal strategic situations in bargaining. Goals of the course are to provide a foundation for applying game-theoretic analysis, both formally and intuitively, to negotiation and bargaining; to recognize and assess archetypal strategic situations in complicated negotiation settings. This course is taught online.
Students will receive no credit for Masters in Business Administration W211 after taking Masters in Business Administration 211.
MBA 212 Energy and Environmental Markets 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 201A or equivalent.
Business strategy and public issues in energy and environmental markets. Topics include development and effect of organized spot, futures, and derivative energy markets; political economy of regulation and deregulation; climate change and environmental policies related to energy production and use; cartels, market power and competition policy; pricing of exhaustible resources; competitiveness of alternative energy sources; and transportation and storage of energy commodities.
Formerly known as Business Administration 212.
MBA 212A Cleantech to Market 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture per week.
In this course, interdisciplinary teams of graduate students work with scientists from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and across the UCB campus to commercialize new solar, biofuel, battery, and smart grid/energy management technologies. Students are drawn from Business, Engineering, Science, Law, and the Energy and Resources Group. Students explore topics such as: Potential application in multiple markets; alignment with target or desired market(s); distinguishing advantages and disadvantages; customer and user profiles; top competitors; commercialization and scale-up challenges; relevant government policies; revenue potential and cost sensitivities; intellectual property issues; and multiple other related topics.
MBA 215 Business Strategies for Emerging Markets: Management, Investment, and Opportunities 2 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This course helps students to study the institutions of emerging markets that are relevant for managers, analyze opportunities presented by emerging markets, analyze the additional ethical challenges and issues of social responsibility common in emerging markets, and learn to minimize the risks in doing business in emerging markets. This course is a combination of lectures, class participation, and cases.
MBA 217 Topics in Economic Analysis and Policy 0.5 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: to 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Advanced study in the field of economic analysis and policy. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
MBA 222 Financial Information Analysis 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 202A or consent of instructor.
Issues of accounting information evaluation with special emphasis on the use of financial statements by decision makers external to the firm. The implications of recent research in finance and accounting for external reporting issues will be explored. Emphasis will be placed on models that describe the user's decision context.
Formerly known as Business Administration 222.
MBA 223 Corporate Financial Reporting 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of optional discussion per week.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 202A or consent of instructor.
This course examines the theory and practice of financial accounting and the issues involved in determining corporate financial reporting policies. It provides an in-depth knowledge of how financial statements are prepared but emphasizes the evaluation of accounting reports from a managerial perspective. Cases supplement lecture, discussion, and problem solving.
Formerly known as Business Administration 220.
MBA 224A Managerial Accounting 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of optional discussion per week for 10 weeks.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 202A or equivalent.
This course emphasizes the use of accounting information throughout the planning, operation and control stages of managing an organization. The course is divided into three sections to reflect these three stages of management: 1) information for planning and decision making; 2) information received during operations (cost accounting); and 3) information for control and performance evaluation.
Formerly known as Business Administration 202B.
MBA 227B Taxes and Firm Strategy 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 5.5 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks. 7.5 hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.
This course will cover various topics in personal or corporate taxation or both. Topics will vary from semester to semester.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Formerly known as Business Administration 228.
MBA 231 Corporate Finance 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of optional discussion per week.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 203.
This course will study the principles underlying alternative financial arrangements and contracts and their application to corporate financial management. In particular, it will examine the impact of incentive, moral hazard, and principal-agent problems, that arise as a consequence of asymmetric information, government intervention, managerial incentives and taxes, on financial decisions regarding capital budgeting, dividend policy, capital structure and mergers.
Formerly known as Business Administration 234.
MBA 232 Financial Institutions and Markets 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of optional discussion per week.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 203.
This course will analyze the role of financial markets and financial institutions in allocating capital. The major focus will be on debt contracts and securities and on innovations in the bond and money markets. The functions of commercial banks, investment banks, and other financial intermediaries will be covered, and aspects of the regulation of these institutions will be examined.
Formerly known as Business Administration 232.
MBA 233 Investments 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of optional discussion per week.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 203.
This course will examine four different types of asset markets: equity markets, fixed income markets, futures markets and options markets. It will focus on the valuation of assets in these markets, the empirical evidence on asset valuation models, and strategies that can be employed to achieve various investment goals.
Formerly known as Business Administration 233.
MBA 236B Investment Strategies and Styles 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 203 plus one additional graduate finance course.
Introduction to alternative investment strategies and styles as practiced by leading money managers. A money manager will spend approximately half of the class discussing his general investment philosophy. In the other half, students, practitioner, and instructor will explore the investment merits of one particular company. Students will be expected to use the library's resources, class handouts, and their ingenuity to address a set of questions relating to the firm's investment value.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Formerly known as Business Administration 239.
MBA 236C Global Financial Services 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Survey of the forces changing and shaping global finance and intermediation, especially the effects of greater ease of communication, deregulation, and globalized disciplines expected to continue to be essential to corporate finance and intermediation, e.g., investment analysis, valuation, structured finance/securitization, and derivative applications. The case method is utilized with occasional additional assigned readings and text sources.
MBA 236D Portfolio Management 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This course explores the broad range of portfolio management in practice. The class will examine the assets, strategies, characteristics, operations, and concerns unique to each type of portfolio. Practitioners will present descriptions of their businesses as well as methods and strategies that they employ.
MBA 236E Mergers and Acquisitions: A Practical Primer 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 5.5 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 203 or consent of instructor.
Survey of the day-to-day practices and techniques used in change of control transaction. Topics include valuation, financing, deal structuring, tax and accounting considerations, agreements, closing document, practices used in management buyouts, divestitures, hostile takeovers, and takeover defenses. Also covers distinctions in technology M&A, detecting corruption in cross border transaction attempts, and betting on deals through risk arbitrage. Blend of lecture, case study, and guest lectures.
MBA 236F Behavioral Finance 1 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture per week for 15 weeks. 2 to 5.5 hours of lecture per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 203.
This course looks at the influence of decision heuristics and biases on investor welfare, financial markets, and corporate decisions. Topics include overconfidence, attribution theory, representative heuristic, availability heuristic, anchoring and adjustment, prospect theory, "Winner's Curse," speculative bubbles, IPOs, market efficiency, limits of arbitrage, relative mis-pricing of common stocks, the tendency to trade in a highly correlated fashion, investor welfare, and market anomalies.
MBA 236G Designing Financial Models that Work 1 or 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of lecture per week for 8 weeks. 14 hours of lecture per week for 4 weeks.
Prerequisites: 203 or consent of instructor.
Spreadsheet financial models are often too big, complicated, and buggy to help people. In this course, students learn to design financial models that work because they're small (fit on a screen or two), straightforward (involve only basic math), clear (a non-MBA can follow them readily), and fast to build. These simple yet powerful representations of the cash flows for a new product/deal/venture help people share their vision, recognize tradeoffs, brainstorm possibilities, and make decisions.
MBA 236H Financial Statement Modeling for Finance Careers 1 or 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: unit(s):1.5 hours of lecture per week; 2 unit(s):3 hours of lecture per week for 10 weeks. unit(s):2 hours of lecture per week; 2 unit(s):3.5 hours of lecture per week for 8 weeks. unit(s):2.5 hours of lecture per week; 2 unit(s):5 hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks. unit(s):1 hour of lecture per week; 2 unit(s):2 hours of lecture per week for 14 weeks.
Prerequisites: 203 or consent of instructor.
Spreadsheet financial models are often too big, complicated, and buggy to help people. In this course, students learn to design financial models that work because they're small (fit on a screen or two), straightforward (involve only basic math), clear (a non-MBA can follow them readily), and fast to build. These simple yet powerful representations of the cash flows for a new product/deal/venture help people share their vision, recognize tradeoffs, brainstorm possibilities, and make decisions.
MBA 237 Topics in Finance 0.5 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: to 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 1.5 to 7.5 hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.
Advanced study in the field of finance. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
MBA 240 Risk Management via Optimization and Simulation 1 Unit
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of lecture per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 200S, 203, and 204, or consent of instructor.
Survey of the formulation, solution, and interpretation of mathematical models to assist management of risk. Emphasis on applications from diverse businesses and industries, including inventory management, product distribution, portfolio optimization, portfolio insurance, and yield management. Two types of models are covered: optimization and simulation. Associated with each model type is a piece of software: Excel's Solver for optimization and Excel add-in Crystal Ball for simulation.
MBA 243 Decisions, Games, and Strategies 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 200, 204 or equivalent.
The course considers two techniques for guiding a managerial decision maker who has to make a choice now but will only know later whether the choice was good. Decision analysis helps if the outcome of the choice depends on "nature"; game models help if the outcome depends on human opponents (e.g., competitors). Foundations of the two techniques, and a variety of applications, are studied.
Formerly known as Business Administration 243.
MBA 246A Service Strategy 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 5.5 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 204 or Evening and Weekend Master of Business Administration 204 or consent of instructor.
This course is designed to teach general management principles involved in the planning, execution, and management of service businesses. It covers both strategic and tactical aspects, including the development of a strategic service vision, building employee loyalty, developing customer loyalty and satisfaction, improving productivity and service quality, service innovation, and the role of technology in services. Blend of case studies, group projects, class discussions, and selected readings.
MBA 247 Topics in Operations and Information Technology Management 0.5 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: Zero to 3 hours of lecture per week. 1 to 7 hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks.
Advanced study in the field of manufacturing and operations. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Formerly known as Masters in Business Administration 247A.
MBA 248A Supply Chain Management 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 5.5 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 204 or Evening and Weekend Master of Business Administration 204 or equivalent.
Supply chain management concerns the flow of materials and information in multi-stage production and distribution networks. This course provides knowledge of organizational models and analytical decision support tools necessary to design, implement, and sustain successful supply chain strategies. Topics include demand and supply management, inventory management, supplier-buyer coordination via incentives, vendor management, and the role of information technology in supply chain management.
MBA 252 Negotiations and Conflict Resolution 2 or 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 to 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
The purpose of this course is for students to understand the theory and processes of negotiation so that they can negotiate successfully in a variety of settings. This course is designed to complement the technical and diagnostic skills learned in other courses in the MBA program.
MBA 254 Power and Politics in Organizations 2 or 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 to 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 205 or consent of instructor.
This course will provide students with a sense of "political intelligence." After taking this course, students will be able to: (1) diagnose the true distribution of power in organizations, (2) identify strategies for building sources of power, (3) develop techniques for influencing others, (4) understand the role of power in building cooperation and leading change in organizations, and (5) make sense of others' attempts to influence them. These skills are essential for effective and satisfying career building.
Formerly known as Business Administration 257.
MBA W254 Power and Politics in Organizations 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 7 to 10 hours of Web-based lecture per week for 8 weeks. This is an online course.
Prerequisites: Master of Business Administration 205.
This course will provide students with a sense of "political intelligence," enabling them to: 1) Diagnose the true distribution of power in organizations, 2) Identify strategies for building sources of power, 3) Develop techniques for influencing others, 4) Understand the role of power in building cooperation and leading change, and 5) Make sense of others' attempts to influence them. This is an online course, utilizing multiple media and providing flexibility in when and how students learn.
Instructor: Anderson
MBA 255 Leadership 1 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
This course will increase your awareness of your own strengths and opportunities for improvement while gaining an understanding of the qualities essential to being an extraordinary leader. By the end of the course, we are hoping that you will have: Increased your understanding of what distinguishes between more and less successful leaders and construct a plan for your own development as a leader; sharpened your ability to diagnose situations and determine how you can add value; gained experience and confidence in leadership situations, such as dealing with difficult people and inspiring others to accomplish shared team and organizational goals; and developed the ability to accept and leverage feedback and offer useful feedback to others.
MBA 256 Global Leadership 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Practical skills for global managers. Examines common issues and best practices for managing a global workforce and customer/partner relations. Generic cross-border management issues are discussed along with specific skill areas such as establishing credibility, building relationships, obtaining information, evaluating people, giving and receiving feedback, leading a virtual team, marketing and selling, transferring knowledge, and managing change. Skill areas are applied and adapted to key growth markets in Asia, EMEA, and the Americas, with numerous examples from leading global companies.
MBA 257 Special Topics in Management of Organizations 2 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 to 3 hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 205 or consent of instructor.
Analysis of recent literature and developments related to such topics as organization development, environmental determinants of organization structure and decision-making behavior, management of professionals and management in temporary structures, cross-cultural studies of management organizations, and industrial relation systems and practices are examined.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Formerly known as Business Administration 259.
MBA 260 Customer Insights 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 206 or equivalent.
Examines concepts and theories from behavioral science useful for the understanding and prediction of market place behavior and demand analysis. Emphasizes applications to the development of marketing policy planning and strategy and to various decision areas within marketing.
Formerly known as Business Administration 260.
MBA 261 Marketing Research: Tools and Techniques for Data Collection and Analysis 2 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 200 or comparable statistical course.
This course develops the skills necessary to plan and implement an effective market research study. Topics include research design, psychological measurement, survey methods, experimentation, statistical analysis of marketing data, and effective reporting of technical material to management. Students select a client and prepare a market research study during the course. Course intended for students with substantive interests in marketing.
Formerly known as Business Administration 261.
MBA 262 Strategic Brand Management 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 202B and 206, or equivalent.
The focus of this course is on developing student skills to formulate and critique complete marketing programs including product, price, distribution and promotion policies. There is a heavy use of case analysis. Course is primarily designed for those who will take a limited number of advanced marketing courses and wish an integrated approach.
Formerly known as Business Adminstration 262A.
MBA 263 Marketing Analytics 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 206.
Information technology has allowed firms to gather and process large quantities of information about consumers' choices and reactions to marketing campaigns. However, few firms have the expertise to intelligently act on such information. This course addresses this shortcoming by teaching students how to use customer information to better market to consumers. In addition, the course addresses how information technology affects marketing strategy.
Formerly known as Business Administration 262B.
MBA 264 High Technology Marketing Management 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 206 or equivalent.
High technology refers to that class of products and services which is subject to technological change at a pace significantly faster than for most goods in the economy. Under such circumstances, the marketing task faced by the high technology firm differs in some ways from the usual. The purpose of this course is to explore these differences.
Formerly known as Business Administration 264.
MBA 265 Advertising Strategy 2 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 to 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 206 or equivalent.
A specialized course in advertising, focusing on management and decision-making. Topics include objective-setting, copy decisions, media decisions, budgeting, and examination of theories, models, and other research methods appropriate to these decision areas. Other topics include social/economic issues of advertising by nonprofit organizations.
Formerly known as Business Administration 265.
MBA 266 Channels of Distribution 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 202B, 206 or equivalent.
The success of any marketing program often weighs heavily upon its co-execution by members of the firm's distribution channel. This course seeks to provide an understanding of how the strategic and tactical roles of the channel can be identified and managed. This is accomplished, first, through studying the broad economic and social forces which govern the channel evolution. It is completed through the examination of tools to select, manage and motivate channel partners.
Formerly known as Business Administration 266.
MBA 267 Topics in Marketing 0.5 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: to 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 1.5 to 7.5 hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.
Advanced study in the field of Marketing. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
MBA 268B International Marketing 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Provides frameworks, knowledge, and sensitivities to formulate and implement marketing strategies for competing in the international arena. Regions and countries covered include the Americas, Europe, Japan, China, India, Russia, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Issues covered include global versus local advertising, international pricing strategies, selecting and managing strategic international alliances and distribution channels, managing international brands and product lines through product life cycle, international retailing, and international marketing organization and control.
MBA 268C Social Media Marketing 1 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
The course covers the implications of the evolution of communication on marketing strategy in the new landscape where traditional and digital media coexist and interact. While advertising spending on traditional media has recently declined, increasing amounts are spent online in addition to unpaid media. These new communication channels, however, are presenting significant challenges to marketers in selecting the best strategies to maximize returns. The course covers a number of topics including, but not limited to: The differences and interaction between traditional and social media; two-sided markets and social media platforms; a basic theory of social networks online and offline; consumer behavior and digital media.
MBA 269 Pricing 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This three-module course aims to equip students with proven concepts, techniques, and frameworks for assessing and formulating pricing strategies. The first module develops the economics and behavorial foundations of pricing. The second module discusses several innovative pricing concepts including price customization, nonlinear pricing, price matching, and product line pricing. The third module analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of several Internet-based, buyer-determined pricing models.
MBA 270 Business and Public Policy 2 or 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: unit(s):2 hours of lecture per week; 3 unit(s):3 hours of lecture per week.
Introduction to political economy, the role of government in a mixed economy, business-government relations, the public policy process, regulation of business, corporate political activity and corporate governance. Compares United States corporate governance systems, public policies and political system to those of Western Europe and Japan.
MBA 275 Managing the Legal Environment of Business 2 or 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: unit(s):2 hours of lecture per week; 3 unit(s):3 hours of lecture per week. unit(s):4 hours of lecture per week; 3 unit(s):6 hours of lecture per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: Completion of all core courses or consent of instructor.
A manager must understand the legal environments which impact business and understand how to work effectively with lawyers. This course addresses the legal aspects of business relationships and business agreements. Topics covered include forms of business organization, duties of officers and directors, intellectual property, antitrust, contracts, employment relationships, criminal law, and debtor-creditor relationships including bankruptcy.
MBA 277 Special Topics in Business and Public Policy 1 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 1 to 3 hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 207 or equivalent, or consent of instructor.
Topics vary by semester at discretion of instructor and by student demand. Topical areas include: business and professional ethics and the role of corporate social responsibility in the mixed economy; managing the external affairs of the corporation, including community, government, media and stakeholder relations; technology policy, research and development and the effects of government regulation of business on technological innovation and adoption.
Formerly known as Business Administration 278.
MBA 278 International Business 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This class uses a mix of lectures, class discussions and case studies to survey firms engaged in international business. We commence by examining the causes and consequences of increased global and regional economic integration, including an introduction of the impact of increased integration on firm strategy.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
MBA 280 Real Estate Investment and Market Analysis 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of optional discussion per week.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Intensive review of literature in the theory of land use, urban growth, and real estate market behavior; property rights and valuation; residential and nonresidential markets; construction; debt and equity financing; public controls and policies.
Formerly known as Business Administration 280.
MBA 282 Real Estate Development 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
The interaction of the private and public sectors in urban development; modeling the urban economy; growth and decline of urban areas; selected policy issues: housing, transportation, financing, local government, urban redevelopment and neighborhood change are examined.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Formerly known as Business Administration 282.
MBA 283 Real Estate Finance and Securitization 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of optional discussion per week.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 280 and background in the basics of finance, micro-economics, macro-economics, statistics, and quantitative analysis.
Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of real estate financial analysis, including elements of mortgage financing and taxation. The course will apply the standard tools of financial analysis to specialized real estate financing circumstances and real estate evaluation.
Formerly known as Business Administration 283.
MBA 284 Real Estate Investment Strategy 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Analysis of selected problems and special studies; cases in residental and non-residental development and financing, urban redevelopment, real estate taxation, mortgage market developments, equity investment, valuation, and zoning.
Formerly known as Business Administration 284.
MBA 286 Housing and the Urban Economy 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Public Policy 210A-210B or equivalent.
This course considers the economics of urban housing and land markets from the viewpoints of investors, developers, public and private managers, and consumers. It considers the interactions between private action and public regulation--including land use policy, taxation, and government subsidy programs. We will also analyze the links between primary and secondary mortgage markets, securitization, and liquidity. Finally, the links between local housing and related markets--such as transportation and public finance--will be explored.
Formerly known as Business Administration C296. Instructor: Quigley
MBA 287 Special Topics in Real Estate Economics and Finance 1 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 1 to 3 hour of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 280 and consent of instructor.
Topics vary each semester. Topic areas include advanced techniques for real estate financial analysis and structuring and evaluation; the securitization of real estate debt and equity; issues in international real estate; cyclical behavior of real estate markets; portfolio theory and real estate asset allocation.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Formerly known as Business Administration 281.
MBA 290A Introduction to Management of Technology 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This course gives students an overview of the main topics encompassed by management of technology. It includes the full chain of innovative activities beginning with R&D and extending through production and marketing. Why do many existing firms fail to incorporate new technology? What are the success factors at each stage of innovation? The course introduces students to Haas and College of Engineering faculty working in the relevant areas and student projects at leading high tech firms.
Formerly known as Business Administration 290E.
MBA 290B Biotechnology Industry Perspectives and Business Development 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This course is designed to examine the strategic issues that confront the management of the development-stage biotech company, i.e., after its startup via an initial capital infusion, but before it might be deemed successful (e.g., by virtue of a product launch), or otherwise has achieved "first-tier" status. The intention is to study the biotech organization during the process of its growth and maturation from an early-stage existence through "adolescence" into an "adult" company.
MBA 290D Design as Strategic Management Issue 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Graduate standing.
This course is a study of product design, facilities design, and corporate identity design. It will cover how these design strategies are integral to product development and influence customer satisfication, quality issues, manufacturing procedures, and marketing tactics.
Formerly known as Business Administration 290K.
MBA 290E Innovation Strategies for Emerging Technologies 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Every successful entrepreneurial high tech venture has at its core individuals with mastery of two skill sets: marketing and management expertise, and technological skill. This course is intended to provide the marketing skills needed for the management of an entrepreneurial high technology venture, regardless of whether the individual's "home" skill set is technical or managerial. We examine in depth successful marketing approaches for entrepreneurial companies as a function of markets and technologies. Emphasis is placed on the special requirements for creating and executing marketing plans and programs in a setting of rapid technological change and limited resources.
MBA 290G International Trade and Competition in High Technology 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Graduate standing.
This course looks at who is winning or losing and why in international competition in high technology industries. It will emphasize the interaction between business strategies and the economic and political variables that shape the development and diffusion of new technologies.
Formerly known as Business Administration 290C.
MBA 290H Haas@Work 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture per week.
The primary objective of this course and the associated innovation consulting projects is for students to learn and apply the approaches, skills, and behaviors required to successfully initiate and drive innovation in a complex organization. Students taking the course will use concepts and tools from several other Haas courses, including Economic Analysis for Business Decisions, Strategic Leadership, Leading People, Finance, and Problem Finding Problem Solving. As important, the student teams are expected to deliver the highest quality work and deliverables, genuine insights, innovative solutions, and real value on mission-critical client projects.
MBA 290K Innovation in Services and Business Models 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This course examines services innovation, first covering key concepts, including how services innovation differs from product innovation, the role of openness in services, the role of business models, and co-creation. The course then introduces several tools and frameworks to apply those concepts to specific services situations. These include process design, process mapping and improvement, business models, co-creation, and platform innovation.
Instructor: Chesbrough
MBA 290N Managing the New Product Development Process 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Graduate standing.
An operationally focused course that aims to develop the interdisciplinary skills required for successful product development. Through readings, case studies, guest speakers, applied projects, and student research, students discover the basic tools, methods, and organizational structures used in new product development management. Course covers process phases: idea generation, product definition, product development, testing and refinement, manufacturing ramp-up and product launch.
Formerly known as Business Administration 290A.
MBA 290P Project Management Case Studies 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Graduate standing.
This course presents case studies of projects that required intervention to avert catastrophic failure. Students will discuss case studies and review real management problems of major corporations. They will create strategic plans to alleviate problems and learn how to manage a large project to a successful completion.
Formerly known as Business Administration 290L.
MBA 290S Strategy for the Information Technology Firm 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture per week.
This course is a strategy and general management course for students interested in pursuing careers in the global information technology industry. Students are taught to view the IT industry through the eyes of the general manager/CEO (whether at a start-up or an industry giant). They learn how to evaluate strategic options and their consequences, how to understand the perspectives of various industry players, and how to anticipate how they are likely to behave under various circumstances. These include the changing economics of production, the role network effects and standards have on adoption of new products and services, the tradeoffs among potential pricing strategies, and the regulatory and public policy context.
MBA 290T Special Topics in Innovation and Design 0.5 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: Zero to 3 hours of lecture per week. 1 to 7 hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks.
Advanced study in the fields of innovation and design. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
MBA 290V Corporate Strategy in Telecommunications and Media 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 204.
This course is intended for students who wish to gain better understanding of one of the most important issues facing management today--designing, implementing, and managing telecommunication and distributed computer systems. The following topics are covered: a survey of networking technologies; the selection, design, and management of telecommunication systems; strategies for distributed data processing; office automation; and management of personal computers in organizations.
Students will receive no credit for Masters in Business Administration 290V after taking Masters in Business Administration 244D or 248D.<BR/> Formerly known as 244D.
MBA 291C Active Communicating 1 Unit
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 1 hour of lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This course develops the basic building blocks of impactful communication--e.g., concentration, energy, voice, physical expressiveness, spontaneity, listening, awareness, and presence--by drawing upon expertise from theater arts. Active, participatory exercises allow for the development and embodiment of effective communication skills. Class readings, lectures, and discussions address participants' specific workplace applications.
MBA 291D Data Visualization for Discovery and Communication 1 Unit
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 8 hours of Lecture per week for 2 weeks.
This course exposes the problems of poor data presentation and introduces design practices necessary to communicate quantitative business information clearly, efficiently, and powerfully. This course identifies what to look for in the data and describes the types of graphs and visual analysis techniques most effective for spotting what is meaningful and making sense of it.
MBA 291I Improvisational Leadership 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
This class explores the broad principles of improvisation, a performing art form that has developed pedagogical methods to enhance individual spontaneity, listening and awareness, expressive skills, risk-taking, and one’s ability to make authentic social and emotional connections. The ultimate aim of the course is to help students develop an innovative and improvisational leadership mindset, sharpening in-the-moment decision making and the ability to quickly recognize and act upon opportunities when presented. In practical terms, this course strives to enhance students’ business communication skills and increase both interpersonal intuition and confidence.
MBA 291L Leader as Coach 1 Unit
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 1 hour of lecture per week.
This course focuses on the art and science of coaching including theory and practice. The curriculum will cover theory and practice for three aspects of the coaching process – knowledge-based (information and skills), motivation-based (inspiration and passion), and strategy-based (communication and integration). The curriculum will focus on primary coaching skills, tools, processes and behaviors that a coach uses. In addition, participants will learn facilitation skills as the preferred methodology in achieving successful coaching programs. Course participants will have the opportunity to utilize this material in practice coaching sessions with supervision and feedback from peers and the instructor.
MBA 291S Storytelling for Leadership 1 Unit
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of lecture per week for 8 weeks.
This course provides students with personal leadership development through the ability to tell "Who Am I" leadership journey stories, for use in the business context. For leaders, whose job it is to manage change, the approach to storytelling facilitates learning and is a vehicle to assist others in overcoming obstacles, generating enthusiasm and team work, sharing knowledge and ultimately leading to build trust and connection. This course give strategies, skills and practices for the three elements of telling powerful leadership stories: Story Content, Story Structure and Story Delivery. The course is highly interactive.
MBA 291T Topics in Managerial Communications 1 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 1 to 3 hour of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This course will provide the student with specialized knowledge in some area of managerial communications. Topics include multimedia business presentations, personal leadership development, diversity management, and making meetings work. Topics will vary from semester to semester.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Formerly known as Business Administration 291B.
MBA 292A Strategic Management of Nonprofit Organizations 2 or 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 to 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This course prepares students conceptually and practically to create, lead, and manage nonprofit organizations. Focuses on the centrality of the mission, governing board leadership, application of strategy and strategic planning, and strategic management of issues unique to or characteristic of the sector: performance measurement, program development, financial management, resource development, community relations and marketing, human resource management, advocacy, and management.
MBA 292B Nonprofit Boards 1 Unit
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 8 hours of Lecture and 8 hours of Lecture per week for 2 weeks.
The purpose of this class is to acquaint Master of Business Administration students, many of whom will be asked to serve on nonprofit boards throughout their careers, with the nonprofit sector and the roles and responsibilities of nonprofit boards. Students will learn why nonprofit boards exist, how they are structured, how they differ from corporate boards, what their legal responsibilities are, how boards and chief executives relate to each other, and how boards contribute to the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations.
MBA 292C Strategic CSR and Consulting Projects 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Discusses the field strategic of CSR through a series of lectures, guest speakers, and projects. It will examine best practices used by companies to engage in socially responsible practices. It will provide students with a flavor of the complex dilemmas one can face in business in trying to do both "good for society" and "well for shareholders." It looks at CSR from a corporate strategy perspective and how it supports core business objectives, core competencies, and bottom-line profits.
Formerly known as 292P.
MBA 292F Financial Management of Nonprofit Organizations 1 Unit
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 8 hours of Lecture and 8 hours of Lecture per week for 2 weeks.
Prerequisites: 203, financial experience, or equivalent.
The course focuses on financial management issues faced by board members and senior and executive managers in nonprofit organizations. Students learn tools and techniques for effective planning and budgeting and how to control, evaluate and revise plans. Use and development of internal and external financial reports are studied with an emphasis on using financial information in decision making. Tools and techniques of financial statement analysis, interpretation, and presentation are practiced.
MBA 292I Social Investing--Recent Findings in Management and Finance 1 Unit
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of lecture per week for 8 weeks or 8 hours of lecture per day for 2 Sundays.
This course introduces the field of social investment. The use of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) criteria is becoming increasingly prevalent among both high net worth individuals and institutions. Many ethical and religious traditions advocate altruism and community-mindedness in all dealings, while some economic and financial theorists argue for a narrow focus on risk and reward, with little regard for the impact of decisions on stakeholder groups or the environment.
Instructor: Kurtz
MBA 292J Haas Socially Responsible Investment Fund 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisites: Masters in Business Administration 292I.
In this course, students manage a real investment fund ($1.7 million +) focused on both social and financial returns. Through the Fund students have the opportunity to test the investment and corporate responsibility principles they have learned in the classroom, and to experience the complexities, challenges, and rewards of the investing world. Students have full responsibility for investment decisions, including conducting their own research on companies’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. Students receive guidance from both a faculty advisor and an advisory board. The faculty advisor provides regular input on portfolio management, understanding portfolio performance and ESG investing.
Course may be repeated for a maximum of 6 units.
MBA 292N Topics in Nonprofit and Public Management 1 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 1 to 3 hour of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Advanced study in the field of nonprofit and public management. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Formerly known as 292M.
MBA 292S Social Sector Solutions: Social Enterprise 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3.5 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
The purpose of this course is to develop students' skills and knowledge in problem solving, management consulting, and nonprofit organizations. Instruction covers frameworks for problem solving, senior management consulting, and assessing nonprofit organizations. The course includes an assignment to a consultation team that works with a select nonprofit client to help them succeed in an entrepreneurial venture. A partnership with a professional management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, the course includes experienced McKinsey consultants coaching each of the student teams.
MBA 292T Topics in Socially Responsible Business 0.5 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: to 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 1.5 to 7.5 hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.
Advanced study in the field of Socially Responsible Business. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
MBA 293 Individually Supervised Study for Graduate Students 5 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: Zero hours of Independent study per week for 15 weeks. 1 to 2 hour of Independent study per week for 6 weeks.
Prerequisites: Graduate standing.
Individually supervised study of subjects not available to the student in the regular schedule, approved by faculty adviser as appropriate for the student's program.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Formerly known as Business Administration 293.
MBA 293C Curricular Practical Training Internship 0.0 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Hours and format: The course will be individually supervised and must be approved by the faculty adviser.
This is an independent study course for international students doing internships under the Curricular Practical Training program. Requires a paper exploring how the theoretical constructs learned in MBA courses were applied during the internship.
Course may be repeated. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
MBA 294 Selected Topics for MBA Students 1 Unit
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: MBA students.
The course focuses on a specific industry, field of management, or region of the world and is initiated and organized by students. It is usually a survey course. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester.
Course may be repeated for a maximum of 2 units.Course may be repeated for a maximum of 2 units. Formerly known as Business Administration 294.
MBA 295A Entrepreneurship 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: All core courses or equivalents.
This course is about how to start a new business and how to write a business plan. Students are organized in teams of four around new venture ideas of their own choosing. They conduct research, consult with members of the business community, perform analysis, and write a formal business plan. They then present an appeal for funding to a panel consisting of the instructors and members of the investing community.
Formerly known as Business Administration 295A.
MBA 295B Venture Capital and Private Equity 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 295A and 234 recommended.
This is an advanced case-based course intended to provide the background, tools, and themes of the venture capital industry. The course is organized in four modules of the private equity cycle: (1) fund raising -- examines how private equity funds are raised and structured, (2) investing -- considers the interactions between private equity investors and the entrepreneurs that they finance, (3) exiting -- examines the process through which private equity investors exit their investments; and (4) new frontiers -- reviews many of the key ideas developed in the course.
MBA 295C Opportunity Recognition: Technology and Entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This course is intended to provide the core skills needed for the identification of opportunities that can lead to successful, entrepreneurial high technology ventures, regardless of the individual's "home" skill set, whether technical or managerial. We examine in depth the approaches most likely to succeed for entrepreneurial companies as a function of markets and technologies. Emphasis is placed on the special requirements for creating and executing strategy in a setting of rapid technological change and limited resources. This course is particularly suited for those who anticipate founding or operating technology companies.
Formerly known as 290O.
MBA 295D New Venture Finance 2 or 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: unit(s):2 hours of lecture per week; 3 unit(s):3 hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 295A or consent of instructor.
This is a course about financing new entrepreneurial ventures, emphasizing those that have the possibility of creating a national or international impact or both. It will take two perspectives - the entrepreneur's and the investor's - and it will place a special focus on the venture capital process, including how they are formed and managed, accessing the public markets, mergers, and strategic alliances.
MBA 295E Case Studies in Entrepreneurship 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This course integrates the learnings from summer entrepreneurships into academic experience. Classes will include development of an analysis of cases based on the internship, and opportunities to meet with management of the host programs. By the end of the semester, students will better understand what it takes to run an entrepreneurial enterprise.
MBA 295F The Lean Launch Pad 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisites: Graduate standing.
This course provides real world, hands-on learning on what it’s like to actually start a hightech company. This class is not about how to write a business plan. It’s not an exercise on
how smart you are in a classroom, or how well you use the research library to size markets. And the end result is not a PowerPoint slide deck for a VC presentation. And it is most
definitely not an incubator where you come to build the “hot-idea” that you have in mind. This is a practical class: Our goal, within the constraints of a classroom and a limited amount of time, is to create an entrepreneurial experience for you with all of the pressures and demands of the real world in an early stage start up.
MBA 295G Investing in Entrepreneurial Opportunities: Building an Investment Screen, Methodology, and Process 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This course will provide students with an education in to the complexities and unique problems of entrepreneurship in companies with great growth potential, but that are facing significant challenges to achieving that potential. This class is designed to provide students with the tools and skills most critical to successfully screening, investing in, and/or leading companies that have both a great set future growth opportunities and a great set of current problems. This class will use case studies, practical valuation and other exercises, and the energy, enthusiasm, and intellectual capacity of its students to create a great learning environment.
MBA 295H Top-Down Law 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Survey of legal and regulatory issues and problems that confront founders and CEOs of entrepreneurial ventures. The course is intended to broaden students' perspective and knowledge about the legal system/process so that they are prepared to (a) identify, analyze, and deal with legal issues, (b) understand and respond to legal and policy grounds for laws and regulations, and (c) work effectively and efficiently with inside and outside legal counsel to resolve legal problems and manage legal risk.
MBA 295I Entrepreneurship Workshop for Start-ups 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This workshop is intended for students who have their own experiemental venture project under development. The business concept may be in the startup mode, or further along in its evolution. The pedagogy is one of "guided" entrepreneurship where students, often working in teams, undertake the real challenges of building a venture. Students must be willing to discuss their project with others in the workshop as group deliberation of the entrepreneurial challenges is a key component of the class.
MBA 295J Entrepreneurship in Biotechnology 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
An introduction to the complexities and unique problems of entrepreneurship in the life sciences and is designed for both entrepreneurs and students who may some day found or work in an emerging life science-based company. Students are exposed to the topics most critical to successfully founding, financing, and operating a life science company and are expected to perform many of the tasks which founders and early venture managers normally undertake.
MBA 295M Business Model Innovation and Entrepreneurial Strategy 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 3.5 hours of Lecture per week for 10 weeks.
The class teaches how to characterize and analyze business models and how to efficiently construct and test new business models. The course examines businesses across industries and phases of a firm's growth. Critical entrepreneurial strategies are illuminated for new ventures or in building a new enterprise inside a corporation. The course provides students with the skills and knowledge to rapidly assess and shape business models to their advantage in constructing new enterprises.
Instructor: Charron
MBA 295T Special Topics in Entrepreneurship 1 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 to 3 hour of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: All core courses or equivalents.
Courses of this kind will cover issues in entrepreneurship that either appeal to a specialized interest by type of firm being started (e.g., new ventures in computer software) or in the aspect of the entrepreneurial process being considered (e.g., new venture funding). The courses typically will be designed to take advantage of the access offered by the University and the locale to knowledgeable and experienced members of the business community.
Formerly known as Business Administration 295C.
MBA 296 Special Topics in Business Administration 0.5 - 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: to 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 1 to 5.5 hour of Lecture per week for 8 weeks. 2 to 7.5 hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.
Prerequisites: Graduate standing.
Advanced study in various fields of business administration. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Formerly known as Business Administration 296.
MBA 297A Healthcare in the 21st Century 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This course gives a systematic overview of the U.S. health care system by providing students with an understanding of its structure, financing, and special properties. Applies social science theory, disciplinary contributions, and research findings to the understanding of health care delivery problems; examines current courses of data about health status, health services use, financing, and performance indicators; and analyzes the larger management and policy issues that drive reform efforts.
MBA 297B Health Care Finance 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Master's-level accounting and finance.
This course covers the strategic financial management in the health services industry, including provider organizations (e.g., hospitals and physician groups) and insurance firms. Cases are used to apply the financial analysis and planning skills learned in the course. Topic areas include financial statement analysis, cost behavior, pricing and service decisions, planning and budgeting, management control, debt and equity financing, risk and return, capital budgeting, and project risk assessment.
MBA 297C Innovations in Healthcare 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
The purpose of this course is to provide students with insights into the newest innovations in healthcare service delivery, information technology, and medical devices. Through presentations by leading entrepreneurs in the field, students will be challenged to make investment decisions in those firms with the greatest promise. Students will also be asked to develop an investment philosopy that supports their commitments to specific companies.
MBA 298A International Business Development for MBAs 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade. This is part one of a year long series course. A provisional grade of IP (in progress) will be applied and later replaced with the final grade after completing part two of the series.
Hours and format: 2 hours of lecture per week ex10ding for 3 weeks following the spring semester.
Prerequisites: First semester MBA core courses.
This course explores the issues of conducting business in an international context, including an analysis of project management, information resources, and cultural differences. The three-week project, typically in a developing economy, provides a real-life application of theories of this course and of the first-year MBA courses. The fall segment highlights the presentations of each returning team on their project findings and experiences.
Formerly known as Business Administration 297A-297B.
MBA 298B International Business Development for MBAs 1 Unit
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Letter grade. This is part two of a year long series course. Upon completion, the final grade will be applied to both parts of the series.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: First semester MBA core courses.
This course explores the issues of conducting business in an international context, including an analysis of project management, information resources, and cultural differences. The three-week project, typically in a developing economy, provides a real-life application of theories of this course and of the first-year MBA courses. The fall segment highlights the presentations of each returning team on their project findings and experiences.
Formerly known as Business Administration 297B.
MBA 298S Seminar in International Business 2 or 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 4 to 5.5 hours of fieldwork per week for 8 weeks.
This course involves a series of speaker and seminar-type classes in preparation for a two-week study tour of a specific country or region. Participants will visit companies and organizations and meet with top-level management to learn about the opportunities and challenges of operating in a specific country or region. Evaluation is based on student presentations, participation, and a research paper.
MBA 298X MBA Exchange Program 1 - 15 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Hours and format: 1 to 15 hour of Fieldwork per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Successful completion of all core courses; good academic standing.
Students who participate in one of the Haas School's domestic or international exchange programs receive credit (usually 12 units) at Haas for the set of courses that they successfully complete at their host school. The courses that the students take at the host school are subject to review by the MBA Program office to ensure that they match course requirements at the Haas School.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
MBA 299 Strategic Leadership 2 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 4 hours of lecture per week for 7 weeks.
Prerequisites: 201A.
Course covers core topics in strategy, including selection of goals; the choice of products and services to offer; competitive positioning in product markets; decisions about scope and diversity; and the design of organizational structure, administrative systems, and other issues of control and internal regulation.
MBA 299B Global Strategy and Multinational Enterprise 2 or 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 to 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: All core courses.
Identifies the management challenges facing international firms. Attention to business strategies, organizational structures, and the role of governments in the global environment. Special attention to the challenges of developing and implementing global new product development strategies when industrial structures and government policies differ. Efficacy of joint ventures and strategic alliances. Implications for industrial policy and global governance.
Formerly known as Business Administration 299E.
MBA 299E Competitive and Corporate Strategy 2 or 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: All core courses.
Examines optimal production and pricing policies for firms in competitive environments; optimal strategies through time; strategies in the presence of imperfect information. How differing market structures and government policies (including taxation) affect output and pricing decisions. Social welfare implications of decisions by competitive firms also explored.
Formerly known as Business Administration 299B.
MBA 299H Strategic Management and the Organization of Health Services 2 or 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 3 hours of Lecture per week for 10 weeks.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 205 or Public Health 223A and 224A, or consent of instructor.
This is a course in strategic management of health services organizations. It systematically addresses system-wide, organization-wide, group-level, and individual-level issues in strategy formulation, content, implementation, and performance. It considers internal and external factors that affect organizational performance. Emphasis is on the development and implementation of strategies to meet stakeholders' demands, and total quality management approaches. This course covers a wide variety of health care organizations including providers, plans, systems, suppliers, pharmaceuticals, and biotechs. The course builds on 205 and Public Health 223A.
Formerly known as Business Administration 299G.
MBA 299M Marketing Strategy 3 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: All core courses.
Strategic planning theory and methods with an emphasis on customer, competitor, industry, and environmental analysis and its application to strategy development and choice.
Formerly known as Business Administration 299D.
MBA 375 Teaching Business 0.5 Units
Department: Masters in Business Administration
Course level: Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Hours and format: 6 hours of lecture per week for 1 week.
This course will cover the important skills and resources necessary to be an effective graduate student instructor (GSI) in the Haas School of Business. GSIs are an integral part of instruction at Haas, supporting faculty teaching through administrative and pedagogical support. This course seeks to prepare MBA students for their first GSI positions, ensuring that they are ready for the many potential challenges that might await them in the ensuing semester. Students will learn effective teaching strategies from faculty and veteran GSIs, as well as resources available to them both through Haas and the Berkeley campus. This course will also teach MBA students the common pitfalls of any class--both in pedagogical style and in student interaction.
Formerly known as Master of Business Administration 300.
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