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William Shaw
Sloan 2008
British Airways
Passport: Mexico

Core Courses and Faculty

The Sloan core courses provide a solid foundation in business fundamentals. Faculty members invite students with functional experience to challenge each other and expand their knowledge. The courses and faculty listed below are scheduled for the Sloan Class of 2010, and are subject to change.

Data and Decision-Making

Jeffrey Moore
Senior Lecturer of Operations, Information, and Technology

Three themes are developed: the building, using, and interpretation of computer-based models for decision making; analysis and interpretation of empirical data for use in computer-based models; and problem-solving approaches related to issues of model implementation.

Economics

Robert Flanagan
Konosuke Matsushita Professor of International Labor Economics and Policy Analysis

Business decision making within the firm is addressed, including: market behavior; consequences of alternative market structures; international trade; interactions between the public and private sectors; and basic macroeconomics, including the role of fiscal and monetary policies.

Financial Accounting

Maria Ogneva
Assistant Professor of Accounting

The goal is to develop students' understanding of the nature, scope, and limitations of accounting information. Course work helps students to understand conceptual accounting, including the objectives of financial reporting, and to critically evaluate the financial disclosure made by corporations. The course addresses the managerial incentives of accounting information and disclosure.

Finance

George Parker
Dean Witter Distinguished Professor of Finance, Emeritus, and Director of the Stanford Sloan Master's Program

The foundations of corporate finance are used to analyze many of the important financial decisions made within firms and other institutions. Topics include the valuation of fixed-income securities and stocks, capital budgeting and the choice of investment projects, the optimal capital structure of the firm, leveraged buyouts, hostile takeovers, private equity financing and venture capital, and financial distress. Through cases and discussions of topical issues, the course provides an opportunity to analyze practical financial situations and problems. The course is applied, but within a rigorous theoretical framework.

Global Strategy

John Roberts
John H. Scully Professor of Economics, Strategic Management

Frameworks are presented for strategy identification and evaluation; assessing industry attractiveness; evaluating the firm's capabilities, resources, and position; determining the optimal horizontal and vertical scope of the firm; entering into strategic alliances and joint ventures; and formulating and implementing strategy in multi-business organizations. Case studies -- of a variety of companies of differing size, industry, and current conditions -- provide the basis for the comprehensive analysis and establishment of a strategic management approach for the multi-national, multi-business organization.

High Performance Leadership

David L. Bradford
Eugene D. O'Kelly II Senior Lecturer in Leadership, Emeritus

What does it take to build a high-performance unit? The focus is on middle and upper-middle management in contemporary complex organizations. These are organizations that have complex tasks, exist in a rapidly changing environment, and have highly skilled subordinates. The premise of the course is that traditional methods of management may produce adequate levels of performance but prevent excellence from developing. New approaches to leadership will be presented that are more likely to lead to a truly high-performing system.

Managerial Accounting

Madhav Rajan
Gregor G. Peterson Professor of Accounting

The use of accounting information for internal planning and control purposes is emphasized. This orientation contrasts with financial accounting where the focus is on accounting disclosures for parties external to the firm. The course covers the vocabulary and mechanics of cost accounting, issues involved in the design of internal accounting systems, and the role of management accounting decisions concerning resource allocation and performance evaluation.

Marketing Management

Michaela Draganska
Associate Professor of Marketing

Focus is on strategic decisions necessary to match organizational resources and objectives with market opportunities. The coursework mirrors the stages involved in developing a marketing plan: understanding the market, including consumer, competitor, and company analysis; and implementing the marketing plan, including market selection, positioning, product, price, promotion, and distribution.

Negotiations

Margaret Neale
John G. McCoy-Banc One Corporation Professor of Organizations and Dispute Resolution

Designed to improve Fellows' skills in all phases of a negotiation. The course address understanding prescriptive and descriptive negotiation theory as it applies to dyadic and multiparty negotiations, to buyer-seller transactions and the resolution of disputes, to the development of negotiation strategy, and to the management of integrative and distributive aspects of the negotiation process. The course is based on a series of simulated negotiations in a variety of contexts including one-on-one, multiparty, and team negotiations. You can use this course to expand your repertoire of conflict management and negotiation skills, to hone your skills, and to become more adept in choosing when to apply each skill.

Non-Market Strategy

Ken Shotts
Associate Professor of Political Economy

Managerial issues in the social, political, legal, and ethical environment of business are addressed. Cases and reading emphasize strategies to improve the performance of companies in light of their multiple constituencies. Cases are set in both the U.S. and non-U.S. environments and illustrate how managers are called upon to interact with the public and governments in local, national, and international settings. Topics include integrated strategy, activists and the media, legislation affecting business, regulation and antitrust, intellectual property, internet privacy, international trade policy, and ethics.

Organizational Behavior

Frank Flynn
Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior

Fellows are introduced to the structures and processes that affect group performance as well as some of the common pitfalls associated with working in teams. Topics include understanding team culture, fostering creativity and coordination, making group decisions, and dealing with a variety of personalities. Students will participate in a number of group exercises designed to illustrate principles of team work and to give students practice diagnosing team problems and taking action to improve team performance.

Strategic Management

Phillip Leslie
Associate Professor of Economics and Strategic Management

Focus is on situations where senior executives must execute strategic action fast because of rapidly changing environmental conditions. The course addresses the approaches successful leaders use to recognize the need for strategic change early, determine which particular approach is likely to be successful, and then implement the change to its conclusion. Leaders in these situations often confront the problem that many people in the organization do not yet recognize the need for change and resist making the personal adjustments required. The course provides these leaders with tools to initiate and execute the changes required to address key strategic challenges: how to capitalize better on the position an organization occupies in its environment, how to reposition the organization relative to its competitors, and how to develop and implement a plan to accomplish the required changes successfully.

Talent Management Strategy

Kathryn Shaw
Ernest C. Arbuckle Professor of Economics
Director, Summer Institute for General Management

A framework is provided for understanding and thinking strategically about employment relations and the management of human resources in organizations. The course draws on insights from the social sciences to explore how employment relations are influenced by economic, social, psychological, legal, and cultural forces. Specific topics include: recruitment and selection; performance evaluation; compensation and benefits; promotion, job design, training, layoff, retention, and turnover; and the human resource implications of various strategies.

 

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