Business Administration

The Internet is having a profound effect on the conduct of marketing as we move towards the new millennium. The Internet presents a fundamentally different environment for marketing, and new paradigms have to be developed to take account for marketing activities in the electronic age. This course focuses primarily on the impact of the Internet on marketing, marketing research with Internet, consumer behavior on the Internet, and marketing strategies in the Internet age.

In this course, students approach consumer psychology and behavior from a neuroscientific perspective. Students learn the fundamentals of brain anatomy and their functions in the context of marketing and management. This course also covers cutting-edge marketing research that uses biometric techniques such as eye tracking, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG), and students gain hands-on experience with some of these techniques and analysis of biometric data. Students learn how to apply insights from neuroscience not only in marketing and management, but also in their everyday life. 

Drawing on behavioral science concepts and theories, this course examines topics including job analysis, manpower planning, recruitment, training and development, performance management, compensation and motivation, benefit, employee relations, and employee security and safety. It explores how human capital is an essential resource in organizations and how identifying, attracting, recruiting, retaining, and motivating human capital is critical for organizational success. 

This course examines the main business areas of a modern full-service bank, including how banks generate profit across different activities, the principal risks they face, the methods used to manage those risks, and the ways in which the public can assess bank risk, evaluate performance, and understand the regulatory framework governing banking operations. The course focuses on (1) the financial statement analysis of banks and bank-like financial institutions, and (2) the accounting and disclosure rules for the financial instruments they hold, including interest rate risk disclosures, loan loss disclosures, fair value accounting for financial instruments, securitization accounting, derivatives and hedge accounting, and market risk disclosures. Analyzing these two aspects of a modern bank reveals much about the strategies followed by the bank given the various regulations under which it operates. The financial statements of financial institutions are increasingly based on fair value accounting and their financial reports include increasingly extensive risk and estimation sensitivity disclosures. Both fair value accounting and risk and estimation sensitivity disclosures are necessary ingredients for financial reports to convey financial institutions’ risk and performance in today’s world of complex, structured, value and risk-partitioning financial instruments and transactions. While financial institutions often report imperfect (or worse) fair value measurements and risk and estimation sensitivity disclosures, careful joint analysis of the information they do provide invariably yields important clues about their risks and performance.

This course is an introduction to the study of leadership with a focus on research in the international literature. Emphasis is placed on advancing the understanding of leadership through a focus on the rich complexities of human behavior and social interactions. The focus is on leadership theory and research within and across formal organizational settings and societal contexts, leadership, effectiveness, and ethics.

This course develops a familiarity with, and the ability to use the tools and concepts of corporate finance. This is accomplished via a combination of lecture, problem sets, and case discussion. The lectures provide a conceptual background for the subsequent analysis of an actual financial decision.  

Topics include Cost of capital and capital budgeting; Capital structure with payout policy; IPO's and LBO's; M&A and corporate control; Option application in corporate finance; Risk management.  

Students should have a background in basic corporate finance concepts as well as an understanding of the conceptual framework for the capital market. Throughout this course, some analytic tools are used that may rely on students' mathematical understanding. 

This course exposes students to concepts, theories and industry practice in real estate finance which is one of the largest and most important components of the financial system. It introduces valuation and appraisal methods used for real estate finance and investment decision making. It helps acquire the knowledge and develop the analytical skills of real estate finance, including the institutions and instruments used to finance residential and commercial real estate. It is of particular use to students who are interested in working the real estate development, brokerage, mortgage banking and investment banking industries. The main topics covered in the course are mortgage products, mortgage banking, secondary mortgage market and mortgage-backed securities (MBS), financial leverage and commercial real estate finance. Prerequisite: FINA2010 or HTMG3030.

This course examines marketing from a management perspective, viewing it as a system of thought and operational management of tools and procedures. Methodologies include successful planning, execution, and monitoring of a strategic marketing plan. Topics include the necessary knowledge to develop leadership positions within organizations, the strategic decision-making process, implementing diagnostic models, and strategic marketing plans to guide a company's long-term commercial activities. The course includes a practical component, with a focus on studying real-world cases to train students in developing strategic marketing plans. 

This course is for aspiring change agents across all sectors, including business, not-for-profit, and government, and develops practical skills to lead complex systems to create better social outcomes. It explores the issues that policymakers, industry leaders, and social service providers grapple with every day, such as inequality, place-based disadvantage, mental health, homelessness, and human rights, and introduces models for systems change and social innovation.

This course offers a study of commercial law and the legal structure of business organizations including the different types of legal entities, how companies are formed, how they operate, and how they are managed. It discusses partnerships, stock companies, and shareholders' rights, as well as analyzing corporate bodies, financial statements, and major corporate changes such as mergers, spin-offs, and liquidations. 

Pre-requisites: Business Law and Financial Accounting