Business Administration

This course explores the full data analytics cycle and big data analysis. Topics include: models and technologies for decision-making; descriptive analytics; predictive analytics and data mining; fundamental concepts of neural networks and deep learning; big data specific technologies; emerging trends and impact of business analytics. Students are expected to have previous knowledge of statistics and basic programming skills.

This course covers key features and key processes of strategic management of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), about main characteristics of SMEs, including those owned and run by families (small and medium family businesses), and about factors and decisions impacting SMEs' sustainable competitive advantage. Through multiple cases, examples and guest speakers sessions, students develop a comprehensive knowledge about strategic decision making for small or medium businesses, with a focus on international and digital growth strategies. Prerequisites: prior knowledge of key concepts, terminology and frameworks of general management.

FinTech (Financial Technology) has revolutionized how traditional financial services can be provided to the general public and prompted financial service providers to re-consider how they should do business across an expansive, and expanding, range of commercial enterprises. This course will trigger students to think about how FinTech can tackle important global issues, both social and financial, and open up new and emerging markets.

This course is structured around the organizational content of general mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities. Beginning with the institutional environment of M&A, it systematically elaborates on the strategic choices, procedural steps, valuation modeling, transaction structure design, and financing strategies involved in M&A, all supported by specific case studies. Additionally, the course provides a comprehensive introduction to restructuring activities such as corporate alliances, exit and restructuring strategies, and the dissolution of failing enterprises, as well as cross-border M&A activities. Through this approach, the course aims to thoroughly and systematically present and teach the processes, tools, and solutions related to acquisitions, mergers, and corporate restructuring.

This course teaches students the principles underlying the theory of auditing, of the regulatory framework of auditing, and of practical audit approaches and techniques. The latter is taught with reference to case studies. Students are also introduced to the critique of the auditing profession and the profession's response. The course exposes students to current academic research in the field of auditing.

This course focuses on the fundamental financial theories and applications that explain how investors, managers, corporations and other market participants interact and behave in the financial markets and what affects and drives their decisions, as well as the implication of those decisions and interactions. It also considers how corporate financial managers make financing decisions and manage financial risks. The course covers several major aspects of financial analysis and decision making that are important to modern corporations, including the valuation of projects and securities, capital structure choice, working capital management, and the management of international risks. While many of the theories and tools in financial management assume well-functioning capital markets with rational economic agents, the course also covers alternative perspectives based on key insights from the field of Behavioral Finance.

This is an introduction to the fundamental importance of law in everyday commerce in the common law world. The course deals with the common law approach to law, its creation, dynamic development, and practical application to business, focusing on two of the most important areas regulating business obligations: contract law and negligence. It also deals with risk evaluation and the capacity to influence, develop, and change the law itself. 

This course introduces the concept of organizational behavior exploring the individual, group, and organizational dynamics within the workplace. The course provides a comprehensive understanding of the factors which influence human behaviors in organizations, and how these behaviors impact individual and organizational outcomes. Through exposure to a combination of theoretical concepts, real-world case studies, and practical applications, the course develops valuable insights and skills to effectively navigate the complexities of the modern workplace. The course is based on readings and case studies of companies around the world, with special attention to regional, national, and global contexts.

As goods and services are produced and distributed, they move through a set of interrelated operations or processes. The design of these operations for strategic advantage, investments in improving their efficacy, and controlling these operations to meet performance objectives is the domain of Operations Management. Taking the process view of the organization we will examine, using case studies, readings and models, a variety of industrial applications. In the first part of this course, by studying how the manager can improve the efficacy of processes, we will develop a unifying theme to the subject. In the second part of this course, the focus will be on inventory theory and its application to supply chain management. In contrast to the first part of this course that developed a broad brush approach to the process view of operations, we will take a more analytical and detailed approach in model development in the second part of this course.

This course examines how global supply chains are impacted by international political factors and how companies can adjust their strategies to respond to both international and domestic political pressures. The focus is on how firms can manage these influences on their operations and assess their strengths and weaknesses to make the best adjustments. In addition to providing a political analysis framework for understanding global supply chains, the course uses case studies to help students comprehend strategic and behavioral options companies have in responding to domestic and international political pressures. Through real-case analysis, the course provides insights into empirical applications of these strategies and behaviors.