Business Administration

This course helps students gain a science-based understanding of some of the most intriguing phenomena in the workplace and society. Students develop analytical skills that are crucial for both academic and industry careers. Students who are interested in understanding the Asian business environment are especially encouraged to take this course. It draws upon scientific research from various disciplines, including psychology, sociology, history, and anthropology, to critically examine topics such as creativity and innovation, emotions at work, leadership, cross-cultural differences, and management in an Asian context

This course examines the start-up formation process, such as the forms and regulatory compliances of different business structures, types and sources of funding for starting up and growth, ultimately leading to a viable exit strategy for all stakeholders. Students learn the entrepreneurship development from a financing viewpoint and gain insights into the investment opportunities from the perspectives of both the entrepreneurs and investors, with respect to the funding cycles and expectations. Students assess a venture's financial health through understanding the financial statements, essential financial indicators, creating financial projections, capital budgeting techniques and preliminary valuation methods. This course is suitable for those who are planning to embark on and/or currently involved in startup creation, with or without prior knowledge of accounting and finance, and would like to gain a working knowledge of how to read the financial statements in ways that will support business activities and decision making from the perspective of a startup.

In this course, students address the wider business and project management issues that affect the technological and engineering environment. Some of these issues include the business environment; principles of strategic management; portfolio, program, and project management; quality and control; organizational structure; cultural issues; and governance of project-based organizations and international projects.

This course looks into current environmental and social sustainability topics in business. The course considers the topics from a global perspective and visits points specific to Japan, and helps students assess environmental and social sustainability concepts independently from the perspective of businesses and consumers.

In this class, students learn about the characteristics of social ventures that are driven by a dual mission: a strong social, societal and/or ecological purpose alongside their economic mission. The class invites students to reflect how social and economic purpose can be aligned in their ventures and how their own personal values can drive the various blocks of a venture creation process. To reflect and build upon the individual set of values, we are using the method 'Theory U’ by Otto Scharmer. To that end, students learn about, discuss, and reflect upon social and economic purpose during ideation, team building and business modelling. This knowledge is applied to a business idea that supports both the social and economic mission of the founding team.

The course covers commodities markets with a primary focus on agriculture, metals and minerals and energy and chemicals. It focuses on fundamental concepts and terminology necessary for understanding commodity production, transportation, economics and marketing. Students learn about trading technology trends and innovation and look into sustainability challenges and legal aspects.

This course explores how sustainability and social justice have evolved from isolated considerations to interrelated frameworks that jointly influence policy decisions. Discussions focus on understanding sustainable development through the diverse worldviews of local communities, businesses, and governments in emerging markets. The course not only examines sustainability from ecological and economic perspectives but also incorporates ethical and social considerations, particularly issues of intergenerational fairness and justice. The course specifically discusses and contrasts the concept of sustainability for social justice within the operations of both local and multinational corporations in emerging markets. It frames these discussions in the context of the unintended impacts that business investments can have on biodiversity, human rights, and global value chains. Special attention is given to the challenges businesses face in mitigating and adapting to climate change within their operations. The course provides the knowledge and tools needed to navigate the intricacies of sustainability, with a special emphasis on human rights, biodiversity, and global value chains in emerging markets. Supported by academic theory and real-world case studies, the course adopts a holistic, social-sciences perspective on current sustainability concepts. This comprehensive approach facilitates the design and evaluation of governmental and corporate policies and practices to contribute to a more equitable and sustainable future.

This course introduces students to key concepts and techniques used in operations management, and their practical applications. The course covers a range of topics related to manufacturing and service operations such as operations strategy, sustainability, process design and analysis, supply chains, inventory management, lean operations, and quality control.

This course delves into distinct strategies for strategizing, supervising, and structuring marketing within the hospitality & tourism sector. It sheds light on the pivotal choices that marketers encounter when involved in tourism enterprises, with a particular emphasis on two key aspects: conducting marketing research and devising marketing strategies tailored to the needs of tourism organizations.

This course introduces students to social science theories, research, and application related to understanding human behavior in the workplace. This course considers "the people side" of business and management. Topics include personality and performance, managerial decision-making, motivating others, fairness in organizations, the multicultural workplace, power and influence, the adaptive leader, and team leadership.