My Educational Journey

This course introduces theoretical concepts and analytical tools essential to investment management by individual investors and portfolio managers. The goal of this class is to provide a structure to address investment problems in a systematic manner. Topics include security risk and return; portfolio theory; valuation of financial instruments such as bonds, common stocks, and options; asset allocation; and performance evaluation of portfolios and portfolio managers.

The principal objectives of this course are to learn how to perform strategic analyses of competitive contexts external to the firm, how to leverage firm specific resources and capabilities for competitive advantage, how to exploit specific strategic perspectives such as game theory and real options, and to learn how to make more effective strategic decisions within the firm. Topics include: industry analysis, firm level strategy, resources and capabilities, intangible resources, firm structure, industry evolution, game theory, real options, managerial discretion, and multinational strategy.

This course explores how businesses evaluate investment opportunities, deploy capital to enhance firm value, and raise capital to support business investment and growth. Principal objectives include: understanding the application of discounted cash flow techniques to evaluate investment opportunities and potential acquisitions; understanding alternative valuation techniques and their use in the analysis of real options; understanding how both young and mature firms raise capital from financiers and financial markets, as well as the factors that affect how firms choose to raise capital; and understanding the interaction between a firm's financing structure and its investment and payout policies. Topics include discounted cash flow techniques, real options analysis, capital structure, dividend payout policy, security issuance, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance.

This course offers a comprehensive introduction to the strategy and tactics of customer relationship management (CRM). Particular emphasis is given toward identifying the key strategic principles inherent in the customer-centric focus that underlies a successful CRM program. Topics include fundamentals of CRM strategy, marketing metrics, customer profitability analysis, choice modeling, techniques for evaluating model performance, and applications of CRM to marketing campaign management. Students will be instructed on how to implement the CRM techniques using various software tools and real-world data.

This course will emphasize an exploration of ideas about leadership that are practice-oriented. A central theme of this material, some of which is philosophical in nature, is the focus on learning and the role of reflection in both in the leadership process itself and in the process of developing leaders. A variety of topics are covered, including foresight, intuition, practical wisdom, critical thinking, reflective practice, ethical judgment, and articulating relationally-responsive understandings of alternative futures. Students are provided the opportunity to reflect on and narrate their leadership-related crucible experiences, analyze those experiences using the conceptual material, and then enter into systematic dialogue on these issues with other students and the instructor. The ultimate product of this learning process will be the creation of a personal leadership development plan.