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The goal of this course is to introduce you to the fundamental concepts of financial accounting. Financial accounting information is commonly used by investors, regulators, customers, suppliers, managers, and other interested parties. Investors include individual shareholders and bondholders, institutional investors (e.g., mutual funds, hedge funds, private equity firms), lenders (e.g., banks), and potential corporate acquirers. Financial accounting information also plays a significant role in managerial performance evaluations and day-to-day business decisions. The focus of this course will be developing your skills and abilities to be a knowledgeable consumer of accounting information rather than a producer of such information. However, a firm grasp of the fundamental mechanics of financial accounting is necessary to become an effective consumer of this information. Along the way, I will emphasize the uses, limitations, and implications of financial accounting information. Accounting is often described as the language of business. I agree with that observation but, whenever I hear it, I am reminded of a quote by Kingman Brewster, a former president of Yale University, who said, Impenetrable jargon is the hallmark of a profession. Accounting does indeed use specialized language with many technical terms. As working managers and professionals, participants in this program have undoubtedly heard some portion of this language spoken in their organizations on a regular basis yet most participants in this program have never previously studied accounting. Accordingly, another goal of this course is to provide you a robust accounting lexicon that will be the foundation of great confidence in asking probing and insightful questions of the financial experts in your organization.

Microeconomics is the science making decisions. Economists use models to study how individuals, businesses, and governments deal with choice. The goal of this class is to build familiarity with modern microeconomic theory and its applications to the real world. Modern economics has become very math-intensive. While this course will not be math-heavy, we will be using some math in this course: largely two-dimensional graphs and algebra, with some discussion of calculus in terms of slopes, tangents, and rates of change. The class begins with the most basic models of how markets work using consumer and producer behavior. These models assume consumers and producers have full information, accept a price as given, and respond accordingly. We will then expand these models to allow for more realistic scenarios: market power (consumers or producers can manipulate prices), imperfect or asymmetric information (consumers or producers have varied knowledge), and externalities (consumer or producer decisions impact others). In each case, we consider the implications of the models within the context of business management.

The course is designed to convey the key concepts of marketing and how they fit into the larger context of management strategy and decisions. Both the practical how and the fundamental why of marketing activities are covered. The goal is to provide sufficient understanding for those who will only need interaction with the marketing function and its managers, while at the same time communicating concepts and developing thought processes that can provide the foundation for further experience in marketing.

This course is intended to expose Executive MBA/MS students to some of the major ideas and findings in the field of managing and leading in contemporary organizations. It is based on the proposition that leading well requires thinking well. Succeeding in any business leadership role requires you to think critically, and make quality decisions, even in the face of challenges such as imperfect/incomplete information, changing and unforeseen circumstances, and human nature in all of its complexity and unpredictability. This may be especially true for those working in demanding healthcare environments, in which the stakes are often high. We will focus on three leadership competencies that are crucial for your success: 1) critical thinking and decision making, 2) smart collaborating with an eye toward creativity and change, and 3) the ability to motivate, influence, and negotiate. Critical thinking involves developing hypotheses about the causes of problems, using all the available evidence to test those hypotheses, and developing solutions that address those causes most effectively and efficiently. Knowing how to collaborate, negotiate and work together, is essential for getting to the best solution. But having the right answer is rarely good enough. Very often the right answers have to be sold. Thus, you will work on your ability to motivate and influence others through the merits of your analysis and your solution. Major themes of this course focus on thinking and leading rationally; recognizing and avoiding reasoning flaws and the forces that make us most susceptible to such flaws; approaching business problems systematically and thoroughly; and producing a problem solution that is (a) well-reasoned; (b) likely to be well-received by ultimate decision makers; and (c) able to be implemented successfully. You will be introduced to, and then practice using, analytical frameworks that you can apply to any leadership challenge or opportunity - regardless of company or job function -- in order to solve problems and communicate your proposed solutions effectively. These are not only essential business leadership skills; they are life skills.

This course examines the decisions faced by corporate financial managers in their efforts to maximize the value of their firms. The basic principles and practices of corporate financial planning and management are discussed, including the underlying theories and their applications. Specific topics include: the role of the financial manager, function of financial markets and intermediaries, capital markets, institutions, interest rates, types of financial instruments and their uses, valuation concepts, dividend discount models, capital budgeting, risk and return, cost of capital, and capital structure.

Operations is at the heart of every organization. Efficiency of operations is essential for firms to sustain themselves over time. Effective operations are essential for ensuring that the organization is competitive through continuous value delivery to the customer. Successful business innovations also rely upon the management of change in the way the firm operates. Over the years, the focus of courses of operations in Executive MBA programs has moved from traditional efficiency and effectiveness considerations to the attainment of strategic organizational goals and the successful leveraging of disruptive innovations, especially those brought upon by new technologies. These more recent trends will also guide the content of this course. While the sessions will cover the essential concepts of operations, the primary focus of lectures and discussions will be on the links across operations and strategy and business innovation. Healthcare is a large sector of the global economy (around 10%) and it is an even larger share of the domestic US economy (approaching 20%). The sector is facing many challenges including rising costs, demographic shifts, rise in chronic diseases, changes in supply and demand of care services and disruptive innovations brought upon by technological advances. Further the pace of change shows no signs of slowing down. In the midst of these change trends, there will be significant new opportunities as the underlying forces of disruption and value creation are understood and leveraged. This will include opportunities for both transforming existing healthcare businesses and creating new startups. Success in this rapidly changing world will require both a solid understanding of the healthcare sector, service and business model innovation and an inspirational leadership style to be bold, take risks and lead complex change. This course is designed as a core operations course for Executive MBA students. The goal of this course is to provide an effective combination of theory and practice in strategic operations management for professionals in the healthcare sector. Lectures and case studies will provide a rich forum for in-class discussions. EMBA students will be encouraged to share experiences and key lessons from their own careers. A course paper will provide the essential link to practice by getting students to work in small groups on the challenges of managing operations and innovations in an existing organization.

Students learn the tools and analytical techniques that managers need to assess and formulate effective strategies for their organizations. Topics include strategic analysis, industry analysis, value chains, core competencies, competitor analysis, scenario analysis, portfolio analysis, option analysis, and game theory. The focus is on analyzing and diagnosing business problems as well as developing and implementing effective strategic solutions.