| 231. Corporate Finance (3)
[Fall] |
The purpose of MBA 231 is to provide
the requisite analytical skills in the following areas:
project evaluation; financial structure; implementing
accounting-based information into an economic model; and
selected topics in risk management, corporate governance,
executive compensation and corporate takeovers. The first
module explores the question, "Which projects should
we undertake?" The second module considers the optimal
mixture of financing vehicles, which range from simple
instruments such as debt and equity, to more complex instruments,
such as convertible debt and equity warrants. The third
module analyzes how to convert accounting information
into an economic model consistent with maximizing the
firm's value; and the fourth module explores topics such
as whether and how corporations should reduce exposure
to risk, the "optimal" compensation and governance
schemes for executives, in light of potential managerial
"misbehavior" and the use of takeovers as a
means for allocating control of the corporation to those
management teams that can achieve the highest shareholder
return.
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| 257 Business
Strategies for Emerging Markets (3) [Fall] |
| Prerequisites:
None. This course aims to help students to study the institutions
of emerging markets that are relevant for managers; analyze
and evaluate opportunities presented by emerging markets;
analyze the additional ethical challenges and issues of
social responsibility that appear in emerging markets;
and learn to minimize the risks of doing business in emerging
markets. |
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| 262 Brand
Management & Strategy (3) [Spring] |
| The focus of
this course is on formulating and implementing complete
marketing programs for successful brand management. The
main objectives of this course are to 1) introduce students
to important considerations in the understanding, crafting,
measuring and management of brand strategies, and 2) provide
an in-depth understanding of the job of the "typical"
brand manager in marketing consumer and industrial goods/services.
The course will cover brand concepts such as brand identity,
image and equity, as well as issues in crafting (e.g.,
choosing brand elements), measuring (brand equity measurement)
and managing the brand (e.g., brand extensions, brand
repositioning). Finally, the course also provides the
students with some of the quantitative tools that are
helpful to brand managers in analyzing customers and competitors
and guiding them in their strategic and tactical decisions.
|
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| 264. High Tech Marketing Management
(3) [Fall] |
| Prerequisites: MBA206.
This course is designed for students who wish to learn
how to develop and execute marketing strategies in technology-intensive
markets -- i.e., environments that are characterized by
shrinking product life cycles and rapid turnovers in the
"amount" of knowledge/information possessed
by key players (firms, customers, competitors). The course
will focus on issues that distinguish technology-intensive
markets from traditional ones.
The objectives of the course are to:
-Provide you with an understanding of the issues faced
by managers involved in technology marketing.
-Equip you with conceptual frameworks to help you make
better technology decisions.
-Help you develop experience in analyzing technology
problems and developing solutions to them.
Representative topics include:
-Technology Adoption Strategy
-Creating Product Concepts and Value Propositions Product
line, Versioning and Compatibility.
-Specialized Strategic Pricing issues such as Usage-based
Pricing Strategies.
-Management of Inter-Generational Transitions.
-Issues in emerging technology industries such as bio-tech. |
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| 290E Marketing for High Tech
Entrepreneurs (3) [Fall] |
This course is intended to provide
the core marketing skills needed for the management of
entrepreneurial high technology ventures, regardless of
the student's "home" skill set, whether technical
or managerial. We examine in depth the marketing approaches
most likely to succeed for entrepreneurial companies as
a function of their markets and technologies. Emphasis
is placed on the special requirements for creating and
executing marketing programs in a setting of rapid technological
change and limited resources. The course is particularly
suited for those who anticipate founding or operating
technology companies.
Primary Objectives:
The primary goal of this course is to develop the marketing
skills needed to compete aggressively as an entrepreneur
in technology fields. Upon completion of this course,
the student should have developed the following skills:
- The ability to assess and predict customer needs in
markets that may not yet exist;
- The ability to create and execute marketing plans that
necessarily integrate sophisticated technological development
with rapidly evolving customer requirements;
- The ability to create and grow a focused marketing organization
rapidly and efficiently. |
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| 290I
Managing Innovation and Change (3) [Fall] |
| Most innovations
fail. Yet companies that don’t innovate die. Managing
innovation thus constitutes one of the most difficult
and critical tasks facing a manager. Nor is this solely
the concern of high tech companies companies in traditionally
“low tech” businesses such as consumer packaged
goods (like Procter & Gamble) find that innovation
translates directly into growth in new businesses, and
better profits in existing businesses.
The course adopts a capabilities-based view of the
firm, drawing from economic, organizational, and engineering
perspectives. The goal of the course is to identify
the sources of innovative success and failure inside
corporations, and how companies can develop and sustain
a capability to innovate. Considerable attention will
be paid to the management of intellectual property. |
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| 290N Managing the New Product
Development Process (3) [Fall] |
Without major project:
The focus of the course is management of new product development
processes, from product definition through ramp-up of
product manufacturing. We will discuss processes for collecting
customer and user need data, prioritizing that data, developing
a product specification, sketching and building product
prototypes, and interacting with the customer during product
development.
With major project:
The focus of the course is management of new product development
processes, from product definition through ramp-up of
product manufacturing. Using a project in which students
will be asked to design and develop a product of their
choosing, we will teach processes for collecting customer
and user needs data, prioritizing that data, developing
a product specification, sketching and building product
prototypes, and interacting with the customer during product
development. The course is intended as a very hands-on
experience in the product development process. |
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| 290T Biotech Industry Perspectives
and Business Development (2) [Fall] |
| We will examine the strategic issues
that confront the management of the development stage
biotech company, i.e., after its startup via an initial
venture capital infusion, but before it might be deemed
successful (e.g., by virtue of a product launch), or otherwise
has achieved “first-tier” status. Thus, the
intention is to study the biotech organization during
the process of its growth and maturation from an early
stage existence through “adolescence” into
an “adult” company.
How does one research and develop a life science technology
or biotech product to the point where it is ready for
the marketplace and how does one finance that relatively
protracted process? Almost inevitably, at least a part
of the answer to this question, and thus an element
in the business and financial history of most biotech
companies, has involved partnering with others, both
as a means to perform aspects of the R&D process,
as well as generate funding for that work. Hence, the
focus of the class will be on business development,
i.e., the deal making that must occur to accomplish
these corporate objectives – both to bring in
new technologies and especially, to facilitate getting
the initial product(s) to market (and pay for the R&D
required to make that happen). Emphasis will be on biotech
companies in the healthcare sector (primarily therapeutics,
but also diagnostics) with some (comparative) discussion
of other industry areas, e.g., agriculture (veterinary
and crop plant science). |
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| 290T The Entrepreneurial Business of Software [Fall] |
Never in history has a single individual
been able to accomplish so much with so little as today's
software developer. This not only makes software the most
interesting industry of our time -- this makes software
the most interesting industry of ALL time. This course
is aimed at teaching entrepreneurial individuals how to
exploit the perennial opportunities in software.
Fall 2006 Syllabus |
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| 292 Social Venture Development
(1) [Fall] |
| Prerequisite: Social Entrepreneurship
or consent of instructor. This class is a continuation
of Social Entrepreneurship. It is designed for students
committed to developing a social venture for the marketplace.
It is concerned with the design, structuring, and development
of entrepreneurial ventures that explicitly strive to
generate both financial and social returns. The final
deliverable for the course is a social venture business
plan which could be the basis for launching a new venture
or scaling an existing business. This plan will include
attributes that are distinct to social ventures, such
as vision and values statements, articulation of a theory
of change, and a social impact assessment methodology.
|
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| 294 Life
as an Entrepreneur (1) [Fall] |
| This 1
unit course has been put together by the Haas
Entrepreneur's Association to provide first-year MBAs
with a high-level survey of the field of Entrepreneurship.
The course will expose first-years to entrepreneurs from
organizations at various stages of development and representing
a broad range of industries. Entrepreneurs will talk about
how their organizations were created and share the lessons
they learned. In addition, we will hear from speakers
you may or may not want to deal with in the startup process:
inventors, scientists, engineers, lawyers and venture
capitalists. This course is for both aspiring entrepreneurs
as well as those simply interested in learning more about
the field. It does not teach you how to be an entrepreneur,
but it aims to inspire you and give you a perspective
on what life as an entrepreneur is like. |
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| 294 Microfinace
Speakers Series(1) [Fall] |
The
course explores why and how microfnance have grown to
provide financial services to poor and lowe-income people
on a sustainable basis. The course brings together advice
and best practices from successful practioners and institutions
around the world as well as new technology startups
targeting the industry. Students will find this course
an excellent introduction to microfnance as an important
development effort. The class will also provide an excellent
forum to learn about current challenges and debates
in the world of microfinance.
10/26/2006
Alex Counts Video
11/2/2006 Monica
Brand Video
11/9/2006 Kendall
Mau Video
11/16/2006 Eric
Weaver Video
11/30/2006
Ananya Roy Video
12/7/2006
Jessica Flannery, Emily Tucker, Karen Appleton Video
|
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| 294 Social Entrepreneurship
(1) [Fall] |
This course introduces students to
the field of social enterprise and the practices of growing
mission-driven ventures that are garnering attention around
the world by entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists,
foundations and consulting firms. Social enterprises aim
to achieve a double bottom line – important social
returns as well as financial returns --through their products,
services and other business practices. Entrepreneurial
solutions to education, health, environment, workforce
development, international development, and other large
societal issues are being addressed through both for-profit
and non-profit ventures
This course has three primary objectives: to introduce
the broad range of emerging global social enterprises
through case analyses, guest and a team project; to introduce
the emerging capital market for social ventures and the
possible trade-offs in social and financial return expectations;
to introduce the management decisions inherent in growing
social enterprises; to introduce methods for measuring
and reporting on social impact and social return. It is
also valuable for any student preparing to participate
in the National Social Venture Competition, as an entrant,
team participant or student organizer. |
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| 294 Corporate Social Responsibility
Speaker Series (1) [Spring] |
The purpose of the course is to:
- Discuss how CSR is implemented in various industries
today
- Explore the business case for Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR)
- Demonstrate how CSR is strategically integrated into
business success
These topics will be examined over seven weeks by engaging
with guest speakers from industry.
Sessions will include:
-Introduction to CSR - definitions, framework on business
case, etc.
- Industries covered: Renewable Energy, Technology, Retail/CPG,
Food/Agriculture, Healthcare/Biotech, Finance/SRI, Real
Estate
- What can you do as a Haas/Cal graduate? |
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| 295A
Entrepreneurship & Innovation (3) [Fall & Spring]
[AUDIO description Spring 07] |
Prerequisites:
all core courses or equivalents. This is a course
about how to start and grow a successful high potential enterprise. Since the Haas School is principally about
professionally managed businesses, the course will focus on businesses that are not small by design, but with hard
work and good luck can be expected to develop into complex, major enterprises. A key vehicle for this effort is the
business plan. The plan helps the entrepreneur attract support from others, because it tells them what the business
is about and what its strategy will be. It helps the entrepreneur to manage a growing and necessarily complex set of dynamics
by providing mileposts and indicting the resources that will be required to achieve them. And it provides a continuously
updated set of standards against which to compare actual
performance. The course will address the key challenges
facing a startup venture: from opportunity recognition
and assessment, strategic positioning and business model
selection to marketing/sales, financing/venture capital,
assembling the venture team and harvesting alternatives.
We will also have experienced guest speakers from time
to time to add their perspective on the venture development
process.
Fall 2004
Syllabus |
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| 295B Venture Capital and Private
Equity - [AUDIO
Class Description] |
Venture capital is core to our Silicon
Valley hi-tech economy and our country’s strong
growth over the past two decades. U.C. Berkeley is located
in the ‘Mother Lode’ of this very special
and unique investment category. This course is an advanced
offering for those who intend to seek, or manage, venture
capital funding. Accordingly it is appropriate for students
who aspire to become CEO’s of entrepreneurial ventures
or general partners of venture capital firms. Students
should have completed Entrepreneurship [BA295A] and Corporate
Finance [BA234], or have comparable work experience. The
course counts toward the requirements for a Certificate
in Entrepreneurship. The course will make extensive use
of case studies and guest lecturers. Industry experts,
entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and those who advise
them, such as investment bankers and lawyers will be frequent
guests. We will make every effort to take advantage of
the school’s geographic proximity to Silicon Valley.
Over the past twenty years, there has been a tremendous
boom in the venture capital, and more broadly speaking,
private equity industry. The pool of U.S. private equity
funds - partnerships specializing in venture capital,
leveraged buyouts, mezzanine investments, build-ups, and
distressed debt - has grown from $5 billion in 1980 to
over $250 billion today. Private equity's recent growth
has outstripped that of almost every other investment
asset class. Yet the last year has seen unparalleled instability
and volatility in valuations and funds flows. Understanding
the cyclical nature of venture capital, and its impact
on the broader economy and investor behavior, is critical
whether one intends to work for, receive money from, underwrite
the offerings of, or invest in or alongside private equity
funds.
Fall 2005 Syllabus |
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| 295C Opportunity Recognition:
Technology and Entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley (3)
[Spring] |
| This course is intended to provide
the core skills needed for the identification of opportunities
that can lead to successful, entrepreneurial high technology
ventures, regardless of the individual's "home"
skill set, whether technical or managerial. We examine
in depth the approaches most likely to succeed for entrepreneurial
companies as a function of markets and technologies. Emphasis
is placed on the special requirements for creating and
executing strategy in a setting of rapid technological
change and limited resources. This course is open to MBA,
Engineering and SIMS students (who enroll through their
respective colleges), and is particularly suited for those
who anticipate founding or operating technology companies. |
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| 295D New Venture Finance (2)
[Spring] |
Prerequisites:
295A or consent of instructor. This is a course about financing
new entrepreneurial ventures. Consistent with the Haas School's
strategic direction, we will focus on high potential firms
that have the possibility of creating a national and/or
international impact. This is not exclusive to, but may
often mean, ventures that are financed by venture capital
funds and exploit high technology and/or participate in
new or emerging markets.
We will take two perspectives: that of the entrepreneur
and that of the investor. Therefore, this course is of interest
to those who wish to be entrepreneurs and/or investors.
We will place a special focus on the venture capital process,
including how they are formed and managed, strategic alliances,
mergers and accessing the public markets.
Spring 2005 Syllabus
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| 295E
Case Studies in Entrepreneurship (2) [Fall] |
Prerequisites:
This case study class is open to any student who worked
at a start-up during their summer internship , or has
a particular experience that they would like to build
into an entrepreneurship case
Course Objective: This course aims
to maximize the shared learning from summer internships
, or prior experiences, in entrepreneurship, particularly
through the PEL program. Students will come to the class
fresh from a unique internship in an entrepreneurial
environment and will write a case to help them and others
understand what they experienced and learned. By the
end of the class, each student will better understand
what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and to
build a successful company.
Each student will prepare and distribute a case drawn
from their experience. Each student present s the case
to the class in an interactive style, focusing on important
opportunities, decisions or issues that they or their
host faced during the summer. Presentations will be
interactive and the class should critically examine
the situation from a number of perspectives. Students
will be encouraged to bring their own experiences and
expertise to bear on the case. Critical issues and decisions
will receive particular attention and focus. |
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| 295F Customer Development
in High Tech Enterprise (2) [Spring] |
This course is about how to successfully
organize sales, marketing and business development in
a for-profit startup, with particular emphasis on high
technology companies. For the purpose of this course,
a “startup” can either be a new venture, or an existing
company entering a new market. Both must solve a common
set of issues: Where is our market? Who are our customers?
How do we build the right team? How do we scale sales?
These issues are at the heart of the “Customer Development”
process covered in this course.
Fall 2005 Syllabus
|
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| 295G Entrepreneurial Investing
in Later Stage Tech Companies (2) [Fall] |
Prerequisites: MBA
295A or consent of instructor. Entrepreneurial Investing
in Later Stage Tech Companies will provide students with
an education into the complexities and unique problems of
entrepreneurship in companies with great growth potential,
but that are facing significant challenges to achieving
that potential. This class is designed to provide students
with the tools and skills most critical to successfully
screening, investing in, and/or leading companies that have
both a great set future growth opportunities and a great
set of current problems. This class will use case studies,
practical valuation and other exercises, and the energy,
enthusiasm and intellectual capacity of its students to
create a great learning environment.
Fall 2005 Syllabus
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| 295H "Top-Down"
Law: Managing the Legal and Regulatory Environment of
Business (2) [Spring] [AUDIO
Description Spring 2007] |
This course offers a practical and business-oriented
presentation of legal and regulatory issues and problems
that most commonly confront CEOs, managers and other business
persons, including a survey of the major topics listed below.
The course is intended to broaden the business student’s
perspective and knowledge concerning the American legal
system and the legal process, so that he or she is prepared
to (a) understand and respond to the legal and policy grounds
for laws and regulations affecting the business community,
(b) spot, analyze and deal with legal issues affecting his
or her own company, and (c) work effectively and efficiently
with inside and outside legal counsel to resolve legal problems
and manage risk. The class affords a unique opportunity
to acquire knowledge and insight about a critical aspect
of business life that is not otherwise extensively or at
all treated in the business curriculum.
Spring 2005 Syllabus
|
|
| 295I
Entrepreneurship Workshop for Start-ups (2)
[Fall & Spring] |
This workshop
is intended for student teams with interests in entrepreneurship
and who have their own venture project under development.
The business concept may be in the startup mode, or further
along in its evolution. Students must be willing to discuss
their project with others in the workshop. Depending on
the final size of the class and the mix of project teams,
a very limited number of solo projects may be allowed
with the professor's explicit prior approval.
The course will be conducted as a clinic, looking at various
issues faced by entrepreneurs in converting their business
concepts into successful companies. Team members will
be expected to develop and deliver various presentations
to the class on selected aspects of their business idea.
Each class member is expected to contribute actively in
the discussions and presentation critiques. While this
course is structured around major elements of the business
plan as the vehicle by which these issues get framed and
analyzed for presentations to prospective investors and
colleagues alike, it is not designed to produce a formal
business plan per se.
Spring 2006
Syllabus |
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| 295J Entrepreneurship in Biotechnology
(2) [Spring] |
| Prerequisites: MBA
core curriculum or consent of instructor. This class is an introduction to the complexities and unique problems
of entrepreneurship in the life sciences. Students will be exposed to the topics most critical to successfully
founding, financing, and operating a life science company and will be expected to perform many of the tasks that
founders would normally undertake. An overview of the industry based on trends over the past 20 years and on
opportunity recognition and how "good" opportunities have changed over time is followed by a focus on functional
and operational issues of small life science companies. The final part of the course will be the preparation and
presentation of the final projects. |
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|
| 295T Business Model Innovatin
in New Ventures (2) [Spring]
[AUDIO Description Spring 2007] |
| The course will examine the elements
of business models, explore how they differ across industries
and phases of a firm’s growth – from high-tech to social
ventures and from the earliest start-up phases through
realization of significant value. We will primarily use
case studies, short lectures, discussion and guest speakers
to reinforce frameworks and showcase actual business examples.
The deliverables will allow students to explore their
own industry focus. |
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| 296 New Business Development:
A Corporate and International Perspective |
| The purpose of New Business Development
is to facilitate each student in developing and assuming
a leadership role in the design and implementation of
profitable new business strategies. The premise is that
entrepreneurship can and does flourish in corporations,
both domestic and international. This course will explore
the issues and topics associated with starting a new business
while working within an existing corporate environment.
The challenges facing entrepreneurs attempting to create
a new business from this perspective are markedly different
from those facing entrepreneurs starting up new businesses
backed by equity partners. This course will scrutinize
those differences in order to understand key variables
of success within each situation. |
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| L&S5
Introduction to Entrepreneurship |
| This class will explore the structure and framework of entrepreneurial endeavors - both inside and outside the business world. The course will answer questions such as: What is entrepreneurship? What is opportunity recognition and selection? How can you create and define competitive advantage? This course is designed for freshmen and sophomores who wish to know about entrepreneurship, its importance to our society, and its role in bringing new ideas to market. Students will understand the entrepreneurial business process and how they might become involved in those processes in their future careers - in whatever direction those careers might lead. |
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| Boalt 255 Venture
Capital and IPO Law: Advising the Emerging Growth Company |
| This practice oriented business law
seminar is designed to provide students with an understanding
of the business and transactional context in which various
legal issues arise in advising the venture capital backed
emerging growth company through various stages of development.
The seminar will cover selected business, corporate and
securities law issues in areas such as entity organization,
venture capital financings, initial public offerings,
and governance and disclosure reform impacting companies
accessing the public capital markets. This seminar is
structured to acquaint students with the type of corporate
and securities law issues faced in a typical Silicon Valley-style
corporate practice. Instructor: Steven E. Bochner |
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