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An interdepartmental program in Business
Last updated: June 28, 2012 at 4:10 p.m.
Louis Brandeis was among the first to define business as a profession worthy of pursuit. Before his appointment to the Supreme Court, Brandeis practiced commercial law. He was fascinated both by the way business worked and the impact it had on society. While the business world of his day differed in many respects from that of our own, many of his insights still have the ability to open up new perspectives and stimulate debate.
The business program meets the growing need in the workplace for professionals and leaders with an open mind who are equipped to comprehend the complexities of today’s global society. At Brandeis, we believe that a business education consists of much more than the acquisition of a set of practical skills. We emphasize critical thinking, broad perspective, and multicultural understanding. In this way, we hope to prepare students to be responsible and thoughtful citizens in the business world of tomorrow.
The business program introduces undergraduates to the functions, opportunities, and challenges of business enterprises, and helps them to acquire skills and perspectives essential to a business career. Administered by the Brandeis International Business School (IBS) and the College of Arts and Sciences, the curriculum allows students to combine ideas and methods from liberal arts disciplines with an intensive education in business thinking and practice. The curriculum offers multiple paths for students to develop connections between their business studies and the "non-financial" measures of success they value – from concerns with global society and sustainability to innovation in science and art.
Students in the business program participate in IBS life. IBS professors teach undergraduate business courses, and students in the program regularly attend events and talks at the graduate school. Undergraduates enroll in graduate courses when appropriate. In their junior year, undergraduates interested in graduate study may apply to enter the combined BA/MA program. In this program, they enroll in the graduate school in their fourth year at Brandeis and receive the master’s in international economics and finance degree after their fifth year. This course of study generally includes a semester at one of the more than twenty business partner schools abroad.
Five learning goals of the major:
1. Fundamental Concepts: Students will understand the fundamental concepts of business.
2. Business Disciplines: Students will have knowledge of key paradigms in core business disciplines.
3. Analytical Skills: Students will possess the quantitative, analytical, and critical thinking skills to evaluate businesses and the environment in which they operate.
4. Communications Skills: Students will have competence in a range of essential business communications skills.
5. Ethical Awareness: Students will be aware of the ethical, societal, and environmental implications of business decisions.
LEARNING GOAL | CORRESPONDING BRANDEIS LEARNING GOAL | ABILITIES | COURSES IN WHICH WE MAY TEST GOALS |
1. Fundamental Concepts: Students will understand the fundamental concepts of business. | KNOWLEDGE | a) Ability to use the language of business and management. b) Ability to describe the structure of a business and its component parts. c) Ability to describe the major factors influencing business formation and operations. |
BUS 10a |
2. Business Disciplines: Students will have knowledge of key paradigms in core business disciplines. | KNOWLEDGE | a) Knowledge of key principles in finance, organizational behavior, and marketing. b) Ability to apply appropriate frameworks to problem-‐ solving in those areas. |
BUS 20a BUS 52a BUS 71a |
3. Analytical Skills: Students will possess the quantitative, analytical, and critical thinking skills to evaluate businesses and the environment in which they operate. | CORE SKILLS | a) Ability to prepare and interpret basic financial statements. b) Ability to use analytical techniques to assess the financial well-‐being of a business. c) Ability to use business school case studies to understand a management or industry issue. |
BUS 6a BUS 10a BUS 52a BUS 71a |
4. Communications Skills: Students will have competence in a range of essential business communications skills. | CORE SKILLS | a) Ability to give a persuasive business presentation. b) Ability to write a convincing business memo. c) Ability to effectively advocate an idea. |
BUS 10a BUS 20a BUS 52a |
5. Ethical Awareness: Students will be aware of the ethical, societal, and environmental implications of business decisions. | SOCIAL JUSTICE | a) Ability to identify the ethical, societal, or environmental aspects of a business situation. b) Ability to evaluate these factors when making business decisions. |
BUS 6a BUS 10a BUS 20a BUS 52a BUS 71a |
Edward Bayone, Chair
(International Business School; Business)
Brenda Anderson
(International Business School; The Heller School)
Maura Jane Farrelly
(American Studies; Journalism)
Richard Gaskins
(American Studies; Legal Studies)
Benjamin Gomes-Casseres
(International Business School)
Kathryn Graddy
(Economics)
Scott Redenius
(Economics)
Grace Zimmerman
(International Business School; Business)
Edward Bayone, Chair
Credit risk. Real estate. Country risk.
Robert Angell
Accounting. Entrepreneurship. Financial management.
Preeta Banerjee
Strategy. Entrepreneurship. Innovation.
Alfonso Canella
Airline industry. Health care economics. Project evaluations. Valuations.
Robert Carver
Applied Quantitative Methods. Regulatory Theory. Statistics Education.
Sandra Cha
Leadership. Identity in organizations. Organizational behavior.
Gerard Donnellan
Organizational behavior. Leadership development. Executive coaching.
Jane Ebert
Consumer judgment and decision-making. Temporal discounting. Health promotion.
Michael Harrity
Real estate investment. Finance.
Richard Keith
Finance, planning, and control. Managerial accounting.
Ricardo Lopez
International Trade. Development Economics. Productivity Analysis. Latin America.
Debarshi Nandy
Corporate Restructuring and Security Issuance. Venture Capital and Entrepreneurial Finance.
William Oliver
Entrepreneurship. Microfinance. Healthcare Innovation. Evidence Based Management.
Robert Podorefsky
Fixed income. Currency derivatives. Risk management.
Charles Reed
Entrepreneurship. General management. International marketing.
Detlev Suderow
International Human Resource Management. Organizational Development.
Kevin Wall
Accounting. Mergers and Acquisitions.
Xin Wang
E-commerce. Consumer Learning. Service Quality.
Hagit Weihs
Financial Accounting. Managerial Accounting. Financial Statement Analysis.
Grace Zimmerman
Strategic marketing. Business planning. International entrepreneurship.
B. One non-ECON "Business and Society" course: refer to the "Thematic Electives in Business and Society" section.
C. Any one BUS course numbered above BUS 10a except BUS 89a or BUS 98a.
D. One additional course: any Business & Society elective (including ECON courses), Business Administration elective or BUS 89a and 98a.
E. No course with a final grade below C, and no course taken pass/fail, can count toward fulfilling the requirements for the minor in business.
A. ECON 2a or ECON 10a.
B. BUS 1b (may be exempted by the following quantitative courses: ECON 83a, MATH 8a, MATH 10b, or PYSC 51a).
C. BUS 6a, BUS 10a, BUS 20a, BUS 52a, BUS 71a. (Note: BUS 4a may be used to satisfy the accounting requirement.)
D. Two "Business and Society" electives, and two "Business Administration" electives.
E. One further course: an elective from "Business and Society" or "Business Administration", Internship (BUS 89a), or Independent Study (BUS 98a).
No course with a final grade below C, and no course taken pass/fail, can count toward fulfilling the requirements for the major in business.
Students undertaking the economics major and the business major are subject to additional restrictions. Business majors may double count no more than two courses for the Economics major. Excluded in this calculation are: ECON 2a or ECON 10a, ECON 83a to exempt from BUS 1b, and ECON 171a in place of BUS 71a. Please note that ECON 171a cannot be counted twice (i.e., in place of BUS 71a and as a "Business Administration" elective).PSYC 150b, which has several prerequisites, may be taken in place of BUS 20a.
For Business and Economics double majors, Bus 10a (required for the Business major) will count as a lower level elective for Economics and Econ 20a (required for the Economics major) will count as a Business Administration elective for Business. As a result, no further "double-counts" are allowed for the Business major, except as noted in the requirements for the Business Major.
Specialization is achieved by taking three courses on one theme. This specialization does not appear on the transcript, but may be reported in a resume. With approval, courses may count for more than one theme. Independent specializations are possible, also with approval, and require three courses. Students are encouraged to link specializations to other work at Brandeis.
Upon prior approval of the undergraduate advising head, more advanced BUS or FIN courses in the International Business School or courses taken during a Brandeis-approved study abroad may be used as substitutes for BUS courses in the program. Students who are studying abroad will not be permitted to take substitutes for BUS 6a, BUS 10a, BUS 20a, and BUS 52a. The same rule applies for summer study at another university, with the exception of BUS 6a, which may be considered if taught in the United States to US GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles). Any exemption to the previously listed rules requires approval by petition. See the program administrator or the Undergraduate Advising Head.
Transfer students may apply to the undergraduate advising head for courses taught elsewhere to fulfill the requirements for the major or minor, with the provision that at Brandeis they must take BUS 10a (unless waived by the undergraduate advising head) and a minimum of four other full semester BUS courses for the major, or two other full semester BUS courses for the minor. In addition, for both the major and minor, transfer students must take at least one course at Brandeis in Section III.A Business and Society.
Students interested in taking a BUS internship for credit should consult the description and enrollment information for BUS 89a (below) or the Web site for business internships: www.brandeis.edu/programs/business/internships/internships_jobs.html. BUS 89a is a four-credit course and can satisfy the second category of BUS electives listed under D for the requirements for the minor and E for the requirements for the major. Most BUS 89a students do their internships in the same semester they enroll for the classes, but internships can also be done during a prior academic semester or summer. Searching the university’s main website for "internships" will lead to information on availability of courses, guidelines, and requirements.
THEMATIC ELECTIVES IN BUSINESS AND SOCIETY (III.A)
Communications, Commerce, and Culture Courses
AMST 103b Advertising and the Media
ANTH 163b Production, Consumption, and Exchange
CLAS 121a Money, Markets, and Society in the Ancient Mediterranean
COSI 133b Internet & Society
ECON/FA 87a Economics and the Arts
PHIL 13b Idea of the Market: Economic Policies
PSYC 34b Social Psychology
SOC 120b Globalization and the Media
SOC 146a Mass Communication Theory
SOC 150b Culture of Consumption
THA 138a The Business of Show Business
Environment, Health and Social Policy Courses
AMST 118a Gender in Professions
ECON 57a Environmental Economics
ECON 76b Labor Economics
HS 104b American Health Care
HS 110a Wealth & Poverty
HSSP 104b Health Economics
HSSP 106a Managing Medicine
HSSP 107b Health Care Technology: Evaluating Emerging Medical Services, Drugs and Devices
SOC 117a Sociology of Work and Gender
SOC 193a Environment, Health, Society
Law and Government Courses
AAAS 126b Political Economy of the Third World
AMST 188b Louis Brandeis: Law, Business & Politics
AMST 189a Legal Foundations of American Capitalism
HIST 160b American Legal History II
LGLS 114a American Health Care: Law and Policy
LGLS 127b International Economic Law
LGLS 129b Law, Technology & Innovation
LGLS 138b Science on Trial
POL 172b Introduction to International Political Economy
THEMATIC ELECTIVES IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (III.B)
Management Courses
BUS 14a Managerial Accounting
BUS 35a Real Estate & Society
BUS 55a Consumer Behavior
BUS 70a Business in the Global Economy
ECON 20a Introduction to Macroeconomics
Finance Courses
BUS 75a Financial Analysis for Management
ECON 161a International Finance
ECON 171a Financial Economics
ECON 172b Money and Banking
ECON 174a Corporate Finance
Innovation Courses
BUS 30a Entrepreneurship and Innovation
ECON 135a Industrial Organization
ECON 141b Economics of Innovation
ECON 177b Economic Regulation and Deregulation
Courses of Instruction
(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students
BUS
1b
Quantitative Methods in Business
Does not fulfill the School of Social Science requirement. Yields half-course credit.
Introduction to statistical thinking and fundamental analytical methods to students with little or no prior statistics training. Surveys basic statistical methods used to enable critical analysis of data to inform business decisions, accomplished through the use of Excel, PowerPoint and Word. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Fournier
BUS
6a
Financial Accounting
[
ss
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Prerequisite: ECON 2a or ECON 10a.
Develops basic concepts and accounts and applies them to income measurement, capital values, and costs. Through the use of cases, develops the basis for rational choice and control of business activity. Usually offered every semester in multiple sections.
Mr. Angell, Ms. Weihs, and Mr. Wall
BUS
10a
Functions of the Capitalist Enterprise
[
ss
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Prerequisite: BUS 6a. BUS 6a may be taken concurrently with BUS 10a.
Introduces the internal complexity of modern businesses and the various roles they play in society. First examines the internal workings of firms--marketing, operations, finance, and other functions. Subsequently, the relationships between businesses and their context--the economy, social issues, and government are studied. Usually offered every semester in multiple sections.
Ms. Banerjee, Mr. Bayone, Mr. Carver, and Mr. Oliver
BUS
14a
Managerial Accounting
[
ss
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Prerequisite: BUS 6a.
Introduction to the principles, concepts, and methods of managerial accounting, including internal reporting used in planning, control, and decision making. Learn how organizations use this information to measure and control resources used in producing goods and providing services. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Keith and Mr. Wall
BUS
20a
Organizational Behavior in Business
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Prerequisite: BUS 10a. This course may not be taken for credit by students who have taken PSYC 150b.
Covers the fundamentals of organizational behavior, including topics like leadership, work motivation, organizational culture, organizational structure, group dynamics, perception, and decision-making in a global environment. Assignments include individual and group project analyses focused on topical business issues using course concepts. Usually offered every semester.
Ms. Cha and Mr. Suderow
BUS
30a
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
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Prerequisite: BUS 10a.
Explores why, when, and how to start a new business venture. Includes identifying opportunities, gaining access to resources, and assembling a team with key skills. Uses lectures, case discussions, and outside speakers to introduce issues in both theory and practice. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Reed
BUS
35a
Real Estate and Society
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ss
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Prerequisite: BUS 10a.
Provides students with the fundamentals of real estate investment analysis and examines major trends and current issues: affordable housing; preservations, conservation, and environmentalism; green construction; new urbanism and smart growth; and the meltdown in the capital markets. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Harrity
BUS
52a
Marketing Management
[
ss
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Prerequisite: BUS 10a. Students are strongly recommended to have previously taken statistics, BUS 1b, or any of the approved substitutes for BUS 1b: ECON 83a, MATH 8a, MATH 10b, or PSYC 51a. May not be taken for credit by students who took BUS 60a in prior years.
An introduction to key concepts in competitive strategy and marketing, which are used to help firms create, sustain, and capture value. Topics include industry analysis, competitive advantage, market identification, and marketing policies. Incorporates case studies, discussion method, team projects, and business research. Usually offered every semester.
Ms. Zimmerman, Ms. Ebert and Ms. Wang
BUS
55a
Consumer Behavior
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Prerequisite: BUS 52a.
Examines fundamental theories and concepts in consumer psychology. Learn about new findings to enhance understanding of how and why people choose, use and evaluate goods and services the way they do. This knowledge will come from lectures, readings, and discussions in class, but also from hands-on experiential learning through involvement in a semester-long group project. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Ebert
BUS
70a
Business in the Global Economy
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Prerequisite: BUS 10a
Modern firms frequently cross national borders to find new markets and resources. Their strategies are then shaped by the international economy and by the policies of national governments. Using case discussion, students explore why and how U.S., Japanese, and European firms operate outside their home countries. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Lopez
BUS
71a
Introduction to Finance
[
ss
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Prerequisite: BUS 6a. This course may not be taken for credit by students who have previously taken ECON 171a. This course cannot be counted as an elective toward the economics major or minor.
Introduces students to topics and methods in the field of finance. Covers how firms secure financing via equity and debt markets, valuation of stocks and bonds, fundamental analysis techniques, capital budgeting techniques, relationship of risk and return, and the time-value-of-money. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Nandy and Mr. Podorefsky
BUS
75a
Financial Analysis for Management
[
ss
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Prerequisite: Bus 10a and Bus 71a.
Examines management decisions using quantitative, strategic, and financial analysis. Special attention to large companies with financial challenges and industries in transition, such as automobile, airlines, and oil. Also examines how industry trends affect the decisions of small businesses and investors. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Canella
BUS
89a
Work in the Global Business Environment: Internship and Seminar
This is an experiential learning course.
Normally students arrange an internship placement prior to registration and the internship is concurrent with the seminar. Students wishing to fulfill the internship component during the summer must obtain approval from the instructor prior to the internship and then enroll in the following fall (or spring) semester. The course will meet every other week and a structured journal documenting the internship experience is required as a basis for seminar participation. The course encourages students to pool experiences and lessons drawn from various business environments and to analyze and discuss them in the context of related readings. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Suderow
BUS
98a
Independent Study
Normally available for a student who has taken a course and wishes to pursue further reading or research in that field or study a subject not listed among the department course offerings. Usually offered every year.
Staff
Core Courses
BUS
1b
Quantitative Methods in Business
Does not fulfill the School of Social Science requirement. Yields half-course credit.
Introduction to statistical thinking and fundamental analytical methods to students with little or no prior statistics training. Surveys basic statistical methods used to enable critical analysis of data to inform business decisions, accomplished through the use of Excel, PowerPoint and Word. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Fournier
BUS
6a
Financial Accounting
[
ss
]
Prerequisite: ECON 2a or ECON 10a.
Develops basic concepts and accounts and applies them to income measurement, capital values, and costs. Through the use of cases, develops the basis for rational choice and control of business activity. Usually offered every semester in multiple sections.
Mr. Angell, Ms. Weihs, and Mr. Wall
BUS
10a
Functions of the Capitalist Enterprise
[
ss
]
Prerequisite: BUS 6a. BUS 6a may be taken concurrently with BUS 10a.
Introduces the internal complexity of modern businesses and the various roles they play in society. First examines the internal workings of firms--marketing, operations, finance, and other functions. Subsequently, the relationships between businesses and their context--the economy, social issues, and government are studied. Usually offered every semester in multiple sections.
Ms. Banerjee, Mr. Bayone, Mr. Carver, and Mr. Oliver
BUS
20a
Organizational Behavior in Business
[
ss
]
Prerequisite: BUS 10a. This course may not be taken for credit by students who have taken PSYC 150b.
Covers the fundamentals of organizational behavior, including topics like leadership, work motivation, organizational culture, organizational structure, group dynamics, perception, and decision-making in a global environment. Assignments include individual and group project analyses focused on topical business issues using course concepts. Usually offered every semester.
Ms. Cha and Mr. Suderow
BUS
52a
Marketing Management
[
ss
]
Prerequisite: BUS 10a. Students are strongly recommended to have previously taken statistics, BUS 1b, or any of the approved substitutes for BUS 1b: ECON 83a, MATH 8a, MATH 10b, or PSYC 51a. May not be taken for credit by students who took BUS 60a in prior years.
An introduction to key concepts in competitive strategy and marketing, which are used to help firms create, sustain, and capture value. Topics include industry analysis, competitive advantage, market identification, and marketing policies. Incorporates case studies, discussion method, team projects, and business research. Usually offered every semester.
Ms. Zimmerman, Ms. Ebert and Ms. Wang
BUS
71a
Introduction to Finance
[
ss
]
Prerequisite: BUS 6a. This course may not be taken for credit by students who have previously taken ECON 171a. This course cannot be counted as an elective toward the economics major or minor.
Introduces students to topics and methods in the field of finance. Covers how firms secure financing via equity and debt markets, valuation of stocks and bonds, fundamental analysis techniques, capital budgeting techniques, relationship of risk and return, and the time-value-of-money. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Nandy and Mr. Podorefsky
ECON
2a
A Survey of Economics
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Intended for students who are not Economics majors or minors.
Introduces economic analysis with policy applications. The economist's approach to social analysis is systematically elaborated. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Coiner and Mr. Redenius
ECON
10a
Introduction to Microeconomics
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Intended for Economics majors and minors or students who intend to take more than one Economics course.
Introduces the field of microeconomics, which is the study of how individuals and firms make decisions and how these decisions interact. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Coiner
Elective Courses in Business and Society
AAAS
126b
Political Economy of the Third World
[
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Development of capitalism and different roles and functions assigned to all "Third Worlds," in the periphery as well as the center. Special attention will be paid to African and Afro-American peripheries. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Nyangoni
AMST
103b
Advertising and the Media
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ss
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May not be taken for credit by students who took JOUR 103b in previous years.
Combines a historical and contemporary analysis of advertising's role in developing and sustaining consumer culture in America with a practical analysis of the relationship between advertising and the news media in the United States. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Farrelly
AMST
118a
Gender and the Professions
[
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This is an experiential learning course.
Explores gender distinctions as a key element in the organization of professions, analyzing the connections among sex roles, occupational structure, and American social life. Topics include work culture, pay equity, the "mommy" and "daddy" tracks, sexual discrimination and harassment, and dual-career families. Among the professions examined are law, medicine, teaching, social work, nursing, journalism, business, and politics. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Antler
AMST
188b
Louis Brandeis: Law, Business and Politics
[
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Brandeis's legal career serves as model and guide for exploring the ideals and anxieties of American legal culture throughout the twentieth century. Focuses on how legal values evolve in response to new technologies, corporate capitalism, and threats to personal liberty. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Gaskins
AMST
189a
Legal Foundations of American Capitalism
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Surveys core legal institutions of property, contracts, and corporations. Examines how law promotes and restrains the development of capitalism and market society in America, from the era of mass production through the age of global trade and digital commerce. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Gaskins
ANTH
163b
Production, Consumption, and Exchange
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Prerequisite: ANTH 1a, ECON 2a, ECON 10a, or permission of the instructor.
We read in newspapers and books and hear in everyday discussion about "the economy," an identifiably separate sphere of human life with its own rules and principles and its own scholarly discipline (economics). The class starts with the premise that this "commonsense" idea of the economy is only one among a number of possible perspectives on the ways people use resources to meet their basic and not-so-basic human needs. Using extensive cross-cultural case studies, looks at the satisfaction of these needs (which we might call economic activity) as they interact with other aspects of life: gender, kinship, ideas of morality and taste, spirit possession, politics, and so on. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ferry
CLAS
121b
Money, Markets and Society in the Ancient Mediterranean
[
hum
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Examines the complex interactions between economic and social systems in the ancient Mediterranean, especially Greece and Rome, through literature, documents, and artifacts. Readings in English. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Walker
COSI
133b
Internet and Society
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Prerequisite: sophomore standing. This course may not be repeated for credit by students who have taken COSI 33b in previous years.
An interdisciplinary survey of the Internet. Taught by a team of professors from several different departments, the course content will vary from year to year. Some particular topics to be covered are the architecture of the Internet (and the implications this has on its regulation), intellectual property, privacy, censorship, e-commerce, online education, and research. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Hickey
ECON
57a
Environmental Economics
[
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Prerequisite: ECON 2a or 10a.
Investigates the theoretical and policy problems posed by the use of renewable and nonrenewable resources. Theoretical topics include the optimal pricing of resources, the optimal use of standards and taxes to correct pollution problems under uncertainty, and the measurement of costs and benefits. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Bui
ECON
76b
Labor Economics
[
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Prerequisite: ECON 2a or 10a.
Analysis of competitive and less-than-competitive markets. Rationale for alternate methods of paying workers (e.g., hourly wages, piece rates, bonuses). Sources of wage differentials among jobs and workers. The U.S. labor movement, the process of collective bargaining, and the economic effects of unions. Effects of government interventions in the labor market, such as the minimum wage and occupational safety regulation. Extent and effects of discrimination in the labor market. Inequality in the distribution of wages. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Brainerd
ECON/FA
87a
Economics and the Arts
[
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Prerequisite: ECON 2a or 10a and FA 30a, 57a, 59a or 62a. The FA course may be taken concurrently with ECON/FA 87a.
Economics and art history provide dual lenses for studying the mechanics of art auctions and building collections. The course will focus on the intersection of history and patronage of specific artists and works of art with the marketplace. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Graddy and Ms. Scott
HIST
160b
American Legal History II
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Survey of American legal development from 1865 to the present. Major topics include constitutionalism and racial inequality, the legal response to industrialization, progressivism and the transformation of liberalism, the rise of the administrative state, and rights-based movements for social justice. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Willrich
HS
104b
American Health Care
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Examines and critically analyzes the United States health care system, emphasizing the major trends and issues that have led to the current sense of "crisis." In addition to providing a historical perspective, this course will establish a context for analyzing the current, varied approaches to health care reform. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Altman
HS
110a
Wealth and Poverty
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Examines why the gap between richer and poorer citizens appears to be widening in the United States and elsewhere, what could be done to reverse this trend, and how the widening disparity affects major issues of public policy. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Shapiro
HSSP
104b
Health Economics
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Prerequisite: ECON 2a or 10a.
Emphasizes the concepts and tools of health economics applicable to both developed and developing countries. Topics include: cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, the demand for health services, insurance and risk, managed care, provider reimbursement, national health insurance, and an overview of health care systems in other countries. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Hodgkin
HSSP
106a
Managing Medicine
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Prerequisite: HS 104b or LGLS 114a.
Overview of the principles of management within health-care organizations. Through case studies of real hospitals, insurers, and firms, the class examines choices of clinicians and managers aimed at improving quality, containing costs, driving technology adoption, or promoting new ventures. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Zinner
HSSP
107b
Health Care Technology: Evaluating Emerging Medical Services, Drugs and Devices.
[
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Prerequisite: HS 104b or permission of the instructor. Priority given to HSSP majors and minors.
An overview of the role of medical technology in the U.S. health care system, with a focus on the impact of prescription drugs on the health care system, their promise for the future, and inherent risks. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Thomas
LGLS
114a
American Health Care: Law and Policy
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Not recommended for freshmen.
Focuses on individual rights, highlights how our laws and policies affect American health care. Traces the evolution of the doctor-patient relationship; explores access issues, including whether health care is or should be a fundamental right; assesses the quality of care and the impact of malpractice; and examines the cost of having (or not having) adequate health insurance. Concludes with options and prospects for meaningful reform. Usully offered every year.
Ms. Curi
LGLS
127b
International Economic Law
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Prerequisite: ECON 2a or 10a.
Studies the transnational legal institution and practices that constitute the global economic networks of the 21st century. Surveys the fields of corporate regulation, including business practices and human rights, and legal regimes supporting trade and finance. Practice in arbitrating investment disputes between states and corporations. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Mirfendereski
LGLS
129b
Law, Technology, and Innovation
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Study of interaction of the law and technology, including how law encourages and restrains the processes of technological innovation and change, and how technological innovation and change affect the law. Topics include such issues as intellectual property rights and new information technologies, biotechnology engineering, and reproductive technologies. Shows how law balances personal, social, and economic interests. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
LGLS
138b
Science on Trial
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Surveys the procedures and analytic methods by which scientific data enter into litigation and regulation/policy making. Introduces basic tools of risk analysis and legal rules of evidence. Case studies of tobacco litigation and regulation; use of DNA and other forensic evidence in the criminal justice system; the Woburn ground-water contamination case; and other topics to be selected, such as genetics in the courtroom, court-ordered Cesarean sections, polygraph testing, alternative medicine, and genetically modified foods. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
PHIL
13b
The Idea of the Market: Economic Philosophies
[
hum
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Historical survey of philosophical assumptions in the defense and critique of market capitalism, starting from Adam Smith's views on value, self, and community. Explores philosophical alternatives in Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Dewey, and Nozick, including debates on justice and individualism. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Gaskins
POL
172b
Seminar: International Political Economy
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Prerequisite: POL 15a.
The politics and modern evolution of international economic relations, comprising trade, money, multinational productions, and development. Also the role of states and transnational actors in international markets and the global differentiation of power, and distribution of wealth. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Chase
PSYC
34b
Social Psychology
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Prerequisite: PSYC 1a.
An introduction to theory and research on the psychological processes that relate the individual to the larger social world in terms of behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. Topics include attitudes, social perception, prejudice and discrimination, attraction, behavior in groups, and the role of culture. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Isaacowitz
PSYC
150b
Organizational Behavior
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Prerequisites: PSYC 1a, PSYC 51a, and PSYC 52a. May not be taken for credit by student who take BUS 20a. Open to juniors and seniors only.
Covers the fundamentals of industrial/organizational psychology, including the topics of leadership, work motivation, organizational culture, organizational structure, group dynamics, perception, decision making, and cross-cultural interaction. Assignments include group project analysis of real organizational dilemma using concepts covered in class. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Molinsky
SOC
117a
Sociology of Work and Gender
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Focuses on the transformation of contemporary workplaces in the United States. How gender shapes inequality in the labor force, as well as idioms of skill, worth, care, and service. How women and men combine care for families with paid work. Strategies for empowerment, equity, and flexibility (comparable worth, family leave, flexible working-time options, affirmative action, employee participation, new union strategies, grass-roots organizing). Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Villalobos
SOC
120b
Globalization and the Media
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Investigates the phenomenon of globalization as it relates to mass media. Topics addressed include the growth of transnational media organizations, the creation of audiences that transcend territorial groupings, the hybridization of cultural styles, and the consequences for local identities. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Miller
SOC
146a
Mass Communication Theory
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An examination of key theories in mass communication, including mass culture, hegemony, the production of culture, and public sphere. Themes discussed include the nature of media effects, the role of the audience, and the extent of diversity in the mass media. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Miller
SOC
150b
Culture of Consumption
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Examines the historical development and social significance of a culture of consumption. Considers the role of marketing in contemporary society and the expression of consumer culture in various realms of everyday life, including leisure, the family, and education. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Miller
SOC
193a
Environment, Health, and Society
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This is an experiential learning course.
This course draws on sociological perspectives to examine two key questions: (1) How does social organization enter into the production of environmental health and illness? and (2) How do scientists, regulators, social movement activists, and people affected by illness seek to understand, regulate, and intervene in relationships between the environment and human health? Usually offered every year.
Ms. Shostak
THA
138a
The Business of Show Business
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Provides students with an overview of the many different facets of what it takes to produce live theater in America today. With an emphasis on non-profit theater, students will learn about organizational structure, aesthetic and artistic goals, facilities management, budgeting and revenue streams, public relations/marketing/advertising and communication. From brainstorming to barnstorming, this course will give students the step-by-step process of delivering live, professional theater. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Walsh
Elective Courses in Business Administration
BUS
14a
Managerial Accounting
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Prerequisite: BUS 6a.
Introduction to the principles, concepts, and methods of managerial accounting, including internal reporting used in planning, control, and decision making. Learn how organizations use this information to measure and control resources used in producing goods and providing services. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Keith and Mr. Wall
BUS
30a
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
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Prerequisite: BUS 10a.
Explores why, when, and how to start a new business venture. Includes identifying opportunities, gaining access to resources, and assembling a team with key skills. Uses lectures, case discussions, and outside speakers to introduce issues in both theory and practice. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Reed
BUS
35a
Real Estate and Society
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Prerequisite: BUS 10a.
Provides students with the fundamentals of real estate investment analysis and examines major trends and current issues: affordable housing; preservations, conservation, and environmentalism; green construction; new urbanism and smart growth; and the meltdown in the capital markets. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Harrity
BUS
55a
Consumer Behavior
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Prerequisite: BUS 52a.
Examines fundamental theories and concepts in consumer psychology. Learn about new findings to enhance understanding of how and why people choose, use and evaluate goods and services the way they do. This knowledge will come from lectures, readings, and discussions in class, but also from hands-on experiential learning through involvement in a semester-long group project. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Ebert
BUS
70a
Business in the Global Economy
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Prerequisite: BUS 10a
Modern firms frequently cross national borders to find new markets and resources. Their strategies are then shaped by the international economy and by the policies of national governments. Using case discussion, students explore why and how U.S., Japanese, and European firms operate outside their home countries. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Lopez
BUS
75a
Financial Analysis for Management
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Prerequisite: Bus 10a and Bus 71a.
Examines management decisions using quantitative, strategic, and financial analysis. Special attention to large companies with financial challenges and industries in transition, such as automobile, airlines, and oil. Also examines how industry trends affect the decisions of small businesses and investors. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Canella
ECON
20a
Introduction to Macroeconomics
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Prerequisite: Econ10a or Econ 2a with a B+ or higher.
Introduces the field of macroeconomics. Macroeconomics is the study of the overall or aggregate economic performance of national economies. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Redenius
ECON
135a
Industrial Organization
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Prerequisites: ECON 80a and ECON 83a or permission of the instructor.
Microeconomic analysis of firm behavior under alternative market structures and implications for market outcomes. Topics include strategic interaction, entry and exit, collusion, predation, price discrimination, product differentiation, vertical relations, imperfect information, advertising, and patents and innovation. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Graddy
ECON
141b
Economics of Innovation
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ss
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Prerequisites: ECON 80a and ECON 83a or permission of the instructor.
Studies the innovation and technological change as the central focus of modern economies. Topics include the sources of growth, economics of research and development, innovation, diffusion and technology transfer, appropriability, patents, information markets, productivity, institutional innovation, and global competitiveness. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Jefferson
ECON
161a
International Finance
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Prerequisites: ECON 82b. Corequisite: ECON 184b or permission of the instructor.
Applications of international economic theory – regarding trade, the balance of payments, investments, and exchange rates – to the management of import/export firms and multinational corporations. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Mann
ECON
162a
Outsourcing and Offshoring: Information Technology and Globalization
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Prerequisite: ECON 80a. Corequisite: ECON 83a.
Examines how information technology facilitates services trade, how important services transactions are in global trade and investment, and whether services trade requires a new trade theory. Topics include issues for business strategy and national policy arising from globalization of services. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Mann
ECON
171a
Financial Economics
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Prerequisites: ECON 80a and ECON 83a, or permission of the instructor.
An introduction to financial economics. Topics include the selection of assets, portfolio choice under uncertainty, equilibrium asset pricing models, the efficient markets hypothesis, futures, and options markets. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Hilscher and Mr. Tortorice
ECON
172b
Money and Banking
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Prerequisites: ECON 82b and ECON 83a or permission of the instructor.
Examines the relationship of the financial system to real economic activity, focusing especially on banks and central banks. Topics include the monetary and payments systems; financial instruments and their pricing; the structure, management, and regulation of bank and nonbank financial intermediaries and the design and operations of central banks in a modern economy. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Redenius
ECON
174a
Corporate Finance
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Prerequisites: ECON 171a and BUS 6a or permission of the instructor.
An introductory course in corporate finance and financial management. Covers the theory and application of capital budgeting techniques and capital structure choice of firms. Usually offered every year.
Staff
ECON
175a
Introduction to the Economics of Development
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Prerequisite: ECON 2a or 10a or permission of the instructor. Does not count toward the upper-level elective requirement for the major in economics.
An introduction to various models of economic growth and development and evaluation of these perspectives from the experience of developing and industrial countries. Usually offered every year.
Staff
ECON
177b
Economic Regulation and Deregulation
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Prerequisites: ECON 80a and ECON 83a or permission of the instructor.
Rate regulation of natural monopolies, antitrust regulation of horizontal and vertical mergers and contracts, and the deregulation movement. Focus on the peak-load pricing problem, vertical restraints, and case histories of airlines and savings and loan institutions. Usually offered every third year.
Staff
Business: Independent Instructional Courses
BUS
89a
Work in the Global Business Environment: Internship and Seminar
This is an experiential learning course.
Normally students arrange an internship placement prior to registration and the internship is concurrent with the seminar. Students wishing to fulfill the internship component during the summer must obtain approval from the instructor prior to the internship and then enroll in the following fall (or spring) semester. The course will meet every other week and a structured journal documenting the internship experience is required as a basis for seminar participation. The course encourages students to pool experiences and lessons drawn from various business environments and to analyze and discuss them in the context of related readings. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Suderow
BUS
98a
Independent Study
Normally available for a student who has taken a course and wishes to pursue further reading or research in that field or study a subject not listed among the department course offerings. Usually offered every year.
Staff