Business Administration (BADM)
BADM 1000 Temporary MBA Placeholder 0-6 Credits
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
BADM 1101 Freshman Seminar 3 Credits
The First Year Seminar (FYS) courses are offered each fall semester and are designed for first-year students (sophomore transfer students also may apply to the program) enrolled in Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. With a variety of options from which to select, students explore unique topics that range from the patterns of global commerce and the intersection of global leadership and public policy to heroes and villains, ethics in business, and the impact of individual differences in the workplace affecting performance. Unique aspects of the FYS courses are:
• Enrollment in each seminar is limited to 20 students, and prior knowledge of business or topics covered in the FYS courses is not necessary.
• The small class size allows students to develop a mentoring relationship with their faculty, embrace learning through seminar-based lectures, and engage in discussions with their peers.
• Each FYS course fulfills Georgetown University’s integrated writing requirement with an emphasis on strengthening students’ academic and business writing skills.
• All FYS students participate in programming and activities outside of the classroom that lead to building community and connections.
Level: Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in the McDonough School of Business college.
BADM 2099 Intro to Research in Business 3 Credits
Please note: This course is designed for MSB students pursuing the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. SURF students will be granted enrollment priority upon admission to the program in late fall. In the event that there are remaining seats, enrollment will open to all students beginning on the first day of the spring semester. Instructor approval is required.
In the business world, informed decision-making is paramount, and the foundation of every sound decision is robust research. The "Introduction to Research for Business" course is designed to empower undergraduate business students with the essential research skills and knowledge required to conduct original research successfully. This course equips you with the practical skills needed for conducting research and empowers you to leverage research outcomes to enhance decision-making, strategy development, and innovation within organizations. Throughout the course, you will embark on a journey to investigate a business problem of personal interest. This exploration will encompass various stages, including comprehending the problem and its underlying purpose, adopting a researcher's perspective to approach the issue, mastering research methodologies, structuring findings and recommendations, and crafting compelling conclusions. By the end of the course, students will be well-prepared to undertake independent research projects and contribute to evidence-based business practices. Join us in the exciting journey to unlock the power of research and become a catalyst for positive change in the corporate landscape.
In the business world, informed decision-making is paramount, and the foundation of every sound decision is robust research. The "Introduction to Research for Business" course is designed to empower undergraduate business students with the essential research skills and knowledge required to conduct original research successfully. This course equips you with the practical skills needed for conducting research and empowers you to leverage research outcomes to enhance decision-making, strategy development, and innovation within organizations. Throughout the course, you will embark on a journey to investigate a business problem of personal interest. This exploration will encompass various stages, including comprehending the problem and its underlying purpose, adopting a researcher's perspective to approach the issue, mastering research methodologies, structuring findings and recommendations, and crafting compelling conclusions. By the end of the course, students will be well-prepared to undertake independent research projects and contribute to evidence-based business practices. Join us in the exciting journey to unlock the power of research and become a catalyst for positive change in the corporate landscape.
Level: Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in the McDonough School of Business college.
BADM 4090 Global Business Experience 3 Credits
This Global Business Experience (GBE) course is for students from the McDonough School of Business and the Walsh School of Foreign Service in the Global Business Fellows Program. It is a senior-level course taken in the spring semester. It includes teaching and learning in international business topics oriented to applications to real current business situations. Prerequisites include the three courses in the Business Core and the four courses in the Economics Core of the Global Business Fellows Program.
A defining feature of the course is consulting projects taken up by teams of students in the course. The projects are typically based either on a particular organization’s business issue or a global industry’s issue to be resolved. Consulting projects are developed by the faculty in conjunction with the sponsoring organization and supervised in periodic team meetings of the student with the faculty member directing the GBE course.
This course includes a foreign residency week during spring break mid-way into the semester. The foreign residency week is planned to take place at ESADE in Barcelona, Spain. A primary activity of the foreign residency week is field research undertaken on behalf of the consulting projects. The week’s activities also include lectures and case studies, field visits, joint student interactions, and cultural events.
The objectives of the course are: (1) to increase your understanding of business in a foreign setting; (2) to increase your ability to conduct international business with comfort and confidence in foreign culture, and to improve your managerial mobility – your ability and willingness to do a job wherever it needs to be done; (3) to improve your problem-solving ability, analytical skills, skills of synthesis, and communication skills; (4) to deepen your understanding of international business, macroeconomic, and business-government relations issues applied to the specific country situations; and (5) to provide an opportunity for you to integrate knowledge from prior courses and apply it to the solution of a real current business problem.
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
BADM 4998 Senior Thesis I 1.5-3 Credits
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
BADM 4999 Senior Thesis II 1.5-3 Credits
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
BADM 5400 Ethcs, Plcy Glbl Enggmnt 1.5 Credits
Ethics, Policy, and Global Engagement examines how firms make decisions within ethical, policy, and global business environments. The course introduces frameworks and tools for analyzing how ethics, public policy, stakeholder dynamics, and cross-border markets shape business strategy and managerial decision-making. Students explore how laws, regulations, institutions, and societal expectations influence business behavior, as well as how global markets, cultural contexts, and international competition affect firms’ opportunities and constraints. Emphasizing Georgetown McDonough’s commitment to principled leadership, the course equips students to evaluate complex business challenges and make responsible and strategically sound decisions in an interconnected world.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
Enrollment limited to students in the McDonough School of Business college.
BADM 5500 Structure of Global Industries 3 Credits
This is the first course in your MBA program, offered in an intensive format using multiple instructors, teams, and projects, and an immediate immersion into international business. The first objective of the course is to develop skills of critical thinking and business decision making. This entails learning how to analyze problems with the use of theory and evidence, synthesize findings into recommendations, and communicate persuasively and effectively. The second objective is to learn the foundations of international business and economics that are necessary for managerial success, and to incorporate ethical considerations into business decisions. A third objective is to learn how to function effectively in teams and make persuasive professional presentations.
The core discipline and intellectual framework for the course is international economics enriched by global strategy. Ethical considerations are introduced formally and experientially. Team work and presentation skills are learned in the context of the projects.
To achieve the course objectives, we have 25 sessions consisting of lecture classes, case study classes, and practicums, plus a final exam and project presentation. A feature of the course is a global industries project that is conducted by teams of students focused on a firm’s decisions about business in a range of global industries. Similar to a corporate strategy exercise, each team determines where to locate production and sales and how to organize a firm in each of the industries, and how the firm’s business is affected by a major macroeconomic shock.
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 5505 Internatnl Business Economics 1.5 Credits
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in the MBA-BADM program.
BADM 5510 Firm Analysis Strategy 1 1.5 Credits
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
BADM 5515 Firm Analysis Strategy 2 1.5 Credits
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
BADM 5630 Global Economics for Managers 1.5 Credits
Global Economics for Managers equips you to make better strategic decisions in a world where supply chains, capital, and policy shocks routinely reshape competition. The course builds a practical toolkit for analyzing how global industries are organized and why production, investment, and innovation locate where they do. We connect economic fundamentals to managerial choices: where to place operations, when to offshore or integrate, how to assess foreign investment opportunities, and how to anticipate the impact of trade policy, macro conditions, and exchange-rate movements on costs, demand, and risk. Across lectures and case discussions, you will apply frameworks from international trade, foreign direct investment, and macroeconomic policy to real business environments. By the end of the course, you should be able to diagnose how global economic forces shape industry structure—and translate that diagnosis into clearer decisions about strategy, resilience, and growth.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in the MBA-BADM, MBA-NMBA or MBA-NMBA-O programs.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 5720 Managerial Economics 1.5 Credits
Managerial Economics introduces the fundamental concepts of economics—the “mother tongue” of all business. It provides the foundation for understanding a wide range of other business disciplines, including finance, strategy, and operations management.
The course equips students with tools to make economically sound business decisions and to understand the conditions that shape profitability across industries. It begins with core economic concepts such as supply and demand, costs, and market equilibrium, and then examines how firms behave under different market structures—from perfect competition to monopoly and oligopoly. It explores how firms set prices, decide when to enter or exit markets, and respond to competitors. The course then introduces game-theoretic reasoning to analyze interactions among firms and concludes by examining relationships along firms’ value chains, as well as sources of market failure and approaches to addressing them.
Throughout, students develop the ability to apply economic reasoning to think analytically about real-world business problems and to build a foundation for future coursework in strategic management and related fields.
The course equips students with tools to make economically sound business decisions and to understand the conditions that shape profitability across industries. It begins with core economic concepts such as supply and demand, costs, and market equilibrium, and then examines how firms behave under different market structures—from perfect competition to monopoly and oligopoly. It explores how firms set prices, decide when to enter or exit markets, and respond to competitors. The course then introduces game-theoretic reasoning to analyze interactions among firms and concludes by examining relationships along firms’ value chains, as well as sources of market failure and approaches to addressing them.
Throughout, students develop the ability to apply economic reasoning to think analytically about real-world business problems and to build a foundation for future coursework in strategic management and related fields.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in the MBA-BADM, MBA-NMBA or MBA-NMBA-O programs.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6001 Infrastructure Finance 3 Credits
This course will provide an overview of how infrastructure is financed in the United States. The course shall identify the various types of infrastructure that require funding including roads, bridges, airports, low income housing, hospitals, learning institutions, water and sewer systems, sports stadiums and what is required to fund each type. The structure of how such projects get funded will be examined through the municipal bond underwriting process, the participants involved in the process, the capital markets in which the issue is brought forward and how municipal credit is determined. The course is designed to satisfy the interest of students who wish to pursue careers in finance and banking, consulting, project finance, sports management, public management, healthcare, educational administration and not for profit management.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6005 Mutual Funds 3 Credits
Over $25 trillion is invested US registered mutual funds. Yet, most mutual fund investors lack an understanding of the basic statistics used to evaluate fund performance. Nor are most mutual fund investors aware of the latest academic research related to the models used to evaluate fund performance and various metrics used to predict future fund performance. This Intensive Learning Experience (ILE) will expose students to the latest academic research related to mutual fund performance.
Upon completion of the ILE, students should be able to
- Calculate popular mutual fund statistics that are frequently used by the mutual fund community
- Understand the strengths and weaknesses of the most popular statistics commonly used by practitioners to evaluate mutual fund performance
- Use more advanced mutual fund metrics and models which have been developed by academics and practitioners to evaluate mutual fund performance
Note: the ILE is not intended for those students who are interested in starting their own mutual fund.
Level: Graduate
Prerequisites: (OPIM 550 or OPAN 6500)
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6006 Startup Factory 3 Credits
Have you ever wondered if you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Could you have the startup bug? Have you had inspiration strike you, but not known what to do with that idea? Are you interested in experiencing startup life in a fast-paced, experiential-focused course? Then this course is definitely for you. This course has been built to let you learn by doing -- based on the curricula developed by Startup Weekend, active in more than 100 countries, and the Lean LaunchPad, taught at Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia, Caltech and adopted by the National Science Foundation. We emphasize experiential learning, a flipped classroom and immediate feedback as a way to let you, the "want-rapreneur" to engage with real world entrepreneurship. We start with your ideas, problems and solutions. You'll learn by proposing and immediately testing hypotheses -- hypotheses around your own startup ideas and ideas of your classmates. Then you'll get out of the classroom and talk to customers, partners and competitors and encounter the chaos and uncertainty of commercializing innovations and creating new ventures. We focus on 'doing' rather than 'planning to do.' This course doesn't rely on static case studies or fixed models, you'll be challenged to create your own business models based on information derived from personal engagement rather than secondhand market research. Many successful and serial entrepreneurs will tell you that entrepreneurship cannot be taught; it must be experienced. Now is your chance to experience entrepreneurship yourself with successful entrepreneurs and walk away with skills, lessons and experiences to help in your next endeavors. Are you ready to experience entrepreneurship? Soon you will be.
Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6007 The Life of Work 3 Credits
This course explores the larger story of business, the ‘why’, not just the ‘how’ of commercial life. As Socrates chided, “the unexamined life is not worth living.” In an age where reflection is rare and information overload the norm, we will probe the ‘meaning’ dimension of life and business in hopes of avoiding the dangerous compartmentalization which can separate business success/failure from the core of who we are as humans. When business becomes only a pragmatic enterprise with success sought at any price, bad things happen. Our humanness can be a casualty. Perspective is essential but difficult to find in the throes of work and obligations, yet perspective is precisely what is required to stay grounded. This course will examine the important questions which must be answered to sustain a life of meaning and contribution. We will explore how such a life happens. We will draw upon a variety of sources including exposure to extraordinary leaders who will discuss how they practically navigated their own challenging journeys. We will invite their candor and learn their life lessons. Many thought leaders and pundits understand and lament the crisis of leadership today, but can we identify the often illusive principles that undergird the life of a business leader who actually thrives. Such will be our task.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6010 Net Assessment Strategy 1.5-3 Credits
Business strategists have long looked to the experience of the military for insights on successful long-term competition in a global market. Indeed, business school syllabi frequently highlight the work of such luminaries as the early 19th century Prussian strategist Carl von Clausewitz (On War) and his ancient Chinese counterpart, Sun Tzu (The Art of War). Curiously absent, however, is a focus on net assessment, one of the U.S. military’s most powerful analytic strategy development tools, one which holds great promise for developing strategy in the business world.
The importance of net assessment lies in its multi-?disciplinary, compensatory approach to strategic analysis, which requires the integration of classic strategic thinking with reference to economic methods, historical exploration, organizational behavior, business literature, cultural anthropology, and technological forecasting.
This 1.5 credit intensive learning experience (ILE) introduces students to net assessment and the range of methodologies (such as alternative futures and wargaming) employed to identify—and to deeply diagnose—the strategic character of long-?term, multi-?phased competitions unfolding in opaque and realistically complex conditions. The ILE examines how net assessment not only considers both competitors (the “net” in net assessment), but also their interactions at various levels, such as strategic motivations, economic growth, doctrine, operational experience, organizational and strategic culture, technological sophistication, and the capability and capacity of key forces.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6012 National Security Global Econ 3 Credits
The issues of terrorism and transnational crime are connected to the overarching rubric of national security policy and decision making. How has U.S. counter terrorism policy and response to terrorism and transnational crime improved or hindered future economic growth in various locations and regions around the globe? How and why does such policy get made? What methodology and security mechanisms is the United States pursuing (or considering) to address these growing problems? What are the trends for business? What should business leaders be doing now and into the future to anticipate and/or mitigate these trends? Using a national security policy analysis tool developed at the Naval War College called the “Input-Output” model, students will be asked to use the model to study a number of emerging national security crises case studies such as those struggling with terrorism and/or transnational crime (or both), failed states, proliferation or even the use of weapons of mass destruction, and even the potential security and economic impact of unabated global warming. At the conclusion of the course, students will understand the processes behind the creation of U.S. national security policy response and how these policies ultimately affect the world economy as a whole.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6013 Startup Africa 1.5 Credits
Africa is emerging as a vibrant hub of innovation, driven by a new generation of startup entrepreneurs who are leveraging cutting-edge technologies to address some of the continent's most pressing challenges. Moniepoint, Africa’s most recent unicorn, is a standout fintech company that continues expanding its market share and service offerings. Companies like Sunfi are enabling the transition to renewable energy sources for thousands, by integrating AI and machine learning technology to enhance efficiency. These trends clearly indicate an ecosystem on the brink of significant growth, with a proven track record of returning capital to investors, primarily through secondary sales and strategic acquisitions. Recent high-profile exits, such as InstaDeep, a Tunisian AI startup, and Quicket’s acquisition by Ticketmaster, underscore this trend. These exits, along with earlier successes like Paystack and Wave, demonstrate the African startup ecosystem’s potential as a lucrative investment destination. At the heart of this transformation are partnerships and collaboration within the startup ecosystem, between angel investors, private venture capital, governments, ecosystem builders, corporates, and global technology leaders, to support Africa’s startups. These collaborations foster a thriving startup ecosystem and pave the way for sustainable economic growth across the continent. Africa is often viewed as a risky investment destination plagued by political instability and inconsistent regulatory frameworks. However, the reality is more nuanced. Over a longer timescale, African governments have shown increasing stability and an increasing commitment to putting in place the needed policies and startup-friendly legislation. Each regional market within the continent and across the world has its unique dynamics. Africa demands a patient investment approach, distinct from other continents. This course is designed to introduce students to the dynamism, opportunities, challenges, complexities, and nuances of Africa’s emerging startup ecosystem. It aims to address Africa-specific trends and highlight how they impact the opportunities and challenges in undertaking entrepreneurship ventures on the continent today. Drawing upon the active participation of prominent African startup founders and ecosystem players, “Startup Africa” will offer a deep dive into the dynamic picture of innovation and ingenuity that is buzzing across the continent.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6014 Mobile AI ProductDevelopment 3 Credits
Internet traffic over mobile devices represents 20% of global internet traffic and is growing at 1.5x per year. Fifteen percent of U.S. online retail sales occur over mobile devices – a figure expected to grow to 35% by 2017. Executives in every industry need to understand how to succeed in mobile as mobile-savvy startups disrupt business models and steal market share. This ILE will expose students to the mobile innovations that are working, the disruptions taking place and how one takes an idea for a mobile app from conception to the top of the app store rankings.
Students will hear from a wide range of guest speakers (many via video conference) from the fields of mobile advertising, mobile product development, mobile technical development (domestic and offshore) and more to learn how companies are responding to the disruption and opportunities afforded by increasing mobile usage.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6015 Social Marktng for Global Good 1.5 Credits
Social marketing involves the application of marketing approaches developed in the commercial sector to solve societal problems. Recognized as a distinct marketing discipline since the early 1970s, social marketing has been employed to influence behaviors designed to improve individual health, prevent injuries, protect the environment, and promote other socially beneficial actions. For instance, successful social marketing campaigns have helped reduce and prevent smoking, decrease infant mortality, stop the spread of HIV/AIDs, decrease littering, increase recycling, and drive myriad other societal shifts in the U.S. and across the globe (Andreasen). While the fundamental principles at the core of social marketing are similar to the main tenets of commercial marketing, important distinctions exist in the application of marketing approaches to solving social and environmental problems. Commercial marketing primarily revolves around selling goods and services, with market share and profit being drivers of strategy, while social marketing is used to sell a desired behavior. Social marketing techniques are used to influence target audience behaviors that will benefit society as well as the targeted individuals, but without any financial profit accruing to the marketer. (Kotler and Lee). Social marketing is also different than other marketing disciplines, such as nonprofit marketing (i.e. marketing one NGO); cause marketing (i.e. linking a commercial product’s promotion with a cause to boost sales and burnish corporate reputation); and social media marketing (i.e. using social media channels to market a product or cause). This course will equip you with an understanding of how to apply social marketing techniques to solve social and environmental challenges. We will discuss how to integrate actions across a diverse set of actors, and combine individual behavioral change strategies with more systemic approaches, such as policy advocacy and grassroots coalition building, to create lasting social change at scale.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6017 Core Princpls Data Visualizatn 3 Credits
This course will explore the theoretical and practical issues related to the design and presentation of complex and multivariate information. Students will learn design elements related to presenting information, which will include design theory, aesthetics, and principles of visual communication. Students will use a variety of tools to process data and to create compelling and effective graphics such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, and the online Flourish data visualization tool. The course will introduce students to the design process: finding, collecting, and exploring data; constructing compelling stories with data; and using design to bring those elements together. Students will work individually and collaboratively to develop their skills in data analysis, data visualization, computer programming, and graphic design. Students will also be introduced to effective presentation design and techniques. Students will be required to identify and critique examples of information design and to create simple and complex graphics.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6018 The Business of Water 3 Credits
Business leaders and politicians at the highest levels now discuss a Global Water Crisis and worry that wars over water will replace those over oil. They have good reason for concern. Water IS one of our most important resources, one of the most misunderstood, and one of the most difficult to manage and share. As Mark Twain is credited with saying, “Whisky is for drinking, water is for fighting about.” As water becomes increasingly scarce, the growing struggle over it will create new business risks-physical risks to the supply needed to support a business and its supply chain, reputational risks as increased public scrutiny is placed on how water is used by business, and regulatory risks as governments increasingly mediate disputes. How can I reduce water risk? How can thoughtful planning turn competition between your business and other water users into a partnership for assured supply? How can my business turn water shortage into opportunity? And behind questions like these, how does water actually work, where does it come from, and where does it go, and why should my company be part of the water solution rather than the water problem? This course will examine these and other questions through exercises, role play, discussion, guest speakers, and fieldtrips supplemented by traditional lecture.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6019 Food, Water, and the World 1.5 Credits
Everyone knows water and food are essential for life. But food and water also play fundamental, if often underappreciated, roles in the political stability of individual states and the functioning of the international system. In this class we will examine some of the ways in which food and water are connected to domestic and international affairs, how our food and water environment is changing, and some of the insights needed to find solutions
to key food and water challenges. The class will schizophrenically jump between applied analysis of contemporary issues and problems and philosophical questioning of the very nature of those problems.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Mutual exclusion: GHDP 6045
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6023 Power Moves for Change Leaders 1.5 Credits
In today’s organizations, meaningful change requires more than good ideas, it demands the ability to influence, lead through resistance, and deliver measurable results under pressure. With 72% of executives reporting they are being asked to achieve more with fewer resources amid shifting economic headwinds, leaders must navigate resistance while still creating impact across every level of the enterprise. Power Moves: The Change Leader’s Playbook for Strategic Influence and Impact equips MBA students with the frameworks and tools to rise to this challenge.
This course blends scholarship with practice, teaching students to drive impact when traditional change management falls short. Students learn to build coalitions without command authority, leverage formal and informal systems, and sustain momentum during upheaval. Core applications include decoding informal workplace dynamics, mapping power networks, and crafting influence strategies for constrained environments.
Students will learn three integrated frameworks: the HUMAN model for organizational assessment, the DEPTH model for strategic communication, and the Unspoken Rules for corporate navigation. These frameworks reveal the hidden dynamics that shape organizational advancement and equip students with practical strategies to build influence when formal authority is limited.
This course blends scholarship with practice, teaching students to drive impact when traditional change management falls short. Students learn to build coalitions without command authority, leverage formal and informal systems, and sustain momentum during upheaval. Core applications include decoding informal workplace dynamics, mapping power networks, and crafting influence strategies for constrained environments.
Students will learn three integrated frameworks: the HUMAN model for organizational assessment, the DEPTH model for strategic communication, and the Unspoken Rules for corporate navigation. These frameworks reveal the hidden dynamics that shape organizational advancement and equip students with practical strategies to build influence when formal authority is limited.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6027 Strategy Stress Test 1.5 Credits
"The “stress test” has become an invaluable tool for regulators to test the sufficiency and adequacy of a financial institution in light of possible future events. Strategy formulation, designed to redefine business models, identify new growth pathways, and evaluate choices the firm must make to compete and win, requires a similar kind of stress test to determine a strategy’s robustness. Using the stress test methodology, based on key principles of scenario planning and corporate strategy, participants will analyze new business models developed by companies like HUGE Inc., Walmart, Tesla, etc. to assess their underlying business assumptions and provide recommended strategies to help them defend and expand their leading positions. Learning objectives include: strategy analysis and formulation, business model evaluation, scenario planning, assumption testing and prioritization, and strategy recommendations development and deliverable creation."
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6028 Developing New Business Models 3 Credits
Developing New Business Models is an experimental workshop with a focus on analyzing the innovative business models and designing such models. Such innovative business models have been the key driver of success for both for profit and non-profit organizations, small and large. A few examples are Zara, Dell, Southwest, Capital Bikeshare, Uber, Airbnb and Narayana Hospital. The course will be partly based on lectures and cases; but it will be largely experiential. It combines three novel approaches to Innovation/Entrepreneurship: Business Model Innovation, Idea Tournaments and Lean Startups. Business Model Innovation is a novel technique to identify entrepreneurial opportunities via innovating the business models in existing competitive industries. Idea Tournaments is a process that leverages the wisdom of the crowd for entrepreneurial opportunity generation, selection and refinement. Lean startup philosophy prioritizes tasks to limit entrepreneurial risk. Taken together, these approaches are in contrast to the conventional serendipitous, solitary process of entrepreneurship and instead provide a systematic risk-limiting pathway to realizing entrepreneurial outcomes. As a class, we will follow these techniques and jointly start one or more new ventures. We will generate hundreds of new business opportunities; through a variety of selection mechanisms, we will filter and develop these opportunities until a handful of outstanding business concepts remain.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Mutual exclusion: EMBA 6873, EMBA 728
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6029 Crisis Management 1.5 Credits
When we hear “crisis management,” we think of scandals, business disruptions and tragedies, such as the seemingly-endless Wells Fargo misbehavior, the ongoing emissions-cheating scandal at Volkswagen, or disasters at Bangladeshi garment factories. Leaders need to be prepared for those acute incidents, certainly, but also for serial challenges, for chronic issues, and for smaller (but still significant) threats to brand reputation, business continuity, employee morale, and shareholder value.
Crisis management is not just for an organization’s PR people. It’s likely that no matter where you choose to work, in your future career you will – at one point or perhaps often – have to help effectively manage a crisis at work.
We will discuss a range of acute crises like those above, the challenge from persistent serial threats at firms like United Airlines, Walmart, and GM, and chronic issues such as those affecting banks and other financial-services firms. Unlike most crisis-management courses and seminars, we take a 360º view, looking at impact and mitigation on all stakeholders, not just the public and media. We will talk about cases from healthcare, packaged goods, food, durable manufactures, energy and natural resources, governments, services, and information. The focus will be on practical learning from cases – what works best. Crises are almost never predictable nor preventable, but they can be successfully managed and their impact mitigated with well-developed plans, clearly assigned roles and responsibilities, and humane response. Denial is not an option!
Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6030 Women and Leadership 1.5-3 Credits
This course is designed to help you develop skills for teams, teamwork, self-advocacy, networking, and personal strategic planning. You will also focus on your own leadership style. We will learn from case studies and writings on leadership, as well as from notable women leaders who will share their experiences and advice with you. You will also reflect, both individually and with the group, on what you expect from your career and develop strategies for achieving those goals.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
BADM 6031 The Business of Lobbying 1.5 Credits
The Business of Lobbying: How Public Policy is Really Formed on Pennsylvania Avenue in our nation’s capital will critically examine American politics and government through the prism of interest group participants to reveal how public policy formulated in our nation’s capital impacts business interests around the country. Particular emphasis and attention will be focused upon the policies and procedures of the House of Representatives, the United States Senate and the Executive Branch of government as well as the lobbyists and political interest groups.
Many of the decisions made by business leaders today are highly influenced by actions taken – or not taken – in Washington, D.C. For example, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care act stipulates that a full time worker is engaged in the workforce 30 hours a week. Should an employer curb employee participation to elude this mandate and resulting costs? Similarly, the sweeping Dodd-Frank financial services reform package dictates how businesses may conduct their activities and has a wide ranging impact on our domestic and international commerce as corporations seek to avoid penalties of noncompliance while still driving growth and the bottom line. Today’s business leaders and our leaders of the future must understand the linkage between business and politics and how to effectively and legally influence decisions and regulations that help them compete and win in the marketplace.
Moreover, course participants will engage in a thorough and in-depth examination of new interest group participants such as “527” advocacy groups and “Super PAC” groups that have emerged early in the 21st century in light of the Citizens United decision. Students will also explore and analyze the impact of political contributions in recent federal elections along with Congressional and Presidential efforts to reform and refine the campaign contribution system. The course will combine significant analytical analysis of current political science scholarship on the role and influence of interest group politics along with firsthand insights and observations gleaned by the instructor’s substantive experience at the highest levels on Capitol Hill, the White House and as a practicing strategic advocate. The course will be taught in a traditional seminar format with active participation required by each student.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6033 Value Investing 1.5 Credits
The course shall be framed through the eyes of Warren Buffett, who has demonstrated an appreciation of the power of competitive advantage and how such advantage translate to superior profitability and sustainable performance. Building on the work of the late Benjamin Graham and David Dodd the course aims to articulate the strategies and methodology of the value investment philosophy as it has evolved and how such philosophy is influenced by the study of strategic and behavioral economics. Students will be guided through the methods of Buffett by applying his methods under various scenarios. As the course has a practical orientation a case-based approach will be followed to gain understanding.
The course shall proceed in several parts. To begin, the course shall undertake an exploration of why the Graham, Dodd, Buffett value oriented philosophy and its practitioners have disproportionally and consistently out-performed all other methodologies from a historical standpoint. Second, the course shall undertake to describe the search methods of Warren Buffett and consider both where and under what circumstances give rise to great opportunities. Concepts drawn from the field of behavioral economics will be introduced to build awareness of the systematic biases that motivate the behavior of market participants and how an informed observer can take advantage of them. Third we shall focus on the valuation method employed by Buffett and compare that to more traditional valuation methods such as the discounted cash flow model. Forth, after rendering a quantitative valuation of a firm we shall undertake a qualitative evaluation of the opportunity to determine if there exists in the words of Buffett “a durable competitive advantage” with an understanding that such advantages are fundamentally rooted in the strategic economics of the company in question. The course will also touch upon the question of growth and the types of growth that are likely to add value. Finally, the course shall address the question of risk management and awareness of personal biases in the evaluation of opportunities.
The course is geared for those who wish to work in the area of buy-side investments be it investment management, private client wealth management and family offices, private equity, investment analysis and portfolio management or for the purposes of developing one’s own personal investing strategy. Those who take the course should interview very well for any such professional opportunities.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6034 Healthcare Data and Analytics 1.5 Credits
In an era of rapidly advancing technology and a growing emphasis on data-driven decision making, the healthcare industry stands at the crossroads of transformation. With the explosive growth of electronic health records, wearables, and health-related IOT (Internet of Things) devices, the ability to harness, interpret, and derive value from healthcare data has become critical skill for professionals in the field. Analytical decision making with this integrated data has the power to shape diagnoses, influence treatment plans, save insurance premiums and costs to patients, improve access, optimize resource allocation, and ultimately improve patient outcomes.
This course offers a comprehensive journey of the intersection of healthcare with data science, equipping students with the knowledge, skills and tools to navigate the landscape of healthcare data, technology and analytics for a healthier future for individuals, communities, and healthcare organizations worldwide. Led by seasoned experts and industry practitioners, this course will guide the students through the fundamental concepts, methodologies, and tools used in healthcare systems and the impact of data and analytics on patient care, costs, administration, research, and operational efficiency.
From exploring the types and sources of medical and healthcare data, to using predictive models and natural language processing and text mining for better health outcomes, this course will equip students with the knowledge to critically examine healthcare's ethical, technical and practical dimensions. Additionally, since health outcomes are driven by an array of factors including genetics, health behaviors, and social and environmental factors, the course will address data on social determinants of health outcomes (non-medical factors that influence health outcomes) to help understand challenges and opportunities with formulating innovative personalized solutions for various segments of the population. We will also focus on medical data privacy and the ethical and regulatory issues and concerns around collecting and using health data.
This course will use a blend of theoretical insights and hands-on applications using cases and examples from the industry and government to demonstrate the potential of AI to enhance medical practices and drive meaningful improvements in healthcare outcomes. Students will use excel and solver additions as a tool for data analysis.
This course offers a comprehensive journey of the intersection of healthcare with data science, equipping students with the knowledge, skills and tools to navigate the landscape of healthcare data, technology and analytics for a healthier future for individuals, communities, and healthcare organizations worldwide. Led by seasoned experts and industry practitioners, this course will guide the students through the fundamental concepts, methodologies, and tools used in healthcare systems and the impact of data and analytics on patient care, costs, administration, research, and operational efficiency.
From exploring the types and sources of medical and healthcare data, to using predictive models and natural language processing and text mining for better health outcomes, this course will equip students with the knowledge to critically examine healthcare's ethical, technical and practical dimensions. Additionally, since health outcomes are driven by an array of factors including genetics, health behaviors, and social and environmental factors, the course will address data on social determinants of health outcomes (non-medical factors that influence health outcomes) to help understand challenges and opportunities with formulating innovative personalized solutions for various segments of the population. We will also focus on medical data privacy and the ethical and regulatory issues and concerns around collecting and using health data.
This course will use a blend of theoretical insights and hands-on applications using cases and examples from the industry and government to demonstrate the potential of AI to enhance medical practices and drive meaningful improvements in healthcare outcomes. Students will use excel and solver additions as a tool for data analysis.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6035 Info-Based Investment Strat 3 Credits
This course examines several information-based investment strategies employed by various investment funds throughout the world. The course is designed to enrich students’ understanding of the equity pricing and valuation effects of corporate disclosure, capital structure, macroeconomic forecasts, litigation, political and regulatory outcomes, and other significant information events occurring both internal and external to the firm. Students will develop their ability to identify, interpret, and use financial accounting and other relevant information to back-test and develop their own information-based investment strategies.
This course is designed for students with a strong interest in equity research and valuation, asset management, financial consulting, private equity, or investment banking. Working under the premise that active market participants rely on both public and private information when engaging in investment activities, we will attempt to better understand the role of information in the price-setting process and seek out opportunities to exploit pricing inefficiencies arising from significant corporate or exogenous events.
We will begin by introducing students to current event-study methodologies, statistical packages (i.e., SAS), and various financial databases, such as SEC Edgar, CRSP, Compustat, and IBES. The course will then feature the following broad topics to be used in pricing and value decisions: event-driven investing; corporate disclosures; financial statement analysis; corporate finance; and exogenous events. Within each topic, students will explore various pricing and valuation opportunities, develop and back-test investment strategies, and interpret results. For example, in one session, we will explore the relative merits and empirical results associated with employing 13f ‘copycat’ strategies, whereby portfolios are adjusted to reflect the past investment decisions of prominent investors.
This course strongly emphasizes experiential learning. Throughout the course, students will work in groups to develop, back-test, and cultivate investment ideas. To achieve our objectives, students will read a number of articles from the popular press, analyze corporate disclosures, review analyst reports, and actively engage in classroom discussions. On the final day, students will take an exam and submit a final project.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6037 Joint Ventures Strt Alliances 1.5 Credits
Peter Drucker stated that, “Businesses once grew by one of two ways: grass roots up or by acquisition… Today they grow through alliances – all kinds of dangerous alliances. Joint ventures and customer partnerings, which by the way, very few people understand”. Most companies even small and medium size businesses look at partnerships and alliances as an avenue to grow. This course will provide a framework for identifying the advantages to joint ventures and strategic alliances as well as the pitfalls to avoid, and will culminate in a role play in which participants negotiate terms of an alliance. This course is targeted to the practicing manager, combining the fundamentals of successful joint venturing through concise lectures with learnings through case studies and simulation/role play in the classroom. This course will cover: 1. The advantages of joint ventures and alliances to grow business and obtain competitive advantage 2. Examine if a company is ready for partnership 3. Choosing a partner and negotiating a JV or alliance 4. Operating the JV, conflict management and intended/unintended termination Comments: Update to course description only
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6039 Coach High Perf Teams/Individ 3 Credits
The purpose of the Coaching High Performance Teams & Individuals course is to change you! We intend to change the way you think about problems, opportunities, and yourself. More to the point, the intent of this experience is to take you on a journey that will reveal to you the coaching genius that lives within you, and to provide you with tools that will empower you to impact the world in profound ways. We will pursue several learning goals during the week we are together. As a result of the class, we expect that you will: - Develop fluency in coaching tools and techniques so that you can leverage your own inherent coaching strengths and help unlock the productive capacity of others. - Develop insights and skills that make you a more productive team leader and team member. - Understand the elements important in creating an innovative, feedback-rich culture, and be able to foster such an environment wherever you go. - Learn how to identify cues, routines, and rewards that normalize behavior and interventions to change those habits. - Gain more intentionality in the choices you make within team and organizational settings and be in a better position to evaluate potential outcomes. - Apply behavioral analysis and feedback to aid others in their quest for better self-awareness and self-management—and in the process improve your own emotional intelligence skills as well. Beyond these formal objectives, we hope this course gives you a better sense of the difference between intentionality and perception of behavior, how much your behavior signals who you are to the outside world, and ultimately, how much positive, productive impact you can have on the folks and organizations around you.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6041 Innovation Intrapreneurship 3 Credits
In this course, we will learn how to tackle and succeed at innovation-related projects and roles in large organizations. Corporations are investing in innovation and record levels – and have begun to focus on building out a core competency around innovation and intrapreneurship.
Students taking this course will learn the following things:
1. How companies are structured to drive innovation
2. The four (4) core types of innovations
3. The role of the intrapreneur in innovation
4. The “Secret” of Intrapreneurship (hint: it’s actually the most common parthway to entrepreneurship)
5. The innovation maturity model
6. The 11 core competencies of intrapreneurs
7. How to succeed in corporate innovation and intrapreneurial endeavors
The course will focus on a hands-on application of intrapreneurial best-practices in a series of corporate innovation “case study” projects. You’ll get to “experience” the process of building an innovative concept within a larger organization from within the ‘safe’ confines of a classroom. But these will be real projects.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6044 Venturing for BusSocial Value 3 Credits
Entrepreneurs recognize that significant profit pools exist where new technologies can be applied to address problems traditionally reserved for government agencies and the public-sector. In light of growing entrepreneurial activity and innovation in traditionally “public” sectors, venture investors have taken notice. Over the past 7 years roughly $40B in venture capital has flowed into projects traditionally associated with public investment creating important opportunities and challenges for businesses at the intersection of public and private agendas. This course looks at three sectors where entrepreneurs are disrupting the traditional means of delivering (public) services–education, healthcare and labor. The ILE is designed to examine the intersection of public policy and the venture economy –how venture capital and entrepreneurs are finding new profit pools in critical segments of highly regulated sectors of the economy, creating a complex level of “disruption” that will create both societal tensions, and business opportunities. We will examine three critical industries: * The Ed-Tech Industry, is expected to reach$250 Billion by 2020. With only 2% of education and knowledge dissemination conveyed through “digital” modalities, Ed-Tech is generating significant venture activity with “for-profit universities”, and tech firms reshaping the market for training the next generation worker. *Healthcare is being dramatically impacted by both how healthcare services can be delivered to consumers, and how the underlying data for healthcare is being managed. Health IT alone is expected to be a $220 Billion marketplace by 2020. *Finally, public labor markets are being dramatically impacted by significant advances in industrial robotics and industrial automation, where robotics(and associated services)are expected to represent a $135 Billion market by 2019, with the potential to dramatically displace traditional labor while enhancing workplace safety. We will examine Public Venturing in each of these domains, from three intersecting points of view critical to business analysis and strategy for any industry undergoing significant disruption: * Technology–new technologies are the enablers of change for entrenched public sectors as they explore new modalities of social learning,predictive data analytics and collaborative industrial robotics models. Technological complexity, speed of advance and integration into the mechanics of human learning and production provides the first lens for analyzing business potential. * Neuroscience–The application of ideas from behavioral neuroscience provides new models for tailoring learning processes, evaluating user experience (UX), and generating social incentives.Cognitive models also help better evaluate how individuals process data and evaluate customer behaviors, some of which are influencing the development and application of artificial intelligence. * Business Model Innovation–Venture capital firms have exploded in all three sectors we will explore. In Ed-Tech alone, nearly 100+ deals are being made each quarter, sparking a dynamic start-up and M&A market, owing largely to the emergence of financially successful economic models.In regulated areas like education, health and labor, revenue models are more complex, but that complexity is also part of business model innovation that is taking place, with complex public/private deal structures, payments systems and marketing tools emerging. Drawing on these three lenses, the ultimate goal of the course is practical –we will create business proposals specifically in the area of public ventures. In small teams of 2-3, course participants will develop a proposal for venture-backed investments for one of the three public sectors to enhance traditional service delivery. Using a series of valuation tools,teams will be asked to make the business case for change in one of the three public domains, considering all of the stakeholders and constraints associated with the sector. The final class will be a presentation to local venture capital investors, innovators, McDonough faculty and tech leaders. The litmus test for success will be to demonstrate a way to use technology to deliver a better customer experience(learning, medical care or labor management). Projects will need to consider both business and venture requirements as well as social and policy constraints which make up both the challenge and opportunity for public venturing.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6045 Digital Marketing Analytics 1.5 Credits
The course provides students with an introduction to digital marketing and marketing analytics. In addition, the course introduces MBA students to the fundamental aspects and tools of online advertising tactics, including organic search, sponsored search, display advertising, email marketing, and social media. We then provide an overview of media plan creation, reporting, and attribution and conclude with privacy considerations and
marketing technology tools.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Equivalent to MARK 6581
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6046 Ethics in the Digital Era 1.5 Credits
● The digital world is increasingly changing the ways we interact with each other as citizens, friends, and consumers. This course investigates the ethical issues that emerge in our digital lives and seeks to give students tools for thinking through complex moral problems they may face as business leaders. We will analyze core values of privacy, consent, fairness, and legitimacy through case studies drawn from recent moral problems faced by the business giants of big data: Facebook, Google, and Uber. The goal of this course is to help prepare students to recognize, analyze, and grapple with ethical issues in the digital world.
● This course is run through Ethics Lab at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics. We will use creative exercises drawn from the world of design to tackle complex moral problems. In addition to traditional reading and writing assignments, students will use tools such as empathy mapping, persona building, and engaged ethics design sprints to help them learn to identify and analyze complex moral problems in new ways. The final project will tackle a complex moral problem facing businesses in the digital age and will be built in stages of design sprints throughout the intensive course, to be presented in the final session of the ILE.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6047 Recovering Failing Projects 1.5 Credits
One of the challenging roles for any project manager is to either terminate or recover failing projects. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the process of how to prevent failed and troubled projects, how to perform a project assessment/audit, how to recover failing project’s team, how to develop a failing project recovery plan, and how to properly close project recovery.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6048 Real Estate Development 1.5 Credits
This course will seek to provide students with an advanced understanding of the process for developing a new real estate investment through a case study of Avalon Bay Communities’AVA First Street multi-family property. The asset is located in the NOMA District of Washington DC. The course will include a number of subjects such as the following: * Market Analysis & Customer Dynamics * Product Design & Cost Estimation * Zoning, Entitlement, Approval and Permitting Process * Financial Feasibility Analysis
Level: Graduate
Prerequisites: (FINC 550 or FINC 6500)
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6049 The Business of Defense 1.5-3 Credits
The Department of Defense (DoD) is charged with protecting the United States against foreign aggression and securing its interests around the world through military means in line with the overarching US national security strategy. That responsibility demands a particular set of products primarily provided by a rather specialized industry well versed in the business of selling weapons and military equipment to the government. The primary customer (and often times,sole customer) for defense related products is the DoD. The Congress, which provides the DoD with their funding to buy the equipment, largely determines the size of the market by how much budget they appropriate and authorize each year. Most uniquely, new products sold in this market are developed at the request and oversight of both the DoD customer and the Congress.
Operating a business that competes in this highly regulated market requires different business development and marketing approaches. Program managers have a very different challenge to developing, manufacturing and then selling their products. The customer also plays an integral partnership role in the research and development of new products, often times sharing the financial risk of bringing a new product to market. While Fortune 100 defense firms such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman dominate the market, an ecosystem of smaller businesses also offer unique solutions to specific defense related problems. Whether large or small, however, any company that seeks to earn business with the DoD must navigate a cumbersome, frustratingly complicated defense acquisition process that requires long-suffering patience before realizing a profit—a unique market barrier that dissuade many other businesses.
This course is suited for students seeking to understand the fundamentals of the US defense industry—how market demand is generated, how customer funding works, and how business transaction is consummated. Students will also be introduced to the concept of wargaming as a methodology used by DoD to determine what types of new capabilities they may need to develop. The defense industry can also use this methodology to evaluate new products and even identify how to market them to the DoD and Congress.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6050 Disruption in US Healthcare 3 Credits
This course focuses on change and disruption in the US healthcare system. The course focuses on healthcare from a business perspective, the companies that compose it (public, private, and non-profit), and how the interests of different sectors align or conflict with one another. As a highly regulated industry where federal and state government organizations are often dominant purchasers, government decisions often drive success or adverse results. Healthcare in the US is also characterized by inefficiency and complexity, and is ripe for technological and institutional disruption. The course begins with an introduction to the primary commercial segments in the health care system: medical technology (pharmaceutical/biotech, medical device), provider (hospital, physician, post-acute), distribution (pharmacies, tradition and on-line distributors), health plans, and services (e.g., health IT, contract research organizations). We will also review major government organizations and programs involved in healthcare, and how key policy issues such as Medicare reform, insurance expansion, repeal of the Affordable Care Act, drug pricing concerns, and opioid addiction as they affect corporate interests. The business of healthcare is presently being disrupted by a range of forces which merit special focus – as these changes are creating major commercial opportunity for entrepreneurs and established businesses. We will review a range of mergers and acquisitions of healthcare companies – some pending, some transacted, and some of which have been blocked by the Justice department. On a smaller scale, providers are also merging and aligning to meet the needs of healthcare payers. Technology companies such as Amazon and Google, as well as smaller companies such as HMS, Athena, and Cerner are also promising to transform this notoriously complicated space. Guest speakers will supplement the core of the course. We will be joined by senior executives from business and government, as well as the Georgetown community. Student engagement is key throughout the course, including research and presentations designed to enhance understanding of the complex interests that operate in this large and vibrant sector of the US economy.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in the MBA-BADM program.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6051 AI for Leaders 3 Credits
The future of work will depend upon technology and people – and especially on how they interact with each other. CEOs and CHROs everywhere are now asking fundamental questions: how can we make effective use of technology, and especially artificial intelligence, to enhance business performance without depersonalizing work? Is there a happy medium between algorithms and human insights? Can we ensure that the reality of work in the future is more compelling, even more noble, than the one we inherited?
People are asking these questions at a time when late 20th Century orthodoxies about enterprise management are being challenged. Conventional norms like profile-oriented recruiting, financial incentives, annual performance reviews and feedback are not standing up well to scrutiny – and thoughtful firms are building potentially better alternatives, often underpinned by data and modeling algorithms. The talent management arena is going through a period of unprecedented experimentation, aimed at developing new models for organizing work.
This Intensive Learning Experience (ILE) for MSB students will examine how the scientific, analytical process is being used to develop and apply modern, forward-looking ideas to the value chain for talent. It will help the future CEO, CHRO and enterprise manager to become fluent about the new world of work, and to wrestle with the challenges and opportunities that it will present.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6052 Commrcl Approach to PublicSctr 1.5 Credits
In the 21st Century and the Digital Economy, integration between the public and private sectors continues to deepen. Public sector topics and challenges now require a “whole of society” or “whole of economy” approach to correctly assessing the situation, recommending strategies & tactics for meaningful advancement, and implementing concrete solutions to address challenges. The 4th Industrial Revolution has caused all organizations (public and private) to rethink how technology, the virtual evaporation of borders due to the internet, and the workforce of the future affect their mission. These realities are compounded at an unprecedented scale when considered for public policy challenges. Leaders of NGOs, non-profit organizations, government programs are increasingly incorporating commercial approaches, skillsets, and indeed “MBA-type” practitioners to successfully manage their mission; as well, MBA students are seeking ways to apply their education and training to public policy challenges so that they can contribute to the collective good. This 1.5 credit intensive learning experience (ILE) course aims to answer this fundamental question: How can we manage public sector projects with commercial approaches? Put another way, How can we apply our MBA skills and commercial techniques to tackle topics of public interest? Students include those who are interested in consulting, corporate social responsibility, serving NGOs and non-profit organizations, or further exploring how their “MBA can make an impact” beyond once-traditional career paths including finance, investment banking, and venture capital.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6053 Map of the Modern World 3 Credits
Map of the Modern World provides basic knowledge of the world’s physical and political
geographies and their relationship to issues of current international
importance. Learning takes place through a combination of lectures, professor led
discussions, interaction with diplomats and other thought leaders-and a boat trip. As put
by a recent student now working as a banker in Mongolia, “The class gives you all the
important stuff no one else tells you” about the world. This is a version of the famous
School of Foreign Service class of the same name, but specially modified for MBA
student needs and interests.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6054 Leading Inclusive Workplaces 1.5 Credits
This course is designed to emphasize the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We will address what you need to know (re)entering the workforce and how to prioritize and amplify DEI efforts on your team, regardless of your role.
Learning Goals:
a. Evaluate the multitude of diversity dimensions (gender, race, religion, ability status,
LGBTQ, etc.) and how intersectional personal experiences impact needs, engagement,
and management.
b. Discover one’s individual commitment to and journey within DEI, plus consider
organizational commitments to and journey in DEI.
c. Create an environment that supports an inclusive culture through understanding
strengths development, demonstrating allyship, and managing implicit biases for the
delivery of the best innovative solutions.
Level: Graduate, Master of Laws (2), Undergraduate
Prerequisites: (MGMT 550 or MGMT 5500)
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6055 Design Yr Life Science of Pos 3 Credits
The purpose of the Designing Your Life & the Science of Positivity course is to change you! We intend to change the way you think about problems, opportunities, and yourself. More to the point, the intent of this experience is to take you on a personal leadership journey that will help you gain clarity around your leadership goals/objectives, your personal vision/mission, and the action plan to get you there. In this two-week ILE, we plan to immerse you in a journey of exploration, discovery and assessment of your leadership skills and abilities. We will pursue several learning goals during the weeks we are together. As a result of the class, we expect that you will: • Learn time-tested, research-based tools to help you develop your leadership capabilities. • Explore the science of positivity and tools/techniques to help you to become a more effective leader. • Design, Act, Reflect, and Experiment with new habits that help you D.A.R.E. to be your best self and a more effective experiential coach. • Understand the elements important in creating an innovative, feedback-rich, resilient team culture, and be able to foster such an environment wherever you go. • Gain more intentionality in the choices you make communicating within team and organizational settings and be in a better position to evaluate potential outcomes. Beyond these formal objectives, we hope this course gives you a better sense of the difference between intentionality and perception of behavior, how much your behavior signals who you are to the outside world, and ultimately, how much positive, creative impact you can have on the folks and organizations around you.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in the MBA-BADM program.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6056 Mental Health in the Workplace 1.5 Credits
Course Description: Using the latest research and review of health trends, this course was created to give anyone in business a broad understanding of the leading issues surrounding mental health issues in the workplace and give them the tools and frameworks to help promote and protect their most valuable asset: human capital. This short course will be divided into three sections outlined below. It will review the state of the problem and the challenges that face business, including the impact the recent pandemic had on the workplace. You will learn how to make sense of key epidemiologic and public health data to identify current and future trends. A brief overview of significant mental health workplace issues that impact the bottom line and an understanding of cost benefit and cost effectiveness analysis of mental health services, including the latest concerns from the perspectives of the EAP, HR and upper management will be explored. Through case studies and real-world examples, we will discuss common individual occupational concerns, including executive development, job loss, and office politics. The course will expose students to novel research on the qualities of winning and losing work environments and how leadership can create and promote a positive culture and enhance productivity. The course will also review how best to motivate people based on their personality style and how to navigate relationships with senior management centered on a multitude of leadership styles. The final segment of the course will address specific mental health problems that impact all of us, our families, and co-workers – such as anxiety/stress, depression, burnout, personality issues and substance use – and by the end of the course you will be better able to understand and immediately address these problems from four unique perspectives.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Pass/Fail Default
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Business Administration, Business Administration, Business Administration or Business Administration.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6057 Entrepreneurship Via Acquisitn 1.5 Credits
Want to be an entrepreneur but don’t have “the idea”? Interested in stepping directly into the CEO role of a small business that you have acquired?
Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (“ETA”) is a proven methodology for recent business school graduates to acquire and operate a small business. ETA has been taught at top MBA programs for over two decades, and interest in pursuing ETA has grown substantially in the last few years. This 1.5 credit intensive learning experience (“ILE”) course introduces students to Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition and the basic tools and techniques required to search for, acquire and operate a small business upon graduation.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Business Administration, Business Administration, Business Administration or Business Administration.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6058 EconPsych of Consumer Finance 1.5 Credits
Consumer finance is a large segment of the US economy. As of 2021, US households hold $117 trillion in financial assets and $18 trillion in total liabilities. Given its size, a better understanding of consumer finance has significant implications for those that work in the consumer finance industry, for financial public policy, and for students’ own personal finance decisions. The overall goal of this Intensive Learning Experience is to use tools of finance, economics, and psychology to better understand consumer financial decisions and financial behavior.
The target audience for this course includes students who 1) are planning careers in financial services or consulting, 2) are interested in public policy decisions involving consumers, or 3) would like to improve their own financial decision-making.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6059 Corporate Governance in Action 3 Credits
Governance is about providing advice and exercising control as much as it is about efficient and effective leadership. In this course, we will study how governance structures function and how well they achieve their desired outcomes. The primary focus is the governance structure of U.S. public firms, enriched by comparisons to alternative settings, including governance when private equity and venture capital firms are involved, and nonprofit governance. The primary institutions discussed will be the board, stakeholders (broadly speaking), and management. We will review theories underlying modern governance practice, drawing from empirical insights provided by research across diverse academic fields. We will also discuss situations where boards and management teams faced governance challenges from activist investors and other actors in the market for corporate control. By the end of the course, you’ll understand the markers of good governance and how to improve it when it’s not.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6060 Problem Solving in Healthcare 1.5 Credits
Health care is, indeed, hard. The industry represents almost 20% of the United States GDP, is made up of countless multi-billion-dollar subsectors and touches all of our lives - but few understand its interlocking systems holistically. We have struggled with the same set of challenges related to cost, quality, access and consumer experience for generations, but scaled solutions have been elusive. Addressing these pressing but complex health care challenges requires cross-silo thinking and the involvement of multiple, often conflicting, stakeholders. The industry desperately needs leaders prepared to envision, develop and ultimately drive these sorts of multistakeholder solutions.
In this course we will explore the necessity of engaging and aligning multiple, disparate stakeholders, each with material and deeply entrenched interests to create and scale solutions to the most challenging health care problems. Our exploration will focus on issues of urgent importance in today’s health care system and will draw upon direct engagement with leaders representing engaged stakeholders. Classes will allow for active conversation between students and these industry leaders as we explore (and potentially identify) potential solutions and their necessary tradeoffs.
In this course we will explore the necessity of engaging and aligning multiple, disparate stakeholders, each with material and deeply entrenched interests to create and scale solutions to the most challenging health care problems. Our exploration will focus on issues of urgent importance in today’s health care system and will draw upon direct engagement with leaders representing engaged stakeholders. Classes will allow for active conversation between students and these industry leaders as we explore (and potentially identify) potential solutions and their necessary tradeoffs.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6061 AI Agents and Systems 1.5 Credits
Artificial intelligence has moved from the periphery of the enterprise to its operating core. Across financial services, retail, healthcare, government, manufacturing, and technology, AI is reshaping competitive moats, organizational design, customer experience, and the daily work of decision-making. Worldwide spending on AI is projected to reach $2.5 trillion in 2026, and nearly nine in ten organizations now use AI in at least one business function. The technology is no longer experimental; it is becoming infrastructure.
For MBAs, this represents one of the most significant strategic opportunities of their careers. Those who learn to design, deploy, and lead AI inside real organizations will shape the next decade of enterprise transformation. Those who do not will find their roles redefined around them. The question is no longer whether to engage with AI, but how to lead the transition with judgment, rigor, and a clear sense of where value is created.
This course provides a strategic and applied exploration of AI for business leaders. It moves beyond foundational concepts to focus on how AI systems are designed, deployed, governed, and scaled inside real organizations. Students will examine the modern AI stack, including agents, the Model Context Protocol (MCP), custom workflows, evaluation, observability, and responsible AI toolkits, and will leave the course with a portfolio of working artifacts they can apply directly in their roles.
At the heart of the course is a portable framework for deploying AI solutions into production that holds across industries. The skills, decisions, and architecture patterns are the same; only the use case changes. Students will practice this framework on real business problems, build functioning prototypes, and defend their work in front of faculty and practitioners.
Taught with input from industry practitioners and operators, the course is designed for MBAs across functions including strategy, finance, marketing, operations, entrepreneurship, and consulting. No prior coding experience is required.
For MBAs, this represents one of the most significant strategic opportunities of their careers. Those who learn to design, deploy, and lead AI inside real organizations will shape the next decade of enterprise transformation. Those who do not will find their roles redefined around them. The question is no longer whether to engage with AI, but how to lead the transition with judgment, rigor, and a clear sense of where value is created.
This course provides a strategic and applied exploration of AI for business leaders. It moves beyond foundational concepts to focus on how AI systems are designed, deployed, governed, and scaled inside real organizations. Students will examine the modern AI stack, including agents, the Model Context Protocol (MCP), custom workflows, evaluation, observability, and responsible AI toolkits, and will leave the course with a portfolio of working artifacts they can apply directly in their roles.
At the heart of the course is a portable framework for deploying AI solutions into production that holds across industries. The skills, decisions, and architecture patterns are the same; only the use case changes. Students will practice this framework on real business problems, build functioning prototypes, and defend their work in front of faculty and practitioners.
Taught with input from industry practitioners and operators, the course is designed for MBAs across functions including strategy, finance, marketing, operations, entrepreneurship, and consulting. No prior coding experience is required.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in a Master of Business Admin. degree.
BADM 6120 AI for Leaders 1.5 Credits
AI for Leaders is designed for students who expect to use, lead, evaluate, oversee, or govern AI initiatives rather than design AI systems themselves. The course focuses on strategic judgment, organizational integration, governance, and risk—while providing hands-on experience using and building contemporary AI tools. The course is intentionally non-coding and explicitly complementary to more technical analytics and data science courses. It focuses on how best to use AI, including when AI should and should not be used, how it reshapes managerial accountability, and how it should be governed inside complex enterprises. And it enables students to gain hands-on experience of building and deploying simple AI tools, so that they can be comfortable with the underlying thought process.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Students in the MBA-BADM program may not enroll.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 6121 Applied AI Lab 1.5 Credits
Applied AI Lab is an experiential MBA course that teaches students to understand, evaluate, and prototype AI applications through direct experimentation. This course emphasizes learning by doing: students use Python and AI tools to build predictive models, develop AI-powered applications, and create working prototypes that solve real business problems. The course progresses from foundational concepts (classification, regression, model evaluation) through modern AI technologies (large language models, retrieval-augmented generation, agentic AI) to culminate in a capstone project where teams build functional AI prototypes. Students learn to make strategic decisions about when to build versus buy AI solutions, conduct cost-benefit analyses, and evaluate the feasibility of AI implementations in their domains of interest.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in the MBA-BADM, MBA-NMBA or MBA-NMBA-O programs.
BADM 6500 Firm Analysis and Strategy 3 Credits
Firm Analysis and Strategy is an integrative course that presents concepts related to microeconomics and competitive strategy. Microeconomics is the fundamental discipline (or “mother tongue”) of all business. Understanding basic microeconomic concepts allows managers to make better business decisions. Moreover, microeconomics represents the basis for developing understanding in several other business disciplines, including finance, strategy, and operations management, among others. Competitive strategy is concerned with managing the competitive position and long-term development of the business enterprise in order to ensure its survival and success. Every firm must create and sustain competitive advantage if it is to survive and prosper over the long-term.
The course provides frameworks, tools and concepts to make economically sound business decisions, and ultimately to identify or create sources of competitive advantage. The course begins with essential microeconomic concepts, including economic costs, market demand and profit maximization. It then builds on these concepts to examine how different types of industry structures provide better or worse profit-making opportunities for industry participants; how firms position themselves in particular industries; how firms optimally set price and output levels; whether firms should enter or exit industries and under what circumstances; how firms build resources and capabilities important for competitive advantage; how firms optimally respond to their competitors; and how firms navigate the policy and non-market environments; among others.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 7100 Business Analytics Capstone 1-2 Credits
The Capstone Practicum course series applies the program’s study of concepts, methods, and tools to a challenging business data analytics assignment. It is the peak intellectual learning experience for students in the Georgetown MSBA Program. Projects and teams will be identified and selected. The course continues online with assigned meeting times with faculty and project sponsors. Student teams will put into practice the process of defining the business challenge, identifying data necessary to improve the situation, collecting the data, building the database for analysis, and making a recommendation. The course culminates with a presentation to faculty and the project sponsors at the closing residency.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in the MS-BSAN-O program.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 7400 Real Assets on a Global Stage 1.5 Credits
This course will provide students with an immersive experience in an area of the world where innovations in sustainability and investment are occurring in the field of global real assets. The course will occur in an international location and incorporate a significant number of visits with external firms, governmental entities and think tanks who are focused on the intersection of investment and sustainability. The course will offer a particularly strong focus in the area of resilience within the built environment and the techniques and technology that are bringing about a more environmentally resilient world.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in the MS-GLRA program.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 7500 Global Business Experience 0-4.5 Credits
The objectives of the Global Business Experience are to (1) increase your understanding of business in a foreign setting, (2) increase your ability to conduct international business with comfort and confidence in a foreign culture, and to improve your managerial mobility - your ability and willingness to do a job wherever it needs to be done, (3) improve your problem-solving ability, analytical skills, skills of
synthesis, and communication skills, (4) deepen your understanding of international business, macroeconomic, and policy issues as they apply in specific country situations, and (5) provide an opportunity for you to integrate and apply knowledge obtained from prior course work.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 7949 Tutorial 0-4.5 Credits
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 9991 Continuous Registration
Level: Graduate
Grading: No Grade
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 9992 Continuous Registration
Level: Graduate
Grading: No Grade
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 9993 Continuous Registration
Level: Graduate
Grading: No Grade
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
BADM 9994 Continuous Registration
Level: Graduate
Grading: No Grade
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.