Curriculum

This course covers fundamentals of the global political economy including (1) major conceptual frameworks for understanding the linkages between international politics and international economics; (2) key issue areas such as international monetary and financial relations, international trade, foreign investment and transnational enterprises, and North-South relations; and (3) analysis of key international economic institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, and World Bank.

This course is an overview of the process of the management of technology and innovation including the strategic, managerial and organizational structure variables that influence its success or failure. Topics include the impact of new technologies on industries, dominant designs and platform leadership, incremental and transformational innovations, lifecycle dynamics, technology transfer, entrepreneurship, critical success factors in managing innovative projects and managing innovation professions in co-located and virtual environments.

This is a Thunderbird collaborative program offered in conjunction with INCAE, the leading Latin American business school, at their beautiful campus in Alajuela, Costa Rica. In the last two decades sustainability has gone from a fringe business issue to a central concern for corporations around the world. When managed correctly sustainability can become an important element of a company?s overall strategy. Getting sustainability wrong, however, can lead to public outcry and costly damage to corporate reputations.

Innovation has become a major source of competitive advantage for nations as well as companies. This course analyzes the innovation process highlighting the interaction between universities, government technology policies, corporate research and development, start-ups, and venture capital. This course draws upon international comparisons, country case studies, and technology-specific cases including information technology.

This course examines in detail the business, economic, and politics associated with the global energy industry. The course, while not exclusively focused on hydrocarbon energy sources, devotes a large amount of time to this area because of its current energy role. The depth and breadth of material includes history, culture, politics, and involves some of the largest, most profitable, most valued, and most influential multinational firms in the world.

This consulting class is a full-time engagement for one module. Teams of student consultants travel to a client?s work site in an emerging market and undertake a consulting project for the client. The client sets the focus of the work. In addition to completing the client?s deliverables, teams are responsible to Thunderbird Faculty for the academic requirements of the course. These include maintaining a project website, weekly reports and a campus presentation upon completion of the field work.

This is a special program for independent research topic in the field of Global Business. Regularly scheduled consultations between student and instructor are required. This course is not open to entering students. The topic must be approved in the preceding semester in which this course is to be taken.

The goal of this seminar is to challenge future global leaders, whether headed to business, government or the social sector, to reflect critically about their role in creating a more just, inclusive and sustainable world economy. The seminar will encourage participants to question their fundamental assumptions about the human condition, their personal values, and their understanding of leadership.

This course is for entrepreneurs and venture financiers who desire to learn how non-public firms are valued. The course consists of lectures, in-class presentations by guest experts, in-class presentations by students, written examinations, team projects, and various assigned readings. Lectures will cover a review of financial theory and analytical techniques as they relate to valuation, a review of the various types of valuations mandated by law, and circumstance and the identification of the appropriate valuation techniques to apply in each circumstance.