Courses in Management

  • 44119: Communication & Negotiation

    Negotiation is part of our daily life. We negotiate with our friends, colleagues, supervisor, customer, client, ... Despite its presence in our life, we mostly do not know enough about how to negotiate and what to consider in our interactions. What separates those who come out of negotiations with what they want without harming their long-term relationships with those who do not? How can we know what to offer, when to concede, and when to leave the negotiation? This course aims to train students for successful negotiations through cases and role-play exercises. In a low-risk, stress-free environment, students will negotiate with one another in order to learn about basic and advanced issues in negotiations such as reservation price, package deal, when to use agents, cultural differences, dispute resolution, etc. The key textbook for this course is the following:
    • Barry, Bruce, Roy Lewicki, and David Saunders. Essentials of negotiation. McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2015.

  • 44122: Management Decision Models

    This course deals with organizational decision-making and covers three aspects of human decision-making, context dependence and data driven decision-making. First, a descriptive behavioral approach is adopted to shed light on “how decisions are made in the real world”. We discuss pros and cons of different systems of thinking to uncover roots of common decision-making mistakes. This paves the way for proposals to overcome drawbacks of human decisions to improve the wellbeing of the decision maker as well as the organization and the society. The second part of the course deals with “how decisions should be made” and elaborates on organizational contexts. This part shows how crucial challenges and leadership requirements for effective decision making vary with context. We then discuss the essentials of the administration process that affect the quality of decisions. The last part of the course focuses on data driven decision-making to solve organizational problems. Here we present selected quantitative techniques and discuss key issues in the fields of IoT, big data and artificial intelligence with an influence on the roles of humans and machines in the organizational decision-making process. The main references for this course are as follows:
    Bazerman M.H. & D.A. Moore, Judgment in Managerial Decision Making. 8th edition. John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2013.
    Render, Barry, and Ralph M. Stair Jr. Quantitative Analysis for Management, 12e. Pearson Education India, 2016.
    Koehler, Derek J., and Nigel Harvey, eds. Blackwell handbook of judgment and decision making. John Wiley & Sons, 2008.

  • 44129: Venture Capital Investment

    This course covers venture capital investment primarily from a VC perspective. Our focus will be on how VC firms enter and exit deals, how they source and evaluate investments, key characteristics of typical VC deals, and the way VC firms try to make their investments smart by providing their portfolio companies with a range of legal, financial, HR and recruitment assistance. While the course uses a VC lens, the content and discussions are also relevant for entrepreneurs interested in understanding the VC investment process and learning how to better leverage VC investments to grow their start-ups. By the end of the course, students will have a good knowledge of how VC firms operate, how deals are evaluated, and how VC firms create and distribute value. The main references for this course are as follows:
    • Fuerst, Oren, and Uri Geiger. From Concept to Wall Street. FT press, 2003.
    • Aronson, Daniel H. Venture Capital: A Practical Guidebook for Business Owners, Managers and Advisors. RR Donnelley, 2011.

  • 44131: Business Analytics

    Business analytics refers to the ways in which enterprises can use data effectively to derive good managerial decisions. In this course, we discuss basic analytic methods and analyze case studies that successfully deployed these techniques. In the first part of the course, we focus on key statistical concepts and how to use data to develop insights and predictive capabilities using regression, logistic regression, trees, etc. In the second part, we focus on the use of optimization methods to support decision-making in presence of a large number of alternatives and business constraints. The main references for this course are as follows:
    • Bertsimas, Dimitris, K. O. Allison, and William R. Pulleyblank. The analytics edge. Dynamic Ideas LLC, 2016.
    • Ramsey, Fred, and Daniel Schafer. The statistical sleuth: a course in methods of data analysis. Cengage Learning, 2012.
    • Few, Stephen. "Information dashboard design." (2006).

  • 44155: Managerial Economics

    This course is designed for MBA students who are interested in learning about the essential concepts in economics and how they can be applied to real-world issues in the context of business. The course emphasizes application of key concepts from microeconomics over mathematical proofs. Students can expect to leave this course with a solid understanding of key concepts in economics and a rigorous framework to analyze novel issues faced by businesses. The topics are consumer demand, production, competition and market structure, game theory, market failures and the role of government, growth, inflation, unemployment, monetary and fiscal policies, and international economics. The main references for this course are as follows:
    • Ramsey, Fred, and Daniel Schafer. The statistical sleuth: a course in methods of data analysis. Cengage Learning, 2012.
    • Mankiw, Gregory. Principles of economics. Cengage Learning, 2018 (8th edition).
    • Begg, David, Stanley Fischer, and Rudiger Dornbusch. Economics. McGraw-Hill Education, 1991
    • McKenzie, Richard B., and Dwight R. Lee. Microeconomics for MBAs: the economic way of thinking for managers. Cambridge University Press, 2010 (2nd edition).

  • 44161: Strategic management

    Strategy is about key issues for the future of organizations. Naturally, these issues concern entrepreneurs and senior managers at the top of the organization. However, middle managers need to understand the strategic direction of the organizations, both to know how to get top management support for their initiatives and to explain their organization's strategy to the people they are responsible for. Anybody looking for a management-track job needs to be ready to discuss strategy with their potential employer. This course takes a broad approach to strategy, looking at different schools of thought as well as lots of interesting practices. We equip managers and students of management with the concepts, frameworks, and techniques needed to make better strategic decisions. We use the ideas of prominent scholars to shape the discussion of what strategic management is. Also, we describe the practices of prominent executives and practitioners to discuss how strategic management is used in many types of organizations. The main references for this course are as follows:
    • Grant, Robert M. Contemporary strategy analysis: text and cases edition. John Wiley & Sons, 2016.
    • De Wit, Bob, and Ron Meyer. Strategy: process, content, context : an international perspective. Thomson, 2004.
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    • Hough, J., Thompson, A. A., Strickland, A. J., & Gamble, J. E. Crafting and executing strategy. Berkshire: McGraw Hill, 2008.

  • 44168: Organizational Behavior

    The most rewarding, stressful and probably important aspect of organizational life is working with other people. Working with others is an “art” that requires several skills such as knowledge of influence tactics, effective communication, ability to motivate and lead, resolving conflict, being a team player and making wise decisions. This course provides an overview of the theory and research on organizational behavior concepts at individual and group level. Through class discussions, cases, exercises and presentations this course aims to help students learn about how to “understand”, “explain”, “predict” and ultimately “improve” attitudes and behaviors of individuals and groups. The main references for this course are as follows:
    • Robbins, Stephen P., and Timothy A. Judge. Organizational behavior. Pearson education limited, 2013.
    • Dastmalchian, A., Javidan, M., & Alam, K. (2001). Effective leadership and culture in Iran: An empirical study. Applied Psychology, 50(4), 532-558.
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    • Schoorman, F. D., Mayer, R. C., & Davis, J. H. (2007). An integrative model of organizational trust: Past, present, and future. Academy of Management Review, 32(2), 344–354.

  • 44169: Human Resource Management

    Recruitment, development and retention of talents are key processes in modern organizations. Most strategies may fail due to shortcomings in human resource management (HRM) practices. This course is designed for MBA students to develop their knowledge and skills for considering HRM processes in plans and management practices. Main topics are HR strategy, staffing, training and development, performance management, career management and compensation systems. This course considers complementary relationships between HR roles of HR practitioners and general managers. From this perspective, general managers are mainly responsible for HRM while working with HRK departments. Some main HR activities of general managers including interviewing, coaching, and rewarding are emphasized in this course. Different approaches and techniques are presented in this course in order to enable students to use HR systems effectively and participate in the development of HR systems in their future roles. A strategic view is also considered in all topics for aligning HRM with strategic directions of organizations. The main reference for this course is as follows:
    Dessler, Gary. Fundamentals of human resource management. Pearson Higher Ed, 2011.

  • 44178: Strategy Implementation

    A study of 275 portfolio managers reported that the ability to execute strategy was more important than the quality of the strategy itself. Most managers cited strategy implementation as the most important factor shaping management and corporate valuations. This finding seems surprising, as for the past two decades management theorists, consultants, and the business press have focused on how to devise strategies that will generate superior performance.in this class we focus on how companies can establish strong linkages from strategy to operations so that employees' everyday operational activities will support strategic objectives. We will introduce different models of strategy execution from different scholars and compare lessons learn from them. The main focus of this class is on Kaplan Norton works of strategy execution, XPP and we will solve different examples of strategy execution. The main references for this course are as follows:
    Kaplan, Robert S., and David P. Norton. The execution premium: Linking strategy to operations for competitive advantage. Harvard Business Press, 2008.
    Kaplan, R. S., and D. P. Norton. "The Strategy Maps: Harvard Business School Press." Boston Massachusetts (2004).
    Kaplan, Robert S., and David P. Norton. Alinhamento. Elsevier Brasil, 20

  • 44224: Marketing Management

    Marketing is a dynamic and an exciting field. People often confuse marketing with advertising and sales. In this course we discuss the “real” nature and scope of marketing of which advertising and sales are simply two facets. We introduce other aspects of marketing such as marketing strategy and planning, consumer behavior, market segmentation, targeting and positioning, product and brand strategy, integrated marketing communication, marketing channels and pricing strategies. Hence, the course focuses on marketing and its role in organizations. It introduces the marketing concept and looks at techniques and frameworks used to examine marketing environments, understand consumer buying behavior, segment markets and position products, branding, manage and promote existing products, price and place products. The main reference for this course is as follows:
    Kotler, Philip. "Marketing management, millenium edition." Jakarta: Gramedia (2002).

  • 44225: Brand Management

    Brand management is a fundamental element of competitive strategy and the discipline that links strategic business objectives, marketing, and operations. High performance companies understand the importance of their brand and they actively manage brand equity. We discuss the importance of branding, what brands represent to customers, and what should be done by organizations to manage them properly in this course. We use cases and a project to expose students to the common challenges in brand management. Topics include assessing brand meaning, brand positioning, brand analytics, brand extensions, assessing brand strength, and building brands via media. The main references for this course are as follows:
    Keller, Kevin Lane, M. G. Parameswaran, and Isaac Jacob. Strategic brand management: Building, measuring, and managing brand equity. Pearson Education India, 2011.
    Kapferer, Jean-Noel. The new strategic brand management: Creating and sustaining brand equity long term. Kogan Page Publishers, 2008.
    Heding, Tilde, Charlotte F. Knudtzen, and Mogens Bjerre. Brand management: Research, theory and practice. Routledge, 2015.

  • 44226: Game Theory for Managers

    Game Theory for Managers is an optional MBA course for students interested in strategy, supply chain, pricing management, corporate finance, negotiation, and policy. In many business environments, decisions of corporations with different incentives affect each other. Game theory provides a framework for analyzing these decisions and the resulting equilibrium. In addition, game theory is an effective method to design mechanisms and desirable policies. We aim to introduce game theory concepts and diverse managerial application in this course. The main references for this course are as follows:
    Osborne, Martin J. An introduction to game theory. Vol. 3. No. 3. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
    Dixit, Avinash K., and Barry Nalebuff. The art of strategy: a game theorist's guide to success in business & life. WW Norton & Company, 2008.
    McAdams, David. Game-Changer: game theory and the art of transforming strategic situations. WW Norton & Company, 2014.

  • 44233: Marketing Research

    Students gain an understanding of marketing research and its value in analyzing consumers, markets, and the environment in order to support better decisions throughout the company. Topics include an overview of marketing research, research process, research design (exploratory, descriptive and causal research), questionnaire design, field operation and data analysis. In order to gain a deeper understanding of what is involved in marketing research, specific marketing research problems such as pricing, new product development, segmentation and customer loyalty analysis are covered in this course as different marketing research problems in the company. The main references for this course are as follows:
    Churchill, Gilbert A., and Dawn Iacobucci. Marketing research: methodological foundations. New York: Dryden Press, 2006.
    Malhotra, Naresh, and David Birks. Marketing Research: an applied approach: 3rd European Edition. Pearson education, 2007.
    Rao, Vithala R. Applied conjoint analysis. New York: Springer, 2014.
    Few, Stephen. "Information dashboard design." (2006).

  • 44246: Technology Transfer

    This course aims to introduce students to theoretical and practical aspects of technology transfer. We start with exploring the theoretical building blocks of why firms engage in partnerships in general and in technology arrangements in particular. The course then moves on to the more specific issues of technological capability building through technology transfer and learning. The practical aspects are covered by inviting guest speakers to share their academic knowledge in technology agreements and practical expertise in specific cases of technology transfer. This course would widely use academic papers. A selection of references used in this course are as follows:
    • Lee, K. The Art of Economic Catch-Up: Barriers, Detours and Leapfrogging in Innovation Systems. Cambridge University Press, 2019.
    • Hansen and Lema. The co-evolution of learning mechanisms and technological capabilities: Lessons from energy technologies in emerging economies. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 140, 2019: 241-257.
    • Bell, M. and Pavitt, K., 1995. The development of technological capabilities. In: I.U. Haque, ed. Trade, Technology and international competitiveness. Washington, DC: The World Bank, 157–211.

  • 44252: Change Management

    This course deals with planned organizational change, defined as a set of activities and processes designed to change individuals, groups, and organizational processes, systems and structures. The focus of the course is on HOW to change (not WHAT to change). On the successful completion of the course, students will develop capabilities required for ongoing, long-run strategic change, become familiar with the activities and processes necessary for planned organizational change, learn how to anticipate, influence & generate change at individual, group & organizational levels, refine skills in recognizing change opportunities in organizations, and develop change agent competencies by requiring that they establish and execute plans to achieve meaningful and useful change initiatives. The  main reference for this course is as follows:
    • Cawsey, Tupper F., Gene Deszca, and Cynthia Ingols. Organizational change: An action-oriented toolkit. Sage Publications, 2015.

  • 44284: Product Development

    This course aims to develop an understanding of managerial issues in developing new products. Students join forces in small product development teams to go through a new product development process in detail, to learn about the available tools and techniques, and to execute each step along the way. After finishing the course, the students should develop an understanding of new product development processes as well as useful tools, techniques and organizational structures that facilitate new product development practice. Although the course focuses on the application of these principles to new product development, they are more broadly applicable to innovation in general (of products, services, and organizations). The main references for this course are as follows:
    Anderson, Allan, M. Product Development and Management Body of Knowledge: A Guidebook for Training and Certification, PDMA, 2017.
    Crawford, Charles Merle and Anthony Di Benedetto. New products management. McGraw-Hill Education, 2015.
    Ulrich, Karl T. and Steven D. Eppinger. Product Design and Development, 6th edition, McGraw Hill, 2017.

  • 44311: Financial Management

    Corporate finance is a core module in management programs. This course aims to introduce students to what financial managers should do as well as what they actually do in practice. In general, financial managers deal with two types of decisions: 1) where should the company invest in and 2) how should the selected investments be financed. The criteria for making these two decisions will be discussed along real-world examples. The main reference for this course is as follows:
    • Brealey, Richard A., et al. Principles of corporate finance. Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2012.

  • 44454: Organization Leadership

    Leadership is the key for the success of modern organizations. The impacts of changing environment on organizations and the necessity of regular changes and transformation have enhanced the role of leadership in today organizations. This course is designed to introduce topics of leadership to MBA students by looking at several theories and applications. In addition, different case studies are discussed to help students gain the ability to analyze real organizational problems. Key topics are self-leadership for leaders, participative leadership, contingency theories of leadership, active followership, principles of delegation, authentic and transformational leadership, and change leadership. The role of authenticity is emphasized in all leadership roles and practices, and students are encouraged to develop attitudes and commitment with respect to creating values for others. Students are expected to develop their analytical skills as well as fundamental attitudes regarding leadership by participating in different class activities such as individual and team activities. Such skills and attitudes can help them in their leadership journeys as well as their role as management experts or professionals to consider leadership as their organizational analysis and practices. The main references for this course are as follows:
    Yukl, Gary A. Leadership in organizations. Pearson Education India, 1998.
    Bass, Bernard M., and Paul Steidlmeier. "Ethics, character, and authentic transformational leadership behavior." The Leadership Quarterly 10.2 (1999): 181-217.
    O'Toole, James, Jay Galbraith, and Edward E. Lawler III. "When two (or more) heads are better than one: The promise and pitfalls of shared leadership." California Management Review 44.4 (2002): 65-83.

  • 44464: National Innovation System

    Innovation has become the main source of competitive advantage for corporations and nations. After the Second World War, a large corpus of studies emerged to decipher the secrets of innovation, either in process (such as technologies) or products. Scholars incrementally realized that the works of Joseph Schumpeter during the first half of the 20th century could provide an underlying ground, as he has been constantly emphasizing on capitalism as an engine of progress. Studies in the 1980s realized that firms do not innovate in isolation. Their innovative pattern is different, and they largely confront with uncertainty in their innovative decisions. As a result, a new multidisciplinary framework, coined “innovation system”, emerged to analyze innovation in different contexts. National Innovation System is developed to delineate the differences between countries. At a lower level Sectoral Innovation Systems try to explain the innovative behavior in each sectors of the economy. Regional Innovation System is a framework for understanding the role of local factors in boosting innovation. Finally, Technological Innovation System highlights the factors that shape innovation in specific technological fields. This course aims to provide a historical background and overview of innovation studies and innovation systems. We also highlight how innovation systems apply in different contexts with particular attention to three distinct national situations: advanced countries, emerging economies, and developing countries. A good deal of the course discusses the problems of Iran as a developing country. The main references for this course are as follows:
    • Fagerberg, Jan, David C. Mowery, and Richard R. Nelson, eds. The Oxford handbook of innovation. Oxford university press, 2005.
    • Louca, Iseg, et al. As time goes by: from the industrial revolutions to the information revolution. Oxford University Press, 2001.
    • Lee, Keun. Schumpeterian analysis of economic catch-up: Knowledge, path-creation, and the middle-income trap. Cambridge University Press, 2013.

  • 44474: Electronic Commerce

    Electronic Commerce (EC) which emerged twenty-five years ago is making great impacts on our life style as well as social and economic structures. Numerous virtual companies formed, and enormous traditional organizations faced digital transformation challenges. Therefore, studying EC, from business, technology and society perspectives, is crucial for students interested in business administration in the contemporary world. The topics covered in this course are categorized into foundations, infrastructure and applications of EC. First, we discuss the origins of the digital revolution, electronic business models, platforms, marketing and advertising in the digital world. Then, we deal with information security and protection, payment systems, internet of things and intelligent (smart) commerce. Finally, we bring in applications of EC mainly from the retail sector, supply chain management, online content and media, social commerce, shared economy, and social enterprise. Case studies are used to facilitate learning from experiences obtained at local and international levels. Group projects provide students with an opportunity to focus and deepen their knowledge and understanding in their field of interest. The main references for this course are as follows:
    • Turban, E., Outland, J., King, D., Lee, J. K., Liang, T. P., & Turban, D. C. Electronic commerce: a managerial and social networks perspective. Springer International Publishing, 2018.
    • Kenneth C. Laudon, Carol Guercio Traver, E-Commerce, Pearson, 2017.

  • 44726: Financial Econometrics for MBA

    The main objective of the course is to provide students with the necessary statistical and econometric tools of financial data analysis. This course is useful for MBA students who plan to conduct empirical studies in finance for their dissertation, as well as those who would like to pursue a professional career in quantitative trading and portfolio management. The course begins with the basic concepts in econometrics and introduces the most widely used econometric technique, namely the classical linear regression. Time series models as a common tool for modelling financial data is introduced as well. The first part of the course ends with an introduction to panel data. The second part of the course focuses on the applications of these techniques in a wide range of topics in empirical corporate finance and investment. The main references for this course are as follows:
    • Brooks, Chris. Introductory econometrics for finance. Cambridge University Press, 2019.
    • Campbell, John Y., et al. The econometrics of financial markets. Princeton University Press, 1997.
    • Reilly, Frank K., and Keith C. Brown. Investment analysis and portfolio management. Citic Publishing House, 2002.

  • 44933: Advanced Organizational Behavior

    An important aspect of management is how to manage organizational behavior. Organizations are not just technical systems, and their human and social aspects have considerable impacts on their processes and performance. Thus, understanding how individuals behave in their organizations and how their behaviors can be more productive for themselves and their organization is essential. In addition to introducing basic concepts, theories and applications of organizational behavior in another fundamental course (OB), this course is designed to cover selected advanced topics in organizational behavior of modern organizations. These topics are crucial issues in managing people in terms of both their performance and well-being. The key topics of this course are organizational commitment, advanced motivational theories including social cognitive theory, self-determination theory and goal-setting theory, organizational citizenship behavior, team dynamics and managing organizational culture. Theories and practical implications of these subjects are covered in the course. This course is specifically designed for those students who intend to pursue their profession or future studies in the fields of organizational development, human resource management or organizational behavior. The course draws on academic papers such as the following:
    • Gagné, M., & Deci, E. L. (2005). Self‐determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(4), 331-362.
    • Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705.
    • Marks, M. A., Mathieu, J. E., & Zaccaro, S. J. (2001). A temporally based framework and taxonomy of team processes. Academy of Management Review, 26(3), 356-376.