Admit Central

BUSINESS & ECONOMICS IN EMERGING MARKETS

Sebastian Edwards

Henry Ford II Chair in International Management

During the past few years, business opportunities in emerging markets have grown dramatically. In order for companies to be successful in these markets, it is necessary to have a detailed understanding of the problems and challenges these markets face and how these economies operate. This course analyzes the most salient features of emerging market economies and covers topics such as: inequality and political stability; the challenges of globalization; exchange rates and international competitiveness; capital controls the relationship between institutions and growth; currency crises; and the political and economic pressures of populism.

ESG FOR MANAGERS AND INVESTORS

Henry Friedman

Associate Professor of Accounting

Valentin Haddad

Associate Professor of Finance

This course focuses on ESG (environmental, social, and governance) issues relevant to corporate managers and investors. The last few years have seen these issues rise to the forefront of corporate and investment decisions. By taking the point of view of major decision-makers in this process (shareholders, managers/directors, lenders, regulators, and community-members), we build a comprehensive picture of this radical change in the business world. We cover various frameworks for measurement, valuation, and opportunity and risk assessment, with emphasis on recent changes in the ESG landscape. The course can serve as a stand-alone introduction to ESG or as a foundation for other ESG/sustainability courses offered at UCLA.

GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Christopher S. Tang

Edward W. Carter Chair in Business Administration

Felipe Caro

Associate Professor of Decisions, Operations and Technology Management

Supply chain management pertains to the management of the flow of materials, information and funds across the entire global supply network of suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, logistics providers, retailers and consumers. Total U.S supply chain costs exceed $1 trillion per year. Managing a global supply chain is much more complex than managing a vertically integrated company. It involves the development of strategic and tactical plans, as well as the operational aspects of these plans. Different global supply chain partners face different types of challenges and may have different objectives; therefore, it can be difficult to coordinate information and material flows and even more difficult to entice partners to collaborate. This course provides a conceptual framework and set of strategic analyses to enable understanding of fundamental concepts, and awareness of the opportunities and challenges in global supply chain management.

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MARKETS

Andrea Eisfeldt

Laurence D. and Lori W. Chair in Finance

Globalization presents enormous opportunities along with great risks. Successful managers will leverage international opportunities while negotiating these inherent risks. This course is designed to provide all the tools necessary for global investing and risk management, covering all markets for liquid traded assets, including currencies, fixed income securities (bonds), derivatives and equities. The course will build an understanding of the determinants of exchange rates from the ground up and then apply this knowledge to each asset class. Based on both lectures and cases, students will be expected to apply their knowledge to perform quantitative analyses. Specific topics covered include: the determination of exchange rates; monetary and fiscal policy; the balance of payments; international arbitrage and party conditions; hedging currency risk using swaps; valuation of foreign fixed income securities; currency options; and international diversification and portfolio management.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STRATEGY

Mariko Sakakibara

Professor of Policy

The objective of this course is to provide a framework for understanding and managing key issues in international business. It focuses on developing the ability to formulate an effective strategy for entry into foreign markets, and examining important issues related to entry strategy. The course addresses general issues corporations face when operating outside of their domestic environments and combines cases and readings on various subjects related to international business strategy and competitive advantage. A number of questions are considered in this course, including: How can we identify the opportunity to enter foreign markets? What are good indicators to evaluate the timing of foreign entry? How can a company develop its global strategy after entry into one market? How should a company utilize alliances in foreign markets? How should a company handle uncertainties in unfamiliar and volatile markets? How can we profit from technology in foreign markets? How can the Internet be used to enter the foreign markets?

TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY

Terry Kramer

Adjunct Professor of Decisions, Operations and Technology Management

With the birth of the mobile communications industry came a fundamental change in society and how it communicates. But the development of this industry required significant “bets” to be placed; it necessitated an industry structure that supported both entrepreneurial innovation and scale to afford massive fixed investments. Along the way, notable disruption occurred in many areas of the chain and drove the creation of a new “mobile ecosystem” made up of network operators, device makers, operating system developers and application players – all aligning to create a powerful user experience. Thousands of new ventures were initiated to drive and capitalize on this mobile “revolution.” The mobile industry is now experiencing a second wave of notable growth, coupled with significant risks of disintermediation causing Internet players, device makers and operating system providers to seek ownership of the customer and greater power in the mobile ecosystem. This course will look at the rapid development of the industry, specifically the disruption, innovation and bold strategic moves that create competitive advantage. It will feature leading representatives from the mobile industry, venture capital firms, entrepreneurs and policymakers to engage students in a discussion of real-world decisions, successes and failure. While this course is focused on the mobile industry, the core lessons in strategy development, disruptive innovation, business models and global context are relevant to numerous other industries.

GLOBAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT

Shi Zhang

Associate Professor of Marketing

This course is designed to develop student skills in exploring and analyzing strategies and programs that firms need to assess, penetrate, and manage world markets. The course uses an international marketing strategy simulation game, Country Manager, to study the process of crafting a coherent integrated, and unified marketing strategy for a product and service amid the global opportunities. Marketing strategy and brand management in global markets are particularly emphasized. The course also emphasizes the interconnectedness of global business strategy in the digital media (e.g. Alibaba). Topics include international market assessment and identification, market entry strategies, understanding cultural differences, global branding, and global strategies for product, pricing, communications and channels.

ENERGY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND FINANCE

Ivo Welch

Distinguished Professor of Finance

A preeminent issue of our time is the impact of fossil fuel related emissions on human economic activity and wellbeing. Greenhouse gases lead to global warming and associate collateral damage. The problem is attempting to estimate the costs of emissions as a function of the scale of emissions. This problem is complicated by a host of potential feedback effects and by the need to assess how the economy might adapt. Although a transformation to renewables is inevitable in the not-too-distant future (when fossil fuels become sufficiently scarce), the critical question is by how much should the transformation to renewables be accelerated in light of the external costs of fossil fuel usage.

This course has three objectives. First, to introduce students to data on energy usage and its impact. Second, to examine the tradeoffs associated with continued use of fossil fuels. Third, to assess the costs and benefits of a transition to a much greater reliance on renewable sources of energy. This includes exploring options for financing what can be called the great transformation.