Curriculum
This section summarizes the technology-related courses currently offered to Tuck students.
Core Curriculum
Strategic Analysis of Technology
Prof. Alva Taylor, Prof. Andrew King
This course develops students' understanding of how firms use technology to position themselves strategically, from the perspective of a director of business development. We begin with an understanding of how firms develop technical know-how that is difficult to imitate. Then we examine how technological systems evolve, with particular emphasis on the emergence of standards, and will then turn to understanding networks, such as the Internet. We explore how network externalities affect competitive equilibria and examine how organizations interact in networks and position themselves within networks. Finally, we build frameworks for understanding how evolving information technologies are changing the competitive landscape and examine how firms use information technology to differentiate themselves from competitors.
Elective Courses
Advanced Entrepreneurship
Prof. Gregg Fairbrothers, Prof. Philip J. Ferneau
This course is integrative and experiential in nature, drawing from a broad range of business basics. Its main focus will be in-depth exposure to the process of starting and scaling an enterprise from an idea and business plan into a company. The course will cover:
- developing a startup idea in technology, research, a small business, or a nonprofit;
- crafting a promising execution strategy and validating market potential;
- developing a credible business plan and delivering effective presentations, for investors if startup capital is required, or in an alternative context if bootstrapped;
- building a team of employees, partners, and investors;
- managing growth while effectively executing product development;
- and marketing, sales, and operations.
The class will expose students to what entrepreneurship takes in a startup context, and how integrative, entrepreneurial execution can be successfully utilized in a variety of career and work contexts. Students will formulate a plan to take an idea into execution, present and articulate elements of this plan in multiple sessions, and defend it against challenge and criticism. There will be a special effort to integrate concrete, operational, and execution-related information, to define key areas an entrepreneur should be aware of, to expose students to a variety of successful entrepreneurs, and to provide a framework of "toolkit" resources relevant to startup execution. The class will be structured to accommodate both students with a pre-existing plan and those wishing to develop of an idea.
Field Study in Private Equity
Prof. Philip J. Ferneau
This course provides hands-on experience working with private equity practitioners and growth ventures so students can learn to plan, manage, and invest in the contexts in which they operate. Graduates lacking such experience are at a disadvantage in getting jobs at private equity firms and are less prepared to succeed when presented with private equity or growth venture opportunities. Unlike independent study, in which student teams report only to their faculty sponsors, this course requires teams to present their work to their classmates, so all may learn from each other. More specific learning objectives will depend on each project's topic.
Introduction to Entrepreneurship
Prof. Gregg Fairbrothers
This course is designed to provide basic education in commercialization of technology, entrepreneurship, and the starting of new business ventures. The course will address fundamentals in major areas of conceptualizing and launching a successful new business, including: concept development, market and competitive assessment, business plan development, team building, financing and investor presentations, and execution. Students will be exposed to the startup process in detail. The course will combine lectures and visiting speakers, workshop sessions, and readings. Throughout the term, participants will develop an executive summary of a business idea, which they will present to a panel of potential investors at the conclusion of the course.
Managing Corporate Entrepreneurship
Prof. Christopher R. Trimble
To stay on top, corporations must learn to continuously create, grow, and profit from completely new ways of doing business. They must simultaneously pursue both excellence in their existing business and creativity in generating new businesses. This mini course will take two perspectives. The first is that of the CEO of a corporation. How can a CEO build a corporation that can balance managing the present with creating the future? How is such an organization structured? What policies need be put in place? The second is that of the CEO of a new venture within a larger corporation. How is the relationship between the new venture and the parent best managed? What tensions naturally arise? How may they be overcome?
Marketing in the Network Economy
Prof. Georgios A. Bakamitsos
This course takes an analytical approach to the study of the marketing function in the context of the network economy. Attention focuses on the challenges and opportunities that organizations face in applying traditional marketing skills in the electronic marketplace. Guest speakers and case studies will be used to illustrate the key issues in developing effective marketing strategies for e-commerce. The major objectives of this course are to provide students with (1) an understanding of the role of marketing in the context of the network economy; (2) a sound conceptual and theoretical tool kit for analyzing marketing problems faced by organizations in the network economy; and (3) a forum for presenting and defending their recommendations and for critically examining and discussing the recommendations of others.
Private Equity Finance
Prof. Colin C. Blaydon, Prof. Fred E. Wainwright
The purpose of this course is to examine the financial perspective on decisions in entrepreneurial settings. While focusing on financial decisions, the course is integrative in looking at entrepreneurial financial decisions from the perspectives of the business opportunity, the goals of the participants, and the context, as well as looking at the "deal" and the resources employed. The course also offers a close examination of the investor's role and the expanding institutional environment of private equity financing.
Service Operations
Prof. Joseph M. Hall
This course develops a business process view of service delivery and focuses on the analysis and design of processes to achieve organizational goals. The notion of services is broadly construed to include both pure services, such as banking and health care, and the service components of manufacturing, such as after-sales support and product design. Course content will include a mix of case discussions and lectures.
Strategic Innovation Management
Prof. Alva H. Taylor
This course provides a strategic framework for managing innovation in business. The emphasis is on conceptual models that clarify the interactions between patterns of technological and market change, competition, and internal firm capabilities. The analytical tools in this course are critical for development of an innovation strategy. They can provide the basis for insightful strategic thinking when deciding which technologies to invest in, and how to use and develop capabilities to exploit innovative activities for competitive advantage. As part of the course, students have the opportunity to follow a company or industry of interest. The course is appropriate for 1) anyone interested in managing a business with significant technology content or where innovation is a necessity for competition, 2) those interested in new business ventures and consulting, and 3) investment analysts, brand managers, and operations managers dealing with issues regarding innovation.
Supply Chain Management
Prof. M. Eric Johnson
This course focuses on managing material and information outside the factory walls, including aspects of product design and configuration, forecasting, inventory planning for both material and finished goods, global sourcing decisions, distribution system design, channel management, logistics, and facility location. We will explore marketing distribution strategies, including order fulfillment for e-retailers and the impact of electronic commerce on both distribution and back-end supply chain processes.
Tools for Improving Manufacturing
Prof. David F. Pyke
This mini course examines the use of manufacturing and operations as competitive weapons. In this class, we formulate a framework for developing and implementing a manufacturing strategy. The main goal is to provide students with simple, powerful approaches for improving operations, particularly at smaller companies. The objectives are to equip future general managers, consultants, and manufacturing managers with the perspectives and skills to effectively use manufacturing as a competitive weapon; to develop a framework for the strategic management of manufacturing; and to develop facility with simple technical tools and frameworks which apply directly to operational decisions and can be useful in adding value to manufacturing firms.
Elective Courses Available Through Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth
Law, Technology & Entrepreneurship
Prof. Oliver Goodenough
Taking a good idea and turning it into a successful product and a profitable business poses a number of technical, managerial and financial challenges. The solutions to many of the challenges of entrepreneurship in general, and to those of starting up a technologically based business in particular, are provided by the law. This course will provide a grounding in the law of intellectual property, contractual transactions, business structures, debt and equity finance, and securities regulation, both in the U.S. and in an international context, in order to help inventors and entrepreneurs to manage these issues intelligently and successfully.
Trends in Biotechnology
Prof. Tillman Gerngross
This course explores the process by which technologies emerge by considering current developments in biotechnology. The course presents an introduction to the basic science enabling life-science trends and explores the current state of development and commercialization. A set of laboratory experiences is an integral part of the course.
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