Business & Technology

The 21st century competitive landscape is characterized by rapid technological change and globalization. How do companies compete and succeed in such an environment? First, companies must engage in continuous innovation to sustain their competitive advantage. This course is designed to equip students with a deep understanding of why innovation is paramount in the 21st-century landscape and how it influences the way companies compete today. Through a comprehensive exploration of topics like technology adoption life cycle, the product life cycle, disruptive innovation and blue ocean strategy, students will gain the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving marketplace. Second, companies must take advantage of the extraordinary opportunities that globalization presents and develop strategies to expand abroad and compete there. In this course, students will develop a deep understanding of how to analyze and evaluate international markets, select the best markets to enter, choose the optimal mode of entry and develop a strategy to compete in international markets. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to: - Articulate the significance of innovation in the 21st-century competitive landscape, delineate the factors affecting technology adoption and apply their understanding of the product life cycle stages to make informed strategic decisions regarding strategy. - Articulate the concept and theory of disruptive innovation and apply this understanding to evaluate and propose strategies for how incumbents can effectively respond to disruptive changes in their industry. - Articulate the fundamentals of Blue Ocean Strategy, including its core concepts of Non-customers and Value Innovation, and explain how new market spaces could be created. - Articulate the rationale behind companies expanding into international markets, demonstrate knowledge of how to analyze international markets, and how to select international markets. - Articulate the various non-equity and equity entry modes for international markets and integrate this knowledge to comprehend and explain strategic approaches for effectively competing in international markets.

Designed as an introduction to the evolving area of AI, this course emphasizes potential business applications and related managerial insights. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the science behind systems that can program themselves to classify, predict, and offer solutions based on structured and unstructured data. For millennia, humans have pondered the idea of building intelligent machines. Ever since, AI has had highs and lows, demonstrated successes and unfulfilled potential. Today, AI is empowering people and changing our world. Netflix recommends movies, Amazon recommends popular products, and several EV manufacturers are working to perfect self-driving cars that can navigate safely around other vehicles without human assistance. More recently, Generative AI (e.g., OpenAI’s GPT-4, and variants of this concept such as Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude or Microsoft’s Copilot) has revolutionized and energized imaginations and expectations with multi-modal capabilities. Businesses are scrambling to suitably adjust AI strategies across multiple domains and industries. This course focuses on how AI systems understand, reason, learn and interact; learn from industry’s experience on several AI use cases. It seeks to help students develop a deeper understanding of machine learning (ML) techniques and the algorithms that power those systems and propose solutions to real-world scenarios leveraging AI methodologies. Students will also learn the estimated size and scope of the AI market, its growth rate, expected contribution to productivity metrics in business operations.

This course is structured to provide students with an opportunity to practice the process of starting a venture, and learn to grow, and sustain innovative businesses. It begins with cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset and progresses through design thinking, customer discovery, and strategic financial planning. Each module is designed to build on the previous, incorporating elements like global market positioning and ethical business practices. Students will conclude the course by learning to effectively communicate their business ideas through compelling pitches aimed at securing funding and driving business growth. All students will form teams of 3-4 students and undertake a project intended to become a real business. Pre-Requisites: None Required Textbook: None Other Required Materials: None Software Requirements: None