MBA Master Classes - Spring 2009
Entrepreneurial Greenhouse - Cliff Schorer and Brendan Burns
- Limit of 20 business ideas (students may have partners)
- Admission determined by Greenhouse presentation competition held in December
Investment Analysis – Paul Sonkin
- 36 student limit
- 2nd year MBA students
- Attendance of first class is mandatory
This course introduces students to the process of generating stock ideas, choosing positions, and managing a portfolio. Exposure to leading value investors provides students with a window into real world asset management. The course centers on translating original research into an actionable investment idea. The project deliverable is a stock pitch to be evaluated in the Pershing Square Value Investing and Philanthropy Challenge.
High Potential Entrepreneurship - Ron Hahn and Murray Low
- 36 student limit
- 2ND year MBA students
- Attendance of first class is mandatory
This class is a hands-on, field-based experience for students pursuing careers in venture capital and entrepreneurship. Six-eight teams of 4-5 students each will work intensively with an entrepreneur in an early-stage, high potential venture. Students are expected to design and deliver a project that will make a substantive contribution to the advancement of the business. The course has three deliverables: 1) a successfully executed value-added project; 2) a presentation to potential investors in week 11; 3) a confidential memorandum to faculty.
High-Technology Entrepreneurship – Dr. Ran Kivetz
- 36 student limit
- 2ND year MBA and EMBA students
- Permission of professor required to bid on this Master Class – apply via e-mail to ch2133@columbia.edu with the following (must be received by 12pm (noon) on Friday, October 31, 2008)
- CV
- A one page description of your proposed new venture
This course provides a systematic and practical framework for the development of new high-technology ventures, with a particular focus on strategy and marketing. The course uses a combination of “live” case analyses with leading industry guests, hands-on real-world tasks, and in-class discussions and demonstrations of useful conceptual frameworks. Topics that are covered include identifying and evaluating opportunities in the evolving environment (new venture ideation), developing go-to-market strategies and overcoming adoption obstacles, developing a business plan (including key marketing mix elements like pricing, versioning, promotion, distribution), and creating an effective presentation to raise capital. Teams of 3-5 students each will work intensively to identify, develop, and pitch a new high-technology venture. The ultimate objective is for the students to launch their own new venture. In the final class session, students present their new venture to a panel of leading venture capitalists.
The Marketing of a Nation: Israel (May 11-15 block week intensive) - Ran Kivetz and David Rogers
- 36 student limit
- 2ND year MBA students (NOTE: 1st-year students who have completed all core courses prior to May 11, 2009 are eligible for this course)
- All classes are mandatory
In this hands-on, project-based course, students will be given the frameworks and tools necessary to create a marketing campaign to increase American audiences’ awareness of all that Israel has to offer. The course will present a variety of conceptual frameworks from marketing, branding, and strategy; offer relevant case studies and background research; and cover relevant industries such as hi-tech, tourism, and lobbying. Class time will be divided between lectures, industry guest speakers, and intensive group work. Teams of 3-5 students each will work throughout the week to develop the goals, strategy, and implementation for their marketing campaigns. In the final class session, students will present their campaigns to members of the Israeli consulate.
Media Mergers & Acquisitions - Jonathan Knee
- 36 student limit
- 2nd year MBA students
- Attendance of first class is mandatory
Students are introduced to the decision-making processes driving
transformative transactions in the media industry through a combination
of lectures and discussion with key decision-makers responsible for
examined transactions. Final projects involve student groups "pitching"
a potential transformative M&A deal to a panel of media executives.
Operations Consulting - Peter Kolesar and Wayne Cutler
- 36 student limit
- 2ND year MBA students
- Prerequisites: All core courses
- This course will be challenging and will require substantial effort in and outside of class
- Attendance of first class is mandatory
This course is a hands-on laboratory in which firm-sponsored, real-world consulting projects are attacked by student teams under the guidance of experienced professors. Students will bid on a pre-selected portfolio of projects in diverse industries and across varied problem types. The course has been designed and is delivered with substantial participation by major consulting firms. Students learn consulting skills and leading edge practices through guest lectures by senior consultants at these firms. At mid course the teams will also present to and be critiqued by the participating consultants. At term end each team presents their action oriented recommendations to senior management at their client organizations. Throughout the term the teams will interact intensely with the client organization and receive frequent support from the professors. The course has had a high project implementation success rate. This course should be of interest to those with career objectives in entrepreneurialism and general management, as well as in general consulting, and of course in operations.
Real Estate Investment & Entrepreneurship– Chris Mayer and Andrew Jacobs
- 36 student limit
- 2nd year MBA students
- Prerequisites: Real Estate Finance and Real Estate Transactions
- Attendance of first class is mandatory
The Master Class in Real Estate Investment explores the variety of
forms of value creation and entrepreneurship in global real estate
through a sponsored group project and sessions with faculty industry
leaders. In the past, more than one-third of projects explored
decisions outside the US and have covered diverse topics such as
development, investment management, and strategy. This 3-credit Master
Class helps students develop advanced decision-making skills to solve
real estate business problems in realistic and complex settings. The
focus of the class is a group project presenting a new business idea,
an investment concept, or a solution to a problem for an existing
business. Students may develop their own projects or faculty will work
with students and industry firms to develop a project. Seed funding is
available to help students with project-related travel or expenses if
the sponsor is unable to do so.
Students who take the Master Class will develop analytic and
presentation skills (both written and oral) in a real world,
business-oriented setting with constant feedback. Classroom discussion
is an integral part of the class, with students learning from each
others' projects. An important theme that will recur throughout the
course is the creation and measurement of value in real estate. This
Master Class is also designed to challenge and allow students to
integrate concepts learned throughout the MBA curriculum, especially in
previous MBA real estate courses. The class will draw significant input
from the real estate community, with participation from guest speakers
and alumni mentors. At the end of the term, a select number of final presentations will be made to a panel of distinguished real estate professionals as part of an awards ceremony and dinner.
Retailing: Design & Marketing of Luxury Products - Ketty Maisonrouge, Heico Wesselius and Carlos Teixeira (Parsons)
- 36 CBS student limit (30 MBA / 6 EMBA / 18 Parsons students)
- 2nd year MBA students and 3rd term and above EMBA students *
- Permission of professor required to bid on this Master Class – apply via e-mail to kmandco@gmail.com with the following (must be received by 12pm (noon) on Thursday, October 23, 2008)
- CV
- Half page application that includes;
- A statement of interest for this class in general, or the project(s) specifically (not to exceed one paragraph/300 words)
- Relevant background and experience for this class in general or this specific project
- Indicate program (MBA or EMBA)
- All classes and meetings are mandatory. Students who do not attend the first class and do not contact me prior to that class will be automatically dropped from the course.
- Prerequisites: Marketing Strategy core course, and need to have read Marketing Research by Donald R. Lehmann, Sunil Gupta and Joel Steckel: chapters 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9
- This course will be challenging and will require substantial effort in and outside of class: Each student will have to attend FOUR team meetings on Fridays * with Professor Maisonrouge and their team’s senior executives at their company’s headquarter in Manhattan
In this semester-long course, MBA students* from Columbia Business School work in teams of 9 with undergraduate students from Parsons School of Design to solve actual case studies formulated exclusively for this class by the participating companies. The following companies will participate in the spring 2009 semester: Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Lalique, Luxottica, Hermès, and Cartier.
Each team * will work closely with faculty from both Columbia Business School and Parsons the New School for Design, and their company’s senior executive(s). Teams will present progress report(s) throughout the semester to the class, the faculty and the client, and a final presentation in front of the class and all participating companies.
* Taking into consideration the time constraints of the EMBA program, please note that the six EMBA students will be put in one team and work on the same project (TBC) that will not involve Parsons School of Design (students or faculty), and will focus on a purely business aspect (no design involved). There will be two mandatory team meetings at the company headquarter, and two mandatory conference calls, organized either early in the morning, at lunch time or towards the end of the day.
Project descriptions:
Christian Dior - The Dior team will develop a Luxury Service Level Program and create a “trademark” shopping experience that will set it apart from all the other Luxury houses and serve as Dior’s version of Apple’s Genius Bar. The team will work on recommendations for all the different offerings for Dior’s customers, from simple grass roots efforts to future efforts, as well as internal selling opportunities, events, and/or products (ie: an in-store concierge). Given that today’s consumers have access to luxury in all aspects of their lives, this project’s challenge is to figure out how Dior can stand out not only in the fashion world, but in the consumer’s perception of how he/she views luxury.
Lalique - LALIQUE is a French artisanal luxury crystal house that dates to the late 19th century. The objective is to modernize the brand by repositioning it to attract a younger customer while simultaneously maintaining its core clientele. The design aesthetic design should be respected. Product categories include objet d’art, fragrance, barware, jewelry and interior design fixtures. Develop a marketing strategy that includes an advertising campaign and PR initiatives, an e-commerce site and a distribution rollout. The launch is spring 2010.
Louis Vuitton - Louis Vuitton is one of the world’s leading lifestyle brands. The brand has developed many new product categories including ready to wear, shoes, watches, fine jewelry and accessories. The Louis Vuitton team will examine the burgeoning accessory business and develop recommendations for further growth in the North American Market.
Luxottica - The Luxottica team will analyze the current brand positioning and competitive environment for Ralph Lauren Purple Label Eyewear, including (but not limited to) product attributes, pricing, distribution, and merchandising / point of purchase, and recommend a short-term and mid-term strategy to differentiate the brand and position it as a true Luxury brand in the eyewear category.
Cartier - The Cartier team will develop an innovative next generation retail experience which addresses the different points of the selling cycle - before / during / after and delivers service advantages that clients would receive when shopping at a Cartier boutique or through the internet. This project should look outside of the luxury category to source service innovations that can be applied to the Cartier retail experience. This experience could be both physical and / or virtual, but needs to be seamless between all channels of distribution. The Cartier client experience should be enhanced at every level and become a memorable one. In a next phase, the project should outline how this model could be extended to the rest of the business. This model would provide various client type (ie: VIP, regular and new clients) service levels and strengthen client acquisition and with current client, strengthen loyalty.
Hermès (EMBA team only) - The Hermès team will focus on the opening of the first Hermès store in the world exclusively for Men. The team will work towards creating a unique store launch, and develop recommendations on how to strategically budget, market, and position the boutique. This project’s timing will correlate with the actual launch of the first ever Hermès Men’s boutique, set to open in late Fall 2009.
MBA Master Classes - Summer 2009
Media Strategy: Analysis, Innovation and Implementation (May 18-22 block week) – Ava Seave and Robbin Smith
- 36 student limit
- 3rd term and above EMBA students
- Attendance of first class is mandatory
The goal of this hands-on, project-based Master Class is to create new, innovative strategies for Innovation TV www.ovationtv.com, the fastest growing arts and culture cable network, to implement via their partnership with Cable in the Classroom www.ciconline.org. The week begins with an introduction to concepts and tools students will need to create, evaluate and implement their strategic plans. Student teams then develop their ideas based on research including an analysis of the competitive landscape, interviews and guidance from executives and relevant media experts as well as their own creative input. Success in this course will be the teams' ability to use the research and industry information to make recommendations that are both practical and creative and that utilize new and old media to find and engage the various audiences that Ovation and Cable in the Classroom want to reach. The final deliverable will be a written report and live presentation to Ovation TV executives on the last day of class.
