Download Track 1 - Georgetown University`s McDonough School of Business

Georgetown University
McDonough School of Business
DESCRIPTIONS OF OPERATIONS AND INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT (TRACK I) ELECTIVES
OPIM 251 – Information Technology
and Systems Management (Fall)
Information technology (IT) has had a profound
impact on many aspects of the business world. To
understand the business world, managers today need
to understand business data and information, and
how to make decisions using them. Information is
power in the business world today and it is essential
to understand it. Information systems enable the
collection, storing, analysis and dissemination of this
vital information. As such, the content of this course is
relevant for students in all business majors. This
course informs students about the role of information
technology in organizations and how to best exploit
that technology. In order to provide students with indepth learning, three core areas from the information
technology field are covered in the course: strategic
value of information technology, data and
information, and electronic business. Each area
includes a project and/or case to provide students
with useful and practical skills and learning in the
area.
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: None
OPIM 256 – Electronic Commerce
(Spring)
This course focuses on electronic commerce over the
Internet. Topics include infrastructure issues for
building e-commerce applications and issues related
to business strategy and marketing on the Internet.
Examples are offering products and services on the
Internet, Internet advertising, building electronic
communities, the fit between the technology and the
organization's marketing strategy, and ethical and
policy issues such as privacy. Students will learn
website design and tools, such as Front Page and
XML. Formerly offered as MGMT 256.
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: None
OPIM 257 – Developing and Managing
Databases (Fall)
The objective of this course is to introduce the student
to the key principles and activities associated with the
design, use and administration of business databases.
The course will discuss important database design
principles and sophisticated data retrieval and mining
techniques. These principles and techniques will be
demonstrated using various computerized database
tools, including Oracle and Access. The course will
cover critical issues related to database development
and administration in the context of consumeroriented, electronic commerce (Internet and World
Wide Web) environments. Formerly offered as MGMT
257.
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: None
OPIM 259 – Project Management
(Spring)
This course provides an overview of project
management. The course addresses (1) the culture, (2)
the principles, and (3) the basic techniques of project
management. The course reviews the general stages of
a project in rough chronological order and describes
how the stages interrelate. Basic tools of project
management, such as work breakdown structure,
scheduling, earned value analysis, and risk
management, are introduced. The elements of project
management critical to the success of a project also are
identified and explained.
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Junior or Senior standing
OPIM 274 – Business Forecasting
(Spring)
This course builds upon the regression models studied
in OPIM 173 and related introductory courses in
statistics. The aim is to further develop statistical
modeling skills for business applications, with
particular emphasis upon time series, which form the
inputs for sales forecasting and production planning
as well as much financial and economic activity. The
reason for examining time series is to enable us to
make forecasts and to ascribe to those forecasts an
adequate measure of the uncertainty surrounding the
forecasts.
• Why do we forecast? The reason that businesses
forecast is to aid the process of planning.
• Why plan? Planning enables you to modify your
actions in response to potential challenges and
opportunities. If a forecast does not have the potential
to change your actions, it is useless. If you do not
respond to change your business probably will not
survive very long.
If we accept the premise that forecasting is vital to a
business, how should we carry out the task? We must
first recognize that there is no such thing as a
universal best method, but rather we need to develop
an arsenal of different approaches and to recognize
when each approach is appropriate.
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: OPIM 172/173
FINC 255 – Derivatives & Financial
Markets (Fall & Spring)
This course program is designed to expand
participants' understanding of derivative-related
financial instruments (forwards, futures and options)
and their use in investment and corporate financial
management.
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: FINC 211
FINC 265 – Entrepreneurial Finance
(Spring)
The course would seek to examine entrepreneurial
firms and challenges in financing such firms. The
course would be heavily based on cases, many of
which would be based on young firms although some
would be about more established firms. An
entrepreneur needs to understand how to identify a
business opportunity as well as how to marshal
resources (especially capital) to and exploit the
business opportunity. The course would reinforce
skills needed to analyze a business (with a strong
emphasis on valuation techniques). The course would
then focus on issues relevant for financing of
entrepreneurial ventures. This would include
understanding financial institutions (Angel investors,
Venture Capitalists, and Banks) that provide risk
capital for such firms. The course would conclude by
examining the harvesting of entrepreneurial ventures
where by the entrepreneur and the financiers realize
the returns for their effort.
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: None
MARK 221 – Marketing Intelligence
(Spring)
The theory and application of marketing research as a
tool for the decision-making process. Special emphasis
on problem definition, research design, sampling
procedure, data collection, statistical analysis,
interpretation of data and reporting of research
findings. Computer lab assignments and projects.
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: MARK 220