Courses - Winter 2008

Fall 2007 Courses | Winter 2008 Courses | Ross Course Descriptions

 

FIN 318		Real Estate Fundamentals
ES 395		Entrepreneurial Management
ES 516(A)		Entrepreneurship via Acquisitions
STRAT 553		Intellectual Property and Competitive Strategy
ES 581(B)		Urban Entrepreneurship
BIT 582(B)		Enterprise Systems Strategy (IT)
ES 615		New Venture Creation
ES/FIN 623(A)		Venture Capital Finance
ES/FIN 624(B)		Private Equity Finance
ES 627		Family Business
ES 629		Financing Research Commercialization
ES 701		Wolverine Venture Fund
ES 750		Independent Studies / Research Projects

Course Descriptions

FIN 318 Real Estate Fundamentals
This survey of urban real estate theory and practice considers the nature of real estate investment and finance, and the real estate business. Lectures and discussions supplement text and outside reading and classroom work. A local property will be extensively analyzed utilizing discounted cash flow programs and project feasibility techniques. A professional quality analysis report will be prepared for the selected property. Outside experts will speak on key appraisal, finance, brokerage and investment issues. This course is taught by Robert VanOrder.

ES 395 Entrepreneurial Management
This course is a pragmatic, "real-world" orientation to the entrepreneurial process of conceiving and implementing an idea for a new venture. It is intended for students who have strong aspirations to eventually develop their careers in the context of entrepreneurial firms. Specific objectives of the course are for students to: gain experience identifying and screening potential business ideas; understand the early stage development of a business idea into an opportunity with the potential to generate profits or other desirable returns; understand capital and other resource requirements, and how to gain access to them; develop managerial confidence through the creation of a compelling business plan; and to experience the intensive, give-and take of a team effort directed toward a specific goal. This course is taught by Len Middleton.

ES 516(A) Entrepreneurship via Acquisitions
This course is a pragmatic, "real-world" orientation to entrepreneurship through acquisition of a company. Many entrepreneurial oriented managers find that their skills are best utilized in the context of an acquisition and running of an existing firm, rather than via the start up of a new venture. This course addresses the range of relevant topics; acquisition restructuring, and the LBO search fund. This course is taught in the evening by J. Michael Davis.

STRAT 553 Intellectual Property and Competitive Strategy
From start-up companies to multinational enterprises, the effective management of intangible assets such as patents, secrets, or copyrights is often critical to a firm's success. This course examines the strategic value of intellectual property (IP) and its use in controlling, defending, or exchanging knowledge assets. Topics include: Linking IP strategies to a firm's competitive environment; factors driving asset valuation and licensing decisions; the promise and pitfalls of on-line IP exchanges: and special challenges in emerging economies. The material is especially relevant for students interested in managing a business with significant technical or scientific content and for those pursuing careers in consulting or venture capital. This course is a seven week strategy elective. There are no prerequisites. This course is taught by Rosemarie Ziedonis

ES 581(B) Urban Entrepreneurship
This course addresses the specific challenges and opportunities to be found in urban areas, with special focus on entrepreneurship among ethnic-racial minorities and, particularly African Americans. The lectures, discussion, and presentations by urban and minority entrepreneurs will address issues of product design, marketing, access to capital, and strategic targeting of business initiatives. Impacts of public and private policies, such as tax incentives and franchising methods will be considered. This course is taught in the evening by William Pickard.

BIT 582(B) Enterprise Systems Strategy (IT)
Enterprise Systems Strategy covers technology and business issues in managing the various pieces in enterprise application architecture to create value for customers and shareholders. The perspectives of both the users and vendors who create the technology behind this infrastructure will be addressed. On the technology front we will discuss the evolution of this infrastructure, the challenges and benefits posed in successful implementations of various pieces in the enterprise application infrastructure. The goal is to provide a basic understanding. This course is taught by M.S. Krishnan.

ES 615 New Venture Creation
This course, offered in both the fall and winter terms, focuses on the preparation of the business plan for new ventures. Competitive positions, marketing policies, research surveys, production methods, financial projections and organizational assignments all have to be included in this document. The course is taught both through the case method and through team projects involving 4-6 students working on a business development project for the entire term. The business plan project requires a substantial amount of research, team and faculty meetings, detailed and carefully constructed deliverables, and the final delivery of a full business plan. This course is taught by James Price.

ES 623(A) Venture Capital Finance
This course covers venture capital market structure and institutional arrangements and the application of financial theory and methods in a venture capital finance setting. It presents and applies the fundamentals of venture capital finance, employing "live" case studies to focus on financing startup and early stage, technology-based firms. The course covers four main aspects of venture capital: valuation, deal structuring, governance, and harvesting. The case method is used to demonstrate the practical, hands-on application of techniques following their development in class. Current "market" venture capital deal terms and principles of their understanding, as well as a number of state-of-the-art of financing techniques are covered in the course to give students a strong understanding of a VC deal flow from both sides - investor's and entrepreneur's. Cross-listed with: Fin 623. This course is taught in the evening by David Brophy.

ES/FIN 624(B) Private Equity Finance
This course presents the fundamentals of private equity finance, focusing on financing mezzanine deals and buyout transactions. The course covers the private equity and buyout market structure, institutional arrangements and application of financial theory and methods in a private equity and buyout setting. The course covers four main aspects of private equity mezzanine investments and buyout transactions: valuation, deal structuring, governance, and harvesting. "Live" case studies are used to demonstrate the practical, hands-on application of techniques following their development in class. During this course, students compete in the Michigan Private Equity Competition with a target of creating an investment pitch for a public-to-private investment candidate. The competition is coordinated in conjunction with Glencoe Capital, a $1 billion buyout fund in Chicago and is sponsored by Alan Gelband Company, Inc. in New York. This course is open to all UM graduate students. Cross-listed with: Fin 624. This course is taught in the evening by David Brophy.

ES 627 Family Business
This course explores the strategic, operating, financial, legal, family, career and business issues found in family-owned and managed companies or privately-held firms. The challenge of the course is to provide the tools to be successful, whether as part of a family business, work for one, or want to be a consultant to a family business. This course is taught in the evening by Len Middleton.

ES 629 Financing Research Commercialization /FIN /329*
This course is a practicum, offering an opportunity to apply collective team work of a student/mentor alliance to building a launch pad for a technology-based venture. This course is open to Ross School MBA and BBA students as well as all UM graduate students. Student teams will work with mentors and principal investigators (PI) from UM faculty in the Medical School, College of Engineering and other divisions to build a business and marketing plan for a new technology or invention. Projects are based upon disclosures made to UM Office of Technology Transfer, other universities and industrial companies. Cross-listed with: Fin 329. This course is taught in the evening by David Brophy.

ES 701 Wolverine Venture Fund
The Wolverine Venture Fund was launched at the University of Michigan in Fall 1997, with a dual mission: to earn a venture rate of return, and to support the educational missions of the Ross School of Business in the area of private equity investing and entrepreneurship. Students have substantial input into decisions to invest in start-up ventures. This course is designed to give students "hands-on" experience in the entire process of venture investing, including: sourcing applicants, initial analysis, due diligence investment negotiation, and monitoring the portfolio of investment. An external advisory board provides assistance and input. This course is taught by Tom Kinnear.

ES 750 Independent Studies / Research Projects
Individual and group research projects, supervised by faculty, are available to graduate business candidates in good academic standing. To select a project, students should consult the appropriate professor about the nature of the research and the number of credit hours the work would garner. Students earn one to three credit hours per project and may elect only one research project in a term and no more than three over the course of their program. No more than six credit hours from research projects will count toward degree requirements. 

For each project, the student must submit a paper to the faculty supervisor who will evaluate the character and quality of the research and render a grade. The paper and the supervisor's evaluation will be catalogued and filed for three years in the Kresge Business Administration Library. The student must submit the paper to the faculty member no later than exam week of the term in which the project was elected. Non-business Master-level students may also take individual and/or group research projects. Further information and forms are available from the Office of Admissions and Student Services.