New Course/Topics Course Descriptions
FIRE 691 Topics in Finance, Insurance and Real Estate - Real Estate Principles
Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. This course provides an overview to real estate, the
dynamics of supply and demand in capital and space markets and focuses on valuation, financing, and
investment issues. Topics include laws that govern real estate, real estate market analysis, highest and
best use, capital markets, real estate development, and ethical dimensions. No prior knowledge of the
industry is required, but students are expected to rapidly acquire a working knowledge of real estate
markets.
INFO 691 Topics - E-Government
Technology is changing the way that citizens receive services. Expectations by citizens to conduct
seamless, reliable and secure online transactions are driven by experiences in conducting e-business
services through platforms such as Amazon.com and online banking. Public managers need to
understand how to lead and manage the transition from traditional face-to-face services to online
service delivery. This course examines the implementation of digital government with an in-depth
examination of current digital governments, implementation & planning, technologies and management
challenges in the delivery of digital services to citizens. This course will examine federal, state and local
success stories in digital government and will employ guest speakers to illustrate the most important
aspects of an effective digital government strategy. Students will be expected to evaluate existing digital
government services and to design & conceptualize their own. Although no specific technical expertise is
required for the course, extensive use of the internet, social media and a mobile computing device will
be required.
MKTG 691 Sales Management
This course will have its foundation in coverage of material important to the contemporary sales
management decision maker (as examples, the changing world of selling/sales management; the
personal selling function and its strategic role in the organization; developing and directing the sales
force; evaluating sales force effectiveness). Complementary to that coverage will be concentration in
students’ practical skill development in selling and sales management competencies (presenting,
persuading, prospecting, engaging others, questioning, listening, and managing rejection, for example).
MKTG 691- Brand Strategy
Brand Strategy will provide students with an understanding of how to formulate strategies for building,
leveraging and growing strong brands in an increasingly dynamic and competitive environment. It will
address a variety of relevant concepts, including customer and market analysis, brand positioning and
brand equity. Additionally, it will consider how to design and implement effective brand-building
programs, and how to measure brand performance. Importantly, the course will emphasize the
organizational and individual characteristics necessary for successful strategic brand management.
ECON 691 Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
This course introduces theory and tools (economic and policy analysis) to examine management of a
wide range of problems related to environmental quality and natural resources for public and private
sectors on local and international scales. This course introduces economic principles, reasoning, tools
and empirical applications of theories to environmental policy arising from the study of markets and
market failures (externalities, information asymmetry, public goods, etc). Economic incentives for the
public and private sectors in environmental regulation are modeled and evaluated for policies
implemented at local and international scales. The range of natural resources includes energy, water,
fishery, forestry, biodiversity in the exploration of economic theory and analysis for policy and
management. Many empirical examples focus on natural resource scarcity and conservation over time
and environmental quality protection. Policy instruments to analyze through environmental and
resource economics include (tradable permits, taxes, liability rules, deposit-refund systems, voluntary
compliance incentives, information mechanisms, standards, etc).
INFO 691- Analytics Business Case
This course provides a unique opportunity to collaborate with CIOs of top Commonwealth
Departments. Under the joint sponsorship of the Commonwealth’s Secretary of Technology and CIO,
pairs of students will evaluate data-centric means of improving operational effectiveness and
recommend specific approaches (including estimated savings). In this manner, participants will gain
deep understanding of the important concepts and techniques using data to drive reengineering as well
as practical experience in the development of a data-centric systems. Participating Commonwealth CIOs
will finish the semester with a solid business case (with concrete examples) for implementing datacentric practices in their organizations.
Background:
Virginia technology secretary, CIO join forces with VCU to explore data centric initiatives
Virginia’s secretary of technology and chief information officer are joining forces with the Virginia
Commonwealth University School of Business to explore data-centric initiatives that could directly
benefit Virginia agencies. Capitalizing on existing classes offered by VCU, Secretary of Technology Karen
R. Jackson and CIO Sam Nixon have arranged for graduate-student teams to work directly with agency
CIOs to explore ways to better exploit data to provide innovative and less costly services to constituents.
The Data Reengineering course -- based on exercises in VCU associate professor Peter Aiken’s new book
“Monetizing Data Management” -- provides a unique opportunity to collaborate with CIOs of top
commonwealth departments. In the pilot program, pairs of VCU students will work closely with the CIOs
during the fall 2015 semester to identify specific data-centric business cases. The teams will evaluate
data-centric means of improving operational effectiveness and recommend specific approaches and
estimated savings. In this manner, participants will gain deep understanding of the important concepts
and techniques using data to drive reengineering as well as practical experience in the development of a
data-centric systems. Participating CIOs will finish the semester with a solid business case -- including
concrete examples -- for implementing data-centric practices in their organizations.
NEW FALL COURSE
SCMA 693 Field Study: Growing the Chocolate Industry in Côte d’Ivoire
The cocoa bean is the raw material of chocolate, and the West-African nation of Côte d’Ivoire is the
world’s largest source of cocoa beans. And yet, production of chocolate products that are bought by
consumers, such as cookies, cakes, and candies, is virtually non-existent in this west-African nation. This
course will focus on how to further develop the chocolate industry in Côte d’Ivoire. Ultimately, the goal
is to explore options to expand Côte d’Ivoire’s role in the global chocolate industry from its current role
as a source of raw materials to that of a global manufacturer and distributor, and in so doing, help to
improve and diversify the economy of this emerging market. Students will work with business students
from a prominent university in Côte d’Ivoire. Together the team will address opportunities for product
development, construct a “green fields” supply chain, and identify obstacles that could expect to be
encountered. This is a tremendous opportunity that combines global marketing and supply chain
development in a true emerging market.
If you are interested, please see the attachment, and follow the instructions for approval.