Commerce

Explores product, service, business model, and process innovation in existing companies with a focus on preparing students to participate in, lead, and advise innovation teams to increase the likelihood of a desired corporate outcome. Course format includes case studies, projects, and the most recent academic thinking on topics like organizational design, ethics in innovation, resources allocation, culture development, & "managing clever people."

The basic objective of this course is to develop a general understanding of research methodology as a prerequisite to the intelligent use of research results in marketing management. Thus, the course is designed to provide an introductory background that enables the student to evaluate the potential value of proposed research and to assess the relevance, reliability, and validity of existing research. This research-evaluation ability requires knowledge of the language and techniques of marketing research, including research designs, data collection instruments, sample designs, and varieties of data analysis. Prerequisite: Second-semester, third-year Commerce standing or permission of instructor.

Introduces the American legal system, emphasizing contracts, torts, agency, corporations, and partnerships. May be taken prior to enrollment in the McIntire School.

Further introduces the American legal system, emphasizing debtor-creditor law, bankruptcy, product liability, and sale of goods, property, and commercial paper.

Placeholder for fall core courses. COMM 3010 (4 cr.) provides an overview of a business from strategic process perspective and as a system. COMM 3020 (4 cr.) studies the interaction of human behaviors, within the organization and the business environment. COMM 3030 (4 cr.) covers basic analytical tools used in marketing and finance, and introduces a disciplined problem-solving process to structure, analyze, and solve business problems.

New Course in Commerce

A seminar on issues drawing current attention in the finance literature and affecting non-financial business firms, financial institutions, or investment management.

Principles and Practice in Arts Administration

Students in this course will acquire a working knowledge about markets and investing that any educated person should have in order to be a good citizen. The course is an introduction to what financial markets are and how they function, all within a broader social context. While the course will deal concretely with topics in economics, statistics, psychology and finance, no prior knowledge of any of those topics is required.

A rigorous introduction to the full field of finance. Students should gain an appreciation of the role of financial markets and institutions in our economy as well as an introduction to the responsibilities, concerns, and methods of analysis employed by corporate financial managers. We focus on the two fundamental aspects of financial decision-making: time value and risk (modern portfolio theory, the capital asset pricing model, and alternatives). The concepts of time value and risk are used to value the two basic financial assets, bonds and stocks, as well as real assets, investment projects, and companies. In addition, the course introduces derivative securities (options, futures) and discusses their application in a wide variety of settings (real options, contingent claims valuation of equity). The course also covers the theory and practice of capital structure decisions (Modigliani and Miller, taxes, bankruptcy costs, asymmetric information, agency) and dividend decisions. The course will include a thorough discussion of market efficiency and an introduction to the field of behavioral finance. A unifying theme of the course is how no-arbitrage conditions and the law of one price can be used to value most financial assets. The emphasis in this course (both in and out of class) will be on problem solving. Prerequisite: COMM 3010, 3020, and 3030.

Half the course is focused on fundamental programming concepts using Visual Basic (VBA) applied to financial models. The other half of the course covers option basics, pricing using both the Black-Scholes and binomial models, basic linear algebra concepts (matrices, inversion, solving systems of linear equations), derivative valuation using state prices and risk-neutral probabilities.

The course provides an overview of venture capital and it's role/importance in financing early-stage companies. Students will utilize case studies, real world exercises, readings and outside speakers to gain both a macro (i.e., industry level) and a micro (i.e., professional practice) view into how venture capitalists search for, invest in, advise, and help scale 'the next big thing.'

An introduction to the field of international business through an examination of the practice and theory of international business, focusing on managerial, operational, strategic, ethical, and environmental factors. The student develops an understanding of global trade theory and the various forms of global and regional economic integration; examines the major functions of managing an international business; becomes familiar with the instruments, procedures, and processes of international business; ascertains the modes of international market entry and foreign direct investment; generates an appreciation of the importance of culture on international business; and evaluates ethical issues in international business. Prerequisite: Non-Commerce students.

This interdisciplinary course will explore the complex choices in environmental policy and management by examining and integrating three relevant perspectives: environmental science, ethics and economics. Environmental science provides a basic understanding of the impacts of human activities on the environment. Economic analysis focuses on the relevant benefits and costs. Ethics addresses the conflicts of values involved in decisions about the environment. The balancing of environmental and economic costs and benefits, coupled with human beliefs about what is 'right' or 'wrong,' is at the heart of the environmental decision-making process. The process is complex because it involves a diverse set of stakeholders with differing perspectives and objectives. A case study approach will be used to examine the wide range of scientific, historical, cultural, ethical and legal dimensions of environmental issues.

Includes the planning, processes (gathering evidence) & judgments required to render an opinion on an entity's internal controls and financial statements. Deals with evidence theory, risk identification & professional judgment. Audit methodology is examined through a study of auditing standards & the concepts & procedures developed to implement those standards. Other topics include data analytics, auditor independence,materiality & audit reports.

This course aims to provide students with a practical, managerial perspective on Artificial Intelligence. It covers key factors for the successful development, deployment, and management of generative AI, machine learning, and algorithmic approaches to automated decision-making. Students will better understand the societal impacts of AI and approaches to balance AI risks and benefits in organizations.

This course introduces students to various emerging AI applications across societal, governmental, organizational, and personal sectors. We assess these uses through ethical and justice perspectives and AI ethical frameworks, evaluating their implications for individuals, organizations, and society. Students will develop policy recommendations for governments and organizations to advance the common good and mitigate potential harms of AI.

This course covers the fundamentals of data wrangling, exploration, and visualization for business decision making. In this course, we will learn techniques that will allow us to clearly, efficiently, and effectively communicate information and analyses through visual representations.

Comm 4230 covers practical uses of information technology in financial settings. You will learn by doing: you will develop technologies that manage an online portfolio of stock and options, and will design and code financial strategies to compete in the yearly McIntire Hedge Tournament. Through these activities you will gain a hands-on understanding of SQL, advanced Excel, and VBA/macros. More at http://webs.comm.virginia.edu/Grazioli/Comm4230.

Tech's Role in Business and Society. Students will focus on current topics in the fast-growing technology industry including tech business models, Silicon Valley and global industry culture, and public policy. Sessions are discussion-driven, include engagement with executives, and emphasize how future leaders in the tech industry can be a catalyst for change.

We will study the role of open source innovation through case studies anddiscussions that examine the potential of open source innovations to address long-standing societal problems, increase resilience to climate change impact, and foster new economic models. Students will leverage open source in team projects and work closely with identified organizations to gain experience in the application of open source innovation.

This hands-on course introduces the fundamentals of machine learning and AI and how they create business and societal value. Students learn how models are developed, evaluated, and deployed to support real-world decisions. Through labs, assignments, and a capstone project, they build predictive models in Python. The course also addresses ethical and managerial considerations. No prior coding or technical experience is required.

Machine learning and artificial intelligence form the foundation of a large variety of analytics applications that offer significant value in today¿s business environment and beyond. In this accessible, hands-on course, students will be introduced to the basic concepts of how ML and AI models are developed, evaluated, and deployed to create value, and learn how to how to practically apply these concepts to support real-world decisions and actions.

This course provides a manager's view of cybersecurity and privacy that contains an overview of methods for managing and mitigating cybersecurity risk in organizations. Further, this course includes an emphasis on applying analytics to understand cybersecurity threats. The course will also explore the role of privacy in society.

Examines the concept of global marketing and the institutions, literature, managerial processes, models and/or frameworks, strategies, tactics, and theories related to marketing in the global arena. The impact of international economics, culture, and nationalistic governmental policies, global and regional trade alliances, and other multilateral entities on trade patterns and marketing decision-making in global firms are considered. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission.