School Notes: School of Management
September/October 2015

Global Network courses offer online opportunities

Faculty from more than 14 schools in the Global Network for Advanced Management gathered at SOM in July for a workshop on developing Global Network courses, which bring together students from throughout the network for online lectures and virtual team projects. SOM created the format in 2013, offering courses titled Analysis of Competition Law and Mobile Banking Opportunities Across Countries. The initiative has since expanded to include seven options offered by Yale, the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, the London School of Economics, Mexico’s EGADE, and Israel’s Technion, on topics ranging from new product development to the management of humanitarian crises. The courses give students access to faculty expertise throughout the network as well as hands-on experience working in virtual global teams—a skill that is increasingly important in many organizations.

New programs explore behavioral economics and sustainability

SOM debuted two new, multi-day executive education programs over the summer, training corporate leaders in sustainability and behavioral economics. Both programs leverage areas of particular faculty expertise.

“Behavioral Economics Immersion: Views from the Forefront of Consumer Insights,” which ran June 2–4, focused on the latest research in the burgeoning field of behavioral economics, which draws on the work of psychologists, economists, and marketers in exploring the factors that drive choice in the marketplace. In “Sustainability as a Strategic Business Enabler,” which ran June 9–12, Yale faculty with expertise in environmental science and its business applications evaluated organizational sustainability plans and offered individualized review sessions to advise company leaders on what can be done to improve performance.

Entrepreneurship director named associate dean

Kyle Jensen, who joined the school as the inaugural Shanna and Eric Bass ’05 Director of Entrepreneurship last year, has been appointed to the additional position of associate dean. The appointment reflects the increased importance of entrepreneurship at the school and the success of the Program on Entrepreneurship’s expanded curricular offerings for Yale students. SOM added seven new courses on entrepreneurship in 2014–15, drawing more than 75 students from Yale College and other graduate schools.