COURSE NUMBER: EWMBA 290V.1

 

COURSE TITLE: Corporate Strategy in Telecommunications and Media

 

UNITS OF CREDIT: 3 units

 

INSTRUCTOR: Reza Moazzami

 

E-MAIL ADDRESS: uc@rezamail.com

 

CLASS WEB PAGE LOCATION: bCourses.berkeley.edu

 

MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: Thursdays, 6-9:30 pm

 

PREREQUISITE(S): EWMBA Core Curriculum (Exchange students please contact instructor before enrolling in the course).

 

CLASS FORMAT: Topics are covered through case studies and first-hand accounts from guest speakers.

 

REQUIRED READINGS: Course reader and additional readings on bCourses and elsewhere.

 

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: Case study responses and class participation.

 

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:

 

This course is intended to be the 'capstone' strategy and general management course for students interested in the global telecommunications and media industries. 

 

Target audience:

  

- Students pursuing careers in the global telecommunications and media industries, including both those who are new to the industry as well as those who have had prior experience in these industries.

- Students pursuing careers in services firms (e.g. management consulting, investment banking, investment management) focusing on telecommunications and media.

 

Learning objectives:

 

- View the industry through the eyes of the general manager/CEO (whether a start-up or an industry giant).

- Identify and evaluate market entry strategies for new products and services.

- Understand how to evaluate strategic options and their consequences.

- Understand the perspectives of various industry players and be able to anticipate how they are likely to behave under various circumstances.

 

In particular, we want to analyze responses to the following questions:

 

- What are the economics of production and distribution of products and services?  How are the economics changing?

- What role do network effects and standards have on adoption of new products and services?

- How are products and services marketed and distributed?

- What are potential ways to price new products/services and what are the tradeoffs/consequences?

- How do firms compete and what are the sources of competitive advantage?

- How are business models for products and services evolving?

- What are the key regulatory and public policy issues and how do they impact the individual entrepreneur/innovator?

 

FAQ:

 

1) How does this course differ from other courses at Haas?

 

- Some courses teach functional skills you will need in the future: accounting, marketing, corporate finance, product management, etc.

- Some courses present tools and frameworks for analyzing situations: economics, strategy, game theory, innovation, entrepreneurship, etc.

 

This course applies concepts from some of your prior courses as well as introducing some potentially novel/unfamiliar concepts.

Our goal is to perform strategic analysis with rigor and depth approaching (and sometimes exceeding) the level of management practitioners.

 

2) I already have many years of experience in telecommunications and/or media.  Is this course useful for me?

 

Yes, you are one of the core constituencies for this course.  You will gain much broader and deeper insight into how the industry functions, the perspectives of key players, how key players interact with one another, and the strategic issues/dilemmas facing management.  You will also view your prior experience and the issues you encountered with a new perspective.

 

3) I am starting my own telecom/media company.  Is this course useful for me?

 

Yes, you are another one of the core constituencies for this course.  You will gain insight into how to build those critical first relationships with key players in the industry, how to anticipate how various players will likely react to an innovative new product or service, and how to build a large-scale sustainable business around this innovation.

 

4) I am not an engineer.  Will I be able to keep up?

 

In many cases, yes.  Although we will cover many technology sectors and emerging technologies in case studies, this course is NOT intended to serve as a technology tutorial.  We will delve into the technology only to the extent necessary to understand the choices facing the general manager.  Supplementary technology tutorials will be provided as reference material.

 

5) For any other questions,  email the instructor: rezam at haas

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:

Reza Moazzami has over twenty years of experience as an engineer, entrepreneur/CEO, investor, and educator in TMT.  Dr. Moazzami received B.S. with highest honors, M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UC Berkeley, and a MBA from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He holds eleven patents and has been a speaker at numerous technology industry conferences and leading universities.