Second Year, Option A and Option B MBA students at the University of Florida register for classes in two waves. Prior to registration we are allowed to declare up to two concentrations for which we have priority registration. Once the priority registration period opens we can add any required or elective courses from our concentration(s) to our schedule. Courses in the other concentrations are locked until the regular registration period opens, which occurred yesterday.
I was able to secure all the courses I wanted during the priority period but had to wait until regular registration to flesh out my fall schedule. Luckily I had no trouble adding the other courses I wanted and now my schedule is complete.
The courses I am most looking forward to this fall are Product Development and Managing Technology in Organizations. Product Development is a course designed to teach us how to manage the product development process from beginning to end. I have more than a passing interest in
design thinking and how it can drive business and innovation and I expect this course to dovetail nicely with Donald Norman's excellent book
The Design of Everyday Things.
Managing Technology in Organizations is a clunky way of describing the fact that the course is centered around innovation diffusion. Specifically how innovations can transform firms, industries and society. I recently started reading
Diffusion of Innovations and if this course is half as good as the book then it will likely be one of my favorites this year.
Negotiations and Game Theory are a couple of the other courses I am excited about but the moment Game Theory turns into advanced mathematics I am out. The syllabus claims that it is a non-technical course and none of the requisite math will be more difficult than differential calculus but I think the syllabus is suspect. If nothing else maybe I'll pick up a few poker tips in this course.
Here's a look at all of the courses I am taking in the first semester:
Module One
International Marketing
Power and Politics in Organizations
Managing Technology in Organizations
Game Theory Applied to Business Decisions
Module Two
Business Plan Formation
Product Development and Management
The Art and Science of Negotiation
It's definitely an ambitious schedule, especially considering that I'm also doing a study abroad trip to
China between the two modules, but I'm only in school again once...right?
