Management and Technology

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The Lally Undergraduate Program

The undergraduate program at Rensselaer’s Lally School draws heavily on Rensselaer’s strengths in engineering, science, technology, and entrepreneurship. Within these programs, the Lally School provides a balance between theory and practice while insuring rigor and relevance. There is a strong emphasis on the application of knowledge through team-based projects and a focus on the intersection of entrepreneurship and innovation.

Goals for the baccalaureate program in Management include:

• Preparing students for professional careers in technology-driven organizations.
• Core management practices and an in-depth understanding in a specialized area.
• Theories, concepts, and techniques to solve problems and make effective decisions.
• Critical-thinking skills and the ability to adapt to a rapidly changing technological world.
• A high standard of ethics and responsibility in personal affairs and professional life.
• Competencies in utilizing information technology.
• Global thinking and working in a multi-cultural setting.

Course work integrates business concepts with technological knowledge and prepares students for careers in the fields of information systems, management of R&D, technical sales, risk assessment, new product development, and marketing. Analytic and quantitative methodologies are introduced in specialized technical courses that build on cases and examples introduced in other classes. Students learn to associate the development of technology with increases in organizational effectiveness and efficiency.

The management core sequence emphasizes basic skills in the traditional business areas of finance, marketing, human behavior, computing, and organizational analysis and development. The math and science sequence provides a strong background in quantitative skills, while humanities and social sciences course work heightens the student’s appreciation for significant societal issues. Throughout the program, the topics introduced in the various courses are integrated.

Minor Programs

 
The Lally School also offers undergraduate minor programs for Management students and Rensselaer  students majoring in other fields. Lally students may pursue a minor outside of the management school. Management majors typically use electives in their program for minor course work in complementary fields such as communications, computer science, economics, industrial and management engineering, or psychology. Students can elect to pursue interests in any Rensselaer school.

The following minors are offered by the Lally School and require a minimum of 16 credit hours. Each student’s designated minor adviser can approve course substitutions to meet individual student needs.

Dual or Double Major Programs

To develop skills in other areas of interest or in preparation for careers related to specialized topics, students may pursue a dual or double major with other non-management curricula.

Such options can be arranged with the Schools of Engineering, Science, Architecture, or Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.

Special Undergraduate Opportunities

The Lally School offers four additional programs to meet undergraduate needs in the areas of research, law, international business, and cooperative education.

Undergraduate Research Program (URP)
Through the URP, students have the opportunity to work with a faculty adviser on tangible research projects. Students are eligible for a Summer Research Fellowship stipend under a program sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Education. The stipend is intended to cover 10 weeks of full-time research.

Accelerated Management-Law Program
In cooperation with Albany Law School of Union University and Columbia University Law School, Rensselaer offers a unique program leading to a B.S. and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) in six years rather than seven. Admission to this program is restricted, with most students admitted as incoming freshmen. Selected applicants must also meet the admission requirements of Albany Law School of Union University. Thus, a prospective management-law student may be able to assure admission to law school prior to beginning an undergraduate career at Rensselaer. Transfer into the management-law program from other Rensselaer curricula is limited to students who have demonstrated academic excellence.

Although guaranteed admission to Albany Law School is available to selected incoming freshmen, conditional admission also is available to students accepted by Rensselaer who meet specified achievement levels in their undergraduate program. In addition, Rensselaer has established a working relationship with Columbia University Law School that allows a gifted management-law student to become a candidate for admission after his or her third year at Rensselaer, if a committee within the Lally School nominates the student. Rensselaer’s inclusion in Columbia’s Accelerated Interdisciplinary Legal Education Program (AILE) has made this opportunity possible.

International Management Exchange Program
Rensselaer’s Lally School has agreements with more than 12 schools in nine countries for the exchange of qualified students from and to the Rensselaer campus. This exchange occurs for one semester in the third or fourth year of undergraduate studies and/or in the fall semester in the second year of graduate studies. The foreign schools chosen for the exchange program are renowned in the field of management education. Students interested must demonstrate superior academic records, maturity, and in some cases, the necessary language capabilities to be selected for the exchange program. This program is strongly recommended for all Management students.

For more information about this program, contact the International Exchange Program Coordinator, at (518) 276-2388 or e-mail maceyb2@rpi.edu.

Cooperative Education
Rensselaer’s Cooperative Education Program and the Lally School offer pre-professional work experience for undergraduates. As part of the co-op program, students work one semester and one summer in industry, business, and government positions. The co-op assignment usually occurs during the junior or senior year and can sometimes be scheduled to permit the student to graduate with the class in which he or she matriculated. Typical job opportunities are in the fields of accounting, finance, management systems, and information systems. The co-op program is described in detail in the Student Life section of this catalog.

For more information on any aspect of the undergraduate management and technology program, contact wrighf@rpi.edu.

The Lally Graduate Programs

Rensselaer’s Lally School offers five graduate programs: a Master of Science in Management, a Master of Science in Technology, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship, a Master of Science in Financial Engineering and Risk Analytics, a Master of Business Administration, and a doctoral program in Management and Technology.

The M.S. in Management builds around a specific focal area and is best suited for students with a clearly defined career goal. The degree allows students with technical expertise to develop broader career options that include project management and the ability to apply business methods in a specialized area.

The Lally MBA is a degree in general management with a focus on the themes of innovation and entrepreneurship. This program develops leaders who combine a passion for technology with the ability to apply it across business functions and to leverage it for competitive advantage. In addition to the full-time MBA program, the Lally School offers two additional tracks. The Executive MBA is a two-year, weekend-based, intensive study for working professionals with significant work history and management experience. The evening program offers the regular MBA curriculum to working professionals who prefer the evening schedule.

The M.S. in Technology Commercialization and Entrepreneurship takes specially selected undergraduates from RPI’s Schools of Science (including ITWS), Architecture, Engineering, Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences and Management, then blends them together in a special Masters level cohort to learn how to bring new technologies from lab to market.  This focus fits with Rensselaer Plan - with “changing the world”.

The M.S. in Financial Engineering and Risk Analytics trains students for careers in analyzing and assessing risk.  These careers are expected to be in high demand given the current economic climate and corporate history of insufficient risk analysis.

The Lally Ph.D. in Management and Technology is a research-oriented academic program. Students develop a scholarly specialization in one of six core areas and graduates generally pursue a career path in either academia or research.

The Lally School also provides an array of support services to students throughout their studies. The Graduate Student Services staff assists with orientation, academic advising, and career development. In particular, the office of MBA Career Resources provides a comprehensive series of career workshops throughout the academic year. These services include employer information sessions, career panels, and an online resource directory made available to employers globally. Other resources include the Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship and the Graduate Management Student Association. These organizations provide activities throughout the year, such as the Tech Valley Collegiate Business Plan Competition, the Distinguished Speaker Series, the Rensselaer Entrepreneurship Interns Program, the Biotech Club, and alumni networking programs on and off campus. Additional information on these activities may be found at www.lallyschool.rpi.edu.

All Lally graduate students are encouraged to work during the summer months in summer internship experiences that add value to their degree program and career goals. Part-time internships during the academic year are also an option for some students. Lally MBA Career Resources and Rensselaer’s Career Development Center (CDC) support students in finding these internships. The academic adviser is also typically consulted to prevent academic or immigration issues. The Lally Graduate Student Services, the CDC, and the International Student Services office must approve internships for international students working on a visa prior to the student accepting the offer.

Doctoral Programs

The Ph.D. in Management and Technology is a research-based program concentrating on scholarship in the following core areas:

• Entrepreneurship
• Innovation management and new product development
• Information technology
• Financial technology
• International business and global management of technology

Students are expected to develop scholarship in one of Lally’s areas of interdisciplinary focus and be conversant in a traditional business discipline. The Ph.D. program emphasizes research methods and an appreciation of relevant theoretical and empirical literature in the student’s area of concentration. The program strives to balance theoretical approaches with empirical studies that can be applied to real-world challenges. Graduates of the doctoral program typically pursue academic and research positions at well-respected institutions in the United States and abroad.

Course Descriptions

Courses directly related to all Management curricula are described in the Course Description section of this catalog under the department code MGMT.

Troy Campus Faculty*

Professors

Francis, B.B. - Ph.D. (University of Toronto); corporate and international finance.

Hasan, I.—Ph.D. (University of Houston); finance. (Cary L. Wellington Chaired Professor).

Paulson, A.S.—Ph.D. (Virginia Polytechnic Institute); operations research and statistics, risk management and investment analysis (Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Professor in the Technologies of Management).

Ravichandran, T.—Ph.D. (Southern Illinois University, Carbondale); management information systems.
 

Clinical Professors

Abetti, P.A.—P.E., Ph.D. (Illinois Institute of Technology); management of technology, international business development and strategic planning, entrepreneurship.

Associate Professors

Corbett, A.—Ph.D. (University of Colorado, Boulder); strategic management and entrepreneurship.

Durgee, J.F.—Ph.D. (University of Pittsburgh); marketing research and advertising (Associate Dean for Academic Affairs).

Golden, T.—Ph.D. (University of Connecticut); organizational behavior, human resource management.

Goldenberg, D.H.—Ph.D. (University of Florida); investments, derivatives markets, mathematical and computational finance.

McDermott, C.—Ph.D. (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill); manufacturing strategy, operations management.

Nambisan, S.—Ph.D. (Syracuse University); information systems.

O’Connor, G.—Ph.D. (New York University); marketing, product management.

Peters, L.S.—Ph.D. (New York University); science and technology policy, innovation and R&D management, entrepreneurship, organization theory, international business.

Sanderson, S.—Ph.D. (University of Pittsburgh); international business, manufacturing policy, new product development.

Assistant Professors

Chi, L.—Ph.D. (University of Kentucky); information systems.

Gupta,A.—Ph.D. (Stanford University); quantitative finance, risk managment financial decision support, optimization, and simulation.

Ha, C.—Ph.D. (Columbia University); asset pricing, international finance, information economics, market microstructure.

Huang, D.—Ph.D. (University of Texas at Dallas); marketing.

Jiao, Y.—Ph.D. (Boston College); finance.

Kumar, S.—Ph.D. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign); joint ventures and alliances, diversification, theories of the firm.

Kuruzovich, J.—Ph.D. (University of Maryland); information systems.

Markovitch, D.—Ph.D. (New York University); marketing.

O’Brien, J.—Ph.D. (Purdue University); strategic management and organization.

Tracy, W.—Ph.D. (UCLA); strategic management and organization.

Yayla-Kullu, H.M.—Ph.D. (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill); operations management.

Zhao, H.—Ph.D. (University of Illinois, Chicago); organizational behaviors, entrepreneurship, human resource management.

Clinical Assistant Professors

Demertzoglou, P.—Ph.D (State University of New York); transaction processing systems, decision support systems, e-business applications, commercial open source databases.

Wright, F.—M.S. (Naval Postgraduate School); general management, business policy and strategy, entrepreneurship, R&D management.

*Departmental faculty listings are accurate as of the date generated for inclusion in this catalog. For the most up-to-date listing of faculty positions, including end-of-year promotions, please refer to the Faculty Roster section of this catalog, which is current as of the May 2010 Board of Trustees meeting.

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