MSIM Requirements & Program Details

Students begin the course by learning market research, customer input, and consumer behavior. Interdisciplinary teams will integrate with learning from other first-semester courses for the development of a new product concept, identification of target markets, assessment of competing products, and identifying distribution channels. The student teams formally present their concepts at the end of the semester and develop effective techniques to present to senior management and/or prospective investors.

This course is focused on analyzing the financial aspects of a new venture. Emphasis is on financial forecasting and access to funding. Topics include strategic financing, financing alternatives, financial contracting, venture valuation, cash flow projection, capital budgeting, capital structure, and risk-sharing. the course revolves around cases and culminates in a capstone project consisting of a complete business plan for an innovative new product or service.

Students gain the skills to lead technological innovation both within the technology sector and in a wide variety of other industries. The focus will be on Montana-based industries, ranging from photonics, software development and recreation to energy and land resources. Topics include understanding intellectual property and the role of technological innovation in entrepreneurial ventures as well as in established firms. Emphasis on presenting new product proposals to senior management and/or prospective investors.

Students learn the basic concepts of leadership, management, and teamwork. The course will introduce concepts such as motivation, leadership, teamwork, organizational design, and diversity. Students will learn the impact of personality styles, the essentials of emotional competence, and the value of self-awareness. Leadership and cognitive styles will be covered, and cognitive biases will be introduced, demonstrated, and discussed. Practical skills will be developed in giving and receiving feedback, fostering individual and team creativity, and communicating to inspire and includence without authority.

The Sprint Lab is a collaborative update session where student teams each share the progress, they’ve made on the Sprint projects, discuss challenges, brainstorm new ideas and solutions, and get feedback and coaching along the way from faculty and each other.

 

Students continue to improve upon work done in the first semester. The student teams formally present their concepts at the end of the semester and develop effective techniques to present to senior management and/or prospective investors.

This course is focused on developing marketing strategy, branding, positing, messaging, and driving implementation of marketing programs for a variety of ventures. Students define successful branding strategies and make and implement action plans based on strategic marketing. The course will emphasize communicating through dynamic oral presentations and clear and concise writing for a variety of audiences.

This course emphasizes the practical application of information technology to improve business efficiency and effectiveness. The course emphasizes both analyses of raw data and introduction to common business data analysis platforms. Descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics will be covered, along with practical exercises.

This interdisciplinary course deals with the relationship between business and government, as well as the importance of corporate social responsibility and the role of ethical decision making. The course introduces basic business law but also emphasizes ethical behavior above and beyond legal requirements. The course will address a business' impact on a variety of stakeholder groups, including shareholders, customer, employees, and communities. The role of government regulation will be addressed, as well as the associated trade-offs in a market-based economy.

During the spring semester, the students will continue to advance their business plan from the fall courses and sprint. The Sprint Lab is a collaborative update session where student teams each share the progress, they’ve made on the Sprint projects, discuss challenges, brainstorm new ideas and solutions, and get feedback and coaching along the way from faculty and each other. As a continuation of the Fall Sprint, the central focus of this course continues to be the advancement of a new product concept by cross-functional student teams.