“Strategic Leadership: Business and the Public Policy Process For MBA Students”
"The program was presented as a class on the public policy process. This class did that and more! An excellent way to get elective credit and fulfill a requirement while bringing back knowledge which all firms can utilize. An excellent program."
Tom Lango
MBA Evening Program Candidate
W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University
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| Washington Campus founder Bill Seidman and former head of the Independent Community Bankers of America Ken Guenther spar over the effect of new regulations on the accounting industry. |
Program Description & Curriculum
The Washington Campus MBA residencies are designed to equip students with the understanding necessary to anticipate, influence, and respond intelligently to government initiatives.
Included in each course are:
- Core sessions that examine the legislative, regulatory, and executive functions of government;
- Topical sessions on issues relevant to the business-government interface such as economic policy, monetary policy, business-government ethics, trade policy;
- Interactive sessions, including a computer simulation and a final session that explores how management can incorporate the public policy dimension into its decision-making and strategic-planning process.
Strategic Leadership contains 33 - 34 contact hours, equaling the number provided by a traditional on-campus semester-long course. Each course is led by a qualified faculty director who directs the course all week and administers a final exam that is sent to the student’s school. The final grade and course credit is determined by each business school.
The Washington Campus faculty directors include:
- Dr. Kevin Gottlieb
President
Gottlieb and Associates, Inc.
Former Staff Director
Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
United States Senate
- Dr. D. Jeffrey Lenn
Professor of Strategic Management and Public Policy
Senior Associate Dean
School of Business and Public Management
The George Washington University
- Dr. Gerald J. Lynch
Associate Dean for Programs and Student Services
Krannert School of Management
Purdue University
- The Honorable Roger B. Porter
IBM Professor of Business and Management
The Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
Former Assistant to President George H.W. Bush
for Economic and Domestic Policy
- Dr. James A. Thurber
Professor and Director of the Center for Congressional
and Presidential Studies, The American University
Former Senior Staff Analyst
Office of The Honorable David R. Obey
U. S. House of Representatives
- Mr. Thomas B. Williams
Director of Federal Projects
The Conservation Fund
Former Staff Director
Energy and Natural Resources Committee United States Senate
An essential element of corporate competitiveness is a hands-on understanding of how federal policy is developed and the many factors and constraints that influence public policy decisions. Strategic Leadership provides students with an inside view of Washington as a political marketplace and the effects of government upon corporate strategic planning.
Taken as a whole, the experience equips executives to contribute to the public policy process as:
- Users of corporate public affairs resources, including Washington, D.C. offices, issue analysts, lobbyists, lawyers, compliance officers, and accountants;
- Participants in corporate grassroots programs or political action committees;
- Direct representatives of their companies to Washington, D.C.
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| Students confer with Don Carlson of Pricewaterhousecoopers after his session on U.S. Tax Policy. Mr. Carlson formerly worked as Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. | |
Typical participants include MBA and other advanced degree-seeking students from The Washington Campus consortium of business schools, as well as students from other departments such as public policy and law.
Course CreditCredit for participating in Strategic Leadership is awarded by and at the discretion of each student's degree-granting institution. Students must attend for the entire seminar and take an exam to receive credit. To find out more about a school's policy on credit for Strategic Leadership , please contact The Washington Campus representative in your MBA program office.
Contact Hours
An intensive seminar, Strategic Leadership contains between 33 and 34 contact hours. The seminar's contact hours equal or exceed the number of contact hours in a typical on-campus, semester-long course.
Assignments
Several weeks prior to the seminar, the seminar director will provide an email to registered students with a link to our website. This area of the web site will have a list of required readings to prepare students for vigorous class discussion. The faculty director may add presentations or group projects for participants to complete during the week, and each faculty member or guest lecturer may provide additional material for students to review.
Final Examination
Students who wish to receive credit for Strategic Leadership must take an exam at the conclusion of the course. This exam, developed by the student's faculty director, must be completed during the scheduled three-hour exam period. The examination will be based on the content of the week's seminar sessions and the pre-arrival preparatory readings. The examination is graded by the faculty director and then forwarded to each school. The final grade and course credit are both determined by the respective schools.
Duration
Strategic Leadership is a week-long program, beginning on Monday at 8:00 a.m. and ending the following Friday at approximately 6:30 pm.
Students wishing additional time to explore the Washington, D.C. area should extend their trip accordingly.
Program Schedule
Students will be emailed logistical information upon registration for the course. Please also note that students will be on their own for lunch each day, generally from 12:00 noon until 1:00 PM.
Appropriate Dress
Participants are required to wear appropriate business attire each day unless otherwise noted. Guest lecturers in Strategic Leadership come from the highest ranks of government, business, the media, and academia. Participants will be making site visits to various government facilities during business hours and should be dressed accordingly.
Seminar Location
Each of the 2007 Strategic Leadership programs is based at a centrally located Washington, D.C. venue with easy access to the Washington Metro system.
2008 Program Venues
January 7 - 11, 2008 session:
George Washington University
Media and Public Affairs Building
805 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
www.gwu.edu/~newsctr/newscenter/mpabuilding.html
January 14 - 18, 2008 session (Emory only) :
University of California, Washington Center
1608 Rhode Island Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
www.ucdc.edu
March 10 - 14, 2008 sessions:
National Association for the Education of Young Children
1313 L Street, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005
www.naeyc.org
and
University of California, Washington Center
1608 Rhode Island Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
www.ucdc.edu
May 19 - 23, 2008 session:
University of California, Washington Center
1608 Rhode Island Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
www.ucdc.edu
June 16 - 20, 2008
The Walter E. Washington Convention Center
801 Mount Vernon Pl NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-249-3000
www.dcconvention.com
September 8 - 12, 2008 session:
TBD
Housing
Participants are responsible for their own lodging for the duration of the seminar. Click the link below for information on centrally located and reasonably priced hotels near the seminar venues.
Where to stay
Q: Will I have time to schedule my own meetings or do some sightseeing while I am in Washington?
A: In order to meet the minimum contact hour requirements of your University, the schedule for the week is pretty full. If you need more time to explore Washington, we suggest you arrive in town early or stay on after the seminar has finished.
Q: The materials note that participants are expected to dress in "Business Attire." What exactly does that mean, and is it really necessary?
A: We require our students to dress in appropriate business attire each day that the group visits official government offices. This requirement is so that our students will feel comfortable in meetings with senior government officials, Members of Congress, and others. We understand that appropriate business attire can be different in various parts of the country or in various industries. We suggest you err on the conservative side.
Q: I need to take this course for credit - how soon will my grade be reported to the registrar at my school?
A: Our faculty directors have a deadline of three weeks to grade the exams. Your registrar will have your grade and the original copy of your exam no more than one month after the end of the seminar.