Business School, The

Faculty

D. Jackson, Dean and Harry G. Stoddard Endowed Professor of Management; D.Min., Andover Newton Theological School; leadership efficacy realized through reflective practice and womanist leadership frameworks, womanist theology.

D. Strong, Professor and Department Head, MSIT and MSBA Program Director; Ph.D., Carnegie-Mellon University; advanced information technologies, such as enterprise systems, and their use in organizations, MIS quality issues, with primary focus on data and information quality.

Z. Cheng, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Boston University, analytics with AI focus. 

K. Dunbar, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Fordham University; finance and fintech.

S. Djamasbi, Professor and MSIUX Program Director; Ph.D., University of Hawaii at Manoa; decision making, decision support systems, information overload, decision making under crisis, affect and decision making.

M. B. Elmes, Professor; Ph.D., Syracuse University; workplace resistance and ideological control, critical perspectives on spirituality-in-the-workplace, implementation of IT in organizations, organizations in the natural environment, narrative and aesthetic perspectives on organizational phenomena, psychodynamics of group and intergroup behavior.

X. Gao, Assistant Professor; PhD., University of Houston; finance, fintech.

R. Garcia, Beswick Professor of Entrepreneurship; Ph.D., Michigan State University; entrepreneurship and benefit corporations, diversity in entrepreneurship, legitimacy of benefit corporations.

E. Gonsalves, Instructor; M.S. in Management, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; marketing, strategy, international business

A. Hall-Phillips, Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Director; Ph.D., Purdue University; consumer behavior, business-to-business marketing, small business.

S. A. Johnson, Professor and IE Program Director; Ph.D., Cornell University; lean process design, enterprise engineering, process analysis and modeling, reverse logistics.

R. Konrad, Associate Professor and MSOSCA Program Director; Ph.D., Purdue University; health systems engineering, patient flow optimization, health informatics, industrial engineering.

N. Kordzadeh, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., University of Texas at San Antonio; health informatics and analytics, social informatics and web 2.0, information privacy, applications of GIS in business and health care.

E. Lingo, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Harvard University; organizational studies, leadership, creativity.

F. Reshadi, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., West Virginia University; marketing and analytics, social media and social influence, financial and health-care decision making.

J. Ryan, Associate Teaching Professor; Ph.D., Auburn University; management information systems, health care I.T.

S. Saberi, Associate Professor; Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst; operations, industrial engineering, supply chain management.

J. Sarkis, Professor; Ph.D., State University of New York at Buffalo; operations management, green supply chain management, sustainability.

R. Sarnie, Professor of Practice; MBA, Suffolk University; finance, financial technology.

P. Shah, Associate Professor and MBA/MSMG Program Director; Ph.D., Texas Tech University; marketing, brand strategy, product disposal strategy.

S. Taylor, Professor; Ph.D., Boston College; organizational aesthetics, reflective practice, leadership.

W. Towner, Teaching Professor; Ph.D., Worcester Polytechnic Institute; operations management, lean manufacturing, six-sigma.

A. Trapp, Professor; Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh; industrial engineering, combinatorial optimization, stochastic programming, operations research.

D. Treku, Assistant Teaching Professor; Ph.D., University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; information systems, blockchain technology, fintech.

B. Tulu, Professor; Ph.D., Claremont Graduate University; medical informatics, V.O.I.P., information security, telecommunications and networking, systems analysis and design.

E. V. Wilson, Associate Teaching Professor; Ph.D., University of Colorado; information systems, cognitive science.

J. Zhu, Professor and Ph.D. Program Director; Ph.D., University of Massachusetts; information technology and productivity, e-business, performance evaluation and benchmarking.

Business School Faculty Research and Teaching Interests

The Business School faculty are scholars and thought leaders in their fields. Their teaching and scholarly activities are guided by the Mission of the Business School:

Mission: The WPI Business School develops adaptive leaders who create sustainable solutions, deliver globally responsible impact, and conduct transformative research at the intersection of business, technology, and people

Business School faculty and together with their graduate students are involved in a variety of business-related research including scholarly research, sponsored research, applied research with and for companies and non-profit organizations, and consulting work. Primary fields of research and teaching in Business School include:

Accounting and Finance with a focus on FinTech, Blockchain technology, and Cryptocurrencies.

Business Analytics as applied to Finance, Marketing, Operations, and Supply Chains.

Entrepreneurship with a focus on Technology Innovation, Value Creation, and Support of Start-up organizations.

Information Technology with a focus on User Experience, NeuroIS, Business Analytics, Business Applications of AI and Machine Learning, Social media applications, and IT applications in healthcare.

Leadership and Organization Behavior with a focus on Teams, Negotiations, Change Management, and the Ethical and Personal Practice of Leadership.

Marketing with a focus on Digital Marketing, Marketing Analytics, and Product Management.

Operations, Sustainability, and Supply Chain Management with a focus on Process Design and Improvement, Sustainability in Supply Chains, Optimization applications, and Healthcare operations.

Please refer to the Business School website (https://www.wpi.edu/academics/business) for a current listing of faculty and their research interests.

Business School Research Laboratories

The Business School Research ecosystem includes Research Labs with focused research agendas. These Labs are a primary mechanism by which faculty and students come together to conduct research, to explore ideas of interest to them, and to provide impact and value to society. Graduate students are encouraged to become involved in the research activities of a Lab related to their interests.

Analytical Research Collaborative for a Humane and Equitable Society. ARCHES is at the academic forefront of developing forward-looking technology at the interface of advanced analytics, decision making, and humanity. The ARCHES research has designed multiple award-winning systems including Annie™ Moore, the Global Opportunity Allocation Tool, and most recently, RUTH for relocating Ukrainian refugees to the United States through the U4U program.

Lead Professor: Operations Professor Andy Trapp

Business Development Lab. The BDL supports WPI-related early start-up companies, providing office space and entrepreneurial advice. That advice is provided by Entrepreneurship faculty and several Entrepreneurs-in-residence at WPI. The office space is in the WBS suite in Gateway Park, where the Entrepreneurs-in-residence are also located.

Lead Professor: Beswick Professor of Entrepreneurship Rosanna Garcia

Business, Resilience, and Climate Change (BRCC) Lab. The BRCC Lab recognizes that successful actions in addressing climate change are only possible if businesses play a big role in those actions in an efficient, expeditious and just way. This lab facilitates the research activities associated with a Department of Education grant.

Lead Professor: Organizational Behavior and Change Professor Michael Elmes

Digital Health Lab. The Digital Health Lab focuses on creating new knowledge at the intersection of healthcare and technology. It promotes healthy living through apps that support healthy behaviors. It supports the on-going research activities of a group of faculty and students who have focused for over a decade on research into how technology can better support health and wellness.

Lead Professor: Information Systems Professor Bengisu Tulu.

FinTech Lab. This lab supports the research activities of the faculty and students associated with the BS and MS in FinTech programs. It is a joint endeavor of the WPI Business School and FLAME University in Pume, India. The goals of this Lab are to (1) create new knowledge at the intersection of technology and financial services, (2) serve as a hub for execution of FinTech learner projects, and (3) contribute to the FinTech ecosystem in the respective geographies (Central Massachusetts, USA and Pume, India).

Lead Professor: Finance Professor Kwamie Dunbar

Social Media Analytics Lab. The SMAL Lab investigates marketing, consumer behavior, online behavior, and technology issues that can be studied by analyzing available social media data.

Lead Professor: Marketing Professor Adrienne Hall-Phillips

User Experience and Decision Making (UXDM) Lab. The UXDM Lab studies underlying cognitive processes (decision making and information processing) and user experience with digital products. Lab equipment features eye-tracking machines.

Lead Professor: Information Systems Professor Soussan Djamasbi.

Programs of Study

The interaction between business and technology drives every aspect of our Graduate Business Programs. We believe the future of business lies in leveraging the power of technology to optimize business opportunities. WPI stays ahead of the curve, giving students the ability to combine sound strategies with cutting edge innovation, and the confidence to contribute meaningfully within a global competitive environment. The superior record of our graduates’ successes highlights why WPI enjoys a nationally recognized reputation as one of the most respected names in technology-based business education.

WPI offers a variety of graduate business programs focusing on the integration of business and technology. These include the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Business Administration in Analytics (MBA), Business Analytics (MSBA), Financial Technology (MSFinTech), Information Technology (MSIT), and Operations and Supply Chain Management (MSOSCA).

Students enjoy extensive opportunities to expand their networks through associations with their peers and leading high-tech organizations. They also benefit from the latest available technologies and one of the nation’s most connected universities. The program’s strong emphasis on interpersonal and communication skills prepares students to be leaders in any organization. Whether dealing with information technology, biotechnology, financial markets, information security, supply chain management, manufacturing, or a host of other technology-oriented industries, the real world is part of the classroom, and students explore up-to-the-minute challenges faced by actual companies, through hands-on projects and teamwork. WPI promotes an active learning process, designed to develop the very best managers, leaders and executives in a technology-dependent world.

Graduate Certificates

Graduate business certificates are designed for technical and business professionals seeking focused, in-depth knowledge within a specific area of technology management. Certificates include: Artificial Intelligence in Business; Financial Technology; Information Security Management; Information Technology; Innovation with User Experience; Supply Chain Analytics; and Supply Chain Essentials. Each certificate consists of 4 courses, which may be double-counted toward a related master’s degree. Students may also customize their own graduate business certificate. For more information, please see http://business.wpi.edu/+certificates

Admission Requirements

For the Master’s program, applicants should have the analytic aptitude and academic preparation necessary to complete a technology-oriented business program. This includes a minimum of three semesters of college level math or two semesters of college level calculus. Applicants to the MSIT are also required to have a prior college-level programming course. Applicants to the MSBA are required to have a prior college-level statistics course. Applicants to the MSFinTech are required to have a prior college-level statistics, finance, or accounting course.

Applicants must have the earned equivalent of a four-year U.S. bachelor’s degree to be considered for admission. Admission decisions are based upon all the information required from the applicant. 

For the Ph.D. an applicant must be a graduate of an accredited U.S. college or university or an approved foreign equivalent institution, and have earned a grade point average of 3.0 or better in all prior undergraduate and graduate studies. A student with a master’s degree will be expected to have successfully demonstrated graduate level knowledge in a traditional business discipline such as Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Organizational Behavior, Entrepreneurship, Information Technology, or Operations Management; or in a discipline that is relevant to the student’s proposed concentration. Additionally, the applicant will demonstrate undergraduate competency in Calculus, Statistics and/or Micro/Macro Economics.

For those wishing to join the Executive Cohort of the Ph.D., applicants are expected to have at least fifteen years of work experience. Applicants should also have a strong aptitude for quantitative work. Executive Cohort applicants will be evaluated holistically based on their experience in their chosen field. 

Locations

Tailored to meet the challenges of working professionals, WPI offers full- and part-time graduate business study at our campus in Worcester, Massachusetts, as well as world-wide via our online courses (both synchronous and asynchronous).

Classes

BUS 500: Business Law, Ethics and Social Responsibility

Department
Business School, The
Credits 3.0
This course combines analysis of the structure, function and development of the law most important to the conduct of business with an examination of the ethical and social context in which managers make decisions. Emphasizing the social responsibility considerations of all business stakeholders, the course focuses on practical applications via extensive use of case studies. Students will gain a sound understanding of the basic areas of U.S. and international law including: intellectual property law; business formation and organization; international business law; securities regulation; cyber law and e-commerce; antitrust law; employment law and environmental law.

BUS 522: Global Business Experience

Department
Business School, The
Credits 3.0
Business is increasingly global. To be successful one must understand the customs and traditions of the regions in which they are operating. This course provides students with insight into different countries and business environments and includes an international trip where students will spend a week to 10 days on the ground in the featured region meeting with business, government and/ or academic leaders; touring company sites; and learning about the region. Prior to the trip students will study business history, culture and current topics related to the featured region. Guest speakers will often be incorporated. Following the trip students will typically write reflective papers and deliver presentations.

BUS 546: Managing Technological Innovation

Department
Business School, The
Credits 3.0
This course studies successful innovations and how firms must enhance their ability to develop and introduce new products and processes. The course will discuss a practical model of the dynamics of industrial innovation. Cases and examples will be discussed for products in which cost and product performance are commanding factors. The important interface among R&D/ manufacturing/marketing is discussed. International technology transfer and joint venture issues are also considered.

BUS 547: Energy Management

Department
Business School, The
Credits 3.0
This course covers a broad spectrum of energy auditing methods, energy management planning and energy management topics important to future energy professionals, business managers and leaders. The course includes a project that applies energy management concepts to an actual energy audit. The audit project also includes the development of an energy management plan for a selected building making cost-effective recommendations to improve efficiency. Additional topics include: energy management strategies for business, governmental regulations, incentives and resources, European Union energy policies and programs including carbon credits and related markets. Energy efficiency practices as they relate to ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED), high performance buildings, data centers, renewable energy sources and smart grid are also studied. Special focus will be on energy management for financial and environmental sustainability benefits from the perspective of CEOs, CFOs, COOs and CSOs.

BUS 590: Strategic Management

Department
Business School, The
Credits 3.0

This integrative and interdisciplinary course provides a broad overview of strategic management, with a focus on technology-driven organizations. Adopting a general management perspective, students will learn how to develop and execute a holistic corporate strategy that integrates key functional and business unit level strategies. Topics include data-driven strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. This course integrates the MBA core courses, and therefore should be taken after completing all core courses. It also serves as a prerequisite for the capstone project so it must be taken before the final capstone course (BUS 599).

Prerequisites

FIN 500, MIS 584, MKT 500, OBC 506 and OIE 501 or equivalent content, or instructor consent

BUS 594: Data-driven Business Strategy (Capstone)

Department
Business School, The
Credits 3.0

This is the Capstone project course for the STEM MBA program. The course content will introduce students to business strategy and integrate it with data-driven decision making. The course will involve a major team-based analytics project with an organizational sponsor. The project will involve both technical analytical skills and strategic thinking for formulating and implementing effective business strategies.

BUS 596: Master of Science Capstone Project

Department
Business School, The
Credits 3.0

This course is the capstone course for the STEM-based, specialty MS programs in the Foisie School of Business. This course serves as a practical integration of the STEM-based tools, techniques, and skills and the related business theories and practices that students learned in their MS program. The medium is a major team-based project in the form of an actual corporate STEM-based business need for which students will develop solutions. Students will produce a written report that documents and provides the financial, organizational, and technical rationale for the solutions. They will also formally present their results to the project sponsors. Students are expected to have completed (or are currently completing) all the courses requirements for their MS program prior to taking the capstone project. While the capstone requirements are the same for all STEM-based, specialty MS programs in the Foisie School of Business, the actual content of the project will differ by sponsor and by MS program. Students must take the appropriate section of BUS 596 for each MS program they complete.

Prerequisites

MIS 502, MIS 584, OBC 503, OIE 552 or equivalent content, or instructor consent

BUS 597: Independent Study

Department
Business School, The
Credits 1.0 3 Variable

This course will allow a student(s) to study a certain business-related topic under the guidance of an affiliated WPI Business School faculty member. The student must produce an appropriate deliverable from this experience to satisfy the course requirement.

BUS 598: Special Topics

Department
Business School, The
Credits 1.0 3 Variable

This course will engage students at an advanced level in the exploration of special topics that reflect the expertise of the business school’s faculty. It will serve as a flexible vehicle to provide a course offering of topics of current interest as well as to offer new topics before they are made into a permanent course. The course content and format vary to suit the interests and needs of the faculty and students.

BUS 599: Capstone Project

Department
Business School, The
Credits 3.0

This capstone course integrates management theory and practice, and incorporates a number of skills and tools acquired in the M.B.A. curriculum. The medium is a major team-based project in the form of a corporate venture or green field venture. In addition to a written report, the project is formally presented to a panel of outside experts including serial entrepreneurs and investors. (Students cannot get credit for BUS 599 and BUS 517)

Prerequisites

BUS 590, FIN 500, MIS 584, MKT 500, OBC 506 and OIE 501 or equivalent content, or instructor consent

BUS 631: Research Methods and the Research Process

Department
Business School, The
Credits 3.0

This course introduces PhD students to business problems and the nature, scope, and purpose of research and research methodologies to study those problems. Topics include research approaches and designs, data types and their collection, measurement approaches, testing procedures, and interpreting and presenting findings. The ethics of various methods and data collection procedures are covered, as is the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process. Students will investigate applications of research methods to specific problems within their interest area, using qualitative and quantitative designs. They will also read example articles that use the research approaches covered.

Prerequisites

Admission to the Business School PhD program or to another WPI PhD program.

BUS 632: Qualitative Research Methods

Department
Business School, The

Capturing and analyzing rich sets of qualitative (descriptive, non-numerical) data is typically required to investigate complex business cases, from discovering opportunities for innovation to identifying root causes of business problems. While quantitative business data is increasingly available, qualitative data is often the source of the deeper understanding needed for exploring, explaining, and developing theories for complex socio-technical business environments that dominate our digital economy. This course focuses on methods for collecting and analyzing qualitative research data with the purpose of enabling students to make the novel discoveries that characterize PhD research in business. Students will become familiar with methods for collecting (e.g., interviews and focus groups) and analyzing (e.g., coding techniques and case study analysis methods), as well as the software packages that aid in qualitative data organization and analyses. They will understand which collection, coding, and analysis techniques to use in which situations, how to interpret results, and how data collection and analysis methods affect research results. These skills are critical for understanding how business can contribute to solving the large, societal problems within and across disciplines and industries.

Prerequisites

Admission to the Business School PhD program or to another WPI PhD program, BUS 631 or equivalent knowledge

Prerequisite Courses
BUS 631

BUS 633: Quantitative Research Methods

Department
Business School, The
Credits 3.0

Developing predictive behavioral models, which heavily rely on quantitative (numeric) data, are a major success factor in helping businesses develop competitive products and services. This course focuses on methods for collecting and analyzing quantitative research data with the purpose of enabling students to make the novel discoveries that characterize PhD research in business. Students will become familiar with one or more internationally utilized statistical software packages and with the array of statistical analysis techniques in them. They will understand which statistical analysis techniques to usein which situations, how to interpret the output from these packages, and how data collection and analysis methods affect research results. In our increasingly data intensive business environment, these skills are critical for understanding business data and using that understanding to design better processes and systems and to make better decisions within and across industries.

Prerequisites

Admission to the Business School PhD program or to another WPI PhD program, BUS 631 or equivalent knowledge

BUS 651: Seminar on Designing and Conducting Research Studies

Department
Business School, The
Credits 3.0

This course is offered every semester for cohort students as they start their research studies. It bridges between students’ methods courses and the start of their 30 dissertation credits. It is conducted in seminar format with a focus on students presenting the progress on their research studies and discussion among the class about appropriate research designs and analyses. This course can be taken multiple times.

Prerequisites

Admission to the Business School PhD program or to another WPI PhD program, BUS 631 or equivalent knowledge, BUS 632 or BUS 633 or equivalent knowledge.

BUS 691: Graduate Seminar

Department
Business School, The
Credits 0.0
Seminars on current issues related to entrepreneurship, information technology and operations management are presented by authorities in their fields. All full-time Ph.D. students in Business Administration are required to register and attend.

BUS 697: Teaching Practicum

Department
Business School, The
Credits 1.0 3 Variable

The objective of the teaching practicum is to provide students with practical teaching exposure within an actual classroom environment. This practicum requires students to closely collaborate with a faculty member to observe teaching methodologies and gain practical teaching exposure. The configuration of experiences and the scope of supervisory duties will be determined by the student and the advisor. Given WBS’s mentorship-based doctoral program, this practicum is typically completed as an independent study under the supervision of the PhD student’s advisor. During these practica, students are guided and assessed by their faculty supervisors. The nature of students' practicum experiences will differ, spanning factors such as the degree of focus on actual teaching sessions, the creation of course materials (e.g., syllabi, assignments, and discussions, etc.), grading assignments, as well as engaging in curriculum evaluation and planning. Enrollment in this course is not a teaching assistant assignment.

Prerequisites

Consent of research advisor

BUS 5900: Internship

Department
Business School, The
Credits 0.0 3

The internship is an elective-credit option designed to provide an opportunity to put into practice the principles that have been studied in previous courses. Internships will be tailored to the specific interests of the student. Each internship must be carried out in cooperation with a sponsoring organization, generally from off campus, and must be approved and advised by a WPI faculty member in the School of Business. Internships may be proposed by the student or by an off-campus sponsor. The internship must include proposal, design and documentation phases. Following the internship, the student will report on his or her internship activities in a mode outlined by the supervising faculty member. Students are limited to counting a maximum of 3 internship credits toward their degree requirements. Students must be making satisfactory academic progress as defined in the WPI graduate catalogue to be eligible to register for internship credit. International students who are working on a second U.S. masters degree and who have already used their master’s-level Optional Practical Training (OPT) may petition the School of Business’ Graduate Policy and Curriculum Committee to do additional Curricular Practical Training (CPT) beyond 3 credits on a non-credit basis. Part-time students cannot do an internship at their place of employment.

ETR 598: Special Topics

Department
Business School, The
Credits 1.0 3 Variable

This course will engage students at an advanced level in the exploration of special topics that reflect the expertise of the business school’s ETR faculty. It will serve as a flexible vehicle to provide a course offering of topics of current interest as well as to offer new topics before they are made into a permanent course. The course content and format vary to suit the interests and needs of the faculty and students.

FIN 598: Special Topics

Department
Business School, The
Credits 1.0 3 Variable

This course will engage students at an advanced level in the exploration of special topics that reflect the expertise of the business school’s FIN faculty. It will serve as a flexible vehicle to provide a course offering of topics of current interest as well as to offer new topics before they are made into a permanent course. The course content and format vary to suit the interests and needs of the faculty and students.

MIS 598: Special Topics

Department
Business School, The
Credits 1.0 3 Variable

This course will engage students at an advanced level in the exploration of special topics that reflect the expertise of the business school’s MIS faculty. It will serve as a flexible vehicle to provide a course offering of topics of current interest as well as to offer new topics before they are made into a permanent course. The course content and format vary to suit the interests and needs of the faculty and students.

MKT 598: Special Topics

Department
Business School, The
Credits 1.0 3 Variable

This course will engage students at an advanced level in the exploration of special topics that reflect the expertise of the business school’s MKT faculty. It will serve as a flexible vehicle to provide a course offering of topics of current interest as well as to offer new topics before they are made into a permanent course. The course content and format vary to suit the interests and needs of the faculty and students.

OBC 598: Special Topics

Department
Business School, The
Credits 1.0 3 Variable

This course will engage students at an advanced level in the exploration of special topics that reflect the expertise of the business school’s OBC faculty. It will serve as a flexible vehicle to provide a course offering of topics of current interest as well as to offer new topics before they are made into a permanent course. The course content and format vary to suit the interests and needs of the faculty and students.