Career Journeys - General Management

Career Elective Guides

Strategy

General managers must chart a path forward for their organization, leveraging technology and disruptive forces to create new ways of delivering value to stakeholders. These courses craft your strategic thinking and prepare you to lead in the digital economy.

Course Number	Course Title
8481	Global Industry Economics (Q1)
8535	Growth and Business in Emerging Markets (Q1)
8190	Taxation and Management Decisions (Q1)
8033	Digital Marketing (Q1, Q2)
8496	Data Science in Business (Q2)
8171	International Corporate Finance (Q2)
8014	Strategic Thinking (Q2)
8758	Strategy in the Digital Age (Q3)
8330	Business-Government Relations (Q3)
8172	Financial Crises and Civic Reaction (Q3, Q4)

Financial Analysis and Economics

General managers must make sound business decisions based on insightful financial analyses with a desire to be good stewards of enterprise resources. Core to that endeavor is the need for cost control, capital allocation and performance measurement at various levels within an organization.

Course Number	Course Title
8423	Corporate Financial Policies (Q1)
8190	Taxation and Management Decisions (Q1)
8465	Management Planning and Control Systems (Q1)
8170	Managerial Finance (Q2)
8759	The Economics of Money and Banking (Q2)
8023	China in the World Economy (Q3)
8470	Corporate Financing (Q3)
8013	Strategic Corporate Governance (Q3)
8390	India in the World Economy (Q4)

Management and Operations

When you have profit and loss responsibility for a business unit, you are accountable for delivering results. These courses help you understand how to manage product development and innovation, crafting the value proposition for the customer, and manage operations to deliver to the customer.

Course Number	Course Title
8636	Digital Product Management (Q1)
7608	General Management and Operational Effectiveness (Q1)
8626	Global Economics of Water (Q1)
8465	Management Planning and Control Systems (Q1)
8065	Managing Sustainability from the Inside Out (Q1)
8170	Managerial Finance (Q2)
8024	Strategy Execution (Q2)
8067	Managing Innovation (Q3)
8180	Hot Topics in Analytics (Q4)
8390	India in the World Economy (Q4)
8429	Managing Conflict & Leveraging Consensus (Q4)

Leadership

Effective general managers are skilled leaders who leverage the talent of their people to create results. To be an effective leader, you must develop, empower and inspire your people to perform at the highest level and with the greatest degree of integrity possible.

Course Number	Course Title
8619	Leading Teams (FY-Q4)
7619	Paths to Power (FY-Q4)
8019	Defining Moments (Q2)
8015	Behavioral Decision Making (Q4)
8274	Leadership When it Really Counts (Q4)
8706	Leadership, Diversity and Leveraging Difference (Q4)

Communication

The best solutions are useless if they aren’t shared with stakeholders in compelling ways. You must ensure your message is received and embraced by other individuals, teams, clients and corporate and government entities.

Course Number	Course Title
7600	Data Visualization and Analytics (FY-Q4, Q1)
7605	Strategic Communication (FY-Q4)
8930	Negotiations (Q1, Q2)
8395	Communicating Financial and Sustainability Performance (Q2)
8320	Leadership Communication During Times of Disruption and Transformation (Q3)
8620	Brand Management: Creating, Testing, and Analyzing New Brand Strategies (Q3)

Creativity and Problem Solving

Being original is not a luxury in a globally diverse, hypercompetitive marketplace. You must be able to see — and help others see — problems as novel opportunities upon which they can capitalize. These courses help you foster creative environments and generate innovative outputs.

Course Number	Course Title
7618	Effectual Entrepreneurship (FY-Q4, Q4)
8042	The Spirit of the New Workplace (Q2)
8621	Project Management (Q2)
8055	Analytics for Experiments, Forecasts, and Growth (Q3)
8459	Innovation and Design Experience (Q3, Q4)
8476	Collaboration Lab (Q4)
8989	Critical and Creative Thinking in Business (Q4)

Concentrations

Business Development and Growth

Sustainable success requires organizations to innovate and grow to maintain or increase profitability. Students in this concentration will learn the fundamentals of managing innovation, organic growth, and acquisition and integration of mergers and acquisitions.

Faculty Contact: Jeanne Liedtka

 

Business Development and Growth Concentration Requirements

A student will be recognized as having this concentration when they have completed 9.0 credit hours from the courses listed below.

Note: Not all courses may be offered in a given year.

 

Course Number	Course Title	Credit Hours
7500	Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship in Action (IDEA)	1.5
7603	Valuation in Financial Markets	1.5
8013	Strategic Corporate Governance	1.5
8014	Strategic Thinking	1.5
8130	Prototyping and Product Development 1	1.5
8304	Consumer Behavior	1.5
8310	Competitive Dynamics Seminar	1.5
8400	General Managers Taking Action	3
8459	Innovation and Design Experience	3
8697-8699	Darden Consulting Project (must be approved for this concentration)	1.5

Supply Chain Management

Obtain additional grounding in operations management concepts and develop depth of knowledge in supply chain management concepts, particularly from a general management perspective. Build strength in related cross-functional skills including sustainability, technology and digital operations.

Faculty Contact: Raul Chao

 

Supply Chain Management Concentration Requirements

A student will be recognized as having this concentration when they have completed 7.5 credit hours from the courses listed below.

Note: Not all courses may be offered in a given year.

 

Course Number	Course Title	Credit Hours
7608	General Management and Operational Effectiveness	1.5
8050	Digital Operations	1.5
8053	Sustainable Global Value Chains	1.5
8171	International Corporate Finance	1.5
8466	Emerging Topics in Technology & Operations Management	1.5
8621	Project Management	1.5
8697-8699	Darden Consulting Project (must be approved for this concentration)	1.5
8800	Operations Strategy	1.5
8830	Supply Chain Management	1.5
8930	Negotiations	1.5
8999	Darden Independent Study (must be approved for this concentration)	1.5

Career Preparation

Through Darden’s Career Center and Alumni Career Services, you’ll gain career guidance from the moment you enroll and for wherever your career takes you after graduation. Here’s what you can expect:

• Pre-matriculation, First Year and Second Year career education 
• One-on-one, industry-specific coaching 
• Darden-facilitated opportunities for networking, meeting alumni and industry leaders, and interviewing 
• Resume and cover letter reviews 
• Access to advanced analytics and data to craft recruiting marketing materials such as resume, LinkedIn and more 
• Industry- and employer-specific database for interview prep and salary research 
• Technical interview prep 
• Mock interviews 
• Employer case competitions 
• Negotiation skill-building 
• Executives-in-Residence Program 

Career Clubs and Activities

General Management and Operations Club 

As the largest career-oriented organization at Darden, the General Management and Operations Club is committed to bridging the gap between the classroom and the job market. 

Conferences and Events

Darden Marketing, General Management and Tech (MGMT) Conference

Darden's MGMT Conference provides a unique opportunity for three of the School's largest career clubs to host and engage with top employers hiring Darden talent.