Business Foundations Specialization

“Business opportunities are everywhere. Knowing how to analyze, execute, and lead is what turns them into success.”​

Business Foundations Specialization

The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Completed by: Seven Grant

Date: February 17, 2025

Duration: Approximately 2 months at 10 hours per week

Courses Completed:

• Introduction to Corporate Finance
• Introduction to Financial Accounting
• Wharton Business Foundations Capstone
• Managing Social and Human Capital
• Introduction to Operations Management
• Introduction to Marketing

Course Highlights & Takeaways

1. Introduction to Corporate Finance

Taught by: Michael R. Roberts | Grade: 82% | Duration: 4 weeks, 3-5 hours/week

Key Takeaways:

1. Understanding time value of money and discounting cash flows
2. Capital budgeting and project valuation techniques
3. Risk assessment and portfolio diversification basics
4. Corporate financing options and cost of capital
5. Evaluating mergers and acquisitions financially
6. Understanding dividend policy decisions
7. Using financial metrics for decision-making

2. Introduction to Financial Accounting

Taught by: Brian J. Bushee | Grade: 82% | Duration: 4 weeks, 5-6 hours/week

Key Takeaways:

1. Reading and interpreting income statements, balance sheets, and cash flows
2. Fundamentals of accrual and cash accounting
3. Recording transactions using journal entries
4. Adjusting entries and closing the books
5. Financial statement analysis and ratios
6. Accounting for assets, liabilities, and equity
7. Evaluating company performance and trends

3. Wharton Business Foundations Capstone

Taught by: Christian Terwiesch | Grade: 100% | Duration: 5 weeks, 3-5 hours/week

Key Takeaways:

1. Integrating finance, marketing, operations, and people management
2. Building a comprehensive business plan
3. Applying quantitative and qualitative analysis for decision-making
4. Team collaboration in problem-solving
5. Simulating business strategy under real-world constraints
6. Evaluating risks and potential ROI
7. Presenting actionable business recommendations

4. Managing Social and Human Capital

Taught by: Michael Useem & Peter Cappelli | Grade: 83% | Duration: 2-3 hours/week

Key Takeaways:

1. Strategies for effective leadership and team motivation
2. Talent acquisition, retention, and development
3. Designing compensation and reward systems
4. Managing workplace diversity and inclusion
5. Organizational behavior and culture influence
6. Conflict resolution and negotiation skills
7. Aligning human capital strategy with business goals

5. Introduction to Operations Management

Taught by: Christian Terwiesch | Grade: 97% | Duration: 4 weeks, 4-6 hours/week

Key Takeaways:

1. Mapping and analyzing business processes
2. Lean operations and process efficiency
3. Capacity planning and inventory management
4. Supply chain fundamentals
5. Quality management and continuous improvement
6. Forecasting demand and resource allocation
7. Evaluating operational performance metrics

6. Introduction to Marketing

Taught by: Barbara E. Kahn, Peter Fader & Jagmohan Raju | Grade: 96% | Duration: 5 weeks, 4-6 hours/week

Key Takeaways:

1. Understanding customer segmentation and targeting
2. Branding strategies and brand equity management
3. Go-to-market and product positioning strategies
4. Marketing research and data-driven decision-making
5. Customer relationship management fundamentals
6. Pricing, promotion, and distribution decisions
7. Measuring marketing ROI and campaign effectiveness