UCLA AMP – Customer Centricity, Driving Growth and Scale
Faculty
Professor Gonzalo Freixes
Professor
Gonzalo Freixes is a senior lecturer in the accounting area and is currently the Associate Dean of the Executive MBA and Fully Employed MBA programs, as wells as overseeing the Global Immersion programs for all three UCLA Anderson MBA programs. Mr. Freixes also serves as faculty director for the Applied Management Research Program for the full-time MBA Program. He holds a doctorate in jurisprudence from Loyola Law School and a master’s in business taxation from the University of Southern California.
Mr. Freixes teaches business law, international business law, business ethics, corporate and individual taxation, and real estate law & taxation in the MBA Program and in the undergraduate accounting minor program. He has lectured in Brazil, Spain, France, Holland, Argentina, South Africa, Belgium and Chile on international business & tax subjects. Previously, he taught international business law and business law at California State University, Northridge.
Mr. Freixes also directs the Price Center’s UCLA Summer Entrepreneurship Institute for undergraduate students, where he also teaches a course in business ethics and corporate governance. He frequently lectures in the subjects of taxation, corporate governance, business ethics, international business law, and trial advocacy.
In 2011, Mr. Freixes received the Neidorf Decade Teaching Award from the UCLA Anderson faculty and in 2006, he received the Fully Employed MBA class Outstanding Teacher Award. He is the faculty advisor and coach for the UCLA Mock Trial program. UCLA won the national mock trial championship in 2004, 2005, and 2011. He also served as a writer and consultant for the pilot of a Fox TV reality series, The Partner.
Mr. Freixes currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Executive MBA Council and was Chair of the Board in 2012. He was an elected official with the Newhall School Board of Trustees (serving two years as its president) and also served on the State Bar of California’s Judicial Nominees Commission for three years, where he evaluated the California governor’s judicial nominees for the Supreme, Appellate, Superior and Municipal Courts.
Education
J.D. Law, 1979, Loyola Law School
M.A. Business Taxation, 2008, USC
Interests
Business law, taxation, business ethics, governance, international law and taxation, international trade, Latin America, law, political and legal strategy, start-up companies
Prof. Filipe Caro
Professor
Dr. Filipe Caro joined the UCLA Anderson School of Management in 2005. His main research interests are related to decisions made under uncertainty with a strong emphasis on practical applications. In his PhD dissertation at MIT, he developed analytical models with demand learning for the dynamic assortment problem faced by fast-fashion retailers. This led to an ongoing collaboration with the Spanish apparel retailer Zara that made him a Franz Edelman Laureate in 2009. On the theoretical side, his work on product and price competition with satiation effects won the first prize in the 2010 INFORMS Junior Faculty Paper competition.
Some of his current research projects include carbon allocation in supply chains; coordination of pricing and inventory decisions; forecasting; and exploration versus exploitation problems.
Prior to receiving his PhD, Professor Caro worked as an instructor in the Industrial Engineering Department of the University of Chile. He taught courses in optimization, dynamic programming and stochastic processes and also worked on research projects involving natural resources, mostly in the forestry and copper industries. He continues to collaborate on a permanent basis with his colleagues in Chile.
At UCLA Anderson, Professor Caro teaches the MBA core course on operations and technology management and doctoral level courses on stochastic models in operations management. In 2007, he was awarded the George Robbins Assistant Professor Award that distinguishes excellence in teaching at the UCLA Anderson School.
Recognitions
2014 ENRE Best Publication Award in Natural Resources.
2013 Eric and “E” Juline Faculty Excellence in Research Award.
2013 ecch Production & Operations Management Award and New Case Writer Award.
2012 EURO Excellence in Practice Award, Finalist
2012 MSOM Meritorious Service Award
2010 MSOM Meritorious Service Award
2010 INFORMS Junior Faculty Interest Group Paper Competition, First Prize
2010 Revenue Management and Pricing Practice Award, Finalist
2009 Franz Edelman Laureate
2008 Deloitte Consulting Award for Management Field Study Achievement
2007 Robbins Assistant Professor Teaching Award
Education
Ph.D. in operations management, 2005, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ind. Eng. In industrial engineering, (Profesional Title) 1999, University of Chile
B.Sc. in industrial engineering, 1998, University of Chile
Interests
Retailing, supply chain management, bandit problems, approximate dynamic programming, natural resources
Course Learning Objectives:
- Understand the aspects of identifying target customers and the process of building customer hypotheses, segments, and personas.
- Learn the fundamentals of customer needs, methods of identifying, and visualizing those needs.
- Understand the process of building a value proposition canvas.
- Learn the fundamentals of customer needs, methods of identifying, and visualizing those needs.
- Understand the process of building a value proposition canvas.
- Learn strategies and tactics required to grow or scale a digital business.
- Familiarize with the digital tools that can help a business scale up quickly.
- Consider the facts related to a proposed new foreign market to recommend the best method for initial entry.
Syllabus
- Discovering and Understanding Target Customers
- Identifying the Customer Needs and Defining the Value Proposition
- Implementing Customer Intelligence in Product Development
- Growing and Scaling a Digital Business
- Digital Tools for Scaling the Business
- Going Global
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the aspects of identifying target customers and the process of building customer hypotheses, segments, and personas.
Module Components:
Video Lectures:
- What is Customer Centricity and Why It Matters?
- Understanding Total Addressable Market, Servicable Market, and Share of Market
Readings:
- Understanding the Approaches to Estimate Target Market Size
- Creating Detailed Customer Segments
- Building User Personas
Quiz:
- Discovering and Understanding Target Customers – Quiz
Learning Objectives:
- Learn the fundamentals of customer needs, methods of identifying, and visualizing those needs.
- Understand the process of building a value proposition canvas.
Module Components:
Video Lectures:
- What is a Customer Need?
- Ethnographic Research for Gaining an In-Depth Customer Insight
- Detailing Customer Needs – Empathy Mapping
- Clarifying Customer Purchase Path – Journey Mapping
- What is a Value Proposition?
- Developing the Value Proposition Canvas
Readings:
- Key Methods for Identifying the Customer Needs
- A Detailed Understanding of Empathy Mapping
- A Detailed Understanding of Value Proposition Canvas
Quiz:
- Identifying the Needs and Defining the Value Proposition – Quiz
Learning Objectives:
- Learn the fundamentals of customer needs, methods of identifying, and visualizing those needs.
- Understand the process of building a value proposition canvas.
Module Components:
Video Lectures:
- Prioritizing Product Features Customers Value – Kano Model
- How Mercedes Benz Builds Customer-Centric Products
Readings:
- Other Techniques used for Feature Prioritization
- Identifying a Market-Winning Product Concept – Key Methods
- Developing Customer-Centric Product Designs
- Stages of Implementing a Customer-Centric Product: An Overview
Quiz:
- Implementing Customer Intelligence in Product Development – Quiz
Learning Objectives:
- Learn strategies and tactics required to grow or scale a digital business.
Module Components:
Video Lectures:
- Strategies to Scale Digital Business
- Finding New Markets for Digital Business Expansion
- Assessing the Market Opportunity
- Tailoring for Local Customer Preferences
- Managing Technology, Supply Chain, and Legal Compliance
Readings:
- Levers for Scaling a Digital Business
- Scaling Digital Business : Example of Amazon and Alibaba
- Examples of SMB Digital Business Growth
Quiz:
- Growing and Scaling a Digital Business
Learning Objectives:
- Familiarize with the digital tools that can help a business scale up quickly.
Module Components:
Video Lectures:
- What is Cloud Computing and How Businesses Can Use It
- Example of Using Cloud Computing for Revenue Growth
- Using Ecommerce to Sell
Readings:
- Scale Your Business With AI
- Scaling With Data Science, Algorithms, and Expert Insights
- Gamification to Scale Business
- How the Cloud Enables Rapid Growth in SMBs
- Example of Skullcandy using an Ecommerce Platform to Scale its Business
- How Startups Can Use AI-Powered Tools to Scale Up
Quiz:
- Digital Tools for Scaling the Business
Learning Objectives:
- Consider the facts related to a proposed new foreign market to recommend the best method for initial entry.
Module Components:
Video Lectures:
- Challenges and Issues in Going Global
- Practicalities and Perspectives for Global Market Entry
- Using Digital Marketing for Global Business Expansion
- Key Concepts of Global Strategy and its Execution
- Zara Case Study – A lesson in Execution
Readings:
- Succeed in International Markets
- Managing for Global Financial Risks
- Ensuring Growth through Focus
Quiz:
- Quiz on Customer Centricity, Driving Growth and Scale – Quiz