Department of Strategic Management & Public Policy

Department of Strategic Management & Public Policy

Strategy at the Intersection of
Business and Society
The Department of Strategic Management and Public Policy (SMPP) examines the critical forces shaping modern organizations—from competitive corporate strategy and business ethics to sustainability, corporate responsibility, and the relationships between business, government, and society.

Ethical, Inclusive Leadership for Global Impact
Grounded in the mission of the GW School of Business, the department prepares diverse leaders to make a positive impact on governance, the environment, labor markets, and society through principled decision-making and strategic insight.

Research in Action—Powered by Washington, D.C.
SMPP leverages its proximity to federal agencies, policymakers, nonprofit organizations, and global institutions to connect strategy and public policy in meaningful ways. Faculty bring deep experience across business, government, and nonprofit sectors, producing influential research that informs real-world decision-making in both private and public arenas.

How does the Strategic Management & Public Policy Department Make an Impact?

Dr. Vontrese ("Voni") Pamphile's research on company values and ethics is directly applied in her classroom, where students think critically about workplace culture. Sharing her research about an increasingly relevant topic for business leaders has inspired students to lead change in their own organizations and beyond.

In addition to its two signature programs, the department provides courses that serve students across the business school, integrating strategy and public policy into a broad range of academic pathways.

Undergraduate Courses

BADM 2001. Markets and Politics.

Economic and political resource allocation; social and political influences on business organizations; contemporary problems and issues.

BADM 2001W. Markets and Politics.

Economic and political resource allocation; social and political influences on business organizations; contemporary problems and issues. Restricted to students in the School of Business. Includes a significant engagement in writing as a form of critical inquiry and scholarly expression to satisfy the WID requirement.

BADM 4101. Business Ethics and the Legal Environment.

Introduction to practical reasoning at the intersection of business and society. Focus on application of ethics frameworks and key dimensions of the legal environment to problems of individual, organizational, and social responsibility in business.

BADM 4101W. Business Ethics and the Legal Environment.

Introduction to practical reasoning at the intersection of business and society. Application of ethics frameworks and key dimensions of the legal environment to problems of individual, organizational, and social responsibility in business. Restricted to students in the School of Business. Includes a significant engagement in writing as a form of critical inquiry and scholarly expression to satisfy the WID requirement.

BADM 4801. Strategy Formulation and Implementation.

Integrative capstone course designed to develop skills in diagnosing organizational problems, formulating and selecting strategic alternatives, and recognizing problems inherent in strategy implementation.

SMPP 2004. Strategy, Careers, and Impact.

Students explore how people define success, how firms shape culture and performance, and how business interacts with policy, inequality, and the future of work.

SMPP 2006. Ethics of Al in Business.

Topics include responsibility for Al-related harms, transparency and accountability, automation and meaningful work, stakeholder consent, safety trade-offs, and data governance.

SMPP 3301. Corporate Sustainability Strategy.

Through cases and applied projects, students analyze sustainability initiatives, evaluate trade-offs, and develop strategies that balance performance, legitimacy, and long-term impact.

SMPP 4210. Strategic Environmental Management.

While some in the business, government and nonprofit sectors view environmental protection as a threat to competitiveness, others see win-win opportunities. Uses case studies to design profitable corporate environmental management strategies.

SMPP 4215. Corporate Governance and Ethics.

The theory, practice, and public policy environment of corporate governance. Purpose, functioning, and responsibilities of boards of directors. Power, control, and compensation of corporate mgmt. Corporate governance in comparative national settings.

SMPP 4219. Strategic Networking.

Examines how social networking skills benefit both individuals and their organizations. Focuses on strategies to create, use, and manage social networks more effectively.

SMPP 4802. Advanced Strategic Management

Engage in advanced competitive strategy, business-level strategy, and corporate strategy, as well as non-market strategy, and learn how to capitalize on blockchains, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) in strategic management.

SMPP 4900. Special Topics.

Topics vary by semester. May be repeated for credit provided topic differs. Consult the Schedule of Classes for more details. Restricted to seniors.

SMPP 4900W. Special Topics.

Students undertake research in an area of particular interest under the direction of a strategic management and public policy faculty member. May be repeated for credit. Faculty and department chair approval are required to enroll.

Graduate Courses

MBAD 6286. Strategic Management I.

An introductory approach to strategic management, stressing the general concepts and methodologies used in strategic management and providing a foundation for the MBA learning experience.

MBAD 6287. Strategic Management II.

An integrative approach to strategic management, stressing the general manager’s perspective, strategy formulation, implementation of strategy and policy, and evaluation and control of strategy in various types of organizations.

MBAD 6288. Strategic Management.

An integrative approach to strategic management; general manager's perspective, strategy formulation, implementation of strategy and policy, and evaluation and control of strategy in various types of organizations.

MBAD 6289. Business Ethics and Public Policy.

Political, legal, social, economic, and ethical forces acting upon business. Interaction of the market system and public policy process in the development of law and regulation.

SMPP 6062. Affordable Housing Policy and Practice.

This course will provide an overview of the complex issues faced by housing producers in their collective efforts to shelter the nation, we will focus on the even greater challenge of creating housing that is affordable to vulnerable populations

SMPP 6202. Business-Government Relations.

Historical and philosophical foundations of the business–government relationship. Regulation, international trade, and corporate political activities. Public policy issues facing business and the business community’s political response.

SMPP 6204. Strategy Concepts.

Strategy concepts develops an integrative approach to strategic management from the perspective of the CEO and senior executives. Students learn both holistic industry analysis and apply strategic frameworks to a broad range of organizations.

SMPP 6210. Strategic Environmental Management.

Examination and analysis of the orientation and actions of private, public, and nonprofit sectors in relation to their natural environments. Emphasis on organizational interaction and effectiveness, particularly regarding business firms and industry, on issues of environmental quality and sustainability.

SMPP 6215. Corporate Governance and Ethics.

The theory, practice, and public policy environment of corporate governance. Purpose, functioning, and responsibilities of boards of directors. Power, control, and compensation of corporate management. Shareholders and stakeholders. Corporate governance in comparative national settings.

SMPP 6216 : Globalization and Global Governance.

The socioeconomic foundations of government regulation and public policy cooperation for the governance of firms, markets and globalization. The evolution of national, transatlantic and multilateral frameworks for market and civil society governance, international competition policy cooperation, regulatory harmonization and industry standards.

SMPP 6218. Topics in Business and Society.

Business engagement in policy making bodies through business organizations. Topics vary by semester. See department for more details.

SMPP 6219. Strategic Networking.

Research shows that social networking skills benefit both individuals and their organizations. The goal of this course is to gain a better understanding of how to create, use, and manage social networks more effectively.

SMPP 6220. Impact Investing.

Fundamentals of impact investing. Focus on the different forms and approaches to investing.

SMPP 6290. Special Topics.

Experimental offering. Topics vary by semester. May be repeated once for credit provided the topic differs.

SMPP 6291. Ethics and Business.

An in-depth, comprehensive exploration, analysis, and evaluation of specific for profit and nonprofit organization values, approaches, and outcomes related to multiple ethical ideals, systems, and practices.

SMPP 6293. American Business History.

The history of American business institutions in manufacturing, distribution, transportation, and finance. Particular attention is given to the period since industrialization, with consideration of business institutions in their economic, legal, governmental, and social contexts.

SMPP 6306. Ethics of AI in Business.

Issues related to responsible AI and fairness, as well as applied issues in AI ethics. Given the substantial shifts AI is precipitating in the business landscape.

Doctoral Courses

SMPP 8311. Seminar: Public-Private Sector Institutions and Relationships.

An analysis and critique of alternative theoretical frameworks for describing, understanding, and predicting the nature, values, and actions of American public and private institutions. Problems, potentials, and alternatives for structuring public and private institutional arrangements to meet the needs of society. Restricted to doctoral candidates.

SMPP 8321. Seminar in Strategic Management.

Develops understanding of the major research streams in strategic management; exposure to theoretical research frameworks and methodological issues and approaches.

SMPP 8331. Doctoral Seminar.

Designing sound theory-based, empirical research projects for the study of questions relevant to the field of strategic management.

SMPP 8391. Seminar: Business Management.

Examination of major current issues, both theoretical and empirical, affecting the development of the business enterprise. Topics to be announced. Emphasis on policy and strategic issues affecting the total enterprise. (Offered as the demand warrants)