Jillian Alexander Associate Professor

Email

Alexander_Jillian@smc.edu
PHONE

310-434-8118
Dept.

Business
Office

Online

Resources for Students:

Fall 2023 Office Hours:

Sundays: 6:30 p.m. PT - 7:00 p.m. PT (August 28, 2023 through December 19, 2023)
Other times by appointment
Schedule via Canvas (click on SMC Connect) or email
Meet online via Zoom

Additional Resources:

District Calendar
SMC Business Department Home Page
SMC Transfer Center
Discounted subscription to The Wall Street Journal
Discounted subscription to The Economist

About Jillian Alexander

Faculty Area:

Management and Organization
Global Business
Strategy
Marketing

Faculty Expertise:

Global Business
Entrepreneurship
Innovation
Strategy
Marketing
Market Research
Decision Making
Business Economics
Forecasting
Marketing and Management Communications

Professional biography

As an Associate Professor, Jillian Alexander inspires students by sharing her passion for building thriving companies and strong regional economies. She brings proven methods and insights gained from more than 25 years of successfully managing and leading high-profile strategic initiatives, positioning companies to remain or become MARKET LEADERS and TREND-SETTERS, close ACCRETIVE DEALS, and achieve beneficial EXIT.

Jillian teaches her students about a wide variety of industries and business activities, including making business decisions, assessing opportunities and risk, neuroeconomics and consumer behavior, innovating products and services, designing and building organizations, strategic sourcing, distribution channels, production and operations strategy and planning, forecasting and evaluating performance, advertising & publicity, inventory and supply chain management, managing people as well as customer and vendor relationships, raising capital, managing cash flow, and financial reporting. She instructs her students in the use of relevant methods and frameworks -- not only “how to”, but also “why” and “when” to apply them; and makes students aware of the limitations of other widely-taught and used, yet often inappropriately applied techniques.

In addition to teaching, Jillian is an entrepreneur and the Managing Director of international award-winning Conduit Consulting LLC, a Strategy, Transaction Advisory and General Management Consultancy firm she founded in 2002. In her previous roles as Vice President Corporate Development at SONY Pictures Entertainment and, Vice President Corporate Development & Strategic Planning at eMemories, and Practice Area Manager and Senior Consultant, Strategic Change Practice at Price Waterhouse LLP / PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), she advised on and managed complex repositioning, restructuring, and reorganization strategic initiatives. That built on her early-career in progressively more responsible Sales Management roles with Fortune 500 Retailers, followed by Production Management and Marketing Management roles with Film/TV/Commercial Advertisement companies. Jillian has extensive experience managing projects, relationships, and business activities; and has attained substantial knowledge of a wide array of industries, business processes, and regions which she continually refreshes. Her clients have included public corporations, private enterprises, non-profit organizations, and government agencies in all life-stages spanning the Agribusiness, Biopharmaceutical, Consumer Electronics, Energy, Entertainment, Financial Services, Healthcare, Internet, Media, Paperboard, Professional Services, Real Estate, Retail, Telecommunications, Travel, and other diverse industries. Read more here.

Like many SMC students, Jillian worked and lived with roommates throughout her undergraduate degree so that she could graduate debt-free. Jillian studied Marketing at Arizona State University, then completed her product design and marketing studies and received her B.A.A., cum laude, in Fashion Design from the American College for the Applied Arts. After nine years managing in Retail, Media, and Entertainment industries, Jillian returned to school to round-out her skills and knowledge, earning an M.B.A. from Cornell University’s S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management where her studies concentrated on Finance and International Business. Her professional qualifications include Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor, CFA Institute-Regular Member and Certified Human Resource Consultant.

List of Fall 2023 SMC courses taught by Jillian Alexander with course descriptions

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BUS 1: Introduction to Business

Units: 3.0 Transfers to: UC, CSU
Required Text
e-book is adequate

An overview of the functional areas of business in a global society. Students will complete the course with knowledge of the general business environment, economic systems, business ethics, operations and project management, and technology and information systems. In addition, students will learn the fundamentals of economics, business owner-ship, entrepreneurship, finance, management, leadership, and marketing. Key themes woven throughout the course include exploration of career options and development of business problem-solving skills.

BUS 32: Business Communications

Units: 3.0 Transfers to: CSU
Required Text
e-book is adequate

This course surveys the principles and techniques of current and evolving business communication as a process in a variety of business situations. The course emphasizes planning, organizing, composing, and revising business documents using appropriate utilization of a variety of technological platforms, business related internet writing contexts, and web resources. Also, this course will incorporate a variety of internet-based communication tools relevant to doing business in today's world. This course is designed for students who already have college-level writing skills.

Due to COVID-19, Spring 2022 section will be taught through Canvas and other learning platforms. Students should expect to devote 4.5 hours to interactive learning activities and 1.0 hours to reading assigned text chapters each week.

BUS 50: Introduction to International Business

Units: 3.0 Transfers to: CSU
Required Text
e-book is adequate

This course focuses on general business problems, theories, techniques and strategies necessary in the development of business activities in the global market place. The course is designed to promote an understanding of the impact that a country’s culture and its political and economic environments have on a firm’s international operations. The course covers the global perspective of business fundamentals as they relate to international management, communication, marketing, finance, ethics, etc.

List of additional SMC courses taught by Jillian Alexander with course descriptions

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BUS 20: Principles of Marketing

Units: 3.0 Transfers to: CSU

This course introduces modern business marketing concepts and strategies and familiarizes the student with standards, procedures, and techniques used in marketing. Topics include marketing research; consumer behavior; target marketing; green marketing; and product, pricing, promotion, and distribution strategies.

Due to COVID-19, Spring 2022 section will be taught through Canvas and other learning platforms. Students should expect to devote 6.5 hours to interactive learning activities and 1.0 hours to reading assigned text chapters each week.

BUS 26: Marketing Research & Consumer Behavior

BUS 27: Introduction to e-Commerce

Units: 3.0 Transfers to: CSU

Students will learn the technological and strategic aspects of electronic commerce essential to succeeding in today's internet-based economy. No background in e-commerce is necessary. This is a lecture and theoretical course which covers the key technologies used in e-Commerce, the history of internet and web technologies, infrastructure, and the economic forces behind e-Commerce. Business goals and constraints, technology and process tools, business strategies and tactics, and underlying economic theories relating to successful e-Commerce will be discussed.

BUS 52: International Marketing

Units: 3.0 Transfers to: CSU

This course focuses on marketing management problems, techniques, and strategies necessary to incorporate the marketing concept into the framework of the world marketplace. This course is designed to promote an understanding of the impact that a country's culture and environment have on the marketing mix as well as the problems of competing in markets having different cultures.

BUS 62: Human Relations & Ethics in Business

BUS 63: Principles of Entrepreneurship

BUS 65: Management Principles

Units: 3.0 Transfers to: CSU

This course introduces the student to management concepts and strategies used by modern businesses. The course is designed to familiarize student with the accepted standards, procedures, and techniques employed by top, middle, and supervisory level managers. Further, the course provides students with an understanding of the role of management and how to develop plans and execute strategies in pursuit of organizational goals.

BUS 67: Business Strategies

Units: 3.0 Transfers to: CSU

In this case-format introductory "management of strategy" course, we discuss businesses’ current opportunities and challenges as well as the pro’s and con’s of their strategic options. Students learn how to identify options, develop and practice analytical and decision-making skills, and devise viable strategies to apply in actual business situations.

Jillian Alexander