Professor Polutnik teaches in both the undergraduate and graduate programs at Babson College and has taught at Ohio University and Georgia State University. She has taught in and organized a number of seminars for educators and entrepreneurs from Central and Eastern Europe. Dr. Polutnik has done research and consulted in the area of strategic cost management. Her research in this area focuses on the relationship between the firm's costs and customers' value and the influence of this relationship on the firm's profit. Dr. Polutnik also conducts research in the areas of labor economics and public finance and is examining the role of institutions in countries in transition.

Areas of expertise include: Economics, Pricing Strategy, Strategic Cost Management, and Women and Work.