Graduate catalog: 2023/24

Master of Business Administration Courses

Core Business Courses

Managerial Accounting

Accounting information is a key tool for communicating about an organization’s economic status and for making informed decisions. The course will emphasize the role of accounting information in monitoring, planning, controlling and decision making. It will focus on the managerial uses of accounting information and provide students with an understanding of how managers use accounting information to analyze and evaluate operational performance, including what data to collect, how to gather it, and how to display it for efficient decision making. Specific skills acquired will be identifying fixed and variable costs, leading to the ability to calculate break-even points; calculating the present value of cash streams leading to the ability construct capital budgets; constructing flexible budgets for manufacturing uses; non-routine decision methods; and financial trend analysis for financial statement interpretation.

Course Code: BUS 5110
Prerequisites: None
Credits: 3

Financial Management

Managers play a key role in resource generation and allocation and must be conversant with external economic influences and their relationship to the types of financial decisions made by organizations. The course will provide students with an understanding of the components of an organization’s internal financial conditions and how decision-makers manage these resources in the context of external markets and institutions. It will explore the finances of economic development and consider sources of early- and late-stage financing. The real-world challenges of corporate finance will be covered, including evaluating financial tools, e.g., mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, hostile takeovers, and initial public offerings; employing basic financial analysis tools, e.g., credit market analysis, option pricing, valuation of interest tax shields, and weighted average cost of capital; acquiring an understanding of core financial decisions, e.g., finance with debt or equity and distributing cash to shareholders; and considering aspects that can hinder/sideline financial stability, e.g., costs of financial distress, transaction costs, information asymmetries, taxes, and agency conflicts. Specific skills acquired will be financial trend analysis for financial statement interpretation; calculating the present value of cash streams leading to the ability construct capital budgets; calculating bond interest tax shields and its impact on a firm’s average cost of capital; constructing corporate valuation models; and assessing the impact of various sources of capital infusions on the cost of capital structure of a firm.

Course Code: BUS 5111
Prerequisites: BUS 5110
Credits: 3

Marketing Management (Identity Verification Course)

Effective organizations, whether in the public, private or non-profit sector, seek to attract and retain satisfied customers consistent with their mission and capacity. The course will emphasize the theory and practical skills associated with assessing customer interests, desires and needs; identifying organizational fit; and harnessing the organization’s capacity to respond. It will explore the relationship of marketing to other business functions and consider the challenges faced by organizations seeking to serve international and cross-cultural markets. Examples of how both young and mature organizations gain insight into consumer behavior, market services and engage in business-to-business marketing will be analyzed. Marketing for the e-business sector will be discussed, and students will be introduced to the role of marketing in new ventures, and learn cost-effective ways to do market research and leverage available resources in innovative ways to create new markets. Students will be required to develop a comprehensive marketing plan for a new start-up or a new product or service for an existing entity that covers selecting target markets, conducting market research, and determining brand management, pricing, and the promotion and distribution of products and services.

Course Code: BUS 5112
Prerequisites: None
Credits: 3

 

Management Skills, Concepts and Principles

Organizational Theory and Behavior

This course is designed to expose the student to the fundamental principles with which to understand human behavior inside public organizations. The course examines various theories developed in an attempt to explain and predict employee behavior in an organizational context. This course investigates individual and interpersonal behavior in organizations, including personality, decisionmaking, personal perceptions, teamwork, conflict, leadership, power, ethics and influence. In addition, this course seeks to analyze organizational-level factors affecting behavior, including change management, internal reward systems, culture, and organizational communication.

Course Code: BUS 5113
Prerequisites: None
Credits: 3

Business Law, Ethics and Social Responsibility (Identity Verification Course)

Leaders and managers are accountable to shareholders, and they are economically, financially, and legally responsible for what happens with their organizations. Ethical and social responsibility is similarly ascribed to those in charge. The course covers how an organization’s values and actions affect internal and external constituencies. It introduces reasons to promote responsible behavior on the part of organizations, and their employees. Students study real-world dilemmas and gain experience analyzing competing positive values, choosing among fully legal options, and navigating the grey area that frequently surrounds key management decisions. Students are encouraged to develop the type of questioning attitude so critical to ensuring that an organization’s ethical responsibilities are an integral part of business decisions and actions. Studying classical cases of business failures will alert students to the ethical steps needed to protect young ventures and the consequences of failing to act ethically in the ongoing conduct of commerce.

Course Code: BUS 5115
Prerequisites: BUS 5110, BUS 5112, and BUS 5113
Credits: 3

Strategic Decision Making and Management (Identity Verification Course)

Organizations are the sum of multiple moving parts, and the effective manager needs to understand their interrelationships and how to harness this power through the application of quality management skills. Analysis is the foundation of effective problem-solving whether in a start-up or an established multi-national organization. The course covers the fundamentals of strategy theory and when to employ various strategic management tools to develop supportable tactics and optimize the operation and management of an organization. Students delve into case studies that show successful and unsuccessful examples and explore with classmates situations happening in real-time in their worlds. They gain experience identifying problems, evaluating alternative solutions, assessing risks and formulating solutions that put in place the right organizational structures and solutions.

Course Code: BUS 5117
Prerequisites: BUS 5115 and BUS 5116
Credits: 3

 

Business Operations

Management Information Systems and Technology

Managers function in an environment of burgeoning and constantly-changing information flows. Successful professionals must understand the key role of information technology in organizations and be able to use and manage information systems. The course will introduce ways in which technology can be leveraged to streamline processes, increase efficiency and achieve operational advantage. It will explore how small business technology and systems support developing enterprises. Strategies for assessing an organization’s information needs, researching and evaluating available alternatives, understanding the limitations of technology, and designing and managing effective processes and systems will be covered. Students will apply knowledge of information technology and the information it provides to formulate a successful management strategy that includes decisions about the information to be collected, how to gather it, when having it is most useful in the decision cycle, and how to interpret and display it in ways that add value to the decision-making process and help organizations make sense of their world.

Course Code: BUS 5114
Prerequisites: BUS 5110, 5112, and BUS 5113
Credits: 3

Operations Management

An organization’s competitive position relies on effective management of its complex production and operational processes in order to meet market requirements. The course emphasizes organizational analysis and the role of manager in navigating the challenges of organizations in dynamic environments. It introduces analytical tools, methods and techniques for analyzing and improving these processes and for recognizing opportunities, risks and tradeoffs associated with pursuing strategies for optimizing quality and customer service. Students explore the relationship and implications of operations to other functional areas and stakeholders of the organization, and are introduced to strategies for informed decisions that maximize the design and management of operations in developing as well as mature manufacturing and service industries.

Course Code: BUS 5116
Prerequisites:  BUS 5110, BUS 5112, and BUS 5113
Credits: 3

Human Resource Management

This course will examine the evolving functions of human resources management within today’s organizations. Students will examine the changing roles and responsibilities of human resources managers, the acceptance and integration of the human resources functions within the corporate culture, and the higher expectations placed on human resources leaders to make a significant contribution to the successful management of the organization. Students will explore the role managers and supervisors play in the successful management of the organization’s human resources. Topics to be examined include: the functions of Human Resource Management, relationships within the organization, policies and procedures, workplace diversity, and the role of human resources in a global economy.

Course Code: BUS 5511
Prerequisites: BUS 5110, BUS 5112, and BUS 5113
Credits: 3

 

Strategic Leadership

Managing in the Global Economy

With the advent of e-commerce and the ready movement of capital and production, managers need to understand the cultural and relational factors that impact leaders and managers within global organizations. Students are introduced to the ways in which differing cultural norms in the community and workplace can create managerial challenges that call for flexibility in organization design, workforce development, technology, and the creation of alliances and partnerships. They explore the complexities of forming relationships in regions with differing concepts of doing business and learn how to be a more effective manager in cross-cultural enterprises. Emphasis is placed on identifying issues confronting managers working in global markets and considering approaches, such as the development of Cultural Intelligence, to address them.

Course Code: BUS 5211
Prerequisites: BUS 5110, BUS 5112, and BUS 5113
Credits: 3

Leading in Today’s Dynamic Contexts

Leadership is a complex phenomenon. Definitions of leadership differ across cultures and strategies for effective leadership can vary as a function of organizational maturity, tasks, relationships and contexts. The course delves into research on fundamentals of leaders and leadership and considers leading from the perspective of individual characteristics, management of teams, and alignment of organizational systems, processes and resources. It explores the dynamics of power and its positive and negative consequences and highlights the importance of articulating a vision and inspiring others to act in ways that support it. It examines leading during times of change and discusses the role of leader in decision making, managing creativity, and optimizing employee performance. Students are introduced to strategies for influencing decisions and negotiating collaborations, partnerships and other cooperative endeavors and learn how to assemble talent-centered teams to achieve organizational initiatives. Theory and practical approaches to motivating people, managing conflict and achieving consensus are covered. Students gain insights into their own leadership styles and strengths and work on enhancing their ability to lead and manage others in both the human and technical sides of an enterprise.

Course Code: BUS 5411
Prerequisites: BUS 5110, BUS 5112, and BUS 5113
Credits: 3

 

Innovation

Managing Projects and Programs

Project management enables organizations to optimize the use of scarce resources to accomplish strategic goals within a fixed timeframe. The course covers the tools and methods available to manage large and small projects and programs from inception to completion. The life cycle of projects and the relationship of people and resources at various project stages is discussed and students are introduced to the principles and practices for contracting and procurement and the role of the project manager in these processes. They utilize this knowledge to develop a project plan that includes needs assessment, articulating rationales, specifying steps and processes, identifying resource needs, assigning roles and responsibilities, predicting costs and timelines, developing controls and pursuing risk mitigation, and articulating methods to monitor and evaluate effectiveness and fit to identified need.

Course Code: BUS 5611
Prerequisites: BUS 5110, BUS 5112, and BUS 5113
Credits: 3

 

Capstone Project

Management Capstone (Identity Verification Course)

The intent of the Capstone course is to integrate what was learned during the students’ MBA program into an applied context. This course addresses the business-related fields of organizational theory, human resources, project/program management, accounting/finance, operations management, business law and ethics, leadership, and globalization. These fields of study are used as frames through which business case studies are analyzed. Students will place into practice their acquired skills to evaluate comprehensive business enterprise situations through an integrated view of various functional disciplines. Students will be required to present their final project via live video interview with the instructor as part of this course.

In order to meet proficiency in the capstone experience, a student must earn at least a B- in the course. If a student fails to meet proficiency in their first attempt, they must meet with the Department Chair to develop a plan for successful completion.

Course Code: BUS 5910
Prerequisites:  BUS 5111, BUS 5114, and BUS 5117. . As this is the final course in the MBA program, all eight Core Courses, in addition to at least three elective courses must be completed first before taking this course.