Core Course Descriptions

The student must complete MBA 501 Financial Accounting, MBA 504 Statistical Analysis for Business, and MBA 506 Economics for Managers within the first year after matriculation. MBA 504 is a prerequisite for MBA 506.

MBA 501 Financial Accounting. Basic concepts and procedures underlying corporate financial statements are developed. Tools for analyzing profitability, liquidity, leverage, activity, and risk are introduced. The impact of the alternatives available within generally accepted accounting principles on financial statements, especially in terms of management's financial reporting strategy are explored. Mastery of pre-course instruction in accounting is assumed when this course begins.

MBA 504 Statistical Analysis for Business. Addresses the theory, methodology, and application of statistics to contemporary business problems. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability theory, discrete and continuous distributions, one- and two-population statistical inference, analysis of variance, correlation, regression, and selected other topics.

MBA 506 Economics for Managers. Examines the fundamentals of macroeconomics and international economics, including analysis of business cycles and macroeconomic policy. Explores economic methodologies to solve business-oriented problems, with a focus on the role that economic analysis plays in the decision process.

MBA 508 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Business. Ethical and legal approaches and their application to the world of business are studied. Discussion centers on interaction between firms and their various stakeholders, including employees, customers and society. The role of business under the legal systems of countries other than the United States is introduced to highlight important differences. Emphasis is placed on court decisions relating to business contracts, secured transactions, and business organizations.

MBA 510 Financial Management. Financial management techniques, policies and theory are discussed via case studies and problem-scenario analysis. Policies and strategies for current and long-term assets, working capital, total capitalization and profit distribution presented in the context of share price maximization. Multinational considerations, leasing, risk analysis, project evaluation, and cost of capital are specifically addressed. Prerequisite: MBA 501 Financial Accounting

MBA 520 Marketing Management. An intensive study of the marketing process in advanced market economies concerning the environment within which marketing decisions are made. Areas of concentration: consumer wants; motivation and purchasing power; structure of distribution; product service market offerings; a global approach; and management of the firm's marketing effort. Strategic decisions of the marketing mix variables applied to both service and manufacturing companies of various sizes. Lectures and the case analysis method are used to integrate the student's marketing background.

MBA 530 Organizational Behavior. Analysis of work behavior from the viewpoint of both behavioral research and managerial practice. Understanding of basic issues such as motivation, individual differences, leadership, and managing change provides students with a foundation needed for managing performance, quality, and operations.

MBA 540 Operations Management. The systematic direction and control of the process that transforms inputs into finished goods or services. It emphasizes the concepts and analytical methods that are used in understanding the management of the firm's operations.

MBA 545 Strategic Resource Management. The design of management accounting systems that support an organization's strategic objectives is the focus of this course. Topics also include the impact of lean production methods on cost management, target costing, managing capacity costs, environmental costs, activity-based management, and theory of constraints. Prerequisite: MBA 540 Operations Management

MBA 550 Managing Information and Technology in Organizations. Introduction to the managerial challenges and opportunities of implementing technology solutions and obtaining competitive advantage through information value. Emphasis on technology as an enabler to support business strategy, define business models and provide for more efficient operations in the digital, network economy. In addition, information is recognized as a major economic good deserving increased attention in organizations. Cases will be used to exemplify real world examples while conceptual models and analytical frameworks will be introduced as decision-making tools to address the issues faced by technology and business leaders.

MBA 580 Strategic Management. Examines strategic alternatives and choices to be made by companies in light of opportunities and threats within the external environment. It also examines how companies should create core competencies to enhance the strategic choice and to create sustainable competitive advantage. Different levels of strategic management are emphasized. Prerequisite: MBA 570 Global Environment of Business/International Residency