Management

This MBA specialization is perfect for aspiring executives, consultants, or entrepreneurs who want to sharpen their leadership skills and business acumen.

Core Course Descriptions

• 603: International Business (3)

  This course focuses on the opportunities and risks of the complex environment of international business, with an emphasis on the unique problems involved in managing international operations. Main topics include foreign economic, political, legal, and cultural environments; international market analysis; foreign exchange; political risk assessment; international human resource management; and the mechanics of import and export transactions. Special emphasis is placed on leveraging core competencies in the global marketplace.

• 617: Technology and Information Systems (3)

  This course examines the role of information systems in supporting a wide range of organizational functions. Areas to be explored include the use of information systems to support administrative operations, to support decision making and to support overall strategic initiatives and corporate philosophies. This course is oriented toward the general business student, not the technical specialist. The course will provide a managerial perspective on the use, design, and evaluation of information systems.

• 621: Managerial Finance (3)

  The objective of this course is the development of the student's understanding of financial theory, and the ability to apply the techniques and methods of finance to business problems. Topics include the financial environment; value maximization; capital budgeting; valuation techniques; financial planning and forecasting; capital structure and the cost of capital; options theory; and corporate restructuring. Prerequisites: MBA 660 or permission of the instructor.

   

• 646: Marketing in a Dynamic Environment (3)

  This course will examine current marketing concepts and practices using an analytical approach to the development of marketing policies in a dynamic environment. Major topic areas that will be covered are: advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, pricing, product mix development and analysis; selection of distribution channels; marketing research; consumer behavior; and strategy development.

   

• 660: Managerial Accounting (3)

  Accounting cycle, relevance and limitations of cost information in managerial decision-making, emphasis on cost systems, determination and allocation of overhead, analysis of cost variances, direct costing, flexible budgets, break-even analysis, and capital budgeting.

• 681: Economics for Strategic Decisions

  This course emphasizes the application of macroeconomic and microeconomic theory in management decision-making and in the development and implementation of business strategy and tactics. The course focuses on techniques and models for monitoring and analyzing macroeconomic conditions; international economic trends; and the production, cost, and pricing decision of firms under different market structures.

   

• 682: Strategy Formulation, Implementation, and Entrepreneurship (3)

  This course introduces the graduate student to the global environment of business, the nature and state of competition and competitive strategy at the corporate, business and operational levels, the cross-relationship among business functions, entrepreneurial attitudes, the interests of the various stockholders in the firm, and the social and ethical responsibilities of business.

• 683: Leadership and Strategy Implementation (3)

  Effective leadership in implementing strategy within organizations requires the ability to initiate and influence change, perhaps even radical transformation. This in turn requires understanding the dynamics of organizational learning and change, as well as the nature of collective action in organizations. This understanding will be pursued by using different theories and models to examine organizational processes, culture, knowledge, politics, ethics, and their relationship to each other and to the organization's external environment. Personal career development within this framework will also be discussed. Prerequisites: MBA 621, 681, 646, 617, 682.

• 692: Social, Legal, and Ethical Aspects of Business (3)

  This course is structured to create an awareness of and sensitivity to the social, legal, and ethical issues which influence the management of business enterprises. Topics such as strategy and the nonmarket environment, nonmarket strategies and government institutions, government and markets, international business and nonmarket issues, and ethics and responsibility are considered.

Management Specialization Electives

• MBA 601: Human Resource Management

  This survey course is designed to provide the line manager or staff specialist with an expanded understanding of the processes management utilizes today to ensure that the right number/quality of persons are being hired, that appropriate governmental regulations are being adhered to, and that the internal policies provide a work environment which encourages cost-competitive labor costs and maximum worker satisfaction.

• MBA 608: Leadership and Organizational Behavior

  A careful analysis of selected behavioral science concepts and their applications to management. Examines the interactions that occur at three different levels: the individual, the group, and the organization. Attention is focused on the blending of traditional topics such as perception, motivation, and group behavior with current topics which include organizational citizenship behaviors, teamwork, cooperation, conflict, new communication technology, cross-cultural issues, coaching, empowerment, and leadership.

• MBA 614: Cross Cultural Management

  International managers require sensitivity to the need to adapt their leadership and management skills and practices to culture-bound differences in workplace behavior and attitudes. This course explores how differences in cultural core values shape the behavior and attitudes of workers, managerial colleagues, and negotiating partners.