Master of Business Administration (MBA) Courses: Fall 2024
Master of Business Administration
MBA 500: Strategic Profitability & Analysis
3 Credit Hour(s)
Cross listed with ACC 500.Financial and operational company data will be collected and incorporated into a strategic profitability analysis built around case scenarios to illustrate the role of financial and managerial accounting information in management decision making. Each analysis will decompose changes in a firm's operating income into components related to growth, price, recovery, and productivity. Specifically, using a Balanced Scorecard Approach, the financial, customer, internal business process, learning and growth, and environmental and social aspects will be evaluated in terms of their strategic alignment. Relevant analytical tools, software applications, and managerial techniques will be utilized for customer profitability analysis, inventory management, activity-based costing, workflow analysis, decision making, pricing, planning, and control. (GR)
MBA 501: Current Issues in Corporate Finance
3 Credit Hour(s)
This course covers important investment and financing decisions from an inclusive managerial perspective. Metrics for financial analysis, the DuPont system, business intelligence, and the impact of accounting standards on R&D, marketing, and human resource activities are investigated. Further discussed are the valuation of risk and investments, M&A as a growth option, short and long-term trade-offs, the cost of Inventory and operational alternatives, break even and leverage, andaspects of international finance in various service and manufacturing industries with relevant cases and numeric examples. (GR)
MBA 502: Organizational Theory and Leadership
3 Credit Hour(s)
This course examines leadership within the context of the organizational theory. Specific focus will be placed on examining how individual, group, and organizational level factors impact the leader's ability to develop and execute business strategies. Contemporary Organizational Behavior (OB) theory will be applied to case student and current business events to provide insight and understanding about how organizational components such as employee skills , abilities and ethics, group processes, team dynamics, organization culture, and organizational structure impact the leader's ability to achieve desirable organizational outcomes. (GR)
MBA 504: Strategic Operations Management
3 Credit Hour(s)
Strategic operations management as a contribution to and part of a wider organizational goal in domestic and international companies will be explored. Current research and cases will be used to show how a distinct reactive and aligned operational strategy can provide a competitive advantage. Benefits and trade-offs of managing capacity, productivity and effectiveness, lean and continuous improvement, quality control, processes design, and service orientation in a number of industries will be discussed and practiced. This approach includes workforce planning, systems integration, supply chain management and optimization, collaboration and integration, performance-enhancing contracts, advanced inventory management, project management, and business simulation. (GR)
MBA 507: Marketing and E-Commerce
3 Credit Hour(s)
E-commerce marketing no longer occurs on an emerging medium and effective integration of e-commerce into a marketing plan can become overwhelming in a rapidly changing environment. In this course, students will learn to envision customer-centric marketing strategies in order to tailor them to the digital environment. Additionally, they will understand how to utilize both word-of-mouth and viral techniques to leverage social networks and enhance the spread of marketing messages across multiple channels. Because the accessibility and inherent flexibility of e-commerce marketing require multiple parts of an organization to integrate into its centralized enterprise-level strategy, this course introduces the tools needed to identify, analyze, and adapt to global and emerging e-commerce trends with a strong focus on internet-based business concepts and data base marketing. (GR)
MBA 510: Economics of New Ventures
3 Credit Hour(s)
This course requires students to understand key managerial economics concepts s a foundation for decisions in new venture development with established and entrepreneurial enterprises. Economic models of competition as well as demand functions and optimal pricing will be critiqued. Structures such as non-profit, technology start-ups, social startups, and corporate entrepreneurship are investigated. Case-studies will reinforce critical links to operations, marketing and other topics covered throughout the semester. Students will then develop a business model and a minimum viable product or service for a new venture or an existing organization. Cross-disciplinary strategies and best practices to obtain funding and plan scale-up and growth will be introduced. Student projects will require meeting with and presenting to professionals to validate learning. (GR)
MBA 511: Data-Based Decision Making
3 Credit Hour(s)
This course will develop he needed analytical leadership and quantitative skills to interpret data and inform decision making. Incorporating the larger business context and culture around risk and uncertainty, application areas include customer relationships, operations management, human resources, finance, and accounting examples. Students will learn to arrive at a decision individually, as a team, or as an organization, and how to integrate activities and decisions within and across organizational boundaries. The analytical hands-on-portion is based on and includes an introduction to the R software environment. This course should be taken during the first semester. (GR)
MBA 512: Comparative Case Studies in Business Law And Ethics
3 Credit Hour(s)
Business Leaders and managers are legally, ethically and financially accountable for the actions of their employees and the business as a whole. This course uses case studies to examine the formulation interpretation and application of laws and ethics to the business environment. Constitutional, legislative, judicial, regulatory, and public policies and explored and the effect they have on employees and business leaders. Specific discussion of the contract, tort, and property laws as they apply to businesses. The course further explores how on organization's values and actions affect internal and external constituencies and provides reasons to promote responsible behavior on the part on the part of organizations and employees. Students study real-world dilemmas and gain knowledge from choosing among the legal options and navigating the ethical quandaries that often surrounds key management decisions. Emphasis is placed on active, experiential application of legal reasoning and analysis and on the global and comparative dimensions of legal and ethical issues. (GR)
MBA 650: Capstone
3 Credit Hour(s)
This is the last course taken in the MBA program, all other coursework must be complete. The student will be assigned a faculty mentor by the director of the program based upon the specific area of study the student wishes to undertake. As a foundation, the student will learn about salient strategy and management models. Subsequently, in close consultation with the faculty mentor, a project paper in the form of a case study, a management consulting report, or a theoretical research study will be developed. The work generated in this course needs to be approved by graduate program faculty at various stages. (GR) (GR)
MBA 651: Business of Sports
3 Credit Hour(s)
This course provides students with a framework for understanding the unique dynamics, structure, delivery systems and marketing and promotional strategies of the sports industry and its numerous sectors. Course materials and class discussions will review theoretical and practical applications and provide a comprehensive understanding of the underlying business practices in sport. The course will explore the implications of the league structure, labor relations, analytics, marketing, media, facilities and legal issues on the business of sport through class lecture, class projects, homework, and case study. The course further examines the differences among the industries many products and many businesses both public and private and for profit and not for profit. By learning the unique elements of the sports industries. The course will explore the implications of the league structure, labor relations, analytics, marketing media, facilities, and legal issues on the business of sport through class lecture, class projects, homework, and case study. (GR)
MBA 652: Strategic and Legal Issues in Human Resource Management
3 Credit Hour(s)
This course takes the perspective that a company's human resources are the most important source of sustainable competitive advantage. Human Resource strategic planning requires adaptation to changes in the external organization, especially the legal environment. Through the use of case studies, academic research and current events, students will be presented with a strategic way of thinking about managing human resources. Course material will help students identify what needs to be done to develop and implement HR strategies to facilitate long-term competitive advantage within the context of an organization's strategic and legal environments. (GR)
MBA 657: Supervised Internship Experien
3 Credit Hour(s)
This course provides the opportunity for students to gain additional experience through self-guided learning, site contact, and faculty feedback to strengthen applied business skills. Students will apply academic knowledge and concepts already acquired, and deepen specific areas through mentorship, feedback, and related readings. This course will begin after a joint in-person or virtual meeting between the site contact, faculty advisor, and students, followed by individual bi-weekly meetings between the faculty advisor and student. (GR)
Marketing
MKT 507: Strategic Planning for the International Market
3 Credit Hour(s)
This course lays out the competitive orientation and strategies for initial entry, market expansion, and integration of international marketing operations. The course reviews current market opportunities and competitive conditions at the global, regional, and national levels. The student learns how to successfully participate in both emerging markets and regional economic blocs such as APEC, ASEAN, EU, EFTA, NAFTA, MERCOSUR. Participants use case study analysis to develop their skills in analyzing and formulating international marketing initiatives. (GR)
MKT 615: Consumer Behavior
3 Credit Hour(s)
How and why do consumers behave as they do? How can consumer decision making be understood when there are so many variables to consider? This course answers these questions by providing students with the fundamental theories underpinning consumer behavior and understanding of how consumer behavior concepts can be applied to marketing management, to our roles as consumers, and to everyday life. Additionally, concepts, theories and principle from the social sciences will be employed to extend understanding of how consumers acquire and consumer goods, services, and ideas. Students will learn how and why consumers behave by examining how they use products to define themselves and how that self-concept affects their attention to and perception of products, their motivations to purchase, their awareness of and attitudes towards brands, products, and advertising, their choices of products, and their levels of customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. (GR)