MBA Curriculum & Program

MBAC 611. Advanced Data Analysis. 3 Credits.

Decision makers require rigorous support from extensive data analysis. This course provides you with several tools to prepare, analyze, and present the results of data analysis. These tools cover topics in data design and visualization, exploratory data mining and basic machine learning, probability, sampling and statistical inference, traditional and robust regression, Monte Carlo simulation and bootstrapping, and decision optimization. Tools will be built in Excel and R, an open source programming language in wide use. They will be applied across an organization's value chain to problems of inventory, market share, pricing, budgeting and forecasting, and risk management, among other topics. Prerequisite: MBAF 510 or equivalent.

MBAC 613. Fundmtl Anlys Forecst Val&Risk. 3 Credits.

This course examines the use of financial statements for forecasting, building valuation models and analyzing security risk. It combines theoretical accounting and finance models with practical problems, cases and Excel applications. Recent turmoil in financial markets emphasizes the importance of rigorous, fundamental analysis in pricing debt and equity securities beyond simple valuation ratios or market momentum.

MBAC 616. Stock Market & Corp Valuation. 3 Credits.

Financial markets have existed since ancient civilization. The Aztecs held worth in the Cacao bean, the ancient Egyptians in metal, and the ancient Chinese in silk. Markets were necessary so that people could trade their assets for others that were needed or desired. With an increasing complexity, financial markets continue to exert a powerful presence in our lives and are central to the functioning of our economy. What shape do assets take in the modern economy? What role do financial markets play and how do they function? How are assets such as stocks and bonds priced in these markets? This course introduces the main financial principles necessary to understand the role of financial markets today.

MBAC 617. Decision Modeling with Spreadsheets. 3 Credits.

Spreadsheet packages have changed the way business executives make strategic decisions. Decision makers increasingly rely on sophisticated quantitative analysis through the intuitive and comfortable environment offered by computerized spreadsheet packages. This course is designed to introduce MBA students to quantitative modeling for strategic decision-making using the popular spreadsheet package, Microsoft Excel. The course covers applications for various business areas including finance, marketing, and operations. Applications include break even analysis, cash flow analysis, pricing models, revenue management, project management, portfolio analysis, supply chain management, and channel selection. Though the course covers the use of a spreadsheet package, the focus is not on the technicalities of the software. The course focuses on the process of understanding, structuring, and solving business issues as well as interpretations of solutions.

MBAC 618. Financial Management. 3 Credits.

This course focuses on the role of the financial manager as decision maker. The first half of the course, therefore, deals with the tools of the trade: It defines the financial environment and its diagnostics system, the analysis of financial statements. It then studies the interest rates and time value of money in connection with the characteristics of discounted cash flow method of asset valuation. The second half of the course involves in dynamic financial management: building a discussion of the relationship between risk and return will be followed by the bonds and stocks as financial assets and their valuation. Finally, the capital budgeting and basic long-term financing including the impact of financial leverage on firm value will be covered. Permission of MBA Program Director is required to register for this course.

MBAC 621. Reading/Cases in Financial Reporting. 3 Credits.

The purpose of this course is to explore case studies in financial accounting. The case studies will present a variety of scenarios including issues of fraud and corruption in the post Enron era. Students will be fully involved in the understanding of the legislation and the roles of regulatory bodies both in the US and in foreign countries. The course will provide a mixture of theory and practice and will introduce students to analytical problem solving using the case method.

MBAC 622. Leadership and Organizational Behavior. 3 Credits.

This course uses a behavioral science approach to help students gain an understanding of leadership and its impact on the organizational behavior of individuals. Students will examine leadership theories, learn about current research findings, investigate examples of leadership in practice, and engage in developmental activities to evaluate and enhance their leadership skills.

MBAC 624. Going Global: Business and Society. 3 Credits.

In a globally integrated economy, it is imperative that we investigate and understand mult-disciplinary and mulit-dimensional perspectives to global business issues. In this course, we examine how doing business globally has become incredibly viable and challenging at the same time. We explore economic, social, cultural and technological issues in the context of a diverse global environment. For example, we investigate Facebook in emerging economics (i.e: the push back on free internet for all), Netflix in Kenya (i.e: streaming entertainment without local censorship), Apple (i.e: personal security versus national security), Uber (the shared economy and employee rights) and more.

MBAC 626. Environmental Economics and Policy. 3 Credits.

An introductory study of the way economists model environmental problems. The course starts with an overview of externalities, public goods, and common-pool resources, encompassing situations in which the market fails to maximize total welfare for society. The course explores the economics of environmental quality focusing on marginal damages and marginal abatement costs of pollutants. Subsequently, it covers cost-benefit analysis, an important framework used by environmental economists to assess environmental policies. To estimate benefits, different valuation methods including revealed and stated preference methods, will be examined. The course concludes studying various environmental policy instruments used to internalize environmental externalities, including standards, emission charges, Pigouvian taxes, subsidies, and cap-and-trade. (Prerequisites: MBAF 530 and MBAF 510 or equivalent undergraduate courses).

MBAC 631. Innovation Management. 3 Credits.

This course will examine the path of creation of new products, new ideas and new management styles. The course will include examination of styles of organization for team development and creativity, development of creative human resource practices and learning conflict management practices to encourage team building and interpersonal cooperation.

MBAC 632. Industrial Organization. 3 Credits.

The first part of the course develops standard mathematical models of firm competition, including perfect competition, monopoly and several oligopoly models with homogeneous and differentiated products. The second half of the semester will expand upon the standard models using businesses applications that lead to improved profitability, such as entry deterrence, R&D, advertising, and marketing.

MBAC 633. Managing/Marketing Service Business. 3 Credits.

This course is designed for students to gain knowledge and learn skills needed to design and develop quality service and implement delivery and recovery of service. They will also learn to develop and analyze strategies for establishing competitive advantage in the service sector. This course examines marketing and managerial issues facing service organizations using an integrative framework in which people, technology, and strategy are linked. Since services have a strong people component, internal and interactive marketing as well as traditional marketing issues will be emphasized in this course. Close relationships and necessary coordination between marketing and other function units in the organization will be examined.

MBAC 634. Global Economic Environment. 3 Credits.

This course considers the evolution of the legal and political institutions that support national economies throughout the world. Comparisons are drawn between systems with varying degrees of state control over the economy. The role of international economic organizations, such as the IMF and the WTO, in shaping economic policy is also discussed.

MBAC 635. Managerial Economics. 3 Credits.

Managerial Economics introduces the students to the application of economic principles to key management decisions within organizations. MBAC 635 consists of three parts. Part I examines the theory of demand and the relevant estimation and forecasting techniques. Part II introduces the economic theories of production and cost in the short and long run. Finally, part III combines all the elements of demand, production, and cost as we examine the notion of profit maximization and pricing strategy in case of perfectly and non-perfectly competitive markets. This course teaches future managers how to apply theories and techniques to solve real-world problems and how to think analytically to make better decisions. Thus, this course provides future managers with the conceptual and quantitative tools for analyzing problems and developing strategies at their business. Prerequisite: MBAF 530 or equivalent.

MBAC 636. Supply Chain Analysis. 3 Credits.

Supply chains are an integral part of contemporary business practices. This course will examine key issues related to the design and management of supply chains. It will inlcude discussion on the integration of various parts of the supply chain, including suppliers, manufacturing facilities, distribution centers, warehouses and retailers. Theories related to the efficient distribution of products to customers will be presented. Also, management techniques addressing tradeoffs between cost and services will be discussed. The use of information systems in supply chain management will be introduced. Much of the course concepts will be covered through real-word case studies using quantitative and qualitative analysis. Prerequisite: MBAF 540 or equivalent.

MBAC 637. Marketing Strategy and the Consumer Experience. 3 Credits.

The objective of this course is to facilitate students' understanding of basic concepts and to enhance their appreciation for the importance of marketing strategies. The course focuses on the impact of marketing strategy and research on the operations of organizations, and on the behavior of consumers. The topics engage students in experiential activities designed to demonstrate the implementation of marketing theories. Topics include marketing processes and research; international and global marketing; strategic planning and budgeting; economic, cultural and legal aspects of marketing; and topical developments in marketing. Permission of MBA Program Director is required to register for this course.

MBAC 638. Markets, States, and Policies in the Global Economy. 3 Credits.

This course focuses on the study of large-scale economic interactions among interdependent economies. It provides a deep exploration of the interconnections among nations which is essential to understanding how the global economy works. Those interconnections are analyzed by focusing on key economy-wide variables, such as exchange rates, prices, interest rates, income, wealth, and the current account. The broad range of topics and issues in international macroeconomics can be reduced to three key elements: the many monies present in the world, the financial integration of countries, and the choice and implementation of economic policies. Accordingly, the course is divided into three major parts or study modules: exchange rates, the balance of payments, and application and policy issues. Course Prerequisites: ECON 203 and ECON 204, or MBA Foundation of Economics (MBAF 530).