COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

This course will explore critical strategic management and business policy issues faced by executives and managers in dynamic environments, aiming to improve their ability to think, plan, and act strategically. Emphasis will be placed on critically evaluating internal resources and external environments, formulating viable business-level and corporate-level strategies, mapping optimal business models and solutions, and pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities and innovation so that their firms, established or nascent, can achieve sustainable competitive advantages and desirable performance in an increasingly interconnected yet complex business world.

Marketing problems experienced by top executives are examined and fundamental problem-solving concepts are developed. Students consider problems of consumer needs, product planning, promotion, distribution, and pricing. The discovery and application of marketing management skills are developed through the use of cases and a major planning project.

This course focuses on the use and understanding of basic financial and managerial accounting reports. The course is oriented to the user of financial data rather than the preparer of the data. Coverage of basic accounting assumptions and current issues affecting accounting processes and reporting are included, but detailed accounting procedures are not emphasized. Completion of the course should permit students to understand accounting information and to communicate with professional accountants.

This course is designed to give prospective senior managers an understanding of how technology can be used to transform business. Topics include technology platforms and solutions, design thinking, technology-business models, technology leadership issues, managing technology change, and innovation through technology.

This is an integrated business course that focuses on the fundamental principles needed for better financial decision-making. First, the course will expose students to the fundamental concepts of investment theory and financial markets. The second part of the course provides students with the tools necessary to answer a key question facing corporate managers: What are good investments? Beyond these traditional topics in finance, the course exposes students to the emerging field of behavioral finance.

This course covers organizational behavior and utilizes cases and lectures to explore topics such as personality, motivation, leadership, group processes, organizational structure/design, and social responsibility.

Law and legal process are examined as they mix with the politics and ethics of business, including the weight given to legal implications in the executive decision-making process.

This course is an economic study of the environment in which the decision-making process takes place in management and the functional areas. It is structured especially for students without an undergraduate background in economics.

The topics of this course include data collection, data analysis, probability concepts and distributions, sampling and estimation, hypothesis testing, and simple and multiple regression. The course will be taught using Excel or other software tools

This course is an introduction to major managerial decisions and processes of operations management. Topics include the design of operations, planning, quality control, resource allocation, and integration of operations management with the other functional areas.

The course explores the application of operations research techniques in management. Topics include linear programming, PERT/CPM, queuing theory, forecasting, inventory models, statistical quality control, decision theory, and simulation.

Digital and social media have dramatically changed the ways in which managers analyze consumer data and make accurate media marketing decisions. This course will teach students how to correctly capture, measure, and apply the fundamentals of digital marketing analytics and then how to manage a successful media marketing campaign over time. We will use available direct and indirect digital listening tools for both traditional and digital media sources, including Nielsen, live social media data, digital dashboards, search engine optimization tools, and data presentation strategies. Current case studies and readings will assist in this highly interactive management course. Social and traditional media executives will also be invited into class to review current trends, opportunities, and strategies for the future.

This course explores applications in corporate finance. The class builds on the core MBA courses in our Executive MBA program, especially Fundamentals of Finance (Finance 602). Topics include working capital management, financial planning, basic option valuation, agency theory, capital structure management, mergers and acquisitions, liabilities management, and leasing. Note: Required for Finance concentration.

The objectives of this course are to develop interpersonal communication and conflict management skills necessary to work in teams and/or exercise leadership in teams. Topics include team development, decision making, and diagnosing team process issues.

This course covers the development of IT strategic and tactical plans for projects supporting the organization’s business objectives and project management, as applied to planning, implementing, controlling networking, information systems, and e-commerce projects. The course is intended to provide a body of knowledge necessary for a new consultant or project manager to successfully initiate, plan, manage, control, and report on a variety of project types. People skills required in the areas of team selection, structure, conflict resolution, and leadership is also covered.

This course explores modern human resource/capital management: job analysis and design, evaluation and appraisal, recruitment and interviewing, training and development, compensation and benefits, labor relations, employee engagement programs, and human resource legislation.

Charles Darwin aptly noted, “It is not the strongest species that survive, not the most intelligent, but the ones who are most responsive to change.” The primary goal of this course is to help you learn how to lead and manage the challenges associated with organizational change processes. Together we will identify the opportunities that require change programs, discuss ways to overcome the inevitable obstacles to change, learn how to build successful coalitions to support change efforts, analyze strategies for implementing change, and examine ways to consolidate the results of such efforts to ensure that changes are sustainable over time.

This course is a skills-based approach to learning the art and science of negotiation. Negotiation is a core management competency; these skills are increasingly necessary for leaders in business, nonprofits, small businesses, and other organizations. This course will cover preparation, and negotiation skills such as establishing trust and relationship-building. Topics covered include power, persuasion, creativity and problem-solving, ethics, and cross-cultural negotiation. Skills and self-insight will be acquired through self-assessment, role-play negotiation exercises, and case studies.