Course Descriptions

Having a functional team is essential to excel in the program. Team building workshops are held at the beginning of both the first and second year terms. Classes provide a framework for forming study teams during the first year sessions. (2 credits)

This course explores the nature of the competitive process and the source of firm-level competitive advantage. The focus is on the economic principles of competition and applying these to the study of competitive advantage and strategy. (4 credits)

This is an introduction to financial accounting from a management perspective. Topics include preparation and use of financial statements; measurement and reporting of assets, equities, and income; and issues and implications of alternative methods of reporting. Cases based on actual corporate financial statements are used to enhance the students’ understanding of the issues. Students are required to evaluate financial statements of their own or a teammates’ company. (4 credits)

This course examines a comprehensive approach to leadership and motivation issues. The instructor will begin the first year by providing an outline of leadership, and having the students conduct a 360 degree review of their work performance. The students will then meet with career coaches to evaluate the results of the review. With this information, students then have a basis for the following year’s exercises. (2 credits)

This course provides an introduction to statistics and probability as techniques for collecting, summarizing and interpreting data and for coping with uncertainty in the management decision-making process. Topics include design of studies, observational studies, exploratory data analysis, statistical summaries, interactive statistical computing, probability, simple and multiple regressions, time series analysis, estimation, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, quality control/statistical process control and modern developments. (4 credits)

This course deals with the wide variety of negotiations a manager is involved with both internally (i.e., within and between departments, between superiors and subordinates, or with peers), and externally (i.e., with community and/or business organizations). Topics include the nature of negotiations, the role of power in negotiations, negotiation planning and strategies for improving negotiation relationships. (2 credit)

This course deals with the preparation and use of accounting information by managers for decision-making purposes. Topics include cost concepts, cost behavior, overhead allocation (including activity-based costing), budgeting, responsibility accounting, short-term decision and capital budgeting. Cases based on actual management decisions are used to enhance understanding of concepts and techniques. (4 credits)

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to corporate financial management emphasizing relevant modern theory and practical applications. Topics include: financial statement analysis, financial planning, financial markets, principles of valuations, capital budgeting, capital structure, the cost of capital, dividend policy, merger analysis and issues of financial policy. (4 credits)

This course introduces concepts and principles fundamental to creating and leading effective organizations. Major topics include perception and decision-making, employee motivation, group and team processes, human resource management practices, strategic organizational design, power and politics, corporate culture, and organizational change and transformation. The instructional approach includes readings, discussions, lectures, case analyses, video presentations, experiential exercises, and the analyses of “living cases.” A central goal of this course is to provide a foundation for a lifetime of leadership practice through the development of analytic skills to understand and influence your own and others’ behavior at work. (4 credits)

The focus of this class is how the role of the Board of Directors in American business has changed. Classes study the role of the Chief Executive Officer and how he/she relates to the board and manages responsibilities, while the board participates in company activities. Topics include succession management and the role of the CEO in the community. Former CEOs and board members serve as guest lecturers and provide additional discussion for the class. (2 credits)

Increasingly, businesses are faced with the prospect of product liability, intellectual property rights, and general legal risk management issues. This class addresses the legal issues comprehensively by reviewing legal topics and bringing them together with real-world examples. (2 credits)

This course presents and illustrates the use of techniques (such as simulation, heuristics, queuing, decision analysis and linear programming) that have been developed to help managers deal with complicated choice problems in manufacturing, service operations, marketing, and other areas. (2 credits)

This course builds a framework for understanding movements in economy-wide magnitudes such as price level, gross domestic product, unemployment rate, interest rate and exchange rate that affect business decisions. The framework is used to analyze contemporary economic issues that impact business, including the recent conduct of monetary and fiscal policy, growth, competitiveness and trade. (4 credits)

This course is organized around the central marketing issue of any organization: the continuous creation of superior value for customers. Through the use of cases and a project, students examine the tactical and strategic relationships, and effects of product management, promotion, distribution and pricing in both consumer and business-to-business contexts. Particular attention is given to growth strategies, to cross-functional approaches for discovering and satisfying customer needs, and to creating and sustaining a market-driven learning culture in an organization. (4 credits)

This course is concerned with the system of delivery in any enterprise, manufacturing or service, public or private, profit or non-profit. The basic mission is to foster an understanding of how to continuously deliver superior value for customers in a manner that is profitable for the firm. This understanding is important both for those who manage operations and those whose career plans lie in other areas. For example, the commitment of product delivery dates is typically viewed as a marketing issue, yet products are built by manufacturing. Knowing how and why inventories accumulate permits more effective financial controls. Facility justification is typically a financial concern, but the capacity additions can have a dramatic effect on operational performance, especially at peak times in service organizations. Traditional accounting practices may actually provide disincentives toward productive behavior. (4 credits)

This course examines business ethics through case studies and short readings in ethical theory. Class discussions rely heavily on student contributions supplemented by brief lectures. Emphasis is placed on the development of a framework that helps managers make ethical decisions in a business environment. (2 credits)

This course introduces international finance at the level of the firm. Topics include understanding exchange rates, international parity conditions, measuring and managing exchange exposure, international financial markets, and trade financing. The emphasis throughout is on the practical implications of modern theory. (2 credits)

With a focus on marketing strategy from a decision making perspective, the course links marketing decisions and strategy to business performance. The course builds on the topics explored in the Marketing Management course by focusing on specific marketing strategies and critical marketing tools/processes in greater detail and accentuating the integrative nature of the marketing function through the development of a strategic marketing plan and use of simulation software. (4 credits)

This course is intended to help you develop a better understanding of the global environment in which US businesses compete. The US economy is increasingly linked to the rest of the world and many industries are global; therefore international markets and competitors cannot be ignored. All of you can think of ways in which your organizations are affected by international developments, and international business is critical to many. In a global economy, this means that managers need to develop a broad vision and an organization that can operate and compete effectively worldwide. This requires an appreciation of the importance of international markets. It means being willing to really think about the differences (and similarities) that exist among national markets and national business practices. It also requires developing an organization that can “think global and act local,” searching for global advantage while adapting itself to national differences. (4 credits)

This course provides a capstone opportunity for students to consolidate learning from the program. Each team chooses a business opportunity, either entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial, and develops a business plan. Class lectures focus on the basic components of a good business plan, and how to assemble and present information. The class culminates in a daylong competition where both the North America and Regional EMBA classes present their plans for judging by individuals from the venture capital community. (4 credits)

This course explores why firms succeed and why they fail. The focus in on the factors that increase the probability of competitive success or competitive failure. Specific topics addressed include the role of the following in determining competitive advantage: strategic planning and leadership, operations and business strategy, technological and innovation strategy, diversification and vertical integration, new business development, organizational architecture and organizational change efforts. A theme that runs throughout the course is the strategic management of new business activities. The course is taught in two segments – autumn quarter of year one and spring quarter of year two. (4 credits)