Course Descriptions for Concentrations

Accounting Concentration

MBA 6310       Advanced Tax  

This course studies the federal laws of the United States and rules that pertain to federal income taxation of Regular (C) Corporations, Partnerships (and Limited Liability Companies (LLC's)) and S Corporations.  In addition, the course will also introduce the issues of State and Local Taxation (various types of taxes) and International Taxation.  The course will emphasize the appropriate laws and rules pertaining to the correct determination and computation of the aforementioned taxation areas and provide students with an understanding of the appropriate manner to report these taxes for the aforementioned entities and others

MBA 6312       Advanced Auditing 

This course builds an understanding of audit and the required risk assessment including evaluation of internal control and reporting of management assertions in the financial statements.  Real-world audit planning and implementation will be examined throughout the course.

MBA 6314       Accounting Research and Writing 

This course is designed to provide students with a broad knowledge of accounting research and report writing.  Topics covered will include advanced research in the areas of taxation and financial reporting.  Students will learn to analyze and interpret financial statements, use the Financial Accounting Standards Board Codification as a source of reference and research for generally accepted accounting principles, and use appropriate regulation research in taxation.  Students will learn how to write appropriate research reports in the areas of financial and taxation accounting.

MBA 6315       Advanced Accounting Topics 

This course is designed to provide students with in-depth knowledge of advanced financial accounting topics.  Topics covered will include business valuation and accounting for mergers and acquisitions, accounting for derivatives, foreign currency, target pricing, and full disclosure.

MBA 6316       Professionalism for Accountants 

This course is designed to guide students in the development of leadership skills in the areas of time management, communication, and ethics in an accounting setting.

MBA 6318       Industry Special Topics in Accounting 

This course explores accounting issues and practices in a variety of industry settings such as oil and gas, health care, engineering and construction, and manufacturing and distribution.  Key differences in accounting treatment in these industries will be examined.

Finance Concentration

MBA 6360 Ethics and Professional Standards

This course emphasizes the importance of ethical behavior in the financial services industry. The course will provide an intensive study of the CFA® Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct as well as integrate readings and cases drawn primarily from the financial services industry. Students will apply the knowledge learned to recognize and avoid unprofessional practices and unethical behavior. 

MBA 6362 Financial Forecasting and Behavioral Finance

Behavioral finance combines the quantitative methods from traditional finance with research in cognitive psychology. This course is designed to provide students with a broad knowledge on how to model historical information and human factors in business forecasting techniques. Students will be able to summarize how behavioral finance complements the traditional finance paradigm with a special focus on the existence and impact of diverse behavioral biases in financial decision-making. The course will adopt an applications oriented approach so that students will be able to explain their financial decision under conditions of uncertainty. The course will provide students with a framework that will be useful in business settings where such analyses are routinely made.

MBA 6364 Capital Markets and Investment Planning

This course is designed to provide students with a broad knowledge of the capital markets, institutions, financial products, and analytical tools and skills needed for investments portfolio management. The objective is to provide students with a solid foundation of basic concepts, tools, and techniques of making informed decisions in the highly dynamic investment environment. Students will utilize computer simulations, internet tools, and specialized software and databases to more fully understand the viewpoint of professional investors. 

MBA 6366 Communication for Finance Professionals

In this course, students will develop their ability to communicate with sophisticated financial knowledge in both oral and written formats. Students will apply their knowledge of investment products to develop investment portfolios. Students will learn the importance of tailoring their communication based upon contextual factors (e.g., audience, situation) and they will develop strategies for communicating with various stakeholders.

MBA 6368 Advanced Corporate Finance

The course explores the major decision-making areas of managerial finance. The course will emphasize the study of capital budgeting concepts and analysis, capital structure issues, cost of capital, dividend policy considerations, and the market for corporate control. In addition, the course will discuss how corporate finance concepts, such as cash flow, liquidity, leverage, cost of capital, and dividends, are used in the valuation process. The course reviews the theory and empirical evidence related to the investment and financing policies of the firm and attempts to develop decision-making ability in these areas using both lectures and cases.

 

Human Resource Management Concentration

MBA 6330 Legal Environment of Human Resource Management

The purpose of this course is to help students become aware of the legal aspects of employment law as it relates to the management of people in organizations, including specific and relevant state, federal, and international laws. Students will evaluate case decisions by the courts, and learn to consider the legal/ethical dimension of organizational actions and policies. This course prepares future managers in a variety of positions to be effective leaders by covering these broad topics with specific tailoring to this field.

MBA 6332 Talent Acquisition: Attraction and Selection

Effective human resource professionals understand the short- and long-term impact of acquiring talent in order to position the organization for success. This course will enable students to understand how to recruit talent, including defining talent requirements, establishing parameters for sourcing, and using a brand to attract prospective employees. This course will also address the importance of compliant selection, assessment, and interviewing procedures in organizations.

MBA 6334 Talent Management: Engaging and Retaining Employees

The purpose of this course is to help students understand and evaluate the role of human resources in strategically supporting management to develop, engage, and retain talent. Specifically, this course will enable students to understand strategic planning, analyze the employee lifecycle (selection, learning and development, performance management, and exit), and explore the idea of the influence that human resource professionals have in the organization.

MBA 6336 Compensation and Benefits

The purpose of this course is to help students develop their skills and knowledge in compensation and benefits. Topics covered in the course include benefits, Affordable Health Care Act, overview of philosophies of compensation, total compensation, global and domestic compensation issues, job analysis, compensation analysis, market surveys, and survey data analysis.

MBA 6338 Strategic Human Resource Management

Strategic human resource management requires in depth understanding of the big picture and what makes a business successful, while effectively navigating through organizational politics in varied environments. This course will enable students to develop their interpersonal skills and business acumen to identify, build, sell, and fund a business case for change. Special consideration will be given to crisis management and corporate social responsibility.

International Business Concentration

MBA 6370 Risk Management

This course is designed to provide students with a broad knowledge of international risk management exposures, alternative and traditional risk mitigation techniques, enterprise risk management for a global enterprise, and analytical tools and skills needed for risk management. The objective is to provide students with a solid foundation of basic concepts, tools, and techniques of making decisions under uncertainty in the highly dynamic international business environment to create value.  

MBA 6372 International Strategic Sourcing

This course provides an international look at strategic sourcing and purchasing/procurement with a global focus. Concepts and practices of international procurement are introduced. Real life examples of global operations and supply chains will be examined. Requirements of a successful global procurement function will be specifically studied. 

MBA 6374 Ethics, Law and Compliance in International Business              

This course covers important aspects of law, ethics, and compliance in international business. Topics covered include: culture, ethics, political climate, bribery awareness and anti-bribery laws, legal compliance issues in banking/shipping, dispute resolution/arbitration, OFAC, FCPA, WTO, and other related issues.  

MBA 6376 International Logistics

This course covers the overall logistics process for time and place utility of products. Topics include international logistics terms (incoterms), intermodal transportation, regulatory issues in logistics, documentation, shipping, risk and contingency planning, logistics processes and improvement, and basic financial transportation decision modeling. Students will apply relevant industry language and terminology to analyze logistics case problems, including their features, financial aspects, and ethical considerations.

MBA 6378 International Banking and Finance 

This course explores issues related to both international financial markets and the operation of banks within the international environment.  The first part of the course will examine issues related to the international markets, including international commercial policy, international capital flows, foreign exchange markets, and the international money markets.  The second part of the course will overview financial issues associated with the operation of a bank in the international environment.  It will examine the activities and roles of financial institutions and banks in the international financial system. A variety of financial instruments and case studies of particular transactions are explored. This course provides a conceptual foundation for understanding global financial issues, and a practical understanding of financing sources for international commerce.

 

Leadership Concentration

MBA 6340 Supporting the Business Strategy

The purpose of this course is to help students develop their skill at supporting the strategic mission and goals of the organization as they move through entry to mid-level management positions. Supporting the business as a leader requires a diverse set of skills including building effective stakeholder relationships, networking within and between departments, and aligning with the overall organizational goals.

MBA 6342 Interpreting and Delivering Business Results

The purpose of this course is to help MBA students develop their ability to interpret, synthesize, and explain business results to varied audiences (e.g., executives, mid-level managers, individual contributors, and external stakeholders), which will equip them to become successful leaders in a business environment. Required skills include identifying the importance and impact of business communications on organizations, presenting business results in written and oral formats, and using the right mode and message for the target audience.

MBA 6344 Interpersonal Leadership Effectiveness in Business

The purpose of this course is to help MBA students develop the interpersonal skills required in entry- to mid-level management positions, which will equip them to become successful leaders in the overall business environment. Leadership involves a unique skill set that goes beyond management, and interpersonal skills are a key part of that skill set. Required skills include professional development assessment and planning, negotiating and managing conflict, effectively managing stakeholders, and appraising tasks to appropriately delegate and prioritize time.

MBA 6346 The Business Leader's Role in Talent Development

Leaders are required to measure and develop the performance of individual employees in their business units. This course will teach MBA students performance management skills, which include measuring results and behaviors, establishing effective goals, and developing employees to reach their full professional potential.

MBA 6348 Leading Teams for Business Results

Effectively leading high-functioning teams is a critical leadership skill.  Aspiring leaders are taught to form, build, maintain, reward, and align teams for success. The team development lifecycle is discussed as the foundation for understanding team processes.  Students are presented with the opportunity to recognize pitfalls of dysfunctions of teams and to practice responding to a variety of dynamically changing situations.

Sales Management and Business Development Concentration

MBA 6350       Advances in Personal Selling 

This course will equip students with the most current sales knowledge and skills to succeed in today's competitive markets.  It will provide a thorough review of the steps in the sales presentation process with an emphasis on relationship selling, adaptive selling, and the use of technology to improve the selling process.

MBA 6352       Sales Negotiation & Communication 

Sales communication is the primary vehicle salespeople have at their disposal to effectively navigate as a boundary spanner and create value for the customer and the organization.  Practical and theoretical concepts include effective writing techniques, ability to adjust presentation according to audience, ability to use negotiation and persuasion principles across humanistic sales interactions, ability to appreciate sales interactions across a diverse cultural workforce, and understand how to effectively coach these skills to sales employees.

MBA 6354       Integrated Marketing Programs and the Sales Force 

Business development is one aspect of a firm's overall marketing strategy.  This course explores how the sales component fits within the firm's marketing program.   Specifically, this course covers (1) development of the firm's marketing strategy and the role of the sales force, (2) the integration of media tools and communication platforms to support business development, and (3) the use of analytical tools in development, implementation and evaluation of the marketing program.  Specific skill sets emphasized in this course are forecasting and the use of technology in customer relationship management.

MBA 6356       Sales Leadership and Managerial Performance 

Leaders must effectively develop and manage a sales force to meet sales objectives. Specifically, sales leaders will need to interpret derailment factors and mitigate risk.  Sales leaders foster an ethical environment and consider the consequences of unethical behavior.  Finally, sales leaders must use influence tactics and persuasion techniques to motivate boundary spanning teams to implement the sales management strategy.

MBA 6358       Sales Management Strategy 

Sales management is critical to many company's success.  Sales are often the most expensive part of the marketing mix and are the most important direct link to the customer.  Since, in today's extremely competitive business it is unlikely for customers to beat a path to a company's door (a la Thoreau), it is up to the company's sales force to persuade the target market(s) of the benefits of the company's product in meeting consumer needs.  Theoretical and quantitative concepts, methods, models, and strategies covered in the course include a general overview of the sales management process, the interrelationship among the components of and the implementation process of the strategic sales program, the basic elements of evaluation and control and key trends that will affect sales management in the 21st century.

 

Supply Chain Management Concentration

MBA 6320 Legal Aspects of Supply Chain Management

The purpose of this course is to help students become aware of the legal aspect of supply chain management, including specific and relevant state, federal, and international laws and treaties. Students will evaluate case decisions by the courts, as well as ethical considerations.

MBA 6322 Decision Modeling in the Supply Chain

This course provides an introduction to decision modeling for the supply chain manager. Topics include decision modeling with spreadsheets, forecasting, linear regression, cost/volume analysis, game theory, Monte Carlo simulation, and linear programming.  Students will learn conceptual fundamentals through application-based problem solving.

MBA 6324 Logistics

This course covers the overall logistics process for “time and place utility” of products. Topics include international logistics terms (incoterms), intermodal transportation, regulatory issues in logistics, capacity and scheduling, carrier and service quality, risk and contingency planning, and basic financial transportation decision modeling.

MBA 6325 Decision Modeling for Supply Chain Managers

This course provides an extensive introduction to decision modeling for the supply chain manager. Topics covered in the course include decision modeling with spreadsheets, forecasting, linear regression, cost/volume analysis, game theory, Monte Carlo simulation, and linear programming. Students will practice fundamentals and apply course tools to case situations for problem solving. A prior understanding of basic operations management is necessary for acceptable performance in this course, as is some experience using spreadsheets to solve problems.

MBA 6326 Leadership in Supply Chain Management

Leadership involves a unique skill set that goes beyond simple management, including how to influence and motivate others, build and support effective teams, communicate effectively, maintain high ethical standards, lead strategic change efforts, and make good decisions. This course prepares current and future managers in supply chain management positions to be effective leaders.

MBA 6328 Strategic Sourcing and Procurement

Students will learn how to develop a procurement strategy that is complementary of the overall organizational strategy. Subjects included in this course are: category management, supplier solicitation, bidding processes, competitive negotiations, price and cost analysis, total cost of ownership, types of purchasing contracts, and international purchasing issues.