Professional MBA Course Descriptions

ACCTG 500 Financial Accounting 

This course focuses on the concepts and principles that underlie corporate financial statements prepared for external users, including the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement.

ACCTG 501 Managerial Accounting (Prerequisite: 500)

This course examines the internal use of accounting as a management tool. Emphasis is on cost concepts and analysis of cost variances. Topics include cost-volume-profit analysis, process and activity-based costing, cost allocation, budgeting and performance measures.

ECON 502 Managerial Economics

You will learn micro- and macro-economics concepts and analytical techniques used in managing businesses. Topics include consumer behavior, production and cost, market structures and market failure, fiscal and monetary policy, and international trade and finance.

MKT 503 Management Communication 

This course is designed to evaluate and sharpen your business writing and speaking skills. You will be introduced to argumentation as an advanced form of communication that is crucial for effective managerial performance. The emphasis is on the manager’s use of language as a tool to identify issues, solve problems and communicate policy.

ORB 504 Legal Aspects of Business

You will be introduced to the legal framework for business and to significant legal issues involved in the conduct of business. Topics include the legal system, forms of business, corporation in law, shareholders’ rights and liabilities, intellectual property, competitive torts and unfair competition, antitrust law, contract law and negotiation, and areas of conduct in which law shapes managerial behavior.

ORB 505 Ethical and Social Aspects of Business

This course examines the relationship between business and its social setting. Topics include non-market environments of business, issues of ethics and social responsibility in market systems, relation between social trends and politics, comparative market systems, regulation and externalities, and corporate governance issues.

OPS 506 Quantitative Methods

This course introduces analytical methods for data analysis to support managerial decisions. Topics include basic statistics, sampling and statistical inference, and linear regression models.

OPS 700 Operations Management (Prerequisite: 506)

This course focuses on quantitative and qualitative models for managing operations. Topics include decision models, forecasting techniques and time series analysis, process analysis, waiting line management, linear programming, statistical control, aggregate planning, supply chain management and project management.

ORB 701 Organizational Behavior and Management 

You will gain an understanding of how managerial and organizational processes work based on the behavioral sciences. You will use this information to analyze workplace behavior to improve motivation and commitment, leadership, job satisfaction, group and team dynamics, and organizational design.

FIN 702 Managerial Finance (Prerequisites: 500, 501, 506)

You will learn basic corporate finance concepts that influence decision-making strategies in areas of investment, financing and dividend policy. Topics include asset valuation, risk analysis, financial statement analysis, financial planning, capital budgeting, asset management, short- and long-term financing, cost of capital, and capital structure.

MKT 703 Marketing Management (Prerequisite: 506)

This course provides an overview of the issues, concepts, and models used in analyzing marketing choices and managing marketing activities. Topics include market measurement and segmentation, consumer and organizational buying behavior, marketing mix analysis and management, marketing research, product management, marketing strategy, and public policy and ethical considerations in marketing.

MGT 704 International Business (Prerequisite: 502)

This course focuses on the international business environment and the strategic choices facing companies with international business operations. Topics include the structure and competitive dynamics of international industries, trade and trade theory, forms of transnational and multinational business, global competition and global strategies, balance of local demands and global integration, culture and government roles in international business, international financial and currency markets, and management issues in multinational firms.

MGT 705 Managing Creativity and Innovation 

In this course, students develop their creativity thinking, sharpen their idea generation process, and learn to stimulate creativity in more meaningful and manageable ways.  Students will also gain a better understanding of the appropriate context to cultivate and implement creativity in the workplace.  The purpose of the course is to help students acquire skills to form novel, useful and fresh solutions to new and unfamiliar problems.

GMAN 706 Doing Business in World Regions (Travel Course, Prerequisites: 502, 700)

This experiential international immersion course features a study trip to key countries with economic significance. The objective of the course is to learn about a selected country’s dynamic cultural, economic, and business environment through hands-on learning such as lectures by the world-class hosting university faculty, company visits, and interactions with local managers. Through this course, students will raise awareness about broader social, cultural, political, economic, business and strategic factors when evaluating companies and organizations in visiting countries. This course has two components; the on-campus pre-travel and post-travel classes, and the 8-9 day overseas trip, which is taken during the quarter breaks. Past destinations include China, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Spain.

MGT 719 Global Business Strategy (Prerequisites: 500 - 506 and 700 - 703)

This integrative course provides a framework for formulating corporate objectives, assessing market opportunities, developing long-range strategies, and coordinating the activities of the total business enterprise. You will apply this framework—as well as the knowledge and skills gained from previous courses—as you develop, analyze, and implement business unit and corporation strategy.

Finance Concentration (Prerequisites: All foundation courses and 702)

FIN 763: Advanced Financial Management

You will continue your study of corporate finance topics that were introduced in Managerial Finance. Special attention will be placed on leasing and mergers and acquisitions, with an emphasis on techniques of valuation.

FIN 764: Investments and Financial Markets

This course is designed to provide an overview of the financial markets and investment vehicles available to the financial manager. Topics include the banking system, bank and non-bank financial institutions, and the market behavior of financial intermediaries. The emphasis of the course is on portfolio optimization and the analysis of a variety of financial instruments, including equity, debt and options.

FIN 765: International Finance

This course explores the issues and financial techniques that are important for firms with international operations. Topics include the foreign exchange markets, and the management of transaction, operating, interest rate and translation exposures. The course also focuses on international sources of capital, the cost of capital and capital budgeting in an international context, political risk, and import/export financing.

Business Analytics Concentration (Prerequisites: All foundation courses and 702)

OPS 760: Programming for Analytics

This course prepares students to build well-designed code modules that follow basic programming concepts and logic flow. It covers the fundamental concepts of computer programming using a standard programming language such as Python. Topics include data structures, control structures, data input/output, object-oriented programming, exception handling, and debugging. Concepts and methods introduced in the course are illustrated with simple data analysis examples

OPS 761: Advanced Data Analysis

This course is designed to equip students with advanced techniques for data analysis, forecasting and decision-making, applying them through case studies, and projects. It builds on the Data Analysis course. Topics include Logistic Regression, Non-linear Regression, Time Series Analysis, Nonparametric Methods, Bayesian Probability Updating, and Decision Analysis. This course involves extensive use of Excel and an introduction to the statistical software R.

OPS 762: Data Visualization and Story Telling

This course prepares students to create compelling narratives to effectively transmit the results of their analysis. Students learn various techniques and tools to present analytical results visually, communicate information clearly, and articulate the business insights revealed by analytics effectively. Topics will include data visualization software packages (e.g. Tableau) to present data dynamically, visual querying linked multi-dimensional visualization, dashboards, geographical information system (GIS), animation, personalization, and actionable alerts.

Marketing Concentration (Prerequisites: All foundation courses and 703)

MKT 767: Marketing Research

This course explores both quantitative and qualitative approaches to understanding markets and customers. Topics include the use of secondary information and databases, interviews and focus groups, and survey research and test marketing. The course emphasizes using marketing research in new product development.

MKT 768: Advanced Topics in Marketing

This course will introduce advanced techniques in marketing, both analytical tools and decision-making frameworks, as well as emerging issues both from academic research and corporate practice such as online consumer behavior, marketing in social networks or marketing in non-profit settings.  By its very nature, the content of this course will be flexible to reflect the latest thought and practice.

MKT 769: International Marketing

This course deals with the distinctive issues and problems involved in the marketing of goods and services in foreign or international markets. Topics include the evaluation of foreign market opportunities; market entry strategies; social, political and cultural considerations in international marketing; international product design issues; and marketing mix strategies.

International Management Concentration (Prerequisites: All foundation courses and 704)

FIN 765: International Finance

This course explores the issues and financial techniques that are important for firms with international operations. Topics include the foreign exchange markets, and the management of transaction, operating, interest rate and translation exposures. The course also focuses on international sources of capital, the cost of capital and capital budgeting in an international context, political risk, and import/export financing. *702 Prerequisite 

MKT 769: International Marketing

This course deals with the distinctive issues and problems involved in the marketing of goods and services in foreign or international markets. Topics include the evaluation of foreign market opportunities; market entry strategies; social, political and cultural considerations in international marketing; international product design issues; and marketing mix strategies. 

*703 Prerequisite 

MGT 771: Social Entrepreneurship From a Global Perspective

This course will provide concepts, analytical perspectives, skills and experiences to provide innovative and entrepreneurial solutions at the intersection of non-profit organizations, public services and businesses, to tackle social problems and environmental challenges we face both in our local communities and at a global level. The focus will be on existing and emerging business models in social ventures, approaches to growth and partnership options between and among the business, non-profit and social sectors.

Entrepreneurship Concentration (Prerequisites: All foundation courses)

MGT 770: Strategic Entrepreneurship

This integrative course will introduce a strategic approach to entrepreneurship by providing an understanding of how to formulate and implement startup and growth strategies. The main focus will be on helping you differentiate between an idea and an opportunity, increasing your awareness of the risks and rewards of entrepreneurship, as well as developing your skills in problem solving with inadequate information and in decision making under uncertainty. The course will also include the topics of market assessment, developing the business plan, forming and leading the executive team, managing rapid growth with limited resources, and exit/harvest strategies for new ventures.

MGT 771: Social Entrepreneurship From a Global Perspective

This course will provide concepts, analytical perspectives, skills and experiences to provide innovative and entrepreneurial solutions at the intersection of non-profit organizations, public services and businesses, to tackle social problems and environmental challenges we face both in our local communities and at a global level. The focus will be on existing and emerging business models in social ventures, approaches to growth and partnership options between and among the business, non-profit and social sectors.

*704 Prerequisite 

FIN 766: Financing New Ventures

This course augments the Managerial Finance course in the Professional MBA program.  The critical issues in financing new ventures and social enterprises are examined.  Additionally, the course addresses the differences between entrepreneurial finance and conventional administrative or corporate finance.  The process of crafting financial and fund-raising strategies and the critical variables involved, including identifying financial life cycles of new ventures, a financial strategy framework, and investor and donor preferences, are explored.