Course Descriptions - Executive MBA

This course covers the fundamentals of accounting principles. Specifically included are accounting concepts, principles, traditions, and terminology, the accounting model, introduction to the financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows), and the bookkeeping process from analysis of transactions through adjustments to the preparation of a balance sheet and income statement.

This course focuses on the understanding of how and why firms need to transform themselves in the increasingly digital world by embracing the changes brought about by the Internet, social media and big data. Topics included in this course will broadly cover the strategic importance of web, mobile and social media presence for firms; how firms can develop competitive advantage through big data and analytics; and important factors to consider for successful implementation of digital and social media strategies. Particular attention will be given to real-world business case studies to complement theoretical concepts and frameworks.

This course introduces financial accounting concepts and principles along with elements of financial analytical methods. It is designed to lay a foundation for the Executive MBA curriculum, especially subsequent accounting and finance courses. This course is also a study of the major accounting methods used for costing products, services, programs, projects, departments, and other operational units and cost objects. The primary emphasis is on developing the needed understanding, insights, and skills to correctly use such data in making various kinds of managerial decisions.

Designed for the experienced manager, this course is an extensive study of human behavior in the workplace. Among the topics addressed are theories considered critical to the understanding of workplace motivation, communication, leadership, rewards and sanctions, team building, workplace stress, and organization structuring and design. Particular attention is paid to managing persons in complex environments (including the rapidly changing nature of jobs and work and work in international/multicultural settings).

This course focuses on quantitative decision making. Analytics is a major component of business decision making to gain competitive advantage. Students will work with data to create predictive models. The course will include time series and regression techniques as well as Bayesian analysis for decision making. Model development, validation, interpretation, and practical application will be addressed.

This course provides students an introduction to the theoretical foundations and methodologies underpinning Generative AI and develops an understanding of its wide range of applications in across industries. This course discusses both the benefits and challenges associated with business applications of Generative AI, and will cover methodologies that can generate a variety of outputs such as texts, images, audio, video, etc. Applications in marketing, healthcare, finTech, IT, manufacturing, logistics, and management will be considered.

This course provides the EMBA student with a study of the interrelationship of law, ethics and business. The course covers the American legal system and ethical responsibilities of business. The course equips the student to recognize legal and ethical issues and to manage legal risks in business decision making.

This course is directed toward the management and control of operating systems with an emphasis on supply chain management. Specific topics include matching operating decisions to a firm's strategy; design of operations control systems; unique operations considerations in the services, design, selection and improvement of processes; capacity planning; quality management; and the management of inventories.

This course provides EMBA students with tools and frameworks for devising transnational business strategy. Drawing on political economy and managerial strategy, the course examines the intersection of organizational decision-making and "country risk." Evolving globalization and political economic management are examined, and attention is focused on how organizations around the world respond to local and global challenges. The course employs comparative qualitative and quantitative analysis across key country cases, such as India, Brazil, and China. Students engage in scenario-based cooperative exercises to solve organizational challenges on the global playing field.

This course considers conceptual and policy issues associated with the financial management of the non-financial firm. Students develop skills in financial analysis and interpretation and examine the various economic profit-based metrics used by financial executives. The dominant paradigms of risk and return are considered, and techniques for the valuation of both financial and real assets are analyzed. Included are capital budgeting techniques for making optimal asset and financing decisions as used in project financing and the setting of hurdle rates and the use of simulation in the conduct of risk management. Financial management practices in other countries are considered. Case analysis is employed, and personal computers are used as a supporting tool.

This course focuses on the determination and evaluation of the corporate capital strategies. Topics considered include financial structure, leasing, cost of capital, dividend policy, and valuation. The financial topics are combined with the investment strategies to yield a synthetic view of financing-investment interactions and their impact on firm value. The related topics of mergers, acquisitions, and leveraged buy outs are addressed. Case analysis in the classroom will draw upon the background readings in the professional and academic literature and from the lectures. Personal computers are used as a supporting technique.

The ability to think like an entrepreneur is becoming essential to value creation in the business world. This experiential course introduces students to the entrepreneurial mindset and the art of creating new ventures and developing and deploying new ideas. Student teams are matched with a founder of a startup or growth stage company to solve a problem or build a new venture opportunity presented by the founder. At the end of this “learn by doing” course, students pitch their solution or new venture to the founder and other company executives as appropriate.

Upon successful completion of this course you should have a working knowledge of a practice-driven approach to developing decision-making skills in marketing; "the" marketing concept with a focus on customer value identification, and creation and delivery and the total customer experience; and the basic pillars of the marketing function such as segmentation, targeting, positioning, as well as growing customer value and profitability via the marketing mix (the so called "4Ps"). The course will examine macro-environmental factors that influence international marketing decisions, different sources of information for making international marketing decisions, the marketing function within the context of international business, and connections to real-life phenomena observed in the global business environment.

This course entails the overseas visit to directly observe the practices and concepts of business in foreign countries. The students visit a series of businesses in one or more countries, both U.S. companies doing business in the countries and country-national companies. In addition, discussions are organized between the students and members of the governments in the countries, U.S. business people in the countries, and American Chambers of Commerce in the countries. Time is allowed for students to become familiar with the cultural aspects of the countries visited.

This course introduces several core concepts that are relevant to inquiry in almost every business discipline and useful in every course in this curriculum. These ideas are also central to your development as a leader in a global economy. The primary purpose of this course if to imbue in each student an interdisciplinary conceptual framework for thought and analysis in the first year of MBA study. Students should be able to identify, describe and discuss within theoretical frameworks the following concepts as they appear in everyday market interactions: 1. The Theory of the Firm 2. The Concept of Strategy 3. Firm Level Competitive Advantage 4. Industry Analysis.

Course members become immersed in the leadership challenges associated with management of an enterprise at the corporate, business unit, and line of business levels, including those challenges encountered in multinational corporations. Focusing on the responsibilities of both the general manager and the senior management team, individuals encounter challenging settings where executives have responsibility for the enterprise's overall performance rather than just a single business function. Leadership of the strategy process, facilitating organization building, and assurance of effective enterprise performance are unifying themes throughout the course.

This experiential studio class teaches design thinking, the entrepreneurial mindset and exposes the student to advanced technologies and trends as applicable to business. Design thinking is taught as a systematic approach to innovation and creative problem-solving that can be used in many industries. Using a combination of lean startup and design thinking, students will conduct experiments, interviews and test prototypes to verify the viability of both problems and solutions. The student will be introduced to methods in resourceful problem discovery by methods of noticing, observing, and data analysis. Ideation models will be applied to conceptualize new-to-the-world technologies, business models, products and services as potential business ventures.

Individuals become immersed in the role of executive leaders who are accountable for delivering measurable, successful performance within globally competitive organizations. Assuming various CxO roles, they are charged with responsibility for recognizing and capitalizing on opportunities and responding to ever-changing strategic and operational circumstances, all while seeking to enhance the value and position of the enterprise (whether public, private, or not-for-profit.) This course integrates strategic, operational, and financial practices in the context of executive and general manager leadership.