The George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics

Arthur Kraft, Ph.D., Dean

Bruce Dehning, Ph.D., Associate Dean

Jon B. Kaplan, Assistant Dean

Professors: Adibi, Booth, Campbell, Dickhaut, Doti, Iannaccone, Kathuria, Machan, Pfeiffer, Porter, Rassenti, Sfeir, Smith, Tuggle, Wihlborg, Wilson;

Associate Professors: Broughton, Dehning, Giannantonio, Hanson, Murphy, Murray, Nyer, Shukla, Sinha, P., Turk, Virchick, Ybarra;

Assistant Professors: Adler, Altintig, Ataman, Chiu, Coskuner-Balli, Erenburg, Hu, Kang, Karniouchina, Lunawat, McCarter, Myhr, Sheremeta, Shields, Sinha, C., Sudek, Uslay, Winn.

Master of Business Administration - (Full-Time MBA, Flexible MBA)

Executive Master of Business Administration

Master of Science in Economic Systems Design

Joint Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration

Joint Master of Business Administration/Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television Producing

Joint Master of Business Administration/Master of Science in Food Science

Integrated Five Year Undergraduate/Master of Business Administration Program

The George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics' programs prepare students to assume leadership roles in business organizations in a dynamic market economy. Successful graduates, grounded in economic reasoning with an understanding of the role of markets, will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to identify and evaluate opportunities throughout the world and mobilize the resources to exploit them.

Research Centers

A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research

The A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research (ACER) was established in 1979. The mission of the Center is to provide data, facilities and support in order to encourage the faculty and students at Chapman University to engage in economic and business research of high quality, and to disseminate the results of this research to the Southern California communities.

C. Larry Hoag Center for Real Estate and Finance

Established in 2005, the C. Larry Hoag Center for Real Estate and Finance is the Argyros School's newest center. In addition to coordinating the Argyros School's academic programs in real estate, the Center provides real estate expertise to the Orange County community, sponsors symposia and panel discussions, and offers information and assistance to students interested in pursuing a career in the real estate industry.

Ralph W. Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics

Established in 1996 for students, alumni, and Orange County businesses, the Ralph W. Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics provides resources for individuals interested in succeeding with entrepreneurial pursuits. Nationally ranked in entrepreneurship by Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review, the center provides advice on start-up strategies, business and marketing plans, strategies for growing firms as well as guidance in securing angel and venture capital funding. Students are provided opportunities for entrepreneurial internships, business plan contests, consulting team projects, and mentorship opportunities.

Walter Schmid Center for International Business

The Walter Schmid Center for International Business was established in 1992. The mission of the Center is to provide leadership in internationalizing business education in the Argyros School of Business and Economics, to create and disseminate knowledge through research on the global economy, and to provide a resource for Orange County business people to assess and act upon opportunities in the global marketplace.

Master of Business Administration

The Argyros School of Business and Economics offers an MBA program for career professionals. Students completing this program will develop an understanding of all functional areas of business, an ability to communicate persuasively, a capacity for effective economic analysis and a global perspective.

Admission to the Program

Admission to the Chapman MBA program is competitive. Applicants are evaluated on academic performance, leadership potential, work experience and communication skills. Admission to the program may be achieved by the completion of the following requirements:

  1. Submit the application for admission.
  2. Hold a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution.
  3. Achieve an undergraduate grade point average of 2.500 or higher, calculated over the most recent 60 semester (or 90 quarter) credits completed; these 60 semester (or 90 quarter) credits may include an average of up to 15 graded semester (22½ quarter) credits of graduate-level course work that are applicable to a graduate degree program at an accredited institution other than Chapman. The graduate-level course work must have been completed prior to consideration for admission to Chapman.
  4. Achieve an acceptable score on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).
  5. Submit two letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with the applicant's academic or professional abilities.
  6. Foreign applicants who have completed their undergraduate degree outside of the United States may be required to achieve an acceptable score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

The Argyros School prefers students with at least two years of business-related work experience. Students who do not meet this standard are strongly encouraged to gain relevant experience through an internship position while enrolled in the MBA program.

Students with a 3.000 or higher undergraduate grade point average may receive a Chapman tuition grant based on GMAT performance. Scholarships for eligible students are awarded on the basis of the date of application to the Argyros School of Business and Economics.

Courses on the student's transcript designated with a "P" (e.g. BUS 602P) denote the class was taken on the Prague campus.

A student enrolled in at least 3 credits during interterm is considered a full-time student during interterm.

Transfer of Credit

Students who have taken graduate business courses in other AACSB-accredited universities may transfer up to six elective credits with approval of the Argyros School of Business and Economics. Students who have taken graduate coursework equivalent to a core course may waive the core course with special approval of the Argyros School of Business and Economics Graduate Committee and substitute another course in that subject area.

Full-Time Master of Business Administration

Applications for admission to the full-time MBA program are accepted for enrollment in the fall semester.

Requirements for the Degree

The full-time MBA curriculum is divided into three groups of courses: core courses covering all functional areas of business; an integrative capstone course; and electives through which students customize their program. All courses must be taken for a letter grade.

The following courses make up the Full-Time MBA curriculum:

core courses (33 credits)

BUS 600

Strategies for Competitive Advantage

1

BUS 601

Economic Analysis for Business

4

BUS 602

Accounting and Financial Analysis

4

BUS 603

Statistics for Business Decisions

3

BUS 604

Designing and Managing Value Creating Organizations

4

BUS 605

Marketing Management

4

BUS 606

Operations and Technology Management

4

BUS 607

Financial Management

4

BUS 608

Seminar in Markets and Economic Behavior

1

BUS 610

Understanding the Global Business Environment

4

capstone course (4 credits)

BUS 612*

Strategic Management

4

*Must have a cumulative GPA of 3.000 and pass with a grade of B or higher.

electives (15-16 credits)

No more than 3 elective credits may be earned in 500 level courses.

total credits

 

52-53

Flexible Master of Business Administration

Applications for admission to the flexible MBA program are accepted for enrollment in the fall and spring semesters. During the fall and spring semesters, courses in the program meet one evening per week and occasional Saturdays. Additionally, two summer sessions and a winter interterm offer maximum flexibility for students to complete their course of study.

Requirements for the Degree

The flexible MBA curriculum is divided into three groups of courses: core courses covering all functional areas of business; an integrative capstone course; and electives through which students customize their program. All courses must be taken for a letter grade.

The following courses make up the Flexible MBA curriculum:

core courses (32 credits)

BUS 600

Strategies for Competitive Advantage

1

BUS 601

Economic Analysis for Business

4

BUS 602

Accounting and Financial Analysis

4

BUS 603

Statistics for Business Decisions

3

BUS 604

Designing and Managing Value Creating Organizations

4

BUS 605

Marketing Management

4

BUS 606

Operations and Technology Management

4

BUS 607

Financial Management

4

BUS 610

Understanding the Global Business Environment

4

capstone course (4 credits)

BUS 612*

Strategic Management

4

*Must have a cumulative GPA of 3.000 and pass with a grade of B or higher.

electives (15-16 credits)

No more than 3 elective credits may be earned in 500 level courses.

total credits

 

51-52

Executive Master of Business Administration

The Executive MBA serves individuals with significant professional experience. Classes for this 21-month program meet Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings. Special features include residential courses in San Diego and Washington D.C., an international residential experience and the Distinguished Speaker Series.

Admission to the Program

Admission to the Chapman Executive MBA program is competitive. Applicants are evaluated on professional experience, leadership ability, and prior academic performance. Admission to the program may be achieved by the completion of the following requirements:

  1. Submit the application for admission.
  2. Hold a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution.
  3. Achieve an undergraduate grade point average of 2.500 or higher, calculated over the most recent 60 semester (or 90 quarter) credits completed; these 60 semester (or 90 quarter) credits may include an average of up to 15 graded semester (22½ quarter) credits of graduate-level course work that are applicable to a graduate degree program at an accredited institution other than Chapman. The graduate-level course work must have been completed prior to consideration for admission to Chapman.
  4. The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is required only for those EMBA applicants with an undergraduate grade point average of less than 3.000 in their most recent 60 semester (or 90 quarter) credits completed.
  5. Submit two letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with the applicant's academic or professional abilities.
  6. Complete a personal interview.

The Executive MBA program enrolls students for the fall semester only. Students with a 3.000 or higher undergraduate grade point average may receive a Chapman tuition grant based on GMAT performance. Scholarships for eligible students are awarded on the basis of the date of application to the Argyros School of Business and Economics.

Requirements for the Degree

The Executive MBA is a broad-based program with courses in each functional area of business. Students must take courses as a cohort in the sequence in which they are offered. The residential portions of EMBA 611 and EMBA 614 are program requirements and are not optional. Failure to enroll in a course when it is offered, or withdrawing from a course prior to its completion, is equivalent to withdrawing from the program. Students who withdraw must be readmitted to the program before resuming studies.

All courses must be taken for a letter grade. A grade of "Incomplete" may be awarded only in special circumstances and in accordance with university policy as detailed in the Academic Policies and Procedures section of this catalog. If an EMBA student receives a grade of "Incomplete," the student may not enroll in subsequent courses until the requirements of the incomplete course are satisfied and the "Incomplete" is changed to a letter grade.

Any action that is not in strict compliance with these policies must be approved by the Graduate Curriculum Committee of the Argyros School of Business and Economics and requires that the student submit a petition for exception of program requirements to the Graduate Curriculum Committee. Approval of petitions is granted only under exceptional circumstances.

The Executive MBA curriculum is comprised of the following courses:

core courses (37 credits)

EMBA 600

Creating and Sustaining Competitive Advantage (residential)

2

EMBA 601

Economic Analysis and Policy

4

EMBA 602

Financial Information Systems

4

EMBA 603

Applied Statistics

2

EMBA 604

Managing Effective Organizations

4

EMBA 605

Marketing Management

4

EMBA 606

Operations and Technology Management

4

EMBA 607

Managerial Finance

4

EMBA 611

Management in a Global Environment (includes residential)

6

EMBA 614

Business and Public Policy (residential)

3

capstone course (4 credits)

EMBA 612

Strategic Management

4

electives (8 credits)

All eight elective credits must be earned in 600-level courses.

8

total credits

 

49

Master of Science in Economic Systems Design

Economic systems design is the scientific study of the design, development, testing, and implementation of economic institutions and an understanding of how they operate. An MS in economic systems design (MSESD) prepares students to undertake the scientific process of understanding and developing systems of exchange and their incentives. The master's degree in economic system design will be delivered as a 5-year integrated undergraduate/MSESD degree.

Admission to the Program

The MSESD will admit Chapman University undergraduate students at the end of the student's junior year. The MSESD will also admit highly qualified students with a completed bachelor's degree and the appropriate prerequisites. Admission to the program may be achieved by the completion of the following requirements:

  1. Submit an application for admission in the spring of their junior year.
  2. Be enrolled at Chapman University and have completed 75 credits or more of undergraduate coursework with a cumulative GPA of 3.000 or higher.
    OR
    Have completed a bachelor's degree and the appropriate prerequisites at a regionally accredited institution with a cumulative GPA of 3.000 or higher.
  3. Submit two letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with the applicant's academic abilities.
  4. Achieve an acceptable score on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
  5. Complete a personal interview.
  6. Foreign applicants who have completed their undergraduate degree outside of the United States may be required to achieve an acceptable score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

Admission Deadlines

Prospective Chapman students interested in the integrated master's program should submit their application by December 15th of their junior year. Prospective students from other institutions are encouraged to submit their application by February 3rd for full consideration and first priority.

Requirements for the Degree

undergraduate prerequisites (15 credits):

MATH 210

Multivariable Calculus*

3

CPSC 236

Visual Programming

3

MATH 360

Probability Theory

3

MATH 361

Mathematical Statistics

3

ECON 420

Foundations of Economic Exchange**

3

*An equivalent programming class may be used to fulfill this requirement.

**Students from other institutions may make up this requirement while attending chapman University.

graduate course requirements (30 credits):

ECON 571/471

Experimental Economic I*

3

ECON 530/430

Computational Economics*

3

ECON 581/481

Economic Systems Design I: Principles and Experiments*

3

ECON 582/482

Economic Systems Design II: Case Studies and Analysis*

3

ECON 683

Economic Systems Design III

3

ECON 685

Economic Systems Design Lab I

3

ECON 686

Economic Systems Design Lab II

3

ECON 691

Economic Systems Design Thesis I

3

ECON 692

Economic Systems Design Thesis II

3

 

Elective

3

*Available to Chapman integrated master's program students in the junior or senior year.

total credits excluding prerequisites

 

30

Sample Plan for the 5-Year Integrated Undergraduate/MSESD Degree

Assumes the completion of all undergraduate prerequisites and the completion of ECON 571, 530, 581 and 582 as a Chapman undergraduate student.

fall (9 credits)

 

Elective

ECON 683

Economic Systems Design III

ECON 685

Economic Systems Design Lab I

ECON 691

Economic Systems Design Thesis I

spring (6 credits):

ECON 686

Economic Systems Design Lab II

ECON 692

Economic Systems Design Thesis II

ECON 571/471, 530, 581 and 582 taken in the senior year do not count towards the 124 credits required for the undergraduate degree.

Sample Plan for the Master of Science in Economic Systems Design

Assumes ECON 420 is not satisfied.

first master's year

fall (12 credits)

ECON 420

Foundations of Economic Exchange

ECON 581

Economic Systems Design I: Principles and Experiments

ECON 685

Economic Systems design Lab I

Elective

 

spring (12 credits)

ECON 530

Computational Economics

ECON 571

Experimental Economics I

ECON 582

Economic Systems Design II: Case Studies and Analysis

ECON 686

Economic Systems Design Lab II

second master's year

fall (9 credits)

ECON 683

Economic Systems Design III

ECON 691

Economic Systems Design Thesis I

ECON 692

Economic Systems Design Thesis II

Joint Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration

In conjunction with the Chapman University School of Law, the Argyros School of Business and Economics offers a joint program leading to both the JD and MBA degrees. Offered to full-time students, the program requires four years of study and acceptance to both the Chapman University School of Law and the Argyros School of Business and Economics. The JD/MBA program gives students the opportunity to obtain two highly marketable professional degrees.

Advantages of earning your JD/MBA at Chapman over earning the degrees separately:

The School of Law offers an 88-credit, 6-semester full-time JD program while the Argyros School of Business and Economics offers an MBA program that consists of 52 credits and is typically completed by full-time students in 3 - 4 semesters. The two programs, combined into the joint degree, require the completion of only 125 credits, a savings of 15 credits, resulting from the cross-application of completed coursework in the two schools.

Sample Curriculum for JD/MBA

first year

fall (15 credits, one credit of residency)

LAW 7103

Torts I

3

LAW 7105

Legal Research and Writing I

3

LAW 7107

Contracts I

3

LAW 7122

Property I

3

LAW 7130

Civil Procedure I

3

spring (16 credits, one credit of residency)

LAW 7110

Criminal Law

3

LAW 7115

Torts II

3

LAW 7119

Contracts II

3

LAW 7124

Property II

3

LAW 7132

Civil Procedure II

2

LAW 7135

Legal Research and Writing II

2

second year

fall (17 credits, one credit of residency, eight cross-count credits towards JD)

BUS 600

Strategies for Competitive Advantage

1

BUS 601

Economic Analysis for Business

4

BUS 602

Accounting and Financial Analysis

4

BUS 603

Statistics for Business Decisions

4

BUS 604

Designing and Managing Value Creating Organizations

4

spring (15 credits)

BUS 605

Marketing Management

4

BUS 606

Operations and Technology Management

4

BUS 607

Financial Management

4

LAW 7145

Corporations

3

third year

fall (16 credits, one credit of residency)

BUS 610

Understanding the Global Business Environment

4

LAW 7127

Constitutional Law I (may move Co Law I to Fall Fourth Year and substitute 3-credit law elective here)

3

LAW 7133

Federal Income Tax

3

LAW 7139

Professional Responsibility (may move PR to Spring Third Year to earn residency there instead)

2

LAW 7142

Evidence

4

spring (14 credits)

BUS 612

Strategic Management

4

LAW 7129

Constitutional Law II (may move to spring fourth year and substitute a 3-credit law elective here)

3

 

Law Elective

3

 

Law Elective

4

fourth year

(32 credits, two credits of residency)

 

MBA elective

4

 

Law electives

28

total credits

 

125

Joint Master of Business Administration/Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television Producing

In conjunction with the Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, the Argyros School of Business and Economics offers a joint program leading to both an MBA degree and an MFA in film and television producing degree. Offered to full-time students, the program requires three years of study and acceptance to both the Argyros School of Business and Economics and the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. The MBA/MFA in film and television producing gives students the opportunity to obtain two highly marketable professional degrees designed for individuals seeking a management or executive level position at a production company, talent agency, studio, or television network.

For more information on the MBA/MFA in film and television producing program, please see the Dodge College section of the catalog.

Joint Master of Business Administration/Master of Science in Food Science

In conjunction with the Chapman University's Schmid College of Science, the Argyros School of Business and Economics offers a joint program leading to both the MBA and MS in Food Science degrees. Offered to full-time and part-time students, the program requires acceptance into the Flexible MBA program at the Argyros School of Business and Economics and the MS in Food Science program in the Schmid College of Science.

For information on the Joint MBA/MS in Food Science program, please see the Schmid College of Science section of the graduate catalog.

Integrated Five Year Undergraduate/Master of Business Administration Program

The Argyros School offers a specialized MBA program for Chapman University undergraduates, which enables students to begin taking MBA coursework in the spring of the senior year and receive a master's in business administration within one year of finishing their undergraduate studies. The integrated program is open to all undergraduate majors and does not require any previous coursework in business. Students completing the program will develop an understanding of all functional areas of business, an ability to communicate persuasively, a capacity for effective economic analysis, and a global perspective. Additionally, students focus on career preparation with assistance provided by the MBA Career Management Center.

During the fall and spring semesters, courses in the program meet one afternoon or evening per week. Additionally, two summer sessions and a winter interterm enable students in the program to complete their coursework in one year's time.

Admission to the Program

Admission to the Chapman integrated 5-year undergraduate/MBA program is very competitive. Applicants are evaluated on academic performance, leadership potential, volunteer and internship experience, and communication skills. Admission to the program may be achieved by the completion of the following requirements:

  1. Submit an application for admission in the spring of their junior year.
  2. Be enrolled at Chapman University and have completed 75 credits or more of undergraduate coursework with a cumulative GPA of 3.000 or higher.
  3. Achieve a score of 580 or higher on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).
  4. Submit two letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with the applicant's academic or professional abilities.
  5. Complete a personal interview.

Admission Deadlines

Prospective students are encouraged to submit their application by the May 1 deadline for full consideration and first priority.

Students with a score of 600 or above on the GMAT may receive a Chapman tuition grant. Scholarships for eligible students are awarded on the basis of the date of application to the integrated 5-year undergraduate/MBA program.

Requirements for the Degree

All students in the program take coursework in the following sequence:

Senior year of undergraduate studies

spring (9 credits)

BUS 600

Strategies for Competitive Advantage

1

BUS 601

Economic Analysis for Business

4

BUS 602

Accounting and Financial Analysis

4

 

Any other coursework necessary for bachelor's degree

 

MBA year

summer (7 credits)

BUS 603

Statistics for Business Decisions

4

 

Elective*

3

fall (16 credits)

BUS 604

Designing and Managing Value Creating Organizations

4

BUS 605

Marketing Management

4

BUS 606

Operations and Technology Management

4

BUS 607

Financial Management

4

interterm (4 credits)

 

Elective

4

spring (16 credits)

BUS 610

Understanding the Global Business Environment

4

BUS 612

Strategic Management**

4

 

Elective

4

 

Elective

4

total credits

 

52

*Up to 3 internship credits may be applied towards the elective requirement subject to approval by the Argyros School of Business and Economics Graduate Curriculum Committee.

**Registration for BUS 612 requires a cumulative graduate GPA of 3.000. The course must be passed with a grade of "B" or higher.

Course Descriptions

Information about the course numbering system is available in the Academic Policies and Procedures section of this catalog. In the Argyros School of Business and Economics, 600 level courses are limited to graduate students.

Course Descriptions - Accounting

ACTG 550 Federal Income Tax

Prerequisite, BUS 602. Federal Income Tax related primarily to individuals. Included are concepts of income, deductions, credits, and capital gains and losses. (Offered fall semester.) 3 credits.

ACTG 551 Advanced Federal Income Tax

Prerequisite, BUS 602. Federal Income Tax related to partnerships, corporations, Subchapter S corporations, and an overview of Federal estate and gift taxes. (Offered spring semester.) 3 credits.

Course Descriptions - Business

BUS 590 Graduate Business Internship

Prerequisites, BUS 600, 601, 602. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits.

BUS 596A Emerging Economy Entrepreneurship

Prerequisites, BUS 601, 602, 607, or consent of instructor. U.S. businesses that engage in international initiatives are exposed to different strategic risks than are businesses that deal entirely within the domestic economy. This course introduces students to the challenges of managing the strategic risks of doing business in an emerging economy. The class travels to Mexico City for one week, where students work interactively with students from Mexico, receive lectures from local distinguished speakers and Chapman and Mexican faculty, and tour local sites. (Offered every year.) 3 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. The purpose of the course is to provide students with an understanding of the risks and opportunities inherent in establishing new ventures in an emerging economy.
  2. Students will acquire an appreciation for the proposition that those who are best prepared to manage risks are best positioned to be successful in high-risk environments, regardless of whether the risks are technological or political.

BUS 600 Strategies for Competitive Advantage

Prerequisite, admission to the MBA program. Introduction to the techniques and tools used to identify and exploit business strategies to create value. Specifically, this course develops an understanding of the sources of competitive advantage by focusing on the quantity and quality of resources available to the firm and on the opportunities and threats that shape the firm's competitive environment with an emphasis on how the expectations of society can be integrated with strategic economic decision-making. (Offered every semester.) 1 credit.

BUS 601 Economic Analysis for Business

Corequisite, BUS 600. This course examines the application of economic analysis to business decision-making. The course integrates the elements of macroeconomics and economic policies, applied microeconomics and international economics. Particular emphasis is placed on the role and importance of business conditions in business decisions, the theory of demand, the determination of price through the interaction of supply and demand, market structure and price determination, analysis of costs and supply, and pricing in factors in production. (Offered every semester.) 4 credits.

BUS 602 Accounting and Financial Analysis

Corequisite, BUS 600. Exploration of the use and analysis of financial and managerial accounting reports and information. The use of accounting information in financial contracts and performance evaluation and the ethical issues underlying the presentation and use of accounting information are highlighted. (Offered every semester.) 4 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. To describe extant accounting systems and the preparation and interpretation of financial statements.
  2. To evaluate the usefulness and limitations of accounting information for effective decision making.
  3. To describe how accounting information is used for strategic planning and performance evaluation.

BUS 603 Statistics for Business Decisions

Corequisite, BUS 600. This course provides students with the statistical tools and conceptual framework to make informed management decisions. Data are described by their central tendency and dispersion characteristics. Sampling theory, sampling distributions, statistical inference, and testing of hypotheses as applied to economic and business problems. Correlation, regression analysis, and index numbers form a major component of this course. Statistical applications and the use of computers are an integral part of the course material. (Offered every year.) 3 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. To enable the student to assemble, edit and analyze economic and business data, and describe its statistical nature.
  2. To study the use of statistical inference, hypothesis testing, and sampling to gain insights into the characteristics of a population.
  3. To study the use of correlation and regression analysis to find relationships among business and economic variables.
  4. To develop an understanding of the evaluation of data and use of critical judgment in forming business decisions.

BUS 604 Designing and Managing Value Creating Organizations

Corequisites, BUS 600, 601. For organizations to create value they must have the capability to react to market opportunities quickly. This course introduces the tools, techniques, and skills necessary to increase the capacity of firms to do that. Building on insights from economics, this course teaches students how to align incentives, identify and change employee preferences, assign decision rights, and select and retain appropriate employees. Most importantly, this course will describe how a firm can be designed and managed to reduce the bureaucratic behavior that destroys value in organizations. (Offered every semester.) 4 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. To improve your ability to diagnose and correct organizational problems.
  2. To improve your skills in maximizing firm value by effectively managing individuals and groups.
  3. To improve your skills in maximizing firm value by designing organizations that efficiently and effectively exploit changing market opportunities.

BUS 605 Marketing Management

Prerequisites, BUS 601, 602, 603. In the highly competitive global environment, market-oriented thinking and sound marketing management can make the difference between success and failure. Students examine such topics as customer satisfaction and retention, marketing research, market segmentation, promotion, product, and pricing decisions. The course features a semester-long marketing simulation project and several case analyses. (Offered every semester.) 4 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. To outline the role of marketing within the organization and to develop the ability to define and analyze the decision problems dealt with by marketing managers.
  2. To refine decision-making and analytical abilities and the ability to express the results orally and in writing.
  3. To survey current developments in marketing science and theory, and analytical concepts and techniques relevant for marketing decision making, with an emphasis on demand analysis, cost-volume-profit relationships, and the economics of customer retention.

BUS 606 Operations and Technology Management

Prerequisites, BUS 602, 603. In this course, students analyze the management of operations and technology in both production and service industries. Topics include operations and technology strategy, project management, product and process design, capacity and location planning, supply chain management, and total quality management. Students examine the tradeoffs involved in operation decisions and the application of software tools to solve these problems. (Offered every year.) 4 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. Expose MBA students to a wide range of activities that comprise Production & Operations Management.
  2. Provide MBA students with some experience in developing operations strategy and operating policies for both manufacturing and service operations.
  3. Provide MBA students with some experience at dealing with the basic issues and economic trade-offs which face an operations manager.
  4. Enable MBA students to analyze data with basic models in areas like location planning, layout planning, inventory management, project management, and quality control. Use of an Excel-based software is encouraged to solve complex problems.
  5. Help MBA students develop an understanding of technology strategy and its interface with business strategy and other functional strategies.

BUS 607 Financial Management

Prerequisites, BUS 601, 602, 603. Good financial decisions enhance firm value. This course examines the issues faced by corporate financial managers and the tools and techniques for creating value. Topics include the risk-return tradeoff, financial statement analysis, financial forecasting, valuation, the cost of capital, and capital budgeting. (Offered every semester.) 4 credits.

Course Objective:

  1. The purpose of this course is to provide students a comprehensive introduction to the basic theory of modern corporate finance and the application of this theory to financial decision making.

BUS 608 Seminar in Markets and Economic Behavior

Prerequisites, BUS 601, 602, 603. This course explores how economic behavior compares with economic theory with applications in finance, marketing, accounting and management. A survey of topics including market mechanisms such as auctions, pit markets, etc., information signaling and information cascades, trust games, price bubbles, and prediction markets will be covered. (Offered every year.) 1 credit.

Course Objective:

  1. To show the applicability of experiments to economic and business questions and to foster an appreciation of a scientific approach to understanding economic behavior in business settings.

BUS 610 Understanding the Global Business Environment

Prerequisites, BUS 604, 605, 607. Students learn to integrate their knowledge of different areas of business to analyze the current topics in international business. The major study units include the study of international business environments and institutions, international trade, international financial markets, country risk analysis, foreign exchange markets, the international dimensions of management, human resource management and marketing, technology transfer, and special problems of multinational enterprise at home and in host countries. (Offered every semester.) 4 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. To gain understanding and appreciation of how a global perspective can create value for a firm as well as for the world economy.
  2. To develop an ability to apply international business concepts, via case study analysis, to diagnose problems of international firms, to recommend and communicate a course of action.
  3. To obtain knowledge of international organizations and agreements that regulate international business activities.

BUS 612 Strategic Management

Prerequisites, BUS 600, 601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, cumulative GPA of 3.000 in MBA course work. This course relies heavily on the case method of instruction to apply strategic analyses and techniques. Students focus on the requirements for sustaining competitive advantage and the implications of these requirements for market positioning, diversification, acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate restructuring, and other decisions that can significantly affect firm value. This course also requires students to demonstrate significant business research and presentation skills by forming teams to analyze a strategic issue facing an actual firm. Recommendations based on that analysis are presented and defended orally and in writing and judged by a panel of professors and business leaders. (Offered every semester.) 4 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. The purpose of the course is to enable students to integrate and to apply all of the core concepts of strategy and business administration to solving strategic problems.
  2. Learn to integrate tools and concepts from economics, finance, accounting, management, and marketing and to develop the skill of making informed decisions that affect the direction and performance of the firm.
  3. Understand the circumstances under which various strategic options including acquisitions, divestitures, digital strategies, and international strategies offer the greatest potential to acquire and sustain a competitive advantage.
  4. Enhance their capabilities in persuasively communicating strategic analyses orally and in writing.
  5. Develop the ability to do significant field research on strategic problems and present strategic recommendations professionally.

BUS 621 Investments

Prerequisite, BUS 607. Investment principles and practices, emphasis on the problems of the investor. The evaluation, selection, and management of securities; investment principles; trading methods and valuation; different types of investments and savings; sources of information available to assure wise investing; and interpretation of financial statements. (Offered every year.) 4 credits.

BUS 622 Accounting for Cost Management and Control

Prerequisites, BUS 601, 602. The analysis and use of accounting information prepared for use within the organization for the purpose of aiding managerial decision-making and control. (Offered as needed.) 4 credits.

BUS 624 Marketing Research

Prerequisites, BUS 603, 605. This course guides students in identifying a firm's marketing research problem (or opportunity) as it relates to its market, product, price, promotion, distribution, and/or the external environment. Students develop solutions by implementing the marketing research process. Emphasis is placed on the planning, investigating, collecting and interpreting data, and presenting results. (Offered as needed.) 4 credits.

BUS 627 Advanced Corporate Finance

Prerequisite, BUS 607. This course emphasizes the analysis of the current/future practices and issues in the area of corporate finance. Topics include valuation, capital markets, management of short-term assets and liabilities, capital structure, capital budgeting, the cost of capital, investment decisions, merger and acquisitions, and corporate use of derivatives. (Offered every year.) 4 credits.

BUS 631 Derivative Securities and Markets

Prerequisite, BUS 607. Analyses of financial options, futures and other derivative securities. The course develops a framework for the use of securities in hedging financial risk. (Offered as needed.) 4 credits.

BUS 632 Financial Reporting and Analysis

Prerequisite, BUS 602. Corequisite, BUS 607. Selected topics in financial reporting and financial statement analysis. Examines the link between the financial reporting process and capital markets and the use of financial accounting information in investment and credit decisions. (Offered every year.) 4 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. This course covers selected topics in financial reporting and financial statement analysis.
  2. A central theme of this class is the relationship between financial reporting and capital markets as well as the use of financial statement information in investment and credit decisions.

BUS 634 Marketing Strategy

Prerequisite, BUS 605. This course provides a comprehensive framework for the development of competitive marketing strategies. The course is cross-functional in its focus, attempting (where appropriate) to integrate marketing issues with financial, operating and other key functional issues. Conventional marketing strategy assumptions are challenged, and alternative paradigms for achieving strategic success are proposed. The course focuses on business-level marketing strategy, rather than corporate strategy or business policy. Students develop new perspectives for creating innovative marketing strategies that achieve organizational objectives and build competitive advantage. The course features a semester-long marketing simulation project. (Offered every year.) 4 credits.

BUS 635 Management of Entrepreneurial Enterprises

Prerequisite, BUS 605. This seminar introduces students to the basic activities required to successfully manage an entrepreneurial enterprise. Topics include generating entrepreneurial ideas, assessing the potential of new ventures, developing business plans, attracting capital, and taking a business public. In addition, legal issues associated with new ventures will be discussed. (Offered every year.) 4 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. The purpose of the course is to enable students to identify and to evaluate new business opportunities, to structure proposals and plans for the investment community, and to understand how to overcome the challenges of launching and managing new ventures.
  2. Be able to assess the attractiveness of new ventures.
  3. Understand the requirements for converting an idea into a business.
  4. Develop and present a business plan.
  5. Gain insights in managing entrepreneurial enterprises from successful entrepreneurs and professionals.

BUS 637 Financial Markets and Institutions

Prerequisite, BUS 601. Analysis of financial markets, instruments trading in capital and money markets, and the management of financial institutions. The course develops a framework for discussing the structure of major financial intermediaries and non-intermediaries, portfolio composition, impact of government regulation, and interrelation of financial institutions and markets. Topics include analyses of the demand and supply of loanable funds, the instruments and organization of money and capital markets, financial flows and the impact of public policy, and term and risk structure of interest rates. (Offered as needed.) 4 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. This course is designed to give the student a working knowledge of financial markets and institutions, understanding of market structure, determinants of interest rates, term-structure of interest rates, financial intermediation, bond duration and valuation.
  2. The course emphasizes banking.

BUS 639 Mergers, Acquisitions, and Corporate Restructuring

Prerequisite, BUS 607. This seminar focuses on the critical corporate level strategic decisions that managers must make about the combination of assets a firm will hold and how those assets will be deployed and integrated to sustain a competitive advantage. Topics include mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, leveraged buyouts, divestitures, corporate restructuring, and related governance issues. Particular emphasis will be placed on mergers and acquisitions. Students learn how to value and structure acquisitions, and how to manage them to achieve their greatest contribution to firm value. Hostile takeovers, friendly mergers, and acquisitions of entrepreneurial enterprises are addressed in detail. Guest speakers with directly relevant experience are invited to address the class. (Offered as needed.) 4 credits.

BUS 640 Corporate Governance and Control

Prerequisites, BUS 601, 607. Study of the constraints designed to make managers and directors act in their shareholders' interest. Topics covered include choice of legal form of organization, ownership structure, corporate charter provisions including voting rules, anti-takeover measures, stakeholders and corporate social responsibility, the proxy process, board of directors, CEO compensation, CEO performance evaluation, CEO retention and succession, boundaries of the firm and international corporate governance. Emphasis is placed on how optimal practices vary across industry, strategy and country and on how they evolve through time. (Offered as needed.) 4 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. Economic or Contractual Theory of the Corporation.
  2. Legal and Regulatory Structure of the Corporation.
  3. Legal Responsibilities of Directors.
  4. Best Corporate Governance Practices.
  5. The Role of the Audit Committee.
  6. Executive Compensation.
  7. Creating Effective Boards.

BUS 645 Human Resources Management

Students learn a systems approach to managing human resources in organizations. Topics include environmental scanning, managing diversity, legal issues, strategic HR, job analysis, performance appraisal, recruitment and selection, workforce reductions, career development, training, compensation, benefits, and labor and employee relations. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits.

BUS 652 Conflict and Negotiation

Prerequisite, BUS 604. Students analyze the nature, types, and stages of conflict and conflict resolution, focusing on conflict within and between persons, groups, and organizations. Negotiation and resolution techniques are examined and applied. (Offered as needed.) 4 credits.

BUS 656 Project Management

Prerequisites, BUS 602, 603, 604, 605, 606. This course focuses on the essential managerial skills for managing projects, including innovation and development of new products, services, and systems; selection, procurement, and implementation of new technology; (re)location and (re)configuration of facilities; mergers and acquisitions; maintenance projects; and organizing and hosting events. Using a project management framework, students will learn about the issues, problems, and solutions involved in carrying out a team project from start to finish. Students will use the Microsoft Project and Crystal Ball software programs to manage a real-world project. Topics include project selection, project planning, budgeting, project scheduling, resource allocation, resource leveling, project monitoring and evaluation, team building and supportive communication. (Offered every year.) 4 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. The course is structured to follow the sequence of a project, from the project's inception to its completion, and develops the required skills to manage, control, participate in, and report a project.
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of team building processes and issues.
  3. Assess team effectiveness (both task and process).
  4. Demonstrate proficiency in project management skills and tools through a team project.
  5. Show proficiency in communicating with team members in a supportive way.

BUS 660 Creativity and Innovation (Corporate Entrepreneurship)

This graduate seminar focuses upon the necessity of creativity and innovation for individual and organizational success in dynamic and competitive environments. The course reviews recent advances in theoretical and applied models of creativity and innovation on different levels of analysis: global innovativeness and competitiveness of nations, industry level analysis of creativity and innovation in high technology sectors with consideration of government support of technology development, organizational level analysis of successful and unsuccessful case illustrations, and individual managerial level of analysis of creativity. Students will be actively engaged as a participant in this seminar with required individual research, experiential exercises, reflection assignments, and group/individual presentations. (Offered every year.) 4 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. The course reviews recent advances in theoretical and applied models of creativity and innovation on different levels of analysis:
  1. Global innovativeness and competitiveness of nations.
  2. Industry level analysis of creativity and innovation in high technology sectors with consideration of government support of technology development.
  3. Organizational level analysis of successful and unsuccessful case illustrations.
  4. Individual managerial level of analysis of creativity.

BUS 685 Seminar in Business Consulting

This course reviews: the history of the business consulting industry, recent trends in the consulting industry structure and demand, concepts on the phases/steps in the consulting process, review of tools used by business consultants, and the course provides students an opportunity to apply classroom concepts to real-world consulting projects. (Offered every year.) 4 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. Gain knowledge of the history of business consulting.
  2. Study trends and structure of the consulting industry.
  3. Learn the steps of the consulting process.
  4. Utilize business consulting tools.

BUS 686 Building Cross-Cultural Business Competencies

Prerequisite, BUS 600. Students will evaluate how differences in national, corporate, and professional culture can best be orchestrated to maximize firm value. The course will also address the applicability of "Western" management techniques across cultures. The class will feature a series of classroom lectures and on-line assignments. There is a required 10 day international travel component to visit local and foreign invested businesses in one country located in the Pacific Rim or in South America. (Offered interterm.) 3 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. Students will build their cross-cultural business competencies.
  2. Students will gain an in-dept knowledge of the challenges and opportunities associated with doing business in a specific country in either the Pacific Rim or in South America.
  3. Students will increase their knowledge of the complex relationships between globalization and culture.
  4. Students will understand how national culture can be a source of competitive advantage of nations and a key input to location and sourcing decisions.

BUS 690 Internship

(Offered as needed.) ½-6 credits.

BUS 696 Special Topics in Business

Selected topics in business. 1-4 credits.

BUS 699 Independent Research

Prerequisite, completion of all core course work. (Does not count toward graduation requirements.) 1-3 credits.

Course Descriptions - Economics

ECON 511 International Economics

Prerequisite, BUS 601. The theory of international trade policy, including the effects of tariffs, quotas, subsidies, exchange control, and other trade restrictions upon a nation's economy. Analysis of balance of payments; causes and methods of correction of disequilibrium in the balance of payments; study trade associations. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits.

ECON 530 Computational Economics

Prerequisite, MGSC 208, or MATH 210, or equivalent calculus course. This course will introduce students to the computational tools required to understand electronic exchange systems and implement economic experiments. Students will be required to become familiar with numerical analysis, computer simulation and programming of experiments. (Offered every year.) 3 credits.

Course Objectives:

After taking this course students should be able to:

  1. Use computational methods in solving economic exchange problems.
  2. Implement an electronic exchange systems.

ECON 548 Managerial Economics

Prerequisites, BUS 601, 602. Use and application of economic theory and statistics in the decision-making process. Cases and lectures. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits.

ECON 560 Environmental and Natural Resources Economics

Prerequisite, BUS 601. Theories of environmental and natural resource economics will be examined, both for allocative efficiency and for impacts on growth. The theory of public choice and the theory of market failure will be studied. Theory will be applied to renewable and nonrenewable resources and to pollution of air, water, and land. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits.

ECON 571 Experimental Economics I

A course designed to engage the student as an economic actor in a wide variety of environments. The economies we will study will be ones in which students will participate and generate the data that will then be the subject of examination in the classroom. We will explore how these studies parallel important questions in the at large economy today. Special topics include pit markets, trust, double auctions, asset markets and price bubbles, information cascades, and prediction markets. (Offered every year.) 3 credits.

Course Objective:

  1. To show the applicability of experiments to important economic questions and to foster in the students mind a fundamentally scientific approach to settling questions of economic debate.

ECON 572 Experimental Economics II

Prerequisite, ECON 571. Designed for students to learn how experimental methods can be used to inform economic research and practice. Students expected to have working understanding of basic economic concepts and multivariate calculus. (Offered every year.) 3 credits.

Course Objectives:

Students take this course with two objectives:

  1. To understand experimental economics well enough to be critical consumers of the experimental economics literature.
  2. To be able to do original research in experimental economics.

ECON 581 Economic Systems Design I: Principles and Experiments

Prerequisite, MGSC 208, or MATH 210, or equivalent calculus course. This course will introduce students to the analytical and engineering principles used in developing exchange systems. Students will be required to become familiar with the literature on applied mechanism design and understand the behavioral aspects of auction systems, matching, assignment and transportation problems. In addition, students will be introduced to methods for testbedding systems using experimental economics. (Offered every year.) 3 credits.

Course Objectives:

After taking this course students should have an understanding of:

  1. The information and incentive constraints that affect the design of allocation mechanisms.
  2. The design principles required to develop allocation mechanisms for complex systems.
  3. The literature and practice of mechanism design.

ECON 582 Economic Systems Design II: Case Studies and Analysis

Prerequisite, ECON 581. This course is intended to involve students in designing specific allocation mechanisms for specific problems. Students will be required to design and develop a mechanism to a specific allocation problem. Students must develop an analytical model, literature review and testbed for their mechanism. (Offered every year.) 3 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. After taking this course students should have a complete model of a solution to a specific allocation problem.
  2. This includes a full description of the problem and related literature review, a set of instructions and testbed.
  3. This will become a foundation of doing research in systems design.

ECON 683 Economic Systems Design III

Prerequisites, ECON 581, 582. Students will be required to synthesize their knowledge of economic systems design and experimental economics and apply it to a real world problem. (Offered every year.) 3 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. Students must demonstrate an in depth knowledge of an existing economic exchange environment.
  2. Provide at least one viable alternative arrangement for reorganizing the current exchange institution or resource allocation mechanism.
  3. Test the original and alternative mechanisms in a controlled laboratory environment.
  4. Present results in a professional manner with both oral and written reports.

ECON 685 Economic Systems Design Lab I

Prerequisite, ECON 482, or 582. Laboratory to design and test resource allocation mechanisms. (Offered every year.) 3 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. Develop the experimental software and conduct the thesis research.
  2. Conduct experiments on the thesis topic and analyze the data from the experiments.
  3. Design and develop the required software to undertake your experiments and to show that you can conduct original research and analysis.

ECON 686 Economic Systems Design Lab II

Prerequisite, ECON 685. Laboratory to implement and redesign allocation mechanisms. (Offered every year.) 3 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. Develop the experimental software and conduct the thesis research.
  2. Conduct experiments on the thesis topic and analyze the data from the experiments.
  3. Design and develop the required software to undertake your experiments and to show that you can conduct original research and analysis.

ECON 691 Economic Systems Design Thesis I

Prerequisite, ECON 483, or 683. Laboratory to implement and redesign allocation mechanisms. (Offered every year.) 3 credits.

Course Objective:

  1. Analyze data from experiments and write thesis.

ECON 692 Economic Systems Design Thesis II

Prerequisites, ECON 483, or 683, and successful proposal defense of thesis. Laboratory to implement and redesign allocation mechanisms. (Offered every year.) 3 credits.

Course Objective:

  1. Analyze data from experiments and write thesis.

Course Descriptions - Executive MBA

EMBA 600 Creating and Sustaining Competitive Advantage

Prerequisite, EMBA student. This five-day seminar launches the Executive MBA Program. Its main focus is on the requirements for sustaining superior firm performance. Topics include competitive advantage and venture analysis, performance measurement, international strategy, leadership, and ethics. The seminar includes a day visit to manufacturing plants in Mexico. (Offered every year.) 2 credits.

EMBA 601 Economic Analysis and Policy

Corequisite, EMBA 600. This course presents the fundamental economic concepts and models in microeconomics and macroeconomics with particular emphasis on economic analysis of public policy issues. In microeconomics, markets and government failures are discussed using models of competitive and monopolistic markets. In macroeconomics, the determination of output, employment, and price levels are discussed using the aggregate supply and demand model, and the effects of alternative policies are analyzed. (Offered every year.) 4 credits.

EMBA 602 Financial Information Systems

Corequisite, EMBA 600. This course focuses on financial reporting and management accounting systems and is intended for the manager who wishes to effectively read, understand, and use the information presented in published and internal accounting reports. (Offered every year.) 4 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. To provide an understanding of the financial accounting model and an ability to read and interpret financial statements.
  2. To gain an appreciation of the effects of the financial reporting process and environment on the firm.
  3. To describe extant management accounting systems and evaluate their accuracy, effectiveness and limitations for decision making purposes.
  4. To describe how management accounting information should be used for planning and control of operations.

EMBA 603 Applied Statistics

Prerequisite, EMBA 600. In the increasingly competitive worldwide business environment, successful companies rely upon quantitative methods for data analysis and decision-making. This course provides the statistical tools managers need to understand and use in business situations. Among the topics covered will be sampling, estimation, inference, hypotheses testing, regression analysis, smoothing, time series decomposition, and qualitative forecasting. EMBAs will learn how and when to apply statistics and how to interpret statistical results. (Offered every year.) 2 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. This course provides students with the statistical tools and conceptual framework required to analyze data and develop models that show relationships among various variables.
  2. A major objective of this course is to improve the analytical skills of the students through problem solving.
  3. An attempt will be made to bridge the gap between economic and statistical theories on one hand, and the application of statistical concepts to business problems on the other.

EMBA 604 Managing Effective Organizations

Prerequisite, EMBA 601. For organizations to create value they must have the capability to react to market opportunities quickly. This course introduces the tools, techniques, and skills necessary to increase the capacity of firms to do that. Building on insights from economics, this course teaches students how to align incentives, identify and change employee preferences, assign decision rights, and select and retain appropriate employees. Most importantly, this course will describe how a firm can be designed and managed to reduce the bureaucratic behavior that destroys value in organizations. (Offered every year.) 4 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. To improve your ability to diagnose and correct organizational problems.
  2. To improve your skills in maximizing firm value by effectively managing individuals and groups.
  3. To improve your skills in maximizing firm value by designing organizations that efficiently and effectively exploit changing market opportunities.

EMBA 605 Marketing Management

Prerequisites, EMBA 601, 602, 603. This course focuses on the unfilled wants and needs of customers and creates solutions that satisfy these individuals in order to fulfill organizational objectives. In the highly competitive global environment, market-oriented thinking and sound marketing management can make the difference between success and failure. EMBA students examine such topics as market segmentation, buyer behavior, promotion, distribution and competitive restraints. The course features a marketing simulation project. (Offered every year.) 4 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. To outline the role of marketing within the organization and to develop the ability to define and analyze the decision problems dealt with by marketing managers.
  2. To refine decision-making and analytical abilities and the ability to express the results orally and in writing.
  3. To survey current developments in marketing science and theory, and analytical concepts and techniques relevant for marketing decision making, with an emphasis on demand analysis, cost-volume-profit relationships, and the economics of customer retention.

EMBA 606 Operations and Technology Management

Prerequisites, EMBA 602, 603. In this course, students analyze the management of operations and technology in both production and service industries. Topics include operation and project management, information management, product and process design, and total quality management. Students examine the tradeoffs involved in operation decisions and the application of software tools to solve these problems. (Offered every year.) 4 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. Expose EMBA students to a wide range of activities that comprise Production & Operations Management.
  2. Provide EMBA students with some experience in developing operations strategy and operating policies for both manufacturing and service operations.
  3. Provide EMBA students with some experience at dealing with the basic issues and economic trade-offs which face an operations manager.
  4. Enable EMBA students to analyze data with basic models in areas like location planning, layout planning, inventory management, project management, and quality control. Use of an Excel-based software is encouraged to solve complex problems.
  5. Help EMBA students develop an understanding of technology strategy and its interface with business strategy and other functional strategies.

EMBA 607 Managerial Finance

Prerequisites, EMBA 601, 602, 603. This emphasizes the analysis of the current/future practices and issues in the course area of corporate finance through seminar presentations and case studies. Topics include valuation models, capital structure, capital budgeting, cost of capital, investment decisions, mergers and acquisitions, and international finance. (Offered every year.) 4 credits.

Course Objective:

  1. The purpose of this course is to provide students a comprehensive introduction to the basic theory of modern corporate finance, the application of this theory to financial decision making, and the link between financial decisions and value creation.

EMBA 608 Advanced Corporate Finance

Prerequisite, EMBA 607. This is an applied course in corporate finance that emphasizes detailed description of the valuation process. It provides an integrated, comprehensive method for valuing assets, firms, and securities across a variety of industries. The course begins with a review of financial and accounting techniques, proceeds with the valuation process, leading to the development of pro-forma financial statements and the translation of these projections into values. Topics include valuation tools (time value of money, CAPM, NPV); financial statement analysis (estimating free cash flow); risk analysis; capital structure theories; cost of capital, equity valuation; debt valuation. (Offered as needed.) 4 credits.

EMBA 611 Management In a Global Environment

Prerequisites, EMBA 605, 607. In this course, students integrate their knowledge of functional areas of business to analyze the current topics in international business. The major study units include the study of international business environment and institutions, international trade, international financial markets, country risk analysis, the international dimensions of management and marketing, technology transfer, and special problems of multinational enterprises at home and in host countries. The course involves a residential seminar in another country when students will be immersed in a global orientation in marketing, finance, management, and economics. (Offered every year.) 6 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. Analytical skills to assess the dynamic nature of the globalization process, including the ability to relate current international news events to course concepts, and to integrate such knowledge structures into value-creation strategies for organizations.
  2. Ability to apply international business concepts, via case study analysis, to problems and challenges facing firms which compete in the global economy.
  3. Gain an in-depth knowledge of the challenges and opportunities of doing business in China and Vietnam.
  4. Understand the impact of diverse political, legal, cultural, and technological environments on business and trade.

EMBA 612 Strategic Management

Prerequisites, EMBA 605, 606, 607. This course relies heavily on the case method of instruction to apply strategic analysis techniques. Students focus on the requirements for sustaining competitive advantage and the implications of these requirements for market positioning, diversification, acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate restructuring, and other decisions that can significantly affect firm value. (Offered every year.) 4 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. Each student should be able to analyze the competitive situation facing a firm.
  2. isolate potential sources of competitive advantage and disadvantage.
  3. In these analyses, each student should be able to apply analytical techniques from finance, marketing, accounting, economics, organization theory, organization behavior, international business, and related disciplines.
  4. Each student should be able to communicate their analytical conclusions persuasively, both verbally and in writing.

EMBA 614 Business and Public Policy

Prerequisites, EMBA 604, 605, 607. The study of public policy formation, including public choice theory, at both the national and international levels. Students will learn to design a specific public policy proposal and are responsible for advocating adoption of the proposal. (Offered every year.) 3 credits.

EMBA 640 Corporate Governance and Control

Prerequisite, EMBA 601. Study of the constraints designed to make managers and directors act in their shareholders' interest. Topics covered include choice of legal form of organization, ownership structure, corporate charter provisions including voting rules, anti-takeover measures, stakeholders and corporate social responsibility, the proxy process, board of directors, CEO compensation, CEO performance evaluation, CEO retention and succession, boundaries of the firm and international corporate governance. Emphasis is placed on how optimal practice vary across industry, strategy and country and on how they evolve through time. (Offered as needed.) 4 credits.

EMBA 680 Distinguished Speaker Series

Prerequisite, EMBA student. The student will attend a number of lectures, seminars, symposia, and conferences that present current information about various economic and business issues. The topics covered will vary over the entire curriculum of the program. (The course begins at the beginning of the EMBA program and continues over the entire 21 months of the program.) (Offered as needed.) 0 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. The student will learn about contemporary issues in business and public policy.
  2. The student will develop a network of business and Professional contacts.

EMBA 696 Elective

Selected Topics. (Offered as needed.) 4 credits.

Course Descriptions - Finance

FIN 510 International Finance

Prerequisite, BUS 607. Application of principles of international financial management. Topics include foreign exchange markets, analysis of risk and problems unique to businesses involved in international operations, international sources and uses of funds, and long-term asset and liability management, capital budgeting, and corporate strategy in an international environment. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits.

FIN 531 Portfolio Management and Analysis

Prerequisites, BUS 607, 621, or consent of instructor. The course will focus on the application of financial theory to the issues and problems of security analysis and portfolio management. Topics will include the selection of equity securities and portfolios to meet investment objectives and the measurement of portfolio performance. The course will build upon the analytical skills developed in previous finance courses. Students in this course oversee the student managed investment fund. (Offered fall semester.) 3 credits.

Course Objectives:

  1. Market, industry and company analysis.
  2. Security selection techniques.
  3. Asset allocation techniques.
  4. Performance evaluation metrics and their implementation.
  5. Portfolio performance attribution.
  6. Objectives for individual and institutional client portfolios.

FIN 535 Financing Entrepreneurial Enterprises

Prerequisite, BUS 607. This course provides an in-depth examination of financial issues of particular importance to entrepreneurs. Topics include estimating capital requirements and risk, identifying and evaluating sources of capital, and liquidity events. Issues associated with structuring partnership arrangements and other alliances are also discussed. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits.

FIN 599 Individual Study

(Offered as needed.) 1-6 credits.

Please note:

A course designated with a "P" following the number (e.g. BUS 600P) in the course schedule indicates that it is a course offered in Prague.