Ship MBA Course Descriptions
Foundation Course Descriptions (Pre-MBA)
BUSN-511 Business Operations and Analysis (4 credits) - This course explores the responsibilities and processes needed for a business to provide a product or service to customers. Case studies and real-world examples are used extensively to investigate the problems encountered in these business operations. Quantitative and non-quantitative methods and models are used in the analysis of topical subject areas such as forecasting, capacity planning, materials management, scheduling, and quality control. This course is part of the graduate business certificate and does not count toward the MBA degree.
BUSN-520 Economics for Business Administration (2 credits) - This course introduces economic concepts that are fundamental to understanding many of the issues faced by business firms. Specifically, the course focuses on the application of economics principles that managers, directors, and executives really need to know for meaningful careers in business and will actually use in business administration practice. This course is part of the graduate business certificate and does not count toward the MBA degree.
BUSN-519 Essentials of Information Systems (2 credits) - This course is designed to provide students with an overview of technology in the business environment, including such topics as data analysis, database management, and information privacy/security. This course is part of the graduate business certificate and does not count toward the MBA degree.
BUSN-521 Essentials of Accounting (2 credits) - Essentials of Accounting introduces the basic concepts of financial accounting and the financial management of corporations. The course focuses on the accounting concepts, practices and principles that guide the preparation of the balance sheet, income statement, statement of stockholders` equity, and statement of cash flows. This course is part of the graduate business certificate and does not count toward the MBA degree.
BUSN-530 Essentials of Finance (2 credits) - Essentials of Finance is to teach basic financial concepts and principles so that students can be better prepared for MBA529 (Global Managerial Finance) and other MBA courses. Topical coverage includes “the role of financial management, financial markets and institutions, analyses of cash flows and financial statements (including financial ratios), and the Time Value of Money (concept and application with real-world issues). This course is part of the graduate business certificate and does not count toward the MBA degree.
BUSN-531 Essentials of Organizational Behavior (2 credits) - Organizational behavior examines human behavior in organizations and considers the practical skills managers need to motivate peers and subordinates, make decisions, deal with conflict, and succeed in a team-based environment. This course is part of the graduate business certificate and does not count toward the MBA degree.
BUSN-534 Essentials of Marketing (2 credits) - The primary purpose of this course is to provide an overview of the discipline of marketing, both as a philosophy of business and as a series of business practices. The course will explore how to manage organizations’ basic and higher-order resources and respond to the external market environment. This course is part of the graduate business certificate and does not count toward the MBA degree.
MBA Core Course Descriptions (Numerical Order)
MBA 502 Managerial Accounting (3 credits) - Primary purpose is to develop an understanding of the quantitative use of accounting data for decision making within the firm. The focus for most of the course is on developing an understanding of and appropriate use of cost in managerial decision making. Although the appropriate use of cost in this course refers primarily to short-term decisions, the strategic implications of cost analysis are also addressed.
MBA 529 Corporate Financial Management (3 credits) - Explores financial theories, their application, and financial decision models necessary to handle corporate financial problems to maximize the firm value. This course emphasizes the important role of financial management in the global business environment.
MBA 548 IT Management & Innovation (3 credits) - This course examines frameworks, concepts, practices, and examples that help business managers understand the value of IT and generate business value from investments in IT and its complimentary business resources. Topics include strategic alignment of IT with organizational goals, organizational efficiency and transformation enabled by IT, organizational learning and innovation enabled by IT, positioning and managing of the IT function, IT and sustainability. Uses lecture, projects, case studies. This course also examines from business perspective systems and technologies that help companies innovate and deliver business value such as business analytics, cloud computing, enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, and supply chain systems.
MBA 554 International Business (3 credits) - Presents a broad view of issues facing professionals in the international business area. The topics are broad and include international trade, exchange rates, finance, organizational structure, and international legal dimensions. The student learns to weave the social, technical, cultural, risk and human relations factors into a global context.
MBA 556 Organizational Leadership (3 credits) - Examines the leadership and influence issues that managers face. Attention is given to leading up, down, and across the organization, recognizing that leadership is not limited to managers. Through guest business speakers, cases, readings, projects, and simulations, students gain greater insight and skill in leading. Topics include characteristics of effective leaders, power and influence strategies, crisis management, organizational politics, and leadership assessment.
MBA 565 Contemporary Decision Making (3 credits) - Provides the skills and tools necessary for managers to efficiently solve problems using information technology to support the decision making process. Using a variety of software packages, structured, semi-structured and unstructured problems will be analyzed and the role of information technology will be investigated. In addition, models based on quantitative and non-quantitative data will be studied.
MBA570 Marketing Management (3 credits) - Detailed study of concepts and procedural alternatives in: the delineation of the market target, the development and implementation of the marketing mix, and the control and analysis of the total marketing effort. The course will be a survey of the marketing mix (product, place, price, and promotion) with emphasis on the strategic fit of these items to the overall execution of providing customers the greatest value proposition possible. Extensive use of cases and analysis will be employed.
MBA 577 Supply Chain Management (3 credits) - Introduces students to an integrated systems approach of supply chain management. The course embraces basic concepts and strategies in managing the full business process from procurement, production, distribution, to final delivery of goods and services. Special topics such as Theory of Constraints, ERP, simulations, and supply chain optimization techniques, are also included in this course to address different key decisions and operational issues of a supply chain.
MBA 593 Strategic Management (3 credits) - Examines strategic analysis and decision making under conditions of dynamic uncertainty, with a focus on cross-functional integration and the management of processes and change. The importance of achieving a fit between the internal and external environment for organizational survival and success is a central issue. This is the capstone course and may only be taken after completion of at least four MBA classes.
Electives (6 credits)
ACC 511 Financial Accounting Topics (3 credits) - Advanced problems in consolidated financial statements, accounting for derivatives and hedging, and selected topics dealing with governmental accounting, governmental units, and not-for-profit organizations. Selected references to professional literature and uniform CPA examination problems. Three hours lecture per week.
ACC 512 Controllership (3 credits) - Evaluates the business environment related to the controller level of managing the firm. Selected topics include: Working capital policy and management, Long-term capital financing, Enterprise continuity related to risk management; Planning and budgeting; Business performance; Cost behavior and cost-volume-profit modeling; Project management and implementation; Human resource management for the accounting department; Customer relationship management from the credit and collection perspective; Corporate social responsibility; Ethics. Prerequisites: ACC 312 or equivalent. Three lecture hours per week.
FIN 512 Investment Analysis (3 credits) - Provide an understanding of the investments environment and process and analytical skills in security valuation and the formulation of investment strategies. The investment decisions concern how much to invest in each security and when to make these investments. The topical coverage include such as introduction and analyses of various investment instruments, risk-return tradeoff, diversification concepts, fundamental analysis, and application of portfolio theory.
FIN 520 Financial Risk Management (3 credits) - This course offers the analysis of a best in practice corporate financial risk management system. Financial risk management is a process of identifying, measuring, and controlling financial risk exposure. The course addresses how to control for market, liquidity and credit risk. Operational risk is discussed. Topics include corporate risk tolerance, value at risk, Monte Carlo simulation, scenario analysis, stress testing, credit derivatives, and risk management failures.
FIN 525 Multinational Business Finance (3 credits) - Examines the challenges of multinational finance for global managers. Multinational Business Finance requires an understanding of cultural, historical, and institutional differences. Although domestic and multinational enterprises (MNEs) must deal with exchange rate risk, MNEs face political risks that are not normally part of domestic finance. Financial theories and concepts must be modified to deal with international influences on sources of capital, cost of capital, capital budgeting, working capital management, taxation, and credit analyses.
FIN 533 Applied Financial Analysis (3 credits) - A finance course designed to teach how to integrate finance concepts and managerial techniques in making financial decision to maximize the firm value. Students learn how finance is related to other functions of a firm, how to evaluate a firm’s financial performance, risk-return tradeoff, capital budgeting and decision making process, cost of capital , leverage effects and capital structure, mergers and divestitures, and working capital management.
ISS 515 Information Systems Project Management (3 credits) - Introduces the student to the principles and practices necessary to be an effective information systems team member or project manager. Covers project scope, time, costs, quality and human resource management techniques as applied to project management problems and issues unique to the IS environment. Student will obtain hands-on experience using MS Project as well as other project management software. Course emphasis on the techniques of project management, leadership, teamwork, and project risk management. Casework is a major part of this course.
ISS 550 Database Design (3 credits) - Designed to provide the student with the fundamentals of a database environment and address data and information management issues in a global multi-user business environment. Students will develop an understanding of the various roles within the data administration function of an organization. Covers the design and development of database management systems and various computer platforms.
ISS 570 Information Analysis (3 credits) - Designed to provide the student with the necessary skills to accomplish the systems analysis and logical design of information systems. Includes the role of a modern systems analyst as a problem solver in the business organization. Progresses through the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC), and includes project planning, project management, and feasibility assessment. Different methodologies, models, tools, and techniques used to document requirements, analyze and design systems will be introduced.
MBA 506 Data Mining for Predictive Analytics (3 credits) - This course covers the basic concepts of data mining and introduces students to the data mining process. The students will learn data reduction, exploration, and visualization. The primary emphasis of the course will be using the data for predictive modeling. Time series forecasting methods are introduced. Students will use large data sets to build models in XLMiner.
MBA 507 Data Mining for Predictive Analytics II (3 credits) - This course is a second level course in managerial data analysis and data mining. The emphasis is on understanding the application of a wide range of modern techniques to specific decision-making situations, rather than on mastering the theoretical underpinnings of the techniques. Upon successful completion of the course, you should possess valuable practical analytical skills that will equip you with a competitive edge in almost any contemporary workplace. The course covers methods that are aimed at prediction evaluation, classification, association rules, and clustering. It also introduces cutting edge interactive data-visualization tools, as well as data reduction techniques. Students will use large data sets to build models in XLMiner.
MBA 511 Marketing Analytics (3 credits) - This course is designed to expose MBA students to the use of analytics in marketing strategy decision-making. Understanding the marketplace has now become an intense data-driven process, as many global companies have increasingly shifted their priorities in measuring strategic effectiveness to combine traditional marketing research efforts (e.g., descriptive survey analysis and focus groups) with advanced data science practices and marketing dashboard analytics.
MBA 532 Marketing Research (3 credits) - Investigate how all types of business research are conducted as well as determining the quality and validity of research reports and findings. Business research is an important management tool that exerts a major influence on decision-making. It provides insights into and solutions for organizational problems. The pedagogy will be applied and real world. Extensive use of cases and actual business problems will be utilized. Finally, greater emphasis on using the power of the Internet and computer software to conduct business research will be employed.
MBA 533 Business Operations & Logistics Planning (3 credits) - Introduces students to scope and variety of logistics operations as they pertain to transforming resources into goods and services. Topics include demand forecasting, planning for logistics operations, resource management, production and service delivery strategies, and quality assurance.
MBA 534 Buyer Behavior (3 credits) - The primary goal of this course is to enhance your understanding of customer behavior. Of course, the ultimate goal is for you to develop effective marketing techniques. By the end of the semester, you should have learned quite a bit about consumer psychology as well as its relevance for marketing researchers and managers. Appropriately, this course presents a comprehensive, systematic, and conceptual framework for understanding people as consumers and organizational buyers. This class makes heavy use of models from psychology and social psychology. Topics such as demographics, lifestyle, information processing, motivation, social influence, brand loyalty, attitude measurement and change, and decision-making are studied. Other topics, which may be incorporated into the course, are cross-cultural differences in customer behavior, ethics, and the impact of technology on customer behavior.
MBA 547 Management Information Systems & Applications (3 credits) - Information systems (IS) are pervasive, because information is the single most power resource in every business function in every industry. Knowledge of information is not always explicitly stated as a job requirement, but it is an essential element of success in virtually any position. Not everyone in business needs to be an IS professional with comprehensive and technical know-how, but everyone needs a deep-enough understanding of the subject to know how to use and manage IS in his or her profession. This course covers a managerial overview of various major Management Information Systems topics. It provides MBA students with a right balance of technical information and real world applications to manage IS specialists and business applications in order to support their work in the best possible way.
MBA 550 European Business Environment (3 credits) – Planned trips by Dr. Robert Stephens during the May term.
MBA 552 Entrepreneurship (3 credits) - Examines all aspects of starting a new business, with emphasis on the critical role of recognizing and assessing opportunities. Topics include attributes of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial careers, creating and evaluating opportunities, writing business plans, and financing new ventures
MBA 557 Negotiation (3 credits) - Course is designed to provide students with skills needed to approach negotiation and bargaining situations with confidence. This includes providing frameworks for the analysis conflict and its origins, knowledge about one’s own tendencies in negotiation, and a chance to experiment with negotiating techniques in a variety of contexts. Topics include: integrative and distributive negotiations, individual differences in bargaining styles, coalitions, team negotiations, negotiating through agents, and ethical issues in negotiation. Course content is delivered through readings, cases, and lecture, however, considerable emphasis is placed on inside and outside class negotiation simulations and subsequent classroom discussion.
MBA 558 Ethics & Sustainability (3 credits) - This course is a combined conceptual and application course. The course will explore the various concepts of business ethics, social responsibility, corporate citizenship and sustainability. The course will also explore the application of these concepts to various business cases. The course will be delivered entirely on-line with synchronous and asynchronous classroom and student interaction.
MBA 559 The Practical, Legal, Ethical, and Strategic Implications of Employment and Labor Regulation (3 credits) - This course explores the major areas of the legal regulation of the employment relationship necessary for all managers to be successful. Topics include the Doctrine of Employment at Will and its exceptions - common law and statutory, EEO laws and their impact on all facets of business operations, the Americans with Disabilities Act, leave laws including the FMLA, the developing law of alternative dispute resolutions systems, administrative law including workplace safety law, unemployment, and worker’s compensation and private and public sector labor law. Course also prepares managers to be able to identify potential legal issues and to understand their responsibilities as defined via court rulings and statutes. This course is intended to give managers the tools to handle the area of employment compliance in a Practical, Legal, Ethical and Strategic manner.
MBA 571 International Marketing Management (3 credits) - The purpose of the course is to investigate the concerns and factors that surround international marketing strategy on a global scale. This course will focus on assessing opportunities in international markets, marketing strategy development in relation to the international marketing environment, and measuring global market needs.
MBA 575 Global Supply Chain Management (3 credits) - This class starts by exploring the strategic nature of the global supply chain. The class will illustrate the impact of globalization on the business decisions for demand fulfillment, e.g. procurement, location, and distribution. Investigates how global supply chains utilize global markets for both supply and demand. Shows how enhanced information systems can lead to decreased costs and more efficient outcomes. Explains how global supply chain partners can be evaluated. It deliberates efficient organizational structures for fulfilling global demand. Shows global risk and provides risk management tools to mitigate. In addition to being exposed to the theory, case studies will be used to further reinforce the material's application in practice.
MBA 581 Health Care Information Technology (3 credits) - This course provides a comprehensive overview of health care information technology (HIT), including the effects of the external environment and government policies on its evolution; the expanded role of the CIO; the basics of hardware, software, and communication systems; the types of operational, management, and clinical applications; and the value HIT brings to the enterprise. The concepts included reflect a broad vision of HIT management as a combination of technology, information, and manpower leadership.
MBA 582 Health Care Financial Management (3 credits) - Healthcare Financial Management introduces students to the most important principles and applications of healthcare finance. Coverage includes both accounting and financial management topics. Examines the most used tools and techniques of health care financial management, including financial accounting and financial statements; managing cash, billings, and collections; making major capital investments; determining costs and using cost information in decision-making; pricing and service decisions; budgeting; and analyzing financial performance.
MBA 583 Health Care Law (3 credits) - The course deals with the law regulating health care in the United States, including physicians, providers, hospitals, insurers and patients. The course will focus on the special impact of the legal system on access and delivery of health care services.
MBA 584 Health Care Strategic Management (3 credits) - This course is designed to provide students with an active understanding of the role of strategy in healthcare organizations in the modern healthcare environment. It uses both academic models as well as practical examples and application to help students become familiar with the dynamic environment in which strategies must be formulated and implemented. The course will emphasize the use of management skills coupled with an understanding of the complex healthcare environment to evaluate strategic opportunities and to develop and implement strategic plans. The course will emphasize the importance of ethical decision-making, professionalism, and the use of effective written and oral communication skills.
MBA 590 Selected Topics in Business Administration (1-3 credits) - Opportunity to offer courses in areas of departmental major interest not covered by the regular courses.
MBA 591 Selected Topics in Business Administration (3 credits) - Opportunity to offer courses in areas of departmental major interest not covered by the regular courses.
MBA 594 Selected Topics in Business Administration (3 credits) - Opportunity to offer courses in areas of departmental major interest not covered by the regular courses.
MBA 595 Selected Topics in Business Administration (3 credits) - Opportunity to offer courses in areas of departmental major interest not covered by the regular courses.
MBA 596 Business Practicum (3 credits) - The business practicum provides students an opportunity to apply academic principles in a professional work environment, and in turn to apply experiences from the work environment back to the classroom. Students enrolled in the business practicum will take a thoughtful approach to documenting experiences at work and placing them into an appropriate theoretical context. They will also complete a work related research project, which allows them to deeply examine a work-related issue using academic theories and insights.
MBA 597 Selected Topics in Business Administration (3 credits) - Opportunity to offer courses in areas of departmental major interest not covered by the regular courses.
MBA 599 Independent Studies (3 credits) - Opportunity for student to pursue in-depth study on a topic or issue of personal interest under the direction and guidance of a department faculty member.
SCM 510 – Introduction to Logistics & Transportation Management (3 credits) - The course introduces students to the theories, concepts, and practice of logistical operations needed to support the supply chain. It investigates the rise of logistics management from a minor business function to its current role as the backbone of the supply chain. Covers issues related to state of the art methods of delivering goods and services to customers through efficient inventory management, materials flow, transportation, warehousing, and procurement.
SCM 515 Procurement Management (3 credits) - This course is designed to give students a foundation in the theory and practice of purchasing and sourcing. Presented in the course are concepts, procedures, and issues related to negotiations, sourcing, pricing, procurement, cost management and global supply management. Strategies and challenges facing purchasing and sourcing in a global environment to maintain competitive advantages are considered.
SCM 555 Supply Chain Quality Management (3 credits) - This course introduces students to the principles, concepts and strategies needed for managing quality in a manufacturing or a service environment. Historical perspectives and theories of quality management are considered. The design of quality systems is studied from a market, customer, and managers prospective. State of the art skills and tools for quality assessment are covered providing insight into the implementation and maintenance of quality systems. The origins and principles of continuous improvement and their impact on quality management are explored.
SCM 570 Supply Chain Management Theory and Practice (3 credits) - Covers theory, principles, and practices in designing, planning, and operating a supply chain. The course considers the historical development, impact, and role of supply chain management in today’s society. It investigates the role of information and transportation networks within the supply chain. Also discusses how firms develop and formulate strategy and design of their supply chains to improve competitive advantage.
SCM 590 Warehousing and Distribution Management (3credits) - Considers the theory and best practices for designing, operating, managing material handling systems as they relate to warehousing. This course discusses warehouse location, design, and work force issues with regard to warehousing operations. It also considers warehousing strategies which minimizes supply chain inefficiencies and allows product accumulation, consolidation, and customization. Addresses a variety of principles and systems needed to create and manage world-class warehousing.