Prerequisite for all MBA courses: Admission to the MBA Program
This course is an introduction to business law, emphasizing basic legal principles and the broad application of domestic and international public and private law. Its overriding objective is to provide a working understanding of the legal environment of business for MBA students. Its focus is on regulatory law, business organizations, and other legal topics of special importance to managers of businesses.
A general study of the use of accounting information by internal and external decision makers with emphasis on the use of accounting information by managers of an entity. Topics covered include the accounting cycle, the basic financial statements, inventories, long-term liabilities, cost concepts and behaviors, cost-volume-profit analysis, and financial statement analysis.
This course develops the basic concepts and analytical tools of economics which include opportunity cost, marginal analysis, constraints, and optimizing behavior. Applications include theories of the firm, its organizational architecture, transactions costs, markets, pricing, and other managerial issues.
This class will give students the opportunity to learn how to write, read, and analyze statistical data as it pertains to business and society. The basic premise of this course is to provide the student with an understanding of statistics as it is used in business and economics. This course will give special emphasis to understanding, interpreting and communicating statistics. Topics covered include descriptive statistics, probability, probability distributions, sampling distributions and hypothesis testing. Additional course work in College Algebra may be required prior to course registration as per department advisement and student's program of study requirements.
This course will build on the first foundation course on descriptive statistics by emphasizing inferential statistics. This course will be application oriented and will focus on hypothesis testing and regression analysis. Students will learn how to design a survey and evaluate the data in order to test theories learned in other MBA classes. Students will also learn basic concepts and methods of optimization using elementary concepts in differential calculus. Additional foundation course work in statistics may be required prior to course registration as per department advisement and student's program of study requirements.
This course is designed to be taken at the beginning of formal course work in the MBA program. Students will explore various aspects of moral reasoning and apply these concepts to common ethical issues faced in business. Students will work individually and in groups to explore issues of personal values, self-awareness, teamwork, communication, managing differences, and career management. Students in this course will be introduced to analytical, communication, and technological tools used throughout the program.
This is a course for graduate students who have already been exposed to the principles of management and organizational behavior and who are now seeking a more advanced preparation for the behavioral role of the manager. It offers a critical review of the factors that influence behavior within the organizational setting. Behavioral concepts are emphasized which particularly relate to group dynamics, interpersonal relations, and ultimately, organizational effectiveness. In short, this course deals with the human aspects of management--the kinds of problems most frequently experienced in day-to-day interaction with others. The format will include discussions, group and individual exercises, case studies, and student reports.
Financial Management is a detailed presentation of the practices, techniques, and
applications of theory in corporate finance. The focus is an understanding of how
companies operate and acquire the tools necessary to analyze and evaluate corporate
financial policies. Cases and applied research in the form of outside readings will assist
students to focus on key issues.
The purpose of the course is to assist current and prospective managers in
making better investment and financing decisions. The course addresses (1) the
investment decision (capital budgeting) as well as (2) the financing decision.
Class discussion and cases will focus on capital budgeting and specifically on
the establishment of goals, development of strategy, identification of
investment opportunities, evaluation of projects, implementation of projects,
and the monitoring processes. Shareholder wealth maximization is the standard
for determining why one decision is "better" than another. The ethical
considerations of wealth maximization will also be addressed. Additional
foundation course work in accounting and statistics may be required prior to
course registration as per department advisement and student's program of study
requirements.
This course centers on creating customer value profitability in competitive markets. In an integrative fashion, it covers analyzing customer needs and preferences; estimating market potential; assessing market opportunities and threats in view of the focal company's and its competitors' resources and capabilities; developing market and marketing strategies; making astute product, pricing, distribution, and promotion decisions; and measuring marketing performance. Pedagogical vehicles include lectures, reading assignments, and case-based discussions and reports.
"Manufacturing of the future will be required to meet customer-driven demand instantaneously." The future is now! The requirements for faster response, more customer input, and greater product variety have not diminished, but instead have escalated. This course builds upon basic production and operations management knowledge to meet the needs of customers generated in today's global market. It is designed to enhance the student's understanding of how to analyze problems related to design, planning, control, and improvement of manufacturing and service operations. Topics include, but are not limited to, supply chain management, materials management, production planning and control, scheduling, capacity and facilities planning, manufacturing strategy, and global operations. Additional foundation course work in statistics may be required prior to course registration as per department advisement and student's program of study requirements.
This course presents a rigorous treatment of quantitative decision-making with emphasis on data collection, analysis, and model building. This course emphasizes experience in structuring realistic business problems, collecting data, developing an appropriate model for analysis, and interpreting and defending results. A number of cases are employed. Additional foundation course work in statistics may be required prior to course registration as per department advisement and student's program of study requirements.
The focus of this course is to develop an integrated corporate communications program in organizations which will provide effective communication both to internal and external stakeholders. Among the topics to be discussed are corporate image and identity, corporate advertising and advocacy, media relations, marketing, communication, financial communication, community relations, corporate philanthropy, government affairs and crisis communication. Attention will also be given to effective communication internally through various methods, such as meetings, programs and publications.
This course takes a broad view of the entire organization. In some instances, the organization will have one line of business. In other cases, the organization may be a large diversified corporation with many lines of business. We will examine the strategic issues facing diversified corporations including: vertical integration, diversification into related and unrelated businesses, and operating synergies. Course work in MBA 6130, 6140, 6150 and 6410 may be required prior to course registration as per department advisement and student's program of study requirements.
This course is designed to introduce the student to the concepts and procedures of managerial accounting through readings and case studies. The course emphasizes the use of accounting data in the decision-making process by internal decision-makers (e.g., management), rather than external decision-makers (e.g., stockholders, investors, creditors, and regulatory bodies). The course topics include cost terms and concepts, job-order costing, activity-based costing, quality management, cost behavior, cost-volume-profit analysis, profit planning, relevant costs, capital budgeting, cost allocation, and pricing. Additional foundation course work in accounting may be required prior to course registration as per department advisement and student's program of study requirements.
Information technology from an enterprise perspective with an orientation toward the management of technology for competitive/strategic advantage. Managers will be increasingly responsible for making decisions with respect to implementing new technology. This course will provide the background knowledge to enable managers in traditional business units to function as full participants in decisions involving the purchase and application of technology to create a business advantage.
This course will focus on the impact of global macroeconomic conditions on firm decision-making. To review and analyze current macroeconomic topics, a theoretical framework is developed, from the start showing the linkages among national economies. This framework is used to analyze and forecast business cycles, interest rates, exchange rates, causes of trade deficits, short- and long-term consequences of fiscal and monetary policy decisions, and the globalization of financial markets. Examples from different countries are used to enhance knowledge of the world economy. Additional foundation course work in economics may be required prior to course registration as per department advisement and student's program of study requirements.
This course will focus on the behavior of the individual firm in different market settings, competitive and imperfectly competitive. We are concerned with the strategic behavior of firms under different industry structures as they struggle with the pressures of competition. Students will study how differing levels of the firm's market power impacts pricing and output policies, product differentiation, and barriers to entry. In addition, the student will learn the basics of game theory and use it to analyze the strategic behavior of firms. Topics will include different types of pricing strategies including price discrimination, pricing of product lines, predatory pricing, peak load pricing, and entry deterrence. Issues of non-price competition such as research and development, information, externalities, moral hazard, and firm structure will also be discussed. The course includes both supplemental readings designed to illustrate real-world applications of the theoretical principles developed as well as in-class experiments in strategic behavior designed to illustrate certain theoretical conclusions. Additional foundation course work in economics may be required prior to course registration as per department advisement and student's program of study requirements.
This course engages class participants in a detailed study of the practices, techniques, policies and applications of theory in investments. Emphasis will be on an understanding of security markets, analysis, asset allocation, portfolio management and evaluation. Students will examine and apply investment tools and evaluate financial policies. Cases and applied research in the form of outside readings will assist students to focus on key issues and current topics. Course work in finance may be required prior to course registration as per department advisement and student's program of study requirements.
This course integrates international travel and site visits with the study of international business topics. Through readings, assignments, discussions, and visits to important business and cultural sites in the destination countries, the course builds understanding and competence in international business practices and managing across cultures. This course entails travel expenses beyond regular tuition and may be repeated when offered to a different world region.
The Internet has become an important influence in the world. Business on the internet, in terms of operations, marketing, security, etc., has increased concomitantly in influence. This course will provide a foundation for understanding the possibilities and potential pitfalls for doing e-business. Recommended: MBA 6140 Marketing Strategy and MBA 6150 Operations/Supply Chain Management.
The purpose of this course is to provide opportunities for class participants to develop their negotiating abilities for use in organizational and other settings. The course is premised on the assumption that negotiating concepts are best learned through practice which is grounded in rigorous analysis and reflection. While theoretical principles and concepts from various reference disciplines (such as social psychology, sociology, and economics) will be presented through lectures and readings, this course will focus primarily on improving practical skills. Class participants will not only learn to enhance their individual abilities in dyadic and group situations, but also to analyze contexts for the most effective application of these skills.
This course examines how organizations can gain competitive advantage by improving the quality and productivity of their business processes, manufactured goods and service outputs. Customer-focused approaches for designing, controlling and improving processes are emphasized, together with other concepts and approaches of quality management. Specific topics include process analysis, problem-solving methods, variability and statistical process control, performance measurement, and quality management systems. Guest lectures from industry professionals, experiential learning exercises and cases from manufacturing and service industries will assist students in understanding key issues and current topics. Additional foundation course work in statistics may be required prior to course registration as per department advisement and student's program of study requirements.
In this hands-on project-oriented course, students learn to (1) develop and write effective business/marketing plans and (2) use online resources to gather pertinent market, competitor, and environmental information. Students may develop a business/marketing plan for an existing business or for a potential start-up of interest to them. Alternatively, they may write a business/marketing plan and conduct requisite research and data analyses for a business suggested by the course instructor. Learning is facilitated primarily via practical discovery exercises, an extensive term project, and coaching. Although lectures and reading assignments serve to convey essential background knowledge, especially during the first half of the course, much class time is devoted to working on plans in teams under the instructor's guidance.
This course explores how business organizations can address environmental issues to meet societal needs and create competitive advantages. Emphasis is placed on understanding the environmental and social responsibility roles of the functional areas of business and identifying the opportunities for businesses to align their strategies and practices toward more sustainable business models. Through a combination of readings, case studies, site visits, and other learning resources, students will become prepared to use a variety of conceptual approaches and environmental management methods and tools for improving the environmental performance of individual business organizations and the business system as a whole.
This course is a study of topics involved with managing projects. It examines the roles and skills of the project manager and the project office. Students will study the phases of the project life cycle, specifically the activities, requirements, methodologies, and tools common in project management.
This course examines tax strategy and planning topics related to making important business decisions. The course addresses business formations, operations, terminations, reorganizations, acquisitions, and divisions. The course also covers tax issues related to multi-state and multi-national business transactions. Unique issues related to executive compensation, partnerships, limited liability companies, S corporations and C corporations are also addressed. Prerequisites: MBA 6010 or equivalent course in business law; MBA 6020 or equivalent courses in accounting.
This course covers the role of networking technology in information systems. Through hands-on and conceptual knowledge, students will learn how data communications and networks are used to facilitate decentralized and distributed systems in support of decision making. Various aspects of networking including standards, media, network design and applications will be covered. Students will gain hands-on familiarity with a local area network and the Internet. Prerequisite: Admittance to MACC, MBA or MHA program.
This course covers the basic principles and concepts in information assurance. It examines the managerial, operational, and organizational issues of securing information systems. Topics include legal and ethical issues in computer security; privacy concerns; malware; security awareness at the executive, technical and user levels; physical security, personnel security issues; policies and procedures; the need for enterprise security awareness; and the need for an enterprise security organization. Case studies and exercises in the computer lab will be used to provide examples of the need for organizations to develop security procedures and policies. Prerequisite: Admittance to MACC, MBA or MHA program.
Graduate students are given the opportunity to consult with an existing organization, make recommendations for improvements, and assist in implementing changes in the organization. Students meet periodically with supervising faculty to review results. Prerequisite: Instructor approval.
Directed individual study and research on special topics related to business. May be repeated for a cumulative total of three credits. Prerequisite: Written approval of MBA program and instructor.
Weber State University 2008-2009 Catalog