Online MBA Curriculum

This workshop serves as an orientation toward the experiential and team-based models of learning used at Graziadio. Students engage in exercises and reflection that are meant to enhance communication, ethical decision-making, career development, and other relevant skills for interpersonal effectiveness in business. This course is graded credit or no credit.

Students learn to apply the behavioral sciences to management issues through the integration of conceptual and experiential approaches to self-awareness, perception, communication, motivation, productivity, group behavior processes, leadership, organizational change, diversity, ethical issues, career planning, and the management of personal and organizational stress. Development of oral and written communication skills is stressed in this course. In addition to regular class sessions, a required personal and leadership development workshop, BSCI 650, assists students in attaining an accurate understanding of their patterns of communicating and relating to others. Students must complete the workshop in order to continue in this course.

The focus of this course is on the application of analytics for strategic business decision-making. The course introduces analytical tools that can be used to leverage data and information for complex problems. The course is designed to support the integration experience and includes an introduction to production and service operations. Specific business modeling applications include regression analysis, time series forecasting, decision analysis, simulation, linear programming, queuing theory, and project management. These techniques assist managerial decision-making in the dynamic and highly competitive world of business, including applications to finance, marketing, engineering, manufacturing, quality, service, and human resources problems in such industries as health care, aerospace, high technology, entertainment, global business, and banking. Software technologies and spreadsheets are used extensively throughout this course.

The purpose of this course is to develop an economic framework for business managers. It emphasizes the integration of theory, data, and judgment in the analysis of business decisions and government policy within a changing economic environment. Topics such as pricing, market analysis, forecasting, resource deployment, incentives for innovation, and economic metrics are covered.

This course explores financial decision-making within businesses, including how to raise capital, invest capital, and pay out earnings to owners. Risk and reward from investing are considered, in order to assign value to stocks, bonds, and projects or companies. Students will learn how to measure a project or company's cost of capital. Firm capital structure will be covered, along with dividend payments and stock repurchases. Students will also use financial ratios to analyze the performance of companies and recommend courses of action. The course will provide an overview of how corporations are governed, and the structure of the financial system.

Digital technology is now enmeshed in the fabric of business. Companies in all industries will continue to employ large datasets and powerful digital technologies to transform the way they do business. Business strategy must be fused with digital strategy, and leaders must be well-versed in the fundamentals of digital systems and how they can be used to innovate. This course will prepare business leaders for the opportunities and challenges that data and digital technologies offer. The course will cover foundational technology concepts like data management and how emerging technologies impact customer-facing and back-end processes, including supply chain management and cybersecurity, among others. The overarching focus of the course will be to prepare leaders to understand systems, analyze data, use technology for innovation, and make sound technology investment decisions.

This course examines the impact of the diverse political and social forces upon business and the law. Students will explore the historical, cultural, political, philosophical, and religious foundations of the legal and social systems as they relate to the ethical and profit dimensions of the economic complex. Honing critical thinking skills is accomplished through analysis of the above in relation to policy and implementation procedures inherent to the international and domestic markets. Key to the process is management's understanding of how the legal and regulatory environment impacts most business issues such as employment, competition, and transaction enforcement. Emphasis also is directed to formulating, negotiating, and implementing the business agreement; evaluating the various forms of business ownership; anticipating, neutralizing, and defending against liability; and successfully functioning within the environment of opportunity and constraint.

Marketing is a company-wide undertaking that informs an organization's vision, mission, and strategic planning. It begins with an understanding of what the market looks like and entails a sequence of key decisions, including: Who is our target customer? What specific customer needs are we going to satisfy with our offerings? How should we set and adapt our prices? What channels of distribution should we use? What means do we use to communicate with our customers? How do we gain and retain customers? In some aspects, marketing follows systematic and scientific approaches to answer these questions. However, there are elements of marketing that are impossible to measure and therefore an artistic exercise. The purpose of this course is to both educate and excite students about the world of marketing. Businesses today face a number of challenges and opportunities including globalization, the effects of advances in technology, and increased competition. In today's rapidly changing environment, a deep understanding of marketing concepts will help organizations develop and maintain their competitive advantage. Emphasis in this course is placed on the practical application of marketing concepts to solve business problems.

This course provides students with hands-on experience managing a business cross-functionally in a competitive environment. The course introduces the concept of business models, which describe how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value, and business strategy, which outlines the high-level vision for achieving a company's goals. Teams will apply the concepts and compete against each other in a simulated environment to improve overall organizational performance and increase long-term value.

This capstone course examines the running of an enterprise from the chief executive officer's point of view. It is designed to help students conduct external and internal assessments of an organization, identify its key strategic issues, identify and choose from alternative strategies, and defend those decisions. In addition, the course illuminates the interplay between organizational structure, design, human resources, culture, technology, and the global environment. This knowledge gives the student the foundation for understanding and managing change. In summary, students learn to conduct a strategic analysis, make sound strategic decisions, and implement strategic change. The course is integrative of all prior subject matter. A variety of experiential methods are used, including case studies and a strategic project on an existing company. This course is taken after completing all required core courses.

In this course, students will acquire an understanding of the business value of big data, the importance of effective management of big data, and develop technical competencies in using leading-edge platforms for managing and manipulating structured and unstructured big data.

In a global business environment, managers must understand the alignment of technology and business functions. There is increasing emphasis on managing enterprise architecture and infrastructure from the perspectives of business enablement, business continuity, and risk management. Today's corporate technology environments are exceedingly complex, involving challenging portfolios of inflexible legacy systems and dynamic mobile applications that span on-premise and cloud installations. Together, these are causing IT systems' management focus to shift from "develop and operate" to "source and deploy." Organizations need systematic approaches for integrating diverse functional areas into a holistic, application and data-focused enterprise-wide digital platform for supporting the business. This course will cover the areas of Enterprise Architecture and Infrastructure Management as essential approaches for the development of coherent, robust, efficient, and agile enterprise digital platforms.

The DIIS Project and Program Management course is intended to develop students' understanding of the complexities within and interdependence between DIIS projects and to develop their abilities to successfully manage DIIS projects toward successful realization and intended business benefits. The course will provide students with the techniques, tools, and managerial competencies to manage individual DIIS projects and the requisite insights and approaches to manage a portfolio of projects into a coherent program of innovation. Topics covered will include IS and digital innovation project planning, business case development, cost and risk management assessment, global sourcing and vendor management, portfolio management, team leadership, change management, post-implementation review, and program/portfolio management.

The Internet and electronic commerce have highlighted the need to understand the ethical and social impacts of information systems. Internet and digital technologies that make it easier than ever to assemble, integrate, and distribute information have created concerns about the appropriate use of customer information, the protection of personal privacy, and the protection of intellectual property. Managers must make informed decisions that reflect an understanding of the ethical and social issues surrounding the use of information systems. Furthermore, managers are responsible for the control of the quality and performance of information systems. These issues have moved to the forefront of social and political debate in the United States and globally. This course will equip business managers to effectively meet the security and ethical challenges of information systems.

In this course, students will be introduced to key concepts and approaches to business process analysis and improvement. The main focus of this course is both understanding and designing business processes that accomplish specific desired outcomes. Students will learn how to identify, document, model, assess, and improve core business processes. Students will be introduced to process design principles. The way in which information technology can be used to manage, transform, and improve business processes is discussed. Students will be exposed to challenges and approaches to organizational change, domestic and offshore outsourcing, and inter-organizational processes.

In this new digital age, firms must increasingly turn their attention to the technological developments that shape their business strategy and competitive position. E-commerce, cloud computing, and mobile technologies are transforming the way businesses operate in many industries. At the same time, managers must be alert to the external forces that shape their IT innovations. The increasing complexity for firms to compete in this dynamic environment offers opportunities, but it also comes with significant risks. In this course, students will develop a deep understanding of these strategic issues surrounding IT innovation and how they shape IT investment decisions. In addition, it examines ways in which IS managers can employ leading practices to integrate information systems and business strategy.

This directed research project provides students with an opportunity to develop a comprehensive understanding of theory and practice related to digital innovation and information systems management within a particular functional area or industry, thereby enabling students to acquire deep knowledge of a DIIS topic of personal interest. Students will complete an applied research project that seeks to inform contemporary business practice. The practice-oriented research project will be informed by assigned readings and completed under the supervision of a faculty advisor. Prior to registration, the student must prepare a research proposal for review and approval by at least two ISTM faculty. If the research proposal is approved, a faculty advisor will be assigned who will identify an appropriate set of readings to guide the research study. The student will undertake the proposed research, and then prepare and submit a comprehensive research paper.