Online MBA Curriculum

 BSCI 650 (1 unit)

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. It is scheduled over an extended weekend in the greater area near our campus locations. The course is graded credit or no credit, and taken in conjunction with our 4-unit Organizational Behavior and Personal Development course.

 BSCI 651 (4 units)

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 to continue in this course.

DESC 607 (4 units)

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.

 ECNM 657 (4 units)

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.

FINC 603 (4 units)

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 is 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.

ISTM 602 (4 units)

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, 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.

LEGL 653 (4 units)

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.

MKTG 603 (4 units)

Marketing is a company-wide undertaking which 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 ourofferings? 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 which 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.

STGY 612 (1 units)

This course provides students 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.

STGY 659 (4 units)

Strategic Management is a capstone course that examines an enterprise from the CEO's point of view. It is designed to help students conduct external and internal assessments of an organization, pinpoint key strategic issues, identify and choose from alternative strategies, and defend those decisions. We illuminate the interplay among an organization's structure, culture, technology, and the global environment through experiential learning techniques like case studies and a project that addresses the issues of an existing company.

By integrating all subject matter covered thus far in your MBA curriculum, Strategic Management provides a foundational understanding for managing change from a top-level perspective.