Graduate School Bulletin

Spring 2024

MBA: Business Administration

MBA 502: Finance

How firms meet and manage their final objectives. Today's financial environment, the fundamental trade-off between risk and return, the time value of money, and valuing future cash flows are discussed. Financial tools and techniques, which can be used to help firms maximize value by improving decisions related to capital, are explained. Bond and stock valuations are introduced.

Fall, 3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 503: Data Analysis and Decision Making

An introduction to statistical techniques useful in the analysis of management problems. We motivate each topic by managerial applications, and we analyze actual data sets using modern statistical software. Topics include probability estimation, hypothesis testing, and regression analysis.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 504: Financial Accounting

Introduction and exploration of basic financial accounting terminology, principles, concepts, and their relevant business applications. This course will include the recording, summarization, and adjustment of financial transactions and the preparation and presentation of the basic financial statements. Other topics will include valuation methods for cash, accounts receivable, inventory and property, plant and equipment. This course is also offered as EMP 502.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 505: Marketing

A survey course covering the foundations of the marketing discipline. The course is designed to give students conceptual frameworks and tools to help firms meet demands of the marketplace in a profitable way. A wide range of marketing strategy topics (e.g., segmentation, positioning) and marketing tactics (the Four P's of Marketing -- Product, Price, Place and Promotions) will be covered, as well as development of the discipline's foundations (definition, philosophy, and the history of marketing).

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 506: Leadership, Team Effectiveness and Communications

The purpose of the course is to introduce you to the multifaceted phenomenon of leadership, teams, and communications. It seeks to answer the following three questions: What do leaders really do? What makes teams effective? How do you create persuasive communications? The course addresses such topics as leadership styles, building motivated teams, and developing strategic communications. It examines these topics with a goal of not only imparting knowledge about evidence-based managerial practices but also assisting students to acquire the skills necessary to become business leaders, team builders and articulate communicators.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 507: Ethics in Management

This course examines the main ethical problems facing the modern manager. Emphasis is placed on the moral and ethical responsibilities that relate to investors, employees, customers, and the community. Students will learn the basic vocabulary of business ethics.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 509: Continuous Quality Improvement

This course provides students with understanding of concepts of TQM and quality improvement methods to attain world-class performance in business operations. Topics include policy deployment, process improvement methodology, daily work management, quality story methodology, six sigma, poka-yoke, ISO, Deming and Baldridge Awards criteria.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 511: Technological Innovations

Innovation drives the modern firm by the interaction of technical invention and managerial entrepreneurship. This course explores the variety of sources of new products, processes, and services, such as inventors, universities, research and development departments in industry, and government labs. In addition, the course explores the variety of ways of bringing new products, processes, and services to market, including startup firms, acquisitions, mergers, and entrepreneurship within the firm. Case studies showing the interaction of invention and entrepreneurship are analyzed. A term project is required in which the student either analyzes the history of invention and entrepreneurship in a major firm or writes a business plan for high technology startup firm.

Spring, 3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 512: Business Strategy

The focus of this course is on the strategic issues and challenges facing companies in today¿s competitive landscape. As a capstone, this course integrates and builds upon your experiences in the functional areas of business and provides an opportunity for students to evaluate and apply knowledge from their core business courses. The study of strategic management will help students improve their understanding and expertise in the functional areas of business, focusing on how managers work together to develop a strategy that will capture market share and increase shareholder wealth. A fundamental question of strategy is: Why are some firms more successful than others? This course should be taken in the last semester of your degree program.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 514: Collective Bargaining and Arbitration in the Public Sector

This course presents an overview of the history, procedures, and problems of public sector labor relations, and comparisons with the private sector. The role of public opinion and politics in public sector bargaining will be explored. Students will role play the negotiation of a public sector contract: preparation of bargaining package, negotiation, mediation, fact-finding, arbitration. They will also prepare, present, and critique a public sector grievance case from its shop origins to its final disposition by arbitration.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 515: Managing in a Global Economy

Because both the similarities and differences of organizations and management across national boundaries must be a part of the knowledge base of tomorrow's manager, this course examines proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, governmental regulatory agencies, public authorities, voluntary social services, multinational corporations, and strategic alliances, as well as combinations of these organizations, across sectoral and national boundaries.

Spring, 3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 517: Information Systems for Management

Information systems and its role in strategic planning and managerial operations in business. The systems approach to the analysis, design, and implementation of information systems. Recent developments in information technology and its impact on existing and future information systems.

Fall, 3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 521: Industry Project

Under faculty supervision, groups of students work for clients on management issues in a variety of areas such as health care, MIS, marketing, data analysis, business plans, and the like. The course provides students with the opportunity to apply the analytic skills they have learned in the classroom to actual management problems. Students also gain practical experience in business writing, giving formal presentations, and working in teams. The format for the course is a combination of work in the classroom and "lab" work. The lab work consists of visits with a client, developing a formal proposal, generating a final report, and various other elements of a professional consulting arrangement.

Fall, 6 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 522: Business Project

Students will work in consultation with the instructor to identify and then define a business problem, at which point they will write a formal business proposal to study the problem using published data. After educating themselves thoroughly about the variables involved with the business problem, students will apply high-level critical thinking to develop a written recommendation to solve or mitigate the business problem. Students will then create a video presentation of their recommendation. The course is operated as a mixture of lectures during which students will receive instruction about critical thinking, data analysis, evaluation of published research, business writing, and business presenting, and seminars during which students will consult with the instructor during every phase of their specific projects.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 530: Employee Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management

The methods and procedures for reaching negotiated agreements. Topics include reducing conflict and confrontation between contending parties, analysis of the techniques of win-lose and win-win negotiation, and mediation. Students are expected to participate in a series of workshop activities and simulated cases to reveal how negotiation and mediation are applied to resolving difficulties in business management, labor relations, international and domestic affairs, patient/doctor/hospital relations, and other areas where negotiation and mediation play a significant role in modern life.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 531: New Developments in Human Resource Management

This is an advanced course, designed to examine new developments and professional concerns in human resource management. The course focuses on such topics as productivity in the American workplace; developing union/management cooperation for productivity; methods of training in the workplace; impact of the computer revolution on the personnel field; and specialized personnel needs of the new workforce in a high-tech and service economy.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 538: Organizational Development and Change Management

This course will acquaint students with types of organizational change and the roles of human resources managers as change agents and internal consultants. Cases, group exercises, and class discussions are used to examine change methods, employees' reactions to change, facilitation techniques, and evaluation methods. Roles of leaders, managers, employees, and human resources professionals are considered. Targets of change include job designs, interpersonal relationships, downsizing/rightsizing and organizational structures. Quality improvement, employee involvement, and professional development are studied as examples of change strategies. Students learn how to help their co-workers cope, as well as how to become trusted business advisors within the organization. This course is offered as both HRM 538 and MBA 538 (formerly CEX 538). Prerequisite: MBA 532/HRM 532.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 540: Data Mining: Bus Intelligence

The recent advances in the Internet and information technologies have resulted in an explosion of demand for ¿big data¿ analytics. The importance of data mining has already been recognized widely in the industry including many business areas, such as marketing science, financial analysis, and corporation management. In this course, we will be focusing on both key concepts and models of data mining and their implementations based on real-world data in business. Students will learn to process data using Excel, and apply data mining models using Weka, a data mining software.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 543: Business Analytics

An introduction to mathematical models useful in the analysis of management problems. We motivate each topic by managerial applications, and we analyze problems using modern software. Topics include forecasting, linear, nonlinear, and integer optimization, simulation, Markov processes, decision analysis, and multi-criteria decision making.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 544: Supply Chain Management and Analytics

Businesses engage in a diverse set of activities in their daily operations including production planning, resource procurement, inventory management, distribution, and interaction with other firms. The goal of supply chain management is to maximize the economic value of these activities through system level coordination. A successful supply chain streamlines the flow of materials, goods, information, and capital along each component of the supply chain.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 548: Fundamentals of the Bioscience Industry

A 4-module course set up to provide students with a comprehensive introduction to the complexities of the bioscience business environment.

Prerequisite: Must be either a BME or MBA graduate student (West Campus). All other students must obtain permission from the instructor.

Spring, 3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 553: Simulation and Modeling

A comprehensive course in formulation, implementation, and application of simulation models. Topics include data structures, simulation languages, statistical analysis, pseudo-random number generation, and design of simulation experiments. Students apply simulation modeling methods to problems of their own design. This course is offered as CSE 529, AMS 553 and MBA 553.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 566: Business law

This course provides an understanding of the nature of law and its role in business and surveys some of the regulatory issues faced by businesses. The law of business contracts will be examined in depth. Other topics include property rights, bailments, and agency concepts, business organizations, securities law and regulation, and laws and regulations impacting technology development. This course requires case analysis, problem solving, development of critical thinking skills, and oral and written communication.

Spring, 3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 570: Entrepreneurship

This course helps the student develop a business plan for his or her own business idea or a plan for an entrepreneur. With the support of visiting practitioners, students take a business idea through all the planning steps. A business plan suitable for presentation to potential investors will be written and presented orally at the end of the class.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 571: Social Entrepreneurship

Students explore the concept of social entrepreneurship including motivation and skills for advocacy, entrepreneurship, and leadership. Topics include forms of social entrepreneurship (private, public, and not-for-profit), venture capital and fund raising, market analysis, marketing, communications, human resources and human relations, including negotiation and conflict resolution methods. Students will explore models of corporate social responsibility, university service to the community, and grass-roots ventures spawned by perceived need and the will to make a difference. Students work in teams to develop a strategic business plan for their own venture and present their proposals to the class.

Offered

Fall, 3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 574: Project Management

This course will explore the theory and practice of managing a project. We will examine the various tools that are available to monitor and measure managerial tasks and to define common business processes. Every aspect of business entails the execution of a series of defined tasks and the associated allocation of corporate resources. From developing new products to implementing customer loyalty programs, managers must understand business processes including their associated tasks, inter-relationships and transformations. Project management involves three primary activities: defining manageable tasks, mapping their logical flow, and creating an implementation process. In the course, we will explore ways to manage these functions successfully to increase the probability of achieving desired results. We will use the latest software tools including: MS Project, MS Visio, @Risk Project Simulation, Business Plan Pro 2007, WIP Information System - online and C-Commerce tools such as Instantstream. We will use Blackboard extensively to interact (c-commerce), post grades, assignments, information and notices. Access Blackboard using blackboard.sunysb.edu.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 584: Transforming Electricity Markets With Renewable Energy

This course is intended to provide students with an overview of how the business of electric energy works. This will include an introduction to wholesale electric energy markets (including energy pricing in centralized markets, capacity auctions, and hedging), how to prevent market abuse, the role of regional grid operators, how new electric transmission facilities and generating stations are planned, and how green energy (wind, hydro, and solar) and conservation measures are integrated into the wholesale electric markets. The course will also touch on recent trends in retail electric markets. Finally, this course will also explore the role of federal and state regulators and the courts in the wholesale electric energy business.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 586: Virtual Communications and Meetings

Analyzes the growth of and interaction among wireless markets. These markets include devices and services for wide area broadband networks and 802.11b wireless local area networks. Growth factors include business strategies executed by major firms and startups, and roles played by government regulations and community groups in development and delivery of network technology. Student projects for clients or one's own startup investigate wireless strategies in consumer, home, commercial, educational or health care markets.

Prerequisites: MBA 517, MGT 571, MGT580.

Spring, 3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 587: Decision Support Systems

An advanced project-oriented course focusing on the interrelationships among management information systems, statistics, and management science. Both model-driven and data-driven decision support systems will be considered. Students will identify an appropriate business application, select suitable management science and statistical methodologies, build the required information system, and demonstrate how their decision support system addresses the stated management problem. Prerequisite: MBA 503 & MBA 543

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 588: Database Management

Database processing is the foundation upon which all current applications rely and represent the repositories of business intelligence that play a crucial role in the strategic success or failure of a corporation. Even though they vary in size, complexity and organizational scope, there is an underlying common database engine that can be used to manipulate and analyze the stored information. The purpose of this course is to introduce the business professional to the fundamental concepts of database creation, design, application integration, maintenance, management and subsequent analysis.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 589: Operations Management

A managerial approach to the concepts, issues, and techniques used to convert an organization's resources into products and services. Through the course, students will develop an ability to understand key concepts in operations management, analyze the performance of systems quantitatively, gain insights into performance characteristics, recognize various trade-offs in operations management decisions, and apply concepts and analytical methods to help improve organization¿s operational performance Prerequisite: MBA 503, working knowledge of probability, and statistics is necessary.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 592: Organizational Behavior

An approach to understanding the behavior of individuals in organizations is developed, with emphasis on implications for effective management. This approach is used to analyze decision problems encountered in managing human resources. Topics include individual and group decision-making skills, recruitment and selection, employee ability, motivation and incentive systems, job satisfaction, performance assessment and management, retention, training, and employee development.

Fall, 3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 595: Individual Directed Research in Business

Designed to accommodate independent research projects on an individual basis with faculty guidance.

Fall and Spring, 1-6 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

May be repeated for credit.

MBA 596: Special Topics in Business

These courses are offered on topics that are timely and significant to the profession. The courses are led by experts in the particular topic.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

May be repeated 1 times FOR credit.

MBA 599: Business Internship

An academic internship is a form of experiential education that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skill development in a professional setting. An integral component of the experience that distinguishes it from other types of work is one or more forms of structured and deliberate reflection based on predetermined learning objectives.

Fall, Spring, and Summer, 1-3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

MBA 800: Summer Research

May be repeated for credit.