Master of Business Administration

BA 6000X. Continuous Graduate Enrollment. 0 Semester Hours.

BA 6100. Special Studies to Management. 1 Semester Hour.

Selected topics vary from semester to semester.

BA 6200. Special Studies in Management. 2 Semester Hours.

Selected topics vary from semester to semester.

BA 6300. Special Studies in Management. 3 Semester Hours.

Selected topics vary from semester to semester. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 6301. Special International Studies. 3 Semester Hours.

Selected topics vary from one year to the next depending upon contemporary issues in international business and international study destinations. This particular class is a cohort-based study experience that typically is only offered in the summer. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 6302. Rapid Innovation of Social Enterprise. 3 Semester Hours.

This ‘3 day start-up’ course will teach design thinking, entrepreneurial thinking, and business project design in a rapid paced real world setting and scenario that requires students to come up with business solutions in the context of social innovation and develop them into viable business concepts that also accomplish a social purpose. The formulation and presenting of lean business models occurs under severe time constraints. (Summer only).

BA 6308. Applied Statistics and Decision-Making. 3 Semester Hours.

Most statistics courses focus on teaching how to derive univariate or multivariate statistics and how to interpret the results of statistical analyses, but they do not teach how statistics and statistical analyses can be used to evaluate and reach decisions about real problems or issues. The course will focus on developing the knowledge and skills necessary for translating problems, challenges, or questions into testable hypotheses amenable to statistical analyses. The course will cover descriptive statistics (univariate and multivariate) and hypotheses testing with inferential statistics (t-tests, Analysis of Variance, correlation, and multiple regression). For each type of statistical technique, a case study will be used to show the application of the technique and accurate interpretation of results. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 6320. Introduction to Business Analytics. 3 Semester Hours.

The primary focus of this course is to help the students learn programming and analytics skills necessary to find analytics solutions to business-related problems and opportunities. The course introduces students to the open source programming language R. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 6323. Importance European Union. 3 Semester Hours.

This course provides a comparative overview of the business and legal environment of the European Union [EU]. Discussion will focus on the economic, legal-political and social-cultural dimensions of EU-member countries. The impact of these dimensions on business practice, regulation and global strategy implications for U.S. firms will be the major focus of research and writing in the course. Cross-listed with IR 6323. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 6352. Enterprise Resource Planning. 3 Semester Hours.

This course explores the principles of fundamental business processes and the importance of information systems in the integration of these processes throughout the enterprise. The course focuses on procurement, production, sales and distribution functions and utilizes SAP as an example of an ERP system. The course helps both functional area and IT managers understand respective roles of users and enterprise architects in the selection, preparation, and implementation of large and complex enterprise applications. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 6361. Financial Modeling. 3 Semester Hours.

This course is intended to provide a seminar of the principles associated with the application of information technologies in business organizations. It will cover hardware technologies, software applications, personnel, procedures, and issues associated with management of an information systems function. It will also address the challenges IT managers face managing IT enables organizations. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 6375. International Business Core. 3 Semester Hours.

This course serves two objectives. First, it introduces the student to the major institutions and organizations that affect the international economic and political context in which firms operate, the international economic, political, and cultural milieu, the growing globalization of business, and the growing complexity of doing business within the rapidly changing international context. Second, it serves as a foundation for more advanced courses that include an international dimension. (Spring only).

BA 6385. Marketing Management Core. 3 Semester Hours.

This course focuses on preparing students to develop and implement the major strategic decisions facing marketing executives in their attempt to harmonize the objectives and resources of the organization with the needs and opportunities in the global marketplace. Through case analyses and the development of a comprehensive marketing plan, students analyze the functional areas of marketing, including market analysis and research, marketing communications, distribution, and pricing. Current topics in marketing are integrated into the course. Topics vary but may include current political/legal, social/cultural, or technological (e.g., eCommerce) issues surrounding marketing. (Fall only).

BA 7311. Managing Business Projects. 3 Semester Hours.

This course provides a management perspective on managing projects. It examines the basic nature of managing business, public, engineering and information systems projects, including the specific insights and techniques required. Issues such as the selection and management of the project team, project initiation, implementation and termination are addressed. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 7315. Applied Business Analytics. 3 Semester Hours.

With the ever-increasing availability of data and information from variety of sources, business analytics are becoming a critical capability for enterprises of all types that can use those data and information effectively to drive rapid, precise and profitable analytics-based decisions to create strategic advantage. This course is designed to increase students’ fundamental business knowledge while imparting the technical and analytical skills they need to advance in the fast-growing business analytics area. It prepares students to model and manage business decisions with application of business analytics techniques to identify opportunities for creating business value. This course uses R – an open source statistical program for computing and graphics. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 7325. Management of Information and Technology. 3 Semester Hours.

This course examines a broad range of topics in the management of technology, information systems and organizational issues in exploiting new technology. The course explores concepts of applying computer information systems and communications technology to provide an effective framework for managing competitiveness in an environment of rapid global change. Managing R &D, systems acquisition, decision-making, and links to other functional areas in the corporation are emphasized. (Fall, Spring).

BA 7330. Introduction to US Healthcare Systems Management and Policy. 3 Semester Hours.

This course will examine numerous aspects of the US healthcare system, including, but not limited to; the history of public health in the U.S., the legal and constitutional basis for public health, administrative law and ethics, organization and measurement of healthcare systems, healthcare reform, safety nets, safety and preparedness, and policy development and implementation, quality performance and improvements, and strategic planning and marketing as they all relate to the overall US healthcare systems. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 7332. Values Driven Leadership Lab I. 3 Semester Hours.

This is the first of two courses intended to explain how to develop socially responsible and sustainable approaches to business with a special emphasis on social entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability; fundamentals of ethical leadership, to include values-driven strategies for aligning individual behavior and organizational culture; and the development of Advanced Behavioral Skills and familiarity with contemporary business and operational issues and strategies. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 7333. Values Driven Leadership Lab II. 3 Semester Hours.

This is the second of two courses intended to explain how to develop socially responsible and sustainable approaches to business with a special emphasis on social entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability; fundamentals of ethical leadership, to include values-driven strategies for aligning individual behavior and organizational culture; and the development of Advanced Behavioral Skills and familiarity with contemporary business and operational issues and strategies. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 7334. Advanced Business Skills Lab III. 3 Semester Hours.

This is one of three interrelated laboratory courses intended to develop socially responsible and sustainable approaches to business with emphasis in three distinct areas: Values-Driven Leadership Labs (V-Labs) focus on fundamentals of ethical leadership, to include strategies for aligning individual behavior and organizational culture, the development of advanced behavioral skills and familiarity with contemporary business issues and strategies. Students are assessed in several dimensions and participate in behavioral simulations at the group and individual level. Technical Labs (Tech-Labs) focus on essential skills such as spreadsheeting, and on the use of software tools for budgeting, data analytics, simulations and decision support. Fitness Labs (Fit-Labs) focus on individual and group strategies to develop physical and financial fitness, and an inquiry into the personal meaning of work in ways that will enhance performance and provide a healthy work-life balance. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 7335. Data Story Telling with Visual Analytics. 3 Semester Hours.

In this current data-driven society, with the advent of visualization tools that do not require coding, data storytelling is a desired and an attainable skillset for people with varying levels of technical ability. This course teaches students how to develop meaningful data stories that make visual insights accessible for relevant audiences. Students will learn how to utilize Tableau, the industry standard in data visualization tools and the most popular data visualization program today, to make sense of and visualize publicly available data to derive meaningful business intelligence. Specifically, students will learn how data visualization techniques can help bring complex data to life, how to design effective visualizations, and how to create intuitive, meaningful, visualizations using Tableau. Course discussion will explore techniques for visualizing multivariate, temporal, text-based, geospatial, hierarchical, and network data using case studies drawn from variety of industries. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 7337. Visual Analytics & Management. 3 Semester Hours.

This course focuses on how to take the results from various data analytics processes to create powerful and convincing visual analytics for understanding the “how” and “why” behind large data. The course teaches Tableau as well as code writing in R to create charts and infographics to communicate information gleaned from vast quantities of data. Prerequisite: BA 6320 Sec C. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 7342. Leadership and Ethics. 3 Semester Hours.

This M.B.A. core course fosters the students' ability to become an effective, ethical, visionary leader in the modern global business world. It exploresethical leadership challenges, informed by historical, cultural and contemporary leadership thought including servant leadership. Topics such as interpersonal skills, empowerment and delegation, conflict resolution, problem solving and the importance of values-based decision making are emphasized. Required of all students who have not previously completed BA 6355. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 7343. Ethics and Healthcare Management. 3 Semester Hours.

This course includes an introduction to trends and topics in legal, ethical and economic issues as they pertain to the healthcare industry. This will include the types of information and data that can be gathered by healthcare management leaders so that they can make sustainable & ethical decisions for the multitude of healthcare related business entities. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 7344. Organizational Culture, Power, and Politics. 3 Semester Hours.

This course examines the linkages between organizational culture and strategy, types of power, and politics that exist in organizations. Students conduct an organizational cultural analysis. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 7345. Predictive Modeling. 3 Semester Hours.

This course is focused upon applying statistical techniques to the processing and interpretation of data from various industries and disciplines. This course introduces statistical models as they are used in predictive analytics. It addresses issues of statistical model specification and model selection, as well as best practices in developing models for management. Students will learn the role of analytics within an organization as well as the relationship between analytics and other areas. Students will learn the basics of each technique with an emphasis on understanding the technique, its uses and the benefits and limitations of the technique. It will also present best practices for managers and business analytic professionals who are upstream or downstream from the analysts. The primary and secondary analytic tool that will be used for the course are R and Microsoft Excel, respectively. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 7346. Using Data for Development Business Intelligence. 3 Semester Hours.

This course applies to business intelligence principles and techniques to a comprehensive understanding of business. It also provides theoretical and practical understanding of core data mining concepts and techniques. It uses data mining software SAS Enterprise Miner to solve real world business problems using real projects. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 7353. Project management. 3 Semester Hours.

This course provides a management perspective on managing projects. It examines the basic nature of managing business, public, engineering, and information systems projects, including the specific insights and techniques required. Issues such as the selection and management of the project team, project initiation, implementation, and termination are addressed. Cross-listed with EG 7353. Students who have previously completed BA 7311 may not register for BA 7353.

BA 7355. Accounting for Decision Making. 3 Semester Hours.

This M.B.A. core course covers the use of financial statement information, managerial accounting information, qualitative data and the application of statistical techniques in managerial decision making. (Fall only).

BA 7365. Financial Management. 3 Semester Hours.

This quantitative M.B.A. core course serves two purposes. It assists the non-financial manager in understanding and using financial information to make decisions related to investing, financial arrangements and operating alternatives. It also will discuss theoretical issues related to capital structure and dividend policy. This course will serve as a foundation for the M.B.A. and more advanced finance courses. (Spring only).

BA 7375. MBA Internship. 3 Semester Hours.

The M.B.A. internship enables students in the full-time M.B.A. program to gain hands-on experience with either a for-profit or not-for profit organization during a 12 week period during the summer. Students must successfully complete a minimum of 20 hours weekly over a 12-week period (mid-May through mid-August) and other course requirements to receive three (3) hours of graduate credit. To be eligible for an internship for elective credit, M.B.A. students must complete the Application for M.B.A. Internship and have it signed by the M.B.A. Director to verify that they meet the following requirements: they must be enrolled in regular status in the One-year M.B.A., not be actively employed, not be receiving tuition reimbursement, did not receive more than three hours of credit for internships as an undergraduate, have completed all prerequisite-knowledge requirements and a minimum of 12 hours of M.B.A. core courses with a cumulative GPA of 3.25. Requires Program Director Approval. Check with Program Director.

BA 8312. Marketing Research: Methods and Applications. 3 Semester Hours.

This course provides students with current methodology and applications in research with a focus on marketing and marketing research. The three phases of the course are qualitative marketing research, quantitative data analysis, and special topics such as the Internet, international issues, and measurement instruments. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 8314. Improving the Performance and Productivity of Teams. 3 Semester Hours.

This course provides the student with intensive exposure on how work groups can be led and developed into high-performance teams through the self- management process. The three phases of the course include planning and preparation, organizational requirements and changes, and detailed steps of creating, developing, and leading teams at the lowest level of the organization. The course emphasizes leadership, job redesign, and the dynamics of interpersonal and group interaction. (Summer Only).

BA 8318. Supply Chain Management. 3 Semester Hours.

This course provides an understanding of the strategic role of supply chain management, key drivers of supply chain performance, and analytical tools and techniques for supply chain analysis. The course focuses on the interrelationship of these concepts. Topics include issues such as supply chain planning, design, and operation; inventory, transportation, information, and technology; and logistics and supply chain methodologies.

BA 8319. NAFTA Law. 3 Semester Hours.

This course provides coverage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) along with the legal and business issues that surround the treaty.

BA 8321. Management Control Systems. 3 Semester Hours.

This course examines the design and implementation of formal performance measurement and management control systems within the organization. The examination includes the design and implementation of profitability and cost management systems at the organizational and sub-organizational levels. It also includes consideration of the characteristics of measurement systems and their compatibility with the organization rsquo;s competitive strategy. BA6365 or BA 7355.

BA 8322. Manager's Guide to Financial Statement Analysis. 3 Semester Hours.

This research course facilitates the judicious use of financial statements and other sources of company financial information in various management decisions. Students examine opportunities for earnings management and management of other information possible in today's regulatory and economic environment, enabling them to identify company reality which is often hidden by allowable reporting choices. Course activities include identifying reporting latitude, exploring recent company attempts at information management, and documenting the relative transparency of company financial information in the US and abroad. Prerequisite: BA6365 or BA7355.

BA 8323. Corporate Social Responsibility. 3 Semester Hours.

This course provides an understanding of the theory and practice of companies that choose to fulfill social responsibility roles in addition to traditional profit-oriented activities that maximize shareholder value. Students study the philosophical and economic rationale for such activities, identify sources of information about participating companies, and document the extent of reported company activities related to the environment, the community, and employees and their families. Companies in the US and abroad are examined.

BA 8324. Employment Law. 3 Semester Hours.

This course examines the rights and responsibilities of organizations and workers regarding the employment laws that shape the workplace in the United States. General intellectual considerations are also addressed. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 8342. Inter-Cultural Skill for International Entrepreneurs. 3 Semester Hours.

This course examines the cultural dimensions of conducting business in the international environment. Topics include effective verbal and non-verbal communication skills, diversity, differing values, culture shock, effective strategies for international negotiating, and cross-cultural training. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 8345. International Entrepreneurship. 3 Semester Hours.

This course provides a holistic approach to entrepreneurship. It focuses on opportunities to initiate new ventures, how to develop a business plan, and how to grow and manage a small business in the global market place. Sources of capital funding and financial issues are discussed along with international opportunities and obstacles. Prerequisite: BA 6375. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 8352. Business Intelligence. 3 Semester Hours.

This course aims to equip students with highly demanded business analytics skills in the current job market. The three key objectives are to: 1) provide a comprehensive and in-depth knowledge of Business Intelligence principles and techniques; 2) provide a theoretical and practical understanding of core data mining concepts and techniques; and 3) provide hands-on experience in applying these techniques to solve real world business problems using data mining software. The concepts in this course will be taught using a combination of lecture notes and reading materials, threaded discussions on the LMS, case study analysis, and hands-on exercises on data mining activities using SAS Enterprise Miner. To maximize learning, scope of discussion and time spent on different topics will be adjusted according to the background and interests of the students. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 8363. Quantitative Techniques for Finance. 3 Semester Hours.

This course is an introduction to many of the quantitative techniques that are used across a wide spectrum of financial applications. Topics include statistical analysis, asset pricing models, option pricing, and cost of capital, value at risk, duration, convexity, immunization, and portfolio theory. The course includes many Excel exercises and an introduction to VBA programming. Prerequisite: BA7365. QM3320 strongly recommended.

BA 8367. Risk Management and Insurance Planning. 3 Semester Hours.

This course is a review of risk management and insurance concepts and techniques, including personal and business insurance and life and property-liability risks. It covers the fundamentals of insurance, insurance taxation, law, and policy selection.

BA 8375. Business Communication and Team Dynamics. 3 Semester Hours.

This course will examine the intersection between communication theory, leadership, and organizational theory by examining aspects of public speak, rhetoric, strategy, and persuasion. Topics will include practicing persuasion, managing messages and building great teams, optimizing personal communications, and optimizing team dynamics. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 9311. International Finance. 3 Semester Hours.

This course will deal with the following topics: International trade; currency markets; exchange rate systems; the history of the international monetary system; forward markets, and futures and options markets. Applications to currency hedging, speculation, borrowing, lending, and arbitrage will be explored. The course will conclude with a look at exchange rate parity relationships, bilateral and multilateral netting, and currency forecasting. It is important to understand that a problem solving approach to develop and reinforce theoretical concepts will be utilized throughout the course. Consequently, each class in general will develop the theory, followed by problem solving to illustrate the theory. Each lecture will conclude by highlighting the main conceptual issues developed in the lecture. Several cases will also be assigned during the course. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 9355. Applied Business Research. 3 Semester Hours.

In this course, the student will conduct and submit an applied research paper covering a topic approved by the instructors that will be useful and of value to an organization's management. This will require that the student examine and apply what they have learned in graduate business-level coursework, especially as it relates to research, project analysis and management and evidence-based decision making. It is intended that the paper prepared for this course serve as a lead-in to the student rsquo;s graduate thesis. Schmalkalden joint-degree students who successfully complete this course will satisfy the University's comprehensive/general examination requirement. The course may be taken by an elective by St. Mary's M.B.A.-General Management track students; these students will receive course credit but also would be required to complete BA9375 (M.B.A. capstone course) which includes a component that enables those students to satisfy the University's comprehensive/general examination requirement. (Semester Offered Varies. Check with Program Director.).

BA 9370. MBA Practicum. 3 Semester Hours.

This course is a graduate level experiential learning activity in the form of a consultative practicum project for an external non-profit, for profit, Non-Governmental Agency, or similar entity. The actual content and structure of the practicum will vary according to contemporary business issues and the needs of practicum clients.

BA 9375. Leaders, Strategy, & Society. 3 Semester Hours.

As the capstone course for the General Management Track of the M.B.A. degree, students will examine and gain an understanding of the role of a firm leaders, approaches to strategic management and interactions with ethics and social responsibility. A grade of B+ or better on a designated component of this course satisfies the University's comprehensive/general examination requirement. Prerequisites: Students must have satisfied all prerequisite knowledge requirements, all M.B.A. foundation or core courses (BA6355 or BA7342, BA6365 or BA7355 and BA7365, BA6375, BA6385 and BA7325) and be within nine (9) hours of graduation to register for this course. Permission of the M.B.A. Program Director required. (Fall Only).