This course deals with the accounting process used to measure and report economic events. The course focuses on alternative ways of reporting economic activity and on the different uses that investors, managers, and regulatory agencies may have for financial statement data. The primary focus of the course is a survey of several financial accounting topics.
ACCT-60200 Cost Accounting (Fall):
After defining the scope of management accounting, this course examines topics such as opportunity costs and their role in decision making, cost terminology and break even analysis, organizational architecture and principal-agent relationships, the role of monitoring and incentives, markets versus firms, responsibility accounting and return on investment, residual income and economic value added, the controllability principle and transfer pricing, operating budgets and incentive issues, joint cost allocations and decision making, and product costing.
This course covers microeconomic concepts relevant to managerial decision-making. Topics include demand and supply analysis, consumer demand theory, production and cost analysis, externalities, public goods, risk preferences and market structures. Applications are used for an understanding of the economic tools and their potential use for solving real-world problems.
FIN-60220 Macroeconomic Environment (Spring):
Students will be provided the foundation to understand the global economic environment in which managers make business decisions. This foundation includes the analytical, as well as the practical, understanding of the basic determinants of production, unemployment, inflation, the balance of international trade and exchange rates. The role of government policy in influencing both the short- and long-term trends in these macroeconomic variables is also discussed.
FIN-60400 Finance I (Fall):
Creating shareholder value should be the primary focus of the finance function within any organization. Identifying the key value drivers that create shareholder wealth is a critical step in defining and implementing corporate strategy. Additional topics such as financial planning, capital budgeting and capital structure are discussed within a value creation framework.
FIN-70600 Finance II (Spring):
We will cover a wide range of topics that are of interest to investment professionals as well as individual investors. These topics include theory, empirical results (e.g., how different investments and investment strategies have performed in the past), and institutional aspects of the investment industry. This is intended to be a first course in investments and therefore I focus on breadth as opposed to depth. If you are interested in learning more about a particular topic, however, I will be glad to assist you. This course provides a background in investments that may: (1) serve as part of a foundation for a career in the investment industry; (2) prepare you to take additional investment courses such as Options and Futures, Fixed Income, Security Analysis, and/or Applied Investment Management; (3) help you to prepare for the Chartered Financial Analyst program; (4) assist future corporate financial managers, consultants, and accountants in better understanding financial markets and in, therefore, making better market-based decisions; and (5) assist you in making personal investment decisions.
This course is designed to provide students with a systematic approach for making marketing decisions and to give students practice in the analysis, design, implementation, and control of marketing strategies. It is an operationally oriented course in which the application of marketing concepts, principles, strategies and methods is emphasized.
MBET-60340 Conceptual Foundations of Business Ethics (Fall):
Given the crucial nature of the manager's job, it follows that his or her decisions and actions can have a significant effect on the day-to-day existence of many people—not only colleagues and employees, but the countless others whose economic fortunes are indirectly affected by the manager's policies and programs. If the manager is technically competent and, at the same time, guided by a value system that reflects the nature and destiny of the person, his or her efforts will benefit and enhance the lives of others. Such a career is ideal for the most creative, intelligent and resourceful people in our society.
Introduction to statistical techniques for decision making, including inferential statistics, hypothesis tests, regression analysis, and statistical quality control. Students will be using computer software and data in statistical analysis, with an emphasis on formal modeling and the use of data for managerial decision making and problem solving.
MGT- 60200 Problem Solving (Fall):
Introduce students to opportunities to integrate the lessons learned from accounting, finance, marketing, operations, strategy, and organizational behavior in order to solve business problems.
Introduce frameworks to assist in framing threats/opportunities, problem diagnosis, solution development, and recommendation implementation
Practice using these integrative frameworks to facilitate problem-solving in at least 7 business cases from identification of problem, to recommendation, to implementation plan. Each of the cases chosen emphasizes different aspects of problem solving and integration including: microeconomics, game theory, finance, market estimation and competitor assessment, customer segmentation and economics, product pricing, positioning and branding, and operations
MGT-60300 Organizational Behavior (Fall):
It is difficult to picture an upper-level manager who has not mastered the skills of managing people. Executives must be efficient leaders, motivators and team managers. Furthermore, research suggests that these "soft" skills are critical determinants of promotions to the upper echelon of managerial positions. Organizational behavior is about developing these skills. Through lecture, case analysis and class discussion, we develop a deep appreciation for the things that distinguish effective from ineffective managers. Special attention will be paid to the topics of selection, motivation, leadership and managing teams. The overall objective of the course is to apply theories of human behavior to solve day-to-day problems of organizational administration, help students become more aware of their own managerial styles and ultimately become more effective managers.
MGT-60400 Leadership and Teams (Spring):
A core theme of this course is “What makes a great leader and how can I become one?” We will draw heavily from case studies of effective and ineffective leaders to answer this question. Topics addressed in this course include leadership theory and practice, effective use of power and influence, proactively managing change, decision making, and team effectiveness.
MGT-60700 Operations Management (Spring):
Business and government leaders are increasingly recognizing the importance of involving the whole organization in making strategic decisions in order to compete globally. Because an organization usually commits the bulk of its human and financial assets to operations, operations is an important function in meeting global competition. Successful firms have demonstrated that operations can be an effective competitive weapon and, in conjunction with well-conceived marketing and financial plans, these firms have made major penetrations into markets worldwide. This course is designed to address key operations and logistical issues in manufacturing as well as service organizations. Students will understand the role of operations managers in the overall business strategy of the firm and be able to identify and evaluate the key factors in the design of effective operating systems for the production of products or services. The course also covers a range of tools appropriate for the analysis of operating systems and offers an opportunity to discuss and compare various approaches to operations management in an international context.
MGT-60900 Strategic Decision Making (Spring):
The scope and role of strategic management encompasses a general management perspective that involves internal and external analysis, complex decision-making, and implementation of these decisions. The course has four goals: (1) to develop an awareness of the strategic decisions that organizations must make and the factors on which they depend; (2) to provide a conceptual framework for identifying, evaluating, and formulating strategies; (3) to integrate material learned in the basic functional courses; (4) to convey an understanding of the formal and informal processes involved in formulating and implementing strategies. A strategy consultation project, a key component of the course, provides an opportunity for students to work with local businesses and apply tools and skills developed in this course as well as other core courses.
