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MBA Program

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MBA Core Courses

The Marist MBA Core courses will address topics that are vital to a general MBA program, and form the fundamental pillars that accomplished managers will draw upon when evaluating programs and processes, defining problem resolution, and managing operations across all industries.  

The course list and the descriptions found below will help define the skill sets students new to the business world will acquire, and highlight those skills that will be further developed for students coming to us with prior business experience. 

Detailed descriptions of each course are provided below.

  • MBA 660 The 21st Century Manager

  • MBA 663 Global Environment of Business

  • MBA 664 Economics

  • MBA 665 Analytics Bootcamp

  • MBA 667 Accounting

  • MBA 668 Marketing Management

  • MBA 669 Finance

  • MBA 670 Operations Management

  • MBA 801 Strategic Management

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MBA Core Course Descriptions

This course examines the theory and practice of management and leadership in emerging organizational settings which include virtual and distance environments. Traditional and modern theories of management, as well as practical application of these theories in the workplace, are explored. The course assists students to examine his/her leadership style and develop a plan to improve their skills in desired areas and environments. Additionally, the course introduces students to the technology necessary to deal with virtual teams and team members. 8 weeks, 3 credits

International business regulation (EU, WTO, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar; antitrust, fair competition law); types of cross-border for-profit entities; types of governments and their various relationships to business; effects of cultural differences on cross-cultural management structures and expectations; cross-cultural communication; cross-cultural conflict management; ethical problems arising out of cultural and legal differences, and out of environmental considerations 8 weeks, 3 credits

Economics provides an understanding of the context of all business decisions and operations, including micro and macro. Economics can be usefully applied at many levels, but this course focusses on economics for the MBA. Students will be introduced to key concepts in microeconomics, such as productivity, costs, returns to scale, and market structures. These concepts will be applied in more depth via contemporary industry examples. Macro concepts will include GDP, employment, inflation/ deflation, and equilibrium GDP with tools such as ISLM. The range of macro policy options available for economic stabilization and growth by countries will be discussed, including monetary and fiscal policy, with specific country applications in an international context. There will also be consideration of current debates regarding various policy approaches.

This course will introduce a range of data-driven disciplines and technologies to help enterprise users make better, faster business decisions. Students in this course will be exposed to spreadsheet modeling, data visualization, rudiments of data management and data analysis, and an introduction to data mining and predictive modeling, together with the statistics necessary to use the tools. The course will be hands-on, using state of the art software, with real-world examples from different functional areas and business domains. 8 weeks, 3 credits

Accounting is an information system that lays the foundation for enlightened decision making. MBA accounting aims to teach future business leaders rather than to educate accountants, therefore this course puts more emphasis on how accounting information impacts decision-makers and less emphasis on information production. This course will provide students with an accounting toolkit and analytical skills, including data analytics, that guide them in making the complicated decisions they will face as future business leaders. This course is organized into two modules. The first module focuses on the interpretation of financial accounting reports and the evaluation of a firm's performance. This helps to analyze the financial reports filed by companies and understand the relevance of the information provided in evaluating company performance. The focus of the second module is on information used for internal decision-making purposes. Topics include cost behavior and decision making, budgets and performance analysis, activity and differential analysis, balanced scorecard, and others. 8 weeks, 3 credits
Prerequisite: MBA 665*

Marketing is at the core of a successful market-oriented operating business. It is an organizational philosophy and a set of guiding principles for interfacing with customers, competitors, collaborators, and the environment. Marketing's core concept is exchange. The practice of marketing entails planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services. This course is of great value for majors in all functional areas of business. While marketing managers develop and implement marketing strategy, managers in other functional areas (finance, management, accounting, human resources, and operations) must understand how marketing strategies underpin overall operations. Students will develop a clear understanding of the basic concepts of marketing, understand and make strategic marketing decisions by learning to identify the competitive advantages that result from leveraged analytics; identify and use analytical tools and models to achieve profitable and socially responsible marketing decisions. 8 weeks, 3 credits
Prerequisite: MBA 664, MBA 665

The focus of this course is on valuation and value creation. It consists of two inter-related components: financial statements and asset valuation. It starts with a general discussion of the financial environment. It continues with the study of financial statements and a comprehensive ratio analysis of financial statements. Further, it discusses the determination of interest rates, the relationship between risk and return, and the discounted cash flow method of asset valuation, which is then applied to the valuation of financial assets (stocks and bonds) and the valuation of real assets (capital budgeting). It ends with a discussion of exchange rate determination and parity conditions in international finance. The course also discusses business ethics and applies big data analytics using the tools the students have been exposed to in the program. 8 weeks, 3 credits
Prerequisite: MBA 665, MBA 667

This course provides a broad but intensive overview of Operations Management, which is the planning and management of all kinds of firm resources used to produce goods and services. There is a particular focus on process and systems thinking, value-creating, and the link to strategy. Attention is paid to Operations Management in global businesses, and to environmental sustainability in Operations Management. In addition, there is exposure to process strategies, lean manufacturing, planning processes, supply chain management, and quality management. The data analytics tools will be put to use. 8 weeks, 3 credits
Prerequisite: MBA 664, MBA 665

In this course, the case method and current events are employed to engender an understanding of the theory, process, and contemporary conduct of strategic management. Students will master environment, industry, and competitor analytical models and their application in designing organizational forms and charting firm strategy. The benefits and pitfalls of modern analytic techniques in the formulation of strategy are considered. Personal competencies essential for success in the contemporary work environment, such as investigative, team dynamic, communication, and analytical skills are stressed. 8 weeks, 3 credits
Prerequisite: MBA 663, MBA 664, MBA 665, MBA 667, MBA 668, MBA 669, MBA 670