Course Descriptions

Core Courses

6N:211 Marketing Management - 3 s.h.
Concepts, principles and models of marketing. The relationship between marketing and other functional areas of business. Emphasis on how the marketing manager can achieve desired outcomes with the target market. Includes analyzing marketing opportunities; researching and selecting target markets; developing marketing strategies; planning marketing programs; and organizing, implementing and controlling the marketing effort.

6N:212 Management in Organizations - 3 s.h.
Examines ways to explain, predict & influence behavior in organizations. Emphasizes use of decision-making, leadership, communication & group skills in management positions. Topics include motivation, leadership, teams, organizational culture, organizational design, individual differences, and organizational change.

6N:213 Managerial Economics - 3 s.h.
Introduces basic economic concepts. Value creation and how alternative economic institutions accomplish this. Drivers of demand, the concept of economic cost and its relation to accounting data, and pricing decisions, macroeconomics and the international environment of the firm.

6N:215 Corporate Financial Reporting - 3 s.h.
This course provides a framework for understanding contemporary financial reporting practices in the U.S. Emphasis is placed on how alternative accounting treatments affect the usefulness of financial information in applied decision settings.

6N:216 Data and Decisions - 3 s.h.
Introduction to techniques of quantitative modeling, and statistical analysis for management decision-making. A unifying element of the course is the use of Excel to perform various kinds of analysis in a spreadsheet environment. Major topics include decision analysis, statistical inference, regression, and linear programming. The course also develops required background material in probability.

06N:223 Global Business Strategy - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:212 Management in Organizations
This course focuses on strategic frameworks and skills that are critical to successfully compete in the global marketplace. Topics include the content of an economic environment, and the cultural, ethical and legal issues that arise when conducting business internationally.  Students will learn how companies enter foreign markets and grow international subsidiaries, succeed in mergers and acquisitions, and cooperate in joint ventures and strategic alliances.

6N:225 Managerial Finance - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:215 Corporate Financial Reporting
Topics include time value of money and applications of present value techniques; stock and bond valuation; capital budgeting; cost of capital calculation; portfolio formation and efficient market analysis; financial statement analysis; pro-forma analysis; hedging financial risks.

6N:229 Operations Management - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:216 Data and Decisions.
Planning and decision-making activities associated with the management of an organization's operations. Operations management, planning and decision-making activities, insights into the basic trade-offs associated with operations management decisions, tools and techniques for helping operations managers implement their decisions and reach their goals. Topics include: production & service delivery strategy, capacity planning, product and process design, total quality management, demand management, production & service planning, scheduling, materials control, emerging production and service technologies.

6N:240 Strategic Management and Business Policy - 3 s.h.
Prerequisites: 6N:211 Marketing Management, 6N:215 Corporate Financial Reporting, 6N:216 Data and Decisions, 6N:225 Managerial Finance, 6N:229 Operations Management
MBA program capstone course. Competitive strategy of the firm from a manager's perspective; presentation of key strategic frameworks; integration of concepts learned throughout the program as well as from previous work experience.

Elective Courses

Students may select from an array of elective courses that develop depth in a broad choice of business disciplines. Students may choose to take elective courses in one business discipline or in several different areas of interest. Examples of recent elective course offerings are:

Accounting
Economics
Entrepreneurship
Finance
Management and Organizations
Management Sciences
Marketing

Accounting

6A:235 Managerial Accounting - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:215 Corporate Financial Reporting
Introduction to cost accumulation, reporting, cost management systems; managerial and divisional performance evaluation; appropriate use of cost data for short- and long-run decisions; product costing in manufacturing and service industries.

6A:245 Financial Information and Capital Markets - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:215 Corporate Financial Reporting and 6N:225 Managerial Finance
Use of corporate financial statements for investment and lending decisions; emphasis on financial analysis techniques, valuation, business analysis, cash flow projections, credit scoring, related research evidence.

6A:246 Corporate Governance - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:215 Corporate Financial Reporting, 6N:225 Managerial Finance, and 6N:216 Data and Decisions
Corporate Governance addresses how firms organize to ensure that investors get a return on their investment and firms can access needed capital at reasonable rates. Enron and WorldCom in the U.S. and Ahold and Parmalat in Europe have focused attention on the importance of corporate governance. From an International and U.S. perspective, the course addresses how to evaluate, value and manage corporate governance from the vantage point of the investor, firm (board of directors, management) and regulator. These are necessary skills for managing and valuing companies.

Economics

6E:228 International Economic Environment of the Firm - 3 s.h.
Note: 6N:213 recommended but not required.
Basic determinants of aggregate output, employment, wages, unemployment, consumption, investment, international trade flows, interest rates, exchange rates, prices & inflation in open economies; sources & nature of economic growth; effects of domestic & foreign monetary & fiscal policies; effects of trade & exchange rate policies.

6E:234 EXA International Business: Globalization, the US and Europe (prior to spring, 2006) - 3 s.h.
This course provides a close look at the challenges and potentials of globalization and how it affects business in America. Topics include the European Union and the Euro, trend toward financial integration in Europe, World Trade Organization and trade wars, and recent developments in Europe.

Entrepreneurship

6T:210 Developing Professional Service Businesses - 3 s.h.
Professional service businesses have as their primary product intellectual capacity. Consultants, architects, physicians, dentists, consulting engineers, and financial planners, to name a few, all provide services that are based in their specialized intelligence coupled with problem solving skills. This course will help students begin, grow and prosper as the owner or manager of a professional service business.

6T:220 New Business Formation - 3 s.h.
The entrepreneurial process from conception to birth of a new venture; attributes of successful entrepreneurs, innovation and creativity, opportunity recognition, venture screening, identification of resources, feasibility analysis.

6T:250 Managing the Growth Business - 3 s.h.
This course addresses management issues facing entrepreneurs in today’s rapidly growing businesses. Topics will include adapting organizational structure as business expands, managing strategic growth, growing through acquisition, evaluating financial and operational processes and performance, managing the firm’s assets, and “taking the company public.” This course is sponsored by the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center.

Finance

6F:205 Contemporary Topics in Finance: Case Studies in Finance - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:225 Managerial Finance
This course teaches a few key concepts in Corporate Finance, Investments, and International Finance. The distinguishing feature of this course is that it is built around case studies. Case analysis usually requires understanding of multiple areas, and it draws upon the collective work experience and judgment of a group of students. The course is meant for students who are interested in general/application finance as practiced in corporations and in everyday investment situations. The key requirements include: Understanding of concepts taught in the core finance course (6N:225), knowledge of basic algebra and Excel, writing and presentation skills, ability to form and work in groups, and the willingness to tackle problems that are not precisely defined and for which only broad guidelines exist. Creative thinking is a strong plus.

The main topics covered are as follows: The cost of capital and the discounted cash flow techniques, which are applied to the valuation of firms, the risk-return tradeoff, diversification and asset allocation, fund management, currency trading, and currency risk management.

6F:205 Contemporary Topics in Finance: Wealth Management - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:225 Managerial Finance
The field of wealth management has been growing rapidly for several decades, driven by the general increase in personal wealth and the increased responsibility for individuals to manage their own wealth.  The purpose of this class is to provide students with the understanding of this field they will need if they choose to enter this area of the financial services industry.

6F:208 Structured Finance - Securitization - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:225 Managerial Finance
Provides an understanding and motivation for asset securitization in the context of securitized assets such as mortgages, asset backed securities (credit cards, auto loans, trade receivables, etc.), collateralized debt obligations, collateralized bond obligations and international future cash flows. Explores institutional structures, credit risk, valuation, cost of capital, corporate finance, accounting, legal, tax and regulatory issues associated with securitization. Students learn how to design, value and implement structured-financed products that create value from the different stakeholder perspectives.

6F:211 Risk Management in Business - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:225 Managerial Finance
Nonspeculative risks in business and selected management devices for dealing with them; managing risk in the new economy; assumption, avoidance, transfer, and reduction of risk; risk management decisions; control of risk and reduction of losses; case studies in risk management.

6F:212 Investment Management - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:225 Managerial Finance
Investing in marketable securities in domestic and global markets; market efficiency, risk-return relationships, asset pricing models, security valuation, options and futures valuation, portfolio strategies and management.

6F:213 Futures and Options - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:225 Managerial Finance
Use of options, futures, and other derivative securities in financial management; types of derivative securities, markets, trading technology; applications of risk management and speculation; pricing relations with underlying securities.

6F:214 Real Estate Finance and Investments - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:225 Managerial Finance
Structuring real estate finance and investment; mortgage markets and pricing, mortgage-backed securities, development process, real estate valuation, tax effects, securitized real estate, real estate cycles, application of derivative instruments, strategic asset allocation.

6F:215 Corporate Finance - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:225 Managerial Finance
Structured problems and cases in corporate financial policy decisions; financial decision models, current and fixed asset administration, cost of capital, capital budgeting, dividends, cash flow projections, cash management, mergers and acquisitions.

6F:216 Fixed Income Securities - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:225 Managerial Finance
Theories of fixed income securities, term structure of interest rates; asset pricing models, valuation of fixed income securities, valuation of contingent claims, fixed income portfolio management.

6F:220 Management of Financial Institutions - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:225 Managerial Finance
Operations and management; regulation, bank structure, technological changes, liquidity planning, innovation and financial products, asset/liability management, capital adequacy, management structure, global banking risk-hedging strategies.

6F:223 International Finance - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:225 Managerial Finance
Impact of international financial markets on business and financial decisions in foreign environments; global finance, foreign exchange, Eurocurrency markets, currency derivatives, risk hedging, international bond and equity markets, privatization, joint ventures.

6F:224 Securities Analysis - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:225 Managerial Finance
Valuation of financial securities (primarily equities) using discounted cash flow model; industry, regulatory analysis; financial statement analysis; active portfolio management; value-based management techniques; valuation of firms outside the United States.

Management and Organizations

6J:205 Contemporary Topics – Effective Managerial Communication - 3 s.h.
This course will be a comprehensive examination of communication with emphasis on developing "take home" skills to improve your performance. It will address effective uses of group meetings, grapevines, formal and informal conversations. Attention will be given to challenges that people face when they are promoted from within the company to a management position.

6J:205 Topics - Designing Successful Organizations (Fall 2007) - 3 s.h.
Changing competitive markets and competing organizational goals require different organizational structures to succeed. This course provides students with industry-proven concepts and practical, user-friendly tools to align work streams to support both strategic and functional goals. As part of the course requirements, students may apply these tools to solve problems in their current occupation.

6J:205 Contemporary Topics: Ethics and the Law (Spring 2007) - 3 s.h.
This course will have two overlapping foci: ethics and law. We will consider various ethical issues that arise in business and in the lives of individuals who participate in business activities. The law readings will offer not only some substantive legal rules but will encourage students to think about the rationale behind certain laws and the often competing priorities that are reflected by the choice of a specific legal outcome. A primary goal for the course is to encourage you to broadly consider the various interests which are at stake in most ethical and legal dilemmas. Specific legal issues will include contract, tort, remedies, sexual harassment, and codes of conduct.

6J:227 Human Resource Management - 3 s.h.
Develops a systematic approach to managing human resources by emphasizing practices that are consistent with validated theories & empirical research. Attention is also paid to alignment of HR practices with various types of business strategies. Specific topics include: HR strategy, recruitment & selection, training & development, employment law, international HR, career management, & compensation.

6J:232 Legal Environment of Business - 3 s.h.
Legal issues surrounding start-up and day-to-day management of a business; contract law, standard business formations, tort law, employment law, business ethics, alternative dispute resolution.

6J:235 Maximizing Team Performance - 3 s.h.
This seminar integrates the latest approaches to the art and science of implementing effective teams within your organization. The emphasis of the course is on practical application, using case studies, interactive and experiential exercises, self-assessment, and real-world problems to develop the skills necessary to lead high-performing teams. Optimizing the performance of the manager, as both a team player and team leader will be a key part of the discussion. This course will offer such topics as: Team Selection and Formation, Group Dynamics, Facilitation Skills, and Performance & Obstacle Management.

6J:242 Managing and Preventing Conflict - 3 s.h.
Provides students with the skills needed to manage high-conflict situations in the workplace, critical for long-term business success and job satisfaction. Using lectures, videos and case studies, students will develop mediation-based skills and communication techniques to prevent and resolve workplace conflicts.

6J:244 Managing Organizational Performance - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:212 Management in Organizations or previous coursework in organizational behavior.
Concepts and practices to effectively manage, measure, and improve organizational performance. Sample topics include establishing and communicating organizational expectations, the manager as coach and motivator, measurement methodologies, and performance improvement methods.

6J:245 Strategic Employee Development - 3 s.h.
Concepts, practices in training and development; strategic issues affecting the design, implementation, and evaluation of training programs and of career management and organizational development activities.

6J:246 International Management - 3 s.h.
Management issues encountered in international business settings; assessing international politico-economic and socio-cultural environments; managing a multicultural workforce; forming international structures and alliances; developing international business strategy.

6J:256 Dynamics of Negotiations - 3 s.h.
Predictable aspects and dynamics of bargaining experiences; simulations, experiential exercises to foster skills needed for effective negotiation in almost any situation.

6J:257 Legal Issues in Human Resource Management - 3 s.h.
Prerequisites: 6N:212 Management in Organizations
Laws, regulations governing human resource management policies, practices; employee discipline, termination, layoffs, privacy, involvement programs; occupational safety and health; workers' compensation; discrimination.

6J:261 Motivating Employees in Changing Environment (Effective Fall 2007)- 3 s.h.
Today’s employees are increasingly likely to work for many more companies now than in the past (or to start one of their own), to do more different types of work, to become independent contractors, to work remotely rather than face-to-face, and to communicate with co-workers or customers all over the world, 24-7. These changes have serious implications both for how companies motivate and retain talent. This course will examine these trends from the dual perspective of managers seeking to motivate and develop employees, and professionals or would-be entrepreneurs seeking to maintain and build their marketability.

6J:262 Leadership and Personal Development - 3 s.h.
Major theories; determinants of leader effectiveness, personal and career success; practical development of leadership, managerial skills to enhance individual, organizational effectiveness.

6J:263 Strategic Management of Change - 3 s.h.
(previously titled Organizational Design and Transformation)
How congruence in organizational strategy, structure and culture, job design, and employee characteristics produces effective organizations; emphasis on managing organizational change, implementing and working in teams, project management.

Management Sciences

6K:220 Introduction to Information Systems - 3 s.h.
Effective ways for business firms to harness the power of information technology for strategic purposes conventional and emerging architectures of information systems; integrated perspective on structural relationships among IT components; emphasis on case studies.

6K:221 Managing Information Technology - 3 s.h.
Effective management of information systems; focus on managerial issues rather than underlying technologies.

6K:223 Management of E-Commerce Systems - 3 s.h.
This course is designed to familiarize individuals with current and emerging electronic commerce technologies using the Internet. Topics include Internet technology for business advantage, managing electronic commerce funds transfer, reinventing the future of business through electronic commerce, business opportunities in electronic commerce, electronic commerce web site design, business plans for technology ventures, and social, political and ethical issues associated with electronic commerce. The purpose of this course is to educate a new generation of managers, planners, analysts, and programmers of the realities and potential for electronic commerce. Text and cases will be integrated to help managers better direct the e-commerce process by integrating business models, marketing, and Internet technology. Technologies that underlie an e-commerce venture will be discussed. This includes using databases, providing web access to databases, and designing web pages that effectively reach your customers. An on-line store front will be built for your business. This course is delivered almost completely via the web.

6K:227 Introduction to Modeling with VBA - 3 s.h.
In this course students learn to use Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) in Microsoft Excel. We explore basic programming concepts in VBA, macros, and models for decision making in Finance, Marketing, Operations, and Accounting. No prior programming experience is required.

6K:230 Database Systems - 3 s.h.
Theories and methodologies for semantic, logical, and physical database design; entity/relationship diagrams and their mapping to database schemas; normalization; languages for relational database systems, including relational algebra, Structured Query Language, query by example; query optimization and index selection; database and view creation, query and update processing; form and report design; practice with commercial DBMS products; integrity, security, concurrency control, transaction recovery.

6K:234 Information and Knowledge Management - 3 s.h.
Methods to determine where the ability to capture and reuse organizational knowledge will prove most profitable to companies; how to design processes and technologies to use this information.

6K:237 E-Commerce Tools I - 3 s.h.
Technical tools necessary for e-commerce; active server pages, VBScript, and Javascript; construction of a prototype e-commerce site.

6K:285 Project Management - 3 s.h.
Prepares students to effectively manage projects and project portfolios. Includes coverage of project selection, project planning and budgeting, scheduling, resource allocation, and project control. Includes integration of project planning tools including project management software.

6K:292 Supply Chain Management - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:229 Operations Management
Design, operation, and management of a logistics system; design of production/service and warehousing systems, including distribution channel selection, inventory, transportation, customer partnering.

6K:293 Seminar in Lean Practices - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:229 Operations Management
Taught in conjunction with LAI Lean Academy (TM), this interactive course covers lean principles across the enterprise with real-world applications in both manufacturing and service sectors.

Marketing

6M:205 Web Business Strategy - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:211 Marketing Management
The focus of this course will be on learning and then applying principles from digital and service marketing. Students will be exposed to recent developments in both areas, with an emphasis on strategic application (not technical). The course will be a combination of face-to-face interaction and additional on-line case study and class work.

6M:225 Direct Marketing Strategies - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:211 Marketing Management or previous marketing coursework or significant work experience in marketing
Principles and processes of direct and database marketing; insight into requirements for building a customer-based marketing strategy.

6M:229 Customer Relationship Management - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 06N:211 Marketing Management
Analytical approaches to customer relationship management; identifying good prospects and customer acquisition. Issues, techniques and terminology associated with database marketing and data mining. Analysis of customer databases; assessing lifetime valuation (LTV) of customers, identifying 'high potential' customers, estimating return on marketing investment, and building predictive models to estimate the probability of response to a marketing campaign.

6M:230 Marketing Research Methods - 3 s.h.
Prerequisites: 6N:211 Marketing Management and 6N:216 Data and Decisions
Managerial applications of marketing research techniques, including methods of design, analysis, interpretation of marketing research studies; assessing value of information, sampling, sources of bias, instrument construction, interpretation of scanner data, geodemographic data, applications of integrated research systems.

6M:231 Business to Business Marketing - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:211 Marketing Management
Industrial buyer behavior, buyer-seller relationships, interactive product policy and market segmentation, distribution and selling systems; skill development in formulating marketing strategies for industrial products and services, industrial marketing problem solving and decision making.

6M:232 Buyer Behavior - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:211 Marketing Management
Behavior of consumers and industrial buyers; research methods and findings from behavioral sciences applied to production, consumption, and marketing of products, services; application of consumer behavior concepts to managerial decision making.

6M:233 Service Marketing - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:211 Marketing Management
Production, consumption, and marketing of services; solutions to problems faced by service managers; development of an organizational marketing system for delivery of quality service.

6M:234 Product Management - 3 s.h.
Prerequisites: 6N:211 Marketing Management or previous coursework or significant work experience in marketing
Techniques of new product development; idea generation, concept screening, product design, market testing, forecasting, brand management strategies within the firm.

6M:235 International Marketing - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:211 Marketing Management or previous marketing coursework or significant work experience in marketing
Domestic versus international perspective; identification and evaluation of opportunities and risks in non-U.S. markets; research problems in global markets; effects of international organizations, foreign exchange, macroeconomic policies, local law, and cultural differences on consumer behavior and marketing decisions; multinational versus global marketing strategies (entry, product adaptation, channel logistics, pricing, promotion); emphasis on practical applications.

6M:236 Advertising and Promotion Strategy - 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 6N:211 Marketing Management or previous marketing coursework or significant work experience in marketing
Marketing communications as dialogue between producers and consumers, how promotional mix evolves; emphasis on advertising, sales promotion, branding.