Saint Joseph's MBA Curriculum
Characteristics of Saint Joseph's MBA program include:
- A focus on four major themes: Ethics, Technology, Globalism, and the Customer
- A cutting-edge, current, and relevant approach
- Leadership Development
- A focus on developing excellent oral and written communication skills
Curriculum Summary
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Foundation Courses: The foundation curriculum consists of 21 Credits (7 courses), 18 of which can be waived. These courses are: Note: Those students who do not have a proficiency in Mathematics will be required to successfully complete the following 1-credit workshop:
A student's ability to be waived from these courses depends on a number of factors:
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When the student took the equivalent undergraduate course(s). Several disciplines (e.g., Accounting) have "time limits" after which the course-of-study is said to be outdated.
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The grade earned in the equivalent undergraduate course(s).
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The number of credit hours received in the equivalent undergraduate course(s). Several disciplines require six (6) undergraduate credits in order to be considered for possible waiver. For example, to be waived from Accounting Concepts, students must have taken both Financial and Managerial Accounting. In addition, to be waived from Managerial Economics, students must have taken both Micro- and Macro-Economics.
Core Courses: The core curriculum consists of 21 Credits (7 courses) spread across four (4) distinct themes: Ethics, Technology, Globalism, and Customers. These courses are:
Elective Courses: Students choose one of the following 11 concentrations, and take 6 Credits (2 courses) in the selected discipline.
Lastly, all students are required to complete a cross-functional capstone course titled Global Business Strategy (3 Credits)
Course Descriptions
MBA 3815 Math For MBA Studies
Various mathematical concepts are explored in reference to making business decisions. Topics include methods to solve systems of linear equations, matrix operations and derivatives. A review of basic algebraic concepts such as quadratic formula, scientific notation, and graphing techniques is also covered. (1 Credit)
Foundation Courses
MBA 3115 Accounting Concepts
This course is designed to introduce you to the language of business. You would learn the conceptual foundation of financial accounting and financial reporting of business activities. This, in turn, would help you gain insight about accounting in terms of measuring, recording, reporting, and interpreting economic transactions. Topics include full and fair reporting model, accrual and cash based measurement of profitability, and financing, investing, and operating activities of businesses. This course emphasizes the importance of accounting for decision-making and provides insight as to why ethics are important for business and accounting. (3 Credits)
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MBA 3215 Managerial Economics
This course familiarizes students with the basic concepts, the language and the analytical tools of microeconomic and macroeconomic theory in order to enhance decision-making in business and finance. The course is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the component parts of our economic system: consumers, workers, production enterprises, governments, and the interactions of these entities in markets where the prices of outputs and inputs are determined. The second part covers aggregate economic activity and looks at the problems of inflation and unemployment. It analyzes the role of government in controlling the growth of the economy, the theory of money and banking, and the role of the Federal Reserve System. (3 Credits)
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MBA 3315 Financial Management
This course is an introduction to finance and lays the background for future courses. Topics include the financial environment including the federal reserve system, financial analysis, time value of money, working capital policy, cash management, risk and return, and valuation.
Prerequisites: MBA 3215, MBA 3815 (3 Credits)
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MBA 3515 Managing Work Organizations
This course focuses on both the behavioral and technological aspects of work organizations. The behavioral aspects of organizations are discussed at three different levels. On a societal level, the place of work organizations relative to other institutions in contemporary society will be considered using a stakeholder model of the firm. On an organizational level, the concepts of organizational structure, technology, job design and culture will be examined, emphasizing the importance of each to the goal of organizational effectiveness. On an individual level, the roles and responsibilities of the manager will be analyzed, helping students to recognize the critical managerial practices for achieving organizational effectiveness. The course emphasizes the role of technology in organizational effectiveness, focusing on database management and telecommunications. Hands-on computer work will be included. (3 Credits)
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MBA 3615 Marketing Concepts
This course covers basic marketing theory and practice. Topics include the social role of marketing within our economic society, the marketing process, the marketing environment, the role of marketing within the organization, the process of developing marketing strategies and programs, the concept of diffusion of innovation, new product development, marketing research, the concept of customer value, the process of targeting, segmentation, and positioning, and the marketing mix variables.
MBA 3715 Business Statistical Tools with Excel
This course covers descriptive statistics including tabular, graphical, and numerical methods. Probability distributions such as the binomial, Poisson, and normal are covered. Sampling, internal estimation, hypothesis testing, and linear regression are included. The emphasis is on practical application to business situations including computer applications. A knowledge of Excel is required. (3 Credits)
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MBA 4005 Applied Project Team Skills
This course will focus on the essential managerial skills of oral and written communications, building and working in teams, project management, and research. Using a project management framework, students will learn about the issues, problems, and solutions to carrying out a team project from start to finish. Proficiency in basic Windows Operations and Microsoft Office Suite is assumed.
Prerequisites: Completion (or waiver) of all other MBA foundation courses. Attendance at first class is mandatory. (3 Credits)
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Core Courses
MBA 4115 Creating and Measuring Shareholder Value
This course uses a case-based learning approach to assessing the value of the firm and demonstrating how shareholder value is enhanced. Coverage includes a description of the fundamentals of value creation and discussion of contemporary value metrics such as cost-profit analysis, economic value added, and activity-based measurement of management effectiveness. Using financial databases, students work in teams to apply the analytic tools of managerial decision making and prepare comprehensive reports that measure managerial performance in enhancing firm value.
Prerequisites: MBA 3115, MBA 3315. (3 Credits)
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MBA 4315 Shareholder Value Management
This course covers the concepts and practices of value-based financial management. Selected topics include financial analysis and forecasting, application of time value of money, valuation and stock market signals to management, introduction to risk and modern portfolio theory, capital budgeting, options, cost of capital, and capital structure. This course emphasizes value creation and the role of domestic and international financial management in facilitating this process.
Prerequisites : MBA 3115, MBA 3315, MBA 3715, MBA 4115, and MBA 4715 are highly recommended (3 Credits)
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MBA 4415 Contemporary Information Technologies
This course will examine fundamentals of information systems and explore selected issues in depth. In-depth topics may include systems analysis and database, e-commerce, software development, management of information systems, self-service systems, 1-IRIS, etc.
(3 Credits)
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MBA 4515 Stakeholder Theory and Social Responsibility
This course addresses corporate social responsibility through a stakeholder theory of business. The course will center on the question, "Which interests of which stockholders impose obligations of business?" The internal and external stakeholders addressed include investors, employees, customers, and the natural environment, among others. Some issues will be analyzed by exploring international differences in the treatment of stakeholders. The course exposes students to some of the ethical dilemmas confronted by employees in the workplace, and serves to enhance student skills in resolving these dilemmas. (3 Credits)
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MBA 4535 Empowering Human Potential at Work
This course focuses on an organizations most salient resource - its human capital. It investigates the foundation of and strategies for empowering organizational members to manage organizational transformation processes in a national and global environment. Empowering human potential requires an understanding of how to manage ones self, other individuals, and groups effectively creatively, legally, and ethically in work organizations. Done well, empowered workers can help to achieve both personal and organizational objectives. To accomplish this goal, the course investigates strategies for enhancing individual performance (e.g., perception & motivations) and facilitating interpersonal processes (e.g., leadership & power). We will also explore ways of managing human resources issues (e.g., recruitment, selection, employee development), especially from a legal perspective.
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MBA 4615 Creating and Measuring Customer Value
The basis of all business activity is the customer. Businesses try to create and maintain customers profitably. Doing this requires an understanding of customers, customer satisfaction, and the value that customers place on various aspects of the firms offer. It also requires an understanding of the value of different customers to the firm. This course explores these many aspects of customer value. The course will help students understand marketing's role in creating, communicating, and delivering value. The course will also show students how to control the costs of these offers so that value to customers can be maximized. Finally, the course will show students the tools of value analysis and how they can help the firm meet its objectives.
Prerequisite: MBA 3615 Marketing Concepts.(3 Credits)
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MBA 4715 Developing Decisions-Making Competencies
This course will focus on the modeling process of identifying, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting results, so as to transfer the data into decisions, will be examined. The statistical basis for decision-making will be reviewed. Descriptive statistics, confidence intervals, and hypothesis are covered with an emphasis on analyzing and interpreting results using Excel. Students will learn to utilize advanced managerial decision-making tools, such as optimization and stimulation, to analyze complex business problems, and arrive at a rational solution. For each of the analysis techniques, the methodology will be developed and applied in a real business context. Cases of increasing complexity will be used to emphasize problem description, definition, and formulation.
Prerequisites: MBA 3715, 3815 (3 credits)
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MBA 6005 Global Business Strategy
The capstone course is designed to provide the student with knowledge of the strategic management and organizational policy processes. This course provides the opportunity to apply this knowledge by practicing strategic decision-making and by formulating policy through the use of the case method with a focus on globalized firms. This course is usually taken in the last semester of study.
Prerequisites: Completion of all foundation core courses and eight or more 4000/5000 level advanced core and concentration area courses. (3 Credits)
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