Master of International Business/Master of Business Administration Degree Programs
The Master of International Business and Master of Business Administration programs offered are general management degrees taught from a global perspective, which provide content in other important supporting areas such as communications, finance, law and marketing. The degrees prepare students for a range of management careers. While the MIB and MBA are primarily directed at individuals who already have work experience in professional jobs or in entry-level to mid-level management positions, students without work experience are well-integrated into the program and gain vital insights through roleplay, case studies and simulations.
MBA Program - Course of Study
1) Foundation Courses: Managerial Skills Graduate Research and Writing (1.5 credit hours) Creativity Training (1.5 credit hours) Executive Communication Statistics and Quantitative Methods for Management Intercultural Communication and Management
2) Core Courses: Functional Areas of Management Financial and Managerial Accounting Management in the Information Age The Financial Environment I Marketing Management Human Resources Management Leadership and Organizational Behavior Strategic Management: Management Game
3) Elective Courses: Areas of Concentration Management Management of Organizational Change Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship Project Management The Financial Environment II Special Topics in Management (full or half courses)
Marketing Sales Management Marketing Communications Strategies Services Marketing E-Commerce Special Topics in Marketing (full or half courses)
International Business International Business Strategy Global Alliances International Law and Business Global Economics Special Topics in International Business (full or half courses)
4) Internship Program: Professional Residency
5) MBA Thesis (or two additional courses)
Course Descriptions
Foundation Courses: Managerial Skills
Graduate Research and Writing The course assists students in successfully completing the extensive research and writing assignments required in a Master’s program, including writing a thesis of high academic standards, with relevance to the student’s career goals. Topics include primary (empirical) and secondary research techniques, source documentation, bibliographic entries, selecting, interpreting and organizing information, formatting, and editing. It provides students experience in using databases, electronic journal collections and the Internet for research. The student also learns how to work effectively with her/his mentor and the Thesis Committee for a major master’s project which is a credit to the student, to the institution, and a contribution to scholarship.
Creativity Training The course focuses on stimulating creative, effective work in management. Students learn to foster effective, innovative work in the people they lead; and preserve their own creativity in the face of environmental constraints. Students will learn to recognize, analyze, and support the elements, value, and primary determinants of creative behavior in organizations. They will learn specific techniques for assessing and fostering productive creativity in themselves and those they lead. The course will use cases illustrating creativity issues in diverse managerial decision problems. In addition to cases, the course will employ research summaries, notes, videos, guests, individual and group exercises.
Executive Communication This course emphasizes the importance of presentation and communication skills for effective management and leadership. It is designed to prepare business leaders for the communication challenges of the workplace and enables students to develop and demonstrate effective, business-oriented, verbal communication skills. In an interactive environment, speaking abilities are assessed and enhanced. Students develop confidence in giving formal oral presentations and using audio-visuals and presentation technology. Students also learn how to deal with the media. Video-taped student presentations in a simulated business environment followed by instructor and peer feedback are an essential component of the course. Special emphasis is placed on the requirements of non-native English speaking students.
Statistics and Quantitative Methods for Management This course familiarizes students with quantitative methods used in managerial decision making. After a review of essential mathematical concepts, the course focuses on statistical methods. Topics covered include: least squares estimation, residuals and outliers, tests and confidence intervals, correlation and autocorrelation, co linearity, and randomization. Students will carry out a variety of data analysis projects. Statistical software (SPSS) will be used for most of the needed calculations. Emphasis is placed on the critical evaluation of the results of statistical analysis. A research project placing emphasis on practical application or empirical research forms part of the academic requirements for this course.
Intercultural Communication and Management This course familiarizes students with the various dimensions of the cultural environment of business and politics, and sharpens their interpersonal skills as intercultural managers and communicators. Areas of study are the anthropological framework of culture, the psychological factors underlying the intercultural encounter, international negotiations as well as the culture shock and reentry shock experienced by expatriate managers and their families. An emphasis is placed on practical applications of intercultural communication theories in a business context. In order to facilitate intercultural learning, a variety of intercultural simulations and case studies are used. Both an individual and a group project form part of the academic requirements for this course.
Core Courses: Functional Areas of Management
Financial and Managerial Accounting This course familiarizes students with key concepts of both financial and managerial accounting. In the first part of the course students will learn the basic structure of the accounting system, followed by an intensive study of the body of generally accepted accounting principles concerned with the recognition and matching of revenues and expenses to determine financial accounting net income and the related issues of asset measurement and valuation in external reporting. Specific areas of coverage include an analysis of the balance sheet and income statement, together with the theory of valuation and presentation of the accounts used in these statements. The second part of the course emphasizes the use of accounting information for internal planning and control purposes. This orientation contrasts with financial accounting where the focus is on accounting disclosures for external parties.
Management in the Information Age The student learns the latest trends and developments in technology for communication and networking and how to capitalize on these advanced technologies to effectively design, implement and manage global networks. Topics include Computer Networks, Digital Telecommunications, Advanced Local Area Computer Networks, Internetworking, Multimedia Technologies and Wireless/Mobile Communications. Moreover, this course helps facilitate the student’s understanding of emerging Information Technologies and their implications for all types of organizational participants. Topics include Foundations of PC hardware and software; Communication and networking; Decision Support Systems (DSS) and System Design.
The Financial Environment I This course introduces the key concepts in the field of finance and the environment in which they are applied. Students learn how to gauge the financial health of companies and to measure and understand financial return in relation to risk. The course also surveys the uses and characteristics of different financial instruments and the function and operation of global financial markets.
Marketing Management This course introduces the fundamental concepts and processes essential for marketing goods and services in today’s competitive environment. These include researching, segmenting and targeting markets and developing a marketing mix: the combination of product, pricing, distribution and promotion strategies needed to sell a product efficiently and successfully. Issues and variables covered include consumer behavior, the marketing environment, marketing research, product planning, personal selling and international marketing. The development of a marketing plan for an existing business or a new business venture is required.
Human Resources Management In this course the student analyzes the role of knowledge, the notion of knowledge society and its consequences for business. It develops a clear appreciation for the human capital as a main resource of success in managing an organization. The student also learns about the human resources processes, systems and programs which are most critical to the future of the corporation. Topics include: human resources planning; recruitment and selection; development and training; management of groups and work teams; compensation; knowledge society, and corporate culture. A special emphasis is placed on the international dimensions of human resources management.
Leadership and Organizational Behavior This course introduces students to issues related to the management of organizations and the role of the manager-leader. In the course, theories and perspectives related to five major topics will be examined and discuss: (1) the environments that managers must consider as they perform their jobs; (2) the key roles of managers in organizations; (3) the factors that comprise an organization’s architecture and its various forms; (4) managing people within organizations; and (5) the role of the leader for organizational success. Students are encouraged to understand as well as experience leadership and organizational behavior issues through the use of experiential exercises, self assessment tests and role plays.
Strategic Management: Management Game The course is based on an overview of a basic understanding of strategic concepts. Since the student is exposed to major trends, variables, and factors that have an impact on global competitive advantage, the course analyzes global industries and their integration in world markets using a planning framework focused on global presence, global positioning and global configuration of resources. Moreover, the course assesses industry globalization drivers and global strategy levers. Finally, the course provides knowledge on the critical organizational linkages for implementing a worldwide business strategy. A key feature of the course is the use of an extensive computer simulation such as Markstrat or Global View, in which students, working in teams, gain first-hand experience in putting strategies to work.
Elective Courses - Areas of Concentration: Descriptions of these courses are listed in the full program brochure.
Master of International Business Degree For the Master of International Business (MIB) degree, the student completes: the Foundation Modules; the Core Courses, and two (2) Electives for a total of 39 credit hours. Both programs require a professional residency of 100 hours.
Master of Business Administration Degree For the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, the student completes: the Foundation Modules; the Core Courses, two (2) Electives and a AMDASS Thesis (or two additional courses) for a total of 45 credit hours.
