Introduction to Entrepreneurial Thinking This course focuses on introducing the concepts of entrepreneurial thinking, innovation and diversity in the entrepreneurial experience. Entrepreneurial diversity is addressed from two perspectives, the types of entrepreneurial ventures and the demographic distinctions of people engaged in this experience. Demographic characteristics of age, gender, ethnic background, and disability are considered in terms of the potential for entrepreneurial and innovative approaches to employment and creative ventures. Topics such as entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs, and incubation of entrepreneurial ventures will also be discussed. The course also serves as the foundation for the MBA program dealing with a variety of subjects including business and academic writing, effective team work, and exploration of personal entrepreneurial opportunities.

Organizational Behavior and Leadership The individual and employee-management relations are examined so the student can develop an understanding of interpersonal interactions and behavior within entrepreneurial businesses. Both theory and practical perspectives are used. Topics include: motivating and inspiring employees, leadership development, group and team dynamics, human resources systems, decision-making, conflict management, negotiation strategy, intercultural relations, communication in the workplace, innovation and entrepreneurial thinking, and managing change. Learning is reinforced through case studies and experiential exercises.

This course focuses on recognizing and capitalizing on new opportunities by exploring unique marketing strategies necessary for new business startups, growth businesses, or launching new products/services; strategies that are often constrained by limited resources. Topics covered include creating a marketing concept and competitive distinction, understanding the similarities and differences between consumer and business behaviors in order to develop market potential as identified in market research, developing a pricing policy, and delivering the final service and/or product to the customer. A strong emphasis is placed on branding as a strategy along with an eStrategy. A Marketing Plan and website will be developed as part of this course.

Business analytics addresses descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive analytics. Students learn about archival research methods, EXCEL pivot tables, descriptive and inferential statistics, Six Sigma processes, forecasting. There is a focus on writing succinct analyses of research using these methods through the use of case analyses that integrates the above concepts.

Legal Issues in Business In this course, students develop a fundamental understanding of the interactive relationship between business and the law. Students learn how the legal system functions in order to help business professionals become effective and responsible business managers. Topics include the law of contracts, legal issues related to for profit and nonprofit organizations, mergers and acquisitions, employment law, intellectual property, agent-principal relationships, and bankruptcy law. Students learn how various methods of dispute resolution, including litigation and arbitration impact business planning. Special attention is given to emerging issues in business law.

This course is intended to acquaint students with an overview of the development, implementation and management of compensation and employee benefits programs and how to account for such programs. The cost of employment in terms of benefits and salary are reviewed and the implications for linking both to the goals of the business are discussed in depth. Students will design and execute a compensation and employee benefits proposal as part of the work in this class.

An introduction to financial accounting and managerial accounting, covering the accounting cycle and resulting financial statements, and understanding of cost behaviors and tools for analyst.

The end goal of this course is to demystify finance and enhance financial acumen for business leaders by teaching practical concepts and tools that can be applied in any industry or any size business. This course focuses on the analysis of financial information for making sound business decisions. Students learn to conduct financial forecasting of the Income statement and cash flow via the use of time value of money concepts, analyze the financial health of the business using financial ratios, and conducting investment analysis using NPV and IRR methodologies to evaluate the return on invested capital. Moreover, learning to connect the key financial parameters like profitability, working capital performance, investments, cash-flow forecast, and expected rate of return to the overall impact on the value of the business. Identifying the levers that play a role in enhancing overall business performance.

This course focuses on managing innovation. Students will learn about design thinking, lean methods, agile, disruptive innovation, dominant designs, first mover strategies, platform strategies, intellectual property, interfirm relationships, and business and corporate strategies relevant to the process of innovation. Theory is balanced with case analysis to demonstrate key concepts.

Project Management Students focus on Project Management through critical examination of project planning, design, production, documentation, and presentation techniques. The course distinguishes among the three primary purposes of project management: (1) planning and scheduling project tasks, (2) critical diagnosis and prediction of success or failure in meeting schedules, and (3) estimation of requirements for the project. Topics include: problem identification and definition, project design and analysis, feasibility measures, project charting methods (PERT, GANTT, CPM), process documentation techniques, information modeling, project design specifications and error diagnosis, and task monitoring. Various software packages are used as tools to assist in all phases of project management, development, and presentation.

High Performance Management Strategies The focus on of this MBA elective course is to have students exposed to distinctive high performance entrepreneurial thinking relating to management. In truth everyone seeks high performance and excellence versus being good enough. The difficulty is we don‘t always have the tools or experience to get there. This course will utilize a number of critically acclaimed books on management to expose the students to best practices and processes. The singular goal of this course is to have students continue to develop and refine their management style for the advancement of their projects, companies and entrepreneurial endeavors.

Job Searching in the New Millennium Today no matter what your profession or your education you just might find yourself needing to search for a new job. Unfortunately no one is really prepared to search even with great skills and a strong background. So what do you do? This course provides students with a focused approach from analyzing how the student approaches job search, the feelings, and the concerns about what outcomes can be expected or hoped for. Students will progress through their job search by using the tenets of strong MBA study such as finance, marketing, management, economic trends and statistics. From networking to closing a deal, this course is an MBA search for the right position for the right person.

The course will focus on fundamentals of investment strategies and financial planning including stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Investment strategies learning will include understanding the differences between various types of mutual fund familities like stock mutual funds, bond mutual funds, growth versus income funds, international funds, hybrid and target funds, industry and index ETFs. Applying asset allocation model and applying fund betas and standard deviations to distribute portfolio risk.

This applied course enables students who have considerable work experience with the opportunity to plan, research, produce, and present an approved independent research project under the supervision of a graduate faculty advisor. The research project should focus on a clearly defined problem or issue, effectively relate this topic to the areas of graduate study completed to date and extend the student‘s knowledge, skills, and abilities in his/her area of specialization or in an area of new endeavor. As part of the course, the student will present and defend a report on the outcomes of the chose study. To obtain approval for the independent research project, the student must have completed the following at least one month in advance of the anticipated start of the project: (1) meet with the faculty advisor to discuss the project; (2) develop a proposal to include a list of specific learning outcomes; (3) prepare a summary that identifies what will be produced; the research process to be undertaken, and the timeline for completion; (4) obtain the faculty advisor‘s written approval of the project; and (5) submit all of the above paperwork to the Director of the program for approval. Upon final approval of the student‘s proposed independent research project, the MBA Director signs and forwards the appropriate course form to the faculty advisor who submits it to the Registrar. The student completes the regular registration process.

Entrepreneurial Business Project Development This applied course enables students who have limited experience with the construction of a business plan to work individually to investigate and develop a plan for presentation. This project will draw on the various competencies developed in previous classes and offer students an opportunity to take advantage of potential opportunities through the elements of a well-constructed business plan.

The end goal of this course is to develop the financial acumen and analytical skills for making corporate strategic investment decisions. The overall course will examine various theories and financial methodologies including the concept of present value, strategic capital budgeting decisions, the opportunity cost of capital, the weighted average cost of capital versus return on investments, bond valuations, risk and return, capital asset pricing model, dividend policies, and various enterprise valuation techniques.

Strategic analysis is the capstone course in the MBA program. Students will analyze a number of cases dealing with start-ups as well as corporate entrepreneurship using the skills developed over the course of the program. The focus is on demonstrating research skills, analytical thinking, and concise and clear communication of findings regarding the strategic choices students recommend in their cases.