Concentrations & Electives

Students of our MBA program can obtain a concentration in any field of their choice.  To receive credit as a concentration, students must complete a minimum of 8 elective credits in one of the following areas:

1. Accounting
2. Information Systems (* SAP courses are available for this concentration)
3. Business Economics
4. Finance
5. General Business Management
6. Marketing
7. Management Consulting
8. International Business

Accounting Concentration (minimum eight (8) hours required):

ACC 501 - Advanced Accounting  (3 credit hours)
Intercorporate investments and consolidated statements, purchases and pooling of interests, segment reporting, interim reporting, partnerships, foreign operations, and fund accounting. Prerequisites: Completion of ACC 301 and 302 with average of 2.65 g.p.a. for both courses or permission of chairperson; 56 semester hours completed and admission to Professional Business Studies or listed on signed major or minor.

ACC 521 - Managerial Cost Control and Analysis (3 credit hours)
Principles and techniques of accounting data analysis and profit planning, measurement, evaluation, and control for management. Prerequisites: ACC 321, MGT 340, and 56 semester hours completed and admission to Professional Business Studies or listed on signed major or minor.

ACC 597E - Professional Consulting Techniques  (3 credit hours)
Students will learn the techniques of performing consulting interventions, and they will learn how to lead small groups and manage small group dynamics in a task environment. All students will practice the techniques in an actual consulting engagement with a mid-Michigan organization.

ACC 791 - Independent Studies (1-3 hours)
Directed reading or research on an approved topic. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor and department chairperson and 15 hours of graduate credit in MBA program. Not more than three credits for ACC 791 may count toward accounting concentration.

(Note: Additional ACC 500 level courses may also be considered for accounting concentration.)

I.S. Concentration (minimum eight (8) hours required):

BIS 628 - Business Transaction Processing Systems (3 credit hours)
Application of structured programming concepts using a procedural programming language and coverage of current issues in transaction processing. Students may only earn credit for one of the following courses, BIS 640 or BIS 628. Prerequisites: Admission to the MBA or MSIS program; or permission of the MBA or MSIS director.

BIS 630 - Systems Analysis and Design (3 credit hours)
Business systems modeling, planning, and developing systems prototypes: investigation and analysis of systems strategies and models. Prerequisites: Admission t o MBA Program or permission of the MBA Director and completion of the following or equivalent courses: BIS 221, ACC 201, ACC 202, MTH 116, or MTH 132 with a minimum grade point average of 2.5 with no course grade lower than a C.

BIS 632 - Business Network Systems Management (3 credit hours)
Examination of the management of telecommunication issues in business applications, especially those related to business network systems. Prerequisites: Admission to the MBA or MSIS program, and completion of the following or equivalent courses: BIS 221, ACC 210 and ACC 202, MTH 116 or MTH 132, and STA 282 with a minimum grade point average of 2.7 with no grade lower than a C.

BIS 633 - Decision Support Systems (3 credit hours)
Concepts and practices of decision support systems are investigated for assisting managers in decision making including current research issues. A decision support system is developed using a fourth-generation computer language. Prerequisites: Admission to MBA Program or permission of the MBA Director and completion of the following or equivalent courses: BIS 221, ACC 201, ACC 202, MTH 116 or MTH 132 with a minimum grade point average of 2.5 with no course grade lower than a C.

BIS 634 - Information Resources Management (3 credit hours)
Overview and understanding of the issues involved in the management of information assets in organizations. Emphasis is placed on designing for convergent technologies as well as on inherent societal issues. Prerequisites: Admission to MBA Program or permission of the MBA Director and completion of the following or equivalent courses: BIS 221, ACC 201, ACC 202, MTH 116, or MTH 132 with a minimum grade point average of 2.5 with no course grade lower than a C.

BIS 635 - Business Systems Applications (3 credit hours)
Learn about the major information systems of an organization and utilize the tools of systems analysis in a real-world situation. Prerequisites: Admission to MBA Program and completion of the following or equivalent courses: BIS 630, BIS 631.

BIS 638 - Database Management for Business Systems (3 credit hours)
A broad coverage of the use, development, and management of business database systems. Students will learn to develop and use relational databases as an information systems professional or end user. The management databases and their strategic implications will also be covered. Prerequisites: Admission to MBA or MSIS program, or permission of the MBA or MSIS director.

BIS 647S - *SAP Enterprise Software for Management (3 credit hours)
Examination of the application and management of business enterprise software using SAP. Issues include software deployment that supports transaction processing in the business supply chain. Prerequisites: Admission to the MBA program or MSIS program or permission of the MBA director or MSIS director and completion of the following or equivalent courses: BIS 221, ACC 201, ACC 202, MTH 116 or MTH 132 with a minimum grade-point average of 2.5 with no course grade lower than a C.

BIS 657 - *ABAP Programming for Managerial Systems (3 credit hours)
Application of the ABAP Programming language to implement business processing using the SAP R/3 system as an example of contemporary enterprise software.  Prerequisites:  BIS 628 or BIS 640, BIS 647 and admission to the MBA or MSIS program; or permission of the MBA or MSIS director.

BIS 658 - *SAP Configuration and Implementation for Global Systems (3 credit hours)
Configuration issues, concepts and application of enterprise software for global busines organization integration.  ASAP methodology is used with the IMG for application deployment.  Prerequisites:  BIS 628 or BIS 640; BIS 647, BIS 657; admission to the MBA or MSIS program, or permission of the MBA or MSIS director.

BIS 667 - Electronic Business Systems for E-Commerce (3 credit hours)
Business opportunities, challenges, and strategies to leverage the global information infrastructure will be discussed. Students will also learn tools and technologies needed for electronic business systems. Prerequisites:  Admission to the MBA or MSIS program, or permission of the MBA or MSIS director.

Business Economics Concentration (minimum eight (8) hours required):

ECO 515 - Collective Bargaining and Labor Law (3 credit hours)
Development of various phases of labor law, especially under statues such as the Wagner Act, Taft-Hartley Act, and Landrum-Griffin Act. Prerequisites: 201 and 202.

ECO 532 - Economic Forecasting (3 credit hours)
Nature and causes of economic fluctuations. Methods of predicting price levels and economic activity. Prerequisites: 201 and 202.

ECO 655 - Seminar in International Economics (3 credit hours)
Recent developments in trade theories and problems in trade policy; foreign exchange market; national income and balance of payments; and international financial policies.

(Note: Additional ECO 500/600 level courses may also be considered for economics concentration.)

Finance Concentration (minimum eight (8) hours required):

FIN 573 - International Financial Management (3 credit hours)
Role of financial manager in international corporations. Environmental problems of foreign exchange. Techniques for making investment decisions, financing, marketing operations, long-term capital structure and flow of funds. Prerequisite: FIN 332 or MBA 510.

FIN 671 - Financial Derivatives (3 credit hours)
Advanced treatment of futures, options, and swaps. Emphasis is on how to use derivatives to manage risk as well as more advanced derivative pricing models. Prerequisites: MBA 669, admission to MBA, or permission of MBA director.

FIN 674 - Short-Term Financial Management (3 credit hours)
Cash budgeting, working capital management; short and intermediate term financing. Prerequisite: MBA 669.

FIN 676 - Investment Strategy (3 credit hours)
Analysis of various theories and techniques available to achieve superior selection and management of securities. Prerequisite: MBA 669.

FIN 678 - Long-Term Financial Policies (3 credit hours)
Factors involved in formulation of long-term financial policies; corporate goals and objectives and the applications in capital budgeting decisions and financing. Prerequisite: MBA 669.

FIN 791 - Independent Studies (1-3 hours)
Directed reading or research on an approved topic. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor and department chairperson and 15 hours of graduate credit in MBA program.

General Business Management Concentration (minimum eight (8) hours required):

MGT 533 - Purchasing Strategies (3 credit hours)
Strategic analysis and planning of purchasing and supplier base development for both domestic and global competitive environments. Prerequisites: MGT 333 or equivalent and admission to Professional Business Studies or listed on signed major or minor or permission of the MBA Director.

MGT 542 - Inventory and Materials Management (3 credit hours)
Theories, policy, procedures, and methodology used in planning for and controlling the production of goods and services in business organizations. Prerequisites: MGT 340 or MBA 509 and STA 282 or an equivalent statistics course.

MGT 543 - Management and Control of Quality (3 credit hours)
Inspection techniques and statistical quality control as it applies in production processes. Prerequisites: MGT 340 or MBA 509 and STA 282 or STA 382.

MGT 545 - Operations Strategy (3 credit hours)
The treatment of strategic planning and competitive issues in operations management in a domestic and global environment. Prerequisite: MGT 340 or MBA 509.

MGT 633 - Human Resource Management (2 credit hours)
The theory and problems of human resource management as they relate to the various levels of management. Credit cannot be earned in both MGT 633 and MGT 643. Prerequisites: Admission to MBA or permission of MBA Director.

MGT 635 - Employee Compensation Practice and Process (2 credit hours)
Procedures and methods for exploring employee compensation programs. Credit cannot be earned in both MGT 635 and MGT 645. Prerequisites: MGT 633, statistics, or permission of instructor, and admission to MBA or permission of MBA Director.

MGT 636 - Seminar in Labor Relations (2 credit hours)
Theoretical and applied analysis of major issues in labor relations. Public sector, private sector and international issues are considered. Credit cannot be earned in both MGT 636 and MGT 646. Prerequisites: MGT 320 or equivalent, and admission to MBA or permission of MBA Director.

MGT 637 - Personnel Selection and Evaluation (2 credit hours)
Analysis of the functions of employee selections and performance management in organizational settings, with emphasis on quantitative and qualitative techniques, and in the context of workplace diversity. Credit cannot be earned in MGT 637 and MGT 647. Prerequisites: STA 282 or equivalent, and MGT 320 or MGT 633, and admission to MBA or permission of MBA Director.

MGT 657 - International Management (2 credit hours)
From a contemporary perspective, the course deals with managing subsidiaries and affiliates in different country-and-cultural-contexts. Credit cannot be earned in both MGT 657 and MGT 667. Prerequisites: Admission to the MBA Program or permission of the MBA Director.

MGT 791 - Independent Studies (1-3 hours)
Directed reading or research on an approved topic. Prerequisites: Consent of instructor and department chairperson and 15 hours of graduate
credit in MBA Program.

Marketing Concentration (minimum eight (8) hours required):

MKT 555 - Marketing and Sales Forecasting (3 credit hours)
Develops familiarity with methods most commonly used in market and sales forecasting. Prerequisites: one course in marketing and one course in statistics or MKT 350.

MKT 560 - International Marketing (3 credit hours)
Policies and practices employed in international business. Considers problems of international payments, trade, and investment with special emphasis on integrating managerial dimensions with related economic principles. Prerequisite: MKT 300 or MBA 507.

MKT 650 - Marketing Research: Managerial Applications (2 credit hours)
Review of what managers need to know about marketing research. Includes questionnaire design and evaluation, sampling and sample size issues, and basic methods of data analysis. Prerequisites: MKT 300 or MBA 507 and STA 282 or equivalent course.

MKT 791 - Independent Studies (1-3 hours)
Directed reading or research on an approved topic. Prerequisites: Consent of instructor and department chairperson and 15 hours of graduate
credit in MBA Program.

MKT 797A - Customer Loyalty (2 credit hours)
This course examines customer loyalty and how to influence this concept through market orientation strategies. With an emphasis on making data-driven decisions, the focus is on analyzing customer and market data with data mining analysis tools.

Management Consulting Concentration (2 credit hour courses):

MBA 691 - Organization Change Management (2 credit hours)
Study of organizational change processes that transform organizations and lead to greater effectiveness and productivity. Applications of templates of organization development strategies are emphasized. Prerequisites: Completion of 8 hours in the MBA program core including MBA 629. Admission to the MBA program or permission of the MBA director.

MBA 692 - Management Consulting: Practices (2 credit hours)
Overview of the consulting profession and managing a consulting practice. Qualitative research and analysis techniques, including effective interviewing skills, are also studied. Prerequisites: MBA 691. Admission to the MBA program or permission of the MBA director.

MBA 693 - Management Consulting: Diagnosis (2 credit hours)
Overview of the consulting profession and managing a consulting practice. Qualitative research and analysis techniques, including effective interviewing skills, are also studied. Prerequisites: MBA 692. Admission to the MBA program or permission of the MBA director.

MBA 694 - Management Consulting: Implementation (2 credit hours)
Introduction of the planned change strategy to the organization. Development of a framework for the evaluation of the effectiveness of the change mechanism. Prerequisites: MBA 693. Admission to the MBA program or permission of the MBA director.