M.B.A. Curriculum and Course Descriptions

The M.B.A. Program

The college awards the Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree in Business Management.

Students may enroll for this program in the online learning format.

NOTE: Enrollment in other than registered or otherwise approved programs may jeopardize a student’s eligibility for certain awards.

Vision Statement

The M.B.A. program at the King Graduate School has a dynamic, responsive, and flexible graduate level learning environment. Through a focus on integrative learning we seek to assist students in making coherent sense of business knowledge, see its value and utility, and prepare for progressive employment opportunities.

Our Learning Philosophy

The structure of the M.B.A. program in business management gives participants a holistic and broad picture of the business world. Our aim is to stimulate learning and acquisition of the competencies executives need to lead and manage in a complex and competitive environment.

Our program is dynamic and flexible, responding to the ever changing demands of new information and concepts while paying attention to the hands-on skills required in a variety of professional settings.

This flexibility and dynamism is enhanced and grounded by a reality-based reflective educational philosophy. Education at King is a combination of several interconnected methods that result in a unique approach to graduate business education. First, we are committed to the integration of learning around the exploration of problems, questions, and scenarios that reflect real world situations. Second, we emphasize appreciative inquiry into approaches and solutions that work in various contexts and that enable collaborative engagement. Third, we support a balance between analytical and interpersonal skills. The combination of these methods is at the heart of our dynamic approach to business education and learning and to successful professional practice.

Our approach places particular emphasis on the competencies that are critical to participant success:

• The development of personal leadership qualities;

• The ability to communicate effectively;

• The ability to engage in strategic, creative, and critical thinking;

• The ability to adapt to and manage change;

• The ability to apply theories, concepts and experience to real world situations.

Commitment to Real Learning

The faculty is responsible for facilitating learning and is committed to student achievement of the program’s competencies.

In that spirit, students are expected to learn proactively, commit to discovering, applying and disseminating knowledge, and to recognize life-long learning as the path to successful professional and personal accomplishment.

Integrative Learning Projects

The Integrative Learning Projects at the King Graduate School are an innovative approach to foster students’ ability to apply and integrate learning across courses and over the entire length of the M.B.A. program. These projects will allow students to build on their own interest and expertise by helping them apply theory and concepts to real world issues, investigate multiple points of view and understand issues and problems contextually.

Guidelines for Exemplary Practice in the M.B.A. Program

King Graduate School students, faculty, and administrators are committed to conducting themselves in a manner appropriate to an academic environment and thereby to promoting principles of respect, honesty, and integrity. Each student is asked to commit to the Guidelines for Exemplary Practice, and by signing them, agrees to honor and support these practices.

Copies of the Guidelines are available from the King Graduate School office.

M.B.A. Curriculum and Course Descriptions

The M.B.A. curriculum offers four choices: A general M.B.A. in Business Management or one of three concentrations. Concentrations allow you to add depth and focus to your program and customize your education to fit your career goals. The King Graduate School M.B.A. offers three areas of concentration: Finance, Healthcare Management and Information Technology Management. Concentrations allow you to focus your studies and develop skills in an area of business consistent with your career goals. The King Graduate School delivers an M.B.A. curriculum that is dynamic, interactive, flexible, and targeted to your ultimate career goals. Applicants seeking admission into the King M.B.A. program who have no previous business background and whose bachelor’s degree is not related to business are required to take the foundation courses in addition to other requirements of the program.

Students without relevant professional experience may be required to complete one or more internships.

M.B.A. Foundation Courses

• AC-591 Financial Accounting

• EC-591 Economics and Finance

• CT-591 Information Technology

• IT-591 Management and Marketing

• MA-591 Statistics

• HA-591 Healthcare

Options for Satisfying Foundation Course Requirements

An admitted M.B.A. student may satisfy these requirements through the following options:

• Satisfactory performance on proficiency exams;

• Provide evidence of knowledge (Life Experience Portfolio) acquired through professional work experience;

• Complete required M.B.A. Foundation Courses with a grade of B or better.

The M.B.A. curriculum consists of 8 core courses and 4 electives or concentration courses (this depends upon which of the four choices is chosen by each student.)

M.B.A. Core Courses

• MG-615 Managing in a Global Environment

• MG-620 Research and Statistics for Managerial Decision Making

• MG-630 Organizational Behavior and Leadership in the 21st Century

• MG-640 Managerial Economics or MG-641 Managerial Economics in Healthcare (for Healthcare Management concentration)

• MG-650 Managing Information Technology Across the Enterprise

• MG-660 Strategic Marketing

• MG-670 Managerial Finance

• MG-800 Strategic Management

M.B.A. Elective and Concentration Courses

• MG-616 Healthcare Policy

• MG-625 Strategies for Decision Analysis in Healthcare

• MG-651 Managing Web and Database Technologies

• MG-652 Information Systems – Concepts, Design and Analysis

• MG 680 Operational Excellence

• MG-681 Operational Excellence in Healthcare

• MG-682 Operational Excellence in Information Technology

• MG-735 Legal Environment of Business

• MG-740 Managing Organizational Change and Development

• MG-750 Project Management

• MG-760 International Finance

• MG-761 Mergers and Acquisitions

• MG-762 Financial Markets and Institutions

• MG-770 Financial Statement Analysis

• MG-775 Negotiation and Conflict Management

• MK-775 International Marketing

Program Description

Students are required to complete 12 courses. Concentrations are available in Finance, Healthcare Management, and Information Technology Management

Following is the suggested M.B.A. curriculum for full time students:

Course Descriptions

Foundation Courses

Foundation courses for the KGS M.B.A. Program provide the underlying business education necessary for the advanced curriculum in the M.B.A. program. Completion of these courses will greatly enhance the learning experiences and likelihood of success in the graduate business program, but cannot be used to satisfy the 12 course requirement of the M.B.A. program. A grade of B or better is required for successful completion of foundation courses. These courses are:

AC-591 Financial Accounting

3 credits

This course introduces students to the nature of financial accounting, the accounting cycle, and use of accounting information for decision making purposes. Students will be familiarized with the basics of cost accounting and income recognition, financial statements (cash flow, income statement, statement of owner’s equity, balance sheet), and other basic accounting terms and processes.

EC-591 Economic and Finance

3 credits

This course introduces microeconomics, examining how individual household choices are made and how market decisions are made. The students examine the behavior of business firms in competitive and non-competitive markets in short-term and long-term situations. The functioning of labor and capital markets is explored. The students analyze the role of the entrepreneur in combining land, labor, and capital to produce output.

In the second part of the seminar, macroeconomics, the students examine the behavior of the economy as a whole. Specifically, they examine the components of gross domestic product, unemployment, inflation, national income, the money supply, and economic growth.

MA-591 Statistics

3 credits

This course covers concepts in algebra, graphing, probability theory and statistics. The objective of this course is to strengthen skills in abstract thinking, critical analysis, and forecasting. Topics include descriptive statistics, basic statistical applications, probability outcomes of experiments and events, graphing exponential equations, correlation, regression and sample testing.

MG-591 Management and Marketing

3 credits

This course focuses on the nature of management. It examines the interpersonal and analytical skills managers and professionals need to meet their day-to-day responsibilities in a variety of large, medium and small work settings, as well as profit and not-for-profit organizations. Students will examine the manager’s role with emphasis on planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Theories on leadership, motivation, and communication are also covered.

This seminar also includes an introduction to the nature and role of Marketing in today’s modern economy.

HA-591 Healthcare

3 credits

The information contained in this course is required for students to embark on study that will prepare them to be successful managers of medical organizations, including hospitals, nursing homes, ambulatory care centers, hospice facilities, insurance companies and provider networks.

Students are introduced to the historical development, structure, operation, and current and future directions of the major components of the American health care delivery system and will undertake an in-depth analysis of the nature and operations of managed care in the United States as well as the purposes of various plans and how they operate. Additionally covered are provider, manager, and consumer perspectives. Finally, the integration of health care delivery systems and financial aspects will be analyzed.

IT-591 Information Technology

3 credits

The information in this course is required for students who will take advanced IT courses. Topics include: Database, Systems Analysis and Design and Management Information Systems. This foundation course will be required for students without appropriate undergraduate IT coursework.

MG-690 – MG-695 INTERNSHIP

1 credit

These internship courses are structured for students with limited or no prior business exposure. They are designed to provide the maximum development in the functional areas of business administration to compete in today’s exciting and complex professional marketplace. In addition, the courses will provide students with supervised work experience in a field they hope to enter. These courses are part of an academic support program that combines practical work experience with academic study. Students from a broad range of backgrounds participate in this program and work in a business, government agency, health organization, or similar location, giving them opportunities to apply their academic background and develop applied skills. Through their placements, students are able to expand their resumes, clarify career goals, and make contact with potential employers.

M.B.A. Courses

All M.B.A. students must complete all the required courses for their program.

Note: Courses are offered during each academic year based on student need and registration. Specific details may be obtained from the King Graduate School Office.

MG-615 Managing in a Global Environment

3 credits

Prerequisite MG-591

Global companies are faced with varied and dynamic environments in which they must accurately assess the political, legal, technological, competitive, and cultural factors that shape their strategies and operations. This course prepares students for careers in a dynamic global environment wherein they will be responsible for effective strategic, organizational, and interpersonal management. In addition to focusing in topics related with managing within international and cross-cultural contexts, this course explores how recent developments and trends within a hypercompetitive global arena present managers with challenging situations and guides the student as to what actions to take, and how to develop the skills necessary to design and implement global strategies, conduct effective cross-national interactions, and to manage daily operations in foreign subsidiaries.

MG-616 Healthcare Policy

3 credits

Prerequisite HA-591

This course provides an overview of health care policy in the United States and a close examination of selected current policy issues. The student will critically examine the process of health policy development, analysis and implementation and better understand what influences policy. The political roles of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government in health policy will be scrutinized, as well as political roles that selected health professionals assume in the community. In addition, because health policy is complex and issues of concern change over time, the course aims to provide students with an understanding of sources of analysis and information on health policy issues. The course will provide practical mechanisms to intervene on behalf of programs or institutions

MG-620 Research and Statistics for Managerial Decision Making

3 credits

Prerequisite MA-591

Applied Managerial Statistics stresses the practical use of statistics in collecting, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting data. Areas covered include descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, regression analysis, and time series analysis. Attention is devoted to the use of statistical thinking in improving the managerial decision making process.

MG-625 Strategies for Decision Analysis in Healthcare

3 credits

Prerequisite MA-591

Students will be introduced to the elements of cost-effectiveness analysis for health interventions and outcomes, alternative interventions, health states, health status, the quality-adjusted life year, and costs. Each student will identify a research problem, collect data, create a decision analysis tree, calculate quality-adjusted life years, and test for errors to demonstrate how cost-effectiveness analyses may transform the way healthcare is administered

MG-630 Organizational Behavior and Leadership in the 21st Century

3 credits

Prerequisite MG-591

This course is intended to provide a broad understanding of the theories, research and practices necessary to understand organizational behavior and leadership in the global environment of the 21st century. Emphasis will be placed on examining the multilevel issues of change, behavior and leadership through the lenses of political, cultural, and economic influence and strategic design. The course will provide a solid overview of the social science theories and scholarship that seek to explain variations and similarities in the behavior of individuals, groups, and organizations, comparative perspectives on motivation and leadership, workforce diversity, teamwork, communication, and ethics. Special attention will be given to geography, globalization, demographics, diversity, change/change management, and corporate responsibility.

MG-640 Managerial Economics

3 credits

Prerequisite EC-591 , MG-620

Students pursuing the general M.B.A. can substitute MG-641. Managerial economics is an applied branch of microeconomics. It examines resource allocations and tactical decisions that are made by analysts, managers, and consultants in the private, public, and not-for-profits sectors of the economy. In this course students are introduce to key economic concepts and tools addressing the decision-making process. Also, students examine the philosophy of optimization, the role of profit, and the relationship between managerial economics and other areas of business and economic analysis. Specific topics include the fundamental economic concepts of marginal analysis, net present value, risk, and decision analysis. The course also critically looks at areas of demand and forecasting, production and cost, pricing and output decisions; including strategy and tactics, long term investment decisions, and risk management in the private and the public not-for-profit sectors of the economy. Students will be required to apply economics tools to solve business problems using analysis from a wide array of industries.

MG-641 Managerial Economics in Healthcare

3 credits

Prerequisite EC-591, MG-620

The emphasis of this course is on the empirical analysis of basic economic principles, theories, and concepts to understand and help improve a variety of healthcare issues. Students are provided with the resources needed to apply an in-depth analysis of economic principles for healthcare insurance payment systems, government policies, physician services, acute care services, ambulatory care services, long term care services, and pharmaceutical industries in the U.S.

Specific topics include the fundamental economic concepts of managing risk, analysis of supply and demand, analysis of clinical interventions, market structure, and profits. Students will be required to apply economic tools to solve business problems using case analysis from a variety of healthcare entities.

MG-650 Managing Information Technology Across the Enterprise

3 Credits

Prerequisite MA-591, MG-591

Through computer-based simulations, this course provides students with cognitive economics conflict tasks as they apply managerial and accounting concepts to build models, solve problems, and analyze decisions. The course provides an in-depth appreciation of problem solving and decision making in a dynamic business world through computer-based simulations. Emphasis is placed on defining managerial problems quantitatively and modeling these problems using computer-based simulations. Topics include queuing theory, decision analysis, project planning, networking, and inventory analysis.

MG-651 Managing Web and Database Technologies

3 credits

Prerequisite IT-591

This course provides an overview of Web and Database Technologies. Key issues that typically arise in the context of large-scale enterprise database management including distributed and non relational database systems, network-centric database management, web-based information systems, design techniques necessary for organizing and managing large web sites, and an in-depth critical analysis of today’s web-database technologies.

MG-652 Information Systems—Concepts, Analysis, and Design

3 credits

Prerequisite IT-591

This course is designed to provide an introduction to fundamental concepts and techniques of information systems analysis and design. Students will use elementary tools and techniques based on the standards currently used for, planning, analysis, design and construction of information systems. Topics covered include, requirements gathering and modeling, structural modeling, system architecture and user interface design, documentation, testing and installation, traceability, project planning and management. Object-oriented System Analysis and Design and Visual Modeling are the current standards adopted for this course.

MG-660 Strategic Marketing

3 credits

Prerequisite MG-615

This course is designed to develop the ability to apply a market-oriented perspective in analyzing environmental factors and organizational resources and capabilities to formulate goals and design marketing strategies that are customer-driven. Strategic marketing planning is the process of arriving at marketing decisions that are sourced from an organization’s mission and driven based on the integration of the major goals of all business units whose collective efforts, along with the marketing function, are necessary to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. This course will emphasize the use of critical thinking skills by concentrating on marketing cases involving real-world organizations. Issues arising from these cases will encompass problems, opportunities, and threats that require sound decision-making regarding identifying marketing opportunities, conducting environmental analysis, formulating marketing strategy, and implementing and evaluating marketing programs.

MG-670 Managerial Finance

3 credits

Prerequisite AC-591, EC-591

This course introduces students to financial theory and concepts and incorporates analysis, planning, and control of internal and external financial decisions of a firm with emphasis on corporate structure. Topics include cash flows, cash management, ratio analysis, time value of money, risk-return trade-off and pricing models, financial reporting, portfolio analysis, fundamentals of capital budgeting, security valuation, choice of capital structure, cost of capital, and working capital management. In addition, the course will explore important financial concerns facing multinational corporations, small business issues, ethics, and the role of information technology in financial decision-making process, and implementation and control as well as the development and use of IT in organizations. Other issues considered include determination of optimal dividend policy and capital structure, investment decisions under uncertainty, mergers and acquisitions, and the application of investment theory to corporate finance problems. Through the case study method, students will acquire a practical knowledge of how to develop and examine financial reports that aid managers in making business decisions, in addition to gaining a working knowledge of managerial finance by learning to develop a systematic approach to financial analysis.

MG-680 Operational Excellence

3 credits

Prerequisite MG-620

The emphasis of this course is on the managerial skills of the professional manager in the implementation of production policies and strategies. This course is designed to examine the issues in production and operations management and enable students to take an active role in developing effective methods for solving problems. Through analysis and preparation of case studies, students develop problem solving skills in a number o areas pertaining to manufacturing and service organizations. The case study method will be supplemented with lectures/discussions and readings. The topics include the traditional functional areas of production and operations management such as processes, facilities, forecasting, quality, JIT, inventory, and project management. Students examine how creative production and operations management can provide important competitive advantages for firms and how successful operation strategies are integrated into overall planning.

MG-681 Operational Excellence in Healthcare

3 credits

Prerequisite MG-620

The emphasis of this course is on the identification and utilization of methods to improve organizational operations, enhance quality performance, and improve customer satisfaction within budgetary and labor constraints. The student will obtain the practical knowledge necessary to deal with the critical issues facing healthcare managers today; “doing more with what you have.” The case study method will be supplemented with lectures/discussions and readings. The topics include management by constraints, reducing response times, clinical quality improvement, pricing services, and creating value. Students examine how creative operations management can provide important competitive advantages and how successful operation strategies are integrated into overall planning within legally sanctioned guidelines.

MG-682 Operational Excellence in Information Technology

3 credits

Prerequisite MG-620

The emphasis of this course is on the identification and utilization of methods to improve organizational operations, enhance quality performance, and improve customer satisfaction within budgetary and labor constraints. The student will obtain the practical knowledge necessary to deal with the critical issues facing information technology managers today; “doing more with what you have.” The case study method will be supplemented with lectures/discussions and readings. The topics include information technology operations management, IT quality, using IT to optimize management operations, and project management. Students examine how creative operations management can provide important competitive advantages and how successful operation strategies are integrated into overall planning.

MG-735 Legal Environment of Business

3 credits

Prerequisite MG-615

This course provides a sound legal foundation that students can use to understand the laws and regulations affecting today’s businesses. Students will examine the legal procedures and the judicial system as applied to business situations to be better prepared to make business decisions within a legal and ethical framework. This course also provides general coverage of the substantive laws most commonly associated with business. Topics include contract law, which encompasses an international business component; commerce property law; the laws of business organizations; regulatory environment; contracts; business torts; anti-trust; employment law; the background and origin of the U.S. legal system; government legal procedures, consumer protection; and business ethics and social responsibility.

MG-740 Managing Organizational Change and Development

3 credits

Prerequisite: MG-630

This course examines the critical success factors of managing organizational change and process innovation in the multidisciplinary subject areas such as marketing, operations management, product and process design, business process reengineering, management accounting, finance and administration. The course is intended to develop an understanding of change and its impact on the organization as well as the people in the work place. Emphasis will be on exploring the dynamics of planned organizational change as well as models of organizational development in organizational management. Topics include change process, process management/continuous improvement, business process reengineering, redesign/innovation, zero defects, organizational development, theorizing how change occurs, seeing and creating opportunities in change, navigating political dynamics in change, developing an innovating culture, navigating cultural dynamics in change, and resistance to change.

MG-750 Project Management

3 credits

Prerequisite: MG-650

This course introduces the student to the field of project management and the work of The Project Management Institute (PMI). The project management framework suggested by PMI forms the main structure of this course. The purpose of this course is to provide a comprehensive overview of the basic techniques of project management. It will cover the strategic role of projects in modern organizations, how projects are prioritized , and the tools and techniques that can be used to plan, schedule, and control projects. Microsoft Project will be incorporated into the course to demonstrate the use of project management software.

MG-760 International Finance

3 credits

Prerequisite MG-670

This course will examine international financial management and the concepts of exchange rate risks. It will include the economics underlying the determination of exchange rates, their parity relationships and a nation’s balance of international payment. Foreign exchange markets and the tools that can be used to hedge exchange rate risks such as options, futures and swaps contracts will be analyzed. Effective management of accounting and economic exchange rate exposures will be addressed, including the risk-return trade - off in international investments. The students will also compare financing options available to multinational financial manager and determine the cost of capital.

MG-761 Mergers and Acquisitions

3 credits

Prerequisite MG-670

This course will analyze corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Students will develop skills necessary to structure a deal or form an opinion about a proposed transaction. Topics include value creation in mergers; choice of payment method; valuation of contingent payments; deal protection; merger arbitrage; defensive tactics; and leveraged buyouts. Bidding strategies and takeover tactics will be addressed. Students get to practice merger negotiations in a team exercise. The course evaluates the legal and regulatory framework for takeovers, such as filing requirements, fiduciary duties of the target board of directors, and antitrust regulation. The course uses a mix of cases analysis, providing ample opportunity to practice the application of standard corporate valuation methods, lectures and assignments. The impact of Operational Excellence on M&A decisions is evaluated.

MG-762 Financial Markets and Institutions

3 credits

Prerequisite MG-670

This course deals with the composition of the Capital Markets, the functions performed by financial markets; the flow of funds in the market; the fundamentals of interest rate determination and the term structure of the interest rates; interest rate risk; default risk; the analysis and valuation of the exchange rates traded in financial markets; the regulation of the financial markets and institutions; the deregulation movement; the money supply process; the hedging in the financial markets in the presence of economic uncertainty; risk metrics; option valuation, hedging, forward and futures contracts, swaps and other off balance derivative concepts. Students will analyze the impact of structural, policy, operational and legislative changes on the system.

MG- 770 Financial Statement Analysis

3 credits

Prerequisite: AC-591, MG-615

This course explains the fundamentals of analyzing financial statements of corporations and not-for-profit businesses. The analysis of financial statements is important in making business decisions, allocating resources and accumulating individual wealth through investing directly or indirectly in companies. Properly interpreting financial information is vital to the long-term well-being of the firm. This course will allow the student to examine the implications of financial and accounting conventions on the financial statement totals and the various methods available for analyzing such information.

MG-775 Negotiation and Conflict Management

3 credits

Prerequisite: MG-630

This course deals with understanding the behavior of individuals, groups and organizations in the context of competitive situations. This course will provide experience in the negotiation process, including learning to evaluate the costs and benefits of alternative actions and how to manage the negotiation process. In addition to the theory and exercises presented in class, students will practice negotiating with role playing simulations that cover a range of topics. Coursework includes a case analysis to be completed by “on-going group negotiation” teams.

MK-775 International Marketing

3 credits

Prerequisite: MG-660

This course is intended to help the student understand the complexities of marketing products and services in the international market environment. This course utilizes an analytical approach to analyze complex business problems concerning the dynamics of implementing marketing management approaches into the framework of the global marketplace. Emphasis will be on applying a multidisciplinary framework to assist the student in understanding the challenges that confront strategic market planners when evaluating economic, financial, political, regulatory, socio-cultural, and technological issues when they are involved in international-market strategic planning and implementation.

MG-800 Strategic Management

3 credits

Prerequisites: MG-640, MG-660

This course can only be taken during a student’s final semester in the program.

This is the capstone course that integrates the core business disciplines with formal analysis of an organization’s macro and industry environment; mission and goals; strategy formulation, implementation, and control, using the case method approach. The purpose of the course is to give students the opportunity to organize what they have learned about various business topics and utilize this knowledge in the analysis of complex business problems and to prepare a full scale business plan. In this course students apply many of the concepts and techniques used by management, while analyzing case studies, participating in weekly discussions, and drafting a business plan. The business plan is the final project for this course and requires a presentation and defense of the plan.