Man getting his masters online witih Ashford University

Master of Business Administration

Expand your academic knowledge and develop professional competence in managing and influencing organizational effectiveness with your Master of Business Administration degree. You'll learn from highly educated and highly skilled faculty as all of the instructors have graduate degrees and real world experience in the fields they teach.

Your Master of Business Administration degree program consists of 11 courses, or 33 credits. The first eight are core courses, followed by 3 courses that correspond to the specialization of your choice. Courses are listed in the recommended sequence.

Core Courses (24 credits, each course is 3 credits.)

BUS 600 Management Communications with Technology Tools

This course is designed to introduce the student to the Ashford University Graduate Business programs, with emphases upon conceptualizing communication and communication processes in the contexts of organizations and leadership. Emphasis will be on technology, theories and models, qualitative communication research methodologies, and research writing. NOTE: BUS 600 is the first course taken in the MBA program once program prerequisites are met.

BUS 610 Organizational Behavior

This course investigates behavioral factors that affect modern organizations and their management. Topics include group and team dynamics, organizational structure, motivation, leadership, power, and change management.

BUS 620 Managerial Marketing

This course examines the marketing function, focusing on the managerial application of marketing tools and methodology. Emphasis is placed on marketing decisions associated with allocating organizational resources including: product development and design, pricing, promotional strategies, and distribution-based activities. Course coverage includes the marketing concept, buyer psychology, strategic planning and implementation of marketing plans.

BUS 599 Introduction to Quantitative Principles

This course is an overview of the fundamentals of accounting, finance, and economics. Students will investigate the fundamental principles of accounting through the preparation of financial statements. The basics of managerial finance including the use of net present valuation models fundamental financial ratio analysis will be examined. Students will also explore modern economic philosophy including an understanding of basic supply and demand, and micro- and macro-economics systems. (NOTE: If you submit official transcripts indicating that you have earned a Bachelor's degree in Business, Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, Economics or have successfully completed undergraduate coursework in Economics, Accounting, and Finance with a grade of "C" or higher in each, you will be exempt from the requirement to take BUS 599 Introduction to Quantitative Principles. Otherwise, BUS 599 is required for graduation and constitutes an additional 3 credits of required coursework.)

BUS 670 Legal Environment

This course involves the study of the business law, its foundations and the role it plays in managing a business with a particular emphasis on the corporate form. Topics of relevance to be explored include the following core concepts: constitutional law case law, government regulation, ethics, contracts, anti-trust law, securities regulations, employment law, environmental law, and crimes and torts.

BUS 640 Managerial Economics

This course is designed to provide a solid foundation of economic understanding for use in managerial decision-making. The course offers an intuitive non-calculus based treatment of economic theory and analysis. A variety of examples is used to illustrate the application of managerial economics to diverse practical situations. The role that economic analysis plays in that process is emphasized throughout this course.

BUS 630 Managerial Accounting

This course studies the role and major functions of the managerial accountant within the organization. Students of managerial accounting should not only be able to produce accounting information but also understand how managers are likely to use and react to that information. The goal of this course is to acquaint students of business with the fundamental tools of management accounting and to promote their understanding of the dramatic ways in which the field is changing. The emphasis through the text and course is on using account information to help manage an organization. Some topics covered in this course include: cost management, various budgeting theories and techniques, and decision making processes.

BUS 650 Managerial Finance

This course studies the role and major functions of corporate finance within the organization. Upon developing an understanding of the theoretical foundation of corporate finance, students will use financial tools in an applied case and problem format. Topics covered include: Net present value analysis (time value of money), risk assessment, security valuation, decisions on capital structure and allocation, and the weighted average cost of capital.

BUS 644 Operations Management

This course focuses on the principles associated with the effective design, implementation and management of organizational processes and systems. With an emphasis on efficiency, course coverage includes: systems design for products and services, inventory management systems, distribution and supply chain management.

Standard Program courses (no specialization)(9 credits, each course is 3 credits.)

BUS 616 International Business

This course studies the major functional business areas in a global context. Taking into consideration socio-political structural differences, the multinational corporation is investigated with applications in management, finance, marketing and operations.

BUS 642 Business Research Methods & Tools

This course examines the use of quantitative techniques business decision-making. Using spreadsheet software, the course addresses managerial problem solving through the use descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, and correlation and regression (single and multiple) analysis. This course also provides a graduate foundation for conducting business research. Topic coverage includes: research methodology, literature review, hypothesis generation, data collection and summary techniques. Additional coverage includes study of qualitative and quantitative data as well as reviewing conceptual versus empirical research studies.

BUS 690 Business Strategy

This capstone course explores the formulation, implementation and evaluation/control of organizational strategic management. In the context of a globally competitive market, students will explore methods of directing an entire organization through applied case analysis. Topics include: analysis of competitive position, value creation, developing systems-wide goals and objectives, and the creation of a strategic plan. This course is cumulative in nature, integrating knowledge and information attained while completing the entire MBA curriculum. Additionally, the capstone project requires the generation and presentation of an industry analysis.

Entrepreneurship (9 credits, each course is 3 credits.)

BUS 604 New Business Venture Management

This course focuses on the important aspects of starting a new business enterprise with emphasis on the challenges faced by the entrepreneur in initiating a business venture and directing its early development. The course also addresses the process of forming business ventures, the identification and evaluation of new venture opportunities, and the development of appropriate entry strategies.

BUS 605 Venture Capital and Private Equity

This course will examine the role of finance and the formation of financial strategies needed to support each phase of the business start-up. Sources of equity and debt capital along with entry strategies such as franchising and acquisition are examined. Alternative working capital, capital structure, and investment strategies unique to the start-up are presented.

BUS 696 Strategic Thinking for Entrepreneurs

This course focuses on application of key strategic and managerial approaches necessary entrepreneurs to implement the strategy for a start up or business takeover enterprise. It examines and discusses how entrepreneurial firms develop and implement innovative business plans, create functional operations, and incorporate technology strategies. Emphasis is placed on the vision of the firm, the strategic planning process, and strategic management. The final component is the generation of a business plan as a capstone project.

Finance (9 credits, each course is 3 credits.)

BUS 655 Financial Investment Management

The central focus of this course is to develop an understanding of how security markets function, factors that influence security valuation, differentiating between various investment types and understanding investment risk and return principles. This course covers security markets operations, investment information, portfolio asset allocation; financial environment analysis; and evaluation of equity and fixed income securities.

BUS 657 Corporate Managerial Finance

This course introduces the financial theory and practices firm managers use to attain their goal of maximizing corporate shareholder wealth. Topics covered are: analysis techniques of financial statement and cash flows; working capital management and financial forecasting; valuation methods for debt and equity capital; risk and rate of return theory; cost of capital, capital project budgeting decisions and cash flow estimation; optimal capital structure and dividend policy.

BUS 694 Finance Capstone Seminar

This course will cover advanced financial topics including: International financial management, corporate risk management, merger and acquisitions, portfolio management theory and real options.

Global Management (9 credits, each course is 3 credits.)

BUS 616 International Business

This course studies the major functional business areas in a global context. Taking into consideration socio-political structural differences, the multinational corporation is investigated with applications in management, finance, marketing and operations.

BUS 606 Global Comparative Management

This course reviews management systems within their political, social, and economic environments with a global perspective. This course also emphasizes the managerial processes in a global business environment and provides a strategic assessment of the fundamental issues involved in the management of multinational corporations. Topics include comparative studies of practices of management in foreign nations and examination of the influences of culture on business operations.

BUS 693 Global Business Strategy

This course builds on leadership, business, and management concepts while integrating a comprehensive look at strategic planning and management in a global environment. The course is designed to employ case analyses, critical assessments, global market evaluations, and a comprehensive strategic planning project to lead the student to fluency in the global strategic planning process.

Health Care Administration (9 credits, each course is 3 credits.)

MHA 601 Principles of Health Care Administration

The focus of this course is on the application of advanced organizational principles in complex health care environments. Organizational issues, administrative processes and applications are explored. The managerial perspectives of a mid-to senior healthcare administrator are emphasized.

MHA 626 Strategic Planning & Marketing in Health Care

This course focuses upon the visioning and modeling of services and programs, both anticipatory and responsive, utilizing market-driven information. Students integrate theories from economics, information management, finance and leadership, culminating in the generation of a comprehensive business plan.

MHA 690 Health Care Capstone

This course offers an opportunity for the integration of knowledge and skills developed within a culminating student project. The focus is on strategic and organizational issues unique to the health care environment. The student will present a comprehensive report at the end of the Capstone experience.

Human Resources Management (9 credits, each course is 3 credits.)

BUS 680 Training and Development

This course will allow the student to gain in-depth knowledge of training and performance development essential as a line manager or human resource specialist. Beginning with fundamental principles of performance, the course will focus on identifying critical factors in workplace performance and how to analyze the causes of performance problems. Additionally, this course will distinguish between training and development and will address their complimentary functions in the modern organization.

BUS 681 Compensation and Benefits

This course will allow the student to gain in-depth knowledge into compensation theories, policies, systems and practices with particular emphasis directed towards designing effective compensation programs.

BUS 692 Strategies in Human Resources Management

This course examines how to manage human resources effectively in the dynamic legal, social, and economic environment currently impacting organizations. This course will examine where human resources management is now and where it needs to be in the future of organizations. Students will learn how to develop alignment among vision, strategy, and values of organizations and the HR function. Emphasis is placed on integrating human resources management with the overall business strategy.

Information Systems (9 credits, each course is 3 credits.)

INF 620 Management of Information Systems

This course introduces the fundamentals of computer systems, the role of information processing in the business environment, and provides a basic overview of essential computer software. The course also provides an overview of systems development, operating systems and programming, database management, networking, and telecommunications all from a management perspective.

INF 630 Business Systems Analysis

This course addresses the many business systems issues unique to the information services function within organizations. Coverage includes information systems planning, managing the information infrastructure, justifying information technology investments, the costing of services and networks, evaluating information system performance, alternative information service delivery modes, managing distributed and end-user computing, project and operations management, systems security, and the management of information technology professionals.

INF 690 Information Systems Strategy

This course emphasizes the use of information technology to develop distinct competitive advantage in relations with competitors, customers, and suppliers, and with respect to products and services. Course participants examine strategies of actual companies and identify other strategies that can be deployed to gain competitive advantage in diverse settings. In addition, the course is cumulative in nature, integrating knowledge and information attained while completing the entire MBA curriculum. The capstone project requires generation and presentation of an organizational information systems strategic plan.

Marketing (9 credits, each course is 3 credits.)

MKT 625 Consumer Behavior

This course presents and analyzes the most critical issues of buyer behavior both for individual consumers and within the organizational environment. Priority is placed on the economic, psychometric, and sociometric factors that influence buyer behavior and the buyer decision process. Through analyzing and understanding buyer behavior, marketing managers can ultimately understand this process and actively influence strategic business decisions.

MKT 635 Marketing Research

This course is designed to integrate theory and practice and develop students' analytical skills in marketing research methodology. Students apply methods and techniques for the collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of primary and secondary data toward the solution of current marketing problems.

BUS 695 Strategic Marketing

This course builds on the leadership, business, and management concepts contained in the MBA program while introducing the principles and tools for managers to apply in the development, implementation, and review of marketing strategy for organizations. Topics include internal and external environmental analysis; value, competition, and strategic choice; strategic positioning; and implementation and control issues. In addition, the capstone project requires the generation and presentation of strategic marketing plan.

Organizational Leadership (9 credits, each course is 3 credits.)

BUS 660 Contemporary Issues in Organizational Leadership

This course provides an in-depth examination of the multi-faceted concept of leadership studies by presenting the student with the vocabulary, concepts, theories, and applicable research that are fundamental to the understanding of leadership. The course will examine contemporary and historical leadership issues unique to women and minority leaders, the moral and ethical responsibility of leadership, and leadership in a variety of contexts. Leadership as a social and political influence process will be examined.

BUS 661 Leading Organizational Change

This course will blend theories of leadership with concepts and models of organizational change. The change process consists of a series of steps that focuses on vision, implementation, change agents and other internal and external components. This course provides insight into types of changes impacting organizations and possible strategies to effectively address those changes.

BUS 691 Strategies in Organizational Leadership

This course builds on the leadership, business, and management concepts contained in the MBA program. It provides the student with the opportunity to synthesize all prior learning in leadership and related coursework and experiences, both personal and professional. It will allow the student to expand their thinking and explore the arena of leadership and how it will impact the future of the individual, the organization, and the world in which we live.

Project Management (9 credits, each course is 3 credits.)

BUS 611 Project Planning and Management

This course introduces students to the art and science of project management as applied to different types of project situations. Topics such as project life-cycle management, project organizations and leadership, project team building, RFPs, proposals and contracts, techniques for project scope definition, work definition, estimating, scheduling, risk management, control and closeout, the project management methodology, and PM software are covered.

BUS 612 Advanced Project Procurement

This course emphasizes a hands-on approach to using project management knowledge areas to facilitate scheduling, estimating, tracking and controlling the schedule and costs of the project. A project baseline will be set so that actual schedule and cost variances can be compared to the project baseline and corrective actions can be developed to address the variances. In this course students will learn about the legal, ethical, and fiscal considerations in procurement and contracts. Students will examine ways of identifying, evaluating and mitigating risk in scheduling, cost control, contracting and procurement.

BUS 697 Project Management Strategy

This course focuses on application of managerial approaches necessary to align significant projects with organizational strategy. It examines and discusses how firms determine business benefits and project feasibility, report progress, and measure project quality while communicating with key organizational stakeholders. Emphasis is placed on Earned Value Management techniques and achieving project progress and technical performance of the project.

Public Administration (9 credits, each course is 3 credits.)

PPA 601 Foundations of Public Administration

This course examines the theory and practice of public administration, its legal and constitutional foundation and the role of the public administrator in public policy. The context of the course discussions are based on the current issues facing public agency administrators.

PPA 603 Government Budgeting

This is a comprehensive, straightforward examination of government budgeting. Topics deal with include the advantages and disadvantages of various approaches to revenue projection, the collection and review of departmental proposals, the development of capital budgeting policy and other budgeting tasks. Also addressed are budget implementation, accounting and financial reporting. A variety of methods for maintaining budgetary balance, preventing overspending and dealing with contingencies are presented and discussed.

PPA 699 Public Policy Development

This capstone course is an examination of influences affecting policy development and decision making in the urban political arena. It also covers policy management, policy execution, establishing and measuring criteria for policy success, and effective communication throughout the public policy process. This course is cumulative in nature, integrating knowledge and information attained while completing the entire MPA curriculum. In addition, this course requires the generation and presentation of an analysis of a community development project.

Supply Chain Management (9 credits, each course is 3 credits.)

BUS 631 Integrated Supply Chain Management

Study and analysis of supply chain management for products/services and the dynamic interaction of companies within an integrated supply chain. Topics include factors guiding companies' supply chain development and management; Technology as a supply chain tool; Positioning of a company in terms of its role as a valuable member of the supply chain; and, performance measures used across the supply chain.

BUS 632 Advanced Logistics

This course provides an overview of current logistics and distribution practices intended to advance current knowledge. Students should gain an understanding of the significant components of logistics management and the dynamics of what is considered best practice. Focuses on the complexities associated with the integrated flow of raw materials, in-process goods, finished goods, and information from point-of-origin through the production process to the end consumer.

BUS 698 Supply Chain Strategic Management

This covers addresses the strategic implications of sourcing and supplier relationships in the context of supply chain management. Critical elements including identifying and selecting suppliers, negotiating contract terms and conditions, implementing contracts, and measuring performance in the context of the organization's strategic plans are covered. Practical examples of sourcing excellence are provided.

If this program sounds like it will fit your goals, contact us at 866-711-1700 to learn more, or request additional information.