& Student Handbook - Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

112 Master Degree Programs
Faculty
The faculty members for the Master of Business Administration program
have earned doctorate or master’s degrees. Faculty members are
selected for their educational and professional experience and expertise.
Foundation Course Descriptions
MBA500
Quantitative Primer (3 cr.)
This course is designed to foster and support the student’s foundational
understanding and ability to utilize college algebra, trigonometry, and
pre-calculus in the analysis of business problems. The material is
presented in three distinct sections: algebraic operations and functions,
systems of equations and matrices, and an introduction to sequence and
probability theory. Grading is pass/no credit (P/NC).
MBA501
Business Statistics and Quantitative Thinking (3 cr.)
This course is designed to give students a practitioner foundation in
applied math and statistics. The tools and applications used in graduate
business courses and by individuals in managerial positions are covered.
Topics include ratio analysis and comparisons, descriptive and inferential
statistics, correlation, analysis of variance and regression. Grading is
pass/no credit (P/NC).
MBA502
Writing Fundamentals (3 cr.)
The course familiarizes graduate students with the expectations and
conventions of graduate writing and research at Saint Mary’s University.
It is designed for students with limited graduate writing experience,
students who want to refresh their writing skills, and students who need
to learn the APA style. Course content includes (a) forms of graduate
discourse, (b) APA rules of grammar, punctuation, and usage; (c) word
processing functions that support APA style; and (d) methods and
resources for graduate research through the Saint Mary’s University
Library. Grading is pass/no credit (P/NC).
Prerequisite Courses
MBA503
Principles of Economics (3 cr.)
This course is designed to give students an overview of the principles of
macro and microeconomics. The underlying economic theories and
applications used in graduate business courses and by individuals in
managerial positions are covered. Students examine supply demand
analysis at the industry and firm level, market structures, elasticity
analysis, macroeconomic indicators of the economy, business cycle
analysis, and the impact of government economic policy on business.
MBA504
Accounting Concepts and Methods (3 cr.)
Prerequisite: MBA501 or equivalent.
This course is designed to give students a practitioner foundation in the
principles of financial accounting. The tools and applications used in
graduate business courses and by businesses in decision-making in an
international environment are covered. Topics include financial
accounting methods, preparation of financial statements, the accounting
cycle, internal control, and accounting for partnerships and corporations.
MBA510
Managerial Finance (3 cr.)
Prerequisite: MBA504 or equivalent
This course introduces the essential financial tools, principles and
practices used by business. The tools and applications used in this course
focus on the role of finance in managerial decisions regarding assets and
liabilities, valuation, globalization, response to changes in the
macroeconomic business environment and changing governmental
regulation of financial institutions. The course addresses risk and rates of
return, time value of money, capital budgeting techniques, cost and
structure of capital, leverage, and working capital management.
MBA520
Marketing Principles (2 cr.)
This course is designed to give students a broad overview of the
marketing function within an organization. The marketing techniques used
by firms operating in a global environment are covered. Topics include
customer decision behavior, product and service concepts, market
segmentation and targeting, the four Ps (product, price, promotion and
place) and product mix, channel, wholesaling and logistics management,
fundamental marketing product, and pricing and life cycle strategies.
Core Courses
Prerequisite to MBA-600 level core classes is the completion of all foundation
and prerequisite requirements, and regular matriculation into the program.
MBA600
Quantitative Decision Making (3 cr.)
Prerequisite: MBA501 or equivalent
This course is designed to give students a practitioner’s ability to utilize
quantitative decision-making tools and techniques commonly used in
business. The QDM tools and techniques used in operations management,
inventory management, marketing, project management and finance are
covered. Topics include hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, subjective
probability, decision trees, Bayes Theorem and regression.
MBA601
Intercultural Acumen (3 cr.)
This course provides a practical framework for managers to appraise
and manage the balance among cultural unification, accommodation and
uniqueness that arises in the domestic and global workplace. The skills
and techniques required to manage a global work force, conduct
business in foreign countries with cultural literacy, and communicate with
individuals and organizations in other cultures are covered. Students
analyze cultural general theories; the impact of culture on interpersonal
interactions such as negotiating, managing conflict, teamwork, business
ethics and motivation; cultural taxonomies; and the fundamentals of
intercultural competence.
MBA602
The Political Economy of Business (3 cr.)
This course provides a theoretical framework to evaluate the political,
historic, economic and social context in which business activities take
place around the world. Topics include economic relations, risk
assessment, ethics, strategic analysis of nation-states, institutional and
policy management of multinational economic relations, and sustainability
of economic growth and global competitiveness. Students develop the skills
and techniques used by global managers to analyze the political-economic
health of a country in terms of financially oriented risk-reward criteria and
operationally-oriented competitiveness as set by global standards.