Executive MBA Courses

MBA 550 Onboarding (2 credits)
This course introduces students to management analysis skills that are essential for success in their graduate course work at the Crummer Graduate School of Business. Using comprehensive case analysis, foundational financial statement analysis, models for assessing strategy, and consideration of operational capabilities necessary to execute strategy, this course provides students with an analytical foundation upon which all other specialty and general management areas will be built. In additional to analytical skills, team building, leadership skills, time management, and presentation proficiency will be developed.

QBA 551 Business Analytics (3 credits) The ability to collect and analyze data has transformed the way leaders and their organizations make important business decisions. The new and rapidly advancing field of business analytics involves the exploration, discovery, interpretation, structuring, and communication of data in a way that reveals patterns, relationships, signals, and meaning. The course focuses on the application of descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytic methods to discover the relationships and patterns in data that lead to insights that leaders can use to guide informed decisions.

MGT 551 Creating Effective Organizations (3 credits)

With technology and innovation altering the workforce in profound ways, business leaders must possess the knowledge and tools necessary to harness the potential of their personnel. This course takes a deep dive into theories of motivation, team dynamics, individual differences (e.g., personality, culture, gender, cognitive ability), and both effective and counter-productive work behavior. An emphasis will be placed on experiential learning and “best practices” that can be immediately applied by top executives to make the most out of their human capital.

ACCT 551 Accounting for Business Leaders (3 credits)

Today’s executives face an array of mission-critical accounting challenges, including evolving reporting standards, globalization, and fraud control. This course examines corporate financial reporting and management accounting systems, balancing an understanding of responsible accounting practices and information with the preparation of the financial statements. In addition to the discussion of external reporting, the course provides an overview of internal reporting by examining the use of accounting concepts and procedures in cost calculation, decision making, and planning and control. Learning is based on analysis of problems and cases, and model building with electronic worksheets.

ECO 551 Macroeconomics and the Global Economy (3 credits)

Technology and globalization are reshaping the world economy. This course examines national and global economic activity. Key topics include economic growth, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, and economic policy. Students will develop the ability to analyze national and international economic data and to understand discussions of macroeconomic issues.

FIN 551 Financial Management for Executives (3 credits)

Factors such as evolving investment trends, increasing focus on corporate social responsibility, and globalization are affecting how organizations are investing their capital. With these variables in mind, this course emphasizes the two major financial decisions faced by firms –what kinds of investment the firm should make and how it should finance them. The course specifically provides a rigorous understanding of risk and return and optimal portfolio selection, bond and stock valuation, cost of capital analysis, corporate capital budgeting and cash flow estimation, risk analysis, socially responsible finance practices, and capital structure.

MGT 552 Strategic Leadership: A High-Level View (1 credit)

Leaders must continually evolve to succeed in today’s rapidly changing business environment. This course introduces strategy and leadership as academic concepts, primary responsibilities of top executives, and drivers of business innovation. Effective strategic leaders engage with followers to develop and execute a clear and responsible purpose and vision of the future, and a coherent set of actions to achieve them that fits with the external environment and the organization’s internal resources and capabilities. This course presents a high-level view of these topics with evidence and examples of effective and innovative approaches to strategic leadership.

MGT 553 Strategic Leadership: Application and Practice (4 credits)

Building on concepts learned in the course Strategic Leadership: A High-Level View, this course focuses more deeply on strategy and leadership as academic concepts, primary responsibilities of top executives, and drivers of business innovation. It presents theories and frameworks of how good strategies are effectively developed and executed and incorporates theories of leadership and techniques for increasing personal influence and leader effectiveness in a variety of contexts. This class emphasizes application of these concepts with examples from students’ experiences, guest speaker insights, and visits to prominent organizations in Central Florida.

MKT 551 Value Creation through Effective Marketing (3 credits)

As customers are increasingly empowered with technology, firms must be able to manage, harness, and leverage emerging marketing innovations to successfully compete in the global marketplace. This course provides a solid foundation for managing key elements of the marketing function including segmentation and targeting, product and brand management, promotional options, pricing, and channel management – all within the context of global consumer, and business-to-business markets.

OM 551 Operations and Supply Chain Management (3 credits)

Innovation and globalization are increasing the importance of an effective operations strategy, enabling businesses to drive profitability by using the organization’s operations and supply chain as competitive weapons. In this course, students will develop an understanding of the strategic, tactical, and operational linkages and trade-offs in a firm’s operations and across its supply chain. The relationship between the firm’s operations and overall business strategy will be analyzed and explored for the purpose of developing solutions that utilize people, technology, and processes more efficiently and effectively. Students will gain insights through immediately applicable frameworks, practical examples from firms in different industrial sectors, and illustrations through cases, hands-on experiential simulation exercises, and computer-based business games.

INTL 551 Global Business (3 credits)

From global supply chains across east Asia to the provision of skilled labor in Silicon Valley, no business today is untouched by globalization. This course develops students’ understanding of the dynamics of the global economy and its impact on their organizations and industries. Participants focus on assessing foreign market attractiveness through the strategic analysis of differing political, economic, sociocultural, and legal systems and shifting foreign exchange rates, as well as developing strategies for forming and sustaining alliances, fostering socially responsible business strategies, and managing a multicultural workforce.

INTL 552 Global Immersion 1 (3 credits)

The EMBA class will participate in the annual International Week at IPADE Business School, Mexico City, where they will join an elite group of executives and business leaders from executive MBA programs across the world to share experiences and knowledge, enrich management practices, and discover new business models. Activities in this 4.5-days residency include team-based live cases, guest speakers, visits to leading companies in Mexico, cultural activities, and networking with executive MBA students and faculty.

INTL 553 Global Immersion 2 (3 credits)

This is an intensive 4.5 days residential program that provides hands-on learning experiences in a location outside the USA. The residency experience consists of site visits, high-level briefings and presentations, and meetings with local businesses, governmental and cultural leaders to discover the practicalities of doing business in a foreign market. The location of the residency will vary.

MBA 551 Domestic Residency (3 credits)

This is an intensive 5-day residential program that puts business principles and concepts into context through visits to leading companies in the Central Florida region or beyond, seminars led by business leaders, and opportunities to network with current MBA students, alumni, and faculty. The program is centered around themes such as Design Thinking, Entrepreneurship, Project Management, and Negotiation.

MBA 552 Program Finale (1 credit)

The final class meetings will conclude the second Global Immersion course. Students will then participate and engage in multiple activities that will assist them in assessing, synthesizing, and evaluating their learning and experience journey. The Program Finale will culminate with a celebration dinner and keynote speaker round-table event to which students may invite a guest.