At Smith, our curriculum is based on a strong foundation in each business discipline.
Throughout this coursework, we look for interactions, interdependencies, and systemic
links between the disciplines and functions of a business. Foundation courses will include:
Financial Accounting & Managerial Accounting
Provides a user-oriented perspective of accounting centered on the necessity of
top managers needing to know the vocabulary, perspectives, and biases that underlie
accounting processes and reports. They need to know how to ask accountants for the
data and information they want, and how to use accounting as a strategic tool. This
course provides a basic understanding of the technical aspects of accounting, forming
the necessary foundation for those skills.
Data Analysis and Decisions
Introduces participants to analytical techniques that establish the
optimality of managerial decisions via empirical (“data models”) and logical
(“decisions”) means. The course may be viewed as consisting of two integrated
parts. In the first part, various methods of analyzing data, including
regression analysis are studied. The second part covers models for making
optimal decisions in situations characterized by either an absence of
uncertainty or where the uncertainty arises from non-competitive sources.
Techniques include optimization models, decision trees, and simulation.
Financial Management
Presents the main concepts and analytic methods of modern corporate finance.
Students learn about the structure of financial markets, the techniques and language
of finance, and the various responsibilities of the corporate financial manager.
Topics addressed include objective of creating shareholder value; valuation of corporate
securities, including stocks and bonds; risk-return relationship and its implications
for finance; financial techniques for evaluating corporate investments; corporate
financing alternatives and the design of a company’s capital structure;
coordinating
investment and financing; and basics of derivatives pricing
Leadership and Human Capital
Builds on students’ leadership experience to extend their theoretical knowledge
and applied skills. Using assessment tools (via the Executive Coaching Program),
exercises, films, cases, role plays, and other assignments, students gain a stronger
understanding and skill set to excel in leadership positions today. Also provides
an overview of the key issues related to managing human capital in organizations.
Covers critical issues that every professional needs to know, regardless of functional
area and examines them from both a strategic and a tactical level and should be
relevant to all practicing managers and leaders.
Ethical Leadership
This course will explore the following topics; Recognize the scope of
managerial agency and the economic, legal and ethical responsibilities to
various stakeholders, Conduct elementary ethical analyses of managerial
situations using the principal schools of ethical reasoning, Identify the
economic and ethical properties of a market mechanism, and the means for
addressing the limitations of a market, and Recognize ethical leadership as the
exercise of managerial agency in changing existing values and practices.
Managerial Economics
Provides the students with a basic introduction to the microeconomics of the
firm. Emphasis is on the firm's decision making process and how that process influences
firm performance.
Topics covered include the basic microeconomic principles that firms utilize
in making business decisions, including demand, elasticity, costs, productivity,
and pricing. Concepts of market structure, market conduct and market performance
are also covered.
Global Economics
Provides managers with the tools necessary to intelligently interpret the national
and international economic environment, including the impact of economic policies
on the economy and the firm. The course develops basic macroeconomic theory to enable
managers to critically evaluate economic forecasts and policy recommendations and
then applies these concepts in a series of case studies.
Strategic Management
Explores the set of challenging decisions, tasks, frameworks, and tools involved
in strategic management.. Focus is on strategy as integrative and oriented to
bottom-line performance, dynamic, and evolutionary. Competitive strategy adds the
focus of positioning in markets vis a vis other companies trying to serve the same
customer, maneuvering dynamically, and finding or creating open niches.
Operations Management
A firm has the opportunity to create competitive advantage through proficient
management of its operations. To do so, the firm must first recognize and
establish the strategic role of its operations within the organization. Then, at
the more detailed operational level, the firm must execute effectively and
efficiently. This course examines the strategic role that the operations
function can play, and offers specific tools and techniques that the firm can
use for strategy execution. We cover concepts of operations management applied
to both manufacturing and services, including operations strategy, analysis of
process flows and bottlenecks, waiting line models, total quality management,
six–sigma, and revenue management.
Marketing Strategy
Covers marketing decisions, with an emphasis on strategic issues
addressed in going to market. Discussion includes: the marketing
concept, market orientation, contrast marketing strategy with corporate
and business unit strategy. Students will explore the segmentation of
markets and the selection of an appropriate target market, including an
analysis of competitors already serving that targeted segment.
Corporate Strategy
Addresses the fundamental question of why some firms are more successful and more
profitable than others and why a given firm is profitable at a moment in time, as
well as how a firm has sustained competitive advantage over a period of time. This
course aims to provide the tools, frameworks, and ideas necessary to develop business
unit and corporate strategies for your organizations that fit both in the short
run and the long run. .
Strategic Information Systems
Examines how to identify transformational technologies and develop strategies
to take advantage of them, including case studies to illustrate managerial decisions
about technology as well as lectures that help frame the issues. The course is focused
on management issues and is suitable for the student with no IT experience, as well
as for students with technical backgrounds who want to understand how to manage
IT in the firm.
Integrative Business Simulation
Primary objective is to provide a capstone experience that will help
executives appreciate the value and interconnectedness of the various
functional business areas. It is believed that this will enhance their
learning and understanding of these disciplines. This should result in
much stronger knowledge of all business areas and a more marketable EMBA
degree.