Executive MBA ~ Typical Pathways

The following pathway is completed in 10-week terms. These terms are followed in the order listed.

Term One (10 weeks)

~ BUS 601 EMBA Fundamentals (3 credits)
Students will attain or re-attain a level of understanding and proficiency with regard to statistical concepts, introductory accounting, team building, ethical frameworks, and other business-related areas as they relate to the remainder of the EMBA program, as well as business operations of the twenty-first century in general.

Term Two (10 weeks)

~ BUS 632 Leadership, Management, and Human Relations (6 credits)
Students analyze organizational effectiveness - using theories and models of leadership, management, and organizational behavior - and make recommendations for improvement. Students identify and evaluate examples of functional and dysfunctional leadership, drawing on models of leadership with sensitivity to cross-cultural differences. Students apply theories and models of team development, structure and performance to improve personal and team effectiveness and to direct a team to achieve its objectives. Students apply and analyze frameworks for understanding and thinking strategically about employment relations and the management of human resources in organizations with regard to issues such as: recruitment and selection; performance evaluation; compensation and benefits; promotion; job design; training; retention and turnover; and the human resource implications of various strategies.

Term Three (10 weeks)

~ BUS 687 Accounting and Finance (6 credits)
Students develop the ability to read, understand, and use corporate financial statements and published accounting reports. Students become familiar with alternative costing methods and gain an understanding of how cost information can be used for decision making. Students examine both financial and non-financial performance measures for evaluating business strategies and business unit success. Students prepare and analyze financial statements and financial projections for an investment, a corporation, and/or a proposed project. Students identify and evaluate sources of financing for new and existing ventures.

Term Four (10 weeks)

~ BUS 602 Micro-Macro Economics (6 credits)
Students become familiar with microeconomic as well as macroeconomic concepts relevant to managerial decision making. Topics may include: demand and supply analysis; consumer demand theory; production theory; price discrimination; perfect competition; externalities and public goods; risk aversion and risk sharing; hidden information and market signaling; moral hazard and incentives; rudimentary game theory; oligopoly; reputation and credibility; and transaction cost economics.

Term Five (10 weeks)

~ BUS 661 Innovation and Technology Leadership (6 credits)
Students study how and why innovation is important to business success in the twenty-first century. They analyze innovation from three perspectives: product, process, and organizational. Therefore, students gain an appreciation for the importance of the intricacies of developing new products, processes, and organizations and their impact on businesses. Students gain an understanding of how information-based systems can be used to meet the needs and challenges of organizations. Students also study and gain an understanding of how Internet-related technology solutions add value to organizational functions. Students employ principles of operations management to improve strategies, processes, operations, and the decision making of an enterprise to better meet customer needs.

Term Six (10 weeks)

~ BUS 626 Marketing and Entrepreneurship (6 credits)
Students integrate current literature (research and practice), historical perspective, analytical tools and theoretical frameworks to design and conduct a market analysis. Students make marketing-related decisions based on identification and analysis of target markets, marketing mix variables, and market feasibility. Students systematically identify and analyze high potential opportunities and develop a plan to potential entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial ventures.

Term Seven (10 weeks)

~ BUS 631 Global Business (6 credits)
Students gain an understanding of today's global economy and the people, institutions, and environmental elements that underlie international and global commerce. Students focus on the world economy and its impact on local business (whether or not the business is actually thought of as a global business), as well as becoming an educated citizen who understands the major issues impacting the global economy. Students will also gain an understanding of organizational sustainability issues as they impact organizations and the economy as a whole. Students are again reminded of diversity issues to further heighten their awareness of key cultural, legal, and political differences between countries and provide them with a framework for understanding, interpreting, and managing national differences.

Term Eight (10 weeks)

~ BUS 691 Business Strategy (6 credits)
The overall general management of a business is considered by developing a detailed business plan. Students analyze, study, and create business policy and strategies. Students are concerned with the strategic direction of a firm, its organizational design as well as the manner in which the organization progresses into the future with regard to leadership succession and organizational growth. Students should develop a perspective of the general manager's role and responsibilities in various types of organizations. Organizational structure and strategy are examined as a major focus; as is the culture, and an understanding of how the organization relates to the industry that it is a part of in addition to its competitive environment. Students should pay special attention to how globalization and cultural diversity affects the competitive dynamics of today's firms.

Required Session

~ BUS 696 Hybrid EMBA Study Session (0 credits)
The CSUMB EMBA program requires attendance and participation in an intensive, on-campus, face-to-face session which will be held during the summer months of a student's second year in the EMBA program. During this session, EMBA students will have the opportunity to network with other students in their cohort of study, as well as the possibility to network with students in other cohorts. Additionally, students will be exposed to short lectures and discussion regarding current topics of interest to managers from a wide array of industries. These lectures and discussions will be led by CSUMB faculty, as well as scholars and industry leaders from the local area and other geographic locations. Moreover, the attendees of these sessions will participate in tours and discussions of various industries in the surrounding geographic areas.