MBA: Course Descriptions

Core Courses (40 credits)

TBUS 500 Quantitative Methods in Business (4 credits)

Examines statistical concepts including probability and probability distributions. Develops an understanding of sampling and estimation procedures, hypothesis testing, and inference. Topics include correlation and regression analysis, and analysis of time series.

TBUS 501 Financial Theory (4 credits)

Examines financial theory including asset valuation, capital markets, and the basic terminology of corporate finance. Focuses on time value of money, equity valuation, cost of capital and basics of risk management as essential tools.

TBUS 503 Accounting for Business Decisions (4 credits)

Focuses on the process by which firms report ecomonic information to users outside the firm (e.g., stockholders, potential investors, creditors, regulatory agencies). Introduces financial statements and the financial reporting process from a user's perspective.

TBUS 504 Marketing Management (4 credits)

Explores the processes by which organizations create value for customers. Focuses on marketing decision making, including opportunity analysis, positioning strategies, product development/management, distribution channels, pricing tactics, and integrated marketing communications. Enables students to engage in target market selection and marketing program design.

TBUS 505 Information Systems (4 credits)

Examines key management issues related to the effective use of information systems for operational support, tactical decision making, and strategic activities in various business environments. Computer-based assignments are used to provide an experiential understanding of the issues involved.

TBUS 506 Strategic Management (4 credits)

Focuses on the strategy development process in organizations and on how to create sustainable competitive advantage. Includes developing an understanding of the strategic position of organizations, strategic choices for the future and how one can best translate strategies into action.

TBUS 507 Individual and Group Dynamics (4 credits)

Examines individual and group dynamics in business organizations to enhance understanding of key issues associated with managing people. Focuses on practice and conceptual training to hone skills in: problem definition and problem solving; analysis of organizational dynamics; and managerial action that enhances individual, group, and organizational performance.

TBUS 508 Integrated Systems (4 credits)

Integrates material learned in the M.B.A. core through immersion in systems theory. Learn to view organizations as open systems and evaluate consequences of business decisions. Uses an online simulation to demonstrate the interplay of various subsystems in organizations while competitive forces create an environment of ongoing change. Prerequiste: Completion of TBUS 500, 501, 503-507, 520

TBUS 520 Microeconomics for Managers (4 credits)

Examines ways to apply tools of intermediate microeconomic theory to issues of interest to managers. Topics include market processes, consumer theory, firm behavior in competitive and imperfectly competitive markets, product pricing, and strategic behavior.

TBUS 570 Organization Development (4 credits)

Examines planned change using behavioral-science knowledge and practices; focuses on goals, organizational values and emphasizes individual involvement to achieve effectiveness. Challenges students to develop and enhance skills in an experiential learning environment.

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Elective Courses (32 credits)

TACCT 520 International Accounting Seminar (4 credits)

Enhances understanding of international accounting issues. Examines the impacts of accounting diversity on global capital flows, and explores the convergence of global accounting standards. Covers accounting for changing prices, goodwill and other intangibles, as well as social and environmental reporting, geographic segment disclosure practices, and financial reporting in emerging markets.

TACCT 525 Forensic Accounting Seminar (4 credits)

Explores the nature, detection and prevention of fraudulent financial reporting. Investigates types of fraud, how fraud is committed, and ways to prevent fraud in corporations. Prerequisite: TBUS 503

TACCT 531 Financial Statement Analysis (4 credits)

Provides analytical tools and research techniques necessary to understand and interpret financial statements. Prerequisite: TBUS 503

TBUS 560 Tools for Forecasting and Assessing Change (4 credits)

Emphasizes research design, data collection and data analysis as critical elements of forecasting and managing change. Provides practical and theoretical insights into gathering information about forthcoming problems and opportunities.

TFIN 521 Macroeconomics for Managers (4 credits)

Focuses on the use of intermediate macroeconomic theory to understand how different sectors of the economy are inter-related. Specific emphasis is placed on international markets and how to assess the impact on firms of different macroeconomic policies and events.

TFIN 522 Investment Valuation (4 credits)

Examines the valuation of financial assets including stocks, bonds and real assets such as businesses. Focuses on discounted cash flow, risk option pricing theory and models, market efficiency, dividend discount models, and real options theory. Prerequisite: TBUS 501

TFIN 526 Portfolio Management (4 credits)

Provides an understanding of investor decision making under uncertainty, and how portfolios may be used to reduce risk. Explores the portfolio management process including construction, revision, and protection of both fixed income and equity portfolios. Covers performance evaluation and risk management. Prerequisite: TBUS 501

TIS 555 Topics in Managing Technology: Decision Making and Information Technology (4 credits)

Examines managerial decision making and strategies for applying information technology. Explores: decision framing and decision analysis; factors and issues that contribute to the complexity of decisions; cognitive, social, and political dimensions of decisions; personal, group, and organizational decision making; and IT architectures for decision support.

TMGMT 512 Business Ethics and Social Responsibility (4 credits)

Focuses on the ethical and moral challenges that are an everyday part of organizational life for managers. Addresses the societal consequences of managerial decisions and organizational actions. Considers global variance in ethical standards and impact of ethical behavior on organizational performance.

TMGMT 516 Business Communication (4 credits)

Explores the functions, elements and types of communication that are important in business settings. Promotes students' understanding of important communication dynamics and enhances the ability to communicate strategically and professionally in organizations.

TMGMT 518 Business Law (4 credits)

Examines legal issues in a business context. Considers law as a strategic tool to help achieve core business objectives, create value, and manage risk. Addresses legal aspects of business management, agreements and relationships including: contracts, torts, product liability, employment, intellectual property, agency and business organizations.

TMGMT 520 Managing Corporate Responsibility (4 credits)

Focuses on strategic and dynamic issues that are key to building high-performing organizations with a sense of ethics, civic engagement and social responsibility. Provides a theoretical and practical understanding of what role organizations should play in society.

TMGMT 532 Strategic Human Resource Management (4 credits)

Addresses the design of human resource management systems to create and sustain competitive advantage. Focuses on how managers can diagnose their organization's alignment with competitive realities and develop human resource systems that produce the levels of commitment, coordination and competence required by the organization's competitive strategy.

TMGMT 553 Leadership in a Changing World (4 credits)

Concentrates on the knowledge and skills that managers need to lead effectively in today's dynamic business environment. The course examines what it takes to be an outstanding leader under a variety of circumstances. Participants will develop a greater understanding of how change impacts individuals, teams, and organizations. The course requires students to study a "live" case as well as develop an action plan to increase their own leadership competencies.

TMGMT 557 Conflict Management Strategies (4 credits)

Emphasizes the conflict resolution approaches most commonly used by managers to resolve disputes at the individual, group and organizational levels. Students will learn to assess conflict situations and select appropriate resolution techniques as well as hone their skills in negotiation and mediation.

TMGMT 574 New Business Ventures (4 credits)

Examines the legal, financial, strategic, and managerial challenges of creating and operating new businesses. Topics include building an entrepreneurial firm, developing start-up strategy, creating business plans, obtaining venture financing, and managing a growing company.

TMKTG 520 Services Marketing (4 credits)

Explores the unique challenges of managing services and delivering service quality that lead to customer satisfaction. Examines methodologies available for measuring, analyzing and designing services. Investigates the role of marketing in attracting customers and shaping customer expectations. Prerequisites: TBUS 504 Marketing Management.

TBUS 568 Internship (3-5 credits)

Allows students to explore new career avenues or to extend their current career experience into new areas. Involves explaining knowledge and skills through on-site project work with an organization. Requires written internship plan and faculty permission prior to registration. Tacoma MBA students only. Permission of faculty is required.

TBUS 569 Analytical Research (2-4 credits)

Provides an opportunity to work independently to explore specific business topics in greater depth. The student must develop a research proposal and make arrangements with a faculty member to supervise the project prior to course registration. Tacoma MBA students only. Permission of faculty is required.