MBA Courses

The MBA is a sequence of 42 semester credit courses. (Credits are listed in parentheses.)

BUSN600 - Foundations of Business: MBA Program DNA* (4)
Exploration of the program’s DNA including: values-based leadership, ethics, and faith/work integration. A combination of faculty and business practitioners will set the foundation for the entire MBA program. Learners will assess their own moral reasoning, investigate their own attitudes and beliefs, and develop a plan for the integration of the DNA in their MBA program.

BUSN605 - Data and Decision Making (3)
A study of quantitative and qualitative research principles. Learners will develop an ability to effectively evaluate and act upon all types of research reports and data relating to applications in business. The goal is to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to make ethical and effective business decisions using data. Prerequisite: BUSN600.

BUSN610 - Organizational Behavior (3)
A broad examination of existing theory and research surrounding organizational behavior. Exploration of concepts including: individual motivation; decision making; interpersonal communication and influence; and small group behavior including inter-group conflict and cooperation in order to develop capacity to think strategically about organizations. Focus is on the ways organizational members affect one another including frameworks for developing diverse, functional, and ethically sound organizational environments. Prerequisites: BUSN600, BUSN605.

BUSN615 - Managerial Accounting (3)
Examination of core managerial accounting concepts and their applications in modern organizations. Exploration of best practices and emerging trends in accounting with a focus on managerial decisions. Research of topics and cases may include ethics, environmental accounting, long-term versus short-term profitability, constraint management, technology, cost structures, and controls. Prerequisites: BUSN600, undergraduate accounting course.

BUSN621 - Environmental Perspectives in Business Management* (2)
Examination of the relationships between business and the local and global environment. The premise is that business leaders must consider the social and environment context of their actions and practice. Study of principles of sustainable development will include discussion of how consideration of human and materials resources are needed for managing a business in today’s world. Prerequisite: BUSN600.

BUSN625 - Managerial Finance (3)
Focus is on the financial management of business and includes international and ethical implications. Topics include: financial analysis and decision making; financial markets; risk; valuation; long and short-term financing and investing; and working capital management. Extensive use of cases and spreadsheets is required. Prerequisites: BUSN600, BUSN615, undergraduate accounting course.

BUSN630 - Strategic Technology Management (3)
A study of a strategic framework to aid in understanding how technology can be used to appropriately enable business processes and also how it can be used to shape new business models. Critical industry topics include aligning business and technology strategies; developing an enterprise business and technology architecture; and emerging technologies. Examination of practical issues in managing technology—technology investment and project portfolio management—to understand how a strategic framework is deployed. Prerequisite: BUSN600.

BUSN645 - Marketing Management (3)
A demographic and psychographic review of consumer trends in the context of what marketing managers face today. Review of broadly adopted marketing models. Focus is on the challenges of marketing to individuals in a climate of increasing information, internet channels, and multiple buyer options. Discussion of global issues facing marketers, including privacy, security, and email marketing. Prerequisites: BUSN600, BUSN605.

BUSN651 - Operations Management (3)
Focus is on the systematic direction and control of the processes that transform inputs into finished goods or services. Study of the concepts and analytic methods that are useful in understanding the management of a firm’s operations, including the problems and issues confronting operations managers. Development of language, concepts, insights, and tools to deal with these issues in order to gain competitive advantage through operations. Applications are made to: for-profit and nonprofit organizations; service and manufacturing organizations; and virtually any functional area or industry. Prerequisites: BUSN600, BUSN605, BUSN645.

BUSN656 - Legal, Regulatory, and Compliance (3)
Study of practical knowledge of legal issues and principles that often arise in the business environment in order to identify legal difficulties before they arise and to effectively strategize to avoid legal problems from occurring. Discussion includes legal concerns such as: employment law issues, contract disputes, regulatory compliance, environmental investigations, negligence claims, purported violations of fiduciary duties, and securities fraud. Prerequisite: BUSN600.

BUSN690 - Capstone Course: Business Plan Development* (3)
Focus is on the development of an individual business plan to start and build an ethical, sustainable, and profitable small business or non-governmental organization. The business plan will define the intention and business, the marketplace, a management plan, financial statements, a detailed risk analysis, and an action plan that will implement the venture. Learners will explore of the interconnections between their business and the spiritual, natural, and cultural aspects of their work life. Prerequisites: BUSN600, BUSN605, BUSN610, BUSN615, BUSN620, BUSN625, BUSN630, BUSN645, BUSN650, BUSN655, ECON635, HRMA640, PHIL660.

ECON635 - Managerial Economics* (3)
Study of global economic complexities including traditional international economics and macroeconomics. Focus is on the larger economic forces that shape the global economic landscape. Application of the tools of microeconomics and international economics to illustrate how globalization influences performance, strategy, and policy within firms. Discussion topics include: free trade versus fair trade, sustainable development, and environmental factors. Develop a framework for analyzing both opportunities and risks in a global economic environment. Prerequisites: BUSN600, BUSN615, BUSN620, BUSN625.

HRMA641 - Strategic Human Resource Management (3)
Exploration of the strategic aspects of human resource management. Development of the skills and knowledge necessary to align human resource strategies with the core business strategies of organizations. Focus is on using ethical and best HR practices and strategies to optimize the organization’s competitive advantage. Prerequisites: BUSN600, BUSN605, BUSN610.

PHIL660 - Applied Ethics* (3)
Synthesizing discussion of ethics from the entire MBA program. Learners will explore their own journey and will again assess their own moral reasoning and develop a plan for integrating these concepts into their future leadership positions. Prerequisite: BUSN600.

*Course must be taken at Bethel University.

Bethel University reserves the right to withdraw, modify, or add to the list of courses or the course descriptions.