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Master of Business Administration: Curriculum

Curriculum Details

45 total credits required

The online MBA program takes one-and-a-half years to complete and gives students an advanced look into leadership, management and budgeting strategies. There are 10 core courses where you’ll focus on marketing, finance, sustainability, operational decision-making, creativity and innovation.

Following the core content, you’ll select five elective courses. Topics include business and the environment, emotional intelligence, alternative business strategies, disaster recovery, and more. The online MBA program from Eastern Oregon University is accredited by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE) and prepares students for the career of their choice with focused coursework.

Transfer Information

EOU offers a generous transfer policy for course credits to make it even more affordable and accessible to learn. The online MBA program accepts up to 15 transfer credits.

Required Courses

Credits

This course presents communication as integral to management strategy and as a critical component for success in the workplace. In this class, you will develop a foundation for designing effective messages, both written and oral, from concept to delivery. You will use a strategic communication model to identify objectives, analyze audiences, choose information, and create the most effective arrangement and channel for that message. Particularly, the course emphasizes elements of persuasive communication: how to design messages for diverse and possibly resistant audiences and how lo present that information in a credible and convincing way. Exercises employ numerous real or simulated business situations that require communication in different styles, using a variety of forms and methods. This course is designed to establish common communication protocols, determine critical self-awareness profiles, and identify the learning themes that will be applied throughout the program: strategic decision-making, communication, ethical behavior & corporate social responsibility, leadership, creative problem solving, and global perspective.

This course examines the influences that individual and group attitudes and behavior, organizational structure, history and culture have on enterprise performance. The multi-dimensional nature of the course draws from several interconnected fields including psychology, sociology, management, communications and ethics. Examples of focus are organizational values and culture, conflict, power, diversity and need for continuous adaptation due to global environmental influences. The course enables the enterprise leader to evaluate and manage the composition of the business’s structure to maximize human and organizational resources.

Students will acquire a working knowledge of marketing strategy and tactics. In particular, students will learn how to tune the marketing mix (product, people, price, place, promotion) in response to a variety of market dynamics; explore the importance of a powerful brand; and identify tools, programs, strategies, and business models that support these elements. This course will explore application of these principles through case-based analysis and specific marketplace examples.

This course provides a framework for financial management techniques in the business world. Topics covered include planning the financial structure of the firm, management of firm assets, preparing the firm’s capital budget, management and acquisition of capital resources, and management of income. The focus is on practical tools for internal financial decision making.

The principle executive of an enterprise must constantly anticipate movements in the global environment to sustain an enterprise’s competitive advantage and provide leadership to flourish during uncertain times. This course will cover topics such as the economics of globalization, global geopolitical and security trends, cultural dynamics, the ethical use of business intelligence and the usage of data base mining/analysis to strengthen the decision-making strategies when operating in a global environment.

Students will learn to use the tools and techniques associated with modern business strategy to create sustainable competitive advantage. In particular, students will discuss and master the fundamentals of modern competitive strategy; learn to assess the opportunities and threats present in the external environment; identify the strengths, weaknesses, and core competencies within any organization; and then create a pro-active strategic plan that capitalized on these factors.

Optimization, or managerial economics, is concerned with the application of economic principles and methodologies to key management decisions within organizations. It fosters the goals of the organization, as well as a better understanding of the external business environment in which an organization operates. Managerial Economics is fundamentally a unique way of thinking about problems, issues and decisions that managers face in each of the functional areas of the organization as well as the strategic decisions faced by general manager. This course will apply microeconomic theory to make rational, business decisions based on the optimization goals of the organization. Optimization goals may include profit maximization, cost minimization, resource allocation, and logistic and production decisions. Game theory will also be studied as a means to determine how your decisions may impact the decisions and behaviors of others. The impacts of various economic market structures (monopoly, oligopolies, etc.) on decision making will also be explored.

Diversity is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing the richness of diversity contained within each individual. A workplace’s success depends upon its ability to embrace diversity and realize the benefits of workforce diversity. Mutual and unique challenges exist when attempting to create a diverse equitable and inclusive workplace environment in urban and rural areas. Examining such challenges will enable rural and urban workplaces to develop strategies and goals that will meet the specific needs of the organization and achieve long-term success. This course is cross-listed with HCA 512 and the MHA and MBA programs.

An operations strategy refers to a set of operational decisions that an enterprise makes to achieve a long-term competitive advantage. The operations strategy supports the overall organizational strategy by ensuring the physical assets and organizational resources, including technology, personnel, facilities, processes, logistics and other related capital, are aligned with the direction set out in the organizational strategy. Achieving the operations strategy is primarily accomplished by maximizing the effectiveness of production and support elements, minimizing costs, and delivering value, both within the firm and across the network of suppliers and customers.

The MBA capstone course will explore what it takes to manage a successful business in today’s global environment. Emphasis is placed on strategic decision making in an on-line simulation with the integrated application of core concepts acquired in the MBA program. Students will analyze the effects of their decisions within and between functional areas of the business and on overall business performance. Students will be required to regularly analyze data, consider business strategies and ethics, make strategic business decisions, review their decisions, and communicate in a professional style. Students are expected to spend a significant amount of time engaging the business simulation.

15 credit hours of Electives
Choose FIVE courses from the following:

Credits

Special Topics. Student must have graduate standing to register for this course.

Explores techniques and practices to effectively recruit, select, develop and manage business and healthcare professionals. After examining employment law, employee relations, and credentialing of healthcare providers, the focus is on developing practical strategies for staff recruitment, selection, retention practices, and performance management to meet the unique challenges in today’s for profit and nonprofit businesses. This course is cross-listed with HCA 513 and the MHA and MBA programs.

This course provides an overview of the evolution of the environmental movement, including related literature and legislation. It analyzes the three legs of sustainability and how they are shaping customer expectations of businesses nationally and globally as well as considering how these expectations create opportunities for new products, services, and innovations. The course considers some practical ways companies can reduce their carbon footprints while reducing energy consumption for cost savings. Finally, the course looks at some current trends in Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) that will be shaping corporate strategies nationally and globally over the next decade.
This course gives students the tools needed to be emotionally intelligent in the workplace. It is designed to help students understand the linkage between Emotional Intelligence (El) and business success. To do this, students will be exposed to the core principles of Emotional Intelligence which will enable them to manage their own impulses, communicate with others effectively, manage change well and solve problems. Students will learn best practices in developing/leveraging El abilities: being aware of self and others, understanding emotions, and emotional management.
This course will provide an in-depth look at alternative models for business managers and leaders. Alternative business models examine the decision making process beyond the economic and financial responsibilities of the company and includes making decisions in favor of society and stakeholders first. It will examine the meaning of corporate social responsibility and conscious capitalism and the concerns of various stakeholders including those outside of the business.
This course covers Business Continuity Planning, a methodology used to create and validate a plan for maintaining continuous business operations before, during, and after disasters or disruptive events. It also covers Disaster Recovery, which is aimed at stopping the effects of disasters as quickly as possible, and addressing the immediate aftermath.
The course will investigate the global food and agribusiness system and will address issues in the strategic management of agricultural and food businesses. Emphasis is on developing a framework for formulating strategy, making strategic choices in a variety of business environments, and implementing strategy. Extensive use of management case studies and project with an agribusiness firm focus on developing managerial problem-solving skills will be utilized.

Traditional finance and strategy courses do not consider the role of taxes. Similarly, traditional tax courses often ignore the richness of the decision context in which tax factors operate. The objective of this course is to develop a framework for understanding how taxes affect business decisions. A recurring theme will be linking the tax strategies that we learn with concepts from corporate finance, financial accounting, business law, and economics. We make extensive use of real transactions to illustrate the impact of tax structure on earnings and cash flow.

Applies advanced current accounting theory. The purpose of the course is to develop accounting thought that can be applied to the practical understanding of the financial reporting process, the accounting profession, and the controversial role of accounting in today’s dynamic business environment. Current topics give an indication of the state of the accounting profession and the impact of issues facing the future of accounting.

This course provides an in-depth exploration into global commerce, markets and societies. Heavy emphasis will be placed on the interrelationship of commerce and the role culture and society have in global markets. The course will utilize an interdisciplinary social science perspective, emphasizing the ways in which economies, trade, policies and politics are connected to culture, social movements, and other global factors.

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