Course Descriptions
Courses are listed on these pages to provide you with an indication of the scope and depth of the Rollins MBA program. Please note that not all courses listed are offered every year, courses listed may be dropped from the curriculum, and new courses not listed may be added to provide instruction in the latest management topics.
INTENSIVE COURSES
MBA 501 Management Analysis (Required in all programs)
This course provides management analysis skills that are essential for graduate course work at the Crummer School. These skills are developed through comprehensive case analysis. Technical topics covered include basic operation of the notebook computer, network usage, and software applications. Group skills, team building, leadership skills, time management, presentation proficiency, and case analysis are also covered.
MBA 503 Legal, Ethical, and Social Issues of Business (Required in all programs)
Commitment to a moral business philosophy is indispensable for a business career. Modern social issues facing business management are examined with particular emphasis upon the interaction of business and government and upon the formulation of corporate social policy.
MBA 504 Career Management (Required in full-time programs)
This course is designed to enable students to achieve a heightened awareness of their values, interests and skills as they examine various career opportunities. Regardless of students' prior experience and/or desire to pursue challenging and possibly new careers, this course offers insights and expertise for the productive career strategy. The course includes personal assessment, skill evaluation, and the creation of an action plan. Additionally, resume and cover letter development, networking, interview skills, negotiations, and job offer evaluation are examined.
MBA 505 Leadership Communications (Required in full-time programs)
This course provides a foundation of effective leadership by equipping the student with the knowledge, character and skills to be contributing and effective managers. Students will design a plan that will allow them to continue to develop these skills throughout their business career. Using a variety of self-assessment metrics, participants will become more aware of their personal leadership qualities and style.
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CORE COURSES
Nine core courses are required of all CMBA, EAMBA, EMBA, PMBA and SMBA students. These courses may not be exempted.
ACCT 501 Financial Accounting
The objective of Financial Accounting is to develop a basic understanding of the contents of financial statements. The course builds financial literacy by evaluating the nature of business transactions, determining appropriate ways of measuring these transactions, and analyzing their effects on the organization’s performance and financial condition. The course balances an understanding of accounting information with the preparation of the financial statements. Spreadsheet models are used throughout the course.
ACCT 502 Managerial Accounting
Managerial accounting supplies information to managers so they can better achieve the objectives of the organization. The course comprises three major topics: cost calculation, decision making, and planning and control. Learning is based on analysis of problems and cases and model building with electronic worksheets. Methods discussed include cost allocation, activity-based costing, contribution analysis, differential costing, capital and operational budgeting, and performance measurement.
ECO 503 Economics for Managers
Economics for Managers covers the international environment in which firms operate according to two dimensions: first, at the country level, which examines the economic and political decisions made by governments; second, at the industry level, which examines how firms operate within the global economic system.
FIN 501 Financial Management
This course provides the opportunity to learn financial principles by discussing the functions of financial management. Various tools available to assist financial managers in making decisions are also discussed and applied to case analyses. Specific topics include the analysis of risk and return, valuation of financial assets, capital budgeting applications, capital structure management, and working capital management.
MGT 501 Organizational Behavior
The topics in this course provide the foundation for understanding individual and group behavior and its application to problems faced by managers. Extensive use is made of experiential learning and cases in addressing the topics of personality, leadership, motivation, communication, performance, stress, group dynamics, organizational structure, and organizational change in a global context.
MKT 501 Marketing Management
Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders. The marketing management course provides the opportunity for students to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to understand the critical role of marketing in successful organizations. Particular attention is paid to segmentation analysis, target markets, and positioning as well as to the role the marketing mix elements of product, supply chain, marketing communication, and pricing play in developing marketing strategies and programs.
INTL 501 Business in the Global Environment
Recent developments in the international marketplace are covered in this course. The study of international business draws from core business disciplines, as well as the insights of anthropology, economics, history, law, political science, and sociology. Differing cultural, economic, financial, legal, political, and social environments will also be examined, as well as how firms expand and adapt their operations to take advantage of opportunities overseas.
POM 503 Operations Management
Operations management is concerned with the creation of products and services through the transformation of inputs into outputs. This course deals with strategic and tactical operations decisions, including quality management, product and service strategy, process strategy, layout strategies, human resource strategy, supply chain management, forecasting, scheduling, and inventory control.
QBA 501 Quantitative Business Analysis
Students learn to apply statistical and mathematical methods to management, marketing, operations, economics, and finance in an effort to make better managerial decisions by comparing, examining, and estimating the outcome of various alternatives. Topics include descriptive and inferential statistical topics such as statistical estimation, hypothesis testing, regression analysis, sampling, time-series, decision theory, and management models.
ELECTIVE COURSES
The prerequisite for elective courses is the completion of the core courses. Selection of electives varies each year.
ACCT 606 Financial Statement Analysis and Corporate Governance
Financial Statement Analysis provides a comprehensive study of the financial information disclosed by publicly traded companies. The perspective throughout the first half of the course is that of the external analyst. The goal is to understand the information contained in the financial statements, including footnotes, to draw conclusions about the reliability of the information, and to evaluate the organization’s future prospects. The course begins with a review of financial statements followed by a detailed analysis of selected topics such as consolidations, capital leases, deferred taxes, pensions, and earnings per share. The perspective throughout the second half of the course is that of a member of the board of directors. Issues in financial statement fraud, corporate governance, and the responsibility for the financial statements are discussed. The course relies on spreadsheet models and makes extensive use of actual company annual reports. This course may be counted toward a FIN concentration.
ENT 601 Entrepreneurship
This course focuses on the issues faced by start-ups and early-stage enterprises. A review of the entrepreneurial mind and spirit is covered first and then generation of ideas and how to screen and evaluate them. The market validation process is also examined. The course covers financing decisions, including debt versus equity, alternative sources of financing and the considerations involved in internal and external sources of funds. After reviewing a business plan model, student teams present their own business plan as their term project. This course may be counted towards either an ENT or MGT concentration.
ENT 602 Entrepreneurial Finance
This course applies current financial economics research and theory to the study of entrepreneurship and new venture finance. This approach shows how entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and outside investors can rely on financial economic foundations as a framework to guide decision making. Topics covered include assessing the timing and amounts of financial needs, evaluating alternative new venture strategies, designing and negotiating “deals” and attracting outside funding. ENT concentration.
ENT 603 Strategic Corporate Entrepreneurship
Executives of large or mature firms have recognized the need for becoming more active, less bureaucratic, and more competitive in today’s and tomorrow’s fast-paced global marketplace. This course brings together the very latest and most impactful knowledge and applications of how companies become more entrepreneurial. The focus is on the various factors that affect the organization’s need to become more innovative and entrepreneurial, its current internal state of entrepreneurialism and its outcomes, structural and process elements that hinder achieving a higher level of entrepreneurial functioning, strategies to infuse a culture of entrepreneurial orientation, and the role of executives in promoting and sustaining the organization’s entrepreneurial strategy. This course emphasizes the pragmatic aspects of analyzing and formulating entrepreneurially-related strategies and the processes by which they are implemented. Case studies of leading companies in the US and elsewhere are used to integrate and apply the concepts developed. A project is a required element of the course, to provide further familiarity with aspects of the course pertinent to the student’s interests and career goals. This course may be counted towards either an ENT or MGT concentration.
ENT 604 Technology Entrepreneurship
New and emerging technologies create opportunities for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial organizations to compete more efficiently in established markets and create new markets. This course builds on the core elements of INTL 501 International Business (culture, market selection, and mode of entry) and ENT 601 Entrepreneurship (idea generation and business plan creation) with the goal of having students focus on technology-related entrepreneurial opportunities. Central Florida is rich with companies that have developed new technology or commercialized existing military technology to create start-ups that are now selling their products worldwide. This course will examine how high-tech start-ups migrate successfully from technology to product to sales. Prerequisite: ENT 601. ENT concentration.
ENT 605 Applied Entrepreneurship*
*Only open to students in the Professional MBA program on the Entrepreneurship track
This course, which will compliment and expand on the topics considered in ENT 601, will examine a wide variety of subjects in the area of entrepreneurship. The class will be divided into six thematic blocks, which are:
1. Marketing
2. HR
3. Legal/Accounting
4. Growing Your Business
5. Funding the Business
6. Exit Strategies
One theme will be offered each semester. Each block will have four related seminars conducted through the course of the semester, with each seminar being three hours in length. Students will be required to participate in two of the seminars offered in each term.
FIN 601 Advanced Financial Management
This course reinforces the financial principles learned in FIN 501 by applying these concepts in a case format. The course also examines special advanced topics in financial management such as lease analysis, the use of warrants and convertible bonds in financing, the use of Monte Carlo simulation in capital budgeting, and the use of derivative securities in a corporate finance setting. This course may be counted towards either an FIN or ENT concentration.
FIN 602 Financial Institutions
Problems unique to financial institutions such as commercial and investment banks, thrift institutions, and casualty and life insurers are analyzed. The course includes a discussion of the regulatory and financial environments in which institutions operate whether regionally, nationally, or globally. Case studies and/or simulation are used to practice principles in the management of financial institutions. FIN concentration.
FIN 603 Security and Portfolio Analysis
This course is designed to help students understand how security analysts use investment information to value companies. Students learn the fundamental theories and practical applications of financial analysis for both equity and debt, using case assignments, class discussions, and projects. Students also learn the principles of portfolio management for different individuals and institutions and explore contemporary issues facing the investment profession. FIN concentration.
FIN 604 Investment Banking
This course provides students with a detailed knowledge of the investment banking process. Topics include the process for issuing and pricing fixed income and equity securities, relevant securities law, and the workings of the capital markets. This course takes the perspective of the corporate officer needing to raise capital and is an applications-oriented course. FIN concentration.
FIN 607 Mergers and Acquisitions
This course gives students an understanding of mergers, acquisitions, and other corporate control transactions. Related issues include business valuation of public and privately held firms, the roles of various parties involved, financing, and deal structuring within an overall framework of strategic-decision making for value creation. Students study the workings of the market for corporate control and learn practical principles and tools of corporate finance. FIN concentration.
FIN 608 Real Estate Analysis
This course provides general information about how to analyze real estate opportunities, while also focusing on the principles real estate development. Topics covered include the fundamentals of real estate development, taxation, financing, and management, with a special emphasis on making decisions in an environment without all the required information. Guest speakers, cases, and problems will be used to acquaint students with the basic of real estate and then allow them to practice these principles by making real estate decisions. FIN concentration.
FIN 609 Portfolio Management: Theory and Applications
This course is designed to give students advanced knowledge of modern techniques and practices of portfolio management. The course builds on the student’s earlier courses in security analysis and portfolio management with an opportunity to apply the techniques learned in these earlier courses. In coordination with the instructor, industry practitioners play an important instructional role in detailing and discussing current investment practices. A major focus of the course is the students’ decision-making process in directing the real-world investment decisions of the Crummer/SunTrust Portfolio. Prerequisite: FIN 603. FIN concentration.
FIN 611 Financial Modeling
This course introduces students to financial models used in practice. It is a hands-on application-oriented tour of financial models used in corporate finance, investment analysis, and portfolio management. Students construct and apply numerically intensive models to practical problems. The course makes extensive use of Excel and will teach students Visual Basic. Students pursuing careers in investment banking, financial analysis, and corporate finance will find this course helpful.
INTL 601 International Management
This course examines the opportunities and problems that face managers who are working in a global environment, the types of decisions that managers at every level have to make every day, and the issues that arise from the implementation of their decisions. These include, but are not limited to: developing cross-cultural sensitivity, adjusting and implementing strategy, structure and systems, assessing foreign projects, choice of foreign growth strategies, managing one's own and others' careers, and corporate ethics in a global economy. The course is taught in a seminar style with heavy emphasis on the case method. This course may be counted towards either an INTL or MGT concentration.
INTL 602 International Marketing
This course examines marketing practice in a global environment. Building on the core courses in Marketing and International Business, students examine the types of decisions that marketing managers make when they expand into a foreign market. The course assumes familiarity with general marketing management and utilizes this as a base to develop insights and understanding of international marketing. It relates the various economic, social, political, religious, and legal dimensions of the world to the marketplace. Special emphasis is placed on the impact of cultural value and political systems on how business processes are conducted (i.e., what are appropriate behaviors), how business transactions occur, and how to develop global marketing strategies. The course is taught in a seminar style with heavy emphasis on the case method. This course may be counted towards either an INTL or MKT concentration
INTL 603 International Financial Management
A wide variety of international finance topics are covered, including the following: the concept of international monetary system, risk and returns of international firms, the impact of volatile exchange rates on financial reporting and financial management, the various means available to manage currency exposure, raising capital in international equity and bond markets, capital budgeting for various forms of foreign investment, the function of financial management in international merger and acquisition activities, and strategic financial considerations in building global businesses. This course may be counted towards either an INTL or FIN concentration.
INTL 604 Global Consulting Project
These projects give students hands-on experience dealing with a real business issue in a company or not-for-profit organization. Student teams are assigned to a specific management project with a domestic or foreign corporation under the supervision of a member of the faculty. Student teams define the issues, identify the salient facts, and analyze the situation. In a series of classroom meetings, students present an overview of the country in which the project is located, including a cultural profile of that country. Student teams then travel overseas during the school’s project weeks in Fall and Spring terms, gathering information through on-site visits and data-based research, after which student teams prepare and present their final report to the company. INTL concentration.
INTL 605 Global Research and Study Project (GRASP)
Classes travel overseas as a group to gain practical experience in conducting business abroad. Prior to their departure, students research the countries and businesses to be visited so that they may better understand the working environments of their hosts. Once in country, the students have the opportunity to experience the cultural, social, and business environment in a one-week visit. Typically, each team of students will also be assigned a project to complete for a company located in the countries to be visited and, while overseas, the team will present its findings to the company’s executive team. Can be used as an elective and counted toward an INTL concentration only in the PMBA program.
INTL 606 Business in Emerging Markets
The purpose of this course is to broaden the participating students' global perspective on business and to give students an opportunity to gain first-hand experience in an emerging market. Students will have the opportunity to learn, both by personal observation and through secondary research, the challenges associated with doing business in a transitional economy. Readings, guest lectures, group research and presentations, and personal research are used to enhance students' knowledge and understanding of the economic, financial, political, legal, technological, and sociocultural forces that must be considered when doing business in emerging economies. The course includes a one-week field trip overseas, during the Crummer project week in fall or spring, or in July for a summer course. Recent trips have taken students to the Czech Republic and to China. INTL concentration.
INTL 608 Managing Technology in the Global Environment
This course will provide students with an understanding of and appreciation for what technology can do to enhance a business. Each student will: research and present a technology overview of a country with particular focus on what businesses are doing there to enhance competitiveness, present a technical case study of a company doing business in that country, and research and present a vertical market with a potential to increase its productivity by employing technology. The objective is not to make you an engineer, but to help you manage technical people, projects and products and understand what companies are doing with technology today to prepare for the future. This course may be counted towards either an INTL or MGT concentration.
INTL 609 Global Supply Chain Management
This course will help students understand the linkage between a firm´s supply chain strategy and business strategy, utilize firm resources more effectively, and coordinate the movement of goods and services through different echelons of supply chains in order to create a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. Theoretical frameworks, practical examples from firms in different industrial sectors, and an illustration through a hands on experiential simulation exercise will provide key insights to students on how to lower costs, increase flexibility, enhance customer satisfaction, and simultaneously drive up firm profitability. This course may be counted towards an INTL, MGT or MKT concentration.
INTL 611 Economics of Latin America
This course explores the current economic environment of Latin America with an emphasis on its largest nations. The goal of the course is to enhance students’ understanding of the Latin American economy in order to help them be better prepared when conducting business in this region. A primary component of the course is the completion of a project which involves a detailed analysis of the investment/business potential of a particular country in Latin America. INTL concentration.
MBA 610 Public Policy
Public Policy examines public administration primarily at the state and local levels. Topics include public sector management, budget administration, and tax, expenditure and debt policies. Topics are discussed in the framework of policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. Fieldwork may be required. This course may be counted towards either a FIN or MGT concentration.
MBA 611 Domestic Consulting Project
Real management opportunities and problems in leading U.S.-based companies are assigned to teams of students working under faculty supervision. Working on-site with company managers, teams define the problem, perform a comprehensive analysis using methods developed in their MBA courses, and present a professional-quality final report to senior management. Concentration depends on scope of project and professor approval.
MBA 614 Applied Leadership Development*
*Only open to students in the Professional MBA program on the Leadership track
The course serves as a foundation in personal leadership development. It is unique because it is offered as a series of key leadership topics over six semesters in a two year period. These topics, offered as modules, are fashioned as “stand-alone” workshops each designed to offer developmental content. Students can therefore take the modules in any order.
Modules include
1. Pre-Track: Overview and Leadership Development Plan
2. Emotional Intelligence: An Ingredient for Success in Work Relationships
3. Conflict Management: Leading People to Manage their Differences
4. Managing Change: Leading Self and Others through Uncertainties
5. Leadership Communication: The Messenger and the Message
6. Leadership in a Diverse Marketplace: Global and Multi-Generational Dynamics
7. Post-Track: Reflective Paper and Wrap-up
Students are required to develop a Personal Development Plan outlining their leadership goals for the period of time covering their MBA studies. Assessments, in addition to the DiSC taken in Orientation, will be utilized in various modules.
MGT 602 Human Resources Management
The essential functions and procedures of personnel management are covered in this course. Topics such as recruitment, selection, hiring procedures, job analysis, supervisory and employee training, work salary administration, discipline, career development, equal employment opportunity, and promotion transfers are covered. Students learn the key techniques, practices, and policies governing successful human resource management. MGT concentration.
MGT 605 Enterprise Consulting
Students are organized into three to five-person consulting teams and are assigned to real business organizations for the purpose of analyzing operations. They then make oral and written presentations, which apply the theoretical knowledge of MBA course work to the business firm. MGT concentration.
MGT 607 Law for Managers
This course provides a comprehensive background of the economic and legal environment from the perspective of both national and international businesses. Ethical considerations and social and political influences as they affect such organizations are also discussed. The course uses cases for the study of the legal, ethical, and social responsibilities of modern management. Emphasis is given to new and emerging legal and ethical problems engendered by cyberspace and rapidly changing technology. MGT concentration.
MGT 608 Competition and Strategy
The focus of this course is on the modern organization’s competition-based challenges. The analytic bases for formulating effective competitive strategies are investigated for their applicability. The current business press, case analyses, and projects form the means through which students acquire a sound basis for executive analysis and decision making. MGT concentration.
MGT 609 Management of Innovation
This course focuses on creative skills and techniques for application in individual and organizational problem-solving situations and then on managing innovation. Students examine a company’s climate for innovation, and create a plan to improve that climate. Finally, the course is designed to increase self-actualization levels for the purpose of strengthening individual contributions to the organization and for coping effectively with organizational complexities. MGT concentration.
MGT 610 Leadership
Students learn to understand the leadership process and techniques used to train leaders through a threefold approach: reading the literature that describes experimental research and theory; analyzing cases of corporate leadership, requiring application of the appropriate leadership theory; and participation in experiential exercises that are used by those who engage in the profession of leadership training. Through its format, the course also reinforces the leadership skills of interpersonal interaction, written analysis, and oral presentation. Some of the assigned work is completed as group activities. MGT concentration.
MGT 611 Negotiation
Negotiation is the art and science of settling conflicts and resolving problems through mutual agreement. This is a concept and applications course designed to increase students' competence, confidence, and satisfaction in dealing with a broad range of negotiating circumstances and roles. Classes consist of an examination of negotiation strategies and tactics, and participation in practical exercises. The goal of the course is for students to develop a working concept of negotiation theory and acquire and practice useful skills. This course may be counted towards either an MGT or ENT concentration.
MGT 616 Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a business improvement strategy that seeks to identify, reduce, and eliminate defects from every product, process and transaction. The approach requires defining the process function, identifying, collecting, and analyzing data, creating and consolidating information into useful knowledge, and the communication and application of such knowledge to reduce variation and cost. Those participating in this course will be certified as a Green Belt at the conclusion of the course.
MGT concentration.
MKT 601 Marketing Research
This course provides students with an understanding of the different marketing information needs of the organization. Topics include definition of research objectives, data sources, research design, interpretation of data, and evaluation of research proposals and results. The course focuses on applying marketing research concepts to solving real-world problems through applied research exercises and experiential research development projects. This course may be counted towards either a MKT or ENT concentration.
MKT 604 Promotion Management
This course concerns the conception and execution of the promotional strategy component of the marketing plan and thus involves strategic thinking about all aspects of marketing communication. These strategic decisions must be made on the basis of a valid understanding of consumer behavior and purchasing practices, which are established by utilizing appropriate marketing research processes. The elements involved in an integrated promotional strategy are: advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, direct marketing, and public relations and publicity. This course includes a variety of application exercises including cases and real-world promotional projects. MKT concentration.
MKT 606 Strategic Marketing
This course provides marketers with solid experience in creating strategies for the future success of a business. Key factors impacting strategy are introduced and tools are utilized to gauge the level of impact the factors are likely to have on a firm’s ability to gain sustainable competitive advantage. Opportunities are provided to practice developing industry analyses, including customer analysis, competitor analysis, market/submarket analysis, environmental analysis, and strategy assessment. This course may be counted towards either a MKT or ENT concentration.
MKT 607 Services Marketing
In an increasingly service-oriented economy, managers must address the issues involved in the marketing of services to customers in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Topics include key differences between goods and services marketing, service as a process or performance, and strategic issues and marketing tools for services marketers. Throughout the course, special emphasis is given to improvement of service quality and productivity in order to gain a competitive advantage. MKT concentration.
POM 603 Quality Management
In order for a business to maintain a competitive advantage, it must produce quality products or services - a feat which requires superior quality management. The fundamental principles, concepts, and methods of quality management are discussed, as are the benefits of the continuous process improvement philosophy. Text materials, current readings, case studies, videos, and guest speakers from industry are used to illustrate course material. Course projects often include a field project where students apply classroom lessons to firms and organizations. Quality management is discussed from a business point of view in terms of the economics of profitability, of market leadership, and of cost control.
Integrative Capstone Courses
The following integrative capstone courses are required.
MGT 502 Introduction to Strategy (EAMBA program only)
This course is designed to introduce students to the concepts and applications of strategy, and to examine the relationship of corporate and business strategies to the various functional and process strategies within a firm. The course provides a framework for the students to connect the content they receive in the functional area courses and tools courses during the remainder of their program. The role of creative decision making and innovation in strategy is also examined. This is an experiential course in which students are required to analyze complex situations in contemporary companies and apply concepts learned to develop strategies for future implementation. (1.5 credit hours)
MGT 615 Business Policy (EAMBA program only)
The purpose of this course is to integrate the various business specialization areas covered by the core courses, so the student will be prepared for solving complex problems that face the modern organization. (1.5 hours)
MGT 612 Management Policy (Part-time Programs)
The purpose of this course is to provide a strategic prospective and to integrate the various business specialization areas covered by the core courses, so the student may be prepared for the complexities of the modern organization and its environments. Taught primarily by the case method, students must deal with complex situations as the top executive decision-maker.
Global Research and Study Project
The following course is required in the CMBA, EAMBA, and SMBA programs.
INTL 605 Global Research and Study Project (GRASP)
Classes travel overseas as a group to gain practical experience in conducting business abroad. Prior to their departure, students research the countries and businesses to be visited so that they may better understand the working environments of their hosts. Once in country, the students have the opportunity to experience the cultural, social, and business environment in a one-week visit. Typically, each team of students will also be assigned a project to complete for a company located in the countries to be visited and, while overseas, the team will present its findings to the company’s executive team.
