Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Sales Strategy online

This course provides students with an introduction to basic accounting fundamentals and skills necessary to analyze financial information of firms from a decision-maker perspective. Financial information is presented in the form of financial statements, principally, the income statement, balance sheet, statement of retained earnings, and cash flow statement. We will discuss how accountants organize the results of business transactions and report them to external users who will then use the reports to make decisions.

This course will help students to develop a comprehensive analysis of the micro and macroeconomic forces that shape and modify our economy. Supply and Demand, Revenue and Cost, wages, employment, regulations and taxation are discussed as they affect production, consumption, investment, trade, prices, quantities, profits, inequality, and the economy as a whole.

A study of the basic principles and practices of financial management of private (as opposed to government owned or affiliated) business operations. The principles and models discussed in the course can be equally applied to publicly listed companies as well as privately owned ones. This course includes an operational framework for financial analysis, financial planning including capital budgeting, along with valuation analysis and cost of capital. The basic framework of analysis used is that of risk and return, emphasizing that the objective of the firm is to maximize shareholder return, subject to satisfying societal and other stakeholder concerns.

The main objective of this course is to introduce the basic statistical concepts and tools in order to form the foundation through which students can analyze data used for decision-making. The course is application-oriented and focuses on topics that are useful in business and industry such as descriptive statistics, probability, conceptual modeling, and problem formulation and decision analysis. The course prepares students to develop an understanding of how to deal with new trends in the industry such as big data and data mining.

This course takes a broad-based look at management and organizations in order to provide students with the building blocks needed for more advanced classes in the program. It exposes students to the history of management thought and to some of the most influential organizational theories. It uses insights from multiple disciplines such as economics, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and political economy and offers frameworks for analyzing modern organizations and current managerial practices. The course concludes with a discussion of contemporary issues in management.

Marketing is viewed as a system designed to create, capture, distribute, and communicate value to consumers and businesses. The course emphasizes the managerial approach to developing marketing strategy through analyses of business conditions, customers, and competitors. Emphasis is given to understanding buyer motivations, behaviors, and contexts as the basis for marketing decisions.

The course studies strategic management from the perspective of environmental sustainability, with an emphasis on the impact of innovation on corporate social responsibility. Sustainable Strategic Management refers to strategic management policies and processes that seek competitive advantages consistent with a core value of environmental sustainability. Firms that pursue sustainable strategic management base the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of their strategies on an analysis of the ecological issues they face, the values they hold that support sustainability, and the ecological interests of their stakeholders.

This course explores business analytics concepts and applications aimed at improving business performance. The course focuses on the three facets of analytics: Descriptive Analytics, Predictive Analytics, and Prescriptive Analytics. An integral part of business analytics is the use of IT tools to support the collection and analysis of data, and converting it into actionable knowledge in the context of organization decision-making and problem-solving. As such the students will learn problem analysis and formulation, data modeling, and the application of various spreadsheet tools.

Managers need resources to succeed, and successful managers tend to negotiate well to give themselves the best chance to succeed. They negotiate with customers and suppliers for better prices, and they negotiate with internal functions to get better support and key resources to deliver value to both internal and external stakeholders. As managers move up the corporate ladder, they negotiate with their team members for better commitment and they negotiate with their superiors for domain independence. This course will focus on managers’ need to influence others, manage conflict, and negotiate agreements in a wide range of business scenarios both within and outside the organization. Students will be introduced to basic theories of negotiation, practices and frameworks of negotiation. Students will be provided with opportunities to reshape their understanding of negotiation, discover their own negotiation styles, and apply negotiation principles to critical issues. The course takes a view that negotiation is also a life skill that comes in handy in career growth and addresses the managers need to understand that influencing often occurs without formal power or authority. The course uses a combination of lectures, discussions, role-play exercises, cases, and exams.

This course deals with the environment in which international business is conducted, including economic and financial relations, environmental and strategic factors that affect business operations within different nations. Topics include international trade, the balance of payment, exchange rate determination, hedging of foreign exchange exposure, tariffs and other trade restrictions, economic development, economic integration, and international economic organizations within different nations. Also reviewed are the economic, political and cultural conditions that influence international business.

Students may choose to investigate an issue at their place of work, undertake research that will lead them to new fields, or create proposals for business models or start-ups. The capstone experience will provide students with direct exposure into various industries and also serve as a basis for planning and advancement. Finally, the course will also help MBA candidates establish their professional identities through reflective assignments and self-assessments as guided by their instructor. The course is taken in the MBA student’s last semester, or after completing the majority of courses.

Course will provide an understanding of data and analytics and the role analytics plays in successful decision making in sales. The course will provide a foundational knowledge in different type of analytics, the different steps involved in analytics, the way data and information can be represented in databases, tools used in analysis, visualization of data. The course will also focus on leveraging these tools to craft presentations to senior executives.

Strategic Sales Planning and Development assesses and examines essential principles of sales strategy and tactics for revenue planning and managing the sales cycle, strategy and processes in a global marketplace. Participants will assess, research, and report on real world strategic selling issues including salesforce organizational structure and sales policies, ethical conflicts, legal issues, and topics related to interpersonal aspects of selling skills and style as influencers of sales productivity and achieving revenue goals.

Course will develop an in depth and applied understanding of both the strategic and interpersonal processes required to develop a successful proactive sales culture within diverse types of businesses. The planning, problem solving, interpersonal and communication skills, goal setting and accountability/measurement processes used by successful sales leaders will be researched, discussed and evaluated. Course focus will include establishing a vision for the sales organization and developing the individual characteristics and skills required to manage and motivate followers, manage across the organization and up the management hierarchy to achieve sales management goals.

Marketing strategy is a top management responsibility that encompasses financial, strategic management, and marketing research and analytics perspectives. The course will provide students the opportunity to develop and refine their analytical skills to make informed marketing decisions. The course will help develop critical reasoning and improve decision-making skills through the case study process. The marketing concept will be utilized to help understand how marketing strategy is developed, implemented, and monitored. Special emphasis will be given to understanding the role and importance of ethics and corporate social responsibility for marketing practice. The course will also examine the role of innovation and its link to profitability and sustainability in today’s intensely competitive business environment.