Master of Business Administration-Practicum Option

This course examines issues and functions that business managers face within the context of day-to-day operations and long-term planning of the organization. Topics include strategic management, legal issues, marketing, law and ethics, and global dimensions of businesses.

THIS COURSE WILL REQUIRE A PROCTORED EXAM. This course introduces fundamental concepts of accounting principles, financial tools, and economic analysis for effective managerial decision-making. Topics include the role of the financial manager in the organization, concepts, and principles underlying financial accounting practices, financial statement analysis, budgeting, and economic analysis for decision makers.

THIS COURSE WILL REQUIRE A PROCTORED EXAM. This course explores management problems and the role of decision-making models and tools in resolving business problems. The application and use of information systems in decision-making is assessed. Students apply system and quantitative analysis to an integrated case study.

THIS COURSE WILL REQUIRE A PROCTORED EXAM. This course is a culmination of the business functions to incorporate them into a coherent, profitable, sustainable business strategy. This course includes strategy information, decisions, and techniques of industry leaders.

This course examines the area of business law and applies it to the business environment. Traditional topics covered include: the legal environment of business, contract law, property, sales contracts, commercial paper, agency law, ethics and the regulatory environment. The course also examines the issue of the global economy from the view that the largest companies dominate in the creation of jobs and technological innovation.

This is a course in business analysis. This course investigates the advanced analysis methods and techniques used to solve modern business problems. The course emphasizes the most successful methods from business statistics, production and operations management, management science, and operations research fields of study. Students will be required to synthesize material from several major fields of study in order to apply it in this course. The capabilities of Microsoft Office will be used extensively throughout the course to illustrate the application of these methods and techniques to the analysis and solution of modern business problems. The course will first investigate the types of problems faced by businesses in the both the production and service areas. Methods of analysis will be investigated to solve these type problems including probability concepts and their applications, statistical quality control, process design, forecasting, inventory control, waiting line models, transportation and assignment methods, decision analysis, and simulation modeling.

This course is designed to use economic analysis to enhance business decision-making within private businesses, not-for-profit institutions, and public agencies. Economic concepts covered include demand analysis, production and cost analysis, linear programming applications, pricing policies and regulation.

This course is a study of the major corporate finance and financial management theory, strategy, processes, functions, and other issues. Topics include the finance function, concepts of sources and uses of funds, analysis and estimation of need for funds (short- and long-term), short-term sources, working capital management policy, long-term sources, capital structure policy and implementation, capital budgeting and the cost of capital. Students must have access to Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel software.

This course is designed to illustrate development, implementation, and reformulation of business strategy, with both domestic and international implications. Emphasis is placed on the need for, awareness of, and accommodation to changes in an organization's internal and external environments. Generic types of business strategies and techniques for analyzing strategies are also covered.

This is a survey course that is designed to introduce students to the concepts of emergency management. Topics covered include the history of the field, hazard analysis, mitigation, planning, communication, response, recovery, and terrorism. Students conduct interview research with an emergency manager and conduct a site visit of an emergency operations center.

This course deals with the interaction, coordination, and facilitation between federal, state, and local AND the different functions associated with emergency and disaster management (fire, police, emergency medical, military, public health, etc.) during public crises. Included in the course is in-depth study of current policy and plans associated with interagency cooperation, shortfalls in interagency and intergovernmental efforts, principles for effective interorganizational behavior, and concepts for closer interorganizational action.

This course is a study of the economics associated with international, national, state, or local level disaster. Students will study, analyze, and conduct research on the direct and indirect economic losses associated with disaster. The course will cover the economics associated with both public and private institutions.

The Master of Business Administration is a multi-faceted degree that allows a student to select one of several areas of specialization within business including entrepreneurship, global business management, organization behavior, and information technology management. At its core the MBA program seeks to develop an advanced understanding of organizational theory to the complex business enterprise’s operations, to leverage technology to enhance business capabilities and apply the knowledge of financial theory and strategy to achieve management objectives. The ability to apply learning to practice is a key requirement for demonstrated success in learning. To achieve and demonstrate learning, a practicum and integration seminar is offered to students in this degree as an alternative to the comprehensive exam. This option can be undertaken by any student seriously interested in the integration and application of theory and practice. Students selecting this option are exempt from comprehensive exams. The course requires that the student: • Identify and obtain approval for an organization or project of interest • Select and obtain an approval for a workplace mentor • Complete a 120 hour practicum in the approved organization under the guidance of the mentor • Keep a log of work completed to be signed by the mentor • Submit a 25 page integrative applied research paper using Kolb’s experiential learning cycle as the basis for reflection on that experience. The experiential or practical component of the class aims to apply learning in an aspect of interest related to the degree and concentrations of the student’s areas of specialization. It is understood to be a supervised practicum that requires approval by APUS before entering into the relationship with the organization. The selection of an organization or site for the practicum must relate to the content of the student’s course work and/or concentration. Goals of the applied practicum and integration seminar will be submitted by the student for approval using an application for approval to the Faculty member, Program Director and Dean of Graduate Studies. The organization will serve as an opportunity to experience the practice of an area of management related to the focus of the student’s degree. This option will act as a capstone of the student’s program and is to be completed in the student’s final semester.