Norwich University - MBA Curriculum Overview

Norwich University - MBA Curriculum Overview

The online MBA program is made up of six, six-credit seminars for a total of 36 credits. There are four start dates per year: March, June, September or December. Each seminar is approximately 11 weeks in length. The core of the MBA online program is composed of five seminars while the remaining seminar allows you to select your area of interest. You may choose from online MBA E-commerce, online MBA International Business, online MBA Organizational Leadership, online MBA Project Management or online MBA Management of Technology Innovation. Prerequisite courses are offered for those not meeting full admission requirements. Assessments are conducted on a case-by-case basis. The distance learning MBA degree online program culminates with a one-week residency and graduation ceremony at Norwich University in June. The seminars must be taken in the order presented. They are strategically sequenced to build context for future seminars and to build on issues from past seminars.

MBA Prerequisite (if applicable):

The prerequisite is a 12-credit hour certificate course that prepares you for an MBA education. In addition to an understanding of the critical business functions, two key skill areas that are essential for all business professionals are a proficiency in business communication and a working knowledge of business statistics. Both are part of the prerequisite. All subjects of the Common Professional Components required for accreditation and necessary for preparing you to succeed in the MBA are covered in the prerequisite seminar.

These include:

Functional Areas

• Marketing
• Finance
• Accounting
• Management (includes Operations Management, Organizational Behavior, and Human Resource Management)

The Business Environment

• Legal Environment of Business
• Economics
• Business Ethics
• Global Dimensions of Business

Technical Skills

• Information Management
• Quantitative Techniques/Statistics.

Semester 1:

Strategic Resources Management
Seminar 1
This seminar focuses on the strategic management of the intangible assets of an organization: human capital, information capital, and organizational capital. Human motivation, workforce utilization, performance measurement, leadership, organizational culture and change, management information systems, knowledge management, and contingency planning are discussed in detail during the seminar. You learn to translate strategy into operational terms, to align the organization to its strategy, and to apply course content in an individual project and in an integrated corporate partner case study. (6 credit hours)

Managerial Finance
Seminar 2
This seminar introduces you to the world of financial management. You will start off with understanding financial statements and how to measure a firm's financial performance. An important concept in financial management is the time value of money and how that is related to decisions about risk and rates of return, capital budgeting, and the financing of other long-term capital projects. After mastering these principles you will apply them to problems in calculating after-tax cash flows, project selection decision criteria and the cost of capital. Techniques for determining the impact of leverage on the firm's financing mix and forecasting future financial positions are explored. The seminar closes on international business finance and a continuation of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) that you began in Seminar 1. (6 credit hours)

Semester 2:

Strategic Marketing Management
Seminar 3
Seminar 3 takes the view of a senior marketing executive in a multi-national corporation. We begin with a strategic high-level view of marketing by understanding the differences and relationship between business and marketing strategy. How management measures the financial performance of marketing programs is a critical skill that is learned, then applied to the identification and development of market opportunities and the evaluation of various strategic approaches for growth in different market situations that you will come to know very well. We close the book-learning phase of this seminar with the principles behind integrated marketing planning. (6 credit hours)

Strategic Operations Management
Seminar 4
Seminar 4 confronts the student with the challenges of managing the operations of an organization. Understanding the complex nature of transformation processes requires knowledge of how to use quantitative analysis to identify the value-adding steps of a process and recognize the problems that exist in a given process. This perspective is essential for developing an organized plan for improving the value-adding process, enabling managers to take ownership of the problems and the leadership for improvement. (6 credit hours)

Semester 3:

Customizations
Seminar 5
Choose from E-commerce, International Business, Organizational Leadership or Project Management, allowing you the opportunity to customize your program along your career path and/or professional interests. (6 credit hours for each)

E-commerce
This seminar explores both the business and technical aspects that combine within an electronic commerce environment. Specifically e-commerce structures, strategies, security, marketing, infrastructure and operations integration will be discussed. You will review case studies that illustrate winning business models, innovative use of the Internet and web technologies, and other criteria for building successful e-commerce ventures. Course work centers on a variety of business models including: business-to-business (B2B), business-to-customer (B2C) and business-to-government (B2G). E-commerce information assurance issues focus on understanding vulnerabilities, conducting secure online transactions, maintaining organizational and customer privacy, and legislation affecting e-commerce practices. This seminar expands upon concepts presented in previous seminars on marketing management and operations management.

International Business
The purpose of this seminar is for you to learn the concepts and skills needed to manage businesses operating in a global marketplace. The seminar is designed around two major themes; a study of the international environments facing multinational corporations (MNC) and the study of the MNC from the perspective of the global manager. You will learn the basic elements of international trade and diplomacy, and understand the implications of the differences in the economic, political, cultural, legal, and technological environments in managing multi-national businesses. You will examine the principles used in the analysis of international opportunities, acquiring business resources and selecting entry strategies, and planning and organizing for international operations.

Organizational Leadership
Each component of this seminar will contribute to a single integrated learning experience about leading change in an organization. As leaders, you will try out proven change management processes and techniques while learning to develop action plans to help in the achievement of tangible, successful results. Topics will consider both a global virtual world and on-site workplace environments. Learn about different change management models and problem-solving techniques to apply to different scenarios. Learn to apply information effectively as you lead change.

Project Management
This seminar will focus on a holistic approach to project management. The course deals with planning, scheduling, organizing, and controlling projects — for example, product development, construction, information systems, new business startups, and special events. The course includes major topics of Strategy, Priorities, Organization, Project Tools, and Leadership. Emphasis is on the project management process, project management tools, and organizational behavior in the project environment.

Strategic Management
Seminar 6
This seminar addresses the strategic management of entire organizations, which implies total responsibility for integrating and coordinating all activities and the accomplishment of long-term goals that determine organizational survival. Analytical models are used to dissect actual case scenarios, identify the underlying strategic nature of business problems and develop strategic recommendations for their resolution. You will debate the topical and controversial issues of corporate management and will have the opportunity to interact with industry leaders. The seminar concludes with a project that integrates results of prior seminars into a cohesive, strategic analysis of an international company. A comprehensive outcome assessment examination will be administered during this seminar. (6 credit hours)