Master of Business Administration

This course is concerned with business decisions in areas where taxation plays an important role. It deals with the tax background that management must have in order to make its day-to-day decisions, and describes those phases of taxation which are general elective responsibilities.

This course will examine the legal dimensions of the employment relationship in a non-union setting. As such, students will become familiar with the employment-at-will doctrine and will understand the exceptions to that doctrine. Several federal laws will also be examined including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the American with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, COBRA, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Immigration Reform and Control Act, OSHA, and the Fair Labor Standards Act. The course will also cover also issues including privacy in the workplace, employment testing, performance appraisals, and affirmative action.

This course is designed to provide a basic understanding of the philosophy, tools, and framework involved in implementing a quality management system. Students will be exposed to the evolution of the quality management movement, related quality and performance management systems, the teaching of W. Edwards Deming, the concept of Six Sigma, as well as other organizational change strategies related to quality. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and various regional and state quality recognition criteria will be emphasized, studied and discussed. Case Studies of organizations that have successfully implemented the techniques will be an integral part of classroom discussion. Students will be introduced to the American Society for Quality and its mission and roles in leading and promoting quality management. Class projects will be used to emphasize the Malcolm Baldrige National Award for Performance in excellence.

Through lectures, discussions and readings the course will expose the student to an understanding of health care delivery as a system composed of diverse policies, agencies, institutions and professions. The course will focus upon developing intervention strategies for various problems in health care delivery such as rational allocation in planning of services, coordination of services, cost containment, and ethical dilemmas inherent to the growth of medical technology in managing inter-professional conflict.

This course focuses on culture, vision, strategy and implementation, all as derived from leaders. The emphasis is on top managers of modern organizations.

A study of the political and other social influences upon managerial decision making. The student is introduced to the variations in practice and operations within organizations and between units in a national and international milieu, which are discussed after a delineation of the fundamental contributions of ideology, sovereignty and technology. The focus of this course is on the European Community.

Identifying best practices and then surpassing them is the challenge of all business leaders who strive for competitive excellence. Excellent performances almost always require the ability to measure and compare results. The Benchmarking and Performance Management course teaches students about the best practices in performance measurement currently being used in American business. Students will adopt a benchmarking inquiry perspective. Students will be challenged to apply effective research techniques and critically analyze performance measurement systems collected. Students will be expected to work effectively in research teams to perform data collection and analysis. Students can expect to learn about the best practices in the following performance measurement areas: organization results, employee performance, vendor performance and customer feedback.

Currently unavailable.

An interactive class in which student teams of two or three provide extensive management counseling to a Pittsburgh area small business owner.

This course is an introduction to the principles of effective purchasing and supply management. The course provides an understanding of the important role of the Purchasing function in Supply Chain Management, including an overview of the concept of the supply chain. The course’s scope ranges from understanding how effective purchasing management contributes to an organization’s successful performance and the relationship between corporate strategy and purchasing strategy, to the specifics of sound purchasing practice associated with that performance. The issue of electronic procurement is also explored. The principles discussed are applicable to the purchasing operations of all organizations.

Required for the concentration.

This course deals with the overall management of the small business enterprise. Coverage includes entering the small business arena, organizing and financing a business, operation of the small firm, growth planning, and problems associated with the small business size. Specific emphasis will be placed on development of the formal business plan.

This course draws on the collective experience and wisdom of expert guest lecturers and distinguished business leaders to provide students with a top-level perspective of important contemporary business issues. These include the impact of terrorism, religion, poverty and other factors that create challenges and opportunities in today’s global business environment.