REGIONAL MBA IN INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT CURRICULUM

RATIONALE

B.C. faces a significant shortage of advanced management education in comparison to other jurisdictions, yet graduate degrees in management are increasingly seen as a key to career development, even for those with advanced degrees in science and engineering. In more remote areas of B.C., the situation is more restricted, with no access to graduate management degrees except through online programs. SFUs Regional MBA in Industrial Management deals with this challenge by partnering with major employers in remote areas to offer a customized graduate program. The network of regional MBA programs will provide face-to-face MBA courses, and in some cases executive education noncredit courses, customized in terms of curriculum and delivery for local industrial employers. Through the Learning Strategies Group, the Regional MBA in Industrial Management is now being offered in Kitimat (with Alcan) and in Trail (with Teck Cominco). This document provides an overview and details of the program content for prospective employer-sponsors and participants
CURRICULUM OVERVIEW

The program consists of two parts: an SFU Graduate Diploma in Business Administration and completion courses for an SFU Master of Business Administration.
Graduate Diploma in Business Administration

BUS 550-2/551-2 BUS 552-4 BUS 556-4 BUS 559-4 BUS 762-4 BUS 837-4

Financial and Managerial Accounting The Economic Basis of Managerial Decision-Making Industrial Marketing Management Business, Community and Government Project Management Effective Leadership and Management in Organizations

Master of Business Administration Completion Courses

MBA 603-5 MBA 606-5 MBA 607-5 MBA 632-5 MBA 660-5 MBA 696-5

Structure and Change in Organizations Managerial Finance Business Strategy Operations Research and Management Special Topics: Commercial Law Applied Strategic Analysis [supervised project]

Each course consists of six full days of instruction. Classes are held on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Sessions are typically spaced three to four weeks apart. An exam may be scheduled in addition to the class time. All of SFUs standard academic requirements and expectations apply. All courses are regular graduate-level business courses, and other universities will recognize them. Details of specific courses follow.

DIPLOMA PROGRAM COURSES

The purpose of this course is to develop participants abilities to: Innovate: You will have a strong conceptual and practical foundation in select areas of accounting, which will motivate you to think creatively about financial matters. Lead: You will make decisions in a more integrative way by using a rich data set of financial, strategic, and behavioural information. Problem Solve: You will have analytic skills in accounting/finance, to add to your current expertise, to use in solving business issues and problems. Develop a Unique Point of View: You will be more capable of formulating your own position (and will rely less on others for interpreting financial information for you), and of contributing your ideas to the relevant management decision-makers within your company. Influence: You will motivate readers to give serious consideration to your perspective by effectively communicating your rationale. More specific objectives include: Communicate persuasive perspectives on basic accounting and finance issues as a result of your familiarity with accounting and finance terminology, concepts, and measurement techniques. Have the capability to make decisions, which reflect an integration of financial information, organizational objectives, and the behavioural ramifications of accounting. Complete and effectively communicate an informed analysis of decision-makers who influence financial reporting. Prepare a balance sheet, an income statement, and a cash flow statement. Explicitly link the relevant information in each statement to managements issues and to external decision-makers interests. Perform a basic analysis and interpretation of a set of audited financial statements for a mining or other industrial corporation. Process typical financial transactions and explain their managerial relevance. Use profit-planning tools such as breakeven analysis and contribution margin analysis to support effective decision-making. Develop a basic operating budget, with supporting documentation. Complete a detailed variance analysis of a flexible budget. Use several different capital budgeting techniques, including present value analysis, to analyze the cost of major capital items.

BUS 552-4

The Economic Basis of Managerial Decision-Making

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to basic concepts in microeconomics and to explore the relevance of economic reasoning to managerial decision-making. The importance of both economic models and quantitative applications will be emphasized. Although the course material will be presented in a simplified way, prior familiarity with elementary calculus and statistics is essential. Text and Other Readings M. Baye, Managerial Economics and Business Strategy, Irwin, 1997 This is a basic text in managerial economics, presented in an accessible way. It does make use of calculus and quantitative techniques. Students are well advised to attempt the problems at the end of each chapter (only the ones for which answers are provided). Particular attention should be paid to Inside Business applications. A package of supplementary readings is also provided. Introduction: An introduction to the scope and method of managerial economics as well as a brief survey of the course material. We will also review fundamental economic concepts such as rationality, maximization, and equilibrium. These will be illustrated through the examples of consumer behaviour, supply and demand analysis, present value analysis, the theory of the firm, and the Prisoners Dilemma. Elementary calculus and game theory will be employed. Demand Analysis: A survey of the basic concepts in demand theory, including the position and shifts in the demand curve, elasticities, and the relationship between demand and revenues. Applications to pricing and forecasting decisions will be emphasized. Demand Estimation and Forecasting: An introduction to basic concepts in econometrics with application to demand estimation and forecasting. Productivity, Technology, and Competitiveness: An introduction to the theory of production and the role of technological change. Emphasis will be placed on the analysis and measurement of productivity, with particular reference to the role of returns to scale and the introduction and diffusion of new technology. Theories of comparative advantage and competitive advantage will be introduced. Cost Analysis: An introduction to basic concepts required for a systematic analysis of costs. Distinctions are made between variable, fixed, and sunk costs. Particular emphasis will be placed on the concepts of economies of scale and economies of scope and their relation to the choice of plant size and firm size (the horizontal boundaries of the firm). The question of suboptimal scale will be addressed, as well as the relationship between scale of plant and market structure and the role of the learning curve. Markets and Hierarchies: This session will focus on transaction costs and how they are related to the organization of firms and markets. Transaction cost economies will be applied to questions relating to the existence, vertical boundaries, and efficiency of firms. Specific topics to be discussed include vertical integration, contracting out, and collaborative supply relationships.

Market Structure I: Perfect Competition, Domestic and International: We begin a comprehensive analysis of firm behaviour in different market settings by examining perfect competition in both domestic and international markets. We will examine the foreign exchange market, as well as the economic arguments regarding the social optimality of perfect competition and case for free trade. Market Structure II: Monopoly and Monopolistic Competition: An analysis of firms that operate with significant market power, with and without significant rivals. Topics may include monopoly regulation and anti-trust policy, patents and the incentive to innovate, and pricing strategies. Market Structure III: Oligopoly and Strategic Behaviour: An analysis of markets in which firms recognize their interdependence, typically because they are few in number. The classic theories of oligopoly will be examined, as well as newer game-theoretic models. This class is devoted to problems where firms make simultaneous choices, with specific emphasis on strategic issues such as coordinating entry and exit decisions. An analysis of the specific strategic issues arising from sequential actions, with particular emphasis on the issues of entry, entry-deterrence, and first-mover advantages. The importance of credibility and commitment will be discussed in both national and international contexts. Risk, Uncertainty, and Information: An overview of decision-making under risk and uncertainty, using basic concepts such as decision trees, expected values, and risk aversion. As a particular application we shall examine the principal-agent relationship and its importance for the governance of firms. Industry and Firm Analysis: We conclude and summarize the course by examining techniques for undertaking a systematic industry and firm analysis. Porters Five Forces model will be used as the basis for an industry analysis, and the resource-based view of the firm will be used as the basis for a firm analysis.

BUS 556-4

Industrial Marketing Management

This course deals with the marketing of goods and services between businesses and other nonconsumer sector organizations. Particular attention will be given to the areas of demand estimation and the development of marketing plans as they relate to industrial commodities markets. Topics include: Market Environment Scanning Market Segmentation Demand Estimation Marketing Plans Organization Buying Behaviour Customer Evaluation Systems Relationship Marketing Internal Marketing Customer Profiles Marketing Information Systems Forecasting Product and Service Management Cannibalization Channel Management Pricing Communications: Advertising and Promotion Personal Selling and Sales Force Management Alliances Business Marketing Strategies

Required Text and Course Readings Michael Hutt and Thomas Speh, Business Marketing Management, 7th edition, Harcourt Inc., 2001, ISBN 0-03-029179-8. Course reading materials will also be assigned.

BUS 559-4 Business, Community and Government

The purpose of this course is to survey what isand should bethe relationship between government, other stakeholders, and private firms. Major Topics The efficiency rationale for government interventionwhen do the markets fail? Other rationales for government intervention. Redistribution: Horizontal and Vertical Equity, Government Expenditures Constraint, Political Feasibility. The alternative to the market is government, whether directly or indirectly. Just as market failure can be systematically analyzed so can government failure. When does government fail? Given the problems of both market and government failure, what are the political policy alternatives? How can the government analyst assess the costs and benefits of government interventions? Cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, and policy analysis as art and craft. Major steps of Political strategy. The six forces and identifying issues. Issue Evaluation: Profitability impact. The relationship to market strategy. Issue response: political strategy. The major elements of issue response. Issue Identification: The six forces. The impact of government upon rivalry, entry, substitutes, buyers, and suppliers. Issue Evaluation: Profitability Analysis: The impact of government actions on profitability all government action is distributional for firms. The empirical evidence. The Elements of Political Strategy. Social Responsibility: To make sense of the theory and practice of corporate social responsibility the course examines how the modern corporation relies upon social factors to achieve and legitimize its actions. The Good Corporate Citizen: This concept will be applied through an examination of how environmentalism and environmentalists are making ethical arguments that must be confronted by contemporary extraction and resource industries.

BUS 762-4

Project Management

Project management is increasingly dominant in all sectors of the economy. In projectbased organizations, management has to a large extent become project management. Central to the heart of project management is effective control and leadership in rapidly changing work environments. In such environments, project managers must balance three factorscost, time, and scope of work. Although project managers learn best practices through performance, challenges, and mistakes, critical concepts and approaches can be introduced to anyone in a project management role. The following course design is guided by the following question: What does it take to be an effective project manager in the evolving industry? The course seeks to provide students with an answer to this question, if not all the relevant abilities. The course will highlight the theoretical implications of the changes in work culture and industrial organization that have accompanied the rising importance of the knowledge and information economy. Rapid growth scenarios and/or new products and services often exacerbate successful accomplishment from project contract start-up to completion. The basis of effective project management includes the skill sets (soft and hard), procedures, and controls necessary to monitor, anticipate, and provide guidance to the project or program leader. Course Outcomes Understanding of industry-standard project management concepts and techniques: Scope Time Cost Quality Risk Procurement Practical facility with project management analytical and control-oriented methodologies for: Initiation Planning Executing Control, including the use of software systems Closing

BUS 837-4

Effective Leadership and Management in Organizations

The purpose of the course is to help students understand organizations and to take effective action in them. Attempts to improve organizations without adequate understanding can make things worse instead of better. Each year, students provide ample and eloquent testimony to the difficulties of trying to manage and change organizations. Whether you are trying to introduce a new idea, restructuring a department, terminate a program, or cope effectively with transition in management, better understanding helps to reduce surprise, confusion, and catastrophe. Sound intuition, valid theory, and management skills are all helpful and needed. This course seeks to develop an understanding of issues in the management of people and work as well as the design and functioning of organizations. Scope of the Course The field of organization theory and management currently includes a number of different major conceptual perspectives. The course will develop four major views of organizations (frames) that comprehend much of the existing theory and research on organizations. A structural frame, which emphasizes goals, roles, formal relationships, and the rational side of organizations. A human resource frame, which emphasizes needs, attitudes, skills, and the human side of organizations. A political frame, which examines power, conflict, and coalitions among those who have vested interests to protect and who want to advance within a context of scarce resources. A symbolic frame, which explores how organizations create meaning and belief through symbols, including myths, rituals, and ceremonies. This course will begin by viewing organizations through each of the four frames separately. Once we understand and know how to use each frame in its own terms, we will turn to the more challenging objective of integrating the frames and considering how to use all four frames simultaneously for leadership effectiveness and organizational change. A variety of learning methods will be utilized to encourage both an intellectual understanding and a personal sense of the subject matter. Brief lectures will be complemented by experiential learning techniques (e.g., case analyses, role plays, discussion groups, exercises, videos) to facilitate understanding of course concepts and their application to organizational situations.

MBA COMPLETION COURSES

MBA 603-5

Structure and Change in Organizations

This course applies contemporary organizational theory to the managerial challenges of corporations in the areas of: organizational structure and change; adapting the organizations to their changing environment; and articulating alternate plans for organizational survival and growth. Critical reflection and dialogue on the adequacy of theory in the light of management practice and student experience will be encouraged.
MBA 606-5 Managerial Finance

The successful acquisition and deployment of capital resources requires a firm understanding of the principles, concepts, and techniques of financial management and financial markets. This course combines basic business principles with techniques for managing investments, expenditures, and acquisitions, and for setting dividends, financing, and capital budgeting. Through analysis of common business decisions and basic microeconomics, students acquire the tools for decision-making under uncertainty.
MBA 607-5 Business Strategy

The course provides students the opportunity to synthesize and apply concepts and insights distilled from previous courses by focusing on the critical business skills of planning and managing strategic activities. The elements of strategic thinking; the methods of strategic analysis; the tasks and processes associated with strategy formulation and implementation; and the ramifications of aligning the operations and culture of an enterprise to match the requirements of strategyall are examined in detail.
MBA 632-5 Operations Research and Management

The course will cover the strategic role of operations and the quantitative methods used to cope with problems of complexity, uncertainty, and lack of information in organizational decision-making. This will involve looking at typical industrial processes and process analysis, quality management, planning, materials handling, and supply chain management.
MBA 660-5 Special Topics: Commercial Law

This course introduces those elements of law and the legal system that are most relevant to managerial decision-making in a specific industry sector. The course will be based on industry examples and cases; it will not provide authoritative advice on legal issues in any specific jurisdiction. By the end of the course, participants will have a basic understanding of contract law (How is a contract formed? What are its limits? How may it be interpreted? What are its consequences?), types of business associations (proprietorship, partnerships, corporations, joint ventures), and the legal obligations of a firm (labour law, health and safety, environmental regulation, negligence, fiduciary duties, jurisdiction).
MBA 696-5 Applied Strategic Analysis

Participants will undertake a strategic firm analysis or public policy analysis (public sector students). Other types of projects may be undertaken with permission.