Business Administration (BUS) - Graduate Courses

BUS 700 Cr.1-3

Business Forum

Emphasis on the exploration of new developments in business theory and practice. Topics will vary from semester to semester. Repeatable for credit - maximum 12. Prerequisite: admission to the MBA program. Offered Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer.

BUS 710 Cr.2

Statistical Analysis Foundations

This course is designed for students entering the MBA program who have not had sufficient exposure to the subject before. Students will learn the basic concepts, principles and techniques of business statistics. They will be able to implement the techniques on spreadsheets using specially designed templates, and will develop a working knowledge of the subject in order to solve statistical problems in business. The techniques will cover such topics as descriptive statistics, probability distributions, estimation, hypothesis testing and simple regression. This course is an internet MBA foundation course. Prerequisite: college algebra, basic competency in using MS Excel. Offered Fall.

BUS 730 Cr.3

Decision Framing and Decision Making in Complex Environments

This course challenges students to integrate all of the discipline-specific skills developed in the MBA foundation courses within a dynamic decision-making context. The focus of the course will be on the process of problem framing/identification, analysis, and decision-making in complex and uncertain environments. Students develop critical judgments about the efficient and effective application of core knowledge which requires applying the tools of analysis appropriately and exacting useful insights and drawing managerially relevant recommendations from the analysis. Prerequisite: successful completion of the MBA foundation requirements. Offered Fall.

BUS 731 Cr.3

Decision Making and Framing for Managing and Leading People in Organizations

This course aims to integrate discipline-specific knowledge and skills developed in the MBA foundation courses in an effort to enhance managerial decision making abilities under uncertainty. The focus of the course will be on problem analysis and decision making through the lens of managing and leading people in organizations. An interdisciplinary approach is taken by integrating critical knowledge and practices from various business fields such as organizational behavior, human resource management, strategic management, personnel economics, and/or other management-related areas. This course emphasizes the development of critical thinking skills and application of analytical reasoning tools. Extracting useful insights and drawing managerially-relevant recommendations from the analysis are further cornerstones of the course. Prerequisite: successful completion of the MBA foundation requirements. Offered Spring.

BUS 735 Cr.4

Business Decision Making and Research Methodology

This course introduces a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods that support business decision-making and research. These methods range from quantitative procedures like multivariate analysis, simulation, and linear programming to qualitative approaches that use unstructured data collected from interviews and observations. Students will achieve conceptual understanding of the research methods covered in the course and acquired hands-on experience in applying these methods to practical business cases using computer-based tools. Prerequisite: successful completion of the MBA foundation requirements. Offered Fall.

BUS 750 Cr.3

Business Law, Ethics, and Social Responsibility

This course analyzes business decisions in the context of law, ethics, and corporate social responsibility. The course provides a balanced, global, and interdisciplinary approach that examines the complex and diverse principles central to the legal and ethical management of business organizations. The course will examine these issues in domestic and international business decision situations, explore solutions from alternative paradigms of leadership and corporate governance, and incorporate them when formulating organizational tactics and strategy. Offered Spring.

BUS 755 Cr.3

Managing in a Changing Technological Environment

This course examines the challenging issue of managing fast-changing information technology (IT) to support modern business operations and strategic initiatives. While concepts and models of business analysis are introduced through lectures, case analysis is used extensively to study major IT management issues in various organizations, industries, and countries. To bridge the gap between textbooks and the rapidly evolving IT, the course also employs guided research to keep students current on the contemporary IT trends and issues. Offered Spring.

BUS 760 Cr.4

Managing in a Global Environment

This course develops the critical skills and integrated knowledge necessary to function effectively in today's global environment. The course describes how global agreements, changing technologies, global institutions and evolving political patterns affect the conduct of global business. This course develops the ability to frame problems from multiple managerial perspectives - including operational, economic, environmental, ethical, financial, cultural, and technological frames of reference - and to apply sophisticated decision making and coalition building processes to arrive at integrated solutions in a diverse and changing world. This course will typically employ a problem-based approach to the subject area and will seek to integrate, in this approach, such traditional functional disciplines as operations, logistics, marketing, finance, accounting, information systems, and management. This course is offered as a campus course and an internet course. Offered Fall, Spring, Summer.

BUS 790 Cr.1

MBA Program Assessment

This course consists of a capstone activity which gives students an opportunity to reflect on their MBA experience as a whole-and thus, to have one, final, critical learning experience. Participation in the concluding assessment exercise provides useful feedback regarding the effectiveness of the MBA program. This assessment will be multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional in its design and execution. When possible, it may involve participants from the broader UWL academic and business communities. Last course before graduation. Prerequisite: completion, or in the final stages, of all other MBA program requirements. Pass/Fail grading. Offered Fall, Spring, Summer.

BUS 799 Cr.1-6

Research: Master's Thesis

This course consists of a directed independent research study to be selected and executed under the direction of a graduate faculty member. Repeatable for credit - maximum six. Prerequisite: successful completion of the MBA core curriculum and written approval of the MBA program director. Completion of a master's thesis is optional within the MBA program. Consent of department. Offered Occasionally.