Lake Forest MBA Elective Course Descriptions
On-Site MBA with Healthcare Management Specialization
5801 Legal & Social Environment of Management
This course examines the legal and regulatory environment in which corporations and managers function. Day-to-day decision making is considered within the context of pertinent laws, regulations, and court decisions. Focus is on analysis of the legal system, and specific topics within the system such as contracts, governmental regulations, agency relationships, torts, corporate and other types of business entities, and related issues.
Prerequisite: 5130
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5802 Negotiations & Conflict Management
The purpose of this course is to make you more effective in handling the frequent conflicts and resulting negotiations that confront business executives. The course treats negotiation as a complex process that requires the successful practitioner to develop and utilize a unique blend of perceptual, analytical, and interpersonal skills. The course methodology is highly experiential, combining class discussion of assigned readings with practice negotiations in one-on-one and team situations. Course assignments focus on the application of learned negotiation skills in actual work situations.
Prerequisite: 5100
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5803: Managing Organizational Diversity
In today’s global marketplace, the idea of diversity is a valued commodity. To be competitive, many companies promote the idea of a diverse workforce, recruit nontraditional employees, and ensure that the organization operates within all applicable Equal Opportunity Laws. This course is designed to look at diversity as a strategic opportunity both from an organizational and individual level of analysis. Specifically, students will examine how to leverage diversity as a competitive advantage and how to resolve the inevitable tensions that difference can introduce into an organization.
The course’s main goal will be to raise awareness of diversity’s effect on practical business outcomes, as well as teach the student to successfully anticipate the effect of workforce diversity on strategy, design, recruitment, selection, mentoring, performance appraisal, training, compensation, and international competition.
Students should expect this course to prepare them for the challenges that modern diversity poses to bottom-line performance. The idea of valuing workforce diversity as a competitive advantage, the possibility of real behavioral change, and reasons for taking the cultural complexity of a workforce and market seriously will be debated.
Prerequisites: 5120, 5130
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5804: Work Team Dynamics
Most organizations use team-based processes to leverage individual strengths and to maximize productivity. Often, these teams have fairly complex reporting relationships and no formal leadership structure. The most productive teams are facilitated by skilled process managers who understand how to build teams and to keep them productive over their life span, both as informal and formal leaders. This course supports skill development in creating effective, productive work teams, managing meetings, and getting things done while building long term mutually beneficial relationships. Students learn in real-time how to build a team by working in teams. The course is designed to give the participant the skills needed to manage team processes in a way that helps the organization reach its objectives.
Prerequisite: 5120
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5806: Workplace Coaching
Effective coaching, be it with direct reports, peers or other workplace employees requires the ability to establish rapport, listen effectively, guide performance and conduct interviews. Coaches conduct 360-degree feedback, help identify strengths and developmental needs, formulate skill-building development plans, and provide non-threatening feedback. This course is designed to introduce students to the roles,responsibilities, and ethical considerations involved in individual coaching and coachingas a manager. Using real-time opportunities with peers and other hands-on exercises, this course enables students to develop skills needed to establish individual coaching relationships, sustain effective employee-employer relationships, and enhance their overall communication patterns. Students will have a chance to coach and be coached. They work with their own development plans in order to become directly familiar with the challenges and opportunities involved in formulating and implementing those plans.
Prerequisite: 5120
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5807 Ethical Leadership & Decision Making
This course provides an understanding of how values shape individual ethical behaviors, and how these behaviors influence leadership and decision making. The course will provide practical knowledge and tools needed to effectively manage the everyday ethical conduct of employees. The course will also discuss how legal, philosophical, and corporate practices influence ethical behavior for individuals and companies. Students examine how social, environmental, and stakeholder responsibilities, as well as different values, impact ethical behavior in companies. (Premium pricing applies.)
Prerequisite: 5130
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5810 Management of Human Resources
This course builds a conceptual framework for business leaders to understand that managing people effectively can improve business performance. Emphasis is on strategic and practical application of the discipline of human resources, rather than on administrative issues. The course focuses on how to attract, develop, reward, and motivate employees, including the important role that sound management plays.
Underlying this focus are two major themes that are developed throughout this course. First is strategic fit, that is, the need for “people strategy” to be aligned with business objectives. Second is that managing people is ultimately the responsibility of all business leaders.
Prerequisites: 5120, 5130
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5820 Project Management
This course covers the process and techniques required to manage almost all types of projects. The course integrates key management skills acquired throughout the MBA program with specific project management skills and knowledge. This integration helps students more effectively meet project objectives on time and within budget, as well as meet expectations and quality requirements. Considerable emphasis is placed on the knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques needed to manage projects successfully.
*This course is also offered via LFClassnet in an instructor-facilitated totally online format.
Prerequisite: 5130
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5821 Strategic Use of Information Technology
Technology has the power to create and destroy businesses. The purpose of this course is to provide managers with analytical tools and frameworks to effectively create value in their organizations by managing technological change. The course will equip the student with the knowledge and critical thinking skills needed to better understand how technology impacts fundamental business strategies and organization.
Focus areas of the course include:
• The economics of information: how information technology can be used to positively impact the company’s P&L and balance sheet
• Emerging technologies: an overview of new developments and their impact on the profitability and viability of the businesses they touch
• Value creation: how technology can be harnessed to create or destroy value
Students will also learn effective techniques for forming partnerships between business leaders and information technology providers to align technology execution with the business goals of the company. To succeed in the 21st century, effective managers must understand the possibilities of emerging technology, assess how to apply those technologies to their overall business strategy, and forge strong partnerships with information
technology providers to make their strategy a reality.
*This course is also offered via LFClassnet in an instructor facilitated totally online format.
Prerequisite: 5130
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5840 International Management: European Community
This course provides broad exposure to international business concepts directly from European educators and business practitioners in a multicultural setting. The pragmatic aspects of doing business abroad, such as cultural differences, resource availability, legal and economic framework, and marketing issues, are explored through on-site client case studies, company and government site visits, lectures, and class discussions.
Prerequisite: 5160 or Dean’s approval
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5841 International Management: Asia
This course focuses on emerging markets – Beijing and Bangkok – in terms of development, economy, growth, and philosophies in a multicultural setting. A significant number of challenges and issues related to an emerging free market in Southeast Asia are addressed during the course. The pragmatic aspects of doing business abroad, such as cultural differences, resource availability, legal and economic framework, and marketing issues are explored through on-site client case studies, company and government site visits, lectures, and class discussions.
Prerequisite: 5160 or Dean’s approval
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5842 International Management: Latin America
This course focuses on the issues facing the Common Market of the South – Mercosur – with a primary emphasis on Brazil. The creation of Mercosur has resulted in significant trade flows within member countries, other Latin American countries, and the European Union, while continuing to evolve and expand. The challenges confronting Mercosur are addressed during the course. The pragmatic aspects of doing business abroad, such a cultural differences, resource availability, legal and economic framework, and marketing issues are explored through on-site client case studies, company and government site visits, and class discussions.
Prerequisite: 5160 or Dean’s approval
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5848 Worldwide Business Finance
Recognizing the significance of international trade, this course begins defining doing business worldwide in the 21st century. It provides students with several tools to establish and conduct international commerce effectively with emphasis on financial issues. Focusing on international finance, topics covered include international capital and foreign exchange markets, currency issues e.g.,(derivatives, interest rate parity, forecasting exchange rates, etc.), multinational capital budgeting, financing international trade and international cash management. Students learn how international financial arrangements, foreign direct investment, and risk management practices can impact a
company’s financial performance.
Prerequisites: 5160, 5190
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5849 Worldwide Business Marketing
This course continues defining doing business worldwide in the 21st century with an emphasis on marketing issues. The students examine the differences in international human resources practices from those practices used in the U.S. Focusing on international marketing, topics covered include global marketing and research, marketing strategy and development, distribution, promotion, and branding. Finally, an overview of operations, production, and sourcing issues will be addressed.
Prerequisites: 5160, 5210
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5870 New Venture Creation
This course examines personal and business issues in entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial new venture creation. It examines the analytical framework and skills for evaluating and implementing new opportunities in business.
Prerequisite: 5210
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5871 Sales Management
The management of revenue generation is key to an organization’s success and a principal concern of sales managers. This course covers the management processes of planning, developing, and implementing the company’s strategic sales plan, relating it to the marketing strategy, and reviewing and evaluating the performance of the sales force. Students learn the basics of the sales process and territory management, as well as how to prepare forecasts and to structure and deploy the sales force to achieve them. They are introduced to the challenges associated with recruiting, selecting, training, motivating, compensating, evaluating, and retaining qualified salespeople. They study a variety of approaches that have been used to address those challenges. The course also addresses leadership, teamwork, legal and ethical issues commonly faced by sales managers.
Prerequisite: 5210
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5831 Introduction to Healthcare Management
U.S. healthcare faces increasing costs, decreasing reimbursement, expanding technology and a diverse and aging population. To make more effective decisions, it is essential that managers possess a greater understanding of the forces driving the changes in this dynamic industry. This course will prepare future leaders to understand the issues and responsibilities facing the healthcare industry today and assist them to identify the influences that will continue to impact the industry. We will explore the diversity of stakeholders and provide various options to respond to the important issues facing the industry. While the focus will be on the U.S. healthcare system, comparisons will be made to non-U.S. systems as appropriate. Finally, the course will focus on applied learning, seeking data, and approaches that help participants make more effective decisions.
Prerequisite: 5130
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5832 Healthcare Financial Management
The healthcare industry is at a crossroads. It is faced with evolving models of healthcare delivery, changing reimbursement methodologies, and increased government regulations. Today more than ever, healthcare leaders need a greater understanding of the financial issues facing healthcare organizations and the tools required to make sound business decisions. This course provides an overview of financial management concepts and techniques essential for healthcare managers. Students will learn the theory, concepts, and technical tools necessary to make financial decisions. Topics include an overview of the financial environment of healthcare organizations, third-party payment and government-financed healthcare, managed care, short- and long-term financing options, financial statement analysis and performance evaluation tools, and the increasingly important role of compliance in maintaining a healthcare organization’s financial health.
Prerequisites: 5190, 5831
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5833 Health Policy, Legal & Ethical Analysis
Public policy plays a significant role in healthcare delivery and financing; ethical decision making is fundamental to both healthcare policy and individual behavior. This course will address the public health policy process, and policy formulation, implementation, and effect. With a foundation in policy, the course will focus on ethical principles with an emphasis on the practical application of these principles to business and clinical decision making. Policy, law, and ethics will be studied in light of current issues in healthcare including financing, rationing, access to care, medical liability, patient safety, privacy, workforce issues, genetics, and technology. Case studies will be used to exemplify concepts and principles.
Prerequisites: 5130, 5831
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