Lake Forest MBA Elective Course Descriptions
5801 Legal & Social Environment of Management
5802 Negotiations & Conflict Management
5803 Managing Organizational Diversity
5805 Team Dynamics
5807 Ethical Leadership & Decision Making
5810 Strategic Talent Management
5815 Managing & Coaching for Improved Performance
5820 Project Management
5821 Strategic Use of Information Technology
5840 Global Practicum: Europe
5841 Global Practicum: Asia
5842 Global Practicum: Latin America
5848 Global Finance
5849 Global Marketing
5855 Strategic Business Writing
5865 Advanced Presentation Skills
5870 New Venture Creation
5871 Sales Management
5880 Sustainable Business
5895 Business, Government and Democracy
On-Site MBA with Healthcare Management Specialization
The following courses are only offered at on-site sponsoring locations, not at campuses.
5831 Introduction to Healthcare Management
5832 Healthcare Financial Management
5833 Health Policy, Legal, & Ethical Analysis
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 help students become 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.
Prerequisites: 5100
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5803 Manging 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 non-traditional 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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5805 Team Dynamics
Team Dynamics is a five-week elective that explores the communications challenges specific to teams. When taken with Managing & Coaching for Improved Performance (5815), students are able to satisfy one of the three electives required for an Organizational Behavior specialization.
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 keep them productive for a defined time period.
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 select and develop a team by working in teams. The course is designed to provide the skills needed to manage team processes in a way that helps the organization reach its objectives.
Prerequisite: 5120
One-half unit course
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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, and different values impact ethical behavior in companies. (Premium pricing applies.)
Prerequisite: 5130
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5810 Strategic Talent Management
Strategic Talent Management builds a conceptual framework for business leaders to understand that the strategic management of people can improve business performance. This course will help participants maximize the performance of their employees and learn techniques that promote the success of their employees. As leaders move up in their organizations, their success ultimately depends on their ability to achieve results by managing the efforts of their direct reports and colleagues.
Three major themes are developed through this course:
1. An organization is most effective when “people strategies” are properly aligned with “business strategies.”
2. The strategic management of people is a critical responsibility of all business leaders within an organization.
3. As leaders move up in an organization, the challenge of working through others to achieve success increases.
Highlights of this elective include the following:
• How to select and retain the most qualified employees
• How to create and maintain a high level of motivation among employees
• How to develop employees so they are prepared for complex and/or unexpected business challenges
• How to reward employees in unique ways while, at the same time, maintaining a standard of fairness
Prerequisites: 5120, 5130
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5815 Managing & Coaching for Improved Performance
Managing and Coaching for Improved Performance is a five-week elective that focuses on the feedback process that occurs in the workplace. When taken with Team Dynamics (5805), students are able to satisfy one of the three electives required for an Organizational Behavior specialization.
Managers typically engage in a number of key one-on-one interactions with employees to ensure improved performance. These interactions encompass the life cycle of employment including interviewing, on-boarding, setting goals, performance reviews, coaching and termination.
This class is designed to help students:
• Enhance their communication skills
• Identify strategies that develop the skill sets of their direct reports
• Improve their ability to successfully engage in critical coaching conversations
This course is designed to build on the coaching skills students learned in Effective Leadership (5120). Each session is highly experiential, providing real time opportunities for students to work with their peers on a variety of hands-on activities. Students are given an introduction to the roles, responsibilities and ethical considerations involved in coaching and performance management.
Prerequisite: 5120
One-half unit course
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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 Blackboard 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 Blackboard in an instructor-facilitated totally online format.
Prerequisite: 5130
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5840 Global Practicum: Europe
This course offers students an opportunity to focus on the European business environment within an innovative and flexible framework that combines traditional classroom-based learning with structured, rigorous in-country experiential learning. The pragmatic aspects of doing business abroad, such as cultural differences, resource availability, legal and economic framework, technology, and marketing issues, are explored through classroom discussion, in-country company and government site visits, lectures from European educators and business leaders, and consulting project client interaction. Effective communication and ethical decision making under the umbrella of the global challenge are addressed.
Prerequisite: 5160 or Dean’s approval
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5841 Global Practicum: Asia
This course offers students an opportunity to focus on the Asian business environment within an innovative and flexible framework that combines traditional classroom-based learning with structured, rigorous in-country experiential learning. Focusing on emerging markets in terms of development, economy, growth, and philosophies in a multi-cultural setting, the challenges and opportunities of these dynamic markets are addressed. The pragmatic aspects of doing business abroad, such as cultural differences, resource availability, legal and economic framework, technology, and marketing issues are explored through classroom discussion, in-country company and government site visits, lectures from Asian educators and business leaders, and consulting project client interaction. Effective communication and ethical decision making under the umbrella of the global challenge are addressed.
Prerequisite: 5160 or Dean’s approval
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5842 Global Practicum: Latin America
This course offers students an opportunity to focus on the Latin American and U.S. Hispanic business environment within an innovative and flexible framework that combines traditional classroom-based learning with structured, rigorous in-country experiential learning. The pragmatic aspects of doing business abroad, such as cultural differences, resource availability, legal and economic framework, technology, and marketing issues, are explored through classroom discussion, in-country company and government site visits, lectures from Latin American educators and business leaders, and consulting project client interaction. Effective communication and ethical decision making under the umbrella of the global challenge are addressed.
Prerequisite: 5160 or Dean’s approval
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5848 Global Finance
Companies and managers are impacted as the global economy trends toward greater integration and interdependency. This course provides students with an advanced and in-depth understanding of financial management principles as they relate to the global capital markets. Focusing on the global financial and macroeconomic environment, topics such as foreign exchange markets, management of foreign exchange exposure, international financial instruments, and cross-border investment are analyzed. Through lecture, case study, group discussion and presentation, students will increase their ability to manage exchange risk and market imperfections using various techniques while maximizing organizational financial performance. Effective communication and ethical decision making under the umbrella of the global challenge are addressed.
Prerequisites: 5160, 5190
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5849 Global Marketing
Companies and managers are impacted as the global economy trends toward greater integration and interdependency. This course provides students with an advanced and in-depth understanding of marketing principles as they relate to the global marketplace. Environmental factors that influence marketing in the global arena (political, economic, legal, sociocultural, technological and competitive) are examined as to the impact on entry strategy, product, pricing, distribution, packaging, promotion planning and branding. Through lecture, case study, group discussion, presentation and in-store research, the complex and dynamic global environment in which marketing strategies are formulated and implemented are analyzed to advance student decision making skills in marketing globally successfully. Effective communication and ethical decision making under the umbrella of the global challenge are addressed.
Prerequisites: 5160, 5210
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5855 Strategic Business Writing
Strategic Business Writing is a five-week advanced communications course that builds on the basic principles of good writing covered in Executive Success Skills (5100). Special attention is given to crafting messages for a targeted audience, influencing the thinking and/or behavior of a targeted audience, and building relationships with readers through the effective use of language. Additional topics include organizing thoughts, eliminating wordiness, reducing the time spent on written projects, and identifying key roles when students are tasked with a team writing assignment. The curriculum also includes activities to help improve critical thinking skills necessary for success in business. While grammar and punctuation are not the main focus of this course, students will receive clarification on their specific grammar and punctuation questions.
Prerequisite: 5100
One-half unit course
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5865 Advanced Presentation Skills
Advanced Presentation Skills is a five-week comprehensive communications course that builds on the basic principles of effective public speaking covered in Executive Success Skills (5100). Similar to Strategic Business Writing, special attention is given to crafting and delivering superior-quality messages for a targeted audience, influencing the thinking and/or behavior of a targeted audience, and building relationships with listeners through the effective use of language. Additional topics include knowing when to use an informative versus a persuasive format, when to incorporate business-appropriate humor into a presentation, how to be an effective panelist, how to handle controversial and/or adversarial questions, and how to generate and transfer speaker energy to members of the audience. Students will deliver a variety of presentations, including selling an idea/proposal/process to their colleagues and crafting a speech for upper management.
Prerequisite: 5100
One-half unit course
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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, and legal and ethical issues commonly faced by sales managers.
Prerequisite: 5210 or Dean’s approval
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5880 Sustainable Business
Sustainability, defined broadly to include social equity, economic development, and environmental restoration, offers new opportunities (but also challenges) for business. How can we translate these outside opportunities and challenges into future business opportunities? How can individuals, organizations, and society learn and undergo change at the pace needed to stave off worsening problems? Today, organizations of all kinds—including those that we work for—are tackling these very questions. Given the enormous challenges we face as a society, this course is focused around the question "what can you and your companies do?" The management aspects are multi-faceted, and this course provides students with an overview of these issues and the tools to help effectively solve them.
This accelerated format course will be taught through a mixture of case studies, readings, class discussion and guest lecturers. Of particular importance are two projects, one team and one individual, in which students will think through issues related to sustainability and apply the knowledge and skills to deliver greater value for their organizations and stakeholders.
Prerequisite: 5130
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5895 Business, Government and Democracy
Businesses are becoming more involved in transacting business in the public sector. Many firms have established PACs and have set-up governmental practice sections. These firms are also becoming more dependent on the government for business opportunities and are involved in fundraising on behalf of public officials in order to gain access and to influence the regulatory and legislative process.
The majority of this half-unit elective credit course will take place in Washington D.C. for the purpose of meeting with governmental officials, congressional staffers, trade association representatives, lobbying firms and elected representatives to discuss the influence of money in government, the ethical aspects of the process and to understand how the system works from a Washington perspective to help evaluate if participating in the lobbying process detracts or enhances a corporation’s business model.
Prerequisites: 5170
One-half unit course
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On-site MBA with Healthcare Management Specialization
This specialization and these elective courses are only offered on site at sponsoring organizations, not at campus locations.
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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