Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College · Courses
BA
87 courses with the subject BA, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
BA 100Introduction to Business3
A comprehensive view of the contemporary environment of business. This course provides a broad overview of the study of business and its environment, organization, operation, and interrelationships with government and society. Topic areas include; economic systems, forms of business ownership, information, accounting, finance, management, marketing and supply chain principles, legal and regulatory environments, business ethics and international business. A student majoring in business will develop a broad basis for further study in a specific area in business, while other majors will become familiar with the American enterprise system and the functions and issues facing business today. General Education: Social and Behavioral Scien (GS) GenEd Learning Objective: Creative Thinking GenEd Learning Objective: Crit and Analytical Think GenEd Learning Objective: Key Literacies
BA 100S is a broad overview of American business practices and policies. The course introduces the functions of business and how each interacts and shapes the legal, political, social, cultural and economic environments. Students who successfully complete this course will understand how a) the American free enterprise system operates b) businesses operate in our modern political, social, and economic environment c) how to analyze the methods and procedures used by people in business to arrive at effective decisions d) ethics and corporate social responsibility affect business decisions e) globalization has transformed American businesses.
BA 243Social, Legal, and Ethical Environment of Business4
Explores the ethical, political, social, legal and regulatory, technological and demographic diversity environment of business. A student may not receive credit toward graduation for both B LAW 243 and B A 243. United States Cultures (US) Undergraduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 3755
/Maximum of 18 Creative projects, including research and design, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.
BA 321Contemporary Skills for Business Professionals (3) This course
is designed to provide fundamental skills necessary for success in the business environment, and emphasizes the development of individual, group, critical thinking, and presentation skills. BA 321 is one of a series of courses that collectively develop the skills and competencies required of a successful business administration student. As a foundational course in the degree program, BA 321 emphasizes the following: An introduction to student-centered learning, especially with opportunities for active and collaborative learning utilizing state of the art elements of the technological business environment. An introduction to inquiry- based processes necessary for understanding and addressing issues and opportunities in current and emerging business environment relevant subsequent course work in the student's chosen option and professional practice. Development of basic communications skills, including oral, written, and multimedia, relevant to individual and group effectiveness. Team building and participation while completing projects that focus on understanding individual and cultural diversity and respecting the views of others. An understanding of and competence in the multiple roles that define successful teamwork. Establishing and respecting the roles within a team. Awareness of the importance of the needs and opportunities of the community with which the individual contributes as a business professional. Application of the hardware and software skills necessary for transferring knowledge of business topics in both face-to-face and virtual settings academic and professional. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: (ACCTG 211 or ACCTG 201 and ACCTG 202) and (ECON 102 or ECON 104) and (ENGL 15 or ENGL 30)
BA 322Negotiation Skills for Business Professionals (3) This course
integrates the experiential and intellectual components of negotiation, and emphasizes the preparation and conduct of business negotiations in a range of situations. These situations include integrative and distributive scenarios, development of negotiation relationships, and negotiation in multi-organization, multi-industry, multi-cultural, and multi- national environments. Basic negotiation theories will be addressed and applied through the recognition and the resolution of conflict by applying various bargaining strategies. Students will learn how to prepare for a negotiation event. Students will learn to select the appropriate negotiation strategies in order to match the needs of the situation. Students will develop the negotiation skills needed to meet the challenges facing today's executives. Students will develop the sophistication to analyze bargaining and conflict relationships, and an awareness of their individual bargaining style. Students will apply various techniques in order to: understand the basic elements of negotiation; make informed decisions about continuing a negotiation or walking away; participate or lead in team-based negotiations; and effectively manage international negotiations. A primary component of this course is application of negotiation theories through exercises in which the student assumes various roles within a negotiation scenario. Through practice and role playing, students will develop effective personal and professional negotiation skills. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: (ACCTG 211 or ACCTG 201 and ACCTG 202) and (ECON 102 or ECON 104) and (ENGL 15 or ENGL 30) Enforced Concurrent at Enrollment: (SCM 200 or STAT 200) and (MIS 204 or MIS 250)
BA 342Socially Responsible, Sustainable and Ethical Business Practice3
Course examines actions taken by corporations that impact global citizenship, environmental sustainability, and the economic stability of international societies. It further looks at relationships, rights, and responsibilities between businesses, business decision-makers and their stakeholders. B A 342 Socially Responsible, Sustainable and Ethical Business Practice (3) Businesses and other large organizations have come to influence nearly all aspects of life in contemporary industrialized societies. The actions taken by businesspeople have major impacts on individuals and on society as a whole. Conversely, the expectations of citizens and their representative bodies (e.g., governments, communities, unions, interest groups) influence a wide range of corporate actions. Students of B A 342 will examine these relationships, rights, and responsibilities between businesses, business decision-makers and their stakeholders. As students enter their field of study, this course will introduced them to current ethical, social responsibility and sustainability issues that face business practitioners within their field and across related disciplines. Each business function – accounting, finance, marketing, risk, supply chain, human resource policies, etc. – has relationships and responsibilities within the larger social environment. This course considers commonalities across the business functions and teaches students to think broadly about how a business fits into a more complex web of relationships within society. The course begins with an overview of the corporation’s place and role in society as well as key concepts in understanding why knowledge related to corporate Undergraduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 3757 governance, ethics, sustainability and social responsibility issues is critical to professional managers’ responsibility and long-term career success. The stakeholder model is reviewed along with the study and application of ethical decision-making frameworks to current ethical dilemmas. Sustainability and global responsibility are introduced within the context of government regulation versus responsible stewardship. The closing section of the course provides thought and discussion on issues facing business practitioners across key business functions. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: (MGMT 301 or MGMT 301W or BA 304) Concurrent: (FIN 301 or BA 301) and (MKTG 301 or BA 303) and (SCM 301 or BA 302)
MIS 390 3 Total Credits 121 * Course requires a grade of C or better for the major ‡ Course requires a grade of C or better for General Education # Course is an Entrance to Major requirement † Course satisfies General Education and degree requirement University Requirements and General Education Notes: US and IL are abbreviations used to designate courses that satisfy Cultural Diversity Requirements (United States and International Cultures). W, M, X, and Y are the suffixes at the end of a course number used to designate courses that satisfy University Writing Across the Curriculum requirement. General Education includes Foundations (GWS and GQ), Knowledge Domains (GHW, GN, GA, GH, GS) and Integrative Studies (Inter-domain) requirements. N or Q (Honors) is the suffix at the end of a course number used to help identify an Inter-domain course, but the inter-domain attribute is used to fill audit requirements. Foundations courses (GWS and GQ) require a grade of 'C' or better.
/Maximum of 18 Supervised off-campus, nongroup instruction including field experiences, practica, or internships. Written and oral critique of activity required. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: prior approval of proposed assignment by instructor.
/Maximum of 1 Professional and guided work experience in business administration with private or public organizations. May be taken only as an elective. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: fifth-semester standing
Old Listing Effective Through Summer 2026: This course emphasizes effective career planning by closely examining oneself, the business world, communication styles and strategies. B A 420 Preparation for Career Management (1) BA 420 develops students' career preparation and management skills through the close examination of self, the world of work and communication styles and strategies. This course is one of a series in the program which collectively develop the skills and competencies necessary for the business administration student. The course is designed on the belief that (1) career decision-making is greatly enhanced by considering personal traits such as one's interests, values, goals, and approach to making decisions; and (2) through the exploration of self and world through out-of-classroom learning experiences. The student becomes empowered to apply prior classroom learning outside of the academic environment. These skills are utilized throughout a person's career Students who successfully complete the course will be able to: -Prepare resumes targeted to a range of industries and positions. -Write effectivel to prospective employers. -Identify personal traits and qualities in the context of career management. -Demonstrate effective interview techniques. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: BA 321 or BA 322 Changes Effective Fall 2026: • Removed Prerequisites • Added Concurrents
400-Level Business Course * 3 Elective 3 General Education Course 3 Total Credits 121-122 * Course requires a grade of C or better for the major ‡ Course requires a grade of C or better for General Education # Course is an Entrance to Major requirement t † Course satisfies General Education and degree requirement University Requirements and General Education Notes: US and IL are abbreviations used to designate courses that satisfy Cultural Diversity Requirements (United States and International Cultures). y
Study of strategic planning and implementation in multi-industry, multi- cultural, and multi-national settings with emphasis on sustaining competitive advantages. BA 422W Strategic Business Planning is the capstone of the series of business administration courses in the BSB degree. These courses collectively develop the the skills and competencies necessary for the business administration student. BA 422W is designed for students to examine the discipline of strategic management and to develop an appreciation of the criticality of strategic management in guiding a business entity through a changing and challenging environment. The course requires students to build upon their knowledge of business structure, internal and external environments, and functional design as each relates to strategy development and implementation. Students explore methods and techniques to identify strategies best suited to accomplish an entity's mission and its business objectives. As a writing intensive (W) course, there is a strong emphasis on development and reinforcement of effective writing skills. Students prepare well reasoned, organized,
An understanding and analysis of how environmental and sustainability issues are impacting business strategies and ultimately profits. B A 441 Strategies for Enterprise Sustainability (3) Enterprise globalization warrants a greater level of awareness and responsibility in seeing that products and services maintain a high level of integrity, quality, and reliability; products need to be produced and moved throughout the supply chain in a manner that does not cause unacceptable environmental or social burdens, but that also allows for acceptable profits. We will examine both external and internal forces, such as environmental groups, policy-makers, and consumers that impact business strategies. This will be put into the context of the "triple bottom line" with an understanding of its challenges and opportunities. Business students will benefit by a better understanding of environmental/ sustainability issues that impact operations and strategies. Students will learn via analyses of cases studies and by working in teams to solve real- world problems faced by chosen organizations. Focus will include all key aspects of an enterprise, from procurement to product development, and from human resources to supply chain solutions. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: BA 342
BA 442Sustainable Behavior of Consumers, Firms, and Societies3
Sustainability is a broad domain concerning the extent to which environmental, economic, and social practices are viable for current and future generations. Consumer awareness of sustainability issues has evolved from an emerging social movement to mainstream values, but increasing sustainable behavior remains a challenge. This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge to enhance sustainable behaviors in firms, among consumers, and in society at large. In doing so, this course will include frameworks for understanding how to influence sustainable practices, consumer response to sustainability, and marketing communication issues as well as real-world examples of sustainable practices and issues, offering both a theoretical and applied approach. The course may also include a project which will entail student teams working on a real-world sustainable behavior problem in collaboration with a business or segment of the university campus when available or other course project addressing a relevant sustainability issue. Students should leave the course with an understanding of sustainability issues in the current marketplace and the knowledge and Undergraduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 3759 ability to influence sustainable behaviors. Students will enter their career with the knowledge and skills to be a sustainable business decision- maker and foster sustainable behavior. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: BA 342 or SUST 200 or CED 152 Cross-listed with: MKTG 442
Interpretation of business concept in the analysis of problems related to the successful management of a company, institution, or organization. Business Strategy is the study of managerial decisionmaking in a firm's competitive space. As such, the course focuses on the formulation and implementation of corporate strategy sets as if the student was on the top management team (TMT) inside a forprofit organization. The course covers topics such as decisionmaking under uncertainty, environmental scanning and sequential updating, industry structure, the firm's regulatory constraints, relative bargaining power, Porters Five Forces, industry barriers to entry, industry value chain analysis, firm- level resources and capabilities, competitive advantage, corporatelevel strategy, businesslevel strategy, and collaborative strategies such as franchising, licensing and joint ventures. The overarching goal of the strategic manager is to ensure that the firm survives and thrives and, with these goals in mind, Business Strategy addresses the actions and outcomes to corporate decisionmaking. The course has a number of objectives in addition to learning and retaining information on the aforementioned topics. These include (i) obtaining critical thinking skills necessary to function as a strategic manager or to perform the tasks comprising the strategic management process, (ii) integrate and apply the knowledge accumulated in various functional areas, such as marketing, human resource management, operations, accounting and finance, (iii) prepare you for management careers by providing inclass opportunities for you to enhance your ability to communicate orally and in written formats, (iv) to lead and to work with others in realistic work settings, (v) expose you to the ethical and societal issues raised in operating an enterprise, and (vi) to provide you with experience in dealing with real strategic decision issues facing managers in all types of organizations. This is accomplished through a number of pedagogical mechanisms that include news articles, case studies, academic articles, documentaries, simulations and written assignments. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: FIN 301 and MGMT 301 and MKTG 301 and BA 364Y and seventh-semester standing or higher
/Maximum of 6 B A 495A Business Internship (3-6 per semester/maximum of 6) B A 495A facilitates the application of students' prior classroom learning in a field setting. This course is one of a series in the business program which collectively develop the skills and competencies necessary for success as a business administration student. The course is designed to provide students with a firsthand opportunity to experience the challenges and rewards of the business professional. Essentially, an internship bridges the gap between the academic environment and the professional environment. Internships provide an opportunity for students to link theory with practice in a nonacademic setting. Internships provide practical, real-world experiences which cannot be simulated in the classroom. Upon successful completion of an internship, students will: -Have a better understanding of employer expectations related to career advancement. -Have an enhanced strategic view of the industry/business segment in which they worked. -Have experience integrating and using their knowledge and skills from the classroom. -Have increased awareness of professional and technical areas of strengths and weakness. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: BA 420
/Maximum of 6 B A 495B Undergraduate Research in Business (3-6 per semester/ maximum of 6) BA 495B provides students an opportunity to apply prior coursework to address a business problem or research question in far greater depth than a traditional research paper. This course is one of a series in the business program which collectively develop the skills and competencies necessary for success as a business administration student. The course provides the students with an opportunity to work intensively on a research project of extended duration and depth of analysis with a supervising faculty member. This course introduces the students to conducting business research on a more advanced level. Students will have the opportunity to develop the research question(s), read extensively in the academic literature, gather and analyze data, and thereby extend learning from prior coursework in a research setting. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: BA 321 and BA 322 and BA 420 and Permission of program.
/Maximum of 18 Creative projects, including research and design, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.
/Maximum of 18 Study in selected countries of business institutions, functions, and current business problems. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: ACCTG 211 and (ECON 102 or ECON 104) and (SCM 200 or STAT 200)
This course provides a breadth of statistical skills necessary for advanced data analysis. Students will learn how to employ data analytic processes that address challenges associated with experiments, surveys, time-series, panels, and/or multilevel models. Software packages,
BA 512Quantitative Analysis for Managerial Decision Making2-3
This course is an introduction to the mathematical methods and tools of managerial decision making under uncertainty. While the main topics of the course are probability, statistics, decision analysis, simulation, and regression which are mathematical by nature, emphasis is placed on improving an intuitive understanding of the underlying issues in these topics. Rather than simply memorizing mathematical formulas, the student is encouraged to gain a better understanding of why certain concepts are used, and to learn what type of information is relevant to evaluate different situations of uncertainty. Students are expected to apply and discuss how the quantitative analysis they develop aides in business decision making. Students are expected to gain familiarity with various state of the art software packages for this analysis.
BA 513Advanced Microeconomic Analysis for Business3
This course discusses topics in advanced microeconomic analysis with an emphasis on applications to applied research areas in business and other related disciplines. Topics include (but are not limited to) general equilibrium, choice under uncertainty, game theory, mechanism design, and behavioral economics. An area of particular focus is how incomplete and asymmetric information impacts competitive and strategic behavior by individuals and firms in a variety of applied settings. The materials emphasize theoretical models prevalent in microeconomic research, and students are expected to develop a familiarity with the use of mathematical modeling in economics. Whenever possible applications to related applied disciplines such as those in finance, supply chain management, accounting, and agricultural economics will be highlighted and discussed. Experimental methods will be used at times to motivate and discuss various economic principles.
A team-based course during which students will manage a simulated firm. B A 528 Business Simulation (1-3)Using the business simulation, teams of 4-5 students will compete against other teams in a particular industry. The team members will have to make all the decisions about how to run the firm, including overall strategy, product design, detailed marketing plans, factory operations, and financing.
This course provides students with an overview of the foundations of microeconomic analysis. The primary objective is to develop their ability to apply fundamental microeconomic concepts from price theory and game theory to a wide range of managerial decisions, as well as public policy issues.
BA 545Business, Government and International Economics2
Understand how macroeconomic events and policies affect the global economy and business decisions. B A 545 Business, Government and International Economics (2)Changes in interest rates, swings in the business cycle, new international trade agreements: All are macroeconomic events, and all can dramatically impact business. Accordingly the class is a synthesis of institutional, theoretical and historical perspectives.
This course provides the foundational skills necessary for conducting qualitative research in an applied business context. Students will explore some of the following topics: ethnography, observation, interviewing, grounded theory, discourse analysis, case method, narrative analysis, and action research. Through this process, students will be introduced to the epistemological foundations of qualitative research, learn different methods of data collection, introduce different techniques for coding and analyzing qualitative data, and provide guidance on creating rigorous qualitative research.
This course grounds students in the process of developing translational research broadly within the business domain. Students will learn how to identify applied challenges, develop research questions to address these challenges, design applied studies, and frame their work using rhetoric that connects with the applied community.
A team-based project course that requires students to analyze an actual business problem from a firm or nonprofit organization. B A 575 Capstone Business Case (4)The Capstone Business Case course is designed to
Develop oral and written communication strategies to succeed in professional and academic contexts. B A 591 B A 591 Professional Development for Business Academics (1)This course is designed to equip doctoral students in business with skills and knowledge that will assist them in successfully completing their doctoral studies and moving on to a successful career as a business academic. These skills fall into three broad categories: 1) communication skills, 2) research skills, and 3) interpersonal skills (which include ethical behavior). The course is designed to cover many crucial skills and career issues that may be overlooked during a doctoral student's normal course of study.
/Maximum of 12 Supervised off-campus, nongroup instruction, including field experiences, practicums, or internships. Written and oral critique of activity required.
/Maximum of 9 Creative projects, including nonthesis research, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses. Graduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 971
This course provides an examination of the competitive landscape faced by marketing managers and the techniques used to provide data-driven insights to improve firm decision making. Students will learn how to assess the marketing environment which include the 5 Cs (Customer, Company, Collaborator, Competition, and Context) and how the 5 Cs impact marketing decision making. Students will learn how to utilize the marketing environment to establish a data-driven marketing strategy, i.e., segmentation, targeting, and positioning. As an example, this can include understanding how to conduct cluster analysis for segmentation, discriminant analysis for targeting, and perceptual and preference mapping for positioning. Students will learn how to make data-driven tactical marketing decisions, i.e., product, price, place, and promotion. As an example, this can include understanding how to conduct conjoint analysis for new product developing, base price analysis (BPA) for pricing, and marketing mix models for promotion decisions. Finally, students will learn how to link their data-driven marketing decision to important business outcomes, e.g., market share, return on marketing investment (ROMI), and profitability. Marketers will find the course provides them skills to immediately utilize data in their marketing decisions. Non-
This course is concerned with understanding and managing the behavior of people in organizations. The course will provide exposure to many of the concepts and skills that will help students become a more effective manager and organizational leader. This course includes tools that help students diagnose, understand, and develop solutions to management problems. The course will draw upon both the academic and practitioner literature to understand many facets of organizations and of the thoughts, feelings, and actions of people who work in them. It will focus on: 1) developing students' conceptual understanding of issues involved in managing people; 2) providing opportunities for direct or vicarious learning of managerial skills that have been identified by practicing managers as being most important to their performance; 3) giving students insight into their own attitudes, beliefs, and management philosophy; 4) creating a forum for discussing management issues with colleagues.
This course provides students with basic knowledge about predictable team dynamics and how to constructively deal with issues that arise in the first year M.B.A. teams. The course focuses on observation, diagnosis, and intervention skills for developing effective teams. Topics include diagnosing group dynamics, giving and receiving feedback to teammates, cross-cultural communication, and conflict management techniques. The course provides a real-time practicum for diagnosing team issues and addressing team problems and conflicts. Students apply team process concepts and techniques as they work to complete team projects in their other core M.B.A. classes. Students leave the course with an understanding of how to successfully lead a team and how to diagnose and correct dysfunctional team behaviors.
/Maximum of 999 A study of ethical conduct in organizations and how cultural differences and personal conduct impact business decisions. This course focuses on developing the ability to understand ethical conduct in business organizations. Understanding how to think about and manage personal ethical conduct is a key learning objective along with a review of how an organization fosters a culture that supports ethical behavior. Students will also learn how cultural differences impact business decisions in a global environment.
The ability to effectively negotiate is an essential skill for managers. Negotiations not only occur with customers or clients, but also between bosses and subordinates, among teammates and across departments. Being able to craft a successful deal, especially in difficult circumstances, requires knowledge of yourself, as well as the substantive material that you are negotiating. Effective negotiators know their own limitations as well as their strengths. They also listen well and have good analytical skills. And, they can craft agreements that garner gains for themselves as well as for other if such gains are possible. Successful negotiating is also closely allied with successful teamwork since both processes require listening, persuasion, influence skills, and creativity. This course will give students an overview of the difference between traditional (distributive) bargaining and interest-based (or integrative) negotiations. Students will learn the rudiments of interest-based negotiating and practice it in several negotiation simulations. They will learn how to identify their own and others' interests, to create and claim value and to craft constructive agreements for all parties. The course will concentrate on two person and small group negotiations as well as to deal with difficult opponents.
BA 809 focuses on the development and application of business architecture as a holistic discipline that produces a common understanding of the organization that is used to align strategic objectives and tactical initiatives. Business architecture bridges the gap between a company's strategy and its successful execution. A business architecture approach that delivers business value to the enterprise produces several things: - An articulation of the strategic requirements of the enterprise - Models of the future state which illustrate what the enterprise should look like across multiple business viewpoints in support of the business strategy - A road map of the change initiatives required to reach that future state - The requirements, principles, standards, and guidelines that will steer the implementation of change initiatives The primary purpose of describing the business architecture of an enterprise is to improve the effectiveness or efficiency of the business itself. This includes innovations in the structure of an organization, the centralization or federation of business processes, the quality and timeliness of business information, and ensuring that money spent at the project level is in support of the strategic objectives of the larger enterprise. The course also develops additional capabilities for communicating, explaining, and justifying decisions relating to business architecture.
This course is designed to provide students with an overview of the role of operations in the organization, the kinds of decisions operations and supply chain managers make, and the impact of these decisions on the strategic and tactical position of the firm. Supply chain management is a particular focus in the course. The interaction of production, distribution and information resources plays a critical role in developing and sustaining a firm's competitive advantage.
Business enterprises convey information to their present and potential investors and creditors through financial reports. This course focuses on these financial reports, the data they contain, how users should read and interpret financial statements, and how users can incorporate this information into their investment decision making. It also examines how managers attempt to window dress these financial statements and how the numbers might affect managerial behavior.
BA 815Business Statistics for Contemporary Decision Making2-3
This course provides an overview of statistical concepts and methods including descriptive statistics, probability, statistical inference, hypothesis testing, ANOVA, Correlation analysis, Contingency Tables, and Simple, Multiple, and Logistic Regression. The approach to course material will be both numerical and applied in order to provide a conceptual understanding of statistics. Applications of these methods will be applied to problems in various business settings such as Marketing, Finance, Accounting and Supply Chain.
/Maximum of 4 One of the most important skills M.B.A.s develop in business school is the ability to demonstrate the value of their experiences. This course provides students with targeted opportunities to develop this skill as they clearly, forcefully, and professionally represent ideas, opinions, an solutions. Students will participate in various oral, written, and graphic projects during the course. After completing this class, students will have proficiency in representing their skills, expertise, and views to business partners (clients, colleagues, employers, and shareholders). This course is spread over two semesters (2 semesters, 4 M.B.A. modules). Residential M.B.A. students must complete all 4 credits (1 credit each in mods 1,2,3,4 for a total of 4 credits). The material builds on each pri module and applies communications skills to various applications.
This course will empower future business leaders to embrace the concepts and bring the state-of-the-art technologies into their Graduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 973 organizations to improve the bottom line of their businesses. This course focuses on emerging technologies that are characterized by novelty, relatively fast growth, prominent impact, and uncertainty. They are the tools that can disrupt industries. The appropriate application of emerging technologies can become the foundation of an organizational transformation journey that leads to improved organizational competitiveness. Conversely, the inappropriate application of any technology can lead to business setbacks and failures.
Students must sequence their courses so all undergraduate degree requirements are fulfilled before taking courses to count solely towards the graduate degree. Students are expected to complete the Graduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 193 undergraduate degree requirements within the typical time to degree for the undergraduate major. In the semester in which the undergraduate degree requirements will be completed, IUG students must apply to graduate, and the undergraduate degree should be conferred at the next appropriate Commencement. If students accepted into the IUG program are unable to complete the M.B.A. degree, they are still eligible to receive their undergraduate degree if all the undergraduate degree requirements have been satisfied.
or This course provides students with an introduction to the foundations of macroeconomic analysis. The primary objective is to develop their ability to apply fundamental macroeconomic concepts from GDP, interest rates, fiscal and monetary policy to understand how policies impact macroeconomic conditions and the environment firms face. Foundational topics in microeconomics include GDP, interest rates, inflation rates and exchange rates. We use modeling techniques to evaluate how different agents in the economy interact (consumers, firms, governments, international trade and the federal reserve) and what the impact of those interactions are on the fundamentals of the economy (GDP and interest rates). The course heavily relies on mathematical and numerical modeling in the analysis of the macroeconomy.
This course starts with the reality that the United States is less influential in global trade, finance, economics, and business than it was in previous decades. Consequently, M.B.A. students need to be aware of the business environments of other countries, the influence of these countries in the global political economy, and new competitors emanating from other parts of the world. About two-thirds of the course is focused on
Global Immersion is designed around a visit to another economic region. In the past. MBA students have visited such countries as Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Czech Republic, France, Ireland, Turkey, and Singapore. In each country, students visit both local and multinational businesses to understand how a business gets established and run in another country; students also meet with industry and government officials to get their perspectives on the economic policies of the country. Each Immersion is coordinated by a faculty leader who plans the visit so as to appeal to a wide range of student interests.
Business Data Management will enable students to use various database designs to acquire the information needed to make effective business decisions. Successful students will be able to design, create, and implement a relational database and be able to write SQL statements to obtain information from a database. In addition, students will investigate the next generation approaches for storing, manipulating, and managing web data in unstructured formats. Students will gain an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages among XML, NoSQL, NewSQL, and Relational databases. After successfully completing this course, students will have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to: - structure a database, configure it, perform analysis within it, and report from it - have adequate understanding of SQL to retrieve data from a database using SQL query language - design a database system including an ER Model and a UML class diagram, and implement the design in an enterprise database application - understand NoSQL databases, XML native databases, NewSQL databases, and the advantages and disadvantages of these databases. RECOMMENDED PREPARATIONS: three credits of data analytics
Business intelligence encompasses the IT tools for exploring, analyzing, integrating, and reporting business data for fact-based, intelligent decision making. This course primarily investigates methods and tools for exploring and analyzing large amounts of business data, also called "Big Data". Learning methods emphasize active learning in the application of methods and tools to real data and the presentation of the results. Students will be exposed to a variety of methods for analyzing both structured and unstructured data and they will work with business data sets to understand the value that can be extracted from large data sets. They will also learn how to classify and associate data to discover business rules that can be used to support decision making. The course will also cover methods to analyze social media information and tools that can facilitate such analysis and discovery. Students will work with data from real social networks to gain an appreciation of how value can be obtained from such networks. Finally, they will learn about techniques for visualizing, presenting, and communicating information in a useful way, e.g. through dashboards and with other technologies on various platforms. Upon successful completion of this course, students will have: - acquired the tools and techniques of data cleaning and preparation, data mining, and data visualization - become competent in analyzing both structured and unstructured data - developed an understanding of, and an appreciation for, the complexities of mining unstructured data such as text data including documents, web pages, emails, etc. - developed an understanding of social networks as well as mobile and location-based analytics data analytics
This course explores sustainability as a business opportunity for developing innovative products and services. It will focus on consumer needs related to sustainability, willingness to pay for these needs, and the innovative processes necessary to create sustainable solutions.
This course presents a senior executive perspective on the key opportunities and challenges faced by business leaders. Course content is based on extensive research on the experiences of senior leaders from major organizations around the world. The lessons from these experiences form the backbone of a series of discussions on the changing context for setting strategy and leading organizations in an evolving business environment. Students who complete the course will demonstrate the ability to think strategically about organizational issues and challenges, develop effective strategies for organizational performance and success, and shape organizational cultures that facilitate strategy implementation and organizational change.
This course will provide practical and hands-on exposure to leadership training and exercises that can be applied in a diverse range of professional environments and business settings. Students will assess their own leadership strengths and development areas, develop an individual leadership development plan, apply that plan in a Leadership Immersion experience, and complete a reflection paper upon return. The course provides an opportunity to apply and integrate the knowledge and skills students developed throughout the program with strategic management and leadership concepts. Leadership Immersion off-site components take students to one- to two- day leadership development programs such as: the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY)
