Master of Business (MBus)

1429/1430 AH (2008/2009)

Introduction

The College is one of the early colleges of King Saud University and was established in 1959 under the name of College of Commerce.  It was renamed to College of Administrative Sciences until it was re-named again to the College of Business Administration (CBA) in 2006.  This College re-structuring was comprehensive and a new vision, mission, and objectives were laid down.   CBA now houses seven departments: accounting, economics, finance, human resources management, management, management information systems, and marketing.

Saudi Arabia is witnessing rapid development in the private sector.  This necessitates the need to provide the business sectors with qualified and well prepared cadre of professionals.  This can be accomplished through a master in business degree which has become a requirement for success in the corporate ladder.

The experience of College of Business Administration at King Saud University at both the undergraduate and graduate levels shows that there is a need for a different program in business at the master's level.  Corporate business is seeking such education in Arabic especially that the role of the private sector is gaining prominence.

Degree Title

Master of Business (MBus).

Program Targets

The program is designed for several segments, namely:

•      Newly appointed managers and administrators.
•      Persons who want to develop their skills in anticipation for leadership positions in the private sector.
•     Business owners who are seeking to develop their business and advance their skills and abilities to manage their own business or their family business.
•     Entrepreneurs in small and medium enterprise (SME) and in global firms.
•     Students who are seeking to enroll in doctorate program in business.

Program Objectives

1.     Enhance and further managerial capabilities.

2.     Build up the skills of newly graduates who will assume leadership positions in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME).

3.     Enrich  the  business  cadre  who  are  in  leadership  roles  but  lack  sufficient  leadership preparation.

4.     Prepare and develop entrepreneurs who own their business or about to establish a new business or manage their business or their family business.

The program philosophy is to develop the KSA of students, both males and females:

Knowledge:  Improve student's knowledge of business and its environments; business strategies and concepts; managing business functions; dealing with complex decisions facing the firm.

Skill:  Improve student's skills in critical analysis, decision making under ambiguous, complex and interrelated situations, managing business functions, and personal and organizational communications.

Ability: Improve student's ability through  intensive coursework, intellectual challenges  with peers, report writing, presentations, group works, and applied research that deals with real-life issues.

The Program specifically aims to advance the growth and professionalism of the business sector in Saudi Arabia by:

• Providing both the private and public sectors with well-equipped, high level cadre and specialists who are needed by the society in its development efforts.
• Developing students' managerial skills by balancing theory and application in business setting.
• Availing professional higher education opportunities to executives, newly graduates, and business owners to expand their businesses and abilities.
•  Enhancing the academic background for those interested in pursuing higher degrees in business administration.

Program Highlights

The design of the program adds several features that make it an academically and professionally sound program. These features can be summarized as follows:

• It is in line with the standards set by the Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business (AACSB); the international accrediting body of business programs.
• It is in conformity with AACSB's requirement of the internationalization of business curricula.
• The courses are designed to emulate the top five U.S. master's programs in business.
• The program integrates business concepts and management both at the strategic and functional levels to prepare the students to assume top management posts in business organizations.

Admissions

•  The applicants should fulfill the Deanship of Graduate Studies’ admissions conditions.
•  The applicant must possess a  bachelor of  business administration or  an equivalent degree studied on a full-time basis from approved universities and colleges. Non-business majors can be accepted in the program.   Applicants should have a minimum grade point average of "Very Good". Applicants with GPA of "Good" can, in some cases can be accepted.
• The passing of the exams and interviews that are required by the Council of Graduate Programs in Business, with preferences given to those with work experience.

Program Length

The student should complete the program in no less than four semesters and no more than eight semesters, not including summer.  The model program structure is designed around 4 semesters if there were no required pre-requisite courses.

Degree Requirements

•        Completion of 42 credit hours of coursework, with cumulative GPA of no less than "Very Good".
•       The program may require non-business applicants to pass pre-requisite courses before enrolling in the program.

An Overview of Program Structure

BIZ 501 - Advanced Managerial Analysis (3 Cr Hrs)

The basic objective of this course is to introduce concepts and fundamental tools for analysis and decision  making  that  students  require  in  advanced  courses.  These  modules  will  be  taught  via lectures,  assignments,  applications  and  intensive  workshops.  The  course  is  composed  of  five modules: introduction to business and its environments; introduction to financial accounting; introduction to statistics; introduction to management sciences; negotiation skills and analysis.

BIZ 511 - Managerial Statistical Analysis (3 Cr Hrs)

The objective of the course is to introduce the managerial statistical analysis to enhance the ability of making decisions. The following topics will be discussed: collecting and arranging statistical data, measures of central tendency and dispersion, introduction to probability, random variables and types, correlation and simple linear regression, and variance analysis with applications in business and using a statistical package (such as SAS, SPSS).

BIZ 521 - Operations & Production Management (3 Cr Hrs)

This course presents a general management perspective on the operations function in a business. It is concerned with how operations activities can best be designed and managed to support the strategic  objectives  of  a  business.  The  course  provides  major  competitive  advantage  along dimensions that include: cost of products and services, delivery speed and reliability, quality and quick response in product design. The course also deals with cross-functional integration, total quality management, product and service design, process management, materials requirement planning, supply chain management, and inventory management.

Pre-requisite: BIZ 501.

BIZ 531 - Entrepreneurship Management (3 Cr Hrs)

The purpose of this course is to explore the many dimensions of new venture creation and growth and to foster new business formations in independent and corporate settings.  The course tackles some fundamental issues related to venturing and learning to assess the risks, challenges and rewards involved in the venturing process.  The course combines lectures and case studies with experienced guest  speakers  to  give  students  a  rich  understanding  of  the  challenges  facing  entrepreneurs. Students work in teams to identify and pursue a business opportunity in either an independent or corporate setting, and develop a full business plan for a new venture.

Pre-requisite: MKG 541 + FIN 501.

BIZ 595 - Strategic Applied Business Research (3 Cr Hrs)

This course allows the student to utilize his/her problem solving skills within a business organization in the context of a supervised research program. The course starts with the treatment of research methodology, then, the student, with the approval of a faculty advisor, selects the hosting firm and develops a research proposal that tackles a strategic issue. After the approval of the firm and the faculty advisor, the student embarks on the research. In the end, the student submits a full report and a research paper showing substantial empirical work.

ACC 531 - Seminar in Managerial Accounting (3 Cr Hrs)

The purpose of this course is to provide an in-depth understanding of managerial accounting in organizations. Emphasis is on accounting information and how to use it effectively in performing management functions. The course provides an opportunity to review the nature of the planning, control, and decision making functions. The major topics of the course include: accounting information and human behavior; information for tactical forecasting and decision making; information for production and control; information for planning and evaluation.

ECON 503 - Managerial Economics (3 Cr Hrs)

The course covers the following topics: an introduction to economic relations, optimization techniques, demand theory and elasticities, estimation of demand functions, production functions and their estimation, cost functions for the short and long run and their estimation, linear programming, pricing practices, investment decisions, risk analysis, the role of government in business decisions, and some macroeconomic relations relevant to business decisions.

FIN 501 - Corporate Finance (3 Cr Hrs)

The  course  gives  an  introduction to  managerial  finance  and  specific  topics  fundamental to  all business students.  Topics covered include: introduction to financial management, financial analysis, financial planning and control, investment analysis, and financing decisions.

FIN 541 - Finance Decisions (3 Cr Hrs)

The course explores issues related to finance decisions such as: short and long-term financing decisions and advanced topics in corporate finance.  Topics covered include: cost of capital, capital structure,  dividend  policy, capital  investment  decisions  under  certainty and  uncertainty,  working capital management, and special topics in corporate finance such as: leasing, mergers, and bankruptcy.

Pre-requisite: FIN 501.

HRM 501 - Human Resources Management & Organizational Behavior (3 Cr Hrs)

This course covers theories related to individuals, work groups and organizations.  It focuses on developing what managers need in terms of skills and experiences to enable them to understand behaviors and individuals in a business setting. The course touches topics such as: strategic human resources management, legal and social environments that impact human resources management, planning, recruiting, selecting, training, developing, evaluating performance, and compensating. The course also deals with individual behaviors such as: perception and decision making; group behaviors such as: understanding work groups, leadership, power and conflicts; organizational design, work design, managerial environment and organizational change and development. The course strives to develop student's skills and its application in a business organization.

MKG 501 – Marketing (3 Cr Hrs)

This course emphasizes the managerial aspects of the marketing function. The focus is placed upon the  criteria,  both  quantitative  and  qualitative,  used  in  evaluating  marketing  alternatives  and  in choosing among these alternatives within a global environment characterized by continuous change and is influenced by social, economic, and competitive forces that are getting tougher over time. The course includes topics related to the decision making process such as: marketing research and marketing information systems, cost and demand analysis, competition, product management and development, advertising and promotion, sales management, pricing, and channels of distribution. The course includes applications on case studies and various readings.

MKG 541 - Strategic Marketing (3 Cr Hrs)

This course focuses on the role of strategic marketing planning in business organizations. The relationships between strategic marketing planning and strategic corporate and business planning are discussed. The course analyzes the factors influencing the marketing planning process and discusses in detail the elements and formulation of the strategic and tactical marketing plans. Students will be exposed to several training tools during the course such as extra readings, simulation games, case studies, and/or term papers.

Pre-requisite: MKG 501.

MKG 551 - Global Business Management (3 Cr Hrs)

Global Business is an analytical course whereby students get exposes to the various elements that impact global business and  analyze in  a methodical way how international firms  are  managed.Business environments are examined both at macro and micro levels from a multidisciplinary integrative perspective to tackle issues such as the political, economical, cultural, and legal elements that shape the global business environment.  The second part of the course provides a framework for analyzing the management of these global businesses at the strategic as well as the functional level such as organization, marketing, finance, operations and human resources management.