In recent years, Saudi Arabia has witnessed rapid development in all sectors of the economy.  To accommodate these developments, the need for a cadre with a high degree of professionalism has emerged.  Also, the increasing number of graduates with bachelor degrees and the growing number of missionee students studying abroad for higher education in business administration has prompted King Saud University to launch the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. The Council of Graduate Programs in Business Administration, College of Business Administration at King Saud University has an important role in contributing to the managerial development in Saudi Arabia through the MBA program. The first batch was started in 1992.

 

Degree Title:

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

 

Program Vision:

Produce leaders who will shape the business sector in the present and the future.

 

Program Mission:

Provide MBA students with a rigorous, discipline-based approach to business education and transforming them into confident, effective, respected business leaders prepared to face the toughest challenges in a global economy.

 

Program Objectives:

1. Acquire a breadth of knowledge across various business disciplines.
2. Develop analytical skills, understanding, confidence, and language to influence strategy at all levels of the business organization.
3. Enhance participants’ communication, leadership and teamwork skills so they can make an impact in business organizations and advance in their careers.
4. equiping participants with the competencies needed to recognize and solve problems found in today's dynamic business environment.
5. Emphasize cross-disciplinary integration of subjects, such as the key linkages between accounting, finance, decision-making methods, marketing, information systems and human resources.
6. Develop advanced leadership and team-building skills for management in dynamic organizations.
7. Understand international business and the implications of a rapidly evolving global economy.
8. Recognize and evaluate ethical, legal, and regulatory dimensions of business decisions.

 

Program Outcomes:

1. Synthesize theories, concepts, tools, skills, practices, and research to address problems, accomplish complex tasks, and complete projects that are common in a business environment.
2. Demonstrate effective written and verbal communication skills that are professionally appropriate, promote mutual respect, and encourage healthy discourse.
3. Demonstrate decision-making skills within a global business context that are well-reasoned, based on evidence, and are both ethically and socially responsible.
4. Lead, collaborate, and interact with others in diverse and globally dispersed environments based on a reflective knowledge of self and value-based interpersonal skills.
5. Assess opportunities to sustain and improve an organization’s competitive position in a dynamic and complex global marketplace by employing critical, creative, or strategic thinking.
6. Compare the environment in which business operates in Saudi Arabia and abroad through direct experience and interaction with local, regional, and multinational businesses.

 

Admission Requirements:

1. The applicant must possess an accredited bachelor of business administration degree pursued full-time. Non-business applicants can be accepted in the program.
2. Submission of a score of at least 61 Toefl iBT (500 Paper-Based), or Band 6 in the IELTS (no more than 2 years old).
3. Submission of GMAT score (no more than 5 years old).
4. The passing of an interview conducted by the Program Committee.

 

Duration of Study:

The student should complete the program in no less than five semesters and no more than ten semesters, not including summer sessions.

 

Graduation Requirements:

1. Coursework consists of 48 Cr Hrs, 39 Cr Hrs as core courses and 9 Cr Hrs as major courses with cumulative GPA of no less than "Very Good" at the completion of the coursework.
2. Completion of pre-requisite undergraduate courses, if required.

 

 

Detailed Course Structure

An Overview of Program Structure:

The course structure of the program is composed of three main components with a total of 48 Cr Hrs.

 

First	Analytical Tools	15 Cr Hrs	These courses provide students with tools and basic skills necessary to function in advanced business courses.
Second	Business Concepts	18 Cr Hrs	These six courses designed to introduce to the students the functions of business organizations and the roles of top executives and business leaders.
Third	Integrative Concepts	6 Cr Hrs	There are two courses in this category aim to develop the problem solving skills and integrate the concepts and business functions at the top management level.
Fourth	Major Courses	9 Cr Hrs	Besides taking a core course in each of the following tracks (General Track), the student has an option to major in any of these tracks by taking 3 courses (9 C) in the area: Marketing, Finance, and Operations Management.
	48 Cr Hrs		Program Total (16 Courses)

 

Detailed MBA Course Structure

 

Code	Course	Cr Hrs	Cr Hrs (Total)
	Analytical Tools
ECON 503	Management Economics	3	15
ACCT 531	Seminar in Managerial Accounting	3
QUA 502	Business Statistics	3
BA 561	Management Information Systems	3
BA 565	Management Science	3
	Business Concepts
BA 511	Organizational Behavior	3	18
BA 512	Human Resource Management	3
BA 521	Financial Management	3
BA 541	Marketing Management	3
BA 551	International Business Management	3
BA 571	Operations Management	3
	Integrative Concepts
BA 597	Strategic Management	3	6
BA 598	Research Project	3
	Major Courses
-	Available majors: General Track, Marketing, Finance, Operations Management.	9	9
	Program Total		48

Major Courses

 

General MBA Track Major Courses			Hrs
BA 513		Human Resource Development	3
BA 523		Investment Analysis	3
BA 549		Strategic Marketing Planning	3
BA 578		Advance Topics in Operations	3
Total			9

 

 

Marketing Major Courses			Hrs
BA 542		Consumer Behavior	3
BA 543		Marketing Distribution Channels	3
BA 545		Marketing Research	3
BA 549		Strategic Marketing Planning	3
Total			9

 

 

Finance Major Courses			Hrs
BA 523		Investment Analysis	3
BA 524		Financial Institutions and Markets	3
BA 525		Corporate Finance	3
BA 528		Advanced Topics in Finance	3
Total			9

 

Operations Management Major Courses			Hrs
BA 572		Project Management	3
BA 573		Quality and Productivity Improvement	3
BA 574		Operations Planning and Control	3
BA 578		Advance Topics in Operations	3
Total			9

 

Model Program Schedule

 

	Semester (1)			Semester (2)	Hrs
BA 511	Organizational Behavior	3	BA 512	Human Resource Management	3
QUA 502	Business Statistics	3	BA 565	Management Science	3
ACCT531	Seminar in Managerial Accounting	3	ECON 503	Managerial Economics	3
Total		9	Total		9

 

 

	Semester (3)	Hrs			Semester (4)	Hrs
BA 521	Financial Management	3	BA 551		International Business Management	3
BA 541	Marketing Management	3	BA 561		Management Information Systems	3
BA 571	Operations Management	3	BA xxx		Major Course (1)
			BA xxx		Major Course (2)	3
Total		9	Total			9

 

 

	Semester (5)	Hrs
BA 597	Strategic Management	3
BA 598	Research Project	3
BA xxx	Major Course (3)	3
Total		9

 

MBA Course Descriptions

Arranged Sequentially

 

BA 511 - Organizational Behavior  (3 Cr Hrs)

The purpose of this course is to introduce the students to advanced behavioral concepts and theories, and to develop their analytical skills in diagnosing, analyzing and solving behavioral problems in work situations.  The course consists of three main parts: at the individual level the course focuses on the individual motivation, attitude, satisfaction, abilities and individual differences; at the group level the course focuses on such issues as group dynamics, leadership, conflict and communication; at the organizational level, the course focuses on organizational structure, organizational environment, organizational change and organizational development.  In addition to presenting concepts and theories, experiential learning is emphasized through the use of exercise and analysis of cases. 

 

BA 512 - Human Resource Management  (3 Cr Hrs)

This course covers a wide array of human resource related subjects, including human resource planning techniques, financial compensation methods, performance management strategies, staffing policies, and job analyses.  In addition to presenting concepts and theories, experiential learning is emphasized through the use of exercises and analysis of cases. 

 

BA 513 - Human Resource Development  (3 Cr Hrs)

Approaches to employee development are the focus of this course.  The course relates performance appraisal, career path design, promotion policy, training, and leadership to organizational sustainability and growth.  The use of HR information systems in HR development is reviewed.

 

BA 515 - Staffing and Human Resource Planning  (3 Cr Hrs)

The focus of this course is on the staffing process, including human resource forecasting, analysis of labor markets, analysis of legal environments, recruitment, selection, and socialization.  The course addresses the use of HR information systems in all stages of the staffing process. 

 

BA 518 - Advanced Topics in Human Resource Management  (3 Cr Hrs)

This course addresses concurrent developments in the fields of Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior.  The course includes subjects at the micro and macro levels.  At the micro level, the subjects addressed are typically related to performance management, including work motivation, job design, position descriptions, performance appraisal, feedback, incentives and leadership.  At the macro level, the subjects addressed are typically related to organization design, including organizational forms, organization development and organization change.

 

BA 519 - Compensation Management  (3 Cr Hrs)

This course goes in-depth in addressing traditional and modern approaches to financial compensation. The topics covered include job evaluation methods, benchmarking, salary scale design and administration, financial incentives (individual, group and company-wide) and benefits. The course highlights the principles of equity and long-term efficiency in designing compensation systems. The relationship between compensation systems and organizational structure, organizational culture, work motivation and employees’ attitudes are addressed. The use of HR information systems in compensation is reviewed.

 

BA 521 - Financial Management  (3 Cr Hrs)

Introduction to tools of financial management in modern corporation. Topics include financial statement analysis and tools of planning and control, valuation, risk-return tradeoff, capital investment analysis, working capital management, long-term financing, dividends, and additional topics in financial management. The course will also involve the use of case problems.

 

BA 523 - Investment Analysis  (3 Cr Hrs)

This course examines the characteristics and analysis of individual securities along with the theory and practice of combining securities into portfolios. It includes investment settings, alternative investment vehicles, stock market indicators series, sources of market information-both published and online-aggregate stock market analysis based on fundamental and technical approaches, efficient market theory, and modern portfolio theory.

 

BA 524 - Financial Institutions and Markets  (3 Cr Hrs)

This course provides an overall view of the financing process and the role of financial markets. It covers the supply and demand of loanable funds, the money and capital markets, level and structure of interest rates, forecasting financial flows and interest rates, assets/liabilities management, and effects of monetary and fiscal policies on financial institutions management.

 

BA 525 - Corporate Finance  (3 Cr Hrs)

This course places the student in the decision maker's role regarding key elements of managerial finance through an intensive analysis, by means of case study, of financial problems related to financial planning, asset management, cost of capital, capital structure, capital budgeting, long-term financing, and dividend policies.

 

BA 528 - Advanced Topics in Finance  (3 Cr Hrs)

This course will cover various topics in finance. It could cover some or more than the following topics: risk management, business valuation, options and futures, creative financing techniques and recent issues in financial management.

 

BA 541 - Marketing Management  (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, choosing among these alternatives, and making marketing decisions. The course includes topics such as: analysis of the marketing environment and competition, marketing research, consumer analysis, product development and management, promotion, cost and demand analysis, pricing, and channels of distribution. Service and international marketing are emphasized in the course. Case analysis and projects are essential parts of this course.

 

BA 542 - Consumer Behavior (3 Cr Hrs)

This course addresses theories and techniques in the area of consumer behavior with emphasis on the inter-disciplinary nature of the course. In particular, attention is given to the application of cultural, social, and psychological concepts to the behavior of consumers in the marketplace with implications for marketing strategy. Behavioral models of consumer decision making are presented and discussed.  Individual and group exercises and case analyses are utilized to demonstrate course concepts.

 

BA 543 - Marketing Distribution Channels  (3 Cr Hrs)

This course focuses on the strategies related to the management of marketing activities within the channels of distribution.  Emphasis is placed upon description of various marketing institutions (e.g., wholesalers and retailers), the evolution of channel systems, interorganizational management issues, how channels are organized, and how they should be organized.  Attention is also given to the analysis of physical distribution systems.  Readings and case studies are heavily utilized.

 

BA 545 - Marketing Research  (3 Cr Hrs)

This course aims at exploring the use of the scientific method in defining and dealing with problems in marketing management.  The course includes a detailed study of the role of information in marketing decision making; the role of marketing information systems; nature, scope and role of marketing research; types of marketing research studies; design and execution of marketing research projects and problems which may face researchers in conducting marketing research.

 

BA 549 - Strategic Marketing Planning  (3 Cr Hrs)

The course aims at defining the nature and role of the strategic planning process in marketing and the relationships between strategic marketing planning and strategic corporate planning.  The course includes a detailed study of the interaction between the elements of the strategic corporate plan and the elements of the strategic marketing plan, formation of the strategic marketing plan and the formulation of the plans of the elements of the marketing mix. The control techniques and procedures associated with the strategic marketing plan are also examined. The case method is essential teaching technique

 

BA 551 - International Business Management  (3 Cr Hrs)

This course is divided into two parts.  The first part provides the students with an intensive study of changing economic, political, and cultural environment in which the business conducts its affairs internationally. The second part of the course encompasses the specific problems with which international businessman must deal, such as marketing, community relationships, organization, financial management, operating policies, and the ways in which these problems may be approached.

 

BA 561 - Management Information Systems  (3 Cr Hrs)

This course focuses on how to use and manage a variety of information technologies to revitalize business processes, improve managerial decision making, and gain competitive advantage. Thus this course demonstrates how the information technologies can give a business strategic technology platform that supports electronic commerce and enterprise collaboration among the internetworked enterprises in today’s global business environment. Topics include organizational and technical foundations of information systems, information support systems, developing information systems, and managing information systems.

 

BA 565 - Management Science  (3 Cr Hrs)

This course has a twofold purpose. First, it seeks to introduce simple models and ideas that provide powerful qualitative insights about a large spectrum of managerial problems. Second, it aims to give a feeling for the kinds of problems that can be tackled quantitatively, the methods and software available for doing so and the difficulties involved in gathering the relevant data. The emphasis is on models that are widely used in diverse industries and functional areas, including finance, operations, human resources and marketing. Topics include linear and integer programming, decision making under uncertainty, and simulation.

 

BA 571 - Operations Management  (3 Cr Hrs)

This course is designed to address the key operations and logistical issues in service and manufacturing organizations that have strategic as well as tactical implications. The specific objectives include:  to understand the role of operations management in the overall business strategy of the firm, to understand the interdependence of the operating system with other key functional areas of the firm, to identify and evaluate a range of tools appropriate for analysis of operating systems of the firm, to identify and evaluate comparative approaches to operations management in an international context.

 

BA 572 - Project Management  (3 Cr Hrs)

This course focuses on the systems and approaches that may be used to complete projects in a manner that is timely and not wasteful of resources, and which meets customer requirements and project goals. A core of the course is the "project management system" that includes tools for defining, planning, monitoring, and managing projects. Several cases are studied and appropriate project management software is used.

 

BA  573  Quality and Productivity Improvement  (3 Cr Hrs)

This course supports the drive for higher productivity and attention to the market by focusing on a mix of tools and practices such as customer focus, total participation and continual improvement. The course covers such topics as continuous process improvement, supplier partnership, performance measures, statistical process control, benchmarking, quality function deployment.

 

BA 574 - Operations Planning and Control  (3 Cr Hrs)

This course takes a quantitative approach to the topics of operations planning and scheduling, inventory management and operations control systems. The purpose of this course is to provide a framework for designing and/or improving the systems used to plan, schedule and control the operations assets of the firm. The course has three major segments. The first segment deals with tools such as linear programming and heuristic problem solving. The second segment deals with systems for scheduling operations and managing inventories. The third segment deals with systems such as MRP and JIT for managing dependent demand inventories for engineered products.

 

BA 578 - Advanced Topics in Operations Management  (3 Cr Hrs)

This course highlights some important topics in operations management that may not get enough attention in previous courses. Such topics include (but are not restricted to) operations strategy, productivity improvement, process management, quality management, and operating decisions (supply chain management, inventory management, and project management).

 

BA 597 - Strategic Management  (3 Cr Hrs)

The primary objective of this course is to help students to develop a perspective of the top manager's functions and responsibilities from a conceptual as well as an operating standpoint.  The focus of the course is on strategy formulation and implementation in business firms.  The case method is the predominant mode of instruction.  Cases are drawn from firms of various sizes and industries.

 

BA 598 - Research Project   (3 Cr Hrs)

This course intends to help students gain an understanding of the nature of business research and to determine when research should be used to aid decision making. The student will learn various concepts and techniques of sampling, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data from surveys, experiments, and observational studies. This course emphasizes, through experiential learning, the development of students’ abilities to evaluate, use, and present research findings.

 

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

The purpose of this course is to provide an in-depth understanding of managerial accounting in an organization.  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 planning, control, and decision making functions. Major topics are: 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. (Pre-requisite, Econ 221 or equivalent)

 

QUA 502 - Business Statistics  (3 Cr Hrs)

The course starts with a very brief review of the bases such as descriptive statistics, probability and random variables. The main part of the course is devoted to sampling, estimation, hypothesis testing, linear correlation, simple regression, multiple regression, and analysis of variance. The presentation relies upon computer software for most of the needed calculations.