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| Commerce | |
| COMM 1800 | Making Business Work (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | A Commerce course designed for students without previous business courses. It introduces basic, useful, and useable concepts that under gird American business practice. Basic theory and skills in the areas of strategy, finance, accounting, and marketing will be covered. Lecture and case study approach will allow students to hone critical thinking, problem solving and analytical skills while addressing emergent issues in business practice. Students will be exposed to Microsoft Excel and Access as tools to structure and solve business problems. Specific topics include defining the business model, understanding financial statements, formulating a marketing strategy, and analyzing consumer behavior. The goal of this course is to provide useful tools for students interested in business and to provide a platform for subsequent commerce coursework. |
| COMM 2000 | Business Skills in Today's Workplace (1.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | |
| COMM 2010 | Introduction to Financial Accounting (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | An introduction to the language of business for all University students. Initially, the focus is on the accounting system, which measures, classifies, and reports economic data. Financial statements are studied in depth to gain an understanding of their underlying assumptions, limitations, and the relationships between financial elements. Students then explore how the enterprise raises capital and invests it; accounting for key operating areas such as inventory, accounts receivable, and investments are studied in depth. Finally, parent-subsidiary relationships and consolidated financial statements are explored. |
| COMM 2020 | Introduction to Management Accounting (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | A continuation of COMM 201 that examines accounting's problem-solving contributions to management. Emphasizes planning, control, performance measurement, cost behavior, ethics, and information for special decisions. Prerequisite: COMM 201. |
| COMM 2559 | Introduction to Business Writing (3.00) |
| This course introduces students to the lingua franca of business, Plain English. Plain English is critical where diverse business audiences must communicate effectively with concise, clear, and precise messages. Students will apply Plain English to common business applications such as emails, memos, and letters. This course is especially useful for non-Commerce students who will work in an internship. | |
| COMM 2600 | Leadership Across the Disciplines (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course for 2nd year students examines leadership from different disciplinary perspectives, including commerce and a variety of liberal arts disciplines. The course will include guest speakers from different departments in the College and the Commerce School, and several outside speakers from the private and public sectors. Topics include, but are not limited to: civic responsibility; social activism; historical perspectives; transformational leadership; followership; problem solving and decision making; cultural factors; personal factors; power and influence; visionary leadership; ethics; and Presidential leadership. Throughout, three questions pertain: 1) Where are the opportunities for leadership? 2) How do leaders think? and 3) What do the best leaders do? This course serves as a stand-alone course and also as a prerequisite to advanced leadership courses. Students interested in taking the leadership curriculum-another three-hour course in the third year, followed by a six-hour, field-based independent study in a leadership role, will submit an application later in the semester. The course is cross-listed as Comm 260 and Soc 260. The course is not a prerequisite for the Commerce School, and does not fulfill any Comm School requirements. Prerequisite: 2nd Year Students Interested in Leadership. |
| COMM 2730 | Personal Finance (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | A survey of contemporary wealth-enhancing strategies, such as best borrowing practices; investment alternatives for short-, medium- and long-term goals; and tax and timing considerations required in the general design of an investment portfolio throughout the individual's life cycle. Guidelines are reviewed for insurance coverage and best investment management of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Current tax-deferred savings opportunities, such as 401(k)s and IRAs, are explored. Prerequisite: Non-Commerce Students, 4th or 5th Year. |
| COMM 3010 | Strategy and Systems (4.00) |
| Provides an overview of a business from both a strategic process perspective and as a system and introduces a broad conceptual framework. The remaining ICE sessions provide more specific concepts and techniques. A current business, as well as cases and lecture, is used to develop the framework. Topics include the transformation of business, the role of the general manager, systems thinking and process management, strategic thinking and information systems, global strategy and culture, organizational architecture, information architecture, and the value chain. Prerequisite: Third-year Commerce standing. | |
| COMM 3020 | Behavioral Issues in Marketing and Management (4.00) |
| Studies the interaction of human behaviors both within the organization and within the business environment. Discusses personal effectiveness and interpersonal skills and introduces the marketing management process. Topics include individual differences, leadership, conflict resolution, group decision making, creating high-performance teams, globalization of markets and measuring markets, consumer markets and consumer behavior, developing communication strategies, organizational markets, organization buying behaviors, market segmentation, management of products and services, the use of the Internet and other promotion tools, and marketing decision systems. Prerequisite: Third-year Commerce standing. | |
| COMM 3030 | Quantitative and Financial Analysis (4.00) |
| Covers basic analytical tools used in marketing and finance. Introduces a disciplined problem-solving process to structure, analyze, and solve business problems that is used extensively in case discussions. Topics include marketing research; exploratory data analysis, financial statement analysis, basic stock and bond valuation, pro forma statement analysis, cash budgeting, capital budgeting, regression analysis, and analyzing risk and return. Excel is used extensively throughout this session. Prerequisite: Third-year Commerce standing. | |
| COMM 3040 | Strategic Value Creation (4.50) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Course develops student understanding of corporate strategy & governance, & explains why value maximization provides a coherent framework for the firm's merger & acquisition decisions.Course will develop student proficiency in using financial analytical techniques & consulting tools that can enhance firm performance. Course considers the organizational, cultural, & communication issues corporations face when making strategic valuation decisions. Prerequisite: Third-year Commerce standing. |
| COMM 3041 | Strategic Value Creation - Study Abroad (3.00) |
| Course develops student understanding of corporate strategy & governance, & explains why value maximization provides a coherent framework for the firm's merger & acquisition decisions.Course will develop student proficiency in using financial analytical techniques & consulting tools that can enhance firm performance. Course considers the organizational, cultural, & communication issues corporations face when making strategic valuation decisions. | |
| COMM 3042 | Strategic Value Creation - Study Abroad (1.50) |
| This course equips students to test hypotheses & make inferences, build models to explain & forecast performance, & assess predictions under alternative scenarios. The interacting impacts of economic shifts, managerial changes, & global shocks are incorporated using nonlinear models that allow diminishing or increasing marginal responses. Cases enable students to apply modeling skills to diverse scenarios. Course for Study Abroad Students Only | |
| COMM 3050 | Entry Strategies in Emerging Markets (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Course examines global corporate entrepreneurship & the processes through which established companies identify, launch,& manage the entry of existing products into geographic markets in which the companies do not currently compete. Through a major integrative project, students apply competencies gained through the Integrative Core Experience to the development of entry strategies in emerging markets. Prerequisite: Third-year Commerce standing. |
| COMM 3060 | Quantitative Analysis II (1.50) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course equips students to test hypotheses & make inferences, build models to explain & forecast performance, & assess predictions under alternative scenarios. The interacting impacts of economic shifts, managerial changes, & global shocks are incorporated using nonlinear models that allow diminishing or increasing marginal responses. Cases enable students to apply modeling skills to diverse scenarios. Prerequisite: Third-year Commerce standing. |
| COMM 3101 | Accounting and Cost Perspectives (1.00 - 3.00) |
| The purpose of this course is to refresh your understanding of financial and managerial accounting. Financial accounting is concerned with providing relevant financial information to various external users while Managerial Cost accounting deals with the concepts and methods used to provide information to an organization¿s internal users. Restricted to Ernst and Young YMP students | |
| COMM 3110 | Intermediate Accounting I (3.00) |
| Intensive study of the generally accepted accounting principles for asset valuation, income measurement, and financial statement presentation for business organizations, and of the processes through which these principles evolve. Focuses on important areas in financial accounting, including accounting for leases, pensions, and income taxes. Prerequisite: COMM 202 or instructor permission. | |
| COMM 3111 | Financial Accounting Standards (3.00) |
| Financial Accounting Standards | |
| COMM 3115 | Intermediate Financial Accounting I and II (6.00) |
| Intensive study of generally accepted accounting principles for asset valuation, income measurement, and financial statement presentation for business organizations, and of the processes through which these principles evolve. Focuses on important areas in financial accounting, including accounting for leases, pensions, equities, and other financial instruments, asset impairment, long-term debt and income tax issues related to financial reporting. Restricted to Ernst and Young YMP students. | |
| COMM 3120 | Intermediate Accounting II (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Continuation of COMM 311, with emphasis on accounting for the equities of a firm's investors and creditors. Continues to focus on financial accounting issues including financial instruments, asset impairment and long-term debt. Prerequisite: COMM 311. |
| COMM 3141 | Strategic Cost Management (2.00) |
| This course provides an overview of accounting for business decisions from a strategic and organizational perspective. It introduces a broad overview of cost behaviors, budgeting and performance evaluation, and considers management accounting in a changing environment. This course provides a foundation for financial decision-making and analysis topics covered in future courses.Prerequisite: Comm 2020. Restricted to Ernst and Young YMP students | |
| COMM 3310 | Fundamentals of Marketing (3.00) |
| Study of the business and behavioral activities involved in marketing goods and services in both profit and not-for-profit enterprises. Examines and analyzes marketing activities from the planning stage to the consumption stage. Emphasizes concepts that facilitate an understanding of client behavior, marketing practices, environmental factors, ethical issues, and global relationships in marketing. Prerequisite: ECON 201, 202. | |
| COMM 3315 | Fundamentals of Marketing - Non Commerce (3.00) |
| Studies business and behavioral activities involved in marketing goods and services. Examines marketing activities from the planning to the consumption stage. Emphasizes understanding client behavior, marketing practices, environmental factors, ethical issues, and global relationships in marketing. Prerequisite: ECON 201, 202 and Non-Commerce students. | |
| COMM 3330 | Marketing Research Techniques (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | The basic objective of this course is to develop a general understanding of research methodology as a prerequisite to the intelligent use of research results in marketing management. Thus, the course is designed to provide an introductory background that enables the student to evaluate the potential value of proposed research and to assess the relevance, reliability, and validity of existing research. This research-evaluation ability requires knowledge of the language and techniques of marketing research, including research designs, data collection instruments, sample designs, and varieties of data analysis. Prerequisite: Second-semester, third-year Commerce standing or permission of instructor. |
| COMM 3410 | Commercial Law I (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Introduces the American legal system, emphasizing contracts, torts, agency, corporations, and partnerships. May be taken prior to enrollment in the McIntire School. |
| COMM 3420 | Commercial Law II (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Further introduces the American legal system, emphasizing debtor-creditor law, bankruptcy, product liability, and sale of goods, property, and commercial paper. Prerequisite: COMM 341. |
| COMM 3559 | New Course in Commerce (3.00) |
| New Course in Commerce | |
| COMM 3600 | Principles and Practice in Arts Administration (3.00) |
| COMM 3610 | Learning to Lead (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | |
| COMM 3715 | Managerial Finance I (3.00) |
| The development of managerial theory and decision methodology is emphasized in evaluating the financial function of the firm. The concepts and techniques employed in the procurement of resources from financial markets and their allocation to productive investments are analyzed. Prerequisite: COMM 201 and 202. | |
| COMM 3720 | Intermediate Corporate Finance (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | A rigorous introduction to the full field of finance. Students should gain an appreciation of the role of financial markets and institutions in our economy as well as an introduction to the responsibilities, concerns, and methods of analysis employed by corporate financial managers. We focus on the two fundamental aspects of financial decision-making: time value and risk (modern portfolio theory, the capital asset pricing model, and alternatives). The concepts of time value and risk are used to value the two basic financial assets, bonds and stocks, as well as real assets, investment projects, and companies. In addition, the course introduces derivative securities (options, futures) and discusses their application in a wide variety of settings (real options, contingent claims valuation of equity). The course also covers the theory and practice of capital structure decisions (Modigliani and Miller, taxes, bankruptcy costs, asymmetric information, agency) and dividend decisions. The course will include a thorough discussion of market efficiency and an introduction to the field of behavioral finance. A unifying theme of the course is how no-arbitrage conditions and the law of one price can be used to value most financial assets. The emphasis in this course (both in and out of class) will be on problem solving. Prerequisite: COMM 301, 302, and 303. |
| COMM 3721 | Quantitative Finance (1.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | The lab would develop student's skills in the areas of quantitative analysis and fundamental programming concepts applied to finance. Topics include using Visual Basic, calculus, probability theory, and basic linear algebra skills (vectors, matrices, matrix inversion, solving systems of linear equations) to model financial problems. |
| COMM 3730 | Investment Banking (3.00) |
| Provides an understanding of the nature and function of investment banks. In particular, it examines the structure of investment banks, how deals are done, how investment banks make money, the evolution of modern investment banks, and recent trends and likely changes in investment banking. | |
| COMM 3790 | Venture Capital and the Emerging Firm (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Examines the financial concerns of small firms (under $50 million) through empirical field research. Under instructor supervision, student teams collect and analyze case descriptions of actual business problems and decisions. Prerequisite: COMM 303, 304, 305, or instructor permission. |
| COMM 3791 | Financing New Ventures (3.00) |
| The course will examine the challenges, processes, and sources of financing for new ventures in the focused and engaging format of the January Term. Primarily from perspective of the entrepreneur or business owners through both empirical field research and analyses. It will explore the fit and viability of a venture's maturity. The course will emphasize the integration of these financial concepts with entrepreneurial strategy. | |
| COMM 3800 | Business, Government, and Society (3.00) |
| Reviews the ways in which business and government, particularly at the federal level, are related to each other and to society as a whole. Prerequisite: ECON 201, 202. | |
| COMM 3810 | Business Ethics (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Examines major moral issues in contemporary business through the study and application of foundational concepts from philosophical ethics. Emphasizes directed discussion of case studies and readings from business and non-business literature. |
| COMM 3820 | History of International Business (3.00) |
| Examines international business history, focusing on the individual business firm. | |
| COMM 3828 | Global Commerce in Context (3.00) |
| Regionally focused elective (beyond the Comm 3050 requirement) while studying abroad with one of McIntire's global academic partners. | |
| COMM 3845 | Foundations of International Business (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | An introduction to the field of international business through an examination of the practice and theory of international business, focusing on managerial, operational, strategic, ethical, and environmental factors. The student develops an understanding of global trade theory and the various forms of global and regional economic integration; examines the major functions of managing an international business; becomes familiar with the instruments, procedures, and processes of international business; ascertains the modes of international market entry and foreign direct investment; generates an appreciation of the importance of culture on international business; and evaluates ethical issues in international business. Prerequisite: Non-Commerce students. Note: See course descriptions for other international courses available for a concentration in international business. These courses include: COMM 451 International Marketing; COMM 465 Business, Politics, and Culture i |
| COMM 3860 | The Business of Saving Nature (3.00) |
| Human activities are currently resulting in an unprecedented decline in the biological diversity of our planet. The conversion of natural lands for agriculture and urbanization, together with the alteration of wetlands and aquatic ecosystems, is resulting in the extinction of species that depend on these ecosystems as essential habitat. Recognition of the impacts of human activity on biological diversity has led to a growing international environmental movement to promote the preservation of natural ecosystems. The preservation of biological diversity is dependent on the integration of conservation objectives into the framework of regional economic development, which will require a blending of our scientific and economic understanding about these issues. This course focuses on the scientific and economic issues related to the conservation and preservation of natural ecosystems via an in situ learning experience. | |
| COMM 3880 | Global Sustainability (3.00) |
| This interdisciplinary course will explore the complex choices in environmental policy and management by examining and integrating three relevant perspectives: environmental science, ethics and economics. Environmental science provides a basic understanding of the impacts of human activities on the environment. Economic analysis focuses on the relevant benefits and costs. Ethics addresses the conflicts of values involved in decisions about the environment. The balancing of environmental and economic costs and benefits, coupled with human beliefs about what is 'right' or 'wrong,' is at the heart of the environmental decision-making process. The process is complex because it involves a diverse set of stakeholders with differing perspectives and objectives. A case study approach will be used to examine the wide range of scientific, historical, cultural, ethical and legal dimensions of environmental issues. | |
| COMM 4160 | Special Topics in International Accounting (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | The role of accounting in international contexts will be explored, with the objective to help students become familiar with regulatory, cultural and business environment issues that affect and are affected by accounting and the accounting profession.Specific topics will vary from semester to semester, but the course will likely include an international travel component and interactions with many international parties. Prerequisite: 4th Year Commerce Accounting Students. |
| COMM 4200 | Project Management (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course covers the basic processes related to the effective management of projects including feasibility assessment, resource analysis, estimation of time, effort and cost, scheduling, team management, risk management, and implementation planning. The course is taught in the context of analyzing and managing the design of business processes in support of business strategy including business requirements analysis, business process modeling, and process design. A survey of project management tools is also provided. Class work includes case analysis of real world project scenarios and a management retrospective analyzing a completed IT project. Prerequisite: Commerce student or instructor permission. |
| COMM 4220 | Database Management Systems (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Provides an introduction to the management of database systems and how business intelligence can be used for competitive advantage. The course uses an applied, problem-based approach to teach students the fundamentals of relational systems including data models, database architectures, database manipulations (e.g., SQL), and BI tools. |
| COMM 4230 | Information Technology in Finance (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This class aims at giving you a competitive advantage in your next IT, Finance or Accounting job. You will learn commercial-grade IT tools and techniques commonly used in business organizations (e.g., advanced excel, SQL, accessing and manipulating information in enterprise databases). By the end of the class, you will be able to tell an exciting story about your participation in the yearly McIntire Hedge Tournament. |
| COMM 4240 | Electronic Commerce and Web Analytics (3.00) |
| This course provides an overview of the concepts, technologies, and tools necessary for designing and implementing information systems that support electronic commerce and online analytics initiatives; including web development, web and social media analytics, online marketing tactics, Internet fraud detection, online security, and emerging Web 2.0 technologies. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. | |
| COMM 4250 | Innovation and Technology Management (3.00) |
| This course provides an understanding of the knowledge and skills that are required to leverage technological innovations to generate and sustain business growth. The particular emphasis is on the management of information technology. The course examines the nature and evolution of technological innovation, the assessment of emerging technologies, the valuation of technological innovation and ways to structure and organize firms to take advantage of new and emerging technologies. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. | |
| COMM 4270 | Information Technology Project Practicum (3.00) |
| Provides a comprehensive application of the concepts, methodologies, procedures, and tools necessary for building information systems. Approaches and techniques for system design, integration and implementation are emphasized through case study. Students gain hands-on experience with developing technologies used throughout the systems development cycle in a real world project setting. Prerequisite: COMM 420 and either COMM 422 or 423, or instructor permission. | |
| COMM 4290 | Selected Topics in Information Systems (3.00) |
| This course introduces students to contemporary concepts, methods, tools, and technologies necessary for collecting and examining various forms of structured and unstructured data and demonstrates how to practically apply analytics to real-world business decisions (e.g., identify trends and patterns that are critical to enhancing business performance). | |
| COMM 4300 | Brand Management (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Brand management is the process of developing and nurturing a brand while leveraging strong brands across line extensions and categories. This course exposes students to these and other contemporary challenges facing product and brand managers as they launch new products, create and maintain brand equity, and manage their product lines. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. |
| COMM 4310 | Global Marketing (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Examines the concept of global marketing and the institutions, literature, managerial processes, models and/or frameworks, strategies, tactics, and theories related to marketing in the global arena. The impact of international economics, culture, and nationalistic governmental policies, global and regional trade alliances, and other multilateral entities on trade patterns and marketing decision-making in global firms are considered. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. |
| COMM 4320 | Entertainment Marketing (3.00) |
| This course is designed to offer students important perspectives of Marketing Management for Entertainment Services. Entertainment services, encompassing motion pictures, television, broadcasting, publishing, music, sports, tourism, Internet, gaming, performing arts, and theme parks, are rapidly growing and taking a center stage in today's service-driven economy. As the leading U.S. export category, they generate $500 billion worldwide. Entertainment services share several unique features, such as highly uncertain demand, short lifecycles, experiential nature, and sequential distribution. These features require in-depth understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities in managing their new product introductions, pricing, media planning and promotion, and distribution. This course will merge real-world knowledge of how various entertainment services operate, conceptual framework of marketing strategies, and hands-on analytical tools that aid practical decision making. The course is suitable for students who intend to pursue a career in the media, entertainment, or more generally, service industries; and for those who simply wish to gain a better understanding of marketing management for entertainment service industries in general. | |
| COMM 4330 | Negotiating for Value (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Introduces students to the subject of negotiation by exposing them to various activities of negotiations such as: general tactics, preparation, promoting relationships, managing tension, creating and claiming value, and closing a negotiation. Case studies, supplemented by readings, will be used liberally and role-play from time to time will be used to demonstrate actual negotiating situations, simple, complex, and spontaneous. |
| COMM 4340 | Priniciples of Advertising (3.00) |
| This is a course designed to give the student a working knowledge of Advertising. The course is targeted to students who want to understand the inter-workings of an Advertising Agency but do not want to pursue Advertising as a career. It will develop the tools of advertising to sell goods and services as well as brand and image. Students will be expected to gain knowledge of the issues facing the advertising agency and clients of today. The course will slant toward the advertising agency side of the agency/client partnership. The topic of creativity will be discussed; however students will not be required to design final ads or write final copy in any other than an occasional assignment to conceptually highlight and describe the direction of their ideas. Emphasis will be on the understanding of the business of Advertising and planning the advertising campaign. The overriding theme will be to demonstrate how Advertising fits into integrated Marketing Communications. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. | |
| COMM 4350 | Customer Equity Management (3.00) |
| Examines how firms can employ predictive analytics and customer insights to 1) acquire more profitable customers, 2) provide customers with innovative goods and satisfactory service experiences, and 3) effectively manage customer relationships. The course examines market strategies for using customer equity management to maximize the return on marketing expenditures and to enhance revenue performance and customer perceptions of service quality. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. | |
| COMM 4360 | Independent Study in Marketing Data and Analyses (3.00) |
| This course will have a strong marketing research quantitative analysis component to it, and will involve examining data from the UVa Admissions Office. The course will have the following deliverables: Meet with the client; determine the information sought within the confines of their data; Obtain the data and organize data; Analyze the data; Prepare a written report; Give a verbal presentation of the findings to the client. Prerequisites: Completion of Comm 3330, 3030, and 3060; SQL Training (preferred); 4th Year Commerce, Instructor Permission | |
| COMM 4371 | Promotional Aspects of Marketing (4.00) |
| This course is designed to introduce you to the field of advertising and integrated marketing communications. The emphasis in this course will be on the role of integrated advertising and promotion in the marketing communications program of an organization. As with any specialized field of marketing, we will analyze how this area of advertising and promotion fits into the overall marketing process. Our major thrust will be to study how various factors (creative, media, etc.) should be considered in planning, developing, and implementing advertising and promotional campaigns and marketing programs. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. | |
| COMM 4372 | Advertising Campaigns (4.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course is designed to allow students to analyze integrated marketing communication campaigns. In addition, this course will take a critical look at strategic decisions associated with media choice as part of any integrated communication plan. The course will be taught utilizing industry experts to present via teleconferencing. Students will work on the National AAF case competition and develop a selling strategy, creative development, and media analysis. Prerequisite: COMM 457A and instructor permission. |
| COMM 4380 | Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course focuses on how consumers meet needs through the evaluation, acquisition, and use of goods and services. Covers major influences on the consumption process, including psychological, situational, and socio-cultural factors. Specific topics include perception, attitudes, values, consumer decision-making, and customer satisfaction, among others. The marketing implications of understanding the consumer are emphasized, but social factors are also considered. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. |
| COMM 4390 | Market Insights in Southeast Asia (3.00) |
| A second research-oriented course in the Marketing concentration, curriculum that blends relevant classroom discussions, executive presentations, company visits, and marketing research to explore Global consumer behavior, market dynamics, and cross-cultural marketing strategies. The course will expand some of the topics addressed in COMM 302 and 353, with special attention given to the different aspects of marketing in specific Global Markets. | |
| COMM 4440 | Tax Factors in Business Decisions (3.00) |
| For non-accounting concentrators who want to learn enough about the federal tax system to recognize the tax problems and planning opportunities inherent in common business and financial transactions. Prerequisite: Non-accounting concentration. | |
| COMM 4441 | Tax Factors in Business Decisions (3.00) |
| Tax Factors in Business Decisions | |
| COMM 4450 | Federal Taxation I (3.00) |
| COMM 4520 | Topics in Information Technology (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Presents the opportunity to examine new and emerging IT topics or study a particular IT related area in greater depthhan is covered in other courses. |
| COMM 4530 | Topics in Marketing (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Seminar on issues currently drawing attention in the marketing literature and business community that affect marketing management. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. |
| COMM 4559 | New Course in Commerce (1.00 - 4.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course provides the opportunity to offer new topics in the subject of Commerce. |
| COMM 4560 | Managing Sustainability in the Developing World (1.00 - 3.00) |
| This course will study sustainability issues across three levels of development: 1) the extreme poor, 2) working poor people/nations, and 3) emerging economies with moderate and growing income levels. We will use popular press books in addition to case discussions, current articles in the business and academic press, and a substantial project to study sustainable development from multiple angles. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. | |
| COMM 4562 | Topics in Organizational Behavior (3.00) |
| Courses focusing on specific topics in organizational behavior¿for example, 'Managing and Leading' and 'Managing the Knowledge-Based Organization.' Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. | |
| COMM 4570 | Topics in Finance (3.00) |
| A seminar on issues drawing current attention in the finance literature and affecting non-financial business firms, financial institutions or investment management. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing and instructor permission. | |
| COMM 4602 | Critical Thinking on Business Issues (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This books-based seminar course is designed to encourage students to think deeply and become more analytical about complex problems. The weekly discussions tackle topics such as market solutions, low-wage workers, virtues, and costs of globalization, technology and privacy, women's images, immigration policy and defining career success. The weekly assigned books are designed to provoke debate and experimentation with new ideas. Prerequisite: Fourth year commerce standing or instructor permission. |
| COMM 4621 | Managing and Leading (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course focuses on leadership from a managerial perspective trying to understand what it is, what factors contribute to doing it effectively, and whether you can develop your promise as a leader. The goals of this course are to: a) give you a richer understanding of what managerial leadership involves; b) help you formulate your own model of leadership; and c) give you some feedback about your own leadership characteristics and skills. Prerequisites: Fourth Year Commerce Standing. |
| COMM 4622 | The High Performing Organization (3.00) |
| Knowledge has become one of the most important resources in the economy and assets within organizations. In all but the most rote forms of manufacturing and service work, organizations better able to creat and share knowledge are better performers. However, managing a knowledge-based enterprise requires more than just a distributed technology. Effective leaders in knowledge-intensive work must think about their organizations differently. | |
| COMM 4623 | Leading Change (3.00) |
| In this course, students will study and participate in personal and organizational change processes. The objectives include enhancing personal capabilities and understanding for navigating change in our lives and developing insight and leadership skills for coping with, diagnosing, and managing organization-wide change. | |
| COMM 4630 | Human Resource Management (3.00) |
| Examines the fundamentals of human resource management. Topics include job analysis, recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management, compensation, and employee and labor relations. Explores the implications of increasing legal pressures (e.g., equal employment opportunity laws, sexual harassment liability) and the complexities of managing a global work force. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. | |
| COMM 4640 | Advanced Managerial Communication (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Develops writing and speaking skills while increasing student understanding of how managers communicate with diverse audiences. Covers communication with the public, investors, and employees. Special topics will include media relations, communication ethics, and crisis communications. Students practice for communication events such as speaking at a press conference, briefing a small group, telling professional anecdotes, and preparing for a media interview. |
| COMM 4641 | Public Speaking & Persuasion (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | The course utilizes several active learning activities when considering classical rhetorical elements, audience analysis, speech organization, and strategies for improvement in the structure and delivery of extemporaneous and impromptu speeches. Students work with conceptual methods, observe exemplary models of good speech making, explore personal communication apprehension, and hone individual rhetorical style. |
| COMM 4642 | Communication Strategies for Business Professionals (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Participants will sharpen speaking and writing skills for professional situations related to their areas of concentration. Students will learn strategies for structuring and delivering persuasive material for a variety of audiences and will engage in some of the most important conversations taking place in business today. These may include globalization and emerging communication technologies. The course counts toward the Comm School Management Concentration. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing. |
| COMM 4643 | Advanced Business Speaking (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | |
| COMM 4650 | Business, Politics, and Culture in the European Union (3.00) |
| Classes are held in England, Belgium, and France. Focuses on political and management issues related to European integration. Activities include classroom lectures at the University of Bath, briefings by government and business officials in London and Brussels, and cultural side trips in all three countries. Prerequisite: Third- or fourth-year Commerce standing. | |
| COMM 4660 | Strategic Management Consulting (3.00) |
| Develops basic strategic-consulting skills while exploring the dynamics of consulting work and lifestyles. Integrates practical knowledge, simulated experience, and active discussion of the consulting engagement lifecycle, various methodological approaches and tools used by strategy consultants in structuring and solving clients' problems, thinking and behavioral techniques that facilitate the consulting process, and considerations for managing a consulting career. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. | |
| COMM 4670 | Organizational Change and Development (3.00) |
| Develops an in-depth understanding of key concepts and theories in organizational behavior and development. Focuses on developing the diagnostic skills necessary for effective management of organizational change. Prerequisite: Fourth-year standing or instructor permission. | |
| COMM 4680 | Entrepreneurship (3.00) |
| Explores the entrepreneurship process as well as basic concepts and analytical tools that facilitate new-venture success with a focus on a start-up's ability to make money and its ability to generate attractive financial and personal returns for the entrepreneur compared to alternative career options. Examines various considerations for generating, screening, and evaluating new venture ideas, creating and presenting compelling business plans, acquiring early-stage funding and other required resources, as well as measuring value. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. | |
| COMM 4681 | Entrepreneurship Track Capstone (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | In the capstone course, approximately five teams comprising five students each attempt to commercialize business concepts (of their design and with faculty approval) through the "pre-money" stage of development. The course culminates in a New Venture Competition, the winners of which, as judged by Entrepreneurship Track professors and program donors, will receive modest seed money to continue exploration of their business concept. Prerequisites: Open only to students in the Entrepreneurship Track. |
| COMM 4690 | Global Management (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Explores the strong influence of culture on business practices and cultivates skills for developing and implementing strategies in multicultural environments. Topics include culture and its implications, interpersonal effectiveness, organizational systems, political and economic environments, and corporate social responsibility. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. |
| COMM 4701 | The Analyst's Edge (3.00) |
| n this hybrid seminar/independent study, we will focus on finding attractive investments. Students will develop the ability to produce unique and differentiate research that can be applied to finding compelling longs and shorts. A major theme of the class will be the study and practice of value-added research. Each student will work to understand how to apply their research to investment ideas. The learning process will be highly experiential. Pre-requisites: Application Process. | |
| COMM 4710 | Intermediate Investments (3.00) |
| Provides an understanding of contemporary cash and derivative equity securities and markets. Both investment theory and its practical applications are considered. The primary perspective for most discussions is that of an institutional investor, although applications to personal finance are included. Both U.S. and international equity and fixed-income markets are discussed. Topics include asset allocation, portfolio theory, market efficiency, models of asset pricing, program trading, and equity options and financial futures. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. | |
| COMM 4720 | Advanced Corporate Finance (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course considers advanced topics in corporate finance. Prerequisite: Comm 372, fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. |
| COMM 4730 | Advanced Investments (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course considers advanced topics in investments. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. |
| COMM 4741 | Global Finance (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | An integrated study of the global financial system, capital and foreign exchange markets, risk management, and the dynamics of global markets within broader economic and geopolitical contexts. Taught in seminar format, current challenges and opportunities in financial markets and international business are regularly discussed. Readings include a variety of textbook chapters, journal articles, independent research and teaching cases. Pre-requisites: 4th year Commerce standing or Instructor Permission. |
| COMM 4742 | International Finance and Accounting (3.00) |
| Offered overseas during the summer session. Explores the international financial environment in which economic and financial policies and business decisions are made. International monetary relations are covered, emphasizing the balance of payment measure, forward exchange markets, international capital markets, and correspondent networks. Prerequisite: COMM 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, or instructor permission. | |
| COMM 4760 | Private Equity (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course will provide an overview of the entire "private equity cycle" running from fund formation through investment exit. Both theoretical and practical issues will receive attention with the balance tipping toward the latter. Students are to be prepared to discuss a case or other reading assignments during the first half of most class meetings. The second half of our meetings will most often include speakers with expertise in the subject. Pre-requisites: Commerce, 4th Year . |
| COMM 4770 | Financial Management of Financial Service Firms (3.00) |
| Introduction to the financial theory and management of financial service industries. A contemporary orientation, supplemented by frequent practitioner speakers, combined with recent theoretical constructs, provides insight into the place of financial service institutions in the international economy. Includes lectures, cases and a computer simulation. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing or instructor permission. | |
| COMM 4790 | Principles of Real Estate (3.00) |
| Introductory course forms the background of concepts, tools and techniques. This course details the study and practice of real estate as it draws from a multitude of disciplines including architecture, urban and regional planning, building construction, urban economics, law, and finance. Prerequisites: 4th Year Commerce Standing. | |
| COMM 4791 | Real Estate Investment Analysis (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Develops an anlytical framework by which individuals and institutions can make real estate investment and financing decisions. Emphasizes theory, concept building, financial modeling, and practical real estate applications. Uses the case method to illustrate implementation of an analytical framework. Prerequisites: Fourth-Year Commerce Standing or Instructor Permission. |
| COMM 4792 | Commercial Real Estate Seminar:Advanced Issues and Fieldwork (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course addresses advanced, decision related issues within a value based theory of real estate investment and finance. It facilitates development of advanced insight into the analytical techniques and theoretical perspectives most relevant to such decisions. The course exposes students to industry related software programs including Argus and Crystal Ball for analyzing real estate related investment and finance decisions. |
| COMM 4821 | Managing Sustainable Development (3.00) |
| This course will cover sustainability development across three levels: 1) the extreme poor, 2) working poor people/nations, and 3) emerging economies with moderate and growing income levels. Particular emphasis will be on the potential promise of social enterprises in alleviating povery. The class will use popular press books in addition to case discussions and current events. Prerequisites: 4th Year Commerce Standing or Instructor Permission | |
| COMM 4822 | Invest in Sustainable Future (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This interdisciplinary course focuses on understanding, identifying and analyzing investment projects hastening our transition to a sustainable society. Working together in multidisciplinary teams, participants will analyze real-world opportunities applying rigorous standards for sustainability, strategic fit, financial performance, and practicality. |
| COMM 4823 | Financing a Sustainable Future (3.00) |
| COMM 4824 | Sustainable Development Practicum (3.00) |
| This course in Nicaragua in January examines the impacts of globalization on people living in emerging economies. Classes will be based on a textbook, cases, and briefings from leaders in local government, NGOs, health care organizations, and business leaders. Students will also be teamed with students from a local university to plan development projects aimed at addressing one or more of the UN Millennium Development Goals. | |
| COMM 4825 | Development Practice: NGO's in Bangladesh (3.00) |
| To gain an appreciation of the complications of managing NGOs in developing countries. Discover concepts for managing social enterprises and serving markets at the "bottom of the pyramid." Explore management implications for businesses and social enterprises operating in a global environment, focusing on the opportunities, and challenges and responsibilities of global organizations. Learn sustainable development techniques. | |
| COMM 4840 | Global Commerce Scholar Thesis (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | An independent global research project that draws from prior courses in the Global Commerce curriculum to design and execute a program of student centered on a particular global topic and how it shapes the business environment and specific opportunities within it. Scholars will present their findings to McIntire faculty and fellow scholars and will be encouraged to submit their findings to an undergraduate global business research conference. |
| COMM 4881 | Leadership Practicum (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | |
| COMM 4899 | Cross Cultural Experience (1.00) |
| COMM 4993 | Independent Study in Commerce (1.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Independent study under the supervision of a Commerce instructor. A project directly related to business must be submitted to, and approved by, the supervising instructor prior to the Commerce School add date. Students may take COMM 499 only once. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce standing. |
| COMM 4995 | Commerce Undergraduate Research (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Independent research under the supervision of a Commerce instructor: A research project directly related to business must be submitted to, and approved by, the supervising instructor and complet an approval process designated by the Associate Dean for the B.S. in Commerce Degree prior to the Commerce School add date. Students may take Comm 4995 only once. Prerequisite: Fourth Year Commerce standing and a cumulative GPA at or above 3.4. |
| COMM 5100 | Accounting Information Systems (3.00) |
| This course is designed to achieve the following objectives: design and use accounting information systems; learn COSO, COBIT and the foundations for building business controls and managing business risk; understand IT governance in an organization and how IT controls and governance relate to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; understand how IT controls and risks must be integrated into a company¿s overall risk profile; design and implement control systems. | |
| COMM 5130 | Advanced Financial Accounting (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Covers accounting and financial reporting for business combinations (including consolidated financial statements), international accounting issues, foreign currency translation, reorganizations and liquidations, accounting requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and accounting for partnerships. Emphasizes the conceptual understanding of major issues and technical accounting requirements. Prerequisite: COMM 311. |
| COMM 5140 | Strategic Cost Management (3.00) |
| Explores the roles of accounting information in strategically positioning the firm and in improving performance and examines cost management problems and practices in U.S. and selected foreign firms. The course primarily deals with activity-based cost management, kaizen, target costing, and the balanced scoreboard. Additional topics include the theory of constraints, the strategic value chain, the half-life metric for improvement, and the role of accounting in managing quality. Prerequisite: COMM 311. | |
| COMM 5150 | Introductory Auditing (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Includes the planning, processes (gathering evidence), and judgments required to render an opinion on an entity's financial statements. Deals with evidence theory, risk identification, and professional judgment. Audit methodology is examined through a study of auditing standards and the concepts and procedures developed to implement those standards. Other topics include professional ethics, auditors' liability, internal control assessment, audit program development, working papers, types of audit tests, and audit reports. Prerequisite: COMM 510 and 311. |
| COMM 5450 | Federal Taxation I (3.00) |
| Analyzes the federal income tax law and its application to business, investment, and personal transactions. Prerequisite: COMM 2020 or instructor permission. | |
| COMM 5460 | Federal Taxation II (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Analyzes the federal income tax law and its application to corporations, shareholders, partnerships, partners, and estate and gift transactions. Considers the basic concepts and tax attributes relating to alternative forms of operating a business. Provides the basic skills necessary to do tax research. Prerequisite: COMM 545 or instructor permission. |
| COMM 5510 | Selected Topics in Commerce (3.00) |
| Seminar on current issues in commerce. Independent Study Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce or graduate standing, or instructor permission. | |
| COMM 5700 | Financial Trading (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course examines the nature and influence of trading on financial market prices. Particular attention is directed to the role of noise in financial markets; the psychology of participants in financial markets; the identification of potential profitable trading opportunities; back office processing of trades; the management of the trading function; and artificial neural networks and AI expert trading systems. Mock pit trading sessions are held to give firsthand experience in simulated pit trading environments and illustrate some of the skills necessary for successful trading. Prerequisite: Fourth-year Commerce or graduate standing, or instructor permission. |
| Graduate Commerce | |
| GCOM 5211 | Basic Assurance Services (3.00) |
| This includes the planning, processes (gathering evidence), and judgments required to render an opinion on an entity's financial statements. Deals with evidence theory, risk identification, and professional judgment. Audit methodology is examined through a study of auditing standards and the concepts and procedures developed to implement those standards. Other topics include professional ethics, auditor's liability, and other issues. | |
| GCOM 5231 | Special Topics in Advanced Accounting (3.00) |
| This purpose of this course is to expand your knowledge of financial reporting, from a user¿s perspective. To achieve this we discuss how analysts use financial information to value the firm, how management sometimes attempts to alter perceptions of firm value, and how accounting rules can impact perceptions of firm value. Restricted to Ernst and Young YMP students | |
| GCOM 5871 | Communication Strategies for Business Professionals (3.00) |
| Participants will sharpen speaking and writing skills for professional situations related to their areas of concentration. We¿ll learn strategies for structuring and delivering persuasive material for a variety of audiences and engage in some of the most important conversations taking place in business today that cut across all areas. These may include globalization and emerging communication technologies. Restricted to MS in Accounting students. | |
| GCOM 7010 | Global Strategy and Systems (3.00) |
| Global Strategy and Systems provides an overview of global business from both a strategic process perspective and the organization as a system. It introduces a broad conceptual framework involving strategic and critical thinking, business planning, and general management functions. It provides a foundation for the other core modules that develop more specific concepts and techniques. Restricted to MS in Commerce students. | |
| GCOM 7020 | Strategic Cost Management (1.50) |
| This course covers the use of cost data in strategic planning and control to facilitate the development and implementation of business strategies. Restricted to MS in Commerce students. | |
| GCOM 7030 | Financial Accounting (1.50) |
| Financial Accounting incorporates the perspectives of accounting, corporate finance, and economics to help students understand financial statements and the judgments and incentives underlying accounting choices. The course will use an integrated, cross-disciplinary view of financial reporting and will include major accounting topic including assets, liabilities, equity, off-balance-sheet financing, measurement issues, valuation, and the analysis. Restricted to MS in Commerce students. | |
| GCOM 7040 | Marketing and Quantitative Analysis (3.00) |
| Marketing and Quantitative Analysis introduces the marketing management processes that can be applied to various global markets. Topics include understanding market metrics, consumer market dynamics, consumer behavior and social/cultural trends, organizational buying behaviors, market segmentation, global branding, management of goods and services in diverse markets, and marketing decision systems. Restricted to MS in Commerce students. | |
| GCOM 7050 | Organizational Behavior and Communication (2.00) |
| Organizational Behavior examines human behavior both within the organization and within the global business environment. It discusses personal effectiveness and interpersonal skills in a global climate. Topics include cross-cultural differences, global and virtual teams, leadership, conflict resolution, decision making, creating high-performance teams. Restricted to MS in Commerce students. | |
| GCOM 7060 | Financial Management (3.00) |
| Financial Management covers basic corporate finance including cost of capital, capital budgeting, valuation of stock and bonds, working capital management, and international finance. Pre-requisites: Restricted to MS in Commerce students. | |
| GCOM 7070 | Seeking Authenticity and Thinking as a Leader (2.00) |
| Seeking Authenticity and Thinking as a Leader aids students in leveraging their non-business academic background, and provides guidance on integrating across the functional areas in the masters program. Leaders tend to think in a particular way. This active-learning course will focus on developing more careful thinking and problem solving approaches. Students will be positioned to formulate a ¿personal brand¿ toward a career best-suited for them. Pre-Requisites: Restricted to MS in Commerce students. | |
| GCOM 7080 | Seeking Authenticity and Thinking as a Leader (1.00) |
| Seeking Authenticity and Thinking as a Leader course continues from first term. Pre-requisites: Restricted to MS in Commerce students. | |
| GCOM 7100 | Marketing Research (1.50) |
| GCOM 7120 | Customer Value (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | GCOM 7120 is a research-oriented class that focuses on understanding how a company¿s strategic operations and resources can influence customer experiences and business performance outcomes (e.g., market share, average receipt values, and sales per square foot). The class provides marketing managers and operational business leaders with the analytical tools to deliver memorable customer experiences that connect with customers and enhance loyalty. |
| GCOM 7130 | Brand Management (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Brand Management covers key strategies for identifying, building and defending brands. Brands are among companies most valuable assets. Through lectures, case discussions, exercises and group projects, the course examines the art and science of leveraging, extending and positioning brands into value-creation. Pre-requisites: Restricted to MS in Commerce students. |
| GCOM 7211 | Advanced Business Law (3.00) |
| Advanced Business Law. Restricted to Ernst and Young YMP students. | |
| GCOM 7220 | International Finance (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course takes an integrated approach to the study of the global financial system, capital and foreign exchange markets, risk management, and the dynamics that impact investors, financial institutions, corporations and other market participants. Drawing on a combination of theory, practical experience, and case studies, we also try to understand the behavior of global financial markets within a broader set of economic and geopolitical considerations. Restricted to MS in Accounting students. |
| GCOM 7250 | Project Management (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | The primary objective of Project Management is to provide a blend of theoretical knowledge and practical skills necessary for the effective management of projects. To this end, the course is closely tied to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK, as espoused by the Project Management Institute) and consists of seminars on such topics as planning, stakeholder management, human resource management, global/virtual teams, risk management. Prerequisites: Restricted to MS in Commerce students. |
| GCOM 7261 | Management Writing for Accounting Professionals (1.00) |
| This course covers management writing strategies essential for clear, organized, specific messages. We¿ll focus on the importance of audience, occasion, and style which are the foundation for successful and persuasive writing. Topics include effective emails and memos, the two most commonly used business messages. Restricted to Ernst and Young YMP students. | |
| GCOM 7310 | Strategic Business Advising and Communication (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course covers the entire spectrum of business risks facing companies in a global economy. The course focuses on how to build an enterprise risk management process that includes: understanding risk and decision making, strategy and objectives, risk identification, risk assessment, risk response, controls, and monitoring. The course looks at international risk frameworks, international and US regulatory requirements related to risk, and international and US stock exchange requirements. The course also ties the enterprise risk management process into corporate governance, shareholder value and disclosures to shareholders. |
| GCOM 7311 | Strategic Business Advising (1.50) |
| This course explores the dynamics of the business advisory services' segment of the global consulting market and a common structured methodology to identify, create a framework to solve, and ultimately resolve any type of business-advising problem. | |
| GCOM 7320 | Accounting Policy (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course will cover the theory and practice of corporate financial reporting. It will highlight the development of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and accounting policy choices from two perspectives. Restricted to MS in Accounting students |
| GCOM 7330 | Enterprise Risk Management and Consulting (3.00) |
| The course looks at the strategic, operational, and financial risk that organizations face. Through case discussions, the process of risk identification, risk assessment, and risk monitoring is covered. | |
| GCOM 7340 | Special Topics in Financial Reporting (3.00) |
| The purpose of this course is to expand your knowledge of financial reporting and to familiarize you with topics currently of interest to the accounting profession, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. To achieve these objectives, the course will examine accounting issues from two perspectives. First, we will explore financial reporting and financial reporting issues from a user perspective. This perspective should enable you to understand the significance of financial statement components more completely and will facilitate your future performance in your financial statement analysis course. Second, we will examine the authoritative accounting literature underlying acceptable accounting choices. As an accounting professional, you will often be faced with ambiguous or unclear accounting issues. This perspective will improve your ability to conduct financial reporting research and to provide concise and thoughtful resolutions to theses issues. The perspective will also provide a foundation for your future graduate course in accounting policy. The pedagogy for the course will include lectures, readings, illustrative class examples, research cases, memorandum preparations and class presentations. | |
| GCOM 7341 | Accounting for Derivatives (3.00) |
| This course develops a framework for understanding the nature, uses, and financial reporting of derivatives. The first section of the course discusses the various types of derivatives, including their uses in business settings and the methods used to determine their ¿fair value.¿ Pre-Requisites: any Graduate Commerce student | |
| GCOM 7350 | Special Topics in Auditing, Assurance and Ethics (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course provides students with an integrative exposure to topics that reflect current professional practices and best practices as identified by regulatory bodies, other profession-related organizations, academics and practitioners. State-of-the-art topics will be covered primarily through (a) professional and academic readings and (b) exposure to practitioners and other experts. The course will focus on the integration of new topics with material learned in other courses and placing topics in the context of auditing and assurance. |
| GCOM 7351 | Special Topics in International Accounting (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | The role of accounting in international contexts will be explored, with the objective to help students become familiar with regulatory, cultural and business environment issues that affect and are affected by accounting and the accounting profession. Specific topics will vary from semester to semester, but the course will likely include an international travel component and interactions with many international parties. |
| GCOM 7361 | Accounting for Mergers and Acquisitions (3.00) |
| The purpose of this course is to explore mergers, acquisitions, and other corporate control transactions within an accounting and valuation framework. This course also serves an integrative purpose. Mergers and acquisitions represent significant changes that involve the entire enterprise. As such, this course provides an opportunity to link financial decision-making with the overall strategy of the firm. Restricted to Ernst and Young YMP students. | |
| GCOM 7370 | Financial Statement Analysis (3.00) |
| The course centers on the fundamentals of valuation, and how accounting and other information affect perceived and managed value. The course begins by establishing value maximization as the goal of the firm. The process and fundamentals of valuation are explored. Second, students explore how to analyze the decisions that affect firm value (e.g., investing, financing, etc.). Third, students explore the impact, on perceived value, of accounting alternatives (e.g., U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Standards). | |
| GCOM 7371 | Financial Statement Analysis and Valuation (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course will provide students with a framework that uses financial statement data to analyze a company's business and determine an intrinsic value for that company. The framework developed can be applied in a variety of decision contexts including those faced by creditors, security analysts, investment bankers, firm managers and auditors who must judge the firm's performance and communicate with external investors. |
| GCOM 7381 | Ethics in Business, Accounting, and Auditing (3.00) |
| This course examines ethical considerations within the specific contexts frequently encountered by accountants to recognize common ethical situations faced in business (by auditors and their clients) and those unique ethical issues faced by auditors. We will study ethical frameworks and professional rules and practice applying analyses to real-life and fictitious cases to learn from the mistakes of others and to avoid mistakes. Restricted to Ernst and Young YMP students. | |
| GCOM 7390 | Negotiations (3.00) |
| This course introduces students to the theory and practice of negotiation. Students will develop an understanding of the structure of the negotiation, the interests of the other party, the opportunities and barriers to creating and claiming value on a sustainable basis, and the range of possible moves and countermoves. | |
| GCOM 7400 | Leading for Success in the Accounting Profession (3.00) |
| The course will focus on key issues facing professionals, professional service firms and the entire profession. We will hear from many leaders in the profession about keys to success-both in today's environment and in the future. A primary objective of the course will be to expose students to important issues that will be critical for success in the future in terms of both personal career issues and profession-wide developments. Restricted to MS in Accounting students. | |
| GCOM 7410 | Tax Research (3.00) |
| This course is designed to equip students with the special investigative skills, and the technical tools, techniques, and insights required to analyze, interpret, summarize, and present complex financial, tax, accounting, and business related issues in a manner that is both understandable and supported by documentary evidence. This course has been designed to expose students to the various statutory, administrative, and judicial sources of the tax law. Case studies are used throughout the course to assist students in developing and refining their proficiency in identifying issues, locating and interpreting pertinent authority, and effectively and professionally communicating their conclusions. Students learn how to use several commercially available research tools (LEXIS/NEXIS, RIA CheckPoint, etc.), analytical tools (e.g., financial modeling tools and simulation tools), and presentation tools more creatively, more efficiently, and more effectively. | |
| GCOM 7420 | Taxes and Business Strategy (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | The course will provide a framework for understanding how taxation influences asset prices, equilibrium returns, and the form and content of contractual agreements. This is achieved by integrating the tax law with fundamentals of corporate finance and microeconomics. In addition, the course focuses more clearly on the economic consequences of alternative contractual arrangements than on the precise tax laws governing the arrangements. Restricted to MS in Accounting students, |
| GCOM 7430 | Taxation of Partnerships and Flow Through Entities (3.00) |
| This case-oriented, transaction-based course addresses the various legal, business, and tax issues arising in connection with the start-up of new business and with the formation, operation, distributions, reorganization, and termination of liability companies, partnerships, S corporations and other conduit entities (e.g., real estate investment trusts and mutual funds). The course provides in-depth coverage of the technical rules of Subchapters K and S and places special emphasis on the identification and implementation of tax-planning strategies available to conduit entities and their owners. The course contains modules on entrepreneurship and accounting for partnership transactions. | |
| GCOM 7440 | Taxation of Corporations and their Shareholders Transactions (3.00) |
| This case-oriented, transaction-based course addresses the various business, tax, and accounting issues arising in connection with the formation, operation, and termination of domestic corporations and their shareholders. The course provides in-depth coverage of the technical rules of Subchapter C, and places special emphasis on the identification and implementation of tax planning strategies available to corporations and their shareholders. | |
| GCOM 7450 | Corporate Mergers, Acquisitions, Divisions and Recapitalizations (3.00) |
| This eclectic, case-oriented, transaction-based course addresses the various financial, tax, and accounting issues arising in connection with corporate mergers, acquisitions, divisions, and recapitalizations. It presents a detailed introduction to the qualitative and quantitative valuation techniques used in analyzing proposed transactions. Students are exposed to the vast array of legal, tax, and accounting issues that arise in connection with negotiating, structuring, closing, and reporting these transactions and how these various factors impact corporate value. Tax due diligence and financial statement analysis are also covered. This course also examines the conceptual themes and the technical rules that govern the filing of consolidated tax returns and compares and contrasts the those rules with the generally accepted accounting principles that govern the preparation of consolidated financial statements. SFAS 109 (tax provision) is also covered in this course. | |
| GCOM 7460 | Tax Strategies for the Executive and the Entrepreneur (3.00) |
| This is an eclectic course that addresses the federal income, estate, and gift tax issues and strategies that arise in connection with executive compensation (stock options, nonqualified deferred compensation strategies, etc.), planning for the death or incapacity of the owners of a closely held business (buy-sell arrangements, succession planning, etc.), gratuitous inter vivos and testamentary transfers of large wealth. The course provides in-depth coverage of federal estate and gift taxes, the generation-skipping transfer tax, and the use of trusts. Related business issues non-tax aspects of executive compensation and business succession planning and related financial accounting principles are also covered. | |
| GCOM 7470 | International Business and Investment Transactions (3.00) |
| This eclectic, case-oriented, transaction-based course addresses the various financial, accounting, and tax issues arising in connection with a wide range of international business and investment transactions. It presents a detailed introduction to international finance (e.g., accessing international financial markets, managing foreign exchange risk, and using various financial instruments), and comprehensive coverage of international taxation and tax planning strategies (including transfer pricing, foreign tax credit planning, Subpart F, etc.). The course also contains a module on U.S. accounting principles applicable to multinational transactions and operations, and on the managerial accounting aspects of control systems for multinational business operations. Students are exposed to international accounting standards promulgated by the International Accounting Standards Committee. The tax and accounting systems of several countries are compared and contrasted with those of the United States. The course also contains a module on state and local taxation. | |
| GCOM 7480 | Legal Liability and the Regulation of Accountants (3.00) |
| This course aims to assist you in achieving that goal by familiarizing you with the AICPA's Code of Professional Conduct that will guide much of your professional life. The course also introduces you to a web of state and federal laws--including especially federal securities laws administered by the SEC and the newly-created PCAOB, and federal tax laws administered by the IRS. | |
| GCOM 7600 | Consulting to Management (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Consulting to Management is designed to expose students to the dynamics of management consulting and better prepare them to develop and deliver valuable advice that is aimed at improving organizational performance. Given the diversity of business issues that organizations face, the course will introduce students to a common structured methodology to identify, create a framework to solve, & ultimately resolve any type of management-consulting problem. Pre-requisites: Restricted to MS in Commerce students. |
| GCOM 7610 | New Venture Development (2.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | The course will teach students the process of creating, financing, and sustaining new ventures. It will combine classroom instruction on the functional disciplines with knowledge from practitioners to teach students how to think through and launch a new venture. Student teams will work with faculty and practitioners to develop venture concepts and these will be judged on the viability of the venture and their successful application of concepts. |
| GCOM 7641 | Communicating Effectively as Accounting Professionals (1.50) |
| This course centers on the vital role communication skills play in the professional success of accountants, who communicate with colleagues and clients about complex issues. The course examines the impact of audience and occasion on speaking strategy; develops oral presentation skills; helps increase public speaking confidence; develops the ability to create high-impact visuals; and develops skill in group presenting and responding to questions. | |
| GCOM 7700 | Introduction to Financial Services (2.00) |
| GCOM 7710 | Advanced Corporate Finance (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Advanced Corporate Finance sharpens corporate valuation and corporate financing skills in a wide variety of cases and contexts. It is intended to extend the theoretical knowledge gained in financial management (GCOM 7710) to numerous applied settings including mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, capital structure decisions, and leveraged buyout/ private equity investments. Pre-requisites: Restricted to MS in Commerce students. |
| GCOM 7720 | Information Management for Financial Services (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Teaches analytical consulting competencies focused on the fast-paced financial industry: 1) PROCESS AUTOMATION: being able to automate repetitive tasks to increase individual productivity; 2: FINANCIAL BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE: being able to access & manipulate information stored in organizational databases using commercial-strength tools; 3) FINANCIAL ENG: being able to design & implement financial computations & to think in terms of financial info |
| GCOM 7730 | Markets & Financial Advisors (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course covers the topics of financial engineering and security design, security issuance, structured finance, risk management, and corporate governance. Pre-requisites: Restricted to MS in Commerce students. |
| GCOM 7740 | Global Finance and Accounting (3.00) |
| The course explores how firms manage multinational operations. The course first sensitizes students to the challenges confronting global enterprises (e.g., culture, laws, etc.). Second, macroeconomic issues are explored (e.g., exchange rate determination). Third, we examines the nature & framework of international finance decisions (e.g., investing, financings, etc.). Fourth, the impact of differing accounting standards & tax laws are explored. Prerequisite: Restricted to Ernst and Young YMP students | |
| GCOM 7750 | Capital Markets (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Capital Markets introduces students to the global capital market environment, including the burgeoning over-the-counter markets for derivative securities, and to the valuation of capital market instruments. The valuation component of the course will give special attention to models for structuring and valuing derivative securities. Pre-requisites: Restricted to MS in Commerce students. |
| GCOM 7760 | Real Estate Investments and Analysis (3.00) |
| Develops an analytical framework by which individuals and institutions can make real estate investment and financing decisions. Emphasizes theory, concept building, financial modeling, and practical real estate applications. Uses the case method to illustrate implementation of an analytical framework. Prerequisite: Restricted to MS in Accounting students. | |
| GCOM 7770 | Information Technology in Finance (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course provides students with an introduction to business systems with a particular emphasis on applications in Finance and Accounting. It introduces students to the systems development process and the challenges involved in building high-quality systems efficiently and reliably while providing hands-on skills in state-of-the-art technologies (e.g., C# and Visual Studio .Net). |
| GCOM 7780 | Project Management (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course covers the basic processes related to the effective management of projects including feasibility assessment, resource analysis, estimation of time, effort and cost, scheduling, team management, risk management, and implementation planning. The course is taught in the context of analyzing and managing the design of business processes in support of business strategy including business requirements analysis, process modeling, and design. Prerequisite: Restricted to GCOM Students |
| GCOM 7790 | IT Architecture (6.00) |
| This course provides broad foundations for understanding the core information technologies that support today¿s businesses. The class provides long lasting knowledge of enterprise architectures, databases, business processes, and networks, at a level of detail that is appropriate for IT managers. Students in GCOM 7790 learn how to envision IT infrastructures and applications that meet the needs of the business enterprise and add economic value. | |
| GCOM 7800 | Advanced IT Architecture (3.00) |
| Building on the foundations in GCOM 7790, this class fosters insights into contemporary IT architectures trends. Topics include security, components architectures, and emerging technologies. Students envision a business-value-adding initiative using modern information technology, describe their initiative by creating several architectural artifacts (e.g., process and information models), and present it to an audience of tech-savvy leaders. | |
| GCOM 7810 | Strategic Management of IT (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | GCOM 7810 develops an understanding of how to manage IT to create business value through a focus on strategy and finance. IT professionals must understand the specific kinds of value created by IT for their firm¿s end consumers, and how it in turn produces financial returns. By analyzing a firm¿s industry and its competitive position within that industry, students learn how to produce technologies that can impact the firm¿s competitive position. |
| GCOM 7820 | Advanced Strategic Management of IT (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | GCOM 7820 is a continuation of GCOM 7810. This course will develop your skills in discovering, describing, and securing management support for new IT-based strategic initiatives. Students will become comfortable in the role of internal IT entrepreneur ¿ someone who can see how developments in information technologies can open up new strategic possibilities for how their organizations compete, and who can package those ideas in compelling ways. |
| GCOM 7830 | IT Project Management I (0.00) |
| This course is designed to develop more effective project managers through its coverage of concepts, techniques, and technologies relevant to the manager of an IT project. To this end, the module is closely tied to the requisite body of knowledge espoused by the Project Management Institute (PMBOK), as well as agile project management practices. Student teams conduct a project retrospective over the course of the module for class presentation. | |
| GCOM 7831 | IT Project Management II (6.00) |
| GCOM 7831 is a continuation of GCOM 7830. | |
| GCOM 7840 | Innovation and Technology Management (3.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | GCOM 7840 is a continuation of GCOM 7820, focusing on the necessary technological, financial, and organizational issues to consider when developing a business case around a transformational, IT-based strategic initiative. Projects of this sort can impact how an organization pursues its strategic goals, and in some cases may also suggest shifts in strategy to pursue new opportunities that are compatible with the firm¿s resources and capabilities. |
| GCOM 7850 | Enterprise IT Management (3.00) |
| GCOM 7850 teaches IT Enterprise Management using enterprise decision making as the conceptual framework. Enterprise IT Management represents a wide range of activities; students will learn how to develop and manage strategies for operations and business continuity, data management, data integration, process integration, and compliance. Lectures, case discussions, projects, and workshops provide students with opportunities to hone their skills. | |
| GCOM 7851 | Enterprise IT Management (0.00) |
| GCOM 7851 teaches IT Enterprise Management using enterprise decision making as the conceptual framework. Enterprise IT Management represents a wide range of activities; students will learn how to develop and manage strategies for operations and business continuity, data management, data integration, process integration, and compliance. Lectures, case discussions, projects, and workshops provide students with opportunities to hone their skills. | |
| GCOM 7860 | Advanced Enterprise IT Management (3.00) |
| This course teaches IT Enterprise Management applications and special topics, with an emphasis on using the IT enterprise to deliver value to the organization. Students will experience lectures, case discussions, projects, and workshops to learn about enterprise decision making, knowledge management, business intelligence, and other enterprise management-related special topics. | |
| GCOM 7861 | Advanced Enterprise IT Management (6.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course teaches IT Enterprise Management applications and special topics, with an emphasis on using the IT enterprise to deliver value to the organization. Students will experience lectures, case discussions, projects, and workshops to learn about enterprise decision making, knowledge management, business intelligence, and other enterprise management-related special topics. |
| GCOM 7870 | Understanding Global Commerce I (0.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | This course exposes students to the international issues, business practices, and concerns in their respective global immersion location. Prerequisites: Restricted to MS in Commerce students. |
| GCOM 7871 | Understanding Global Commerce II (4.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | GCOM 7871 is a continuation of GCOM 7870. |
| GCOM 7880 | Global Immersion Experience (4.00) |
| Special Topics in International Business. Pre-requisites: Restricted to MS in Commerce students. | |
| GCOM 7890 | International Capstone Project (3.00) |
| GCOM 7891 | Global Commerce in Context-Europe1 (5.00) |
| This course focuses on doing business in Europe. Coursework consists of classroom instruction, corporate visits, and cultural experiences to help students better understand the global business environment and conducting business in Europe in particular. | |
| GCOM 7892 | Global Commerce in Context-China (5.00) |
| This course focuses on doing business in China. Coursework consists of classroom instruction, corporate visits, and cultural experiences to help students better understand the global business environment and conducting business in China in particular. | |
| GCOM 7893 | Global Commerce in Context-Southeast Asia (5.00) |
| This course focuses on doing business in Southeast Asia. Coursework consists of classroom instruction, corporate visits, and cultural experiences to help students better understand the global business environment and conducting business in Southeast Asia in particular. | |
| GCOM 7894 | Global Commerce in Context-Europe2 (5.00) |
| This course focuses on doing business in Europe. Coursework consists of classroom instruction, corporate visits, and cultural experiences to help students better understand the global business environment and conducting business in Europe in particular. | |
| GCOM 7993 | Independent Study and Supervised Research (1.00 - 9.00) |
| Offered Spring 2012 | Students taking this course will explore areas and issues of special interest that are not otherwise covered in the graduate curriculum. This course is offered at the discretion of the supervising professor.In addition to other requirements imposed by the instructor, the course requires a final paper of publishable 'law review' quality be completed and submitted prior to the end of the semester. |