American University of Central Asia - AUCA

COURSES

Required Courses

Basics of IT
3 credits; English
Basic knowledge on how to use typical office-based applications, such as word processing, excel, power-point. The student must know how to use the web-browsers and AUCA information sources.

Business English
3 credits; English
The course provides the information on business vocabulary as well as the way of appropiate use. Knowledge of legislative terms and their translation and usage in English language.

Intro to Economics
3 credits; English
Economics - the social science dealing with efficient use of limited resource. This course covers macro and microeconomic issues. Microeconomics explores how economic agents make decision. Macroeconomics covers a whole economy, and employs aggregated data such as GDP, inflation, unemployment, interest rate and economic growth. This course focuses on economic theories as well as its practical application. This course is the preparatory course to micro and macroeconomics.

Intro to Management
3 credits; English
All the times Management played a key role of any society and it involves directing the organization to achieve goals, to be competetive and profitable in rapidly changing world. Management applies in all areas of economic functions of the organization: marketing, operations, finance, human recources, research and development, and infromation development. Nowadays, when financial and economic crises challenge the global world the outstanding and qualified managers are in high demand because they are persons who know how to avoid the impact of crises, to make a decision in order to solve the problems, able to formulate the startegy and to lead the businesses to sustainable development. This course is the preparatory course to the Management major courses.

Mathematics
3 credits; English
This course is the preparatory course for all quantitative courses and covers such areas as:

Basics Mathematics
Probability
Summarizing and Analyzing Data
Inter-relationships between Variables
Forecasting
Financial Mathematics
After completion of this course, students are able to:

demonstrate the use of basic mathematics, including formulae and ratios;

identify reasonableness in the calculation of answers;

demonstrate the use of probability where risk and uncertainity exist;

apply thechniques for summarizing and analyzing data;

calculate correlation coefficients for bivariate data apply the technique of simple regression analysis;

demonstrate techniques used for forecasting;

apply financial mathematical techniques;

MBA 510: Economics for managers: Micro
1,5 credits; English
The course will introduce students with an analysis of managerial economics. Demand, cost, production, and pricing at the individual firm or industry's level. Market structure and the regulatory environment. Emphasis will be placed on applications as well as theory.

MBA 520: Economics for managers: Macro
1,5 credits; English
This course analyzes what determines the level and rate of growth of output income, employment and prices, interest, and foreign exchange rates. Prepares decision-makers to understand how an economy functions in the aggregate, how to interpret, analyze, and operate within a changing macroeconomic environment.

MBA 551: Management and Organization
1,5 credits; English
This course provides an introduction to the principles and practices of management with an emphasis on organizational structures and processes. Management is broken down into the major functions of management: planning, leading, organizing and controlling. Topics include group dynamics, motivation, communication, job design, power and politics. Leadership is emphasized from both theoretical and practical perspectives.

MBA 503: Business and Professional Communication
1,5 credits; English
Effective communication is an essential skill in business. As you move up the ladder of success, communication skills become even more necessary and valuable. Effective Business Communication gives you the opportunity to develop written and oral communication skills that will be useful as you climb that ladder.

MBA 516: Quantitative methods of decision making
1,5 credits; English
The course will provide students with an ability to analyse problems with formal models (formulate and formalise problems) and to improve students' skills in computational methods for decision-making. To meet these objectives, teaching is based on methods of practical management science and real problems from finance, marketing, and operations fields solved with help of standard software.

MBA 572: Financial Accounting
1,5 credits; English
The objective of the course is to get acquainted with the essentials of accounting. The course will renew the accounting modules using the International Accounting Standards. In addition the course covers the major problems of financial accounting elements: assets, liabilities, capital, incomes, and expenses. The course will deal with issues of accounting as they relates to international social and economic relations. Students will learn how to prepare consolidated reports for international corporations and learn about the professional organizations that formulate international accounting standards. This course also gives you an opportunity to get acquainted with Accounting Standards used in different countries including Central Asia.

MBA 653: Operations and supply management
1,5 credits; English
Ths course addresses the management of operations in manufacturing and service and examines the production activities of firms using a process approach. Major topic areas of the course include quality management, statistical quality control; production planning and scheduling; work force management; project management; capacity planning; queuing and just-in-time; facilities location and layout; procurement, inventory and logistics management. The course demonstrates the importance of operations management for the competitive edge of the companies in the global markets. The course also focuses on the application of the various managerial tools and techniques for operations management.

MBA 561: Marketing Management
1,5 credits; English
The course covers the fundamental frameworks and concepts of marketing including segmentation and positioning and the marketing mix elements: product, price, promotion and place. Product policy including product portfolio management is discussed with case examples of products at different stages of their life cycle. Pricing strategies cover skimming and penetration strategies whereas the promotion module includes advertising and sales force issues. Within the distribution module, channel design and governance concepts are introduced. In the latter part of the course integrative cases cover concepts of brand management and international marketing.

MBA 540: Business Legislation
1,5 credits; English
Examines legal issues in a business context. Considers law as a strategic tool to help achieve core business objectives, create value, and manage risk. Addresses legal aspects of business management, agreements and relationships including: contracts, torts, product liability, employment, intellectual property, agency and business organizations.

MBA 658: Management Information Systems
1,5 credits; English
The course will introduce students with the Computer-Based Management Information Systems (CBMIS). The course is presented by several consisting stages. First of all, it provides the organizational function of MIS: an overview of the concepts, objectives, and importance of properly designed MIS for an organization. The second stage is a study of the technical foundations of MIS: information system hardware, software and, especially, telecommunication including Internet service. The third stage is Management Data Resources: traditional and modern database environment. The fourth stage is Organizational Support Systems: a discussion of various MIS: knowledge based systems, supporting decision system, supporting group systems, and expert IS. The final stage of the course includes problems of ethical, moral, and social issues related to IS in information society, problems of intellectual property, and data security controls.

MBA 530: Managerial Accounting 1
1,5 credits; English
The objective of the course is to teach students how to develop accounting and information systems for planning, control and evaluation of a company under various systems of management and structure. Students will study real situations concerning the issues of planning, control and evaluation in international business and transfer price formation.

MBA 652: Strategic Management
1,5 credits; English
This course concentrates on the big picture of how executives and top managers change organizations for the better. It differs from your other courses in three ways: (1) it cuts across the whole spectrum of business topics from a macro view point; (2) it makes extensive use of case studies; and (3) it requires hands-on decision making.

MBA 553: Human Resources Management
1,5 credits; English
The course is devoted to principles of work with personnel. Such issues as personnel strategy, personnel selection, evaluation of personnel activity, elaboration of motivation and stimulation systems, career and teaching will be considered. This course provides a framework for understanding and thinking strategically about the management of human resources in organizations. Specific topics include: recruitment and selection; compensation and benefits; promotion; training; performance appraisal; retention and turnover; and selected public policy issues pertaining to employment (e.g. discrimination and affirmative action).

MBA 693: Financial Management
1,5 credits; English
The objectives of the course are to provide basic financial management knowledge to students; focus on the idea that time costs money; familiarize students with principles and functions of financial management and to teach students financial management techniques for various levels of management.

MBA 542: Organizational behavior
1,5 credits; English
Designed to help the student understand and influence the behavior of people in organizations. The course will explore individual behavior, group behavior, and organizational systems. Emphasis will be placed on organizational culture, team dynamics, diversity management, conflict management, communication, and motivation. Group discussions and presentations, case studies, practical exercises, and lectures on OB theory will provide a balance of approaches for exploring how people behave and interact in an organizational setting.

MBA 548: Project management
1,5 credits; English
Careful project management is vital to many businesses today, and this is an area in which professionals need to be organized, have an eye for detail, and have the confidence and skill to manage a project from start to finish in an efficient manner. Businesses have to deal with both small and large projects, and those working in the project management field must be able to apply their skills and rise to the challenge of managing a project whatever its size. With this course you can acquire the skills, knowledge, and confidence required to successfully manage projects of all sizes in a business environment.

MBA 610: Business Planning
1,5 credits; English
Students will learn the practical skills required to establish a small business and secure financing. The main objective is how to write a successful business plan.

MBA 538: Investment analysis
1,5 credits; English
This course will have two primary components. In the portfolio construction portion of the course students will develop a thorough understanding of the portfolio construction thought process. The selection and revision of stock and bond portfolios will be considered in the context of a highly competitive financial market. In the portfolio management portion of the course, students will discover the logic and potential of using options and futures to enhance return and minimize risk. Though containing some mathematics, the course attempts to be “user friendly” by focusing on practical applications while not forgoing their theoretical underpinnings.

ELECTIVE COURSES

Electives - specialization Management and Marketing

MBA 632: Marketing research
1,5 credits; Russian
The application of research methodology to the solving of marketing problems and the application of marketing research to management thinking. Research design and data analysis.

MBA 622: Change management
1,5 credits; English
Causes of constant changes include: changes of the environment, global competition, the speed of introducing new products into the market, quality standards, customer orientation. Nature of changes. Types of organizational changes. Objectives of organizational changes. Reactive and proactive changes. Strategies of changes and general strategy of organization. Organizational Analysis. Organizational Development. Developing organization. Change management: forces promoting and hindering organizational changes. Organizational resistance management. Behavioral aspects of changes. Implementation of changes. Business Reengineering: main stages of reengineering, successes and pitfalls of reengineering.

MBA 630: Brand management
1,5 credits; English
This course provides an opportunity to study all aspects of brand management. There are few strategic assets that offer long-term competitive advantage; brands are one of them.

MBA 642: Career planning
1,5 credits; English
The course explores the key concepts and theories of leadership and their application to a variety of context in modern organizations. The effective leaders create conditions that enable organization members to be maximally effective in their roles and that lead them to act in the organization’s best interests. The course links the concepts, models, approaches and perspectives on leadership behavior to the practice of leaders in work organizations. The course also introduces students to frameworks that are useful for diagnosing problems involving human behavior and helps them learn how to exercise leadership to solve those problems and lead at the executive level.

MBA 612: Business negotiations
1,5 credits; English
The ability to negotiate effectively is a key competency for success in both business and personal spheres. The effective negotiator is able to secure better long-term outcomes for both themselves and their relationships. This course aims to facilitate students knowledge and skills to: understand the ever-present nature of influence, both explicit and implicit; identify and capitalise on the otherwise missed opportunities for negotiation; identify the deeper level needs and motives of themselves and other parties; recognise and minimise the ability of the other party to manipulate; maximise the ability to sustain win/win relationships.

MBA 620: International business
1,5 credits; English
The course is intended to demonstrate how cross-cultural communications can and do affect the methods and outcomes of international business. It will examine different patterns of organizational structures and hierarchies; value systems and beliefs; language and other forms of communication; cultural impact on methods of negotiation and the development of attributes to “grow” global managers. The course will be taught in seminar style, with weekly discussions on a relevant topic.

MBA 532: Risk Management
1,5 credits; English
Particularly in transition countries, many decisions in business have to be made under uncertainty. Risk, however, adds considerable degree of complexity to the decision making process. This course presents the theoretical concepts of rational choice under uncertainty and develops the building blocks for risk management in business. Once the necessary basic concepts are reviewed, various practical applications and case studies are discussed. The theoretical part enables the participants to understand the most important risk management tools.

Electives - specialization Finance and Accounting

MBA 648: Banking
1,5 credits; Russian
This course pursues two basic objectives: to consider the theoretical and practical aspects of modern banking systems that function within the framework of a market economy and to explain the traditional and perspective credit and investment activities of banks. Students will learn how to analyze internal banking operations, and the quality of services provided by the bank to its customers.

MBA 624: Advanced quantitative methods
1,5 credits; English
Concepts of statistical decision theory, sampling, forecasting, linear programming and other stochastic and deterministic models applied to managerial problems.

MBA 626: Taxation
1,5 credits; Russian
The subject of the course is the taxation system in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Russia. Students will receive basic knowledge of taxation policy and its effect on economy. Students will apply their knowledge from the class to practical exercises.

MBA 614: Game theory
1,5 credits; English
People rarely make decisions in a vacuum. The choices we make affect others, and their choices impact us. Such situations are known as “games” and game-playing, while sounding whimsical, is serious business. Managers frequently play “games” both within the firm with other divisions and subordinates, etc. as well as outside the firm with competitors, customers, regulators, and even capital market. The goal of this course is to enhance your ability to think strategically in complex, interactive environments. Knowledge of the game theory will give you an advantage in such strategic settings.

MBA 644: Managerial accounting 2
1,5 credits; English
Management accounting is the information used to make business decisions including product costing, quality analysis, employee motivation, performance evaluation and feedback, product pricing, production technology, component sources, customer profitability, investment decisions, capacity utilization, and the like. Managerial accounting is integrally involved in the marketing, finance, operational, and human relations aspects of the business. Managerial accounting courses cut across these functional lines and examine information useful to making decisions in a variety of settings.

MBA 646: Advanced issues in Accounting
1,5 credits; Russian
Accounting theory and practice relating to complex consolidation issues and business combinations. Consolidated financial statements, partnerships and fiduciary accounting are examined on this course.

MBA 634: Capital Markets
1,5 credits; Russian
The objective of the course is to improve your knowledge of the modern banking sector and the ways it is managed, and how this aspects the economy at large. As analysts of banking services, we should know everything about internal bank operations and the quality of services provided.

Global finance: Regimes, Currencies, Crisis
1,5 credits; English
General introduction to global finance: Exchange rates (under- and overvaluation), instruments of monetary policy; interaction between monetary, trade and fiscal policy; Mundell-Fleming trilemma. History of monetary regimes: Gold Standard, BrettonWoods, post-Bretton Woods, EMS/EMU. The contemporary global crises, underlying factors, governmental policies, other key actors: a case study of the 1997-1998 crisis.

Master Thesis:

Preparation of an independent research or thesis and defending it before a committee composed of a number of faculty designated by the head of the M.B.A. program.