SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
.'
Paper S-108
Chairman of Senate
.From...........
D3fl
Secretary of
Senate
ts
........................................................
Subject............ MBA ... program .......................................................................... .
Date ............
.
.
.r..................................................................
May I submit a special request for this item to be
included on the agenda for the Senate Graduate Studies Committee
meeting on February 27 and on the Senate agenda for the March
meeting of Senate?
I understand that the Department of Economics and
Commerce is committed to the Princeton Aptitude Test on the 6th
of April for applicants.
It is anticipated that the full documentation will be
available on Friday, February 16.
I can, if necessary, undertake
to furnish members of the University Committee with the documents
as soon as they reach me and,if that is not too late, they could
go to Senate members not later than Monday, February 25th.
I realize that referral back or major amendment at
•,
. any stage might stultify this tirnetabling and that it is important
for all concerned to have sufficient time to study the papers,so
that I must leave this to your best judgement.
LeLA L^
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JM:els
cc. Dr. Copes
I!
$.M
SI)N FRASER UNIVERSITY
.
Department of Economics and Commerce
15 February,
1968
The Department
of Economics and Commerce proposes:
1.
That an M.B.A. program, to be given on a part-time evening
basis, be initiated at S.F.U. commencing September,
1968.
2.
That the program normally cover six semesters with a total of
10 courses plus a research paper.
3.
That the following ten courses comprise the required
curriculum:
a)
Organization and Management Theory
b)
Industrial Human Relations
c)
Soclo-Technical Systems
d)
Market Strategies
e)
Management Information and Controls
r) Managerial Economics
g)
Operations Research
h) Business Research
i)
Business and Society
J) Business Policy
i
i. That the program be primarily for persons in regular employ-
ment in private or public corporations who have had several
years of experience in a managerial capacity. Admissibility
will be judged on the basis of some or all of the following:
a) Undergraduate grades
b) Letters of recommendation
c)
ETS
test results
d)
Extended application forms
e)
Cultural equivalent exams
f) Personal interviews
Normally, candidates admitted will be expected to possess a
bachelor's degree (in any discipline) with at least a good
S
second class (B) standing. However, considerable weight will
be attached to the other criteria of admission and a few
candidates may be admitted who do not possess a university
degree if their relevant qualities in other respects are con-
sidered outstanding.
PC :bjp/lS/2/68.
M
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics and Commerce
CURRICULUM FOR THE EVENING M. B.A. PROGRAM
Semester 1
A.
Organization and Management Theory
B.
Industrial Human Relations
Semester
2
C.
Socio-Technical Systems
D.
Market Strategies
Semester
3
E.
Management Information and Controls
F.
Managerial Economics
Semester 4
G.
Operations Research
H.
Business Research
Semester
5
Reseafth
Semester
6
I.
Business and Society
J. Business Policy
A.
Organization and Management Theory
This course establishes the philosophy and conceptual frame-
work for the entire M.B.A. program. It is based on the proposition
•
that every business organization must deal with three basic problems:
(1) technical rationality--how to produce a good or service economic-
ally enough to meet a market demand at a profit; (2) coping with
uncertainty- -how to react to challenges, threats, and opportunities
stemming from changes in environmental forces which cannot be
accurately predicted or controlled; and (3) organizational rationality--
how to operate in a way to attain a high degree of technical rationality
and yet be sufficiently flexible to effectively cope with changes and
uncertainties in.-the environment. Management is analyzed in terms
of the decisions
!
and actions required of technical, environmental,
and administrative managers in meeting the problems of technical
rationality, coping with uncertainty, and organizational rationality.
B.
Industrial Human Relations
Managers spend much of their time working with other people.
To be effective they must have a good understanding of human behavior
and know how to motivate people. The effective manager is skilled
in interpersonal relations; He is able to communicate nonverbally as
well as verbally, and he is able to perceive and deal with human
relations problems that arise in business. The skills required for
effective interpersonal relation are learned in this course. Students
.
will gain an understanding of industrial human relations through
readings, and they will improve their leadership potential through
laboratory exercises in interpersonal relations in small groups.
.M.
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11
C. Socio-Technical.Systerns
Every business organization produces goods or services for
sale in the market. The production system is a combination of
technology (i. e., tasks, physical layout of facilities, equipment
available) and a social system
(1.
e. , the personal relationships
among people performing the tasks). Both taken together constitute
a socio-technical system. In this course students will study man-
machine relationships in different industries (e. g. , manufacturing,
banking, insurance, advertising, retailing, construction). They
will analyze the technological and social factors that affect
productivity and morale in a company. Particular attention is paid
to effective supervision of the work force.
D.
Market Strategies
The business organization has regular relationships with four
types of markets: (1) labor markets, in which personnel are hired;
(2) money markets, in which funds are procured; (3) resource
markets, in which equipment and raw materials are purchased;
and (4) product markets, in which goods are sold. Changes in the
•
activities of individuals, groups, and organizations in these markets
produce uncertainties for the company (e. g., labor strikes, change
in interest rates, change in resource prices, change in consumer
tastes). The company must develop strategies for dealing with
entities in the four markets in which it operates. In this course
students will study the process of strategy formulation and analyze
various cooperative and competitive strategies. Such topics as long-
range planning, diversification, mergers, and new product and new
•
market development are covered. Explicit attention will be given
to the spatial aspects of these topics.
E.
Management Information and Controls
• Managers need various types of information to make rational
decisions and to control operations in the business organization.
This course will deal with such matters as the methods of search
for information; the techniques by which information is stored and
retrieved; data proces sing; communication of information; and
simulation of business operations. The emphasis is on accounting
and budgeting activities as means of aiding managers to make
decisions and to determine when operating results depart
significantly from planned objectives.
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F.
Managerial Economics
This course shows students how elements of theoretical
economics can help managers make better practical decisions.
Supply and demand analysis is studied for insights into the process
of pricing and to help answer such questions as "How much should
a company spend on advertising?" Cost theory is studied for
insights into how to design and operate a rational production system.
Capital budgeting is studied for insight into the factors that determine
investment decisions. The rigorous approach to these and other
matters which economists have developed encourages students to
develop their own analytical approach to the solution of quantitative
business problems.
G.
O p erations Research
In recent years highly sophisticated mathematical techniques
have been developed to help managers make better decisions. This
approach to decision making, referred to as operations research,
views decision making as a logical process that can be expressed
and analyzed mathematically. The model is the central tool of this
approach. Models focus on the basic elements and relationships
in business systems and enable management to manipulate variables
and predict performance before interferingwith actual operations.
In this course students will study the problems of decision making
under uncertainty and learn how Bayesian statistics and other
quantitative techniques can help managers make better decisions. -
H.
Business Research
As business management becomes increasingly complex,
there is a need to rely more on research reports for information
needed in decision making. This course will give the student an
appreciation for the methods and aims of business research and
how it contributes to effective business management. They will
learn what business research can and cannot do, how to evaluate
research, and the relation of the research and development
department to the rest of the organization. In his research semester
each student will do a major research project based on his own
business experience. He will work closely with a faculty member
in designing and carrying out the project.
4
S.M.
41/31(98
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I.
Business and Society
This course is related to the Market Strategies course.
The latter deals with the immediate environment of the business
organization, whereas the Business and Society course deals with
the larger
.
social environment of business. Business is the
creature of society and it must follow broad social trends if it is
to survive. This course analyzes the relations between business
and other social institutions such as government, religion, and
education. It focuses on the nonmarket forces in the environment
which influence the decisons managers make. It deals with the
appropriate strategies by which business reacts to external social
forces, and it analyzes business ethics as a type of nonmarket
social control over business.
J.
Business Policy
This is the capstone course in the M.B.A. program. In it
the student will bring together all that he has learned in previous
courses and integrate it in an understanding of overall company
operations. There
,
is an emphasis on the functions, responsibilities,
and viewpoint of top-level general management. The students will
analyze the problems which affect the character and success of the
total enterprise. The problems of policy in business have to do
with the choice of purposes, the molding of organizational character,
the definition of what needs to be done, and the mobilization of
resources for the attainment of goals in the face of competition
and adverse circumstances.
.
