Elmhurst College MBA Program Objectives

The Master of Business Administration program is designed to provide the knowledge and skills needed to become an effective manager in a variety of organizational settings. It is a broad based, career advancement degree rather than technical training for a particular job within an organization. The broad goal of the program is to provide students with the foundations in content and competencies that will support their development as effective managers in a variety of organizational settings.

Specifically, the Elmhurst College MBA program is designed to provide the opportunity to develop:

• The analytical tools for decision making in a business world of complex business issues and problems
• The organizational skills for the effective implementation of policy in the context of the organization
• An understanding of the body of knowledge in the functional areas of business
• The skills of leadership, teamwork and supervision
  Skills of effective oral and written communication, presentation, and critical thinking
• An understanding of and ability to use technology as a tool of effective management
• Abilities for ethical decision-making
• The ability to function effectively in a diverse and global business environment

These objectives can be broken down into two central themes and six core competencies, which will be integrated into the courses in the MBA curriculum.

Elmhurst College MBA Program: Building on Two Central Themes

• Analytical Skills for Decision Making

Given the complex nature of business problems, effective managers must be able to interpret data, process information, think critically, balance costs and benefits, develop alternatives and systematically apply tools of analysis to choosing among alternative policies. The development of these analytical skills is an essential theme of the overall program and is embodied in each core course.

• Organizational Skills for Policy Implementations

Given the development of policy, effective managers must be able to implement the policy within the context of the organization. This function requires leadership, teamwork, supervision, motivation, consensus building, negotiation, communication, assessment and adaptation. The development of these organizational and interpersonal skills is an essential theme of the overall program and they are embodied in each of the core course.

Elmhurst College MBA Program: Developing Five Core Competencies

• Leadership/Teamwork

Students will develop their skills and abilities to:

• Work effectively toward a common goal in a team setting
• Negotiate differences and build consensus
• Initiate, organize and direct policy analysis and implementation

• Communication

Students will develop their skills and abilities to:

• Make well-organized and effective informational and persuasive presentations
• Analyze, paraphrase and draw inferences from written material
• Write effective proposals and reports
• Speak, listen and work effectively within groups

• Technology

Students will develop their skills and abilities to:

• Use appropriate software tools to analyze, interpret and present information
• Use Internet resources as sources of data and information
• Use electronic communication as an effective learning tool

• Global Environment

Students will develop their skills and abilities to:

• Recognize the opportunities and challenges of globalization
• Adapt management skills to global business issues

• Ethics

Students will develop their skills and abilities to:

• Appreciate the need for integrity and ethical behavior
• Recognize ethical problems
• Understand the standards of ethical behavior in business

• Diversity

Students will develop their skills and abilities to:

• Appreciate the importance of diversity issues and opportunities in business
• Work effectively in diverse environments
• Understand the implications of diversity for effective management