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Thunderbird delivers in-depth global knowledge, develops cross-cultural communications skills and fortifies students with training in political, business and cultural differences that will set you apart. Courses in the Master of Arts in Global Affairs and Management program are presented by world-class, multinational faculty with expertise in worldwide research and global consulting.

Core Courses

  1. Accounting from a Global Perspective I
  2. Finance from a Global Perspective I
  3. Managing People from a Global Perspective
  4. Strategic Management I
  5. Global Affairs Theory: Power and Principle
  6. States & Markets in the Global Political Economy
  7. Regional Business Environment
  8. Quantitative Methods
  9. Global Affairs Methods
  10. Strategies in Global Development
  1. Accounting from a Global Perspective II
  2. Finance from a Global Perspective II
  3. Technology Policy & Entrepreneurship
  4. Marketing from a Global Perspective
  5. Global Economics
  6. Global Affairs Theory: Power and Principle II
  7. Marketing from a Global Perspective II
  8. Communications & Negotiations Across Cultures
  9. Global Ethics

Global Development Electives

  1. Managing Projects
  2. Export/Import Management 
  3. Regional Economic Agreements 
  4. Global Supply Chain Leadership
  5. Social Entrepreneurship & Enterprise
  6. Global Competitiveness in High Performance Economies 
  1. Country Risk Management 
  2. Conflict Management & Social Change 
  3. Corporate Social Responsibility
  4. Strategies in Global Development
  5. Technology Policy & Entrepreneurship

Accounting from a Global Perspective I

This course introduces accrual accounting concepts including revenue recognition, matching, and asset and liability valuation.  Topics covered include the recognition and measurement of accounting events, the preparation and analysis of financial statements (balance sheet, income statement and statement of cash flows), the use of international financial statements and an introduction to inter-corporate investments.

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Finance from a Global Perspective I

This course will focus on the building blocks and the basic theories of Finance.  Topics addressed include:  Present value (and Net Present Value) concepts; the basics of stock and bond valuation (including the NPVGO model); capital budgeting (various tools of capital budgeting, and derivation of cash flows for capital budgeting); working capital management.

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Managing People from a Global Perspective

This course explores the mix of organizational practices and people that can be the basis of sustainable competitive advantage in the contemporary global business environment.  Topics covered include cross-cultural issues in managing people; traditional and emerging models of organizations; organizational culture; leadership; employee skills and motivation; reward systems; and change management.

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Strategic Management I

This foundation course in strategy covers a range  of Core concepts and analytical techniques relating to competitive advantage in global organizations.  It deals with both classical and contemporary issues of importance such as industry analysis, Core competence of organizations, top management teams and corporate governance, product/market scope decisions, and value chain analysis.  The emphasis is on the application analytical tools and frameworks to understand complex strategy issues.

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Global Affairs Theory: Power and Principle

This course covers fundamentals of global affairs including (1) major theories of international relations; and (2) key concepts and issues such as the nation-state and national interest, diplomacy and the use of force, international law, international organizations such as the United Nations, and the role of ethics in international affairs. A core theme of the course are the roles of power and principles in international relations. The role of political economy is incorporated in the separate course in Political Economy.

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States & Markets in the Global Political Economy

This course covers fundamentals of the global political economy including (1) major conceptual frameworks for understanding the linkages between international politics and international economics; (2) key issue areas such as international monetary and financial relations, international trade, foreign investment and transnational enterprises, and North-South relations; and (3) analysis of key international economic institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, and World Bank.

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Regional Business Environment

The Regional Business Environment courses deal  with the political and social context in which business activities take place. This includes consideration of eight factors that shape or reflect the operational realities of management and business, including: Patterns of historical development cover political, social and economic events and structures. Geographic environment involves human and economic geography, covering population and natural resource distributions, regional financial and trade centers, and transportation systems. Political environment includes government structure, state role, interest groups, political parties and the policy-making process. Cultural traditions cover religious traditions and socio-cultural dimensions that have a direct impact on business operations. International environment includes regional organizations, regional political and economic trends, regional peace and conflicts, and the place of the region in the global system. For economic environment, economic policies, current economy patterns, and major industries are discussed. Under legal environment, major regional trade barriers, investment policies, and intellectual property protection issues are covered. There are also discussions on major current issues.

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Quantitative Methods

This course introduces basic statistical concepts and their application in the business world.  The course starts with the use of descriptive statistics to summarize data.  Next, the basic concepts of probability are examined.  The course then moves on to consider sampling and statistical inference.  The final topic is an introduction to the use of simple linear regression analysis to model relationships between variables.  The course material is approached from an applied perspective, with extensive use of business examples to illustrate the concepts.  Excel will be used to summarize and graph data and the SPSS statistical package will be used for data analysis.

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Global Affairs Methods

This course covers research methodologies and analytical techniques used to analyze global issues.  Tools used by international relations practitioners as well as researchers are emphasized.  Topics include research design, quantitative methods, qualitative methods, policy analysis, and database resources.

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Strategies in Global Development

This course examines development prospects and policy in less developed and transition economies.  Issues include trade, investment, foreign aid, international debt, technology transfer, poverty, environment, social development, and sustainable development.  The roles of global and regional organizations, government policy, and domestic and foreign corporations are explored.

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Accounting from a Global Perspective II

This course covers the application of accounting  models to the measurement of assets, liabilities and stockholders equity.  Topic covered include marketable securities, receivable and inventory valuation, fixed and intangible assets, bonds, leases, dividends, stock buybacks, stock splits and foreign currency translation.  The emphasis of the course is on the evaluation of corporate financial reporting policy and the usefulness of financial reports for decision making.  U.S. and international accounting standards are covered.

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Global Affairs Theory: Power and Principle II

This is the second of two courses which cover major theories and concepts in international relations. This second course focuses on the roles of power and principles in international relations. The roles of nationalism, state power, and sovereignty are examined and assessed in comparison to the roles of nongovernmental organizations, intergovernmental organizations, and principles of international justice.

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Finance from a Global Perspective II

The second module of finance picks up where the Fundamentals course leaves off.  Topics addressed include:  Portfolio theory and the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM); Weighted Average Cost of Capital; capital structure theories (including agency/signaling theories and dividend policy); financial market efficiency and its implications.

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Technology Policy & Entrepreneurship

Innovation has become a major source of competitive advantage for nations as well as companies.  This course analyzes the innovation process highlighting the interaction between universities, government technology policies, corporate research and development, start-ups, and venture capital.  This course draws upon international comparisons, country case studies, and technology-specific cases including information technology.

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Marketing from a Global Perspective

This course is designed to provide students with the basic principles of marketing management i.e. marketing mix, segmentation, target marketing, and positioning, a toolkit required to conduct quantitative analysis as a marketing manager, the ability to conduct an analysis of consumers, competitors and channels, frameworks to evaluate the similarities and differences between domestic and global marketing and marketing ethics and cross-cultural nuances to enable the student to successfully implement  marketing strategies in international markets.

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Global Economics

This course investigates, from the business manager’s perspective, the determination of exchange rates, the nature of foreign exchange markets and hedging instruments; international financial markets and the transmission of funds between countries; alternative international monetary arrangements and institutions; balance of payments analysis; the respective economic consequence in response to monetary, fiscal and exchange rate policy changes.  The course also analyzes conditions for successful growth and the causes and risks of economic crisis.

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Marketing from a Global Perspective II

This course focuses on the use of marketing research techniques for competitive advantage in a global business context.

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Communication & Negotiations Across Cultures

This dynamic and interactive course provides managers with an effective framework for achieving their goals in global management settings.  The course will assist students to prepare for and execute time-tested strategies for achieving communication competence with persons from different cultures.  This course will also cover negotiating in the global context.  It will not only examine theories of culture and communications, but will also place students in an experiential situation to gain valuable skills for overcoming obstacles in global management environments.  Through use of cases, multicultural team exercises, student negotiation exercises, and simulations, this course will equip the global manager with tools to solve problems and take advantage of opportunities in a multicultural world.

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Global Ethics

This course provides an exploration into how corporate and social organizations can act entrepreneurially and act in a socially responsible manner.

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Managing Projects

This course focuses on project planning,  monitoring and control for the management of complex projects in a global context. Use of project management software will be integrated throughout the course. Discussions will include cases and experiences from past projects.

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Export/Import

This course covers in detail the techniques and  procedures involved in successfully carrying out export and import transactions. Topics include the language of international trade, INCO terms, payment terms, trade barriers, export licensing, pricing, order handling, insurance, international collections, and international transportation. Documentation requirements of export and import operations are examined in detail. Import and customs clearance procedures are studied along with their relation to foreign product sourcing and international purchasing.  The functions and operations of Foreign Trade Zones are illustrated, and the important area of countertrade is introduced.  Finally, legislation that affects the international trader and some of the alternatives to exporting (licensing, foreign manufacturing and joint ventures) are covered.

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Regional Economic Agreement

The European Union, NAFTA, APEC, and other  regional economic agreements offer important opportunities and challenges for global managers. This course examines such issues as the origins and future of regional agreements; and their implications in such areas as trade, finance, and worker, environmental and other business regulations. The course may focus on a particular regional economic agreement or compare different agreements.

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Global Supply Chain

This course offers a strategic approach to  competitive global supply chains and networks. It covers supply chain management and strategic sourcing/supply. Chains are analyzed using four essential underpinnings: physical, financial, information, and relationships for their fit with the firms competitive business models. Tools will be presented for successful diagnoses, implementation and management. How can and do companies and not-for-profits take leadership roles to compete globally with their supply chains/networks and through the use of strategic sourcing and supply? What are the most appropriate network designs, systems, and processes for specific firms and organizations?

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Social Entrepreneurship & Enterprise

The goal of this course is to offer a variety of  opportunities for students to learn about social entrepreneurship and engage students in learning the contributors to high performing social enterprises.  Students will explore stories of established social enterprises through books and case studies to uncover common themes and approaches.  In additional, students will engage in experience exercises and class discussions for full emersion into the mindset of socially oriented business and activities.  The objective is to acquire needed skills and knowledge for building and leading social enterprises. Students will apply their knowledge learned in other global MBA courses in a creative and interdisciplinary way by evaluating other social efforts made by existing organizations, and by testing the feasibility of a new social enterprise idea.  This course will attract students who are contemplating leading a social enterprise, interested in consulting to social enterprises, planning to serve as an advisor or volunteer in an organization, or funding social efforts or nonprofit organizations.

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Global Competitiviness in High Performance Economies

This course focuses on the economic growth and  market opportunities in high-performance
economies such as Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and other economies in Asia, Latin America, and Europe.  Sources of rapid growth are analyzed including market liberalization, investment incentives, export promotion, infrastructural investments, and technology development.  Rose of business, government, and global markets are examined.

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Country Risk Management

Global managers must be concerned with the risks  to their businesses posed by political, social, and financial forces at work internationally and in specific regions and countries. This course is centered around state-of-the-art assessment models used by businesses and foreign investors. Issues include methods of measuring and forecasting risk; and methods of mitigating risk such as political risk insurance.

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Conflict Management & Social Change

Economic development and social change can offer  tremendous business opportunities for global managers. At the same time, the development process can lead to social, cultural, economic, and political conflicts. This course explores the roots of such conflicts, and methods of conflict management such as negotiations and multicultural communications.

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Corporate Social Responsibility

As business enters the 21st century, a shift in  thinking about business role in society is underway. Societys demands for social and environmental responsibility are growing dramatically and few managers have the requisite skills to respond effectively. This course is designed to give future business leaders the knowledge and tools needed to develop a CSR strategy that creates value, not only for society and the environment, but also competitive and financial value for the company. Participants will gain tools for proactively engaging stakeholders in a process of mutual value creation, as well as strategies for profiting in the emerging marketplace for sustainability solutions.

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Strategies in Global Development

This course examines development prospects and  policy in less developed and transition
economies.  Issues include trade, investment, foreign aid, international debt, technology transfer, poverty, environment, social development, and sustainable development.  The roles of global and regional organizations, government policy, and domestic and foreign corporations are explored.

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Technology Policy & Entrepreneurship

Innovation has become a major source of competitive advantage for nations as well as companies. This course analyzes the innovation process highlighting the interaction between universities, government technology policies, corporate research and development, start-ups, and venture capital. This course draws upon international comparisons, country case studies, and technology-specific cases including information technology.

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