George Mason University 1997-98 Catalog Catalog Index
Course Descriptions

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School of Business Administration


Majors and Programs

The School of Business Administration (SBA) strives to provide its students with high-quality undergraduate education and to prepare them for the changing community needs and market demands of todayÍs world. The school has attracted and continues to support a multidisciplinary faculty that meets the diverse intellectual interests of its students. The school is fully accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business.

Acknowledging the interdependence of the university, the community, and the business sector, the school encourages its faculty members to balance teaching, research, scholarship, and community service. The school also fosters an atmosphere of open communication between students and faculty.


Administration

The School of Business Administration is located in Enterprise Hall.

Jack C. High, Interim Dean

Timothy F. Sugrue, Associate Dean

Teresa J. Domzal, Associate Dean

Christine K. Penas, Acting Director of Student Services


Faculty

Professors: Crockett, Domzal, Dutta, Ferri (GMU Foundation Professor of Finance), Hanweck, Haynes, Kernan (GMU Professor of Behavior Analysis), McCrohan, Kovach, Samuels, Tongren

Associate Professors: Buchanan, Cao, Entrikin, Fagenson, Gopal, Harvey, Hysom, Johnston, Millspaugh, Sugrue, Yau

Assistant Professors: Dewan, Hsu, Lee, Michael, Tetzlaff

Executive in Residence: John J. Pendray

Instructors: Blanchard, Erickson, Faughnan, Varosi


Course Work

The School of Business Administration offers all course work designated ACCT, BULE, DESC, FNAN, MGMT, MIS, and MKTG in the Course Descriptions section of this catalog.


Undergraduate Programs
in the School of Business Administration

Bachelor of Science Degree

The programs in business administration offered by the university culminate in a B.S. degree with majors in accounting, decision sciences and management information systems, finance, general business administration, management, or marketing. A minimum of 120 hours of course work is required, of which at least 45 hours must be at the 300 or 400 level.

Students should consult the Baccalaureate Degree Requirements section under Academic Policies for information concerning the literacy requirement, English composition requirement, core requirements, catalog requirements, residence requirements, and academic requirements.

In addition, students should carefully examine course prerequisites for courses offered by the School of Business Administration. Students who enroll in courses without having fulfilled the prerequisites may have those courses canceled.

All students must complete at least 24 semester hours in this degree program, following acceptance to the School of Business Administration. The 24 semester hours must include 18 to 21 credit hours (with grades of C or better) required for the specific major and MGMT 498 Business Strategy and Policy.

While a student may apply 12 hours of D grades toward graduation, no more than 6 hours of D grades may be applied to the business administration core requirements and no Ds may be applied to the major.


Degree Requirements

The following requirements must be met by all degree applicants:


Semester Hours
General Education Requirements 47
    Language arts and culture
18
      English composition
      (ENGL 100 or 101 and 302-business)*
6
      Speech communication
      (COMM 100, 101, 220, or 260)
3
      Literature and humanities
      (Humanities include DANC 101; MUSI 100, 101, 103, 104, 105, 106, or 107; THR 101; and any art history, philosophy, religious studies, or foreign language courses. Literature includes all 200-level English courses and all literature courses offered by the Department of Modern and Classical Languages. Students may take either six semester hours of literature and three semester hours of humanities, or vice versa.)
9
    Social Science
18
      Principles of Economics
      (ECON 103 and 104)*
6
      Economics
      (Upper-level Marketing majors must take ECON 306)
3
      History, Government, or Geography
3
      Psychology, Sociology, and/or Anthropology
6
    General Sciences
11
      Mathematics (MATH 108)*
3
      Laboratory sciences
      (astronomy, biology, chemistry, environmental, geology, physics)
8
Business Administration Core Courses 35
      Accounting (ACCT 201 and 202)*
6
      Applied Statistical Analysis (DESC 210)*
4
      Spreadsheet Applications for Business (MIS 102)*
1
      Computer-Based MIS (MIS 201)*
3
      Decision Models (DESC 301)
3
      Business Legal Studies (BULE 302)
3
      Finance (FNAN 301)
3
      International Business (MKTG 407)
3
      Management (MGMT 302)
3
      Marketing (MKTG 301)
3
      Business Strategy and Policy
      (MGMT 498 must be taken in the final semester.)
3
Major**
All 18 credits must be taken at George Mason. A grade of C or better is required in each course presented on the graduation application.

18
General Electives**
These 20 credits may not include pure activity courses in any department such as those listed under the catalog designations of dance, individual sports, physical education, team sports, recreational activities, music, theater, and art. No more than 11 semester hours of general electives may be in courses offered by SBA or the Department of Economics.

20
Total
* Completion with a grade of C or better is required for graduation.

** Accounting majors enrolled in the financial accounting track must complete 21 semester hours in the major (including BULE 402) and 17 semester hours of general elective course work, of which a maximum of 8 semester hours may be in course work offered by SBA and/or the Department of Economics.

120


Acceptance into a Major
in the School of Business Administration

This applies to all students accepted to George Mason under the 1997-98 University Catalog and later.

A student interested in pursuing a major in accounting, general business administration, decision sciences and management information systems, finance, management, or marketing must make a separate application for admission to SBA. Until the application is filed and approved, a student is classified as a pre-business administration major.

To be eligible to apply for acceptance into SBA, the following requirements must be satisfied: (1) completion of 60 or more semester hours at George Mason University and/or through acceptable transfer hours, and (2) completion, at George Mason University and/or through acceptable transfer hours, of the following 19 hours with a grade of C or better in each course:

Acceptance into SBA is competitive based on the grade point average computed on the above credits. The applicant should check with Student Services for SBA for the standard for the semester of application. Applicants who receive an academic warning for the semester of application will be denied acceptance, regardless of their overall academic performance.

Applications for acceptance to SBA must be submitted by October 15 for the following spring semester, by February 15 for the following Summer Term, or by July 15 for the following fall semester. Students should file the application at the beginning of the semester in which they anticipate completing the requirements set forth above.

Students must complete a minimum of 24 hours of course work applicable to the degree program following acceptance to SBA. The 24 hours must include the 18 to 21 credit hours (with grades of C or better) required for a specific major and MGMT 498 Business Strategy and Policy.

The business administration core classes other than MGMT 498 (i.e., BULE 302, DESC 301, FNAN 301, MGMT 302, and MKTG 301 and 407) and the upper-level economics degree requirements may be completed prior to acceptance to SBA.


Writing-Intensive Requirement

The university requires all students to complete at least one course designated ñwriting intensiveî in their majors at the 300 level or above. Students granted a degree by George Mason with a major in SBA will satisfy the writing-intensive requirement for their major by the successful completion of MGMT 498.


Sample Schedules

Sample schedules for pre-business administration students are available in SBAÍs Office of Student Services. Pre-business students are encouraged to periodically consult with academic advisers. Call (703) 993-1880 to schedule an appointment.

The sample schedule for students who have been accepted to SBA and have completed 60 semester hours is available once they have been accepted to a major in the School of Business Administration.


Enrichment Program

The enrichment program uses guest speakers from the business community to provide students with contemporary examples of how to apply academic theory to business practice.


PAGE Program

Students enrolled at George Mason may fulfill their general education requirements through the Plan for Alternative General Education (PAGE) and concurrently fulfill the requirements for applying to the School of Business Administration. PAGE students should contact the PAGE office for a sample schedule identifying the preferred sequence of courses during the first two years. PAGE students who have questions about how PAGE courses satisfy SBA degree requirements should call (703) 993-1880 for an appointment with an academic adviser from SBA. Page courses will only be available through May 1998.



Accounting

Degree Requirements

The Accounting faculty offer a B.S. in Accounting that prepares students for professional careers in public, private, and governmental accounting. The B.S. in Accounting is separately accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business. The B.S. provides a basic foundation of accounting and business knowledge in areas such as financial and managerial accounting, auditing, tax accounting, and accounting information systems. The program emphasizes the accounting profession and its role in business, professional responsibilities and ethics, conceptual understanding, technical competency, analytic abilities, communication skills, and computer literacy.

Students may choose one of two tracks within the major that most fits their needs and interests. The Financial Accounting track is designed for students who seek to enter public accounting and to complete the Uniform Certified Public Accountants (CPA) Examination. The Managerial Accounting track is designed for students who seek to enter private or governmental sectors of the profession as managerial accountants or internal auditors and expect to complete the Certified Managerial Accountants (CMA) Examination and/or the Certified Internal Auditors (CIA) Examination.

In addition to the general requirements for the B.S. degree, students who pursue either track must complete all required credit hours in upper-level accounting courses, with grades of C or better in each course. The following courses are required of all accounting majors (13 credit hours): ACCT 310, 311, 330, 334, and 351. Each student in the Financial Accounting track must complete the following courses (8 credit hours): ACCT 432 and 461 and BULE 402. Each student in the Managerial Accounting track must complete the following two courses (5 credit hours): ACCT 411 and 462. Students in either track may elect to complete the following elective courses: ACCT 452, 472, 491, 492, and/or 499.

Advising materials are available in SBAÍs Office of Student Services to provide guidance regarding recommended electives. Students should see their advisers when selecting courses within the field of accounting. Students who anticipate sitting for the Uniform CPA, CMA, or CIA examinations should consult applicable regulations and discuss their programs with a member of the Accounting faculty.



Decision Sciences and Management Information Systems

Degree Requirements

The Decision Sciences and Management Information Systems faculty offer a variety of courses and programs of study that apply mathematical modeling, statistical analysis, and computer-based information systems to the practical problems of business and government. Graduates receive a B.S. degree with a major in decision sciences and management information systems.

In addition to the general degree requirements for the B.S., students who major in decision sciences and management information systems must complete 18 hours of upper-level business administration courses with a grade of C or better in each course. Requirements include a common core of courses (6 semester hours) and electives (12 semester hours) as defined below.

Students have considerable flexibility in their choice of electives and may choose programs of study that develop expertise in areas such as computer systems, decision analysis, information resource management, managerial and decision economics, production and operations management, and statistical modeling. Students are urged to discuss their choice of electives and programs of study with an adviser in SBAÍs Office of Student Services.

Required courses: MIS 310 and DESC 352.

Electives: 12 semester hours of noncore, upper-level DESC and/or MIS courses; 3 semester hours may be satisfied by ACCT 311, ACCT 312, INFS 310, INFS 311, INFS 312, INFS 315, or INFS 316. Limited electives are available in DESC.



Finance

Degree Requirements

The Finance faculty offer a major in finance that prepares students for professional careers in various branches of finance. In addition to the general degree requirements for the major, students wishing to major in finance must complete 18 hours in upper-level business administration courses with grades of C or better in each course.

Required courses: Three from FNAN 302, 311, 321, or 401.

Electives: Three or more from FNAN 302, 311, 321, 351, 401, 411, 412, 421, 423, 440, 451, 452, 453, or 491 if not taken as a required course.



General Business Administration

Degree Requirements

The faculty of SBA, with the associate dean for academic affairs, offer a major in general business administration. Students may not use the major in business administration if credit for more than one major is desired.

In addition to the general degree requirements for the B.S., students must complete 18 hours of upper-level business administration courses with grades of C or better in each course.

Required: ACCT 310, DESC 352 or 354, FNAN 311 or 401, MGMT 312, and MKTG 471.

Electives: One upper-level, noncore course offered by the School of Business Administration.



Management

Degree Requirements

The management major prepares students for managerial careers in the public and private sectors. In addition to the general degree requirements for the B.S., students must complete 18 hours in upper-level management courses with grades of C or better in each course. Beyond MGMT 302, students are required to take the following:

MGMT 312 Principles of Management
MGMT 321 Human Resource Management
MGMT 491 Seminar in Management

Beyond these three required courses, students must choose three courses from the following:

MGMT 331 Employee-Management Relations
MGMT 341 Business Communication
MGMT 381 Management Problem Solving and Decision Making
MGMT 411 Organizational Theory
MGMT 421 Current Issues in Human Resource Management
MGMT 431 Labor Legislation and Collective Bargaining
MGMT 451 Small Business Management
MGMT 471 Organizational Management and Environmental Change
MGMT 492 Field Experiences in Management
MGMT 493 Management of Technology

Students specializing in human resource/personnel should take MGMT 331, 421, and 431.



Marketing

Degree Requirements

The marketing major prepares students for a broad range of global and domestic career options. Opportunities are increasing in marketing as government agencies, the nonprofit sector, service industries, and small businesses adopt a marketing orientation that was traditionally perceived as a practice limited to large corporations.

A major in marketing provides students with a solid background in marketing concepts and practices, with emphasis on market analysis and planning, research, consumer behavior, and advertising management. Since marketing draws on a variety of disciplines for its foundation and is practiced globally, marketing majors are encouraged to take electives in related fields such as psychology, sociology, economics, public policy, international studies, computer science, and foreign languages.

In addition to the required core courses for the B.S. degree, students must complete 18 hours of upper-level marketing courses with grades of C or better. Students are required to take the following:

MKTG 312 Consumer Behavior
MKTG 313 Advertising Management
MKTG 351 Marketing Research Techniques and Applications
MKTG 471 Marketing Management

The remaining six hours must be chosen from a variety of upper-level electives in marketing. Marketing majors are advised to work closely with their academic advisers to ensure that electives taken in related fields provide the opportunity to gain proficiency in specific marketing-related areas.



Minor in Business Administration

A minor in business administration is available for non-business majors and requires 20 credit hours. All courses at the 300 level must be taken at George Mason University. A grade of C or better is required in each business administration course presented on the graduation application. MATH 108 is recommended.

MIS 102
DESC 210
ECON 103
ACCT 201 3 		1
4
3
3

Students must complete three core courses totaling nine credit hours: FNAN 301 or DESC 301; MKTG 301, MGMT 302, or BULE 302; and one additional course from this list.

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