The Smith Executive MBA in China curriculum emphasizes the multicultural aspects of management, a vital element for China as the country continues its rapid transition into a global economic powerhouse.

The Smith School has become one of the world's leading business schools in transforming its curriculum to reflect the changing leadership needs for the 21st century digital economy. The Smith School's world-class MBA core courses constitute the foundation of the program. The core courses are supplemented with advanced courses and unique electives that are designed to meet the needs of the Executive MBA participants.

The opportunity to collaborate with other members of Smith's international community - including the option to participate in a comprehensive business simulation held at Smith's main campus just outside of Washington D.C. - further enhances the learning experience and coursework.

Approximately once every six months - when students select their elective courses - they also decide where to take them. Students choose from electives offered in China and College Park, Md., Smith's main campus just a few miles outside of the U.S. national capital of Washington D.C.

Course descriptions

Accounting for Senior Management
This course offers an overview of financial accounting, periodic financial statements and the financial reporting process. Introduction to cost accounting concepts that play a role in preparation of financial statements. Importance of financial statements as information source for creditors and investors and as a means by which managers can communicate information about their firms.

Data Models and Decisions
This course introduces participants to contemporary techniques for arriving at optimal managerial decisions. The course draws on fundamental ideas that were originally developed in the fields of statistics and operations research, and demonstrates their application in modern business decision-making.

Global Managerial Economics and Public Policy
Participants in this course are introduced to contemporary techniques for arriving at optimal managerial decisions. The course draws on fundamental ideas that were originally developed in the fields of statistics and operations research, and demonstrates their application in modern business decision-making.

Financial Management
This course offers tools for analysis of major corporate financial decisions using a market-oriented framework. Topics include capital budgeting, security portfolio theory, operation and efficiency of financial markets, options pricing, financing decisions, capital structure, payout policy and international finance.

Project Management in a Dynamic Environment
The purpose of this course is to introduce the key issues in managing information technology; and to stress management's role in creating the Netcentric firm. Five key topic areas include: IT and its relationship to corporate strategy, technology itself, the value and return from IT investments, the major functional applications of technology, and organization transformation with IT.

Leadership and Human Capital
This course is based on the assumption that executives already have experience with leadership issues. The course will build on that background to extend executives' theoretical knowledge and applied skills. Executives will gain a stronger understanding and skill set to excel in leadership positions today.

Marketing Strategy
For the seasoned manager, this course focuses on the design, implementation and evaluation of business-level marketing strategies and identifies their implications for product or service development, pricing, distribution, and marketing communications. Current marketing theories, concepts, and tools will be organized around a competitive, team-based, marketing strategy simulation game.

Competition, Strategy and Globalization
This is an integrative strategic management course focusing on strategy formulation and implementation in domestic and global settings. Topics include: industry and competitor analysis, industry and firm value chain, coherence in overall and functional strategies, developing global strategies, leadership, goal setting, organizational structure, and culture. The course utilizes case studies from a variety of settings and emphasizes the evaluation and selection of strategic choices.

Strategic Information Systems
This course is targeted at managers interested in developing their project management skills. The course reviews the fundamental concepts for managing organizational projects. Both technical and managerial issues will be covered.

Supply Chain Management
Supply chain and logistics management are integrated approaches to managing the total flow of a distribution channel from supplier to ultimate customer. In this course, students are introduced to the concept of value-driven supply chains and its integration with operations.

Cross Cultural Management
This course provides both scholarly knowledge and practical focus on cross-cultural management for working in a global economy. The first half of the course focuses on how international cultures vary, with emphasis on understanding U.S. corporate culture and its relationship to Chinese business practices, and how culture influences basic psychological and communication processes. The second half of the course focuses on practical implications of culture's influence in negotiation, teams and group decision making, and public relations and human resource practices.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship
This course explores the process of creating new ventures, including evaluating the entrepreneurial team, the opportunity and the financing requirements. Topics covered include the skills, concepts, mental attitudes and knowledge relevant for starting a new business.

Operations Management
This course examines the strategic role that the operations function can play, and offers tools and techniques that the firm can use for strategy execution. Concepts of operations management applied to both manufacturing and services are divided into two broad areas. The first area includes operations strategy, process analysis and design, which include analysis of process flows and bottlenecks, waiting line models, total quality management and six-sigma. The second is supply-chain management, which includes forecasting, lean operations and JIT, revenue management, and advanced topics in inventory management.

International Marketing
Environmental, organizational, and financial aspects of international marketing as well as problems of marketing research, pricing, channels of distribution, product policy, and communications which face U.S. firms trading with foreign firms or which face foreign firms in their operation are covered in this course.

Implementing Strategy
This course helps participants understand the challenges of converting strategic intentions into reality. Drawing upon a combination of case studies, real life examples, conceptual frameworks and models and independent research projects, managers will learn to recognize and think through organizational issues that are often critical in determining business success.

Business Ethics
This course offers a study of the standards of business conduct, morals and values as well as the role of business in society with consideration of the sometimes conflicting interests of and claims on the firm and its objectives. Emphasizes a strategic approach by business to the management of its external environment.