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U. of San Francisco School of Management

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U. of San Francisco School of Management 240 Malloy Hall
San Francisco, CA, 94117
United States
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Demographic Information

Number of full-time MBA students (2011): 

78

Number of part-time MBA students (2011): 

43

Total duration of full-time MBA program: 

21 months

MBA faculty (Fall 2010): 

204

Females as percent of student body: 

54%
Who Are the Students? See what percentage of the 2010-2011 graduating class came to this MBA program from the private sector, the non-profit sector and government jobs
 
Private Sector (65%)
 
Non-profit (30%)
 
Government (5%)


Description of MBA Program: 

The University of San Francisco School of Business and Professional Studies is a catalyst for positive change. The USF MBA prepares students to address fundamental issues in social responsibility and environmentally sustainable business whether they plan to work in the public, private or non-profit sectors. Building on the commitment to rigor and social justice, attributes typical of a Jesuit education, students learn through classes and activities how cutting-edge business techniques and strategies can serve the greater good. In one of world’s most dynamic business regions, MBA students at USF are continually exposed to social entrepreneurship, community engagement, new models of philanthropy and public service. USF ranks among the nation’s elite as a sustainable, value-driven university. USF has been placed on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll four years in a row, an award recognizing commitment and achievement in community service. USF also ranked among the top 100 universities in the nation for civic engagement in 2009, and in 2010 USF was one of only five universities to receive NAFSA’s prestigious Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization.


The nucleus of the MBA program is the core curriculum, weaving global, ethical, creative problem solving, leadership and communication perspectives into each course. All students complete courses such as Macroeconomic Business Conditions, Ethics/Social Responsibility in Business and Learning to Lead, a course devoted to developing Jesuit values in leaders individually and for their organizations. MBA students at USF can earn a concurrent degree in Environmental Management through the Masters of Science in Environmental Management/MBA program. In this program students will develop expertise to meet the demands and changes in the environmental marketplace and to compete in an increasingly global, business ecosystem. Moreover, USF’s international student body brings an appreciation of business perspectives, approaches and experiences to the classroom matched by few business schools nationwide.


Many electives for MBA students focus on environmental, social and ethical issues. Notable courses include Geopolitical and Competitive Advantage, Global Business Conditions, Marketing For Nonprofit Organizations, Issues in Social Responsibility, Microfinance and Sustainable Business Models. Elective courses, coupled with the core curriculum, forge knowledge of corporate social responsibility and the triple bottom line. Another component of the MBA curriculum is Academic Global Immersions (AGI), where MBA students gain real world experience and insights into the political, legal, economic and cultural dimensions of doing business in countries such as China, Estonia, Finland and Russia. The London Biotech AGI exposed students to the dynamic UK biotech environment. The Latin American AGI explored the opportunities for Argentina, Uruguay and Chile to position themselves as near-shore alternatives to traditional offshore destinations in low-cost regions such as Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. The intention of the Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Turkey AGI was to learn about the methodologies and strategies of national governments, regional treaty organizations companies in sectors as diverse as real estate and construction, tourism, financial services and telecommunications.  Students met with non-market groups such as the Dubai School of Government and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and MNE’s Cisco and Morgan Stanley.


USF’s prestigious MBA faculty members share the vision of building future leaders who think and act ethically. Distinguished faculty includes; David Batstone who leads the Not For Sale anti-human trafficking campaign which includes Free to Work, a global effort to ensure supply chain transparency. Sun-Young Park and Michelle Millar teach Sustainable Business Models while conducting research on marketing and financial effects of green business practices. In addition to being heard on NPR’s Tech Nation, Moira Gunn has developed a course sequence in global biotechnology developments with special emphasis on public policy, regulatory regimes and ethical issues. Larry Louie serves on the Board of Directors at La Cocina, an organization based in San Francisco that serves as an incubator for individuals from low-income backgrounds who aim to be successful entrepreneurs in the food industry. His students, who study microfinance and socially beneficial enterprises, also work with the budding entrepreneurs at La Cocina and Hub SF, which incubate for-profit and non-profit social benefit organizations.  With recent hires of nonprofit marketing and e-philanthropy expert Richard Waters, and leading scholar of workplace justice Gregory Johnson III, the School of Business and Professional Studies continues to form a community of faculty, staff, students, and alumni who believe that we all have a responsibility to change the world.


USF MBA students become part of an ecosystem that supports the development of socially and environmentally responsible approaches to management and leadership. The Net Impact Board Fellows and Service Corps provide leadership and internship opportunities for MBA students with Bay-Area nonprofits. The Board Fellows allows students to sit on the board at local nonprofits and intern on nonprofit staffs to increase operational effectiveness. Recently MBA Net Impact members pushed to limit the sale and use of plastic water bottles on USF’s campus through work with vendors and facilities’ managers and installed water-refill stations campus wide. The MBA Challenge for Charity (C4C) unites business students from nine top business schools to support the Special Olympics. At USF, C4C students also volunteered with the Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), which develops programs to teach entrepreneurial skills to high schools students from low-income communities. In addition to coaching the students and talking to their classes C4C members host “MBA for a Day” several times a year bringing NFTE participants to our classes to learn about opportunities to study business after high school.


USF MBA students benefit from a broad array of activities to promote social and environmental responsibility. Students take part in Hispanic Market Immersions and Silicon Valley Immersions that connect them business development opportunities in first and second-generation immigrant communities. Also the Gellert Family Business Resource Center supports family-owned businesses through student consulting projects and workshops. The Public Service Internship Program allows business students to experience USF’s mission through internships in community-based organizations.


Rounding out the USF MBA experience are opportunities to meet and discuss environmental and social thought leading executives in the industry. A recent Net Impact panel included executives from Apple, Autodesk, PG&E and SAP who discussed their efforts to incorporate CSR and sustainability into their dealings with environmental and social changes. Other keynote speakers have include Global Business Brigades CEO Catherine Berman, Executive Director at the SF Food Bank Paul Ash, CEO at Progresso Financerio James Gutierrez and former JP Morgan Executive and author of Heroic Leadership Chris Lowney.
 



Academic Department

Course Name: Local and National Biotech
Instructor: Gunn, Moira

Biotech innovation is now driving one-third of the world’s economy. It includes such important sectors as pharmaceuticals, agribusiness, bio-fuels, industrial applications, and biodefense. On a social level, the industry strives to solve the world food crisis, eradicate disease, bring healthcare to developing countries, address global warming, and enable sustainability for the planet – yet, the

challenges are many. They include conflicting national laws on intellectual property, the protection and handling of individual genetic information, and an ever-emergent array of ethical considerations regarding new technologies and the information they create.

Local, National & Global Biotechnology (LNGB) is the first of a three-course sequence in the School of Business and Professional Studies at USF, open to any graduate student at the university. It may also be taken as a single course, and once completed, either or both the other courses in the sequence may be

taken.

Course Name: Management Communication
Instructor: Friedman, Mitchell

Among the topics covered in this management communication course is cross-cultural communication. Another area covered is communication in a time of organizational crisis, often involving ethical dimensions of disclosure or non-disclosure; conflict between narrowly defined organizational goals and the public good; lack of clarity or consistency regarding public policy, regulation, and local/international laws. A typical assignment: Each student (together with two or three others) will be assigned to study a major crisis faced by one of these organizations: BP, Bridgestone/Firestone, The Catholic Church, Exxon Valdez, Odwalla, Toyota, Tylenol, or Wendy’s. You will complete two assignments after completing your research, which should explore the entirety of the crisis and in particular communications (or lack thereof) undertaken by the organization(s) involved.

Course Name: Managing Across Cultures
Instructor: Yang, Xiaohua

This course is designed for students who wish to prepare themselves for dealing with people from other cultures. In the contemporary global business environment, those who understand cross-cultural communication and negotiation and how culture affects negotiation processes and outcomes have a distinct advantage at the negotiating table. In this course, you will study other cultures as well as your own to become more familiar with how individuals from those cultures approach business relationships in general and learn to use interpersonal communication and influence skills as well as analytical tools to become effective negotiators in particular. Contemporary cultural theory provides the framework for students to analyse their own cultural assumptions about the negotiation process and to circumvent cross-cultural differences at the negotiating table. The course begins with a focus on understanding one’s own culture, other cultures and cross-cultural communication imperatives. You will then learn to identify cultural variables relevant to negotiation. In this short course, you will not only learn fundamental negotiation strategies, but also observe differences in how negotiation is done in various cultures and learn to decode cultural behaviors during negotiation by understanding the cultural dimensions, cross-cultural communication styles and global team work.

AIMS

On successful completion of this course you will:

1. Gain a greater understanding and appreciation of different cultures around the world.

2. Develop cross-cultural communication skills for effectively dealing with people from other cultures

3. Understand the components of the negotiation process and

learn fundamental negotiation strategies.

* Understand the main theories of culture and understand how culture influences negotiation.

* Understand characteristics of negotiators from different parts of the world.

* Understand the negotiation processes and outcomes can be viewed differently in different countries.

OBJECTIVES

On successful completion of this course you will be able to:

1. Apply your understanding of cultural nuances to interpersonal communication/ negotiations.

2. Explain and implement the skills of negotiation including planning, strategy selection, assessment of needs and interests, the use of tactics to maximize leverage, and the analysis of the macro and micro negotiation environment.

3. Analise and evaluate your own and others’ negotiation behavior in terms of theoretical cultural value dimensions.

4. Devise culturally appropriate negotiation strategies and tactics.

5. Manage and change the negotiation process intra- and inter-culturally.

6. Demonstrate commitment to the professional standards of business negotiators.

Course Name: Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations
Instructor: Winton, Jennifer

Considers the principles and practices of marketing and public relations as applied to the needs of nonprofit organizations. This course will cover the critical relationship between having a strong organizational brand and effective marketing to support an

organization’s goals, with a focus on how marketing supports fundraising.

Context

Being understood, and standing for something valuable to the people most in a position to ensure the success of your organization, is the purpose of marketing in the nonprofit sector.

The most successful organizations know the importance of marketing whether or not they can afford staff dedicated solely to it. Marketing is everyone’s job, but can be the most elusive concept to understand, and it often gets overlooked as a strategic priority. Everyone knows that fundraising is a must and that your programs have to really make a difference. But marketing is often left for a time when organization leaders feel they have a problem or an urgent need. Marketing is the most powerful tool a nonprofit organization has

to make every other effort more successful. Good marketing leads to wildly successful fundraising, volunteer recruitment and public support. Marketing is about making your nonprofit understood and irresistible.

Learning Outcomes

This course will focus on how to engage in the right marketing activities for nonprofits of every size, with an emphasis on understanding the critically important role of strategic branding for the nonprofit sector.

Course Name: Marketing Strategy to China and India
Instructor: Kwong, Stanley

In the next few decades, fueled by economic liberalization, China and India will join the

U.S. to become the three largest economies in the world. China and India will provide

enormous upside potential for U.S. firms, as well as risks.

China and India provide vast opportunities for trade and investments in all major sectors.

Promising new markets for every conceivable durable and non-durable goods are being

created by the rising income levels of the world’s 40% of the population residing in

China and India. Further, global companies can benefit from large and skilled, yet

comparatively low-cost human resources for the entire spectrum of activities - from

knowledge-intensive R&D, design, and software services, to labor-intensive

manufacturing activities and business/knowledge processes.

This course examines several overarching trends that will confront all of us in marketing

to Asia, especially China and India. These include rapid urbanization in parts of the

region; the rise of the mass consumer; the challenges of domestic integration in two giant

and fast-developing economies (China and India); and the increasing clout and economic

integration of East Asia as a whole.

The course will develop background analysis of several important sectors in Asia,

including especially retailing and consumer goods, finance and infrastructure in China

and India. This course provides you with insights and strategies to develop opportunities in China and India, while recognizing the threats and risks

Whether your organization views China and India as opportunities or threats - or both!

it’s likely that your future will be shaped by these two countries in some way.

Course Name: Microfinance
Instructor: Louie, Lawrence, Miller, Jennifer

Microfinance can be defined as financial services to the poor or low-income individuals; and it refers to a movement in which non-profit organizations make micro loans (typically less than $1,000) for individuals to jump-start their businesses in poor and improvised areas. As Microfinance becomes more and more mainstream, it becomes imperative for today’s business students to not only understand the industry landscape but also the implications and millions of possibilities in this field.

This is a comprehensive course on the analysis of social businesses, particularly microfinance institutions, from a financial standpoint. Topics will include the history of microfinance, the World Bank’s role in alleviating poverty, analyzing the risk and return of micro loans, dealing with the challenges of loan underwriting costs and service fees, analyzing the industry landscape, and analyzing technologies role in microfinance. The course will take multiple perspectives, including microfinance borrowers, field workers, external financing organizations as well as will examine external environmental factors and social and demographic characteristics of borrowers. The course will balance technical proficiency in understanding loan origination and interest rates with case analysis, coupled with guest speakers to arrive at overall assessments of microfinance institutions and borrowers. We will utilize text, articles, and a group project to reinforce concepts and ideas.

Knowledge and skills to be acquired

1. Ability to analyze the loan underwriting and origination practice of Microfinance organizations. This will require technical skills to compute costs and assess fees applied to each loan.

2. Ability to analyze financial measures (including prospective analysis). These are most often applied to the initial credit and investment decision by a potential Venture Capitalist looking to provide seed money to a microfinance institution but also the microfinance institution interviewing potential borrowers.

3. Ability to apply and quantify social factors into financial terms to assess the risk as well as the opportunity of issuing a loan.

Course Name: Multicultural Leadership
Instructor: Seraji, Mahbod
Course Name: Multicultural Marketing
Instructor: Ortiz, Mandy

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course focuses on applying marketing principles to multicultural consumer segments in the United States. Hispanic American, African American, and Asian American populations have grown over five times faster than non-ethnic consumers in the past decade. These 88 million multicultural consumers continue to fuel the growth of the United States and control over 18% of U.S. buying power. However, multicultural consumers are often not effectively being reached by general-market media. This course is designed to help you develop an understanding of various multicultural consumers in the U.S. and learn how to effectively reach them through various marketing tools. We will explore what commonalities among these various cultures make synergistic marketing campaigns feasible and how marketers can connect a general marketing campaign with multicultural consumers. Topical coverage is provided via class discussion, lectures, and cases.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

* To gain knowledge of various multicultural consumer groups in the United States

* To develop critical thinking skills and perspectives in multicultural consumer decision making

* To articulate and understand issues in planning and managing multicultural marketing campaigns

* To address multicultural marketing questions that practitioners encounter

* To conceptualize a multicultural marketing campaign

Course Name: Negotiations, Bargaingin & Conflict Resolution
Instructor: Parlamis, Jennifer, Kane, Kathleen

In this introductory course students will learn to recognize the many times each day they have an opportunity to negotiate and influence others. These are opportunities to advance personal goals, help business prosper and strengthen supportive relationships in their own widening business and professional network. Students will develop skills in person-to-person negotiations in which the stakes are often high, people have different points of view, and there are strong emotions attached to those points of view. The ability to move through conflict to a negotiated outcome is an essential skill for every business person. This course is skill-based, experiential and participatory in nature. Practice is the only way to improve negotiation and bargaining skills, therefore we will be using cases, role plays, exercises and a final simulation to apply the learning in the course. The critical role of ethics in negotiations is examined in this course.

Course Name: Private Equity & Venture Capital
Instructor: Puntillo, Richard

The main focus of MBA 6208 is on the nature and function that private equity and venture capital play in the capital markets. The course also analyzes the roles of the principal constituents making up the capital markets (e.g., investors, issuers, borrowers, regulators as well as the so-called gatekeepers, such as boards of directors and credit rating agencies, and the key financial institutions, instruments and markets). MBA 6208 provides comprehensive exposure to selected private market capital raising and corporate finance valuation techniques used in business today. Students will learn financing methods, valuation models and the associated due diligence processes employed by practitioners in the following scenarios: start-up & mezzanine financings (e.g., private placements of securities, bank financing) as well as merger & acquisition (M&A), leveraged buyout (LBO) and leveraged recapitalization transactions.

The ability to estimate the value of a company in various transactional scenarios is the quintessential skill set of sophisticated financial executives. Students will view capital raising and valuation from various points of view, including the perspectives of private equity and venture capital professionals; entrepreneurs, CFOs, CEOs, Boards of Directors; and institutional investors, investment bankers and financial analysts. Other topics will include corporate governance, fairness opinions, angel investors, venture debt and leasing, PIPES, IRS Section 404a valuations, commercial lending and bankruptcy. MBA 6208 will also provide insights into the global nature of capital markets and stress the importance of values and ethics in the US financial system.

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