MBA Foundation

Course Structure

The MBA Foundation includes courses in the following areas:

MBAF 501 – Introducing Business and Business Writing

Students prepare for success in the MBA program and in the business world by learning to compose written business documents and deliver presentations. They analyze context, audience, purpose and genre in written communications, and integrate relevant and appropriate media to create appropriate workplace communications that can be received, understood and used efficiently and accurately. Students are introduced to researching and writing correspondence, business report writing, proposals, project plans, digital media, technical descriptions, and how to prepare and present professional presentations for use in the workplace and classroom. The course culminates in a group signature assignment, which draws on the knowledge and skills gained throughout the course.

MBAF 502 – Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis

As beginners in graduate studies, students often require an introduction or re-introduction to basic quantitative skills (e.g., basic algebra, statistics) important to core graduate courses such as accounting, economics, finance, operations and project management. Topics include the basic tools and techniques for understanding and utilizing quantitative information for business decision-making. Students develop critical thinking skills related to the design of their study, data collection, descriptive statistics, selection of appropriate statistical tools, interpretation of the statistical results and understanding of the merits and shortcomings of various statistical models. Students also practice written and oral communication skills related to numerical data analysis. Statistics skills acquired through this course are vital to a wide variety of business applications.

MBAF 504 – Business Economics

This course equips business students with the fundamental economic tools and methods necessary to understand modern business practices. Students investigate the two core pillars of economics: microeconomics and macroeconomics while quantitatively building their analytical skills gained from MBAF 502 using a project-based learning approach. They explore microeconomics through observing the behaviour of economic units and their interactions with consumers, firms and government under conditions of scarcity. Macroeconomic theories are explored through the concepts of national income, economic growth, international trade, inflation, unemployment, aggregate demand, macroeconomic equilibrium, monetary and fiscal stabilization policies, money and the banking system.