BBAC 100 Financial Accounting (6 ECTS)

Financial Accounting is an introductory core business course. It introduces students to the language of business and its use as a tool for the decision-making process. Students learn the underlying principles of externally reported financial information governed by the IFRS. They learn the accounting cycle that enables them to prepare and analyze the financial statements. Students will be required to use this knowledge in other business courses that require them to make decisions based on reported financial information such as finance and management courses in that it provides them with the ability to understand the underlying economics of the financial statements and their implications. (Co-requisite BBAC 180)

BBAC 101 Introduction to Business (6 ECTS)

This course introduces students to the many facets of private enterprise systems and of the businesses that operate within its framework. Moreover, it will focus on the overview of the forces within the business environment, i.e., globalization, economics, government, and society. This course is a key core course within the Faculty of Business. Students use this course to learn more about the business landscape by focusing on business systems, key functional areas within the firm such as marketing, operations, accounting, finance, management, and human resources.

BBAC 102 Operations Management (6 ECTS)

The course is an introduction to contemporary operational management issues and techniques. The focus of the course is on the tradeoffs in various decision areas and how operational strategies are aligned to the organization strategy. A strong emphasis is placed on the development and use of the quantitative models to assist in decision making. By the end of the course, students will have a solid understanding of the key role Operations Management plays in competitive advantage. Students should expect to become familiar with various operations processes and systems. Further, they will acquire some of the skills necessary to critically analyze a firm’s performance from an operation point of view.

BBAC 180 Financial Accounting Lab (3 ECTS)

The Lab presents a comprehensive project which complements an introductory financial accounting course from both a technical and conceptual perspective. It demonstrates the underlying accounting standards and principles customized to student-suggested business events. The use of Excel (Appendix) shows students the interdependence of accounting cycle steps from a technical standpoint. A fictitious illustration is used to introduce business and accounting concepts and applications. Students use their imagination and general knowledge to start-up a small service organization. They demonstrate their knowledge in preparing and using accounting information. (Co-requisite BBAC 100)

BBAC 190 Business Communication Skills Workshop (0 ECTS)

A 12.5-hour workshop designed to develop students’ business communication. As a core competency, oral communication is emphasized in every meeting. In addition, students will understand the principles and value of effective business communication. They should demonstrate effective communication skills through individual presentations, group activities, small debates, and impromptu speech. Moreover, students should be able to discuss some business cases and general topics, work in teams on small projects, master body language, manage business meetings, and deliver project presentations using PowerPoint and visual aids. Finally, they should also provide constructive feedback and objectively evaluate each other through different activities and games.

BBAC 200 Foundations of Information Systems (6 ECTS)

This course introduces information systems that raise productivity, create customer value, and sustain competitive advantage. It shows how the integration of information technology and information systems in the organization’s work processes adds value for the business and its customers. It focuses on the following topical areas: competitiveness, functional information systems, e-commerce and supply chain systems, business intelligence systems, and systems development.

BBAC 201 Fundamentals of Management and Organizational Behavior (6 ECTS)

A course that focuses on the management of the modern organization and the employees within, preparing students for their role as future managers and leaders. It explores essential management concepts, processes, and techniques from an organizational behavior perspective. Main topics covered include management history and evolution, motivation, decision-making, leadership, power and politics, learning and perception, communication, managing groups and teams, and human resource management. In addition to introducing theories, concepts, and tools that are needed to manage various organizations of different vocations (private, public, for-profit, NGO, governmental, and others), this course involves the practical aspects of leadership and management. This allows students to gain a fuller understanding of the discipline of management and organizational behavior and prepare for their role as future managers and leaders.

BBAC 202 Business Data Analysis (6 ECTS)

Business Data Analysis introduces the basic statistical methods that are commonly used for managerial decision-making. Emphasis is on applying methods and interpreting results. Extensive use of statistical software. The course first reviews the descriptive statistics and basic concepts of probability distributions, in particular the normal distribution. Then the course studies topics on inferential statistics such as confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, one-way analysis of variance, and correlation analysis. The course finally covers simple linear regression and introduces students to multiple linear regression and time series forecasting. (Prerequisites: MATH 103 and CMPS 108; Co-requisite BBAC 280)

BBAC 203 Business Finance (6 ECTS)

This course teaches the tools that determine and analyze the major decisions a financial manager has to make, including identification of the firm’s goals, time value of money, use of discount cash flow models, capital budgeting under certainty, capital structure as it relates to cost of capital, dividend policy, and ethics in finance. (Prerequisite: BBAC 100; Co-requisite: BBAC 281)

BBAC 204 Principles of Marketing (6 ECTS)

This course is designed to introduce the basic concepts and practices of modern marketing as they are applied in a variety of settings: in product and service companies, in consumer and business markets, and in small and large businesses. This course follows a practical approach and students are required to apply theoretical concepts in a group Marketing Plan Project which includes both a written component and an in-class presentation (utilizing PowerPoint slides). It is expected that this approach will allow students to understand each marketing concept as well as have the ability to apply these concepts to issues that occur daily in the business world.

BBAC 280 Business Data Analysis Lab (3 ECTS)

This is a lab course in which students practice the concepts covered in BBAC 202, Business Data Analysis, which introduces the basic statistical methods that are commonly used for managerial decision-making. The course first reviews the descriptive statistics and basic concepts of probability distributions, in particular the normal distribution. Then the course studies topics on inferential statistics such as confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, one-way analysis of variance, and correlation analysis. The course finally covers simple linear regression and introduces students to multiple linear regression and time series forecasting. (Co-requisite BBAC 202)

BBAC 281 Business Finance Lab (3 ECTS)

This lab complements the introductory finance course from an applied perspective. The course is designed for students to apply the core concepts such as time value of money, discounted cash flow analysis, capital budgeting, and estimating the cost of capital. Students will use a software package, such as Excel, to address, from a practical perspective, the decisions that financial managers face. (Co-requisite: BBAC 203)

BBAC 290 Strategic Career Planning Workshop (0 ECTS)

A 12.5-hour workshop designed to guide students on how to plan and develop their careers in all types of industries and work scopes. The workshop will also provide students with some specific guidelines on how to assess their interests, skills, value satisfiers, and lifestyles. It will also help students to search for a job, study and analyze job vacancies, write their resume, and cover letter as well as get well prepared for a job interview.

BBAC 300 Management Accounting (6 ECTS)

A course that covers the use, interpretation, and analysis of management accounting information for management decision-making, planning, and control of operations. The focus is on cost behavior, cost measurement, budgeting, performance measurement and evaluation, responsibility accounting, and product costing. Management Accounting emphasizes the application of accounting information to solving problems in all major functional areas of an organization with a view of improving overall performance and profitability. (Prerequisites: BBAC 100)

BBAC 301 Business Ethics (6 ECTS)

This is an introductory course that provides students with an overview of business ethics at the individual, organizational, and societal levels. Issues such as corruption, sexual harassment, fair trade, fraud, whistle-blowing, corporate social responsibility, ethical norms, ethical values, environmental responsibility, and many more will be examined both in the international as well as the local Lebanese context. Ultimately, the course is designed not only to introduce students to a wide array of current ethical issues in business but to also foster skills related to critically analyzing the ethical and social dimensions of business-related problems in order to build more ethically informed rationales for decision making. The course is also designed to systematically improve the student’s writing and presentation skills. (Prerequisites: BBAC 201)

BBAC 302 Entrepreneurship and Business Planning (6 ECTS)

In this course students will experience entrepreneurship firsthand by coming up with an entrepreneurial endeavor that they will pitch to expert jury at the end of the course after applying the design thinking and lean start-up methodologies. First, students will define a problem that they would like to solve using the design thinking process and then brainstorm multiple solutions and select the best using a sound selection mechanism. Using the lean startup methodology, they will come up with a business plan for this business in parallel to creating a prototype and financial projections for the first three years. This experience is culminated with creating a pitch deck and pitching the entrepreneurial initiative in front of expert external jury. The course helps students to understand and experience the mindset of an entrepreneur by providing them with several cases and examples that are both international and regional in addition to exposure to real entrepreneurs through guest speaking and mentorship sessions. (Co-requisite: BBAC 380)

BBAC 303 Business Analytics Using Data Mining (6 ECTS)

Today business analytics is helping organizations in every industry to use information for business advantage. It is helping them meet objectives like competitive differentiation, growth, and cost management by making choices about what markets to pursue, how to configure and price offerings, and how to make operations more effective and efficient. Nowadays, companies are immersed in massive amounts of data. They are more and more challenged with how to convert these data into actionable business insights. This course introduces applied data mining techniques including data processing and a set of data analytics tools related to predictive modeling such as classification and regression trees, logistic regression, artificial neural networks, and other techniques. Students will learn how to use these tools to provide practical solutions to problems faced by today’s businesses. They will gain knowledge on how to improve decision making by adopting data analytics approach. The course is designed for advanced undergraduate students and features the use of data mining software. Case studies and practical examples will be extensively presented throughout the course. (Prerequisite: BBAC 202)

BBAC 304 Internship/Practicum (3 ECTS)

A summer period of guided work experience under faculty supervision by a mentor, and corporate guidance by a preceptor, designed to acquaint students with the world of work and help them acquire core values and basic skills necessary for an understanding of the global economy. All BBA students must successfully complete the internship requirement (BBAC 304). Normally, the internship takes place at the end of the third year. All students applying for the internship program must have completed BBAC 203, BBAC 201, BBAC 204, BBAC 200, and BBAC 290. Normally, internships are assigned and/or allocated by the internship and placement officer. However, students may solicit their own internships.

• The internship is normally two months in duration
• The student must comply with the policy of the host company regarding working hours
• The work week must not be less than 5 working days
• The student will be supervised by a faculty member throughout the internship period
• The internship is graded. The grade is based on the evaluations of both the direct work supervisor and the OSB faculty supervisor
• The internship grade is included in the computation of the student’s overall average

(Prerequisites: BBAC 203, BBAC 200, BBAC 204, BBAC 201, BBAC 290)

BBAC 380 Entrepreneurship and Business Planning Lab (3 ECTS)

This lab complements the Entrepreneurship and Business Planning course by developing the practical part through a pitch deck and pitching the entrepreneurial initiative in front of expert external jury. The course helps students to understand and experience the mindset of an entrepreneur. (Co-requisite: ENTM 220)

BBAC 400 Strategic Management (6 ECTS)

Strategic Management is the senior capstone course for all business administration majors. What this means is that it is an integrative, big-picture course. In this course, students acquire the tools to apply business fundamental knowledge acquired in previous foundation courses to strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation/control approaches. Students are required to use this new knowledge, as well as knowledge acquired from other functional area courses such as human resources, marketing, accounting, finance, operations, and information technology, to identify current problems and chart the future direction of different businesses and industries. In sum, through this course, the student culminates his/her undergraduate curriculum through the application of core functional foundation concepts in an integrative way to various business situations. (Prerequisites: BBAC 300, BBAC 203, BBAC 201, BBAC 204, BBAC 202, BBAC 301, BBAC 200, and BBAO 308)

BBAC 401 Business Law (6 ECTS)

The main objective of the course is to help students understand the legal aspects of common American, European, and international business activities and the formation and functioning of commercial entities. This is accomplished through lectures, in-class discussion, and reading and analysis of court cases using the American case law method of legal education. Business law is an essential course for all business students. It provides future managers with the knowledge of various terms of law and basic legal rights and responsibilities. It also provides critical thinking skills and the ability to understand how individuals interact within the legal system, the laws, concepts and rules which dictate the behavior in such interactions, and awareness of the rules that regulate and protect commercial activity. In this course, students will also apply concepts from other functional areas of management practice such as human resource management, marketing, accounting, and finance to solve legal problems.

BBAB 300 Leadership Development: Enhancing Interpersonal Skills in Organizations (6 ECTS)

This course is designed to instruct beyond traditional management and business hard skills and towards experiential dissection of the foundations of better interpersonal skills. In fact, the aim of this course is to provide each participant with an opportunity to better understand how understanding him- or herself (intrapersonal effectiveness) relates to interpersonal and managerial effectiveness. The premise of the course is that successful managers must first have an understanding of self and how the self-interacts with others to facilitate organizational success. Topics covered include: self-disclosure and trust, stress and time management, conveying verbal messages, listening, diversity, ethical decision making, and negotiation, and facilitation. The course strikes a balance between theory and application providing both conceptual and applied material appropriate for use in real-life personal, academic, and professional situations. (Prerequisites: BBAC 201 and ENGL 101)

BBAB 301 Human Resources Management (6 ECTS)

A course that deals with understanding and managing human capital as a major strategic asset, macro and micro manpower planning, skill surveying, management learning, de-learning and relearning, results-driven performance in the age of virtual organizations and telecommuting, and knowledge workers in a rapidly changing corporate context within a knowledge global economy. (Prerequisites: BBAC 201 and ENGL 101)

BBAB 302 Training and Development (6 ECTS)

This course introduces students to the theories, application, and skills development aspects of Training & Development. Students will learn how to assess, design, develop, implement, & evaluate a training program. In this regard, concepts of training, including total needs assessment, Employees’/trainees’ learning motivations, learning & transfer theories as well as evaluation methods will be covered. This course also aims to give an understanding of how ‘Training & Development’ is integrated into the overall organizational strategy. From an application point of view, students will design, develop, & evaluate their own training programs. Finally, students will develop training skills through conducting training sessions. (Prerequisites: BBAC 201 and ENGL 101)

BBAB 303 Gender, Work, and Inclusive Human Resource Systems (6 ECTS)

This course raises awareness and deepens understanding of the significant role of gender and diversity in contemporary work organizations. It offers multiple perspectives to analyze issues of gender and diversity at the levels of identity, organizational practices, and society. The course provides students with conceptual and practical tools to critically examine social and organizational practices of exclusion and inclusion. The course further develops students’ reflective skills in detecting how they, and the organizations they are participating in, are doing gender and diversity. Moreover, students learn how they can act as change agents in making exclusionary practices visible and creating inclusive workplaces. During the course, students will also develop their writing, group working, as well as presentation skills. (Prerequisites: BBAC 201 and ENGL 101)

BBAB 309 Family Business: Issues and Solutions (6 ECTS)

This course focuses on family businesses: their importance, structure, governance, management, challenges; issues and solutions relating to succession, inheritance, business continuity, family vs. non-family management, and rivalry between siblings, cousins, or across generations. (Prerequisite: BBAC 201)

BBAB 310 Social Entrepreneurship (6 ECTS)

A social enterprise is a hybrid organization that applies commercial strategies and uses market mechanisms to solve social issues. This course provides a foundation for students to understand social entrepreneurship. It reviews various schools of thought and perspectives on social entrepreneurship’s role in tackling social issues, while covering concrete tools for students to begin to engage communities, identify a problem, and develop an innovative solution. (Prerequisite: BBAC 201)

BBAB 401 Management Consulting (6 ECTS)

A course that exposes students to the basics of the management consulting industry. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the industry context, specific activities of the consulting process, and learning the necessary analytical and interpersonal skills required for successful performance of consultant’s duties. At the end of the course, the students will be able to view problems from the perspective of practicing experts in the field, apply course theories and principles to provide consulting services to actual clients, and prepare solutions to case studies utilizing acquired technical expertise and experience. (Prerequisites: BBAC 201 and ENGL 101)

BBAB 402 Seminar in Strategic Management (6 ECTS)

Strategic Management is the senior capstone course for all business administration majors. What this means is that it is an integrative, big-picture course. In this course, students acquire the tools to apply business fundamental knowledge acquired in previous foundation courses to strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation/control approaches. Students are required to use this new knowledge, as well as knowledge acquired from other functional area courses such as human resources, marketing, accounting, finance, operations, and information technology, to identify current problems and chart the future direction of different businesses and industries. (Prerequisites: BBAC 400 and ENGL 101)

BBAA 300 Introduction to External Auditing (6 ECTS)

Modern auditing adopts a risk-based approach. To this end, besides elaborating on the relationship (and distinction) between auditing and accounting, this course capitalizes on the students’ professional competences (acquired from other functional areas such as Finance, Management, Management Information Systems, and Financial / Intermediate Accounting among others) that allow them to: Conduct an audit in compliance with US GAAS/ PCAOB; Understand the importance of the auditor's professional business knowledge; Conduct substantive tests; Conduct tests of controls; Understanding the steps involved in planning & executing the audit engagement. (Prerequisite: BBAC 100)

BBAA 301 Fraud Examination & Internal Auditing (6 ECTS)

This course covers concepts and topics of fraud detection, deterrence, and prevention, types of financial statement and occupational fraud, and investigation and interviewing techniques. It also covers functions of internal audit, audit committees and corporate governance, planning and performing the internal auditing engagement, and coordination of internal auditing and external auditing. (Prerequisite: BBAC 300)

BBAA 305 Financial Statement Analysis (6 ECTS)

A course that covers the relevance and process of accounting and financial analyses within the broader theme of business analysis. The focus is on the informational role of accounting, the quality of reporting, the analysis of financing, investing, and operating activities, as well as different aspects of an entity’s financial performance and financial position – all towards the ultimate purpose of informed decision-making. (Prerequisite: BBAC 100)

BBAO 300 Total Quality Management for Business Excellence (6 ECTS)

This course focuses on the concepts related to quality in all aspects of enterprise operations with special emphasis on the customer. Total Quality Management (TQM) is a comprehensive and fundamental rule or belief for leading and operating an organization, aimed at continually improving performance over the long term by focusing on customers while addressing the needs of all stakeholders. It is both a philosophy and a set of guiding principles that represent the foundation of a continuously improving organization. The bottom line of TQM is results: increased productivity, efficiency, customer satisfaction/delight, and world-class performance. This course will present the various TQM frameworks, concepts, and quality improvement tools necessary for implementing the quality culture that characterizes world-class organizations of the 21st century. The course will revolve around the core values and the criteria for performance excellence embodied in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the highest award for performance excellence in U.S. organizations and which is increasingly being adopted worldwide as the operational definition of a world-class enterprise. We will, therefore, explore the key actions necessary for transforming business and not-for-profit organizations into world-class organizations that deliver ever-improving value to their customers, clients, and constituents. (Prerequisite: BBAO 308)

BBAO 301 Introduction to Project Management (6 ECTS)

This course explores technical and managerial challenges of project management in general. The topics addressed in this course range from project selection techniques, project planning, budgeting, risk analysis, resource management to project monitoring and termination. The goal is to understand how project management decisions are reached, what tradeoffs are made, and how outcomes depend on the underlying situation. Decision analysis tools such as linear/non-linear programming and spreadsheet simulation are utilized. Software packages used are Microsoft Project, Risk Solver/Crystal Ball, and Excel Solver. (Prerequisites: BBAO 308 and BBAC 202)

BBAO 302 Enterprise Systems Design and Implementation (6 ECTS)

This course provides students a deeper understanding of business processes and enterprise systems. Different cross-functional business processes are covered, with an emphasis on how they interact to successfully deliver the business functions of an enterprise. The concepts in the course are reinforced using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) applications. The course also covers how enterprise data can be used to derive business insights and analytics. The following topical areas are emphasized in the course: business processes and enterprise systems, process integration, systems implementation, and enterprise systems for business analytics. (Prerequisite: BBAC 200)

BBAF 300 Financial Markets and Institutions (6 ECTS)

This course offers students a broad understanding of how financial markets work. As any other market, financial markets are centered on a certain good (money) and are subject to the forces of supply (lenders) and demand (borrowers) that determine equilibrium price (interest rate). However, unlike other markets, various products can be derived from money, like loans, bonds, equity, mortgages, foreign exchange, and financial derivatives. This feature makes the study of financial markets very dynamic. The course explores the determinants of interest rates and their impact on asset pricing. The material covered includes securities markets and their embedded risks, fintech and digital currencies and their disruptive impact on financial markets and institutions. It also covers the working of financial institutions including Commercial Banks, Investment Banks, Mutual Funds, Pension Funds, and Insurance companies. Although financial institutions vary in their financial intermediation activities, they all face common risks. The course sheds light on how to measure and manage such risks. (Prerequisite: BBAC 203)

BBAF 301 Valuation Methods (6 ECTS)

This course covers techniques used by investment bankers and analysts for enterprise valuation. The techniques used are divided into intrinsic valuation and relative valuation. Intrinsic valuation includes dividend discount models, free cash flow to equity, free cash flow to firm. Relative valuation measures are price-to-earnings, price-to-sales, price-to-book, price-to-cash flow. The focus is on applications and insights as to when and why we use one measure versus another. (Prerequisite: BBAC 203)

BBAM 300 Digital Marketing Strategy (6 ECTS)

This course delivers the frameworks and tools needed to design and implement a successful digital marketing strategy that achieves the business objectives. Topics covered include Social Media and web analytics, influencer marketing, online campaigning, and online customer relationship marketing. The course molds together marketing, analytics, and strategy in the context of social media in a collaborative learning approach that engages students through case studies, guest speakers, hands-on social media tool usage, and an individual final project. (Prerequisites: BBAC 204 and ENGL 101)

BBAM 301 Strategic Brand Management (6 ECTS)

This course deals with brands—why they are important, what they represent to consumers, and what firms should do to manage them properly. As many business executives correctly recognize, perhaps one of the most valuable assets a firm owns are the brands it has invested in and developed over time. Although competitors can often duplicate manufacturing processes and factory designs, it’s not so easy to reproduce strongly held beliefs and attitudes established in the minds of consumers. In this course, students learn the importance of Building, Managing, and measuring the performance of a brand through its equity. The main concepts covered are unique to this course with a main focus on building, managing, measuring and communicating strong brands by developing an Integrated Marketing Communication strategy. (Prerequisites: BBAC 204 and ENGL 101)

BBAM 302 Customer Experience Design (6 ECTS)

Customer experience is a term that extends beyond traditional definitions of marketing, customer service, customer satisfaction, and loyalty. It refers to the sum of all interactions the customer has with a company’s brand. Successful companies like Apple, Starbucks, and Netflix strive to create holistic experiences for customers that include emotive, sensory, identity value to create strong and enduring customer-brand bonds, which are difficult for competitors to copy or break. (Prerequisites: BBAC 204 and ENGL 101)