Finance courses help students understand the importance of financial decisions and how those decisions support the organization and add worth. Students also learn the accounting process, how to read reports and analyze data and how to use the data to make financial decisions and communicate them to employees, stockholders and the public. Courses in financial management teach students the regulatory process, government oversight and disclosure. An MBA program focusing on international business would focus on these same practices on the global scale.
Leadership courses teach students how to be effective leaders at the executive level; essential skills useful for any type of negotiation, business-to-business contracts and creation of a positive working environment. These courses also discuss concepts in teamwork, motivating employees and developing a good management system for the overall benefit of the company. Courses teach leaders how to be proactive in creating and implementing a plan for the future of the company; most MBA programs also include components on personal leadership outside the company so their own careers grow and prosper.
These courses teach future executives how to make marketing decisions regarding the products and services of the company for both consumer and business-to-business relationships. Students begin by learning how to examine consumer research and how to best use that research in marketing decisions. They then learn how to apply that research to a marketing strategy that best suits the company, followed by its implementation. Students also learn the applications of these skills across the globe and how marketing strategies can vary from country to country.
Business ethics teaches students about moral reasoning, decision making and problem solving. Ethics courses cover how to recognize and analyze an ethical dilemma and the steps business leaders should take in order to solve those dilemmas. Schools often use real-life case studies, giving students practical examples of the real problems faced in the business world. Business scandals at some U.S. corporations are a catalyst to making ethics a part of the curriculum at MBA programs across the nation, including Harvard University, according to a May 2010 USA Today article. The Wharton School of Business has its own code of ethics, published on its website.