Students in an MBA program will study topics in prevalent business fields such as finance, accounting and marketing. Although each of these fields has its own areas of specialization, each are taught in broad, ground-level concepts to illustrate the general workings of a business. This also works as a foundation for later courses in the MBA program. These contain fundamental business academics which will be referred back to by upper-level MBA subjects.
Management skills such as leadership, organizational management and strategy are taught to MBA students to foster their potential for future leadership positions. These are mainly qualitative in content, usually conducting discussions on case studies and deriving how these management skills led to success or failure in a social and psychological context. These subjects also include interactive business simulations to apply management skills and decision-making in a controlled setting.
Ethics has grown more necessary as an area of study in light of historical cases of fraud in the business industry. MBA students are taught the legal and social implications of their management choices. Additionally, students can analyze case studies and form essays on how they would act if placed in a similar management dilemma. Risk analysis courses fall under this as well in increasing a student's ability to evaluate and act upon a company's financial and ethical standing.
With the advent of globalization and online trade, many MBA programs now require students to study international business. This can be in the form of studying a foreign country's economy to understanding the global trade market. Global business can also cover qualitative business factors such as cultural sensitivity, or how to do business in different countries. Some MBA programs integrate international study and exchange programs in this subject area.