MBA 200S: DATA AND DECISIONS (STATISTICS)

Course Overview
MBA 200S is an introductory course in statistics. The course objective is to give you working skills in the techniques of statistically-based decision making in business.

For the Fall 2005 version of the course syllabus, please
click here.

Course Format
The course meets for the first seven weeks of the Fall Semester. There are two 110-minute lectures and one 80-minute discussion section each week.

Recommended Textbook
Moore, McCabe, Duckworth and Alwan, The Practice of Business Statistics w/CD

Waiver Exam Overview
If you have taken a course in statistics covering regression analysis, you should consider taking the waiver exam. Although MBA 200S may cover some topics not included in your previous course, you should be able to review the added information on your own and pass the exam. Proficiency in all of the topics covered in the waiver exam is not needed, however, you should be able to solve problems in most of the topic areas and demonstrate a reasonable overall skill level.

Exam Preparation
A statistics textbook for managers would be a suitable reference for your review. You should review: methods to summarize and present data; basic probability and distribution theory; hypothesis testing and inference; and linear and time series regression. You will need a hand calculator for the exam and will be expected to use tables (that are provided) such as the standardized normal distribution, t-distribution, F-distribution, binomal probabilities, and Durbin-Watson statistic. Use of Excel is not part of the waiver exam, but will be in the MBA 200S coursework.

For Additional Information
Laura Giuliano

MBA 201A: MICROECONOMICS

Course Overview
The goal of this course is to teach you to think systematically about creating and capturing value though the management of a firm's resources. We analyze the economics of management decisions, including achieving efficient production, pricing and market entry. The course also emphasizes the use of decision analysis methods. The course is primarily based on lectures, with some case discussions using both traditional cases written for student analysis and articles taken from the business press.

Course Format
The course meets twice a week in 110-minute classes for the first seven weeks of the Fall semester. There also is one 80-minute discussion section each Friday.

Course Reading
Course readings will be from the course textbook and from a reader that includes cases, articles, material designed especially for the course.

Waiver Exam Overview
You should consider taking the waiver exam only if you are exceptionally well prepared in microeconomics. Students are generally discouraged from waiving MBA 201A, since even those with considerable economics coursework are likely to find many new applications presented in the course.

For Additional Information
Professor Severin Borenstein or Professor Steve Tadelis
Severin Borenstein (510) 642-5145, Steve Tadelis (510) 643-0546

MBA 202: FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING

Course Overview
MBA 202 is an introduction to financial accounting at a fairly sophisticated level, with emphasis on interpreting accounting figures. The course is concerned with the measurement of income, assets, liabilities, and owner's equity for external reporting. The primary goal is to develop your ability to understand, interpret and analyze the financial statements of business enterprises. Several secondary objectives include: familiarity with accounting terminology; knowledge of the measurement rules and disclosure regulations governing the recording and keeping of transactions; understanding the impact of alternative accounting principles for financial statements; ability to use the conceptual structure, both extant and prospective, of financial accounting as a benchmark for evaluation; and acquiring a working knowledge of the accounting process.

Course Format
The course meets twice a week in 110-minute classes for the last seven weeks of the Fall semester. There also is one 80-minute discussion section each Friday.

Course Textbook
Easton, Wild, Halsey and McAnally , Financial Accounting for MBAs (3rd. ed., 2008)

Waiver Exam Overview
If you have passed the CPA exam and/or all three levels of the CFA exam, please see Automatic Waivers.

If you have a solid foundation in the basics of financial accounting, including at least one course at the intermediate level, you should consider taking the waiver exam. The exam is a set of basic questions and problems that you must complete in three hours. You may bring a basic financial calculator. You may not use any books or notes.

Exam Preparation
You should obtain a copy of Financial Accounting for MBAs , or a similar text, and be thoroughly familiar with: the framework and environment of accounting; assets and equities; collecting financial information; elements of the accounting cycle; concepts of income; revenues and receivables; cost measurement; inventories; noncurrent assets; notes and bonds; leases; income taxes; stockholder's equity; statement of cash flow; and analysis of financial statements.

For Additional Information
Professor Sunil Dutta or Professor Suneel Udpa
Sunil Dutta (510) 643-1229 Suneel Udpa (510) 643-0625

MBA 203: INTRODUCTION TO FINANCE

Course Overview
The primary goal of MBA 203 is to introduce you to the principles of valuation and capital market theory. The course concentrates on developing the tools needed to analyze the financial decisions firms face. Lectures, readings, problem sets and cases introduce financial markets and financial market terminology; discounting and present value analysis; capital budgeting; asset valuation; the historical behavior of security returns, diversification and portfolio theory.

Course Format
The course meets twice a week in 110-minute classes for the last seven weeks of the Fall semester. There also is one 80-minute discussion section each Friday.

Course Textbook
Brealey, Myers and Allen, Principles of Corporate Finance (8th edition, McGraw-Hill).

Waiver Exam Overview
If you have passed the first three levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exam, please see Automatic Waivers.

If you have a solid foundation in the basics of financial markets and asset pricing theory, you should consider taking the waiver exam. The exam is a set of questions and problems that you must complete in three hours. You should bring a financial calculator. You may not use any books or notes. For more information, please contact the MBA office.

Exam Preparation
You should obtain a copy of Brealey, Myers and Allen Principles of Corporate Finance (8th edition, McGraw-Hill), Berk and DeMarzo Corporate Finance (1st edition, Pearson Education), or Ross, Westerfield and Jaffee, Corporate Finance (7th edition, McGraw-Hill) and review the chapters on present value and the mechanics of discounting; fixed income securities and markets; the valuation of real assets under certainty; valuation of common stocks; portfolio theory and the CAPM; risk and project valuation; market efficiency; the debt/equity choice; and options markets.

For Additional Information
Professor Nicolae Garleanu
(510) 642-3421

MBA 201B: MACROECONOMICS IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

Course Overview
In this course we will learn how aspects of various macroeconomies work. In doing so, we will examine how consumer and business practices affect and are affected by, the current condition and outlook for the future of the U.S. and of other economies. We will analyze how governments' monetary, fiscal, and trade policies affect, and are affected by, macroeconomic conditions. To do so, we will construct a model of demand and supply for the real and financial goods and services bought and sold in the macroeconomy. That model builds upon what you already know and will introduce you to some analyses that you haven't seen before. We will use case examples to check the usefulness of the perspectives we develop: Does our framework fit experience? The perspectives that emerge from our understanding of macroeconomic concepts and past experiences will sharpen our abilities to analyze and forecast:
• interest rates and inflation rates
• wages, salaries, and unemployment rates
• consumer spending and housing construction
• business profits and business investment in equipment and structures
• the government budget deficit, the trade deficit, and exchange rates
• economic growth rates over the long run and for various countries.

Course Format
The course meets twice a week in 110-minute classes for the first seven weeks of the Spring semester. There also is one 80-minute discussion section each Friday.

Course Textbook
Robert J. Gordon, Macroeconomics, 11th edition (2008)
(For the waiver exam, the 10th edition, which is available used, is satisfactory.)

Waiver Exam Overview
Sufficient knowledge of the concepts of intermediate-level macroeconomics and ability to apply them to real-world situations are needed to pass the waiver exam.

Exam Preparation
Ensure that you know macroeconomic concepts at the level consistent with mainstream intermediate-level textbooks, such as books authored by Gordon, Mankiw, Blanchard, or Abel&Bernanke, etc.

For Additional Information
jwilcox@haas.berkeley.edu
(510) 642-2455

MBA 204: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Course Overview
This course introduces you to concepts and techniques related to matching supply with demand in manufacturing and service operations. The goals are to make you conversant in the language of operations management; provide you with quantitative and qualitative tools to analyze basic operations issues; and allow you to see the role of operations management in the overall strategy of the firm. The course covers topics in process and capacity analysis, inventory management, demand uncertainty, supply chain management, and service operations. In each module, you are introduced to tools for analyzing operations problems and methods of managing that aspect of operations. You will prepare cases for class discussion, analyze cases and problem sets, participate in simulations/exercises, and take mid-term and final exams. Our objective is to create as much interaction with operations issues as possible, allowing you to examine how they affect an organization’s overall performance.

Course Format
The course meets twice a week in 110-minute classes for the first seven weeks of the Spring semester. There also is an optional 80-minute discussion section each Friday.

Course Textbook
The course will use readings and cases that are made available electronically or through a course reader. If you want additional background, you may consult one of the many operations management textbooks that are available including: Matching Supply and Demand: An Introduction to Operations Management by Gerard Cachon and Christian Terwiesch.

Waiver Exam Overview
If you have a background in industrial engineering or very strong analytical experience in manufacturing or operations management, you should consider taking the waiver exam.

Exam Preparation
The Cachon and Terwiesch text provides a good review of basic operations principles. (Four copies of the textbook are on reserve at Haas’ Long Library.) Many other operations management textbooks would serve equally well. You should be familiar with process and capacity analysis, service operations (including queuing phenomena), inventory control, demand uncertainty, and supply chain management.

For Additional Information
Professor Terry Taylor
(510) 643-5435

• MBA 202 Financial Accounting: passed the CPA exam administered by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants or the ACCA exam administered by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. (Other international accountants also may be waived. Contact the Director of Academic Affairs.)
• MBA 202 Financial Accounting and MBA 203 Finance: passed all three levels of the CFA exam.
• MBA 204 Operations Management: passed the CIPM exam administered by the American Production and Inventory Control Society.

• Select an MBA elective for which you have the necessary prerequisites(s). The MBA Program Office maintains a list of courses that have open seats and will work with you to identify an appropriate course. You should attend at least one class session before you request admission to be sure the course is a good fit for your interests and your level of academic preparation.
• Take a course outside Haas. For example, this might be a good time to start learning another language. You can refer to the policy on foreign language courses. Or, you might find something in another field among Berkeley’s many degree programs. The University's course listings are available at http://schedule.berkeley.edu/. For course descriptions, see the University Catalog and/or visit the Website of the specific department for detailed information.