BU461n – Mergers and Acquistion Strategy  0.5

This course examines the role that mergers and acquisitions play in the formulation and execution of business and corporate level strategies.  The course is taught from a general management perspective and focuses on evaluating the strategic rationale for M&As, governing the transaction cycle and integrating the organizations post-merger.

Prerequisite: Fourth year standing in the Honours BBA program

BU461p – Managing Product Liability Risks  0.5

Business involved in manufacturing and distributing products must understand the legal risks associated with their products and develop effective strategies to manage these risks before, during and after an incident.  This course will integrate two key components: product liability law and risk management strategy.  Legal topics will include liability associated with defective products and inherently dangerous products, duty to disclose, class actions and assessment of damages.  Risk management topics will include insurance, prevention, the role of the recall, and unethical practices.  Specific industry examples will be examined such as Tabacco, Pharmaceuticals, Food, Video Games, Toys and Tainted blood.

Prerequisite: BU231

BU461q – Ethics and the Conduct of Business  0.5

This course will help future employees and managers improve their ability to recognize and deal with managerial situations that have ethical or moral dimensions. It will provide a greater understanding of the strategic impact of the social/ethical context for business and help clarify personal values and attitudes associated with those situations. Students will develop a systematic approach for analyzing ethical issues; assess strategies available for responding to the changing social/ethical context for business, including issue management/stakeholder strategies and social/ethical/environmental leadership. Students will develop competence in dealing with ethical issues by interacting with and understanding the viewpoints of others, by discussing, arguing for and defending their own views, by expanding their perspectives and by learning to think about ethical problems in principled and logical ways.

Prerequisites: BU227, BU247
Co-requisites: BU352, BU383, BU385

BU461r – Social Entrepreneurship  0.5

This course provides an understanding of the process of starting a new business dedicated to tackling social or environmental issues. The characteristics of the entrepreneur, the identification and evaluation of opportunities, the assembly of resources and the development of the business plan will be covered. The method of instruction involves cases, lectures and a research project.

Prerequisites: BU227 & BU247
Co-requisites: BU352 & BU383
Exclusion: BU311

BU461t – Introduction to Arts Management  0.5

This course provides an introduction to the challenges of managing not-for-profit arts organizations. Emphasis will be placed on understanding elements of the external environment as well as internal management challenges of working in this sector. Specific arts sectors will include: music, dance, theatre, opera, choral, and museums.

Prerequisite: none
Exclusion: BBA program (not open to BBA students)

BU492h - Creative Thinking for Marketing Managers 0.5

A growing body of academic literature has looked at the tools and techniques needed to encourage creative, innovative, lateral as opposed to traditional linear thinking. In an era where change is the norm, intellectual flexibility is a critical ability; and organizations must be able to generate innovative insights to survive. This course will attempt to provide students with an introduction to the tools, techniques and processes used to generate creative marketing insights. The course works on the premise that marketing creativity is not about “eureka” moments of mysterious insights, but the result of a certain disciplined process of thought.  This process is also fueled by new qualitative research methods that students will utilize.  Students will be exposed to the current literature on the creative process and engage in various exercises used by marketing organizations to generate creative solutions. The successful student will realize that creative thinking is a structured process designed to produce actionable marketing solutions.


Prerequisite: BU352 and BU362

BU492j - Marketing & Society 0.5

Examining how marketers can develop sustainable marketing strategies by gaining an in-depth understanding of the impact of marketing on the physical, psychological, sociological, cultural and economic world inhabited by consumers.  Concepts such as socially conscious marketing, social marketing, corporate social responsibility, conscious consumption, anti-consumption, brand resistance, cause marketing, consumerism and ethical marketing are studied.

Prerequisite: BU352 and BU362
Co-requisite: BU432

BU492k - Marketing & Social Networks 0.5

Social networks (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, blogs, wikis) are profoundly impacting contemporary marketing and management practices.  This course will examine the role of social networks in marketing communications, changing consumer dynamics, creating consumer communities and advancing marketing research.

Prerequisite: BU352 and BU362
Co-requisite: BU432

BU493t - Fixed Income Analysis 0.5

The fixed income course covers the analysis of all fixed income securities including bonds, money market instruments, and mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. Risk and return relationship of fixed income securities as well as the yield curve and interest rate risk management will be covered.  The course will extend the analysis to cover the tools and techniques such as duration and convexity which are used to manage bond portfolio.

Prerequisite: BU393

BU497f - International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 0.5

The intent of this course is to prepare students to write the Chartered Accountant professional examinations.

Prerequisites: BU387 and BU397

BU497h - Integrated Cases In Accounting  0.5

With a primary focus on course writing techniques, this course is to prepare students to write the Chartered Accountant professional examinations.

Prerequisites: BU387 and BU397
Co-requisite: BU447

BU498n – Start-A-Business Workshop  0.5

This course will briefly teach the general principles involved in planning for a business, although students will be expected to supplement this with their own reading.  The bulk of the course will involve detailed analysis and planning (with highly individualized instruction) for the specific proposed businesses.  This will include personal goal setting, concept evaluation and optimization, market research, detailed planning of marketing, operations, structure, cash needs, sources of finance, etc., followed by writing detailed plans for the various areas. 

Prerequisites: BBA students only; BU352, BU383, BU354, BU385 and permission of the instructors.  To enroll in this course, please see Steve Farlow, SBE2214

BU498p – Managing the Growing Small Enterprise  0.5

This course focuses on the opportunities and challenges involved in managing growing entrepreneurial firms.  Emphasis is placed on management of early-stage technology ventures, but content is broad enough to be relevant to all growing, early-stage businesses. 

Prerequisites:   BU352, BU354, BU383 and BU385

BU498s – Entrepreneurship Accelerator  0.5

The course involves conducting detailed analysis and planning to create and launch students proposed businesses (with highly individualized instruction). This includes personal goal setting, concept evaluation and optimization, market research, detailed planning of marketing, operations, structure, cash needs, sources of finance, etc., followed by writing detailed plans for the various areas. 

Prerequisites: BU311 or BU440 or SC340A and/or permission of the instructors.  To enroll in this course, please see Steve Farlow, SBE2218.