Andy Gruenbaum: The Academic Side

Starting in the Fall of 1997, I began an MBA program at Franklin University. It has been a challenge balancing all aspects of a busy family life, but I truly believe the experience has better prepared me for opportunities I will be encountering in the rapidly changing work environment.  Besides that, I REALLY enjoy spending my weekends doing nothing but homework.

The program places special attention on the group interaction necessary to complete projects.  This process has given me great insight into how I can use my skills to successfully contribute to any team that I am a part of.

 

Fall 1997

MBA 601-Management Skills Portfolio

• Jamming:  The Art And Discipline Of Business Creativity by John Kao
• First Things First by Stephen R. Covey
• Quantum Learning: Unleashing The Genius In You by Bobbi DePorter with Mike Hernacki
• The Whole Brain Business Book: Unlocking the Power of Whole Brain Thinking in Organization and Individuals by Ned Herrmann
• Numerous Handouts providing by the instructor.
• A variety of personality instruments to evaluate students overall profile.

Viewable Assignments

• Personal Development Plan: The purpose of this assignment was to present a plan for personal development.  Special attention was given to creativity in outlining the process.
• First Things First Book Review

MBA 621-Financial Management

• Financial Management: Theory and Practice, 8th Edition by Eugene F. Brigham and Louis C. Gapenski
• Numerous Harvard Review Case Studies were also read and discussed throughout the class.
• The Wall Street Journal

Viewable Assignments

• Financial Analysis Project
• Corporate Financial Report for Sprint, Part 1 and Tables
• Corporate Financial Report for Sprint, Part 2 and Tables

Winter 1998

MBA 604-Organizational Dynamics

• Built To Last: Successful Habits Of Visionary Companies by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras
• Numerous handouts selected and circulated by the instructor.

Viewable Assignments

• Leadership Paper
• Culture Paper
• Organization Demo

MBA 623-Marketing Management

Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation, and Control, 9th Edition, by Philip KotlerText

• Numerous handouts providing by the instructor.

Viewable Assignments

• Highlights Case Study
• Reaction Paper
• Marketing Audit
• Group Project – Aromotone
  • Press Release
  • Final Paper

 Summer 1998

MBA 682-Information Technology In A Global Environment

• Their was no text for this class.  There were extensive handouts selected and circulated by the instructor.  Often 3 or 4 per week.
• The reading and discussing of case studies was also an important part of the class.

Viewable Assignments

• Technology Update
• Technology Analysis
• IIC Group Project Prospectus

MBA 603-Business Strategy

• Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage by Jay B. Barney
• Extensive discussion of recent Intel case study.
• Numerous other handouts selected by the instructor.

Viewable Assignments

• Competitive Analysis
• Strategic Analysis
• Delta-H Development Plan:  The class was broke into groups.  Each group was assigned a different company to evaluate.  Although assignments were handed in along the way, the final presentation to the owner of the company was the real test of the strategy devised.
  • SWOT Analysis
  • Strategy and Implementation
  • Final Presentation

Fall 1998

MBA 628-Improving Organizational Performance

• Fabled Service: Ordinary Acts, Extraordinary Outcomes by Betsy Sanders
• The Memory Jogger Plus+ (Featuring the Seven Management and Planning Tools) by Michael Brassard

Assignments

• Application Paper
• Book Critique
• Group Project:  The final group project was a presentation on the improvement of a process at one of our companies.

MBA 663-International Business

• International Business: Competing In The Global Marketplace by Charles W. L. Hill
• Total Global Strategy: Managing For Worldwide Competitive Advantage by George S. Yip

Assignments

• Book Review and Bibliography
• Country Analysis and Bibliography
• Group Project: An interactive game was written for the computer.  The purpose of the game was to provide a framework for all classes that followed us.  The game used an Access database and Visual Basic front end.

Winter 1999

MBA 681-Project Management

• Project Management for the 21st Century by Bennet P. Lientz and Kathryn P. Rea

Assignments

• None Available

MBA 680-New Product Development

• Winning At New Products: Accelerating the Process from Idea to Launch, 2nd Edition by Robert Gravlin Cooper

Assignments

• None Available

Summer 1999

642-Influencing Organizational Change

• The Accelerating Organization by Maira/Scott-Morgan

Assignments

• Personal Change Paper
• Book Critique
• Change Project

MBA 653-Integrated Learning Experience (Capstone)

• Final Document   (This is a large file in PDF format)