Executive Master of Business Administration

Degree Overview
Course List
Program Location

The Ken Blanchard EMBA program combines Ken Blanchard's globally successful, leadership principles with the rigor of a challenging executive-level graduate business education. With a focus on leadership, the Ken Blanchard EMBA program is designed for those in leadership positions including managers, business owners, administrators, and board members.

The curriculum design allows for EMBA students to complete the degree program in about a year.Business classes are held online with intensive leadership curriculum occurring in three, four-day residencies scheduled throughout the program. Unlike traditional MBA programs in which classmates come and go, the Ken Blanchard EMBA is a lock-step cohort program. This means students will work with the same classmates throughout the program, allowing them to experience a richer journey, which fosters a greater exchange of ideas, deeper discussions, and the development of professional friendships that last well beyond graduation.

Unlike a traditional MBA degree, that covers general management topics, the Ken Blanchard EMBA stimulates discussion and thinking centered on becoming a more effective executive or leader within the organization in which the student is employed. Students routinely share how they have taken the principles discussed in class and applied them immediately in their current positions in business or the community. The learning is invaluable and relationships are enhanced as students share, encourage, and coach each other.

The Ken Blanchard EMBA stands apart from other programs because it begins and ends with leadership. A lifetime of Ken Blanchard's captivating work on leadership is integrated throughout the curriculum. "Leading Self," the first module, provides an introspective look at the individual leader and uses a variety of proven self-assessment tools to assist student-executives in identifying areas for further leadership development. The journey continues with a mid-curriculum module on "Leading Others," where students consider the power of relationships toward productivity in teams and business units. The final module examines "Leading Organizations" by influencing at the strategic level to impact performance. In addition to a world-class faculty, students receive instruction and guidance from current industry executives as well as expert practitioners from The Ken Blanchard Companies, including Drs. Ken and Margie Blanchard.

Executives considering the Ken Blanchard EMBA program should have at least five years of leadership experience. However, this experience does not have to be in business leadership; leaders across all industries—including health care, government, education, and nonprofit organizations—will benefit from this program.

Course List

Course #	Course Title	Course Description	Credits
MGT-630	Leading Self	This course is designed to prepare EMBA students as they strengthen important leadership skills and develop a personal leadership vision. The course combines knowledge and application by examining the results of leadership research and how it can be used to develop a clear sense of purpose of leadership, increase leadership communication skills, and deepen awareness of personal leadership styles. Case studies, discussions, exercises, guest speakers, and videos are used to address the challenges of leadership. The disciplines covered in this course include leadership, visioning, emotional and cultural intelligence, and communications.	3
BUS-641	Building Innovative Organizations	This course introduces the challenge of balancing efficiency with the ability to innovate successfully. It examines three steps to achieving successful innovation, including understanding what customers really want and having the right structure, processes, and resources to support innovation.	3
BUS-640	Building Efficient Organizations	This course examines how to streamline and drive inefficiencies out of a firm's internal processes in order to build a super lean, highly efficient organization. It also covers management structures required to support internally integrated processes, examining how to break down silos and build structures that support cross-functional coordination. The course also focuses on external processes by examining ways to achieve greater supply chain integration with suppliers and customers.	3
ACC-633	Financial Intelligence and Decision Making	This course focuses on understanding, interpreting, and using financial information for the purposes of making sound financial decisions. The concept of financial intelligence is introduced as it relates to effectively analyzing and assessing financial performance to understand what numbers really mean and when or how to appropriately challenge them.	3
FIN-638	Financial Management	This course discusses elements of business financial decisions, including financial forecasting, management of working capital, capital budgeting, capital structure, and raising funds in capital markets. The role of mergers and acquisitions in growth strategies and understanding the various stakeholders of the corporation are also examined topics.	3
MGT-636	Leading Others	This course provides the structure and direction for teams to remain focused on a common goal to achieve a common result. Using research-validated evaluation methods, the course documents how to accomplish the team's purpose by creating buy-in and increasing commitment for task accomplishment. The concepts and methods of promoting partnership and trust among team members are explored and a solid foundation for building high-performing teams is constructed. The concept of servant leadership is also explored through the study of role models throughout history and today.	3
MGT-635	Leveraging Human Capital	This course presents the perspective that management of human capital is the responsibility of every manager/leader throughout the organization. Talent management, succession planning, employee development and motivation, and performance management and metrics are examined. Additional topics include workforce diversity, contracting within the global 21st century environment, and the challenges inherent in virtual and cross-functional teams. Methods for building and sustaining human capacity and knowledge assets to increase corporate value are examined.	3
BUS-637	Serving Communities	This course brings a unique societal perspective to the decision-making process within organizations. The concept of "enlightened self-interest" is considered within the context of short- versus long-term business results. Societal business costs are defined and examined, including analysis of both sustainable environmental resources and human quality-of-life issues, which center on social responsibility and community outreach. Case studies will be used to profile and examine organizations considered as exemplary corporate citizens.	3
ECN-634	Managerial Economics	This course examines the application of economic analysis to real-world business problems. The first half of this course covers those aspects of economics that are particularly applicable to business decision making. Topics include demand and cost estimation, production decisions, pricing, analysis of competitive market structures, and antitrust. The second half of this course focuses on the world economy and the global environment within which business must operate. Topics include currency markets and exchange rates, balance of payments accounts, international monetary regimes, and international banking.	3
MKT-631	Customer Value and Service Excellence	The course is designed to focus on what customers really want, building customer loyalty, and becoming a service excellence leader. Insights are drawn from various fields, including management, innovation, information technology, and cross-cultural communications. The service profit chain provides a framework for linking employee engagement with customer satisfaction and retention.	3
MGT-639	Strategic Advantage Within the Global Economy	This course examines the global competitive landscape in which firms operate. An examination of CEOs and how they have successfully seized growth opportunities in unexpected ways provides an actuarial perspective. The international political and economic environment is also examined to ensure familiarity with larger scale shifts occurring within the global economy that impact growth strategies.	3
MKT-632	Solutions-Based Relationship Management And Branding	The course examines the role of corporate brands in creating a competitive advantage and focuses on the critical issues facing senior leaders today, including measuring marketing performance, managing customer information, building cross-cultural customer relationships, and leveraging the Internet.	3
MGT-642	Leading Organizations	This course focuses on transformational leadership and the themes of organizational culture and leading change. Transformational leaders must be able to grasp the need for change and effectively define and communicate that change to their stakeholder groups. This course examines how and why change efforts get derailed, why people resist change, and how leaders can overcome these challenges. Specifically, the real-life lessons learned by a number of CEOs are examined and discussed. The course also introduces strategies on how to build and sustain a resilient corporate culture that thrives on change and supports the ongoing implementation of change efforts.	3
Required Course Total Credit:			39

Courses:

39 credits

This program is offered in the following formats or locations:

Online

An online education allows you the flexibility to fulfill your educational goals without distracting you from your career. Full-time faculty members support our online students while our dynamic tools allow for engaging and challenging discussions with classmates. Classes start every month.

Program Disclosure

Category	Non-Traditional	Traditional
Books & Supplies (Per Program)	$935	N/A
Tuition & Fees (Per Program)	$47,350	N/A
Room & Board (Per Semester, If Applicable)	$3,434
On Time Graduation Rate	81%	N/A
Median Private Loan Debt	$0	N/A
Median TIV Loan Debt	$38,400	N/A
Median Institutional Financing Plan Debt	N/A	N/A

Program SOC

Occupations

General and Operations Managers

Sales Managers

Administrative Services Managers

General and Operations Managers

Management Analysts

It is the policy of the University to collect and remit sales, use, excise and/or gross receipts taxes in compliance with state and local taxing jurisdiction regulations which require the University to remit tax where applicable. These regulations vary by location. Please note: It is also the policy of the University to require payment of sales, use, excise, and/or gross receipts tax. Payment of tax is ultimately the student's financial responsibility to the University regardless of financing arrangements. Per Hawaii requirements: It is hereby stated that students residing in the State of Hawaii will be charged Hawaii General Excise Tax on all transactions. Students living in the District of Oahu will be charged 4.5%. Students residing in other Hawaii districts will be charged 4.0%.
Book costs are based on an average. Costs may increase or decrease depending on electronic availability or publisher's book costs.
Room and board costs may be higher or lower depending on housing and meal plan choice. This number is based on an average for students on campus.
Some Non-Traditional programs may be offered on the ground campus or on-line.
N/A identifies that a program is not offered in that modality or that fewer than 10 students graduated within the reported timeframe.
Tuition and Fees for each program are based on current rates. Future Tuition and Fee Rates may vary. Tuition was calculated using the number of credit hours in the program times the current tuition rate and includes the Graduation Fee. Full time students enrolled at a program taken at the main campus include a Student Activity Fee, charged every semester. Online programs include a one time Learning Management Fee. Some programs may also include additional fees based on course materials.
On-time graduation rates and median loan debt are based on students who graduated in the 2011-2012 award year.
Not all GCU programs are available in all states and in all learning modalities.
Program availability is contingent on student enrollment.

Disclosure Information

* Please refer to the Academic Catalog for more information. Program subject to change.