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Switzerland MBA Program

Learn In Exquisite Switzerland

The University is proud to offer the MBA at the HIM facility in Montreux, Switzerland. Earn an American MBA while experiencing a European education that delivers specialized content, professional faculty, a competitive learning environment, and a network of high-caliber students from over 60 different nationalities. Study hard and play hard in the epicenter of global commerce and industry while earning your Northwood University MBA.

DeVos graduates are poised to excel rapidly on their chosen career path and surpass their counterparts.  We achieve this feat by empowering our students in a truly dynamic student-driven learning approach.  With integrated management curricula, DeVos students learn management by practicing management in an interactive format utilizing the signature DeVos Case Study Methodology.

The program combines Northwood's academic content and approach for a general MBA (not hospitality focused) with Hotel Institute Montreux's first-class student services to offer a unique educational and cultural experience.

Learn more about:

• The Admissions Process
• Course Schedules
• Course Descriptions

Course Schedules

Course Descriptions

MBA 511:  UNDERSTANDING INDIVIDUAL & GROUP BEHAVIOR
3 Credits
The focus of this course is on developing the student's skills to observe and affect the behavior of others in one-on-one relationships as well as in groups. The course includes a wide range of concepts that can be applied in understanding specific behavior as well as motivations of individuals, self-assessment and understanding of emotional intelligence, and analysis of group behavior.  Included are discussions about managing conflict with individuals and skills to enhance communication with others.

MBA 514:  LEADERSHIP, MANAGEMENT & INFLUENCE
3 Credits
The focus of this course builds upon the knowledge and skills developed in MBA 511 in its emphasis on maximizing the effectiveness of individuals and groups in an organization.  Specific leadership and management skills and behaviors that are central to the effectiveness of an organization, including leadership style, power and influence, staffing, training, and managing the performance of employees, are explored. 

MBA 522:  CRITICAL THINKING & QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
3 Credits
The first half of this course is designed to raise the critical thinking skills of the student. Emphasis is placed on developing the skills to identify problems, evaluate alternative actions, and to justify and defend decisions. The goal is for each student to develop the ability to apply thinking and reasoning skills to business decisions and to develop the skills to influence others.  The second half of the course focuses on developing the student's process and ability to solve problems using quantitative tools, techniques, and analysis to find and fix business and management problems. Specific techniques include classical statistics, decision theory, regression, and simulation. Emphasis is on the interpretation of statistics in a variety of business issues.

MBA 524:  PROCESS IMPROVEMENT FOR MANAGERS
3 Credits               
The focus of this course is on developing the student's process and ability to solve problems using data and analysis. Emphasis is placed on developing the skills to identify problems, evaluate alternative actions, and to justify and defend decisions and recommendations in order to find and fix problems across the organization. Specific topics covered include: a problem-solving framework, decision criteria, root cause analysis, relevant costs, and process analysis. This course exposes students to problem-solving philosophies including Lean Thinking, Six Sigma, and Theory of Constraints. The module includes several team-based, business simulations and exercises where students are given the opportunity to implement their problem-solving and critical thinking learnings in a dynamic and complex business environment. 

MBA 534: EXTERNAL & INTERNAL REPORTING
3 Credits
This course focuses on developing the student's skills in understanding and applying financial and managerial accounting concepts and principles.  Emphasis is placed on the fundamental principles of accounting as well as introducing the impact transactions and managerial decisions have on financial statements and the use and evaluation of those financial statements.  Additionally, the course explores the tools managers use to evaluate internal performance and make decisions.  Finally, the course exposes students to internal control principles which serve as a safeguard on the reliability of information reported and used, and external auditing which provides a second mechanism to safeguard financial reporting.

MBA 544: ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE & ANALYSIS
3 Credits
The focus of this course is on the understanding and application of basic economic principles and concepts. The course provides an overview of applied microeconomics and macroeconomics from a free market perspective including: economic freedom, economic outcomes, supply and demand, regulation, industry structure, competition and anti-trust, monetary policy, fiscal policy, trade policy, and exchange rates.

MBA 546: MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS
3 Credits
The focus of this course is on the application of economic principles and methodologies to the decision-making process within the firm or organization. The goal is to refine the student's understanding of how a firm or an industry will act.  Topics include: pricing, cost, game theory, profit drivers, industry analysis, and competitive analysis.

MBA 553:  COMPETITIVE STRATEGY*
3 Credits
The primary focus of this course is on achieving sustainable strategic differentiation at the line-of-business level.  This requires the simultaneous evaluation and management of the organization's internal (processes, structures, resources) and external (competitors, suppliers, other stakeholders) environment in an effort to satisfy the selected primary customer needs that guide business strategy.  A methodology that systematically aligns customer needs, internal measurable outcomes, and operational activities is employed.  Fieldwork is a component of this course. 

MBA 556:  MANAGERIAL MARKETING*      
3 Credits
Building on Competitive Strategy, the focus of this course is on achieving sustainable marketing differentiation by managing the marketing function within the organization.  Areas to be investigated include: internal and external assessment (customers, competitors, collaborators, company, context), creating value (market segmentation, target market, positioning), and managing the marketing mix (product, place, price, promotion) to capture and sustain value for the firm.  Fieldwork is a component of this course.

MBA 562: CORPORATE FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING
3 Credits
In this course, students will develop skills in understanding and applying fundamental principles of finance useful in making appropriate managerial decisions.  Students will explore shorter-term financial policies through forecasting and capital budgeting, long-term financial policies through risk management, and the deliberate cultivation of the factors affecting a firm's cost of capital.  The course will conclude with students using multiple valuation techniques.  An emphasis will also be placed on evaluating corporate governance and its role over an effective corporate finance function.

MBA 565:  MANAGING THE CORPORATION
3 Credits
This course develops the student's ability to anticipate, evaluate, and respond to stakeholders' expectations within a corporate strategy perspective, as well as manage challenging aspects of the corporate enterprise.  This requires that the student develop the ability to simultaneously evaluate and manage the organization's internal and external environment.  Corporate strategy tasks include:  articulating a vision, determining shareholder expectations, choosing lines-of-business in which to operate, establishing boundaries, identifying capabilities and core competencies, acquiring and allocating resources, and managing multiple lines-of-business.  Challenges in managing the corporation are also addressed and include:  change management, ethical decision-making, and managing a global enterprise.

MBA 572: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT SIMULATION & EXERCISES
3 Credits
The focus of this course is to acquaint the student with the use of simulations to provide an opportunity to practice business and managerial skills. The course utilizes a computerized simulation as a vehicle to place the student in the position of making tactical and operational decisions inherent in the marketing management and sales functions. Emphasis is placed upon developing relevant business and management skills necessary to make such decisions and projecting the effects of such decisions on the performance of an organization as a whole. 
Simulations include: group and individual behavior exercises, general business simulations, and games involving logic and critical thinking. 

MBA 575:  ENTREPRENEURSHIP      
3 Credits
This course is the precursor to the Entrepreneurial Project (MBA 578).  The course explores the phenomenon of both entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship.  Instincts of the entrepreneur from both the established organization and the start-up venture perspectives are explored. The start-up process is also analyzed as teams prepare to create a framework that will assist in developing and launching a new business venture.  

MBA 578:  ENTREPRENEURIAL PROJECT
3 Credits
This capstone course is a team-based project requiring the development of a start-up venture of the team's choice, from inception through implementation.  The project is structured in an independent nature between the team and multiple faculty members. Final completion requires the formulation of a complete business plan and a formal presentation to a finance committee.

MBA 679:  MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP SIMULATION   
3 Credits
The course is a team-based, five-day intensive business simulation on the Midland campus. The student is required to implement their leadership and management learnings in a dynamic and complex business environment. 

MBA 501: PRINCIPLES OF ACCOUNTING (Pass/Fail)
(Prerequisite to be determined by admissions)
The focus of this course is designed to provide the student with skills required to read and analyze financial information.  Emphasis is placed on the impact that transactions and managerial decisions have on financial statements and the use and evaluation of those financial statements.  This course is designed as a condensed course, either as a refresher-type accounting course or a "first look."  The course avoids the traditional debit/credit approach to learning accounting.  Rather than focus on the "bookkeeping" approach of journal entries, emphasis is placed on the impacts to financial statements.

MBA 506: INTERNSHIP/PRACTICAL TRAINING - Optional (Pass/Fail)
(Prerequisites will be determined by the Dean)
1-3 credits
This course counts toward the Full-time MBA requirements and provides the student with opportunities to apply the theories and key themes learned in the MBA program in a dynamic, real-life setting.  Internships may be full-time or part-time, paid or unpaid.  The student must complete a minimum of two semesters within the MBA program prior to enrollment in this course.  This course may be initiated after completion of classroom requirements but must be completed prior to receiving the diploma.

ACADEMIC FIELDWORK**
Fieldwork is an academic exchange process between area businesses and Full-time MBA consulting teams.  Acting in the role of business consultants, MBA teams work with the client to identify and assess business problems and create actionable recommendations and opportunities for client implementation.  Fieldwork is completed within  the academic curriculum and occurs concurrently with the Competitive Strategy and Managerial Marketing classes.