Business

With a focus on adapting through change, the course provides an introduction to today’s business operations including the product, the pitch, the profit, the people, the competition, and more. This course introduces the concept of the S-Curve and shows how continuous innovation creates personal and professional growth. Students will also learn how to identify a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats while understanding how companies adapt and innovate along the S-Curve.

To stand out in today’s competitive marketplace, you need to identify, create, and refine your personal brand. With a strong brand and a well-honed ability to market yourself, you’ll be better positioned to advance your career. In this course, you will learn to identify your strengths, tell your professional story, sharpen your résumé, and improve your marketability in the workforce. You will also write a personal mission statement and discover tools to help you build your brand.

Surveys the practice of public relations in business, nonprofit organizations and governmental institutions. Examines the major forms of media used in public relations: news releases, broadcast publicity, public service announcements and institutional advertising.

Successful businesses depend on effective managers to create positive cultures, build efficient operations, and increase employee productivity. This course explores management concepts that are critical to ensuring businesses meet their objectives. As you study the five components of management—planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling—you will learn to identify the organizational behaviors that help businesses thrive.

Ethical choices can make or break a company in many ways. As you can see in the news, many companies have been destroyed by poor ethical decisions. In this course, you’ll learn the ethical perspectives of business decision-making and organizational culture in a variety of key areas including individual behavior, human resource management, work environments, marketing, property rights, and international business. Understanding how ethics play a role in good business decision-making will help you be more successful as you move along your personal and professional S-curve.

Businesses are made up of people, which is why human resource management, or HRM, is so important. Human resource management is a field that focuses on the employees and is essential to the success of an organization. Every organization needs a set of processes to manage all aspects of human resources, from recruitment to performance management and beyond. This course focuses on the key components of that process and the activities that managers complete to perform them as well as the role that human resources plays in strategic planning.

This course introduces the students to the key components of entrepreneurship. Topics covered include identifying new venture opportunities, getting started in a new venture, creating a business plan, financing and marketing ideas, and organizing and managing a small business.

Covers establishment and administration of equitable pricing arrangements for goods and/or services. Analyzes the total price (cost plus profit) and the individual elements of cost (labor, materials, indirect costs and profit). Emphasizes techniques for determining proper prices and estimating. Discusses methods of pricing research and development, and the selection of hardware and services.

Examines the federal procurement process and introduces concepts, policies and procedures associated with government contracting. Discusses the programming, planning, and justification of program funding, formulation and earmarking procurement requirements, preparation of work statements and specifications, procurement requests and acquisition planning.

Organizational behavior is a fascinating field that can help you unlock the secrets to short- and long-term business success. In this course, you will explore the intricacies of individual and group behavior within an organization and learn strategies and methods for improving performance. You will delve into employee engagement tactics, group interactions, communication, conflict resolution strategies, and managing change. By the end of the course, you will be able to identify organizational behaviors in the workplace that enhance employee and job satisfaction, leading to business success.

Examines the considerations for human resource management in support of global business operations. Analyzes the sources of labor, business strategy, corporate culture and cultural differences as elements of global human resource planning. Reviews fundamental human resource issues such as compensation, productivity and training.

Presents the general policies and procedures for federal contract administration in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation. Reviews the responsibilities of contract administration including pre- and post-award activities, contract oversight, quality assurance, compliance, financing, cost controls, documentation, terminations and disputes, and subcontract management. Discusses coordination with procurement activities and audit agencies.

Examines the role of staffing to support an organization's strategy and improve productivity. Reviews the key legal compliance issues associated with staffing organizations. Emphasis is placed on HRM planning, job analysis, effective recruitment strategies, developing selection processes and formulation of staffing plans. Provides considerations for employee retention.

Presents the theory, strategies, techniques and tactics for negotiating contracts, and principles and practices of negotiations for procurement. Includes preparation and conduct of negotiations and emphasizes interactions prior to/during negotiations and methods of dealing with situations under different types of negotiations. The focus is on federal government contracting.

The course introduces students to the entrepreneurship process and how that process enhances the movement of technology to the market. The key concepts presented include how technology drives innovation, how to foster a culture of innovation, and how to create organizational wealth through innovation and technology.

Presents the fundamentals of the project management process and examines application of the process. Reviews the stages and activities in the project life cycle, the organization for project management, and various project control and evaluations processes. Introduces considerations for negotiation and human resource management concerns in project management.

This course addresses the risk component of projects and provides an overview of project risk management and related tools. Students will learn techniques for identifying, analyzing and minimizing risks that are inherent to projects, and building skills to systematically manage project risk to ensure that projects are delivered within cost estimates and timelines.

This course examines the unique human resource aspects of managing human resources and project teams. The management areas of focus include planning for human capital needs, acquiring and developing skills needed for projects, motivating the team and measuring the project team's performance.

This course enables students to gain professional experience in a specific area of business by working with a team to complete a project for a business client. Students should be prepared to be active collaborators and contributors so their team can be successful in the course. Students will have an opportunity to add key skills and workplace experience to their professional profile or résumé and expand their network. Students will also examine how their academic courses tie to their field of study and gain essential skills and competencies to prepare for future career opportunities. Required coursework includes audio/video presentations that will be recorded for grading purposes only.

Provides the basic principles of operating and managing a small business. Topics include buying, merchandising, pricing, promotions, inventory management, customer service, location decisions and planning. Reviews strategic planning considerations related to operating a small business.

Presents the concepts of learning (cognitive and behaviorist), principles of instructional design, and the relationship of motivation and learning. Analyzes the phases of the training process model and the activities associated with each phase. Reviews how to develop viable training programs to fit a variety of organizational requirements for both employee and management training and development.

Introduces and analyzes the basic concepts of compensation administration in organizations. Provides an intensive study of the wage system, methods of job evaluation, wage and salary structures, and the legal constraints on compensation programs.

This course focuses on critical aspects of the project process and techniques used for cost estimating and budgeting. The course will explore project essentials such as determining project costs, scheduling and project sequencing, and quality management to ensure the successful delivery of projects.

This course covers the key concepts related to operations management within an organization. Topics include strategic issues related to designing products and delivery services, making capacity and location decisions, and operating processes and control systems.

This course explores the management growth aspects of an entrepreneurial business, focusing on the nature and challenges of entrepreneurial businesses as they move beyond startup. The primary focus of the course will be managing and building an organization capable of growth and ensuring the organization can sustain growth as the market and competitive environment changes. Key topics include managing with limited resources, identifying key people and establishing processes, creating organization culture, stabilizing cash and other financial resources and establishing a vision to drive the organization.

The course will address the essential elements of project contracting and resource procurement. Project areas to be addressed include procurement management process, various types of contracts, contract selection and negotiations, administration, fulfillment and completion. Learners in this course study the significance of contracts and the procurement process in project management.

This course provides students opportunities for analysis, synthesis, prescription and application of entrepreneurship concepts. Students will use real-work entrepreneurship cases and apply critical thinking and decision-making skills involving complex entrepreneurship decisions.

This course explores the role of primary and secondary stakeholders, both within and outside organizations. Ethics and social responsibility will be investigated and where organizational activities fall within different continuums will be reviewed. The broad forces in business, society, and globalization will be examined and how stakeholders can influence the destiny of both business and society will be discussed.

This course is the capstone course for the Bachelor of Business Administration program. It examines the processes by which organizations formulate strategy, implement policy, and evaluate outcomes in the highly competitive and dynamic global environment. The ethical implications of strategic choices are a central concern of this course. Analytic, integrative and decision-making skills will be exercised through the use of case analysis and decision-making.
A grade of C or higher is required for satisfactory course completion.

This course provides an introduction and overview of government contracting and its unique nature, demonstrating the differences between commercial and government contracting with a concentration on the federal system. Using online resources, students cover the organization of the Federal Acquisition Regulation and how to interpret relevant subject coverage. Current reforms in the acquisition field will be incorporated into the course and emerging controversies will be highlighted to provide students with an up-to-date view of the profession.

Provides a framework for formulating business strategies to be competitive in the federal acquisition market. Examines the approaches for business development and effective proposal preparation. Reviews the request for proposal (RFP) process in federal acquisition, analysis of RFPs, preparation of proposals, and reviews and follow-up actions.

Examines the functions and processes within a business enterprise and key factors affecting productivity. Reviews the dynamics of the business operating environment both internal and external, factors affecting competition and considerations for global operations. Provides a conceptual base for managers to assess and enhance strategic performance in a business organization through the integration of the core business functions, effective resource management and sound leadership.

This course explores how business leaders can apply statistical and performance data to improve business process and performance. The concepts presented in this course relate to gathering and evaluating data within a business environment, using statistical tools and techniques, and formalizing conclusions based on the data to make better informed business decisions.

Presents production and operations concepts and the techniques used in their management. Examines the interaction of the operations functions with other primary functions such as marketing and finance. Analyzes the primary areas of process and product design, JIT manufacturing, allocation of scare resources, e-commerce and quality management principles.

Examines project management principles used to effectively plan, direct and control project activities to achieve schedule, budget and performance objectives. Reviews the project life cycle, organization and charters, work breakdown structures, responsibility matrixes, cost budgeting, scheduling and resource allocation. Presents planning and control methods such as PERT and Gantt charts, earned value management and an overview of project management software applications.

Prepares project managers to be champions and true leaders in their roles in order to ensure project success when faced with the challenges of an ever-changing, complex global environment. Develops the competencies to lead project teams through more effective communication, identify motivational value systems to improve productivity and cooperation, and recognize the role of business and personal ethics in leadership. Examines both the art and science of negotiation.

Presents the application of risk management strategies to identify, analyze and mitigate the full range of project risks in order to ensure project success. Examines the six risk management processes outlined in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) Guide: risk management planning, risk identification, qualitative risk analysis, quantitative risk analysis, risk response planning and risk monitoring and control.

Analyzes the interaction of individual, group and organizational dynamics that influence human behavior in organizations and determines appropriate management approaches to foster a productive work environment. Examines a variety of theories, models and strategies used to understand motivation and individual behavior, decision-making, the dynamics of groups, work teams, communication, leadership, power and politics, conflict resolution, work design, organizational structure and culture and managing change. Provides a conceptual base for managers to interpret, assess and influence human behavior in an organization.

Explores the concepts and applications of sustainable business, including creating, leading and managing business enterprises. Examines approaches for leading entrepreneurial individuals and companies. Analyzes innovation issues, including creating and realizing value, prioritizing opportunities and managing the innovation process.

There’s a lot that goes into managing a high growth digital startup. This course will provide valuable information related to how to organize and grow the core financial and procedural operations of a digital business. Topics covered include an overview of people management, organizational design, sales, social media marketing, competition, funding methods, metrics, contracts/legal and when to sell a startup.

Examines conflict negotiation in organizations. Provides a background in negotiation, mediation, ombudsmen, investigator systems, peer review boards, arbitration and dispute resolution. Presents specialized concepts in managerial negotiations such as cross-culturally making effective group decisions, negotiating mergers and acquisitions and managing business integration teams.

The course explores the creation of effective strategies within global markets. The course content includes the exploration of global competitive dynamics, leveraging resources and capabilities, entering foreign markets and creating competitive advantages within a framework of ethics and social responsibility.

Day-to-day operations at a digital company are fast-paced. This course will provide an overview of the operational, sales and marketing skills specific to a digital business. Topics covered include digital platforms, industry trends, operating a distributed content company, analytics and optimization, video, social media management, digital advertising sales and client management/reporting.

You’ll need talent and technology to ensure that your business is a success. This course will provide an overview on how to develop and take digital software, a digital site or a product to market. Topics covered include landscape analysis, product design and description, production, project management, launch, key metrics, monetization, fostering feedback, product improvement and business growth/development.

This course enables students to gain professional experience by working with a team to complete a project for a business client. Students should be prepared to be active collaborators and contributors so their team can be successful in the course experience in a specific area of business. Students will have an opportunity to add key skills and workplace experience to their professional profile or resume and expand their network. Students will also examine how their academic courses tie to their field of study and gain essential skills and competencies to prepare for future career opportunities. Required coursework includes audio/video presentations that will be recorded for grading purposes only.
This course may be taken to fulfill the MBA elective requirement. The course may also be applied toward fulfilling a requirement in the Professional Studies concentration but would not be applied to any other concentration in the 10-course MBA program.

Examines the strategic management process and implementation of successful business strategies in the highly competitive and dynamic global environment. Analyzes the impact of technology, government policy, and world economic and political forces on strategy formulation and execution. Analytic, integrative, and decision-making skills will be exercised through the use of case analysis and decision-making that will involve the core business functions, leadership challenges and global operations.
A grade of B or higher is required for satisfactory course completion.