Curriculum
MGT 501B Foundations of Business Practice II
4 Units
This is one of two courses that exposes students to basic business practices. This
class introduces students to the language and central concepts of strategy,
marketing, implementation/operations and organization design. Upon completion
of this course, participants will have a basic understanding of strategy including
the specific disciplines of competitive strategy, and core competencies; marketing
management principles, analyzing market opportunities and developing
marketing strategies; the elements of organization design; and the basics of
implementation and operations in both service and manufacturing environments.
Students apply these concepts to a current or hypothetical business situation.
(Students should enroll in this course at its earliest offering in their program of
study).
MGT 512 Systems Thinking
4 Units
This course presents basic concepts of general systems theory and applies them to
organizational settings. The course is designed to help students develop their own
understanding of systems thinking and its application in their professional lives.
This objective is approached in two ways. Most importantly, the course explores,
in depth, each student’s personal experience with systems thinking, in contrast to
other modalities of problem solving and decision making. Secondarily, the
course investigates the contemporary scholarship that is informing systems
thinking. The course focuses on both academic scholarship and experiential
learning, with a primary focus on each student's construction of her or his own
understanding.
MGT 517 Organizational Behavior: People in Organizations
4 Units
This is an overview course which looks at the common events and issues that
occur for people in their work environments. The focus is on the behavior of
individuals and groups as well as the dynamics of larger human systems. Topics
covered include interpersonal competence, motivation, communication, group
dynamics and decision making, power and influence, leadership, and
organizational structure and design. This is a hybrid course that includes
classroom and online activites.
MGT 518 Quantitative Analysis
4 Units
This course provides students with basic competency using quantitative methods
commonly found in the workplace. Fundamental statistics are covered. Students
apply quantitative methods to work-related problems using statistical software,
and they learn to make accurate interpretations of data, as well as to recognize
specious ones.
MGT 519 Managerial Inquiry
4 Units
This course focuses on the methodologies managers can use for systematically
gathering and making sense of information. The course also prepares students to
develop the project proposal for the Capstone project. Sampling, research design,
data collection and analysis, as well as the development of needs assessments,
survey instrumentation, interviewing techniques, and field observation are
addressed. Students learn to incorporate evaluation elements into programs and
projects as they are being initially designed. Prerequisite: MGT 518
MGT 548 Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
4 Units
This course surveys approaches to the resolution of disagreements and disputes
between individuals, groups, and organizational units. Mediation, negotiation,
arbitration, and recent innovative dispute resolution approaches are studied.
Students learn conflict intervention techniques and increase their critical and
creative ability to assess and resolve problems posed by conflict. They learn
about their own conflict managed style, and they practice negotiating in
distributive win-lose, integrative win-win, and mixed motive situations.
Attention is given to the analysis of optimum negotiation strategies.
MGT 553 Team Building and Process Dynamics
4 Units
Through participation in and observation of small group processes, students learn
to apply theories of team formation and development, interpersonal dynamics,
communication, team leadership, and team self-management. The classroom is
used as a laboratory for the study of teams in action and for the development of
effective facilitation and membership skills. Students learn to recognize and
intervene with functional and dysfunctional behavior in teams.
MGT 556 Personal and Professional Effectiveness
4 Units
This course focuses on the issues people face in attempting to be personally and
professionally effective at work. Themes of the course include becoming a
critical thinker, maximizing personal resources, the nature of meaningful work,
being viewed by others as an essential contributor, and overcoming obstacles to
effectiveness. This is a highly individualized course. The subject matter varies
according to student interests and individual development goals.
MGT 507 Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship
4 Units
This course provides students with an understanding of the theory and practice of
small business management and entrepreneurship. The course covers practical
aspects of strategic business planning, including: feasibility analysis, market
analysis, service and price planning, promotion and advertising, financial
management and cash flow budgeting, and operational planning and control. Students learn to develop business plans that incorporate the fundamentals for
various enterprises
MGT 521 Organizational Strategy and Policy
4 Units
This hybrid course examines the process of strategic planning as a constant and
ongoing aspect of an organization's necessary activities. Students learn longrange
planning based on budget, marketing, and sales information and examine
how organizations adapt to social, political, cultural, and economic environments
in which they exist. Theory is integrated with case studies and work experience.
Students write a strategic plan. Prerequisite: MGT 501B.
