Course Descriptions

A variable-content course in management designed for a specific class level: freshman (100) through senior (400). Topic is announced in advance of registration. Offered as needed.

An introductory course in management as a discipline and a process. Major topics include the evolution and scope of management, decision making, planning and strategy, organizing and staffing, leading, and control and change. The importance of management in the global environment and ethical considerations of management decisions are also included.

An introduction to the field of logistics management, the management of products and services within the firm. Included will be a review of the entire field and its application in the business world. Included are purchasing, logistics throughput, manufacturing and quality management and improvement, demand management, packaging and materials handling, cargo transportation, distribution, warehousing and inventory management, logistics analysis, and international logistics within the global firm.

This course defines a project and assists project managers in accomplishing goals efficiently and effectively by applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques. Quantitative and qualitative skills are developed. Human behavior, organizational knowledge, and negotiation are qualitative skills; and Program Evaluation and Review Techniques (PERT), Critical Path Method (CPM), risk analysis, budgeting and cost estimation, event sequencing, and auditing are quantitative skills. Students are taught how to manage inputs and product outputs while gaining buy-in from stakeholders before commencement.

This course is an in-depth analysis of the steps involved in identifying, analyzing, evaluating, and controlling project costs and risks, and making decisions to effect project completion. State-of-the-art tools and techniques for identifying, measuring, and monitoring costs and risks in the project management environment are examined. Cost estimating, cost budgeting, activity-based costing, and cost control techniques are emphasized. Decision analysis and decision tree techniques are studied to include expected value, minimax, and maximin criteria. Also covered will be areas of flawed decision-making, including such topics as groupthink, the domain of losses, the domain of gains, the Abilene paradox, the Milgram experiments, and the Asch effect. The course covers how a comprehensive risk management approach can enable a team to make the correct decisions to manage issues proactively and costs that could adversely impact the success control and completion of a project.

This course provides students with an understanding of proven approaches for timely procurement of high quality goods and services at the best possible price. Related functional areas covered include supply chain management and sourcing, supplier and subcontractor approval, the competitive bidding process, selection, contract negotiation, problem resolution, and performance monitoring for effectiveness. Differences between the private and public sectors also will be examined, including requirements for organizations to comply with various government regulations such as the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). At the end of this course, each student will have a working knowledge and vocabulary necessary to apply the key concepts governing the field of contracts and procurement.

This course introduces the student to the process used in the creation of an effective business plan. The economic, social, and cultural impact of entrepreneurship in the United States will be investigated. The analytical tools necessary to evaluate business strategies and creating a market-based competitive advantage will be stressed. Topics such as forms of ownership, franchising, and the analysis of purchasing an existing business will be covered. The student will be taught the basis of developing a financial plan, managing cash flow, and integrating the marketing plan with the financial and legal analysis to produce a business plan.

Project Teamwork and Leadership examines the human factors in project management. The primary goal of this course is to understand, predict, and manage human performance in a team environment. This course evaluates management styles, leadership skills, and conflict resolution, emphasizing the critical importance of positive, mutually beneficial interactions among the team and critical partners as they pursue a common goal. Topics include exerting influence beyond team boundaries, motivating a diverse workforce, facilitating team decisions, resolving interpersonal conflicts, managing difficult people, strengthening team accountability, and communications.

An introduction to the principles of corporate financial management. The principles apply also to other forms of business, governments, and nonprofit organizations. The time value of money is emphasized in investments of real or financial assets. Planning for current assets and liabilities and long-range capital is covered. Risk and expected values (statistics) are used in the planning and assessment of investments. Also, the knowledge of different kinds of markets is described along with some financial theories.

A study of important uses of information technology in organizations. Issues studied include information requirements and flow, system design and analysis methodologies, the generation and accumulation of data for decision making, and the implementation and control of information systems.

Designed for small student groups to pursue in-depth a particular aspect of management that is not covered or is treated lightly in regular courses. The course is taught in seminar fashion and meets for 36 contact hours. Offered as needed.

This course is designed to identify and explore the various human resource functions that create a cohesive framework leading to the achievement of organizational effectiveness through enlightened human resource systems management. This is a basic course for "operating managers" as well as "human resource managers."

An introduction to the field of transportation and distribution management, including logistics interfaces with transportation and distribution, distribution systems and cost and service optimization, packaging and materials handling, and the special characteristics, advantages, and limitations of the different modes of transportation.

This course builds on the material learned in MGT 320 and focuses on the actual management of an ongoing new business. Detailed materials are presented in marketing, finance, location and layout, purchasing, quality management, vendor analysis, inventory control, human resources, management succession, and risk management.

This course is an introduction to the field of procurement, purchasing, and vendor management, including an overview of inbound logistics and its relationship to purchasing processes and strategies, including cost and price considerations, vendor assessment, legal aspects of a purchasing contract, inbound quality issues, and materials management.

This course is an extensive coverage of quality management, to include an understanding of quality principles, the integration of quality management, logistics management, and project management; knowledge of the effect of variation in manufacturing and service industries; quality assurance and acceptance management; the understanding and proficiency in the mechanics of statistical process control; and the follow-on statistical experimentation and testing to improve manufacturing and service processes.

Organizational behavior is simply the study of human behavior in organizations. The overriding goal of this course is to understand, predict, and control human behavior. Therefore, it is necessary to study both individual and group behavior from a theoretical standpoint. Topics to be addressed in-clude leadership, motivation, communication, decision making, and organizational culture.

This course focuses on the role of materials management in modern organizations, the methods of forecasting demand, the assessment of economic lot sizes, and the procedures for optimizing ordering systems and inventory levels.

This course will cover specific activities that integrate project management principles with project event management, taking project events from pre-award to closure. Students will investigate and evaluate different methods for measuring project performance, including Program Evaluation and Review Techniques (PERT) to ascertain probabilistic project completion times and Critical Path Method (CPM) approaches that investigate cost management and project acceleration techniques. The course will also cover team member selection and evaluation, project reporting processes, project event conflict and risk management, and coordinating project events across the enterprise and along the supply chain. This course exposes students to approaches, methods, and systems to ensure management success under demanding cost, schedule, and performance requirements.

Placement is in a small business or major corporation. The intern applies various analytic techniques to the operation of a business. Business supervision provides a variety of assignments for a thorough acquaintance with organizational functions. Offered as needed. This is a pass/fail course. May be repeated for credit up to a 12-credit maximum.

Intensive individual study in a particular aspect of management that is not covered in regular courses. Limited to students who have demonstrated the potential to pursue independent scholarly activity beyond that expected in regular courses. Written request for enrollment must be made prior to registration. May be repeated for credit. Weekly meetings with faculty member. Offered as needed.

This course is a study of interrelationships among business, government, and society. The complex, continuously evolving and closely linked business-government-society system will be studied. Academic theory and actual management concerns at the strategic, global, national, regional, and local levels are covered in the course.

This course is a study of conflict resolution in public and private institutions. Procedures, agencies, legal framework, and major economic issues involved in labor management relations are also examined. Emphasis is placed on problems of negotiating and implementing a collective bargaining agreement.

This course uses the case-study method to integrate the various subcomponents of effective logistics management: transportation, distribution, inventory management, warehouse management, quality management, project management, procurement, export/import documentation, export/import finance. The course culminates in a formal report and executive presentation. As the logistics capstone course, students participate in taking the National Education Testing Service (ETS) Test for Business. Additional fee applies for ETS examination.

This course focuses on the role of logistics in a global environment, along with key influences impacting logistics' operational and system effectiveness. Additional fee applies for ETS examination.

This course builds upon prior Project Management classes with an emphasis on practical application. Students must demonstrate the ability to apply successfully the Project Management process in two ways: first, with real data in case analysis representing a range of industries and a continuum of successful and poor implementation, and subsequently, with a specific project under the guidance of a faculty member. Additional fee applies for ETS examination.