Institute For Professional Development

The course provides the student with information about the most important and current concepts of information technology. This is a survey of current information technology trends and issues that affect today’s businesses. Topics covered are the Internet, the Web, electronic commerce, software, hardware, storage, databases, networking, privacy, security, system analysis and design, and programming languages.

This course is designed to provide the student with an introduction to terms, business concepts, and business activities related to the organization and the operation of a business enterprise as an institution in a global business environment. With particular focus and emphasis on Economics, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Human Resources, and Finance & Accounting functions within a business enterprise.

This course is designed to provide an overview of basic business math skills and knowledge that you can apply to solve financial problems. Finance plays a major role in our lives--car loans, mortgage payments, retirement plans, real estate investment--and knowing how to calculate the cost of borrowing or the return on investment is important to us. The course provides step-by-step guidance through sample problems and solutions related to banking, credit, basic finance and investment. You will also gain an understanding of financial instruments and terminology used in business finance such as compound interest and promissory notes.

The course provides the student with information about the most important and current concepts of marketing. The course surveys current marketing trends and issues that affect today’s businesses. Topics covered are the marketing mix, developing marketing strategies and plans, marketing ethics, the marketing environment, consumer behavior, the B2B buying process, global marketing, segmentation, targeting, positioning, marketing research, product branding and packaging, product mix, new product development, services marketing, pricing, supply chain and channel management,  retailing, multichannel marketing, integrated marketing communications, advertising, public relations, sales promotions, personal selling, and sales management.

This course introduces students to the basic principles and practices of accounting and the role of daily accounting activities in running a business. Emphasis is placed on understanding the basic accounting equation and the proper reporting of the culmination of business transactions at the completion of the account cycle. Other topics include financial reporting and analysis and an overview of the accounting information systems available within the business world today.

This course introduces the student to the principles and practices of managerial accounting and the role managerial accounting plays in operating the day-to-day operations of a business.  Managerial accounting provides financial and nonfinancial information to an organization’s management team for the purpose of making educated decisions, thus this course will emphasize the key financial concepts central to managerial accounting and how they play into managerial decisions.  Specifically, this course will provide an overview of the costing methods used in business and will provide many of the tools and techniques used to produce accurate information for company management.

This course is designed to provide the students with a real-world global perspective of the basic law with a deep dive into contract law.  The students will learn the similarities and differences in criminal, tort, constitutional, and administrative law.  They will focus their attention to understanding how contracts solidify agreements in the business world and in what ways these agreements may become unenforceable or even terminated.  Additionally, the students will learn how different types of agreements require specific contractual elements. The three key components of the course include an overview and textbook readings related to effective legal contracts, discussion questions and exams to facilitate learning and information retention, and case study exercises to improve analytical and critical thinking skills. The students will gain a thorough understanding of the themes and concepts associated with legal contracts while experiencing firsthand some of the most effective and least effective legal agreements that impacted business decisions over the years.

This course provides the student with an understanding of how financial markets perform the important role of channeling funds from lender-savers to borrower-spenders. The course offers presents the student with an understanding of the theory of financial markets and the strengths, shortcomings, and risks for such financial institutions as securities, banking, insurance, futures, and other derivatives markets.

This course is for business students interested in the practice of organizational theory and behavior. This course is about the study of what people think, feel and do in and around organizations. This course will focus on what makes organizations and people effective and successful.

This course is designed as a research survey class under the general topic of Strategic Marketing and is presented from a real-world global perspective. The student will learn and work through material that ranges from a general introduction of marketing strategies to understanding how different types of audiences require specific strategies. The three key components of the course include an overview and textbook readings related to effective marketing strategies, discussion questions and exams to facilitate learning and information retention, and case study exercises to improve analytical and critical thinking skills. The student will gain a thorough understanding of the themes and concepts associated with marketing strategies while experiencing firsthand some of the most and least effective marketing campaigns that propelled companies to new heights or doomed them to mediocrity.

Ethical business actions are rooted in a series of personal moral standards or ethical principles. This course is a survey of business ethics and examines personal standards as well as the standards and principles of various companies. This course encourages critical thinking about how our moral and ethical compass should guide business and personal decisions.

This course introduces students to the evolving complexities of multicultural workplaces and teams.  As modern organizations and teams become less and less homogenous, both leaders and followers must adapt to meet the changing face of workplace diversity and to interact effectively in what is known today as the global village.  Topics include an overview of culture, strategies for applying cultural knowledge, cross-cultural awareness and communication, leading and motivating multicultural teams, and developing and applying cultural intelligence in an increasingly interconnected global market place.

This course focuses on the challenges and opportunities associated with organizational management and business strategy in the global environment. The International Management course is intended to be a challenging advanced management course for the undergraduate business student.  Students will gain a general overview of the process and effect of internationalization in contemporary business, along with an introduction to theories, concepts and skills relevant to managing effectively in today’s global environment.  Students will be challenged to integrate knowledge they have gained from other business core courses and apply their accumulated knowledge to business case studies.  Students will engage in active research and analytical problem solving related to managing in the international environment and will frequently be called upon to brief their findings to the class.

This course is based on “real operations, real solutions” principle. “Real operations” means that most of the chapters are written from the perspective of a specific company. The text uses a wide variety of companies, small and large, representing services, manufacturing, and retailing. “Real solutions” means that the book doesn’t use only the equations and models, but rather how to apply the models from start to finish in a realistic operational setting. This course looks at organizations as entities that must match the supply of what they produce with the demand for their product. This course represents the essential body of knowledge for and introductory operations management course, including chapters on project management, sustainable operation, and business model innovation.

The course provides the fundamentals of mobile platform development.  Students are/will be introduced to developing mobile web and applications. Topics include, mobile web, architecture, design, mobile HTML5/CSS/JavaScript, device detection, storage, geolocation, device interaction, native and installed web apps, content delivery, distribution, social web, etc.

The course provides the understanding of computer security concepts.  Students are/will be introduced to the need for computer security and how to address it. Topics include, security threats, network, Internet, cyber risks, denial of service attacks, malware, hackers, industrial espionage, encryption, security software and policies, network and vulnerability scanning, cyber terrorism, information warfare, etc.

The course presents the student with an overview of the general approaches to research methodology.  The student learns to investigate the quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodology approaches to rigorous scholarly inquiry in their field. Emphasis is placed on reliability, validity, dependability and ethical considerations for developing relevant, appropriate, and professional research methodologies.

The course covers the use of accounting information by managers for decision-making purposes. Topics include: analyzing and interpreting financial statements (including cash flow analysis), overhead allocation and product costing, budgeting, accounting, and capital budgeting. Case studies based on actual management decisions are the central method used in this course to enhance student learning of key accounting concepts.

This course provides students with an integrated understanding of the concepts of economics. The emphasis is on the application of economics and the use of actual economic events to encourage the study of the principles of economics and to show how these concepts can help the students understand the complex and dynamic international economy.

The course provides an overview and insight into the international environment of business including cultural, economic, financial, political, legal, and ethical issues that cut across the functional areas of business such as management, marketing, finance, and accounting. It examinations the opportunities and threats that exist for both large and small businesses engaged in international and or global business activities.

This course provides the student with a survey of marketing management theories and tools. It deals with strategies, tactics, and programs for getting, growing, and keeping mutually beneficial relationships with international and domestic customers. Course assignments provide experience with techniques, analyses, and frameworks necessary for informed decision making for marketing decisions. The student will analyze and evaluate the various managerial aspects of marketing using an academic approach. The four main components of the course include an introduction to marketing management, how information drives marketing decision making, developing the value offering and communicating and delivering the value offering. The student will then use the course assignments to gain practical exposure to such theories as understanding the customer buying process, determining the competitive landscape, segmentation, target marketing, positioning, the marketing mix, product lifecycle, brand management, pricing, marketing channels and integrated marketing communications.

The course provides the student with information about individual behavior within the context of the business environment. The course surveys current trends and issues that affect today's businesses. Topics covered are group behavior, high performance teams, goal-framing effects, perceptions, motivation, leadership, and organizational design and change.

This course provides the skills and tools required by today’s leaders to move from managing yesterday’s organizations to leading the organization to its greatest capacity. The student will participate in projects that will allow them to understand how to move an organization through a vision into action. Focus will be placed on evaluating and developing the students own leadership skills and how to project the appropriate leadership image that will motivate and inspire others.

This course explores entrepreneurship and innovation as it relates to the leadership of an organization. This is accomplished by analyzing the entrepreneurial mind in both an individual and organizational environment. This course takes developmental cycle of an entrepreneurial organization or organizational unit, including the stages of resource development, launching, managing growth and evaluating progress. Approaches to problem- solving are developed with applications made to organizational responsibilities and personal growth.

This course focuses on organizational planning, staff acquisition, and team development. This includes assigning project roles and responsibilities, staffing, motivating, leading, team building, and conflict resolution. The relationship between human resource management and project management are explored along with how HR relates to the project life cycle. You will gain an understanding of the processes required to make effective use of people and resources on a project. Techniques are covered related to interfacing with project stakeholders, designing effective organizational structures, dealing with conflict on projects, fostering communication, and managing stress. Practical self-assessment exercises are used to determine learners' communication, conflict resolution, and leadership styles in addition to power orientation, personality type, and motivations to manage.

This course builds on the leadership, business, and management concepts contained in the MSOM program. It provides the student with the opportunity to synthesize prior learning and experiences, both personal and professional. It will allow the student to expand personal thinking and explore the arena of leadership and how it will impact the future of the individual, the organization, and the world.