Fast-Track Bachelor of Science in Leadership (Global Classroom)

Curriculum for FY 2010-2011

Quarter 1

LDR 1203	Assessing and Building Leadership Capacity	6 q.h.
ENG 1005	College English 2	3 q.h.
ESL 1050*	Cases in American Organizations	3 q.h.

 Quarter 2

HRM 2101	Organizational Behavior	3 q.h.
MTH 2512	Finite Mathematics	3 q.h.
CMN 2051	Professional Speaking	3 q.h.
ENG 3006	College English Workshop	3 q.h.
LDR 1101	Overcoming Barriers to Leadership	2 q.h.

 Quarter 3

ENG 3550	Writing for the Professions	6 q.h.
CMN 2002	Intercultural Communication	3 q.h.
CMN 2154	Negotiation Skills	3 q.h.
LDR 1103	Your Leadership Team	2 q.h.

 Quarter 4

LDR 2720	Evidence-Based Leadership and Decision Making	3 q.h.
MGT 1503	Managing in a Diverse and Changing World	3 q.h.
BLW 1001	Business Law 1	3 q.h.
FIN 2110	Finance Basics for Managers	3 q.h.
COP 3940	Personal and Career Development	2 q.h.

 Quarter 5

PHL 2180	Business Ethics	3 q.h.
ECN 1050	Principles of Economics	8 q.h.
LDR 3230	Ethical Decision Making	3 q.h.

 Quarter 6

FIN 2825	Budgeting and Planning	3 q.h.
ECN 3360	Managerial Economics	3 q.h.
MIS 1255	Electronic Commerce Systems	3 q.h.
LDR 4995	Leadership Practicum/Internship	3 q.h.

 Total Quarter Hours: 80

*May be required dependent upon English language proficiency.

Course Descriptions

 

Quarter 1

Assessing and Building Leadership Capacity (6 q.h.)

Organizations are only as effective as the individuals who work in them. This course focuses on enhancing students’ individual awareness, reflection, and effectiveness as leaders. Through a self-assessment, students will learn to appreciate the differences between themselves and others and deepen their understanding of what motivates people in the work environment. The nature of leadership is explored through various perspectives to deepen and enrich the appreciation of its complexity. The activity-rich experience of this course will provide students with ongoing feedback from peers and opportunities for growth and development.

College English II (3 q.h.)

Students continue examination and development of the principles established in College English 1. The course includes critical reading and written responses to selected essays. Students benefit from a special emphasis on reading comprehension, as well as organized responses posed by assigned readings. The course essays may be organized about a specific theme or themes at the instructor's discretion.

Cases in American Organizations (3 q.h.)

The course uses business cases, videotaping, and public speaking techniques to help students develop the speaking skills and confidence to become more effective participants in group discussions. The Case Discussion classes use cases to focus on improving language skills and participation techniques through simulations of team bargaining, presentation sessions, and running meetings. In the Case Skills classes, the concentration is on helping students improve the speaking, listening, leadership and writing skills necessary for presenting cases. In addition, students receive instruction in business writing skills: writing business memos as well as a business plan and a marketing report, and using Power Point to prepare agendas and presentations.

 

Quarter 2

Organizational Behavior (3 q.h.)

Organizational Behavior asks the question: What is needed to become an effective organization? Organization members and leaders seek the elusive goals of a highly motivated, innovative workforce, committed to ethical contribution to individuals and society. The study of organizational behavior examines individual learning and motivation as well as interpersonal communication, conflict management, group roles and dynamics, and can determine the levels of each factor. The teaching of this course relies heavily on techniques to analyze, apply knowledge, and develop personal insight and skills.

Finite Mathematics (3 q.h.)

This course develops skills in linear mathematics and probability. Topics include matrices, inverses, input-output analysis, linear programming, sets, counting, probability, and the mathematics of finance. Applications will be developed in business, economics, and the sciences.

Professional Speaking (3 q.h.)

Most organizational women and men are, at least periodically, in positions when they must make a presentation to colleagues or customers. This course examines methods for overcoming presentation anxiety, approaches to structuring presentations, and techniques related to presentation delivery. Students will be required to prepare, deliver, and evaluate professional presentations during the course.

College English Workshop (3 q.h.)

Students continue to develop writing skills learned in College English 1 and 2 and learn the skills and techniques involved in designing and producing a finished documented paper of ten pages. Students review the principles and methods of organized writing in preparation for the required Competency Examination administered at the end of the Workshop.

Overcoming Barriers to Leadership (2 q.h.)

Change is difficult, even for those who see themselves as leaders and change agents. Our good intentions notwithstanding, we find it difficult to change old patterns of thought and action. New Year’s resolutions rarely make it past January 5th. This interactive workshop begins with a powerful exercise to explore the roots of our resistance to change. Through specific assignments and mutual coaching, students have the chance to discover the possibility of, reward for, and steps to effecting change.

 

Quarter 3

Writing for the Professions (6 q.h.)

This course introduces the vocabulary and philosophy of business communications. Students practice planning, writing, and analyzing effective business letters and memoranda. Students learn the methods and principles of research and documentation of semi-technical analyses and business reports. The course allows practice in organizing and writing complex forms of business communications.

Intercultural Communication (3 q.h.)

Offers students an opportunity to develop intercultural awareness resulting in patterns of perception and thinking that enable them to communicate effectively across cultural boundaries. Topics include the effect of cultural differences in communication styles, the assumptions one makes in attempting to communicate, and the effect of cultural differences on individuals' views of conflict and conflict resolution.

Negotiation Skills (3 q.h.)

Introduces the techniques of dispute resolution. Focuses on the processes of mediation, facilitation, and negotiation. Through readings, lectures, and class activities, offers students the opportunity to explore methods of applying these skills to professional settings.

Your Leadership Team (2 q.h.)

How do you develop a change culture on a team or in an organization, particularly in a group or organization, where multiple loyalties and powerful traditions make real change difficult? This interactive course uses the cohort team to explore barriers to team cooperation, coordination, and change. The team will identify challenges and, through a shared process and mutual coaching, develop a strategy and methodology for overcoming them.

 

Quarter 4

Evidence-Based Leadership and Decision Making (3 q.h.)

Leadership is not an exact science; decisions cannot be prescribed with absolute certainty. How, then, does a leader know when to act? By what criteria do we make decisions, when our access to information may be incomplete? This course is designed to increase a leader's information literacy for decision making. Students will be given the tools to identify and translate knowledge needs into clear, focused, answerable questions; match information needs with the most effective information resources, and retrieve the best available evidence; appraise the new information for its validity and relevance; and apply the new information when making leadership decisions.

Managing in a Diverse and Changing World (3 q.h.)

Businesses and individuals in the twenty-first century will undergo rapid and unpredictable change. A significant part of this change involves managing in increasingly diverse global and domestic environments. In this course, students will examine historical changes in workforce composition and the many effects of globalization, domestic diversity, technological change, and new workforce arrangements. The course will focus on increasing personal awareness, understanding, and skills to function effectively with members of different ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds.

Business Law 1 (3 q.h.)

This course provides an introduction to the legal system and the essential elements of contracts, including performance and remedies for breach. Other topics will include sales laws as governed by the Uniform Commercial Code, including the law of warranty, business organizations, limited liability corporations, partnerships, and other commercially important business forms.

Finance Basics for Managers (3 q.h.)

Do you need to know how to work with budgets and make management decisions based on financial information? The purpose of this course is to provide students without a financial background with the rudiments of financial problem solving in the areas of planning projects and securing the funds to finance them in both domestic and international settings. Topics include financial analysis, financial forecasting and planning, working capital management, capital budgeting, short- and long-term financing decisions, valuation, and risk management. Spreadsheets will be used along with the Internet to access key information.

Personal & Career Development (2 q.h.)

Designed to provide a forum for students to critically analyze and reflect on the relationship between theoretical learning and field experience. In conjunction with this course, students have an opportunity to enroll in a cooperative education placement to gain practical experience. Students are asked to investigate the challenges, opportunities, standards, and implications of their career interests by looking through the lens of the organization that provides their work placement and other industries. Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to identify leadership opportunities and techniques. Students are expected to design a career portfolio that demonstrates their leadership vision and skill level.

 

Quarter 5

Business Ethics (3 q.h.)

Ethical principles and considerations involved in making moral business decisions. Studies basic ethical viewpoints as a foundation; analyzes specific characteristics of business life through particular cases and examples.

Principles of Economics (8 q.h.)

Macroeconomics, the study of the economy as a whole, applies the basic principles of economics to whole economic systems and the relationships among sectors of the economy. Students explore unemployment, inflation, national income and employment theory, government expenditures and taxation, the role of the banking system, the Federal Reserve System, and supply-side policies. The study of microeconomics centers on individual areas of activity such as a firm, product, or consumer. Students apply basic principles of economics to current economic problems and explore such topics as the role of a market pricing system, supply and demand, the costs of production, profits and the supply decision, competitive markets, monopoly, oligopoly, factor markets, and income distribution. Economic principles are also applied to selected problem areas including poverty, pollution, and international trade.

Ethical Decision Making (3 q.h.)

The fact that there is not one universal set of leader behaviors one considers ethical and no guidelines to follow to determine ethical behavior poses unique challenges to managers today. Yet, as managers we are daily faced with situations where individual values may conflict with those of our teams or organizations. Applying a decision-making model using real-world ethical dilemmas, participants will analyze behaviors and consequences and make recommendations for actions ethical managers can make.

 

Quarter 6

Budgeting and Planning (3 q.h.)

Studies consolidated financial planning as an integrative device in multifunctional organizations. Emphasizes financial planning and control to achieve shareholder wealth. Topics covered include cost concepts, cost-volume-profit analysis, profit planning, general expense planning, production planning, purchasing, activity-based costing, and just-in-time inventory management. The course bridges the gap between accounting concepts and financial management.

Managerial Economics (3 q.h.)

This course applies the theory of demand, price, and output to business firms and capital budgeting.

Electronic Commerce Systems (3 q.h.)

This course introduces participants to the theory and practice of doing business on the Internet and the World Wide Web. Participants will first learn about the infrastructure that makes electronic commerce possible, including Internet protocols, applications, and languages. Participants will then examine electronic commerce software, security issues, and payment systems. Topics in business strategies for electronic commerce will include purchasing, electronic data interchange, supply chain management, vir-tual communities, and Web portals. The major objective of the course is for participants to understand how tools and strategies can be applied to e-business models including business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C). Participants will also examine international, legal, and ethical issues as they relate to e-commerce.

Leadership Practicum (3 q.h.)

This capstone practicum is an opportunity for students to integrate theory and practice in a real world setting. Through experience, students will demonstrate competence in the areas of leadership knowledge and skills. With the guidance of faculty, students will define an appropriate project and undertake their own action research.