Professional Business Certificates

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course focuses on the integration of both the theoretical and practical aspects of financial and investment decisions in the corporate environment. Students will learn to fully utilize accounting and financial information to make sound, ethical decisions. Topics include financial statement analysis, risk & return, capital budgeting, cost of capital, capital structure, financial decision-making under conditions of uncertainty, corporate valuation, working capital management, multinational finance, and current issues such as derivatives, bankruptcy, mergers, and acquisitions, divestitures, and corporate governance. The legal and ethical aspects of financial management are examined within the context of the existing legal and regulatory environment.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course expands on the concepts, tools, and applications developed in Mgmt. 517. The course focuses on the integration of both the theoretical and practical aspects of financial and investment decisions in the corporate environment. Students will learn to fully utilize accounting and financial information to make sound financial decisions. Topics include Agency Conflicts and Corporate Valuation, International Capital Financial Management, Optimal Capital Structure, Distribution Policy, Working Capital Management, Leasing and other financing forms, Mergers and Bankruptcy and Portfolio theory.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course presents tools for decomposing complex decisions into constituent parts allowing each part to be solved separately and reintegrated into the overall problem solution. Subjecting complex decisions to a formal decision analysis process provides decision-makers with much greater clarity about the true nature and risks inherent in the decision being made and produces more precise estimates of the range of outcomes that each decision option may yield. Decision analysis tools are commonly used to assist decision-makers in complex decision environments such as those with multiple quantifiable and nonquantifiable objectives, those that create, eliminate, or change options faced in subsequent decision environments, and decision options whose impacts are shaped by risk and uncertainty in current and future environments. Techniques such as decision trees and probability distributions, influence diagrams, the Simple Multi-Attribute Technique (SMART), Monte Carol simulations, Bayesian analysis scenario planning, and others will be discussed.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

Corporations are deeply affected by the financial markets and overall macroeconomic activity. The objective of the course is to provide a deep review of the global financial system and its impact on the functioning of the macroeconomy. Topics include the role of financial markets, institutions, and instruments in our economy and the role they play in our macroeconomy. The course will also review national income accounting, production, employment, income, inflation, business cycles, and the use of policy instruments such as monetary and fiscal policy and regulatory tools to guide the macroeconomy.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course provides a comprehensive review of Corporate Risk Management – how to analyze, quantify and mitigate risks to corporations across multiple dimensions. Topics include Risk Fundamentals, the Enterprise Risk Management Framework, Supply Chain Risk, Macroeconomic & Financial Risk, Operational Risk, Credit Risk, Technology Risk, Regulatory & Legal Risk, and Organizational risk. Various risk assessment tools will be introduced and used in quantifying and making recommendations about how to mitigate risk.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

The objective of this course is to review the use of statistical methods to analyze financial data. Topics include an overview of financial markets and data, accessing financial data, methods of exploratory data analysis (EDA) applied to financial data, probability distributions, especially heavy-tailed distributions, used in financial analysis, methods of computer simulation of financial data, methods of statistical inference applied to financial data and time series analysis. R language is used throughout the course.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course covers fundamental issues in large-scale data management and examines issues related to data organization, representation, access, storage, and processing. Discussion includes open-source and commercial solutions, with special attention being paid to large distributed database systems and data warehousing. The course introduces technologies and modeling methods for large-scale, distributed analytics.  

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

Good business decisions and strategies depend on drawing inferences from data. Today businesses gather and store vast amounts of data on customers, markets, and the business itself. In this course, students will learn how to predict and explain phenomena in the environment through the gathering, analyzing, interpreting, and reporting of information that makes business decision-makers more effective. The course focuses on methods of conducting business research, including data collection and sampling, measurement, hypothesis testing, basic quantitative analysis, and multivariate statistical techniques. Students will design and execute their own analysis of data in a business discipline of their choice. Excel is used extensively in the course as an analysis tool.  

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course presents tools for decomposing complex decisions into constituent parts allowing each part to be solved separately and reintegrated into the overall problem solution. Subjecting complex decisions to a formal decision analysis process provides decision-makers with much greater clarity about the true nature and risks and produces more precise estimates of the range of outcomes that each decision option may yield. Decision analysis tools are commonly used to assist decision-makers in complex decision environments, such as those with multiple quantifiable and nonquantifiable objectives, those that create, eliminate, or change options faced in subsequent decision environments, and decision options whose impacts are shaped by risk and uncertainty in current and future environments. Techniques such as decision trees and probability distributions, influence diagrams, the Simple Multi-Attribute Technique (SMART), Monte Carol simulations, Bayesian analysis scenario planning, and others will be discussed. 

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Business Research Methods (or permission of the instructor)

Data mining is the process of selecting, exploring, and modeling large amounts of data to find patterns and gain insights for making actionable knowledge. Several data mining techniques will be applied to large data sets from different business areas to support business decision-making.  This course will introduce students to data mining tools, techniques, and the various problems that can be solved using the tools and techniques. Students will learn to select appropriate analysis methods, use statistical software to apply those methods, and critically evaluate and communicate the results. 

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course examines the unique environment of healthcare and the challenges confronting managers in that environment. Topics examined include marketing healthcare services, recruiting and retaining staff necessary for meeting mission, the strategy of healthcare services delivery, healthcare informatics, and decision making in the healthcare marketplace.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

In this course, students will study human health, both national and personal, from an economic perspective. Further, students will analyze the ways in which healthcare services are demanded and supplied. Topics include: the value of health from an individual and societal perspective; the demand for physicians and other health services; the supply of healthcare; the demand for and the supply of health insurance; international comparison of healthcare expenditures; cost-benefit analyses of public policies and medical interventions; and the role of government in related healthcare markets.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course provides an overview of legal issues associated with healthcare, including HIPAA and Medicare fraud and abuse, and the regulatory and accreditation environments of Medicare, Medicaid, JCAHO, and OSHA. Ethical issues associated with the practice of medicine and decision-making in the healthcare environment are also examined.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course examines the strategic role of human resource information systems (HRIS) in the effective management of organizations, operationally and strategically. Students will examine how to determine organizational readiness and need for an HRIS and the factors that assist in the selection and evaluation of an appropriate HRIS. These concepts will be linked to HR activities such as performance management, compensation and benefits, equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, labor relations, and human resource planning, as well as enterprise computing needs. Students will gain knowledge of the process of implementing, managing, securing, and using data and information stored in electronic HRIS databases. 

Credits: 3 
Prerequisites: None

This course examines the high-priority legal issues in today’s current HR environment. Working from a basis of laws and regulations governing the employment relationship, students examine how federal and state legislation, court and administrative decisions, and regulatory processes are changing interviewing, hiring, promotion, performance assessment, termination, diversity, privacy, safety and health, and union-management relations practices in the workplace. Emphasis is placed on analyzing the impact of changes in law and regulations and determining both operational and strategic impacts of those changes on organizational practices. 

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: MGMT 561 or MGMT 555 

Various methods for acquiring the critical skills needed to produce products and services are examined in this course. In addition to the traditional staffing topics of recruiting, selecting and retaining employees and outsourcing/importing human resources to meet skill and knowledge needs will be examined. Other topics may include equal employment opportunity, human resource planning, determination of staffing needs, internal and external recruitment strategies, selection interviews, tests and assessment procedures, placement, promotion, transfer policies, and retention strategies.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course examines the goals of the organization in its employment of human resources including the use of reward systems, monetary and non-monetary, intrinsic and extrinsic, in the motivation of goal-oriented behavior as a major factor in influencing people’s actions in the workplace. The effects of reward systems on recruiting, performance, satisfaction, and tenure are examined. The course also explores pay system components such as entry position rates, job evaluation systems, merit pay plans, and employee income security systems. Legal aspects of reward systems, such as federal wage and hour laws and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, are examined. The value of healthcare benefits to organizations and employees is also discussed. 

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course is an introduction to behavioral concepts and organization best practices related to training and developing human resources. Emphasis is placed on the investigation and development of proactive strategies to align the knowledge and skills of the organization’s employees with those needed to realize the organization’s strategic goals. Learning technologies for delivering training content are explored within the context of aligning training and development strategy with organizational needs. 

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

Managers and human resources professionals must have a good understanding of performance management principles in order to coach managers in managing employee performance. This course focuses on the underlying principles of performance management and ways to intervene early to manage behavioral problems. Topics to be covered include an overview of performance management, methods for motivating staff, coaching employees, including executives, for success, establishing performance plans, and conducting performance evaluations.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course enables students to acquire the skills necessary to understand and apply the strategic concepts of supply chain management. Course topics include the elements of supply chain excellence, establishing strategic and tactical goals, establishing policies and procedures, performance and cost management including Lean & Sigma principles, strategic sourcing, supplier relationship management, inventory and transportation management, e-commerce, contract development, negotiations and management, legal issues and ethics, and strategic trends in supply chain management.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course focuses on the integration of logistic systems and the critical role these systems play in optimizing the supply chain. Topics explored in this course include inventory and warehouse management, planning and demand forecasting, process management, multi-modal transportation, and customer satisfaction. Current state of logistics, such as capacity constraints in transportation, are examined. Measuring the performance of the entire supply chain is emphasized.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course examines the use of various individual technologies and technology systems to enhance the performance of the supply chain function in organizations. Technologies examined include Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP), Material Requirements Planning (MRP), Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP), Demand Forecasting/Planning, Master Scheduling, Distribution Requirements Planning (DRP), Transportation Management Systems (TMS), and Order-Fulfillment Systems. Students will also evaluate the latest technologies in Digital Supply Chains, e-commerce, e-marketing, Blockchain, Supply chain Network Optimization and how LEAN Operational Excellence Systems eliminate waste, focus on performance measurements, and improve supply chain performance.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course presents tools for decomposing complex decisions into constituent parts allowing each part to be solved separately and reintegrated into the overall problem solution. Subjecting complex decisions to a formal decision analysis process provides decision-makers with much greater clarity about the true nature and risks and produces more precise estimates of the range of outcomes that each decision option may yield. Decision analysis tools are commonly used to assist decision-makers in complex decision environments, such as those with multiple quantifiable and nonquantifiable objectives, those that create, eliminate, or change options faced in subsequent decision environments, and decision options whose impacts are shaped by risk and uncertainty in current and future environments. Techniques such as decision trees and probability distributions, influence diagrams, the Simple Multi-Attribute Technique (SMART), Monte Carol simulations, Bayesian analysis scenario planning, and others will be discussed. 

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

Introduces project management—the administration of a temporary organization of human and material resources within a permanent organization to achieve a specific objective. Students consider both operational and conceptual issues and learn to deal with planning, implementation, control, and evaluation from an operational perspective. In the conceptual arena, students study matrix organization, project authority, motivation, and morale, and explore the differences and similarities between project and hierarchical management. Investigate cases that illustrate problems posed by project management and how they might be resolved.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

In this course, we will examine what can arguably be considered among the most relevant and substantive competencies for effective leadership currently. Competencies may include emotional intelligence, authenticity, being present, character, creativity, courage, and empathy.  Incorporating a variety of tools and techniques, such as presentations, research, essays, and outreach to industry professionals, the course gives students the opportunity to understand, assess, and develop their own capacities and effectiveness in these areas of leadership competencies. Throughout the course, reflective practice, that aligns course theoretical knowledge with student workplace experiences and builds a supportive learning community, will be emphasized.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course examines the role of managers as leaders in organizations and develops knowledge and skills needed by managers in today’s business environment to successfully achieve organizational goals. This course focuses on who leaders are and what leaders do. It is important to know what accounts for effective leadership and how one can become an effective leader. Subsequently, the course material will focus upon fundamental principles of leadership and how these principles relate to becoming an effective leader. Emphasis will be placed on self-reflection and analysis in regard to developing one’s own leadership skills.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course explores the vital relationship between business and the legal, political, and social environments, and the impact of self-regulation, market regulation, and government regulations on corporate behavior. Specific topics will include ethics and corporate social responsibility, occupational and industrial codes of conduct, antitrust problems, corporate governance, securities markets, the employee-employer relationship, employment discrimination, consumer protection, product liability, environment policy, and social and legal issues of multinational business. 

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Final semester status, or permission of instructor

This course examines innovation and organizational change from a strategic and operational perspective. Knowledge and skills related to innovation and change management are developed with an emphasis on strategy and organizational goals. Applied projects with small businesses and not-for-profit organizations allow students to apply their knowledge of innovation and change management in real-world situations.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

Good business decisions and strategies depend on drawing inferences from data. Today businesses gather and store vast amounts of data on customers, markets, and the business itself. In this course, students will learn how to predict and explain phenomena in the environment through the gathering, analyzing, interpreting, and reporting of information that makes business decision-makers more effective. The course focuses on methods of conducting business research, including data collection and sampling, measurement, hypothesis testing, basic quantitative analysis, and multivariate statistical techniques. Students will design and execute their own analysis of data in a business discipline of their choice. Excel is used extensively in the course as an analysis tool.  

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

In this course, participants explore the role of economic theory and analysis in the formation of business strategy and policy. The course examines the importance of understanding the competitive environment, including market structure, strategic interactions among competitors, and government antitrust policies, as well as economic forces internal to the firm such as costs.  The course emphasizes the importance of economic reasoning in the strategic management process.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course focuses on the strategic and tactical issues associated with managing the creation and distribution of goods and services. Concepts, techniques, and tools of process and project management are emphasized. Specific topics include operations strategy, quality management, time-based competition, and supply chain management. The application of these techniques in various settings including the industrial, service, healthcare, and not-for-profit sectors is also examined.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course focuses on the integration of both the theoretical and practical aspects of financial and investment decisions in the corporate environment. Students will learn to fully utilize accounting and financial information to make sound, ethical decisions. Topics include financial statement analysis, risk and return, capital budgeting, cost of capital, capital structure, financial decision-making under conditions of uncertainty, corporate valuation, working capital management, multinational finance, and current issues such as derivatives, bankruptcy, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and corporate governance. The legal and ethical aspects of financial management are examined within the context of the existing legal and regulatory environment. 

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

In this course, students explore the role of economic theory and analysis in the formation of business strategy and policy. The course examines the importance of understanding the competitive environment, including market structure, strategic interactions among competitors, and government antitrust policies, as well as economic forces internal to the firm such as costs.  The course emphasizes the importance of economic reasoning in the strategic management process. 

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course focuses on the role of marketing in establishing and maintaining the relationship between the organization and its internal, domestic, and global customers. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of market opportunities, customer behavior, and competitive conditions leading to the development of strategic marketing plans for building and strengthening customer relationships. Specific topics include product and service strategy, pricing, promotion, and management of channels of distribution including the role of the internet and e-commerce.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course is designed to introduce students to the variety of ways in which management accounting information is used to support an organization’s strategic objectives. The role of managerial accounting has been expanded to include collection and analysis of measures of financial performance, customer knowledge, internal business processes, and organizational learning and growth. To facilitate student comprehension and appreciation for the expanded role of managerial accounting, the following issues will be considered: the nature of costs incurred by firms and the variety of ways by which organizations account for and manage these costs; the process of evaluating the performance of firms and their business units; the rationale behind the balanced scorecard; the use of accounting information to motivate and evaluate performance.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course presents tools for decomposing complex decisions into constituent parts allowing each part to be solved separately and reintegrated into the overall problem solution. Subjecting complex decisions to a formal decision analysis process provides decision-makers with much greater clarity about the true nature and risks and produces more precise estimates of the range of outcomes that each decision option may yield. Decision analysis tools are commonly used to assist decision-makers in complex decision environments, such as those with multiple quantifiable and nonquantifiable objectives, those that create, eliminate, or change options faced in subsequent decision environments, and decision options whose impacts are shaped by risk and uncertainty in current and future environments. Techniques such as decision trees and probability distributions, influence diagrams, the Simple Multi-Attribute Technique (SMART), Monte Carol simulations, Bayesian analysis scenario planning, and others will be discussed. 

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

Introduces project management—the administration of a temporary organization of human and material resources within a permanent organization to achieve a specific objective. Students consider both operational and conceptual issues and learn to deal with planning, implementation, control, and evaluation from an operational perspective. In the conceptual arena, students study matrix organization, project authority, motivation, and morale, and explore the differences and similarities between project and hierarchical management. Investigate cases that illustrate problems posed by project management and how they might be resolved.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course is an introduction to behavioral concepts and organization best practices related to training and developing human resources. Emphasis is placed on the investigation and development of proactive strategies to align the knowledge and skills of the organization’s employees with those needed to realize the organization’s strategic goals. Learning technologies for delivering training content are explored within the context of aligning training and development strategy with organizational needs.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course focuses on the underlying principles of performance management and ways to intervene early to manage behavioral problems. Topics to be covered include an overview of performance management, methods for motivating staff, coaching employees, including executives, for success, establishing performance plans, and conducting performance evaluations.  

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

In this course, we will examine what can arguably be considered among the most relevant and substantive competencies for effective leadership currently. Competencies may include emotional intelligence, authenticity, being present, character, creativity, courage, and empathy.  Incorporating a variety of tools and techniques, such as presentations, research, essays, and outreach to industry professionals, the course gives students the opportunity to understand, assess, and develop their own capacities and effectiveness in these areas of leadership competencies. Throughout the course, reflective practice, that aligns course theoretical knowledge with student workplace experiences and builds a supportive learning community, will be emphasized.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course will examine current issues and trends of women and leadership from both societal and personal perspectives. The material will explore opportunities and challenges that exist for women in the workplace and students will examine how gender, race, class, and other factors influence leadership styles. Students will leave the course with heightened awareness and confidence to affect positive change on behalf of women in the workplace.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course examines the strategic role of human resource information systems (HRIS) in the effective management of organizations, operationally and strategically. Students will examine how to determine organizational readiness and need for an HRIS and the factors that assist in the selection and evaluation of an appropriate HRIS. These concepts will be linked to HR activities such as performance management, compensation and benefits, equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, labor relations, and human resource planning, as well as enterprise computing needs. Students will gain knowledge of the process of implementing, managing, securing, and using data and information stored in electronic HRIS databases. 

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

This course presents tools for decomposing complex decisions into constituent parts allowing each part to be solved separately and reintegrated into the overall problem solution. Subjecting complex decisions to a formal decision analysis process provides decision-makers with much greater clarity about the true nature and risks and produces more precise estimates of the range of outcomes that each decision option may yield. Decision analysis tools are commonly used to assist decision-makers in complex decision environments, such as those with multiple quantifiable and nonquantifiable objectives, those that create, eliminate, or change options faced in subsequent decision environments, and decision options whose impacts are shaped by risk and uncertainty in current and future environments. Techniques such as decision trees and probability distributions, influence diagrams, the Simple Multi-Attribute Technique (SMART), Monte Carol simulations, Bayesian analysis scenario planning, and others will be discussed. 

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: MGMT 561 or MGMT 555 

Various methods for acquiring the critical skills needed to produce products and services are examined in this course. In addition to the traditional staffing topics of recruiting, selecting and retaining employees and outsourcing/importing human resources to meet skill and knowledge needs will be examined. Other topics may include equal employment opportunity, human resource planning, determination of staffing needs, internal and external recruitment strategies, selection interviews, tests and assessment procedures, placement, promotion, transfer policies, and retention strategies.