Applied Studies

The purpose of the team building course is to form the cohort into a team that will be supportive of each other. This course provides an examination of team processess,structure, and behavior in organizations. The module places special emphasis on problem solving in-groups, consensus building and using effective team processes and skill development. Students learn decision-making theory and apply those theories as they study the decision- making process. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the module addresses psychological, sociological, political and management approaches to decision- making. The course also focuses on tools used to enhance decision making including cost benefit analysis, responsibility charting and force filed analysis.

It is the purpose of this course to introduce students to the fundamental software application skills required to be productive in today's business world. This course provides the critical skills necessary to evaluate and determine useful quality information for decision- making in an organization. Topics such as problem solving, search strategies for research queries, how to identify good quality information, data collection and analysis, and finally effective communication of results will be discussed. Emphasis will be on formatting works cited, and creating charts and graphs and professional PowerPoint presentations.

The course is designed to teach the student how to work and manage diverse groups of people in complex organizations. This course looks at traditional and current philosophies of management, theories of motivation and empowerment, job design, contemporary management theories and recent trends in management. Also the focus will be on external capital sources and processes of financing, accounting principles, short and long term financing, and capital budgeting. It is an introduction to the concepts and the problems associated with management of capital.

This course examines macro organizational behavior concepts like organizational learning, strategy, structure and design, change management and the role of business and society to the LEAD lexicon. This course will explore, dissect, and distinguish various approaches to employing these concepts as tools to enhance organizational performance. In so doing, we will examine the works of contemporary business writers such as Peter Drucker, Warren Bennis, Jay Conger, Henry Mintzberg, Noel Tichy, Charles Manz, and Peter Senge to name a few.

The business ethics portion of this course provides students with an ethical framework they can apply in the workplace. Students are confronted with ethical issues and taught to resolve them in the organizational context. In addition, students are taught how an individual and an organization can be socially responsible. The leadership portion of this course engages the student in an active exploration of leadership-what is it, and how one develops this trait. To do this, the course emphasizes self-examination and application of leadership concepts as well as surveying various approaches to leadership development and theory.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to theories and practices of effective interpersonal communication and public speaking relevant to organizational settings. Students study theory so that they have an understanding of why communication is central to achieving organizational goals, and why ethical communication is necessary to long-term organizational success. Students learn to apply theory by developing skills in listening, assessing organizational "audience" and barriers to communication, and by researching and giving presentations on social support, networking, and managing conflict. A segment of this course will also address the importance of communicating the change process in an organization. Students will study various approaches to announcing change and implenting change within an organization.

Within the Research portion of this course, the student will learn how to develop a survey. The survey must provide solutions to a problem and collect participants' ideas and opinions are the subject. This survey will be distributed and results tabulated and discussed within the remaining courses of this program.

The purpose of the global thinking course is to introduce the LEAD student to methods and implications of thinking on a global level. Multiculturalism will be a major component. The impact of different political systems will be briefly addressed, primarily in the context of how global politics affects business. Finally, the course will address how a business can thrive in a global economy and avoid problems unique to operating management of technology. The increasing recognition of its strategic, competitive value emphasizes the business importance of rethinking IT management.

The effective management of human resources is a key requirement for managers in any organization. This course concentrates on legal aspects of managing human resources in an organization. It covers laws that govern employee discrimination, safety and health, family and medical leave issues and termination. In addition, employee job performance measurement and compensation topics are addressed. This course concentrates on the relationship among employers, employees and unions in the private sector. It covers labor history and basic labor law, union organizing and union avoidance, collective bargaining, and contract administration, including labor arbitration.

LEADERSHIP MAJORS ONLY. This course provides the critical skills necessary to evaluate and determine useful information for decision- making in an organization. The student will have an opportunity to study expert's research. We will explore problem solving, search strategies for research queries, how to identify good qualify information, data collection and analysis, and finally effective communication of the results.

The Capstone Project will replace current Research Project and should be introduced early in the program and be an ongoing assignment for the cohort. Perhaps, a chapter of an overall paper will be generated after each module, along with the module assignment.

The student will notice that this assignment of this course is spread out over a period of nearly 9 months to do the actual research for the project.