Leadership and Organizational Behavior (LOB) Courses

Fall (10 weeks)

ENGLISH 205
Writing Seminar: Business Communication Fulfills writing requirement for graduation.
This course is designed for students who have experience with college-level writing but who want to sharpen their writing and communication skills. Students learn to apply measures of excellence in business writing; relate new writing and communication strategies to business environments; identify current and potential professional challenges; devise a plan and write documents that address those challenges; work with colleagues, gaining experience writing in collaborative environments; develop and to select writing and communication strategies integral to both academic and professional development.

ORG BEH 307
Leadership Principles and Practice
Effective leadership requires knowledge and self-reflection, as well as strategic action. Such leadership should be grounded in the knowledge of foundational theories of leadership, including transformational, behavioral, situational, and contingency models, and the study of individual leaders and organizational contexts of leadership. The goal of the course is to help students define their own vision of leadership, to experience "leadership moments", identify personal aspects of leadership, and recognize that to be an effective leader in the workplace one must know how to motivate and empower people, foster relationships, and influence outcomes. Case studies and structured simulations are used to provide opportunities to "try on" various leadership roles and take strategic action.

Winter (10 weeks)

ORG BEH 301
Organization Behavior
The interaction of individuals in formal organizations; theory and research integrated with cases and exercises to develop an understanding of the dynamics of motivation, communication, group decision making, leadership, intergroup relations, power, and conflict. Students are encouraged to apply this knowledge to managing relationships with superiors, subordinates, and colleagues in their own work settings.

ORG BEH 311
Conflict Resolution
In this course, students achieve a working knowledge of conflict theory and its application to negotiations; learn about their own conflict resolution style, understand how group membership can impact conflict.

Spring (10 weeks)

COMM ST 360
Theories of Organizational Communication
This course examines theories and research dealing with communication in formal organizations and institutions. Various models of organizational communication are introduced, as well as historical and current research in the field. Students learn to analyze and integrate theory and research and apply what they learn to current organizations.

STAT 202
Introduction to Statistics
This course covers data collection and summarization, random variables, correlation, regression, probability, sampling, estimation, tests of significance, and two-sample comparisons. Does not require calculus and makes minimal use of formal mathematics. Examples are taken from newspapers and other real-world sources. Familiarity with Microsoft Excel is recommended. The computer is used as a tool to enhance students' ability to analyze and interpret data collected.

Summer (6 weeks)

Two 6 week courses:

COMM ST 250
Team Leadership and Decision Making
This course examines theories and research relating to the various processes by which leaders make decisions, affect group behavior, and engage groups in a variety of task- and strategy-related outcomes. Group communication is stressed, with a particular emphasis on change and conflict.

PSYCH 204
Social Psychology
This course examines psychological processes in social behavior, including thinking about and interacting with other people and groups, as well as the effects of social and cognitive processes on the ways individuals perceive, influence, and relate to others. Topics include person perception, the self, prejudice and stereotyping, social identity, attitudes and attitude change, conformity, interpersonal attraction, altruism, aggression, group processes.

Late summer intensive course offered on consecutive Saturdays starting at the end of August (students who have taken these courses previously can apply for a course substitution):

COMM ST 205
Theories of Persuasion
This course surveys major theories that explain how to change another person's attitudes and behaviors. Applications to persuasion within a variety of contexts are covered, including relationships, organizations, legal campaigns, and mass culture.

Year 2

Year two builds on the foundational courses to provide advanced study.

Fall (10 weeks)

ORG BEH 309
Human Resource Management
This course explores the human resource department and its relationships with other departments, employees, unions, and the government. Topics include selection/placement systems, compensation planning, collective bargaining, training, affirmative action, counseling, personnel research, sexual harassment, equal worth, termination at will, employee assistance programs, and corporate cultures. Emphasis is placed on student participation and case studies.

ORG BEH 321
Employment Law
This course reviews policy, procedural guidelines, and supervisory practices relating to hiring, promotion, compensation, discharge, employment-at-will, and affirmative-action issues. Anticipation and prevention of discrimination complaints with respect to race, sex, sexual harassment, national origin, age, religion, and disability are covered. Class discussion includes case analysis of enforcement of state and federal job discrimination laws and regulations.

Winter (10 weeks)

ACCOUNT 201
Introduction to Financial Accounting
Introduction to the techniques of accounting and the accounting profession with an emphasis on organizing information for decision making and the information needs of creditors and equity holders. Topics include financial statements, transaction analysis, accrual accounting, cash management, inventories, receivables, long-term and intangible assets, liabilities, stockholders' equity, cash flow statements, and financial statement analysis.

ORG BEH 310
Organizational Change
This course is an in-depth investigation of the forces driving organizational change and their impact on people and structure. Today's emphasis on quality, service, and efficiency has created great urgency for change that runs counter to other factors (e.g., a mobile labor force, uninspired leadership, and intense global economic pressures). The byproduct is often cynicism, self-preservation, and confusion--ingredients for disaster. Yet some organizations thrive; this course examines why, and explores change drivers and dynamics across organizational settings and situations ranging from major corporate mergers to not-for-profit politics.

Spring (10 weeks)

FINANCE 202
Introduction to Finance
An introductory course covering the basic concepts and models used in finance. Explores the mathematics and spreadsheet modeling techniques used in evaluating various financial assets, including stocks and bonds. Also surveys the risk-return tradeoff in financial markets and how investors gauge risk, as well as the basic concepts of Markowitz's mean-variance portfolio theory. The nature and impact of interest-rate risk on financial institutions is considered, and the duration of a financial asset is introduced in this context. Introduces the efficient market hypothesis and its implications for personal investing and corporate finance.

ORG BEH 391
Topics in Management: Global Leadership
Leadership of global organizations requires understanding, appreciating and managing the impact of culture and the interplay of cultural patterns in everyday interactions. To be successful, leaders must be able to interpret complex cultural contexts and develop intercultural competence, not only in themselves but in the people they lead and the other organizations they work with. This course is designed to help students identify and explore the essential elements of a global mindset. Students examine the leadership styles of 21st century global leaders as they work collaboratively in teams to develop a unified construct of effective global leadership.

Summer (6 weeks)

SOCIOL 226
Sociological Analysis
This course explores the logic and methods of social research, qualitative and quantitative analysis of social data, and ethical, political, and policy issues in social research, and provides foundation for further work in social research.

SOCIOL 302
Sociology of Organizations
This course examines the structure and function of formal organizations, especially in business and government. Topics include stratification, social control, conflict, discretion, rules, information in achieving goals, and modes of participation.

Late summer intensive course offered on consecutive Saturdays starting at the end of August (students who have taken these courses previously can apply for a course substitution):

CIS 350
Strategic Information Systems
This course examines current issues, themes, and research related to the strategic use of information systems in organizations at a high level. It focuses on the use of information and information technology for competitive advantage in businesses, organizations, and nonprofits. The management of information as a resource and information systems planning and its relationship to strategic planning are discussed. Cases are used to illustrate the use of information systems to gain a competitive edge. Both successful and failed IT systems and projects, past and present, are studied. Topics include the use of strategic information systems for competition, business-IT alignment, global IT issues and outsourcing, knowledge management, and strategic information systems investment and evaluation.

Year 3

Fall (10 weeks)

Year 3 extends learning about leadership to the humanities, as students have a chance to weigh ethical issues and study leadership through great literature.

ENGLISH 385
Topics in Combined Studies: Literature and Leadership
This course explores a variety of texts in which leaders are pushed to psychological, moral and political limits. Via literature-from ancient Greek texts, to Renaissance drama, to modern fiction-students enter into the community of readers that began more than two-and-a-half millennia ago and take another step along the path toward becoming truly educated leaders. Meets literature course requirement for graduation.

PHIL 390
Special Topics in Philosophy: Business Ethics
This course examines, from a philosophical perspective, a variety of ethical issues relating to contemporary business. Types of questions asked in the course include: Should corporations be viewed solely as profit-making entities? What is the appropriate regulatory response to recent corporate scandals? What obligations do corporations have when they market their products? How should corporations be evaluated when it comes to broader issues of social and economic justice, such as CEO compensation, health care coverage, and income disparities? What is the impact of the increasing globalization of corporations on these topics?