Undergraduate Business Courses

Business Course Listings

Introduction to the Profession Introduction to Business as a profession. Topics include the role of business in our society, career opportunities in business, the interface between business and technology, business ethics, and communication skills. (1-2-2) (C) (E) Business Basics This course will provide a basic introduction to accounting and marketing principles, two of the core business skills that every entrepreneur, engineer or scientist involved with new product introduction needs. It is intended for engineering, science and architecture students who are not taking a business minor. This course would not count towards a business degree or business minor. (3-0-3) Financial and Managerial Accounting Basic financial and managerial accounting topics: GAAP, the major financial statements, accrual accounting, financial reporting alternatives, financial statement analysis, cost behavior, cost systems, short and long term decision-making and product costing. (3-0-3) Formerly Accounting 151. Offered in fall and spring. Financial Accounting and External Reporting Introduces the three major financial statements: the Balance Sheet, the Income Statement, and the Statement of Cash Flows. The course emphasizes the difference between cash flows and income. Emphasis is placed on understanding financial statements and the procedures underlying them rather than on the preparation of such statements. Accounting software will be used to facilitate the preparation of statements. (3-0-3) (E) Managerial Accounting and Control Prerequisites: BUS 211. The sequel to BUS 211, this course concentrates on the uses of accounting information within an enterprise for the following purposes: product costing; short-term and long-term decision-making; budgeting; control of operations; and performance evaluation. The major topical areas covered are cost-volume-profit relationships, relevant costs, cash flow forecasts, flexible budgets and standard costs. (3-0-3) Statistics for Managerial Decision Making Introduction to probability concepts; descriptive statistics; probability distributions (binomial, Poisson, normal and t) and their applications. Statistical inference (confidence intervals, hypothesis testing and sample size determination); simple regression and correlation. (3-0-3) Theory of Organization and Management Introduction to the theory and practice of management; includes basic managerial functions: planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Communication, motivation and decision-making techniques are stressed. Also covered are organization structure and design, the dynamics of individual and group interaction, organization climate, managerial styles, the implication of increasing work force diversity, coping with conflict, and methods for achieving organizational improvement. Issues in international business are dealt with at relevant points. Formerly MGT 351. (3-0-3) (C) (E) Operations Management Operational problems studied from a systems viewpoint. Development and application of policies, techniques and models for making decisions in the areas of product and service design, design of operating systems, production and control of the product or service. Formerly OM 312. (3-0-3) Strategic Cost Management Prerequisites: BUS 212 and BUS 221. Corequisites: BUS 351. Explores the uses and limitations of accounting information as an integral part of a manager's decision process. BUS 311 goes beyond BUS 211 and 212 by integrating economics, finance, and statistics among other disciplines in the consideration of actual business cases. Some of the topics included will be cost estimation, activity-based costing, quality control, transfer pricing, and divisional performance evaluation. (3-0-3) Management Science Introduction to the use of mathematical models in the solution of business problems. Linear programming, Network analysis and simulation, Analysis of waiting lines. (3-0-3) Introduction to Business Law Legal implications of business transactions are studied. Specific topics include: the nature of law and its place in society, especially in relation to business; contracts and property law studied by the case method; formation and operation of contracts; their significance to the economic order. (3-0-3) (C) (E) Employee Rights and Legal Protections Prerequisites: BUS 341 This course will focus primarily on the principal policies governing the individual employment relationship, examine the development of the employment contract and protectable legal interests in the employment relationship. employment handbooks and policy manuals including Best Practices lawful policies and procedures and maintaining personnel records will be addressed. Hiring, firing, disciplining and investigating employee complaints will be analyzed. Specific attention will also be given to regulation of pay and hours, recent "Whistle Blower" laws, and alternatives to litigation under alternative dispute resolution procedures. (3-0-3) Financial Management and Decision Making Prerequisites: BUS 212, BUS 221 Provides an introduction to financial management principles that are useful for individuals as well as firms. The three major areas covered are: capital budgeting; capital structure; and the management of working capital. Time will be spent on understanding discounted cash flow methods, valuing debt and equity securities, the capital asset pricing model, risk and return tradeoffs, equity versus debt tradeoffs, and derivative securities. (3-0-3) Introduction to Entrepreneurship The course will examine how social, psychological, and economic factors influence and shape entrepreneurship and new venture formation. Students will explore the impact of entrepreneurship and new venture formation on society. This includes an investigation into the contributions that entrepreneurs make to both social and economic systems. Insights into what it is like to work in an entrepreneurial organization including the dynamics and challenges associated with new venture formation and start-up are investigated. The characteristics and attributes of successful entrepreneurial companies will be discussed. This includes comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences between entrepreneurial led small and medium enterprises (SMEs),closely held and family businesses, and public corporations. Formerly MGT 360. (3-0-3) (C) (E) Creativity and Inventions for Entrepreneurs Students learn to brainstorm for patentable, feasible ideas and then put them through the initial development stages, including: project workup, patent searches, prototyping, market research, design interaction, and financial projections. The course involves frequent presentations and reports, including: first prototype, second prototype, project proposal, patent description and claims and business plans. (3-0-3). Introduction to Marketing Introduction to the activities and decisions faced by marketing managers in modern organizations. Topics include: consumer and organizational buying behavior, marketing research, market segmentation, new product development, product line decisions, pricing channels, distribution, promotion, international marketing and introduction to marketing strategic planning. (3-0-3) Formerly MKT 371. (C) (E) Understanding Cultures This course will familiarize and sensitize students to issues of intercultural perception and communication, with particular attention to the workplace and business world. (3-0-3). A series of speakers will be brought in to broaden the perspective of Business majors. Leadership Seminar Prerequisites: BUS 301 Business students will participate in the seminars offered by the Leadership Academy. 40 hours of participation are required. A sampling of potential topics include: executive communication, change management, leveraging diversity, and strategic decision-making. (2-0-1) (E) Management Information Systems Prerequisites: CS 105 or CS 115. Application of information systems to improve business strategy and performance, includes functional capabilities of hardware and software, system development and successful implementation, case studies and software exercises. (3-0-3) Employee Rights and Legal Protections Prerequisites: BUS 341 This course will focus primarily on the principal policies governing the individual employment relationship, examine the development of the employment contract and protectable legal interests in the employment relationship. employment handbooks and policy manuals including Best Practices lawful policies and procedures and maintaining personnel records will be addressed. Hiring, firing, disciplining and investigating employee complaints will be analyzed. Specific attention will also be given to regulation of pay and hours, recent "Whistle Blower" laws, and alternatives to litigation under alternative dispute resolution procedures. (3-0-3) Prerequisites: BUS 351 International finance is a combination of macroeconomies and finance. The course covers macroeconomic models of exchange rate and interest rate determination and it also covers the participants and instruments that trade in the foreign exchange market. By the end of the course, participants should be able to construct portfolios and analyse the risk of their positions. New Product Development Prerequisites: BUS 371 This course offers students a solid grounding in the theory and practice of new product development. Using a combination of theory-based lecture, hands-on exercises and assignments and discussion, students will develop skills across the entire product development process--from opportunity identification through product launch. (3-0-3). Marketing Management Prerequisites: BUS 371. The Marketing Management course is designed to provide students with an overview of the decision making process in marketing. Marketing decision-making is a process that is essentially wrapped around the fundamental goal of creating value in the marketplace. This requires a professional knowledge of market drivers, competitors' capabilities, technological trends and the market dynamics of value. The orientation is toward the kinds of marketing decisions that managers must make within the modern business environment. A primary goal of this course is to provide a thorough understanding of the rapidly changing business environment and the various stakeholders that influence the marketing management function. (3-0-3). Business Strategy Prerequisites: 40 Credit hours in management, economics, and management, senior standing or consent of instructor. This course is the integration and application of the knowledge and skills learned in the foundation, tools and concepts, and functional field component of the undergraduate management core. (3-0-3) (C) (E) Independent Study In Business Prerequisites: Permission of the Instructor Independent study in Business as designed to provide the student with an option to study a specific area of Business in more depth than is offered in the curriculum. For example, a student could expand upon subject matter contained in the existing curriculum, or the student could explore an area of business not currently in the curriculum. In ether event, the student, the instructor and the student's advisor must agree upon a plan of study prior to enrolling in the course. Variable credit (1.0 - 4.0)