Business Major Courses

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

Description: Covers the preparation, analysis, and use of corporate financial statements; asset and liability valuation and income determination; receivables, inventories, present values, tangible and intangible fixed assets, bonds, leases, shareholder equity, intercorporate investments, consolidations and cash flow accounting.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

Description: Introduces the psychological and sociological processes underlying human behavior in organizational settings (e.g., companies, schools, sports clubs). Topics include motivation, decision making, principles of fairness and justice, cross-cultural differences, working in teams, and tactics of influence.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: (BUSI 395 OR STAT 280 OR STAT 305 OR STAT 310 OR STAT 312 OR STAT 315 OR DSCI 301 OR ECON 307 OR POLI 395 OR PSYC 339 OR SOSC 302) AND (ECON 100 OR ECON 200) AND BUSI 305 

Description: Develops the core concepts of corporate financial management and introduces a set of analytical tools to evaluate financial decisions. Employs concepts of time value of money, risk and return, and market efficiency to examine how capital market investors value risky assets. Develops a framework for evaluating corporate investment and financing decisions. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for BUSI 343 if student has credit for ECON 343.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: (BUSI 395 OR STAT 305 OR STAT 310 OR STAT 312 OR STAT 315 OR DSCI 301 OR ECON 307)

Description: An introduction to the design and integration of successful operations procedures both within the organization and across the supply chain. The course focuses on understanding, managing and improving processes and flows of products, customers, and information. Covering measurable techniques to deal with bottlenecks, inventory, queues, quality management, and some strategic issues in operations.

Recommended Prerequisite(s): BUSI 305 AND (ECON 100 or ECON 200)

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: May not be enrolled in the following class: Freshman

Prerequisites: (BUSI 395 OR STAT 280 OR STAT 305 OR STAT 310 OR STAT 312 OR STAT 315 OR DSCI 301 OR ECON 307 OR POLI 395 OR PSYC 339 OR SOSC 302) AND (ECON 100 OR ECON 200)

Description: Introduces the role of marketing in organizations and the principal marketing decisions facing management. Topics include marketing planning and strategy; segmentation and targeting; understanding customer buying behavior; behavioral economics; development and management of products and services; branding; channels of distribution; sales; digital marketing, advertising and promotional methods; pricing strategy; and the development of integrated marketing strategies.

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: May not be enrolled in the following class: Freshman

Prerequisites: BUSI 305

Description: Examines the strategic management of businesses in market and non-market environments. Key topics include competitive and industry analysis, strategy formulation and implementation, and strategic planning. Case discussions of real companies are combined with readings.

Recommended Prerequisite(s): ECON 100 or ECON 200

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: BUSI 305 and BUSI 310

Provides an introduction to business, focusing on the strategy and practice of effective communications in business situations. The course includes individual communication skills assessment and development as well as team-based oral and written communication instruction.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: (BUSI 395 OR STAT 305 OR STAT 310 OR STAT 312 OR STAT 315 OR DSCI 301 OR ECON 307) AND (ECON 100 OR ECON 200) AND BUSI 305

Description: This course emphasizes the use of accounting information internally for business management as opposed to the external reporting emphasis of financial accounting. Specifically, the course covers the design of decision support systems to aid planning and control in different types of organizations. It integrates accounting with ideas from data analysis, microeconomics and operations management. Among the topics covered are the use of cost information for short- and long-term decision making, cost-volume-profit analysis, budgetary control, cost allocation, capital budgeting and responsibility accounting.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites: (MATH 102 OR MATH 106) AND (ECON 100 OR MATH 212)

Intermediate level analysis of theories of household behavior, including demand for consumer goods, labor supply, and savings/investment decisions, and producer behavior including the supply of output and demands for labor, capital and other production inputs. Emphasizes individual and interactive decision making under resource constraints and discusses equilibria in competitive markets. Cross-list: ECON 200. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for ECON 200 if student has credit for ECON 301.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites: (BUSI 395 OR STAT 305 OR STAT 310 OR STAT 312 OR STAT 315 OR DSCI 301 OR ECON 307) AND BUSI 343

Description: Understand how to use information from financial statements to evaluate corporate performance, risk, earnings management, and valuation. The course focuses on determining the quality of financial reporting and the implications for performance measurement and forecasting, along with utilizing this information in conjunction with systematic ratio analysis to examine questions concerning valuation. The course is primarily case based involving the evaluation of actual financial statements and real-world investment decisions. Includes a communications lab.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites: (BUSI 395 OR STAT 305 OR STAT 310 OR STAT 312 OR STAT 315 OR DSCI 301 OR ECON 307) AND BUSI 343

Description: In-depth analysis of corporate financial decision making. Focuses on the project selection and financing decisions of corporations. Emphasizes project valuation methods and how valuation is impacted by financial policy choices. Provides a mixture of both the theoretical framework for these decisions and practical applications. Integrates financial modeling techniques for making corporate investment decisions. Includes a communications lab.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: (BUSI 395 OR STAT 305 OR STAT 310 OR STAT 312 OR STAT 315 OR DSCI 301 OR ECON 307) AND BUSI 343

Description: Overview of financial asset classes and instruments, including equity, fixed income, and derivative securities. Develops a theoretical and practical understanding of modern portfolio theory, with an emphasis on measuring and managing investment risk and return. Introduces advanced asset pricing models and their role in understanding risk and return.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: (BUSI 395 OR STAT 305 OR STAT 310 OR STAT 312 OR STAT 315 OR DSCI 301 OR ECON 307) AND BUSI 343

Description: In-depth analysis of derivative securities, including forward, futures, option and swap contracts. Develops theoretical understanding of no-arbitrage pricing principles underlying derivative valuation as well as derivatives’ role in hedging and risk management. Explores practical modeling techniques for derivative valuation.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites: BUSI 310

Description: Leadership is essential for organizational effectiveness, and in the modern workplace, work is primarily completed by teams. Thus, it is essential that students learn how to effectively lead and work within teams. This course will teach students leadership attributes, behaviors, relationships between leaders and team members, and leading effective teams through team composition, development and management of team processes. A variety of teaching techniques including lectures, case analysis and experiential exercises will be used to help students understand and internalize scientifically-proven knowledge. Includes a communications lab.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: BUSI 310

Description: A manager’s primary purpose is to use power to influence subordinates and create an effective organization. This course will teach students how to build power, how to influence people, and how to use power and influence to initiate and manage organizational change. The course will introduce a framework for organizational changes and teach students how to enhance their personal competencies in the context of managing organizational change. A variety of teaching techniques including lectures, case analysis and experiential exercises will be used to help students understand and internalize scientifically-proven knowledge.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: BUSI 310

Description: Successful managers and professionals possess effective negotiation and decision-making skills. This course teaches students how to formulate effective negotiation strategies, how to resolve conflict by engaging in negotiation, how to identify commonly seen biases and errors in negotiation and decision-making, how to deal with uncertainty in negotiation and decision-making, and how to overcome potential biases and errors in negotiation, judgment and decision-making. A variety of teaching techniques including lectures, case analysis and experiential exercises will be used to help students understand and internalize scientifically-proven knowledge.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites: (BUSI 395 OR STAT 305 OR STAT 310 OR STAT 312 OR STAT 315 OR DSCI 301 OR ECON 307) AND BUSI 310 AND BUSI 343 AND BUSI 380 AND BUSI 390

Description: This course builds upon and extends the foundational strategy concepts covered in the core Strategic Management course. We will examine how companies can achieve a competitive advantage through innovation, geographic or product market expansion, and expansion into new businesses through diversification or vertical integration. Since companies pursue these opportunities not only through organic means, but also increasingly through mergers or acquisitions, the course will also examine the benefits and challenges associated with these alternate modes and how to manage them effectively. The course will conclude by studying the process by which companies develop their strategy as well the actions they need to take in order to execute that strategy to achieve the desired results. Includes a communications lab.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: BUSI 390

Description: External stakeholders, ethical concerns and sustainability issues increasingly pressure executives to address the social and environmental impact of their companies’ operations. As a result, an organization’s success does not only depend on its strategic repertoire within a given market, but also on its non-market strategies. By proactively engaging with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the media, governments and other external stakeholders, firms can shape their non-market environment to simultaneously achieve a competitive advantage and to enhance their positive social impact. The goal of this course is to provide you with analytical tools that help managers assess a firm’s broader environment and make decisions that are beneficial for the firm and for society at large.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: BUSI 390

Description: Innovation is a critical aspect of a firm’s strategy to achieve competitive advantage and enhanced performance. However, the management of innovation is inherently difficult and risky in technology industries where customer demand and preferences change quickly and technological changes are highly unpredictable. This course focuses on the management of innovation and growth from the perspective of both large companies and small. We will examine issues such as: what different types of innovation can firms pursue and what types of innovation are a more durable source of advantage; what are the obstacles to innovation in firms, and how can they build an organizational level innovation capability; how can firms deal with market and technological uncertainty through open innovation; how does disruptive innovation happen and how can it be managed; and how to formulate successful strategies in platform businesses dominated by network effects.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: BUSI 380

Description: This course relates marketing activities to some of the key strategic business decisions: choosing customers, defining and creating value, delivering and appropriating value, and sustaining value against competitors and over time. To do so, the course builds on concepts and topics from the marketing core course (e.g., segmentation, targeting, positioning, brand management, product life cycle management, pricing and channel design) and cast them in a broader strategic business context. We use these marketing concepts in an integrated fashion as the firm’s main tools to design profitable long-term interactions with its customers and competitors.