BUS - Business Course Descriptions
Familiarizes the beginning business student with the organization, structure, and operations of the various forms of business enterprise along with problems of planning, controlling, and integrating the major functions of business.
Offers the student a general understanding of marketing concepts as related to our economic system and market environment. Emphasis is placed upon principles, trends, and applications in decision making activities.
Is a survey of business law. Topics included are an introduction to law, torts, criminal law, contracts, sales, real and personal property, ownership and transfer, bailments, and insurance.
Is a survey of business law. Topics include agency, partnership, commercial paper, negotiable instruments, business organizations, corporations, bankruptcy, suretyship, and governmental regulations.
Presents the range of skills, methods, and tools deployed in planning, monitoring, analysis, using statistics, data mining and business modeling, exploring data, and the results of analysis and communication of business problems and solutions. Emphasis is on a problem-solution format to explore data analysis options and to cover best practices for delivering solutions in Excel. Students will learn to perform in-depth data analysis via pivot tables and reports, use data visualization to present data and tell impactful stories to audiences, scale to massive data volumes, and deliver analytical insights to organizations.
Is an introduction to the field of international business. It will provide an overview of the interrelationships of global business operations and provide the general framework of international business including the cultural, political, social, legal, and economic aspects of conducting business on a global scale.
Examines the main concerns in personnel administration, sound personnel policies, and procedures. Among the topics presented are the personnel management system, meeting human resources requirements, developing effectiveness in human resources, creating a productive work environment, and providing compensation and security.
Junior standing
Presents the development of the union movement; the relationship between management and unions and their varying approaches to collective bargaining; the issues in collective bargaining; public policy toward labor relations; administration and interpretation of union contracts; and the settlement of labor disputes.
Investigates the basic functions of management (planning, organizing, directing, and controlling) to provide a comprehensive familiarity with managerial literature, style, principles, and practices. It also encompasses evaluation of line, functional and line, and staff organizations, along with traditional and contemporary perspectives of management functions with emphasis on the systems approach.
Notes
Additional course fee applies.
Junior standing
Employs a mathematical and statistical approach to prototype decisions in business and economics. This provides a conceptual understanding of the role management science plays in the decision-making process. Resource allocation, queuing, competitive situations, and scheduling are considered. Some quantitative methodologies studied are linear and other mathematical programming, decision theory, and Markov analysis.
Details basic principles underlying all types of selling and negotiating, together with the practical application of these principles. Principles and practices in planning, organizing, and controlling a sales force are also studied.
Analyzes basic understanding of buyer decision-making processes and psychological, sociological, and cultural factors that influence these processes. This provides a basis for marketing decisions leading to buyer satisfaction.
Examines the field of marketing communications, with emphasis on optimal decision making by marketing managers related to problem-solving situations in advertising, public relations, branding, promotions, incentives, and social media.
Seeks to enhance the student experience in the semester abroad by facilitating informed cultural awareness, enhancing appreciation of European business practices, and advancing student engagement with faculty and professionals in European businesses and governmental agencies.
Explores the macroeconomics of the global business environment, examines the factors affecting capital accumulation and economic growth and development, and considers international balance of payments, the effect that national business cycles have on international business relationships, currency exchange rate movements and their effect on international consumption, investment and unemployment rates.
Addresses who is a European and looks at both past and current cultural crises and fears. The course emphasizes sensitivity to ethnic differences and promotes leadership in creating a cultural synergy and development of best practices for managing diversity in the global work culture.
Focuses on strategies for motivating, leading, and communicating with people across different countries and cultures. The course emphasizes a global perspective on hiring, training and developing employees, dealing with international labor unions, and building an effective global workforce.
Junior standing
Is a work-experience opportunity with the purpose of expanding education by applying accumulated knowledge in business administration. The availability of internships is limited to upper-level students, normally juniors and seniors with a 3.0 quality point average. Students are approved individually by the academic department. A contract can be obtained from the Career Services Office. Internships count as general electives.
Business senior standing and permission of chairman. Internships must be preapproved.
Seeks to provide an understanding of those managerial concepts and quantitative tools required in the design, operation, and control of production systems. Management, capacities, layouts, project control, job design, performance standards, forecasting, inventory, quality, and approaches to change are considered.
Focuses on the principles and practices of financing the corporate form of business. Students will learn how to analyze corporate financial needs and gain an understanding of the methods of capital formation.
Is an introductory course dealing with financial securities, investment principles, operation of securities markets, and the selection process for various investments. The purpose of the course, in the context of portfolio management, is to give students insight into the suitability of financial securities and basic evaluative techniques.
Junior standing
Is a study of techniques involved in the gathering, recording, and interpretation of accounting and statistical data used in the solution of internal management problems. The use of cost data and the interpretation of cost reports, measurement of managerial control, establishment of operating and financial standards, and construction, analysis, and interpretations of reports are analyzed.
Explores the relationship between the business firm and its social responsibilities to both the public and private sectors. Among the concerns presented are strategic management and social responsiveness, human investment, consumer welfare, ecology, corporate governances, and multi nationals.
Senior standing
Is an introduction to research methods and applications. Techniques involved in collection, tabulation, and analysis of marketing information are presented.
Examines the fundamental principles of government finance. This course examines four central questions: (1) When should government intervene in the economy, (2) How might government intervene, (3) What is the effect of interventions, and (4) Why do governments choose to intervene in the ways that they do?
Examines the basic principles of retail store management, sales promotion, store location, selection and training of personnel, handling of merchandise, budgeting, control, and selling techniques.
Presents an overview of issues encountered by enterprises as they establish and maintain linkups with end users of their products and services. Screening international marketing opportunities, analyzing buyers in different cultural and political contexts, conducting research, and sustaining flows of product, two-way information, and customer service are crucial in today's global marketing environment. Strategies, control relationships, and key functions performed are considered.
To succeed, managers must develop the resources and capabilities needed to gain and sustain advantage in competitive markets. This course introduces the concept of strategic management through case analyses and considers the basic direction and goals of an organization, the environment (social, political, technological, economic and global factors), industry and market structure, and organizational strengths and weaknesses. The emphasis is on the development and successful implementation of strategy in different types of firms across industries. This capstone course requires development of a strategic plan as a demonstration of mastery.
Notes
Additional course fee applies.
Senior standing
Continues the study of capital formation with an emphasis on management problems related to corporate structure, cost of capital, and short-term financial planning and management, including cash, liquidity, credit, and inventory management.
In this course, finance students consider in depth a specific topic or area of finance such as portfolio analysis, options and futures markets, financial policy, cost control and analysis, financial reporting issues, principles of insurance, or other current financial problems/topics. This course can be taken more than once since its content will vary.
Permission of department
Is required of all students majoring in business administration. Guidance and supervision on individual research work will be provided by members of the department. For a description of the economics courses, see the catalog section designated for economics.