MANAGEMENT

ANALYSIS & DESIGN OF ORGANIZATIONS MGT5172
(ANALYSIS/DESIGN OF ORGAN)

The course presents various theories of organizational designs in a behavioral approach to organizational effectiveness. Topics include diagrammatic representations of systems, organizational typology, expectancy theory of motivation, and the causal-effect relationships that exist within the organization.

CAVEAT: No graduate credit will be awarded if MGT3172 has been successfully completed.
PREREQUISITE: Management principles course or the equivalent.

UPON COMPLETION OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE COMPETENT IN:
• Synthesizing the implications of “theory” for organizational design.
• Evaluating leading organizational theories in terms of basic tenets and implications for organizational structure and processes.
• Formulating an organizational design model.
• Designing a diagrammatic representation of a systems approach to organizational design.
• Assessing the relationship between various organizational designs and the selection of information processing systems.
• Investigating the similarities and differences among goals at various levels of the organization.
• Executing a strategy for managing interdepartmental goal conflict.
• Reviewing the processes of integrating individual and organizational goals for exchange, socialization, process and accommodation.
• Ascertaining the future merit of MBO programs as a methodology for structuring work and measuring performance.
• Defining and reconciling the types and critical dimensions of contemporary organizational environments, including the effects of joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions.
• Planning organizational strategies for managing boundary personnel.
• Classifying organizational typology and specifying ways in which it affects organizational effectiveness and climate.
• Investigating the causal-effect relationships that exist between values of organizational members and the organizational structure and technology.
• Extracting the basic premises of the expectancy theory of motivation and elaborating upon related implications for management.
• Selecting the general questions to be asked by management in structuring specific job/work assignments.
• Separating the strengths and weaknesses of the major approaches of control within contemporary organizations.
• Investigating the dimensions of the organizational structure and integrating their interrelationships as they relate to overall effectiveness.

NEGOTIATION SKILLS FOR MANAGERS MGT5193
(NEGOTIATION SKILLS)

The course presents skills for a variety of negotiating situations: managing contracts, implementing change, making sales purchases, settling organizational conflicts, planning strategies, and achieving credibility.

CAVEAT: No graduate credit will be awarded if MGT4193 has been successfully completed.

UPON COMPLETION OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE COMPETENT IN:
• Identifying negotiatory elements and discussing the reasons they are important to the process.
• Determining the preconditions that affect negotiations and discussing the importance of determining the needs of both parties prior to negotiating.
• Mastering and utilizing the language of negotiation.
• Establishing minimum and maximum goals in preparation for the negotiating process.
• Illustrating the importance of negotiating needs rather than negotiating positions.
• Recognizing and dealing with personal negotiating styles and attitudes.
• Identification and recognition of personal strengths and weaknesses which have an impact on the negotiating process.
• Exploring the various tactics used by negotiators.
• Investigating the importance of nonverbal communications in the negotiation process.
• Analyzing why negotiations fail.
• Identifying ways to overcome obstacles that restrain progress in the negotiating process.
• Contrasting effective and ineffective teamwork in negotiations.
• Describing productive and counter productive negotiation attitudes, strategies, assumptions and personal demeanor.
• Illustrating how to keep the negotiation on track.
• Discussing how to negotiate under specific, unusual circumstances.
• Analyzing the important elements of a complete, written, negotiated agreement.
• Constructing a logical plan of action for a labor management contract.

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT MGT5203
(OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT)

The course presents skills necessary for achieving a competitive advantage in both manufacturing and service industries. Topics include organizational design, customer service, setting strategic goals, and managing goods and services for both employees and customers.

PREREQUISITE: Knowledge of statistics and management.

UPON COMPLETION OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE COMPETENT IN:
• Analyzing operational processes in manufacturing and service organizations.
• Identifying organizational theories in operations management.
• Developing product and process operational strategies at the corporate and global level.
• Applying forecasting techniques to operations management.
• Applying total quality management concepts to operations management.
• Applying statistical process control methods to production forecasting.
• Applying statistical process control methods to financial budgets.
• Designing workforce management systems.
• Developing a master schedule.
• Designing capacity planning tools.
• Developing production schedules and budgets.
• Analyzing materials management programs.
• Designing corporate inventory systems and relevant controls.
• Developing statistical processes for analyzing operating performance and profitability measures.
• Developing location analysis techniques derived from sales, warehouse, and transportation requirements.
• Translating organizational business plans into detailed production schedules.
• Researching current trends and issues in operations management.

PROJECT SCOPE & QUALITY MANAGEMENT MGT5501
(PROJECT SCOPE/QLTY MGMT)

The course presents an overview of project management and the importance to the organization. The integration of project management principles is studied, as well as project scope management and project quality management.

CAVEAT: No graduate credit will be awarded if MGT4501 has been successfully completed.

UPON COMPLETION OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE COMPETENT IN:
• Determining the nature of project management and the integration of the functions of managing within the organization.
• Classifying project life cycles and the usage and benefits of progress reports.
• Investigating the different roles of project actors (e.g., project manager, staff, middle management, specialist, top management) and how to deal with and manage conflict during the different life cycles.
• Planning how to document requirements of the project and build the project plan, determine the validity of the project, and build work breakdown structures.
• Assessing the customer and synthesizing the needs as the basis of project specification.
• Formulating how to monitor the project progress and manage the necessary change during execution.
• Ascertaining the need for selecting and assigning the correct people on the project, and proper delegation of responsibilities and authority to achieve objectives.
• Modeling the process of documenting the project from inception through conclusion, closing the project out with positive results to maximize organizational contractual benefits.
• Manipulating the various project management tools, the benefits delivered, and when the tools should be applied.
• Conceptualizing quality and quality management, including the costs of quality and the costs of non-quality.
• The tools and methods used to provide quality assurance and the attributes of quality through quality planning and control.
• Instituting cost/benefit analysis as applied to project go/no go decisions.
• Applying statistical control concepts and the importance of quality design.
• Resolving an action plan when results do not meet project specification.
• Understanding the Pareto principle and diagrams and how they relate to and assist in project management.
• Understanding and defending the zero defects concept.
• Knowing how motivation works within the organization and the project team to enhance quality.

PROJECT COST & CONTRACT PROCUREMENT MGT5502
(PROJ COST/CONT PROCURE)

The course covers a broad range of cost related uses, ranging from basic budgeting to cost estimating to capital budgeting. It also covers basic contract and procurement principles. The course prepares student for Scheduling & Cost Controls and Contracting for Project Managers portion of the Project Management Certification test.

CAVEAT: No graduate credit will be awarded if MGT4502 has been successfully completed.

UPON COMPLETION OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE COMPETENT IN:
• Manipulating and discussing life cycle costing and the use of Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) as a budget tool, and target cost.
• Integrating the various terms that are integral to cost management: target cost, target price, definitive estimates, conceptual estimates, preliminary estimates, point of assumption, committed costs, opportunity costs, sunk costs, law of diminishing returns, learning curve theory, parametric estimates, order of magnitude estimates, appropriation, and level of effort work.
• Summarizing an understanding of how to work various problems: cost of capital, computing interest rates, and calculating labor costs.
• Reconciling the differences between fixed costs and variable costs and how they impact the project production and success.
• Modeling the various earned value concepts: BCWP, BCWS, ACWP, cost variance, cost performance index, estimate at complete (EAC).
• Formulating capital budgeting and being able to demonstrate through working problems: net present value, internal rate of return, payback period analysis.
• Discussing the meaning of and use of depreciation of capital and demonstrating knowledge of reading cost tables.
• Generating capital investment concepts (fixed capital, working capital).
• Classifying various types of contracts important to organizations and how and when they may be used for the benefit of the organization.
• Researching the legal implications of contracts and understanding the importance of and differences of the various contract terms: Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF), Cost Plus Incentive Fee (CPIF), Fixed Price (FP), and Time and Materials (T&M).
• Demonstrating the ability to analyze the rent versus lease trade-offs and the lease versus purchase advantages and disadvantages.
• Discussing how to analyze, make, or buy decisions.
• Investigating various types of warranties and their importance to the organization.
• Analyzing the three basic elements of procurement management (purchasing, expediting, inspection) and how they help the organization meets its objectives.
• Organizing the international contract/procurement issues and how they must be worked differently than domestic issues.
• Extracting the differences of and the benefits between centralized and decentralized contracting.
• Synthesizing the purchasing cycle and how it works within the organization.
• Reasoning the importance of and principles of contract negotiation with the other party, both resources and suppliers.

PROJECT RISK & TIME MANAGEMENT MGT5503
(PROJ RISK/TIME MGMT)

The course presents risk and time management concepts as stepwise processes to manage risk and uncertainty in order to improve the likelihood of a project’s successful and timely completion. The student will learn quantitative and qualitative techniques to assess project risk, effective means to mitigate and control risk and how to more effectively communicate the cost savings benefits of risk management to project sponsors and project team members. In addition, the student will learn techniques to estimate, schedule and control project activities using PERT, CPM and other methods. The course adds new concepts and methods to those learned in previous project management courses, and integrates and expands the risk and time management processes using case studies, exercises and real world experiences. Class material will include, but not be limited to, topics emphasized by the Practice Management Institute and its certification exam.

CAVEAT: No graduate credit will be awarded if MGT4503 has been successfully completed.

UPON COMPLETION OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE COMPETENT IN:
• Defining and discussing the risk management and time management processes.
• Distinguishing among and identifying various types of risk.
• Analyzing risk management techniques.
• Assessing, quantifying and prioritizing risks affecting the likely outcomes of a project.
• Applying risk analysis tools in project selection.
• Planning and implementing basic risk mitigation strategies.
• Using risk response and control strategies.
• Developing responsibility matrices, workaround strategies and other alternative responses to changes in risk during the life of the project.
• Defining project activities within the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
• Using techniques to develop project network diagrams and activity update lists.
• Using tools to develop and analyze activity duration estimates.
• Developing activity schedules using CPM, GERT, PERT and simulation methods.
• Discussing the relative advantages of GANTT (bar) charts, milestone charts and time-scaled network diagrams.
• Discussing techniques to implement and monitor an ongoing schedule control process in order to respond to unplanned changes.
• Understanding methods for and the importance of performance measurement and reporting.
• Understanding the importance of team communication, interaction and agreement in successful project time and risk management efforts.

PROJECT HUMAN RESOURCES & COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT MGT5504
(PROJ HUMAN RES/COMM MGMT)

The course covers the processes required to make effective use of people involved with a project. Stakeholders include: sponsors, customers, individuals, and contributors. In addition, the course covers processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination, storage and ultimate disposition of project information. Major topics include those typically covered by the Project Management Institute Human Resource Management and Communication Management Examinations.

CAVEAT: No graduate credit will be awarded if MGT4504 has been successfully completed.

UPON COMPLETION OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE COMPETENT IN:
• Discussing the forms of organizations and the impact of organizational structures on the manager- employee relationship.
• Understanding and discussing the roles and responsibilities of the project manager.
• Discussing the types of power and ways that power can be used both positively and negatively.
• Understanding how to manage conflict effectively including various techniques and methods available for project managers.
• Discussing the personnel issues that can and do arise within the organization including the effective and proper use of performance appraisals.
• Describing the importance of training, career planning, productivity, and teamwork.
• Illustrating motivation and rewards including how they may be used effectively.
• Contrasting specific motivation theories including: Maslow, Herzberg, Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y.
• Demonstrating the importance of proper resource allocation and coordination.
• Discussing the various components of the communication process.
• Discussing various communication barriers versus effective communication.
• Contrasting formal versus informal communications.
• Delineating traits and proper usage of different kinds of communication.
• Discussing the organizational climate and its impact on communication.
• Illustrating the role of the project in effective communication.
• Discussing the importance of feedback in communication.
• Discussing the importance of communicating with customers and the usage of appropriate methods.

LAW APPLICATION FOR MANAGERS MGT6106
(LAW APPLN FOR MANAGERS)

The course presents the relationship of government regulations on management decision-making. Consideration is given to such law applications as antitrust legislation, labor legislation, worker and consumer protection, and environmental protection.

UPON COMPLETION OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE COMPETENT IN:
• Discussing the role of administrative law in business.
• Identifying and discussing the purposes of a typical administrative agency.
• Discussing the Grant of Authority of the Commerce Clause.
• Discussing the relationship of federal and local regulation of commerce.
• Discussing the employer-employee relationship as controlled by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and other laws.
• Discussing the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act.
• Discussing the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
• Discussing the law and consumer protection.
• Discussing the Common Law Contract and its enforcement.
• Discussing the State Deceptive Trade Practice Act and consumer protection.
• Discussing the unfair acts and deceptive practices prohibited by the Federal Trade Commission Act.
• Discussing the warranties extended to consumers by the Uniform Commercial Code.
• Discussing the consumer protection from usury.
• Discussing the Federal laws on credit.
• Discussing activities prohibited by the Sherman Act.
• Discussing the Clayton Act’s support of the Sherman Act.
• Discussing the Robinson-Patman Amendment to the Clayton Act.

ISSUES IN ORGANIZATIONAL STAFFING MGT6174
(ORGANIZATIONAL STAFFING)

The course examines policies, practices and procedures for effectively staffing organizations. Emphasis is given to planning staffing requirements, effective recruiting and selection methodologies, strategies for internal staffing, and the effects of downsizing and reengineering on the organization. Particular emphasis is given to contemporary staffing issues, problems, and challenges.

UPON COMPLETION OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE COMPETENT IN:
• Demonstrating the relationship between the sub-processes of the organizational staffing process and relating them to the human resource management process.
• Analyzing and applying to specific situations the provisions of the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures and the various Interpretive Guidelines issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
• Demonstrating an understanding of protected classes and developing programs, policies, and procedures to assure that they are afforded equal opportunity in the workplace.
• Developing programs, policies, and procedures that assure non-discrimination in recruiting, selecting, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.
• Demonstrating the ability to develop Affirmative Action Plans utilizing the seven-factor analysis in accordance with guidelines promulgated by the Office of Federal Compliance Programs in Revised Order Number 4.
• Comparing and contrasting the various means of job analysis and developing job descriptions and job specifications that identify essential job functions and marginal job functions.
• Comparing and contrasting the various approaches for determining the future human resource needs of an organization and constructing a human resource plan utilizing one of these approaches.
• Analyzing the relationship between recruiting sources and recruiting methods and developing effective recruiting approaches based on the results of this analysis.
• Demonstrating an understanding of employment testing, test validity, test reliability, and various mathematical approaches for determining that an employment test meets federal requirements for use in the workplace.
• Comparing and contrasting the different systems for appraising employee and managerial performance and demonstrating a knowledge of developing effective performance appraisal systems for use in internal staffing.
• Designing traditional, dual, and network career paths and demonstrating their use as an internal staffing method.
• Demonstrating a knowledge of adverse impact and using the various mathematical approaches for calculating whether or not adverse impact is occurring in an organization.
• Comparing and contrasting various employment interview techniques and determining which ones to use in specific situations or under varying conditions.
• Demonstrating a knowledge of specific questions that should and should not be used in an employment interview and the reasons for their inclusion or exclusion.
• Creating a system for evaluating resumes and employment applications and conducting other pre-employment assessments such as background investigations, physical examinations, and drug tests.
• Demonstrating a knowledge of the processes involved in reductions in force, layoffs, job sharing, and modified work schedules and their use in organizational downsizing.
• Calculating and applying the quantitative and qualitative techniques for evaluating the performance of the staffing function in organizations and determining whether or not the staffing function is performing effectively.

MANAGEMENT: RESPONSIBILITIES & PRACTICES MGT6175
(MGMT:RSPNSBLTY/PRACTICE)

This course presents an intensive exploration of management as a systematic, disciplined process used to accomplish organizational goals. Topics include elements of the management system, organizational theory, global management, centralized and decentralized authority, and evaluating various types of work groups and teams.

UPON COMPLETION OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE COMPETENT IN:
• Demonstrating an in-depth understanding of managerial functions and the management process through casework applications.
• Demonstrating an ability to apply approaches to management thought and leadership theories by examining evolution and challenges.
• Demonstrating an in-depth understanding of managerial competencies.
• Analyzing the impact of various environmental influences on the management of organizations.
• Demonstrating a knowledge of global considerations in organizational management.
• Demonstrating an in-depth understanding of performance management.
• Comparing and contrasting the advantages and disadvantages of various types of work groups and teams.
• Demonstrating a knowledge of organizational culture and how it affects the management of organizations.
• Demonstrating a knowledge of organizational control systems.
• Analyzing strategic and operational management process and demonstrating creative problem solving and decision-making abilities.
• Analyzing the use of outsourcing to ads to corporate value.
• Analyzing resources capabilities within a competitive environment.
• Analyzing strategy formation at the business and corporate levels.
• Demonstrating knowledge of organizational behavior through power, politics, conflict, and stress strategy formation.
• Demonstrating an understanding of organizational ethics and social responsibility.
• Analyzing organizational challenges such as quality productivity, job satisfaction, and organizational design.

COMPENSATION MANAGEMENT MGT6176
(COMPENSATION MANAGEMENT)

The course focuses on total compensation systems in organizations. Financial considerations emphasized include labor market dynamics, organizational policies, job analysis, job evaluation, incentive systems, and performance management. The psychological and benefits aspects of pay systems are also examined in depth.

UPON COMPLETION OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE COMPETENT IN:
• Applying compensation management as a Human Resource subsystem for organizations.
• Evaluating compensation's role and place in contemporary society.
• Implementing internal consistency and the pay model.
• Instituting job analysis and the development of job descriptions.
• Critiquing the four basic methods of job evaluation.
• Rating benchmark and non-benchmark jobs.
• Researching External Equity/Competitiveness.
• Interpreting the specific needs, methods, and pitfalls of a wage and salary survey.
• Planning optional pay level policies and the consequences of each.
• Designing a compensation structure.
• Projecting a firm's need for competitive wages within an industry and a community.
• Separating the issues of pay and performance and the adjusting for the limitations of a pay-for-performance philosophy.
• Evaluating the potential and the impact of gain sharing and profit sharing incentive pay systems.
• Modeling performance evaluation and merit pay and their required subsystems.
• Reconciling the origins and purposes of legally required benefits as well as the impact of other federal and state legislation’s on the management of a compensation system.
• Establishing the budgeting, administration, and management requirements for effective compensation systems.
• Applying the point plan of job evaluation.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT MGT6177
(HUMAN RESOURCE MGMT)

The course presents a systematic framework for analyzing and understanding the human resource management functions within an organization. Topics include hiring, training, compensation, benefits, and employee relation management.

UPON COMPLETION OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE COMPETENT IN:
• Distinguishing human resource management functions and responsibilities.
• Assessing human resource management activities such as forecasting requirements and availability of numbers and types of skill sets needed by an organization.
• Demonstrating the importance of job analysis and describing the job analysis process.
• Analyzing the legal environment surrounding the human resource management function.
• Identifying recruitment sources and matching methods to sources.
• Comparing and contrasting interview techniques and comprehending the advantages and disadvantages of each approach.
• Analyzing the use of employment tests and demonstrating concepts of validity, reliable, correlation, and test validation procedures.
• Analyzing the performance appraisal process, the methods used, and the problems encountered.
• Categorizing the most commonly used methods of job evaluation that assure internal equity as well as external equity in compensation.
• Demonstrating an understanding of labor markets, pay grades, pay classes, red circle rates, green circle rates, and pay for performance.
• Illustrating the role of benefits and nonfinancial compensation in attracting, holding, and motivating employees.
• Designing methods to assess organizational efforts at training and development.
• Assessing efforts in safety and health programs, employee assistance programs, health promotion programs and other efforts directed toward improving employee health and well being.
• Explaining labor relations and the collective bargaining process.
• Delineating the history of unions and their role in contemporary society.
• Comparing and contrasting selected human resource practices in the U.S. with those of other countries.
• Discussing issues of downsizing, reengineering, layoffs, retirement, and outplacement.
• Anticipating trends, challenges, and future developments in human resource management.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT MGT6203
(STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT)

The course presents the functions of management in the formulation of strategic policies, goals, objectives, and procedures relative to organizational effectiveness. Topics include theories of strategic planning, internal and external factors in strategic planning, strategic planning relative to goals, forecasting techniques, and analyzing and evaluating change.

PREREQUISITE: Fifteen semester hours of advanced business.

UPON COMPLETION OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE COMPETENT IN:
• Examining the key concepts associated with the field of Strategic Management.
• Identifying organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
• Discussing the major issues associated with gaining acceptance of the strategic planning process.
• Profiling factors that influence the internal and external environments of a strategic management system.
• Identifying organizational structures that are compatible with stated organizational directions.
• Discussing environmental and forecasting techniques utilized in the corporate planning process.
• Discussing industrial competition and identifying approaches for creating defensible boundaries.
• Explaining the role of corporate alternatives in positioning an organization for the present and future.
• Understanding the concept of portfolio matrix and the establishment of strategic business units.
• Evaluating strategic alternatives in regard to organizational competence and resources.
• Describing techniques for integrating the functional areas of a business with strategic business units.
• Finding and analyzing information sources used in the development of a strategic plan.
• Stating clear, specific, and relevant integrated objectives for the different levels of an organization.
• Discussing the role of environmental issues in the implementation of a plan for strategic change.
• Analyzing and evaluating the effectiveness of corporate level strategies.
• Analyzing and evaluating the effectiveness of business level strategies.
• Describing critical elements of an effective model for managing strategic change.

MARKETING

MARKET PROMOTION MKT5154
(MARKET PROMOTION)

The course provides students with the opportunity to apply the principles of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and publicity by preparing a promotional plan for a selected product or service.

CAVEAT: No graduate credit will be awarded if MKT3154 has been successfully completed.

UPON COMPLETION OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE COMPETENT IN:
• Preparing a promotional plan for a selected product or service.
• Applying the concept of “integrated marketing communications.”
• Critiquing promotional strategies and plans for a variety of products and services marketed by profit and non-profit organizations.
• Analyzing the communications process and relating it to the promotional plan.
• Describing the different types of advertising agencies and their roles in preparing and implementing a promotional plan.
• Recommending media and promotional messages consistent with the needs of the target audience.
• Developing a budget for promotional efforts.
• Developing promotional objectives and controls for evaluating performance.
• Analyzing the role of packaging within the promotional plan.
• Assessing the role of sales promotion tools to complement advertising and personal selling strategies.
• Designing publicity/public relations activities to augment other aspects of the promotional plan.
• Coordinating personal selling strategies with other elements of the promotional plan.
• Analyzing and incorporating behavioral influences on the promotional plan.
• Illustrating and applying the economic and social dimensions of promotion.
• Explaining major legislation and the role of federal agencies in regulating promotional activities.
• Evaluating customers’ response processes to a firm’s promotional activities.
• Understanding the effect of promotional activities on other functions within the firm.
• Evaluating ethical issues in promotional practices.

MARKETING MANAGEMENT MKT6210
(MARKETING MANAGEMENT)

The course presents a systematic approach to the analyzing, planning, implementing, and the control of marketing activities. Topics include analyzing marketing research, forecasting market demand, evaluating market segments, selecting target markets, and developing a comprehensive marketing plan.

PREREQUISITES: BUS3305 and BUS3310, or MKT 3151

UPON COMPLETION OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE COMPETENT IN:
• Developing a marketing plan.
• Discussing the relationship of corporate mission, goals, and objectives to marketing management.
• Describing the organization/environment fit and its influence on the marketing management process.
• Analyzing and researching marketing opportunities.
• Measuring and forecasting market demand.
• Evaluating market segments, selecting target markets, and developing market positions.
• Designing marketing strategies for different stages of the product life cycle.
• Evaluating marketing strategies used by selected companies.
• Understanding the new product planning process and applying the process to a proposed new product.
• Developing pricing strategies and tactics in a variety of economic and competitive situations.
• Selecting and managing marketing distribution channels.
• Designing promotional programs that effectively integrate the functions of advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, and publicity.
• Discussing the impact of the Internet and the Work Wide Web on marketing strategies.
• Assessing marketing strategies for the global marketplace.
• Developing marketing control systems for an organization.
• Evaluating the concept, structure, and use of marketing information systems.
• Identifying ethical issues in marketing management and formulating responses to those issues.

REQUIRED GRADUATE STUDIES

THEORY & APPLICATION OF RESEARCH METHODS RGS6035
(RESEARCH METHODS)

The course presents the issues relevant to the understanding and application of research methods in the study of human behavior and organizational variables. Aspects of conducting research, methodologies for research, and studying and preparing a research paper are covered.

UPON COMPLETION OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE COMPETENT IN:
• Describing and discussing the research process and the scientific method.
• Selecting procedures to locate unsolved research problems in given areas of interest.
• Listing and describing the components of a sound research plan.
• Writing hypotheses and research questions that relate to a given research problem.
• Identifying aspects of a research situation that involve ethical questions or principles.
• Conducting a review of the research literature on a given topic.
• Identifying sections of research reports and aspects of research design that indicate possible bias or contamination.
• Describing, discussing, and using appropriate sampling procedures.
• Defining and illustrating the types of validity and reliability and their influence on the research process.
• Identifying and discussing the major methods of research.
• Applying procedures and guidelines for constructing questionnaires.
• Listing the advantages and disadvantages of observational research.
• Critically evaluating possible threats to the internal and external validity of a research project.
• Creating commonly used experimental designs, including specifications for random assignment, formulation of experimental and control groups, and use of pretests and posttests.
• Explaining quasi-experimental design.
• Writing a document that employs correct grammar, mechanics, and diction; follows APA format for research reports; and achieves the intended purpose of the document.
• Gathering information from computerized databases and computer networks.

ETHICS FOR DECISION MAKING RGS6036
(ETHICS:DECISION MAKING)

The course presents an integrated approach to understanding the basis for ethical decision-making. The roots of ethical concepts, the methodologies for making decisions, and the application of norms and logic to current ethical issues are presented.

UPON COMPLETION OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE COMPETENT IN:
• Exploring several ethical theories, including definitions of major terms.
• Defining and discussing the variables that comprise the basis of one’s ethical beliefs.
• Illustrating the variables that comprise the basis of one’s wants and needs relative to ethical issues.
• Investigating the importance and influence of relationships to one’s ethical decision-making.
• Analyzing the various decision-making methodologies and the techniques normally used in the decision-making process.
• Probing the relationship of ethics to a particular culture.
• Questioning the logical reasoning for rejecting or accepting the metaethical theory of amoral or non-ethical concepts.
• Applying ethical theories to specific life experiences—social, business, personal—and logically defending one’s personal conclusions about using an ethical decision-making process.
• Describing the importance of experience, perception, and intellect to identify and interpret ethical issues.
• Critiquing the multidimensional nature of ethical decision making, and the influences and complexities these variables have on the decision-making process.
• Defining and discussing the influences of customs, social norms, law, and religion on a personalized interpretation of ethical issues.
• Discussing concepts of compartmentalization, justification, adjudication, and denial as they relate to one’s defense for unethical behavior.
• Analyzing one’s human emotion and self-discipline as they relate to ethical decision-making.
• Questioning how behavior in non-ethical situations is sometimes controlled by, or influenced by, ethical perceptions.
• Exploring how one is often culturally inducted into certain beliefs and how one might guard against such socialization.
• Discussing the logic that all ethical beliefs are not moral, but all moral beliefs are part of one’s ethics.
• Applying the methodology for perceptively discerning the ethical influences of others.