Minor in Organizational Management

Minor requirements

Required semester hours: 20 sh

Course requirements

Required core courses

ORG 4024, ORG 4220, ORG 4240, ORG 4260

Elective courses

Select one from ORG 3034, ORG 4074, ORG 4094, ORG 4120

GE Designates a course that fulfills all or part of a General Education (G.E.) requirement for the B.A.; see the General Education portion of the School of Professional Studies section in this catalog for more information.

ORG 3034 Business Communications (4 sh) GESAL

Communicating in the workplace with emphasis on written, verbal, non-verbal, and other visual modes of communication. The processes of imparting and receiving information are emphasized. Business writing, the use of visual aids, and professional presentation methods are put into practice. Ethical behavior in communications is examined.

ORG 3500 Writing for Business Success (4 sh) GESAL

Drawing upon the fundamentals of effective writing, this course helps students to further develop successful written communication skills, and to create the types of documents commonly used in professional environments. Students will apply a writing process to complete the kind of practical writing projects commonly required in the workplace. Emphasis is placed on the process of completing any on-the-job writing assignment and the specific formats most often used. It covers such business writing topics as style and format, audience analysis and adaptation, document design, informative, negative and persuasive messages, reports, and job search materials. Prerequisite: GS 2080.

ORG 3910 Topics in Organizational Management (1-4 sh)

Intensive investigation of a selected topic in Organizational Management and Leadership offered from time to time at the discretion of the School of Adult Learning.

ORG 4024 Understanding Group and Organizational Behavior (4 sh)

Investigate the dynamic interaction of individual, group and organizational behavior. Examine organizations as complex open systems. Explore the nature of learning organizations and strategies for maintaining positive organizational culture. Practice working in groups and facilitating team development.

Beginning to use one’s self as an agent of change; identifying and enhancing competencies required for such a role. Reflect on the ethical dimensions of problem solving in the workplace.

ORG 4074 Leadership and Management (4 sh)

The roles of leadership, managing people and change, and total quality management (TQM) are examined. The firm’s mission and its relation to the individual is presented: performance appraisals, issues of gender and cultural diversity, negotiation techniques, hiring, and termination analysis are included. The characteristics of the ethical organization are examined.

ORG 4094 Principles of Marketing (4 sh)

The environment of marketing, including market identification and selection, the concepts of marketing mix, target markets, and the product life cycle as applied to the global economy, are fundamental to the course. Company mission and Maslow’s hierarchy are implemented to determine organizational fit.

Consumer behavior, organizational markets, product planning and development, and the essentials of marketing communication are presented and analyzed. Service and non-profit marketing procedures are included. The ethics of marketing and processes are examined.

ORG 4095 Entrepreneurial Business Planning and Execution (4 sh)

Covers the promotion of business with effective communication from concept to development by use of the business plan. The effective techniques of this course should be readily applied when seeking loans, partnerships and investors in the real world. Comprehensive in learning and production, this course is a culmination of many skills from the Organizational Management or Business Administration majors.

ORG 4100 Human Resources Management (4 sh)

The basic principles, concepts and issues analyzing the role of human resources in the organization: personnel requirements, training, job responsibilities, performance evaluations, grievance procedures, compensation, and labor relations (including unions, EEO, and Affirmative Action programs). Meets elective credit only.

ORG 4120 Business Ethics (4 sh) GESAL

An introduction to ethics and to ethical decision-making. A basic overview of value systems and ethical paradigms, utilizing a seminar format. Discussion of how values and ethics may be applied to the issues and dilemmas of the business world.

ORG 4150 Business Promotions and Advertising (4 sh)

Covers the concepts of promoting business with effective communication techniques that encompass the written word; public relations writing, journalism, advertising copy, mass media or television copy and graphics or other media types with a particular emphasis on tracking results of the communication via the use of metrics and return on investment. Explores the discipline of business commitments from an organization or an individual as bound by promises made in advertising and the history of promotions from an American industry that is continually shaped and regulated today. Using comprehensive skills from marketing, students will be expected to make sound financial decisions as well as evaluate risk management for advertising and/or corporate communications. Whether internal or for public consumption, the message is often governed by the media and this course will stress the importance of subjective messages with ethical dimensions.

ORG 4160 Elements of Community Development (4 sh)

This course introduces students to the basics of sustainable community development, including community and neighborhood planning, community organizing, grassroots leadership and community empowerment. Students will examine and discuss the role of community-based organizations such as community development corporations, social services agencies, and religious and educational institutions. Students will also examine organizational and local politics and discuss how these factors help or hinder the community development process. The course will give students insight into the role community development process in rebuilding low-income or economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. It also seeks to teach students the importance of personally participating in and supporting the development of economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Finally, the course will introduce students to varied career paths that relate to the field of community development.

ORG 4220 Assessing Leadership Skills (4 sh)

Provides a framework for students to become more familiar with themselves and their relationships with colleagues and team members within the context of organizations. Investigates a number of common psychometric instruments from two perspectives: an individual profile and within the context of group dynamics in organizations. From an individual perspective, students will investigate themselves as a leader, determine personal strengths and weaknesses, assess his or her style of leadership and the type of organization their leadership style best suits. From an organizational perspective, students will investigate how psychometric instruments can be used to diagnose organizational problems, determine change-readiness within organizations, and enhance team/group dynamics.

Survey design and interpretation will also be discussed. The Action Research method will be investigated and applied.

Ethical considerations for assessment instruments will be fully and thoroughly emphasized.

ORG 4240 Managing Change and Conflict (4 sh)

Provides the student with resources to mediate organizational experiences within the context of managing and leading.

Examines several theoretical frameworks for organizational change. Through these frameworks organizations, and their varied circumstances, will be evaluated in order for students to determine which change methodology is most appropriate for a specific situation. The steps of change, common problems associated with change, and methods to measure outcomes will be explored. Students will investigate resistance to change and what can be done about it. Conflict, as a natural outgrowth of change, will be investigated. Methods for managing conflict, understanding its root causes, and addressing it productively will be explored. The concept of BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) will be investigated as a conflict management technique. The course will explain the action research process that is typically associated with change. Students will complete a team-based project requiring individual and team research and roll out the change management plan created with timelines, interventions, expected results and appropriate organizational metrics. Throughout, the ethics of appropriate change and conflict management will be emphasized.

ORG 4260 Career Management (4 sh)

Analyzes concepts such as perception, motivation, decision making, communication, and career development. Explores the changing concepts of a career and the implications of planning for multiple careers. Assists in finding direction in the midst of uncertainty, conflict and complexity. The organizations’ career and the individual’s career: “How is the fit?” Focus in on developing a flexible and realistic career plan and methods implementation. Careers and vocations will be discussed as they relate to the search for meaning in one’s life.

ORG 4910 Independent Study in Organizational Management and Leadership (1-4 sh)

Advanced independent research.

ORG 4970 Internship in Organizational Management and Leadership (1-8 sh)

An assignment in a business institution other than the current employer in which reflective experience is the goal. Interested students who have completed 20 hours or more in the major should apply to their academic advisor.