Department of Management, Organizational Communication, and International Business
Associate Professors: Michael Lewis (Chairperson), J. Bart Morrison; Assistant Professors: Han Liu, Youstina Masoud, Laura Nicole Miller, Tyler Wasson; Lecturers: Philip Benvenuti, Elissa Chase, Thomas Fitzpatrick, Ellen Lemire.
Mission Statement
The Department of Management, Organizational Communication, and International Business offers undergraduate majors in management and international business. The mission of the Department is to create a challenging learning environment that prepares students for professional employment in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors and/or graduate study. Assumption University has a strong liberal arts tradition, and the Management and International Business programs build on the foundation of liberal arts by developing students who:
- gain fundamental knowledge, concepts, and theory of the disciplines we teach
- are proficient in technical and professional skills related to the disciplines we teach
- understand and can perform in a professional environment that is multi-cultural and global
- possess the knowledge and ability to understand ethical reasoning and act in a socially responsible manner
- can exercise critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills and know how to make decisions
- are able to communicate effectively
- can relate well to others and to perform well as an individual or as part of a team
Programs of Study
Courses
INB 306: INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
Credits 3This course explores marketing across national boundaries and within foreign countries, as well as the coordination of marketing in multiple international markets. It examines plans, strategies, and tactics that are developed to cope with the problems and opportunities presented in the international arena. Specific topics will include cultural differences, marketing intelligence, foreign market entry, product policy, distribution, advertising/promotion, pricing, planning, and controlling the international marketing organization. The student will be exposed to the unique challenges and the decision-making processes that are integral to marketing on a global basis. An appreciation will be developed for the ever-changing environmental factors and risks (economic, cultural, and political/legal) that impact the international marketing field. The course will include readings, lectures, discussions, cases, reports, and presentations.
INB 307: INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT
Credits 3This course provides an in-depth examination of the managerial issues confronting managers as they plan, organize, staff, and control global/transnational operations. The basic premise is that management in a global environment differs in many ways from management of a firm doing business within national boundaries. Specific topics include the cultural context of international business, planning, implementation, personnel selection, labor relations, communication, motivation, control, and ethics/social responsibility. The course includes readings, lectures, cases, experiential exercises, and discussions.
INB 320: EUROPEAN BUSINESS PRACTICES
Credits 3The course examines the evolving business practices of European countries vis-à-vis a scrutiny of influences, such as history, geography, demography, religion, value systems, political/legal structures and languages(s). This will provide the student with both a multicultural sensitivity and a basic set of skills for functioning in specific European markets. This course is grounded, but certainly not limited to the major countries of the region: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
INB 334: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION: ORGANIZATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
Credits 3This course is an introduction to the major theories and concepts of intercultural communication as they apply to business organizations. It emphasizes a process approach to the study of written, oral and non-verbal communication between persons of different cultures as they communicate with each other, work together on teams, and conduct business negotiations.
MGT 100: INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT
Credits 3This course introduces a systems approach to managing organizations and focuses on the planning, organizing, leading, and controlling tasks and functions of managers. Students are given the opportunity to development key managerial skills such as self-management, team management and organizational management that support effective performance. The course includes an introduction to basic Microsoft Excel, Word, and presentation software for business communication. Ideally, MGT 100 should not be taken in same semester as MKT 101.
MGT 102: INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Credits 3This course focuses on developing an understanding of individual characteristics and interpersonal and organizational processes and how they influence organizational outcomes such as performance, creativity, citizenship behavior, stress, deviance and ethical behavior. Students will have an opportunity to develop their managerial/leadership style through experiential learning. Topics include: personality theory, learning, motivation, power and justice, conflict/negotiation skills, decision making, leadership and team dynamics, communication, and organizational culture.
MGT 215: BUSINESS LAW
Credits 3An analysis of the legal environment of business. Emphasis is on the basic structure of legal rights and obligations and their impact on business decisions.
MGT 230: DECISION ANALYTICS FOR MANAGERS
Credits 3In an increasingly complex world, decision analysis has a major role to play helping produce insight and promote creativity to help decision-makers make better decisions. Business analytics are becoming a critical capability for enterprises of all types, for profit or non-profit, domestic or international. Solving organizational problems requires understanding of many functional areas, including marketing and sales, human resources, accounting, operations, engineering and others. In this course students will gain knowledge of theory and practical applications of decision analysis. Using cases, students will identify pertinent information, perform analysis using key tools including analytical software, and develop effective solutions supported by data. Concepts we will explore include, decision trees, probability, risk assessments, group decision-making, resource allocation and scenario planning.
MGT 300: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Credits 3This course examines the pivotal role of the Human Resource (HR) department in all types of organizations, especially medium to large enterprises. Increasingly HR has emerged as a key function in the overall strategy and success of organizations. HR functions that we will explore include organization and work design, workforce planning, job descriptions and evaluations, recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits, employee relations, safety and health, and corporate social responsibility. The course features a 10-week long HR simulation, whereby students in teams utilize course knowledge to make decisions for the effective running of a simulated company.
MGT 301: BUSINESS AND SOCIETY
Credits 3Provides a conceptual framework, analysis and discussion of the issues surrounding the business and society relationship at a macro level. Identifies and engages the major topics involved in developing a robust understanding of business in society. The course takes up a managerial perspective that investigates, identifies and integrates current and relevant practice, thought and topics. The managerial perspective is embedded in the course’s major themes of business ethics, sustainability and stakeholder management. Each of these three themes is essential today. Each theme builds upon its own perspective but is consistent with and overlaps the others. Taken together, they provide a lens through which to comprehend the challenges of the past and master frameworks for thinking about the current and future role of business in society.
MGT 305: STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP
Credits 3Leadership is the process of transforming organizations from what they are to what the leader would have them become. This course builds upon the basic knowledge of leadership theory and practice provided in introduction to management and organizational behavior courses, and can help prepare the student for a capstone course in business strategy by: 1) expanding the scope and depth of the student’s knowledge of leadership theories in the context of creating strategy in a globalized world, 2) building the student’s capacity to apply leadership theory to situations arising from the economic, social, political and environmental conditions that are transforming our world, and 3) developing the student’s self-knowledge of his or her actual as well as desired leadership style.
MGT 311: DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE
Credits 3The purpose of this seminar is to explore the issues and the challenges of understanding and managing an increasingly diverse workplace. The course focuses on preparing students to work and to manage in multicultural organizations. Special emphasis is placed on topics related to the impact of gender, race, and ethnicity, and other differences as they affect interpersonal relations and group behavior within a managerial organizational context.
MGT 315: SERVICES MANAGEMENT
Credits 3This course provides students with the concepts and tools necessary to manage service operations effectively. The strategic focus should also provide entrepreneurially inclined students with the foundation to start their own service business. The course explores the dimensions of successful service firms, prepares students for enlightened management, and suggests creative entrepreneurial opportunities. Beginning with the service encounter, service managers must blend marketing, technology, people, and information to achieve a distinctive competitive advantage. This course looks at service management from an integrated viewpoint. The material integrates marketing, strategy, technology, and organizational issues.
MGT 321: ISSUES IN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND WHITE COLLAR CRIME
Credits 3This course covers the subject of corporate governance focusing on the roles of top management and the board of directors. Recent changes initiated by the Sarbanes Oxley Act are discussed. The importance of ethical leadership is stressed. The course also covers the subject of white collar crime, defining and discussing the major types of this criminal activity. The roles of top management and the board of directors in both the commission and the prevention of white collar crime are covered at length. Various resources such as recent cases of white collar crime, and websites such as those of the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center are incorporated into the course.
MGT 325: SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Credits 3The course is designed to provide a comprehensive and integrated introduction to the challenges of starting and managing a small business. In this course, students will build on an interdisciplinary foundation of accounting, management, and marketing to address the problems and decisions of starting, growing, and managing a small business.
MGT 330: ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATION
Credits 3How do organizations become better innovators? How do managers foster a culture of innovation within teams and organizations? This course will help students understand the relationship between creativity and innovation, and how individuals, teams, and organizations can increase their capacity for innovative thinking and creativity. Using case studies, students will explore and analyze innovation of various organizations and industries. Students will be introduced to product, process, and business model innovation and experience using tools and approaches such as brainstorming, design thinking, how-why laddering, and various mapping techniques.
MGT 331: FRAUD EXAMINATION
Credits 3This course examines the subject of fraud from both management and accounting perspectives. Utilizing a variety of techniques including text, lecture, case studies, and occasional training videos, the course seeks to familiarize students with the conditions which facilitate fraud, the profile of the fraud perpetrator, common types of fraud, and methods of prevention, detection, and resolution. Numerous historical cases of fraud are examined.
MGT 332: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONS
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has created significant changes in organizations, including the role of the manager. Recent advancements in AI technology have resulted in substantial changes in managerial processes, resulting in increasing importance of the role of AI in organizations. AI is being used in routine tasks and in supporting managers in core managerial functions. The current deployment rate of AI technology in organizations is a call to not only understand the technology and how it is being used in organizations but to critically examine its implications on individuals’ role in organizations and the society. Therefore, this course is designed to provide management students with foundational knowledge and understanding of AI technology within organizations.
MGT 335: GLOBAL SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Credits 3This course explores the emerging and rapidly developing business field of social entrepreneurship, both as an individual driving change to solve social problems, as well as the social enterprises that may emerge. These organizations are highly regarded for being mission driven as a significant focus of their business is aimed at solving social problems, while also achieving financial sustainability. Throughout the course students will gain in-depth insights into how these organizations achieve dual objectives of economic and social value. We will explore social ventures across a wide variety of sectors, such as environmental, energy, health, education, micro finance, and other areas. Social enterprises look to fill the void at the nexus of government, private, and non-profit enterprises that have not sustainably addressed social problems. Throughout the course students will encounter issues related to inequities in gender, race, ethnicity, and culture, which all play a role in the establishment and effectiveness of the social enterprise. A key outcome of the course will be social problem identification and assessment, and the development of a social venture business plan.
MGT 342: SPORT MANAGEMENT
Credits 3Sport has become a multibillion-dollar industry, and as such, requires increasingly sophisticated and innovative management. This course introduces students to the business of sport. Students will learn the concepts, principles, and practices of managing sport organizations and sporting events as well as gaining an overview of the sport industry. This course builds on the skills and knowledge from an introductory management and organization course as students learn to apply organizational, management, and leadership principles to sport organizations. Students will also study change and innovation in both sport organizations as well as the sport industry.
MGT 350: PROFESSIONAL AND ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE SPORT INDUSTRY
Credits 3The culture of winning reflects a set of longstanding American values. During contemporary times, issues in sport such as performance enhancing drugs, cheating, and violence have become important topics for sport managers. This course examines the professional and ethical responsibility of the sport manager, as well as ethical issues confronted by sport managers. Students will be asked to not only identify these issues within the sport industry environment, but also to analyze, discuss, and debate the sport manager’s professional and ethical responsibility in addressing these issues through ethical decision making. Students will also explore principle-centered leadership in sport.
MGT 400: BUSINESS STRATEGY
Credits 3This course serves to integrate prior studies in management, marketing, human resources, organizational behavior, production, finance, and accounting. The primary objective is to develop the student’s ability to think strategically by using case studies to analyze industry and competitive situations facing organizations.