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 3
This 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 3
This 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 3

The 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 3
This 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 3
This 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 3
This 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 3
An 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 3
In 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 3
This 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 3
Provides 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 3
Leadership 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 3
The 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 3
This 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 3
This 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 3
The 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 3
How 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 3
This 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 3
This 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 3
Sport 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 3
The 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 3
This 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.

OCM 200: COMMUNICATION THEORY

Credits 3
An introduction to the study of communication, required of all Organizational Communication majors. This course includes a survey of basic theories of the human communication process, and an examination of communication theory in five business related contexts: (1) group communication; (2) persuasion and cultural communication; (3) intra/interpersonal communication; (4) mass communication; and (5) organizational communication. This course is a prerequisite for OCM 299.

OCM 299: CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

Credits 3
Strategic Managerial Communication investigates the role of managerial communication within the organization as a key component of strategy implementation. This course investigates the vital role of communication as a mode of strategy implementation through an understanding of strategy-related management behavior and communication formats. The course examines corporate communication theory, structure and functions that are within the context of organizations’ communicating to internal and external constituencies. Topics include: identity, image, reputation, corporate responsibility, corporate advertising, media relations, internal communications, government relations, investor relations and crisis communication. It is an upper level seminar and capstone course for the major in Organizational Communication.

OCM 301: EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION

Credits 3
This course explores the critical role of communication in the workplace, focusing on how effective employee communication contributes to organizational efficiency and culture. Students will study topics such as internal communication structures, the role of leadership in shaping communication, interpersonal communication in teams, conflict management, and the use of digital platforms in the workplace. Through case studies, group projects, and practical exercises, students will develop the skills necessary to communicate effectively within organizations and navigate the complexities of diverse work environments. By the end of the course, students will have a deeper understanding of how strong employee communication drives collaboration, enhances productivity, and fosters a positive organizational climate.

OCM 302: LEADERSHIP AND CHANGE COMMUNICATION

Credits 3
This course offers an in-depth exploration of the communication strategies essential for leading effectively and managing organizational change. Students will learn how to communicate vision, motivate teams, and lead through times of transformation. Additionally, the course focuses on the critical role of communication in navigating and implementing organizational change, addressing resistance, and fostering employee engagement. Through case studies, role-playing, and group discussions, students will develop practical skills for managing communication during both planned and unplanned changes within an organizational setting. By the end of the course, students will be prepared to take on leadership roles where they can successfully drive change while maintaining transparency, empathy, and authenticity.

OCM 303: CRISIS COMMUNICATION

Credits 3
Crisis Communications examines the opportunities and challenges organizations face when communicating during crises. This course explores crisis response theories, risk communication, and reputation management while emphasizing proactive planning and real-time decision-making. Students will analyze case studies, develop crisis communication plans, and participate in simulations to apply best practices in responding to diverse stakeholders. Topics include issue monitoring, crisis preparedness, media relations, the role of digital and social media in crises, ethical considerations, and post-crisis recovery.

OCM 333: STRATEGIC MANAGERIAL COMMUNICATION

Credits 3

Strategic Managerial Communication studies communication within the organization as a key component of strategy implementation. This course investigates the vital role of communication as a mode of strategy implementation through an understanding of strategy-related management behavior. The course examines organizational theory within several contexts: organizations communicating to employees and to the outside world, as well as internal communication among employees and supervisors. 

OCM 398: PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

Credits 3
Professional communicators must possess sound knowledge of their current skills and abilities as well as an understanding of the expectations of professional employment. In order to remain competitive in today’s changing work environment, professional communicators collect and showcase their skills, abilities, knowledge, and experience in a portfolio. The portfolio development process will assist the student to recognize and document the transferable skills they have already acquired through formal education and informal learning experiences. Students will analyze their prior learning within the context of the communication profession. They will document prior learning (knowledge and skills) and identify skills that they may need or want to develop in the future. The portfolio they develop will include a resume and cover letter, along with a variety of business communication writing samples. The portfolio will help the student develop a learning plan and action plan to enhance his/her competitiveness in the workplace and within the communication profession.

OCM 399: INTERNSHIP IN BUSINESS

Credits 3
This course is designed to provide student interns with a valuable experiential learning opportunity, and includes a field-based internship experience of a minimum of 120 hours for the semester in the private, non-profit, entrepreneurial or governmental sector. Students attend a weekly seminar to discuss organizational behavior and management concepts and to share observations about their internship experiences. Students assess their career competencies, organizational culture preferences, risk tolerances and supervision/feedback requirements to determine their optimal career paths. They also conduct informational interviews with professionals in their career field or industry of interest. All students complete an observation/reflection paper which documents and analyzes organizational theory and applies it to experiential consequences and behavior.