Organizational Leadership Course Descriptions
ORL 300 Applied Research Methods for Social Sciences– This course focuses on the
development of effective research based problem-solving techniques for organizational
management and leadership. The course will cover an introduction to research
methodology and data analysis. Descriptive and inferential statistics, statistical
distributions, parameter estimations, test of hypotheses and simple regression models are
emphasized to help students solve problems and evaluate solutions. Current statistical
software packages are evaluated to assist in problem solving in realistic organizational
situations. The directed study component of the course will consist of the actual use of
the software packages to design and implement solution strategies to solve model
problems and sample case studies. This will consist of both on-line and off-line
computer activities to complete this portion of the course.
ORL 310 Foundations of Leadership – This course gives students a theoretical and
practical understanding of organizational theory, organizational behavior, and leadership
styles and effectiveness.
ORL 320 Managing Communication and Cultural Change in Organizations – This
course provides both practical and theoretical knowledge needed by management for
communicating in an environment of cultural change in a diverse and evolving organization
marketplace. The course is designed to build communication competence, and foster
dialogue across personality and cultural conflicts. Finally, the course provides students with
a firm knowledge of principles of communication theory, method and application especially
as they are relevant to Organizational Leadership. The course focuses on issues of
intercultural business communication and provides students with the skills needed to
successfully manage/lead change and conflict within the diverse workplace. Emphases
include ethnocentrism, stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination, group identity, variations
in cultural values, and a cross-cultural appreciation of diverse styles of managing and leading
in an international context.
ORL 330 Strategic Marketing and Management - This course is designed to explore the
processes management uses to operate and organization. The course also explores the
impact of social legal and governmental environments on organizations. Related to the
management process is a detailed discussion of the markets within which businesses must
operate and the processes a business must undertake to analyze its markets. This includes
discussions of market analysis, market selection criteria and an introduction to business
planning and decision-making. The course provides the student with knowledge and to
prepare a strategic marketing plan for a for profit or non-profit organization.
ORL 340 Diversity and Social Changes – This course examines conceptualizations of
diversity including gender, race, ethnicity, class, religious, family structure, and sexuality and
how those identities impact organizations as they function to navigate a changing social
landscape through developments in technology, politics, and beliefs.
ORL 420 Economics, Budgeting and Forecasting - This course analyzes, first, the
resource allocation process, focusing on the affect of supply and demand’s impacts on
market price and the importance of marginal revenue and marginal cost to price and output
determination. Secondly, the course analyzes the value of macroeconomic variables and the
firm’s use of such information. Lastly, the course conveys the understanding to the student
of why firms need budgets and forecasts and how these concepts enable a manager to
effectively manage the firm. The course will describe various budgeting and forecasting
techniques that firms use today and will enable students to develop their own forecasts using
this information.
ORL 430 Corporate Accounting and Finance - This course analyzes, first, basic journal
entries required in the course of corporate accounting, such as entries for billing and bill
payment, as well as, equity and bond transactions. Secondly, the course analyzes the
compilation of financial statements resulting from the transactions and the related basic
concepts of corporate finance, such as financial statement analysis and the time value of
money. Lastly, students are introduced to the financial concept of value creation, where a
senior financial manager undertakes certain methods to increase shareholder value. These
methods are critically analyzed.
ORL 440 Ethics, Values and The Law - The course “Ethics, Values, and the Law”
focuses upon changing organizations. As organizations change, organizations are impacted
by numerous ethical and legal considerations. The course will provide an overview, which
involves attention to the broader context of the changing organization, the various
traditional modes of ethical reasoning, the relevant legal terminology and considerations, and
appropriate responses to selected issues in changing organizations. The course will culminate
in an application of these factors to specific organizations.