In this course, students will conduct an action research project to help select the appropriate interventions related to diversity and inclusion. It is critical that when designing plans, students understand the role that different solutions have toward meeting organizational goals. Students will first begin by defining diversity and inclusion and how the definitions relate to organizational solutions. Then, they will explore approaches that organizations may take to assess and evaluate their needs, and to plan and then execute the appropriate response to support the organizational strategy. Topics will include: learning and development, training, communications, event planning, and community relations.

Promoting an organizational environment that fosters diversity requires aligning to and with organizational values, missions and visions. This course provides an overview of the organizational system including the design, control, and improvement of business systems. Topics include operations strategy, marketing and public relations, the legal landscape, principles of measuring organizational results, quality management, affirmative action and its role with Human Resources, as well as supplier diversity management.

This advanced course in cross-cultural communication will focus on the natural tensions that exist when conducting business globally. Within a framework of transnational business and global economics, students will address contemporary concerns that apply to strategic alliances and the management of the globally diverse organization. Topics covered include the achievements of global leaders, characteristics of leaders, leading across cultures, leading change and relationship between leaders and followers.

This course will review the theoretical underpinnings for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work in the United States. Students will explore implications of social movements, public policy, legislative action, and federal and state laws on practices that support DEI in workplace settings. The course examines the intersectionality of multiple identities that affect the workplace through the lens of multi-disciplinary scholars, practitioners and theorists in catalyzing DEI policies and practices as the framework for organizational success.

The role that media forms like “social media” (or computer-mediated social networking sites like Facebook or LinkedIn) play in large companies and organizations has become increasingly important for the analysis and leadership of organizations. In this course, students will develop a theoretical basis in, and begin to differentiate among, emerging media and internet technologies, the ethical questions surrounding social media, personal identity and the workplace, and the role that the internet, blogs and email have on group decision-making and the effectiveness of leaders. Students will take their knowledge of how social media are used for promotion and public relations, and how content communities and virtual social worlds are utilized in organizations, and apply it to creating plans for transforming organizations.

This course will focus on the emerging practice of innovation and entrepreneurship around the globe, with a particular focus on developing and lesser-developed countries. As countries such as India and China emerge as sources of innovation and entrepreneurship, it presents new challenges for countries that have traditionally held positions of economic leadership – how can innovators and entrepreneurs capitalize on this trend and counter these threats? Innovation and micro-enterprise in lesser-developed countries and the opportunities that it presents will also be discussed.

Students in this course will learn the principles of managing for creativity and agility. This will include the role of management in encouraging and inhibiting creativity, as well as specific management techniques for managing staff in creative jobs. Specific management techniques will be compared and contrasted for their potential application to innovation and entrepreneurship. This seminar-based course will focus on the ability of organizations to rapidly respond to changing market conditions and emerging opportunities. Topics such as disruptive innovation, alternative organization models, the extended enterprise, and others will be discussed, with a focus on the latest thinking in this area.

This course focuses on the development of an organizational culture that encourages innovation and entrepreneurship. Principles of organizational culture are discussed as a foundation, as well as factors that increase innovation and entrepreneurship. Levers for driving culture and techniques of culture change will also be demonstrated. Students will develop an idea and business plan for an innovative venture within a corporation/agency or a new entrepreneurial venture. Students will demonstrate application of the program content in the creation of a business plan.

This course focuses on developing an organization design that encourages innovation and enhances the success of entrepreneurial ventures. Various organization design techniques are discussed as a foundation, followed by application to various scenarios and business issues.

This advanced workshop explores current techniques in mass market and Internet market research, with an emphasis on state of the art methods and issues facing practitioners. The course explores the social psychology of creating and supplying demand for products and services, by applying qualitative and quantitative research methods in both traditional retail and business distribution channels as well as through the Internet. Topics include market segmentation, product feature targeting, packaging, pricing, bundling, and placement, as well as advertising through direct mail, email, Internet, electronic mass media, and print media.