Course Descriptions
Descriptions of Required and Elective Courses Needed to Complete a Major In Organizational Communication

Business 105:
Management (3 hours)
Students examine the process of achieving organizational goals by working with people and other organizational resources. Students explore the history of management and the environment in which managers operate. Classroom discussion focuses on the basic managerial functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.

Business 107:
Marketing (3 hours)
Students examine the role of marketing in society with an introduction to the fundamentals of strategic marketing planning and the development of the marketing mix. Topics include buyer behavior, market segmentation, distribution, pricing policies, communication strategies, and product development.

Business 251:
Business Law 1 (3 hours)
Astudy of the general principles of law as they apply to daily transactions and a consideration of such subjects as contracts, bailments, negotiable instruments, and personal and real property.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or permission of the instructor.

Business 265:
Behavior in Organizations (3 hours)
This course provides a conceptual framework for understanding behavior within the organization. Students explore behavior at the individual, group, and organizational levels. Units of analysis include personality,leadership, conflict, motivation, power, and politics.
Prerequisite(s): Business 105.

Business 266:
Marketing Management (3 hours)
This course is taught from the leader’sdecision-making perspective with an emphasis on the marketing manager’s role in the development and analysis of goal-oriented marketing strategies. Students explore how marketing decisions impact the overall development including market research, promotion, pricing, distribution, and competitive strategies.
Prerequisite(s): Business 107.

Business 267:
Consumer Behavior (3 hours)
Application of behavioral science theories, concepts, methods, and research findings to the understanding and prediction of consumer behavior as the basis for decision making by marketing managers. Designed to provide additional insight into sociological, psychological, and environmental factors affecting the consumer decision process and their importance to marketing strategies.
Prerequisite(s): Business 107.

Business 269:
Promotional Strategy (3 hours)
Focuses on developing the appropriate mix of promotional tools used in marketing communications, including advertising, sales promotions, public relations, sponsorship, point of purchase, and personal selling. Examines the relationship of promotional strategies to the communication process. Students develop an integrated marketing communications plan for an area business.
Prerequisite(s): Business 107.

Business 270:
Human Resources/Personnel (3 hours)
An in-depth study of current policies and problems in human resource management. Subjects include human resource planning, recruiting, selection, training, management development, compensation, discipline, labor relations, equal employment opportunity laws/regulations, and human resource management policies.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or permission of the instructor.

Business 271:
Advanced Human Resources/Personnel (3 hours)
Labor legislation, labor trends, and many controversial and contemporary human resource management problems are explored. The course is taught by case method along with lecture and general discussion of selected topics related to current personnel problems and trends. The cases used are designed to demonstrate the student’s ability to apply sound human resource management concepts and principles in arriving at effective and workable solutions to complex contemporary problems.
Prerequisite(s): Business 270.

Business 272:
Ethics in Business (3 hours)
This course investigates ethical issues and moral dilemmas found in the modern business arena. The conflict between an organization’s economic performance and its social obligations are studied. Various economic theories, legal regulations and philosophic doctrines are discussed. Contemporary Western moral philosophy, historic and contemporary Christian ethics, and social theory provide a context for the course. Case studies are integrated throughout the semester.

Business 274:
Small Business Management (3 hours)
Students use multidisciplinary business skills to identify, analyze, and execute practical management solutions to the various problems and opportunities of a small business enterprise. The major project is preparation of an actual business plan. Lectures, cases, and guest speakers from the community help provide students a clearer understanding of the link between theoretical studies and the practical world of business.
Prerequisite(s): Business 001, 105 and 107, and junior standing or permission of the instructor.

Communication 040:
Interpersonal Communication (3 hours)
An introductory study of theories, models, and key variables of communication within the context of interpersonal relationships. Using primarily an experiential approach, the course covers topics including verbal and nonverbal processes, listening and feedback, communication competence, and goals.

Communication 050:
Intercultural Communication (3 hours)
The study of cultural differences that influence the exchange of meaning between individuals and groups of different cultural and/or racial backgrounds. The course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the uniqueness of cultures and the resulting variations in communication styles and preferences, and to provide strategies and skills for successfully communicating across cultural barriers. Students will spend at least 20 hours during the semester working with community agencies serving clients from different cultures.

Communication 130:
Communication Theory (3 hours)
This course is intended to serve as a general introduction for majors and interested students to the theories and research questions investigated by social scientists interested in the processes of human communication.
Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing.

Communication 140:
Introduction to Leadership (3 hours)
Students will explore components of leadership theory, skills, and behaviors, and will examine and practice effective communication behaviors as related to leadership processes and roles.

Communication 155:
Mass Media (3 hours)
Astudy of the development of types of media including books, newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and film. The interaction of these media and their impact on society and the individual are included.

Communication 185:
Diversity Issues in U.S. Society (3 hours)
The course focuses on a variety of issues a pluralistic society faces in current times. It will reflect upon historical foundations of cultural frameworks in the United States, immigrant cultures, cultural tolerance, empowerment and the close intersections of our global community. In addition, the students will have a chance to reflect upon their own cultural identity, biases, communication issues, and teachings in regards to racism, sexism, language diversity, and ethnocentrism.

Communication 200:
Conflict Resolution (3 hours)
The course focuses on constructive individual and group interaction by providing practical strategies for handling complex interpersonal dynamics. Class content weaves theory with skill building to help students explore the nature of conflict and a range of approaches to resolving differences. Students will discover what influces problem solving and decision-making through the application of negotiation, communication and perceptual skills.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or permission of the instructor.

Communication 232:
Public Relations (3 hours)
A study of the nature of public relations, the persons involved, its relationship to public opinion, and the channels of communication that are used.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing and Communication 155 or permission of the instructor.

Professional Development 210:
A Framework for Project Management (3 hours)
This course in project management delivers an overview of the core competencies necessary for success and how the student can focus on applying the corporate model to industry trends. “Framework” refers to an intellectual model or way of thinking, talking about, and solving programs pertaining to all aspects of project management. It will enable you to: reach a common definition of basic project management terms and concepts; understand the processes and activities involved in managing a project; define project phases, objectives, and boundaries; describe an overview of the knowledge areas of project management, such as scope, time, and cost; and grasp the impact of organizational psychology on the change management process.
Prerequisite(s): MS Windows/Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Professional Development 211:
The Practice of Project Management (3 hours)
The Practice of Project Management is a systematic examination of the core methods and techniques of the project management process. This class will focus in more depth on such topics as the project manager and work styles, the project management life cycle, teamwork and conflict, planning fundamentals, precedence diagramming tools and use, managing risk and project lessons learned.
Prerequisite(s): Professional Development 210.

Professional Development 212:
Tools and Technology of Project Management (3 hours)
This course is a survey of project management tools designed to meet the increasing need to plan, schedule, track, control, and report on every aspect of project management. The class text reviews some 200 software project management tools. In addition, the functions and applicability of the “Project Office” will be reviewed. The class will also conduct a tutorial on Microsoft Project with students able to purchase the software at a significant discount through the University.
Prerequisite(s): Professional Development 210 and 211.

Professional Development 213:
Case Study and Application of Project Management (3 hours)
This core completion course will focus on case studies with students assigned to teams and chartered to develop a detailed study solution and supporting project plan. It will incorporate the materials covered in previous course work and give the student a real world feel for the rigors of the Project Management Process. The case study course will be a dynamic “simulation” process. The project cases will be impacted weekly with typical business world problems including conflicts, lack of information, staff issues, etc. Students will be required to respond to scripted changes and adjust their project case solution until course completion. At the final class, each team will present a solution of their respective case to a “management committee” using the full suite of project management techniques.
Prerequisite(s): Professional Development 210, 211, and 212.