Business Administration

Business Law I provides a foundation of the U.S. legal system and its interrelationship to business and ethics the legal and ethical considerations of business operations. Topics include the legal environment, operation of the legal system, completion of contracts, torts, constitutional law, criminal law, and intellectual property.

A basic exposure to business principles, functions, and practices that prepares students with the knowledge to pursue specific areas of study associated with business enterprise such as economics, marketing, finance, human resource management, information technology, operations, ethics, and entrepreneurship. Awareness of the significance of business in the free enterprise system is developed through topical research, discussion, and writing projects.

This course is designed to prepare students to organize and compose effective business correspondence and operations. Focus will be on various types of business communication encountered in management functions, including creating documents, preparing presentations, managing meetings, providing leadership, and building teams. The course will address both internal and external organizational communications as well as professional career preparation.

This course covers the law of business entities, including agencies, partnerships, and corporations. This course will also cover property concepts, sales, negotiable instruments, agency and employment law.

This course is designed to present ethical principles and decision-making models for people in organizations. Making ethical choices in a variety of personal and organizational situations is covered.

This course will help students to develop leadership skills through improved communication. Focus will be on those types of communication encountered in management functions: creating documents, presentations, leadership, managing meetings, building teams, internal and external organizational communication and professional career preparation.

The course presents a comprehensive study of advanced legal topics in commercial transactions for students interested in pursuing careers in accounting or other professions, which require detailed understanding of business law concepts. Topics covered include types of business organizations, securities regulations, sales, negotiable instruments, secured transactions, bankruptcy, insurance, accountants' liability and employment law.

This course is designed to provide students with a sound conceptual understanding of the role that quantitative analysis plays in the decision-making process. It emphasizes the application of a variety of techniques to the solution of business and economic problems to help students become effective users and evaluators of quantitative and qualitative information in making decisions.

In this course, students learn to use business analytic tools to make decisions about measurable business performance and help improve the outcome. This course provides students with concepts and tools needed to understand and apply analytical tools in the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. The emphasis is on application and interpretation of the results, in addition to theory and calculations. Students use Microsoft Excel for data analysis.

In this course, students act as managers of a firm operating in a simulated industry. They are responsible for developing a strategic plan, creating execution plans, monitoring results and modifying execution plans to achieve success in competition with others in the simulated industry.

The internship experience is designed specifically to enable the student to apply classroom knowledge to the work environment, and to better prepare the student to enter the business world. This course is a faculty supervised and evaluated field experience in business management, with a major project as an end product. Students will work with Career Services or the appropriate Department Chair, Program Director, or designee to identify a potential internship site location. Once an acceptable organization and site supervisor are found, the College of Business must approve the organization to be utilized for this purpose. The site supervisor, student, and faculty coordinator, as defined in the College of Business Internship Courses Student Handbook, will arrange for the student to have an opportunity to realize the goals and objectives and apply competencies of this course to real-work situations. Please refer to the Internship Teaming Agreement in the College of Business Internship Courses Student Handbook for further information regarding requirements prior to participating in an internship. Minimum of 120 contact hours. This course is Pass/Fail (P/F).

This course will introduce students to the philosophy and techniques of total quality management applied to business, governmental, and not-for-profit organizations. Students will explore the fundamentals of quality management with emphasis on the best practices of high-performing organizations as measured by assessment tools such as the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. Students will learn the proper application and use of techniques such as Statistical Process Control, Six Sigma, and process management.

This course focuses on student familiarity with the doctoral structure and program resources at South University. The class discusses how the program is appropriate to those seeking to further their careers in higher education and business pursuits. The course sets the stage for students to understand the responsibilities of those who hold a terminal degree to provide teaching, scholarship, and service to the academic and professional communities they serve. Topics include the online library, how to analyze and critique the work of others, an overview of preliminary exams, the dissertation process, and opportunities to serve in academic/professional communities as students and professionals. Additional topics to be covered may include research in business, ethics in business research, thinking like a researcher, and an overview of the research process and style.

The doctoral residencies are a requirement for online students in the DBA program. These are a time for faculty, staff, and cohorts to meet in a collegial learning opportunity. Residencies are designed as a time for students and faculty to work together collaboratively and to support the creation of a community of scholars. Students will spend class time in faculty and staff led presentations and will have the opportunity to network and share their experiences in the program. They will also be able to work collaboratively on their scholarship during the residencies, and opportunities to provide service to the academic community will be discussed. The South University DBA has two residencies. All DBA students in the online program are required to participate in these two residencies; these residencies are part of the complete requirements for the program.

The doctoral residencies are a requirement for online students in the DBA program. These are a time for faculty, staff, and cohorts to meet in a collegial learning opportunity. Residencies are designed as a time for students and faculty to work together collaboratively and to support the creation of a community of scholars. Students will spend class time in faculty and staff led presentations and will have the opportunity to network and share their experiences in the program. They will also be able to work collaboratively on their scholarship during the residencies, and opportunities to provide service to the academic community will be discussed. The South University DBA has two residencies. All DBA students in the online program are required to participate in these two residencies; these residencies are part of the complete requirements for the program.

Doctoral-level course focusing on the ethics and process of business research. Topics include the research process, clarifying the research question using secondary data, developing the research design, qualitative research, observational studies, surveys, and experiments. Students will test their understanding of these concepts through discussion of how each of these concepts is used in the articles covered in the content area courses. Additionally, students will explore how they can use their research to provide meaningful service to their academic/professional community.

As a continuation of the first Research Methods course, this course is a doctoral-level study in research methods focusing on measurement, scales, questionnaires and instruments, sampling, preparation of the data, descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, measures of association and multivariate analysis.

This course focuses on building statistical models for professional research, including distribution assumptions, tests of hypotheses, confidence intervals, collinearity, outliers, transformations, general F test, analysis of variance, and multiple comparisons. Additional topics include generalized linear regression, best model selection, and the linear model approach to analysis of variance and analysis of covariance.

This course focuses on building multivariate models for professional research, and studies topics such as MANOVA, MANCOVA, factor analysis, and discriminant analysis. Additional topics include data mining and predictive modeling for large datasets, with a focus on logistic regression, survival analysis, and classification trees.

Successful completion of the comprehensive examination indicates the student's broad expertise of the degree's content focus and readiness to complete the dissertation. In addition, successful completion of this examination demonstrates doctoral level mastery of the knowledge and competencies required of a doctoral program graduate. The responses must demonstrate a high level of critical thinking and demonstrate the ability to analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and apply theoretical constructs and research findings to professional practice and contemporary issues in organizations. The exam includes four individual tests, each of which must be passed successfully within two attempts before progressing to the dissertation phase of the program. This course is Pass/Fail (P/F).

The purpose of this course is for students to develop a viable doctoral dissertation research topic that will lead to the creation of the dissertation proposal. Students explore alternative topics and research questions of interest, focusing on those that can be developed into a dissertation that makes an original contribution to the academic literature. This course is Pass/Fail/Limited Progress (P/F/LP)

This course is an extension of BUS8100 to allow the student additional time to complete the required progress toward completion of the dissertation. Repetition of an extension course will override the prior grade earned in the extension course and will not count as additional credits toward the degree. This course is Pass/Fail/Limited Progress (P/F/LP).

The purpose of this course is for students to refine the work completed in BUS8100, to develop the literature review, and begin development of the methodology section of their dissertation. Students will refine their draft work of Chapter One and Chapter Two using dissertation committee feedback. The course requires students to present their dissertation proposals for faculty feedback. This course is Pass/Fail/Limited Progress (P/F/LP).

This course is an extension of BUS8105 to allow the student additional time to complete the required progress toward completion of the dissertation. Repetition of an extension course will override the prior grade earned in the extension course and will not count as additional credits toward the degree. This course is a Pass/Fail/Limited Progress (P/F/LP).

The purpose of this course is for students to refine the work completed in BUS8105 and to develop the methodologies and procedures that will be used in their dissertation. Students will refine their draft proposals using dissertation committee feedback. The course requires students to present their dissertation proposals for faculty feedback. This course is Pass/Fail/Limited Progress (P/F/LP).

This is an extension of the BUS8110 course to allow the student additional time to complete the required progress toward completion of the dissertation. Repetition of an extension course will override the prior grade earned in the extension course and will not count as additional credits toward the degree. This course is Pass/Fail/Limited Progress (P/F/LP).

The purpose of this course is for students to collect and analyze data using the previously identified methods for their individual dissertation plans. Students will draft the reporting and analysis of data results as well as provide formal conclusions and recommendations from the data analysis. This course is Pass/Fail/Limited Progress (P/F/LP).

This course is an extension of the BUS8115 to allow the student additional time to complete the required progress toward completion of the dissertation. Repetition of an extension course will override the prior grade earned in the extension course and will not count as additional credits toward the degree. This course is Pass/Fail/Limited Progress (P/F/LP).

The purpose of this course is for students to finalize all data collection and analysis and revise the dissertation draft into the final submission to the Dissertation Committee. Students will defend the dissertation as the culmination of this course. This course is Pass/Fail/Limited Progress (P/F/LP).

This is an extension of the BUS8120 course to allow the student additional time to complete the required progress toward completion of the dissertation. Repetition of an extension course will override the prior grade earned in the extension course and will not count as additional credits toward the degree. This course is Pass/Fail/Limited Progress (P/F/LP).

This course addresses the issues of motivation, leadership, and communications. Included are negotiation, conflict resolution, and teambuilding.

This course provides an overview of microeconomic concepts and applications to common business problems. Topics include supply and demand analysis, cost analysis, economics of scale, basic market types and their characteristics, pricing, risk analysis and the role of government in economic affairs.

This course provides a framework for managers to understand and assess the ethical and legal responsibilities of managers and the implications of their decisions. The course introduces an ethical framework for managers and explores the constitutional foundation for laws and regulations that affect businesses, employment and civil rights laws, contracts, intellectual property, corporate governance, securities and financial transactions and international law.

This course presents students with quantitative tools for effective business analysis and decision-making. In addition to a review of basic inferential statistics, the course includes tools such as chi-squared tests, nonparametric statistics, correlation and regression analysis, time-series analysis and forecasting, and decision analysis.

This course instills crucial analytical, communication and planning skills which are essential for success in the programs and in management careers. Topics covered in statistics, finance and accounting provide a vital foundation for expected performance in the program. Critical thinking and analytical skills will be developed as students become acquainted with the expectations of graduate business programs.

In this course students learn to apply analytical tools to making strategic financial decisions that add value to the shareholder. Students will learn to use financial statement analysis tools, value long-term securities, relate risk and return, perform financial forecasting, evaluate assets and portfolios, determine the firm's cost of capital and design an optimal financial structure.

This course provides a framework for examining key strategic marketing issues faced by modern organizations and helps students to develop an understanding of the marketing environment, customer and their buying behavior, the marketing research process, new product development, marketing channels, and marketing communication and advertising.

This course introduces students to the management activities involved in operating organizations within a global supply chain context. Students will learn how business functions (such as marketing, operations, and finance) interact to support decisions for successful execution of the organization's strategic plan.

This course explores human resources from a strategic perspective to help an organization achieve its goals. Topics may include investments in human resources, workforce demographic trends, theories of human resource management, workforce training and development, workforce utilization and assessment, and performance management systems.

This course explores the theoretical grounding and practical approaches necessary to effectively diagnose organizational problems, develop intervention approaches, and implement organizational solutions. Topics may include entering and contracting, organizational diagnostic models, organizational surveys, change impediments, managing the change process, organizational/interpersonal/group interventions, and evaluation approaches.

This course focuses on the unique characteristics, needs, and implications of entrepreneurial organizations and small businesses in the U.S. and global economies. Topics may include the life cycle of entrepreneurial organizations and small businesses, entrepreneurial leadership and the role of the entrepreneur, functional needs of these enterprises, and evaluation of recent new ventures.

This course explores the methods of directing a firm, or a significant division thereof in an internationally competitive environment. Students will develop an understanding of the way in which general managers formulate and implement business level strategy and corporate level strategy in today's market economy. These techniques will incorporate tools and perspectives for international and cooperative strategy. In this course students will also develop skills and perspectives in corporate leadership, corporate parenting, and corporate entrepreneurship.