Management - BC (MANGT)

A problem-based, interdisciplinary course in project management skills and techniques needed to manage projects in a modern business environment. MANGT 510 Project Management (3) Project Management has been labeled byFortunemagazine as the number one career choice for the coming decade. Increasingly, organizations are adopting project management techniques and structures within their business framework. Project management offers the twin advantages of allowing organizations to create products and processes efficiently, through optimal use of resources, and rapidly, to respond to rapid time-to-market demands. This course would give business majors a competitive advantage in the job market, as companies are in great need of a trained cadre of qualified project managers who can allow the business firm to operate to its highest potential.The role of the instructor in this course is to train students in the wide variety of demands and skills for which they must be qualified: the ability to exert leadership in managing project teams, an understanding of people and behavioral skills, and the ability to effectively use computer-based scheduling and tracking software to keep to timetables and schedules.The course itself would be set up around semester-long projects, either developed by the instructor, or developed (in collaboration with the instructor) by students involved in business enterprises. As a result, students would have real-time experience in the challenges of creating a unified team, solving problems, tracking their projects, and presenting a final paper and presentation on the process.

A problem-based course that emphasizes project cost control and teaches students to apply techniques to control projects in business. MANGT 515 Cost and Value Management (3) Project management has been labeled by Fortune magazine as the number one career choice for the coming decade. Increasingly, organizations are adopting project management techniques and structures within their business framework. Project management offers the twin advantages of allowing organizations to create products and processes efficiently, through optimal use of resources, and rapidly, in order to respond to rapid time-to-market demands. At the same time, however, substantial interest has been generated in the methods for effective cost control in the project environment. How can an organization implement projects while maintaining control of its costs and value? The role of the instructor in this course is to promote student learning of a wide variety of knowledge and skills required for successful project management. These include the ability to understand "cost" and "value" as these terms apply to project management, to understand the nature of budgeting and financial analysis for project selection and control, and the ability to interpret control information as it allows for change (configuration) management of mid-stream projects.

A problem-based course that addresses techniques for planning the project development process, including securing resources and resource management. MANGT 520 Planning and Resource Management (3) Project management has been labeled by Fortune magazine the number one career choice for the coming decade. Increasingly, organizations are adopting project management techniques and structures within their business framework. Project management offers the twin advantages of allowing organizations to create products and processes efficiently, through optimal use of resources, and rapidly, in order to respond to rapid time-to-market demands. The key "front-end" processes associated with successful project management consist of planning and resource management--in effect, the need to first plan the work, ensure necessary resources are available, and thoroughly understand the components of the project plan, including activities and their interrelationships.The role of the instructor in this course is to promote student learning of a wide variety of knowledge and skills required for successful project management. These include the ability to understand planning and resources as these terms apply to project management, to understand the nature of developing comprehensive plans and schedules, manage resources for their maximum effect, and learn how to respond to crises or unanticipated events in terms of adjustments to plans and resource requirements.

A problem-based course that addresses elements of commercial law and procurement practices and their implications for project management. MANGT 525 Commercial and Procurement (3) Project management has been labeled by Fortune magazine as the number one career choice for the coming decade. Increasingly, organizations are adopting project management techniques and structures within their business framework. Project management offers the twin advantages of allowing organizations to create products and processes efficiently, through optimal use of resources, and rapidly, in order to respond to rapid time-to-market demands. This course looks at the key issues in contracts, contract law, negotiation, and procurement. In developing projects for external clients, it is vital that organizations and project team members understand some of the basics by which contracts are negotiated and enforced. The role of the instructor in this course is to promote student learning of a wide variety of knowledge and skills required for successful project management. These include the nature of contracts and contract law, the use of contracts as a procurement strategy, how to understand the nature of contracts, their use as a negotiation tool, and the use of bidding and negotiation in relationships between project organizations and their customer base.

An examination of organizational theories and processs of organizational behavior.

A human relations-based course that identifies the significant challenges that managing individuals on project teams represents. MANGT 535 Interpersonal and Group Behavior (3) Project management has been labeled by Fortune magazine as the number one career choice for the coming decade. Increasingly, organizations are adopting project management techniques and structures within their business framework. Project management offers the twin advantages of allowing organizations to create products and processes efficiently, through optimal use of resources, and rapidly, in order to respond to rapid time-to-market demands. This course serves as an important linkage between the technical demands of project management and the behavioral challenges that await project teams in the form of interpersonal behavior and group interactions. The role of the instructor in this course is to promote student learning of a wide variety of behavioral knowledge and skills required for successful project management. These include understanding the impact of interpersonal behavior and team-based performance on project success as well as recognizing the impact of issues such as motivation and negotiation skills for managing projects.

A problem-based course that focuses on linking projects to overall corporate strategy. MANGT 540 Strategy: Corporate, Business and Project (3) Project management has been labeled by Fortune magazine as the number one career choice for the coming decade. Increasingly, organizations are adopting project management techniques and structures within their business framework. Project management offers the twin advantages of allowing organizations to create products and processes efficiently, through optimal use of resources, and rapidly, in order to respond to rapid time-to-market demands. This course provides a conceptual grounding in the role that projects play in furthering an organization's strategic goals. Projects are, in effect, the building blocks of strategy because they represent the operationalization of strategic plans. The role of the instructor in this course is to promote student learning of a wide variety of knowledge and skills required for successful project management. These include understanding the complex, widely diverse nature of the skills and knowledge required of modern project managers.

This course focuses on development of team leadership skills and the ability to solve team problems related to human interaction. MANGT 545 Project Team Leadership (3) The first half of this course consists of self-paced assigned readings which over basic concepts of team leadership. Students will complete quizzes over each chapter which they read and begin writing a personal case analysis. The second half of the course utilizes case studies of project teams and includes extensive class and small group discussions. In addition, each student will present a case analysis to the class. Students will have the opportunity to develop basic team leadership skills and the ability to solve team problems as they arise.

A problem-based capstone course that integrates the themes necessary to appreciate the overall challenge of project management. MANGT 575 Management of Projects (3) Project management has been labeled by Fortune magazine as the number one career choice for the coming decade. Increasingly, organizations are adopting project management techniques and structures within their business framework. Project management offers the twin advantages of allowing organizations to create products and processes efficiently, through optimal use of resources, and rapidly, in order to respond to rapid time-to-market demands. This course serves as a capstone experience intended to require students to be able to integrate the various elements from the previous set of project management courses they have covered. The course requires all other courses as prerequisites or co-requisites so that students may be sufficiently knowledgeable to synthesize all prior material. The role of the instructor in this course is to promote student learning of a wide variety of knowledge and skills required for successful project management. These include understanding the complex, widely diverse nature of the skills and knowledge required of modern project managers. In order to cover sufficiently the capstone material, students must have a thorough background in the various issues that comprise this capstone experience.

CREATIVE PROJECTS, INCLUDING NONTHESIS RESEARCH, WHICH ARE SUPERVISED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND WHICH FALL OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF FORMAL COURSES.

FORMAL COURSES GIVEN ON A TOPICAL OR SPECIAL INTEREST SUBJECT WHICH MAY BE OFFERED INFREQUENTLY; SEVERAL DIFFERENT TOPICS MAY BE TAUGHT IN ONE YEAR OR SEMESTER.

A problem-based course that emphasizes project risk assessment, prioritization, and risk-driven planning. This course teaches students pragmatic perspectives on uncertainty and project risk and how to use analytic tools to create actionable risk information for real-world decision-making in project planning, execution, and control. Risk management is an indispensable element for effective project management. The course introduces students to proven theories, analytic tools, and best practices in risk management to manage a project to its success in VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) environments. In this course, students will learn that project risks are not necessarily surprises and can be effectively managed by using analytic tools and best practices in risk management planning, risk identification, qualitative and quantitative risk analyses, risk response planning, and risk monitoring and control. The course also emphasizes applications of risk concepts and analytic tools to state-of-the-art practices. Case studies will be used to help students develop a practical understanding of the best practices in project risk management.

This is a graduate-level project management elective designed to expose project managers to strategic issues in marketing, opportunity recognition, and new product/service development. Marketing is presented as more than a business function; rather, as a philosophy of doing business. Students will be exposed to marketing management concepts and techniques in both domestic and international markets. This elective is intended to offer a specific context within which a large number of projects are initiated - i.e., new product and service development (NPSD) while broadening the perspective of students to understand how NPSD and project management directly link to marketing. An overview of the field of marketing is presented - from defining marketing and understanding its role in running a successful business to a thorough examination of the marketing mix, holistic marketing, marketing strategies, market opportunities analysis, branding, brand equity, and so on. It presents the marketer's view of product and service development as well as an understanding of stakeholder management and how project managers must work with marketing as a key stakeholder in the NPSD process. Further, the course explores linkages between marketing and project management - e.g., identifying opportunities, developing strategies, building a business case, identifying key performance indicators, and so forth. Identifying opportunities, developing strategies, and designing processes for the creation of new products, are key responsibilities for both entrepreneurs and managers in established firms. Developing new products and services is also fraught with risk, however: an overwhelming majority fail when introduced to the market. New product development is thus a joint challenge of marketing and effective project management. This course is about improving the odds of placing winning bets on new products and services. Strategies and processes for new product/service development will be the core of the course.