Courses taught at Dakota State University

BADM 436 -- Entrepreneurship -- The DSU catalog describes this course as a study of idea generation and screening and the new business start-up process. Emphasis on resource management and business planning. Case studies and an entrepreneurial project are required activities. In the syllabus, I add this: The ability to “grow” a business or other type of organization is an important skill – whether it be a startup or an existing entity. It is equally important to be able to apply management concepts taught in business school to real-life situations. The objective of this course is to apply business knowledge to the task of writing and presenting a comprehensive proposal and plan for funding a new venture. Click here for a pdf of an example syllabus.

BADM 460 -- Human Resource Management -- a comprehensive study of the law, procedure, and common sense practice of managing people in organizations. Special focus on compliance with employment law and on the steps of the human resource management process. The DSU catalog says that this course provides a survey of managerial practices with respect to the management of the human resource function and an introduction to the topic of human resource, management as an occupational choice. Major areas of inquiry include recruitment and selection, training and development, compensation and benefits administration and work force integration and maintenance. Prerequisite: BADM 360.

BADM 464 -- Organizational Behavior -- This course focuses on basic concepts of organizational behavior and how they affect the practice of management, including motivation, group dynamics, communication, coordination, change, and adaptation within an organization. If you really want to be a manager, this will be one of the most interesting courses you will take. Your job as a manager is to accomplish organizational goals by coordinating the efforts of other people. Working managers quickly realize that understanding why people work and what makes them want to work are key pieces of information needed to be effective. This course will provide theory and practice information about the scientific study of organizational behavior, the building blocks needed to understand the “whys” of people at work in the organizations where your post-college career will take place.

BADM 468 -- International Management -- A study of the management required in an internationally-oriented firm with emphasis on policy formulating and planning. Also emphasized are relationships among business, cultural, and political factors. The future of business lies in managing across borders. The period of intense concentration of wealth in the U.S., with much less wealth elsewhere in the world, is over. To sustain our quality of life by extending economic prominence, managers must be able to deal with large and long-term relationships with managers, owners, and employees in other countries. This course focuses on how to understand inter-country social, political, legal, and religious differences and on how to manage organizational relationships in light of those differences.

BADM 482 -- Business Policy and Strategy -- the capstone for Business students, this course integrates courses in Finance, Management, Accounting, Marketing, and Information Systems in a study of how strategy is formulated and implemented. In addition to preparing integrative cases, students participant in an online simulation of the athletic footwear industry, where outcomes depend not only on decisions made, but on the decisions of competitors. This is one of the most demanding courses in the Business curriculum. Students who successfully complete the course enjoy a perspective on organizational activity that is necessary for successful organizational leadership.