Entrepreneurship

An overview of the functional areas of business in a global society. Students will complete the course with knowledge of the general business environment, economic systems, business ethics, operations and project management, and technology and information systems. In addition, students will learn the fundamentals of economics, business ownership, entrepreneurship, finance, management, leadership, and marketing. Key themes woven throughout the course include exploration of career options and development of business problem-solving skills.

This course covers the fundamentals of how to organize, finance, and operate a small business. Topics to be covered include business plan development, financing, legal and ethical issues, marketing, entrepreneurial team development, and business models.

This course provides students with the tools to achieve their personal financial goals. It will help them make informed decisions related to spending, saving, borrowing, and investing by training them to apply quantitative reasoning concepts to solve problems. Topics covered include personal financial planning; money management; tax strategy; consumer credit; purchasing decisions; insurance; investing in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds; retirement; and estate planning.

This course provides an introduction of the key topics concerning sustainability in business. In particular, an examination of business’ potential as a significant economic force to provide solutions to global environmental, social and economic challenges in the 21st century. The course will focus on how innovation can drive sustainable business activities.

This course navigates the current business environment and identifies the key legal challenges that an entrepreneur faces in starting and operating a business. It is ideal for business majors and for students who have an interest in starting their own businesses. The following topics are explored: basic legal concepts, dispute resolution, tort liability, contracts, managing risk, employment law, agent liability, legal form of business ownership, legal challenges with marketing, and intellectual property law.

This course provides students with an overview of the different forms of intellectual property (IP). An emphasis is placed on analyzing the subject matter that patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret protect. In addition to learning about the different IP protections, students will also gain an appreciation of the strategies to guard against infringing upon another's intellectual property right. Finally, the course will explore the relevance of IP to business, the arts, science, music and other arenas.

This course introduces students to the basics of intellectual property law. The course is designed for the non-law student who wants to gain a general understanding of the different types of intellectual property and the subject matter that each protects. Current case examples will be explored to illustrate the application and relevance of each form to different industries.

Principles of Marketing examines the organization's functions for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers. The course also examines the role and importance of marketing in the firm and other organizations. Topics include marketing plans & strategies, digital marketing, marketing research, market segmentation, distribution, pricing, promotion, marketing ethics and product development.

This course explores the fundamental sales process of analyzing customer needs and satisfying those needs with a relevant product or service. Topics include prospecting and qualifying potential buyers, preparing for sales calls, delivering sales presentations, handling customer objections, negotiating sales transactions, closing sales, and providing effective follow-up.

Students will learn the technological and strategic aspects of electronic commerce essential to succeeding in today's internet-based economy. No background in e-commerce is necessary. This is a lecture and theoretical course which covers the key technologies used in e-Commerce, the history of internet and web technologies, infrastructure, and the economic forces behind e-Commerce. Business goals and constraints, technology and process tools, business strategies and tactics, and underlying economic theories relating to successful e-Commerce will be discussed.

This course surveys the principles and techniques of current and evolving business communication as a process in a variety of business situations. The course emphasizes planning, organizing, composing, and revising business documents using appropriate utilization of a variety of technological platforms, business related internet writing contexts, and web resources. Also, this course will incorporate a variety of internet-based communication tools relevant to doing business in today's world. This course is designed for students who already have college-level writing skills.

This course introduces students to digital marketing. Students will learn how to develop and implement various digital marketing channels, such as search-engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), social media marketing, pay per click (PPC) advertising, affiliate marketing, email marketing and content marketing. The course will emphasize the strategic role of digital marketing in traditional marketing; its impact on the customer experience; and how to track its effectiveness.

This course provides students with the tools to achieve their personal financial goals. It will help them make informed decisions related to spending, saving, borrowing, and investing by training them to apply quantitative reasoning concepts to solve problems. Topics covered include personal financial planning; money management; tax strategy; consumer credit; purchasing decisions; insurance; investing in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds; retirement; and estate planning.

This course focuses on general business problems, theories, techniques and strategies necessary in the development of business activities in the global market place. The course is designed to promote an understanding of the impact that a country’s culture and its political and economic environments have on a firm’s international operations. The course covers the global perspective of business fundamentals as they relate to international management, communication, marketing, finance, ethics, etc.

This course presents an overview of importing and exporting as drivers of globalization. It is designed to help students explore the benefits, costs, and risks of importing and exporting as well as the trade regulations involved, the documentation and licensing required, and the public and private sources of financing and other assistance available. It stresses cross-cultural comparisons of foreign business, legal and political practices, trade patterns, and markets as a means of implementing successful import/export plans. Currency exchange, sources and methods of market research, terms of payment, broker services, insurance, letters of credit, transportation and barriers to entry will also be covered.

The entertainment industry is rapidly and continuously shifting and evolving, with digital technology serving as the catalyst for its change. This new paradigm requires that our understanding of the industry and its operations evolve along with it. This introductory course will examine the current and future trends that drive the industry, and the changing business models and associated roles for creatives and executives within the business of entertainment.

This course introduces students to the problem-solving and innovation methodology called design thinking, using an approach called “Design for Delight” that was developed at Intuit. Design for Delight (D4D) uses deep customer empathy, strategic brainstorming and idea selection methods, and rapid experiments with customers to build products and solutions that create value for businesses and stakeholders, and ultimately improve people’s lives. Emphasis will be placed on experiential learning, with students learning and practicing specific behaviors and skills that enable entrepreneurs to creatively solve customer and business problems in all types of organizations including for-profit, non-profit, healthcare and education.

This course introduces students to the decision making process called Design Thinking. Design Thinking emphasizes deep user understanding, intentional iteration and a focus on possibilities as a way to improve people's lives and enhance and create value for stakeholders. Design Thinking draws on methods from engineering and design and combines them with ideas from the arts, social services and the business world. Emphasis will be placed on experiential learning, identifying specific behaviors and skills that enable design thinkers to meet customer demands in all types of organizations including for-profits, non-profits, healthcare, arts and education.

This course introduces the student to management concepts and strategies used by modern businesses. The course is designed to familiarize student with the accepted standards, procedures, and techniques employed by top, middle, and supervisory level managers. Further, the course provides students with an understanding of the role of management and how to develop plans and execute strategies in pursuit of organizational goals.

This course provides students with a hands-on class experience in starting a side business that can add to a student's income stream or grow into a full-time business. Students will learn to: identify income producing opportunities, develop business and promotion plans, and fund, launch, refine their business and make a profit. Emphasis will be placed on experiential learning, taking action and the iterative refinement process needed to start a new business.

Digital marketing enables an individual or business to promote an organization, brand, product or service using a variety of online marketing strategies: content marketing, social media marketing, search engine marketing and e-marketing. Numerous tools and applications are utilized to deliver these strategies, such as a content management system; blogging; content creators and editors for images, posts and videos; crowdsourcing; podcasting; RSS feed and directories; social media business accounts and ad managers, like Facebook Ad Manager; search engine advertising, like Google Ads; SEO techniques and tools; third party tracking and analytics tools, such as Google Analytics; email and direct message marketing; and event promotion. This course provides the skills to use these tools and applications for a successful digital marketing campaign.