Business Administration

BUS AD 1000 Introduction to Business: 3 semester hours

Overview of the functional business disciplines, including, but not limited to principles of Accounting, Finance, Information Systems, Law, Logistics and Operations Management, Management, and Marketing.

BUS AD 1107 Quantitative Methods for Business: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: MATH 1030 or MATH 1045 or a satisfactory score on the UMSL Math Placement Examination, obtained at most one year prior to enrollment in this course. This course covers a broad range of quantitative methods across various business applications. Topics include but are not limited to data collection, cleaning, description, visualization, and communication. The goal is to build fundamental skills and confidence in mathematical reasoning for data-driven decision-making. It will prepare students to be successful in subsequent analytical-oriented classes.

BUS AD 1900 Introduction to Personal Law: 3 semester hours

This course introduces students to the American legal system and the basic issues every individual must deal with in our society. The course will be of interest to anyone seeking a job, leasing an apartment, buying a car or house, borrowing money, buying insurance, getting married or divorced, entering contracts, filing a law suit, writing a will, or accumulating wealth. May not be used for credit in any undergraduate business program.

BUS AD 2000 Topics in Business Administration: 1-3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Vary with topic; contact the College of Business Administration. Study of selected special problems in business and administration. May be repeated for credit with different topics.

BUS AD 2900 Legal Environment of Business: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing. This course is an introduction to the nature and meaning of law, sources of law, legal process and institutions. The legal environment of business is defined as the relationship of government toward business, the historical development of this relationship. This course emphasizes understanding and being able to apply basic legal principles in an ethical context, understanding the sources of the law (e.g. Constitution, statutes, regulations, and court decisions) and their interaction and contribution to the development of the law, and understanding and being able to apply legal concepts and principles to the business environment (torts, contracts, agency, business organizations, intellectual property, property, securities regulation and other forms of governmental regulation of business).

BUS AD 3090 Internship in Business Administration: 1-3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Minimum campus GPA of 2.0; one must have completed and/or be currently enrolled in at least 6 hours of Business Administration electives, have consent of supervising instructor and Associate Dean, and a College of Business GPA of at least 2.5. Students are employed in the field of Business Administration where they apply the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom. Professional development and obtaining specialized work experience are the primary goals. A Business Administration faculty member will monitor the student's program with the student providing a formal written report at the end of the project. BUS AD 3090 may not be counted toward the minimum credit hours for any emphasis area.

BUS AD 3099 Independent Study in Business Administration: 1-3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Minimum campus GPA of 2.0 and approval by the supervising professor and the Associate Dean. Special individual study in business under the supervision of a full-time faculty member.

BUS AD 3990 Internship in Business Law: 1-3 semester hours

Prerequisites: BUS AD 2900, 3 credit hours of Business Law electives, and a Business College 2.5 GPA. Must have completed and/or be currently enrolled in at least 3 credit hour of Business Law electives and have consent of supervising instructor and Area Coordinator. Students are employed in the field of Business Law where the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom are applied. Professional development and obtaining specialized work experience are primary goals. A Business Law faculty member will monitor the student's program with the student providing a formal written report at the end of the project.

BUS AD 4325 Environmental Sustainability in Business Operations: 3 semester hours

Same as SCMA 4325. Prerequisites: SCMA 3301 or consent of instructor. This course studies the environmental impacts of business operations, and it focuses especially on the principles and methods of "lean and green" operations, i.e., ways in which organizations can reduce their costs and increase profits, while reducing their environmental impacts. Specific topics include energy efficiency, resource reduction, waste reduction, design for the environment, externalities and internal pricing mechanisms, environmental technologies, life-cycle assessment, recycling, re-use, and re-manufacturing, as well as national and global environmental issues.

BUS AD 5000 Economics for Managers: 3 semester hours

Prerequisite: Graduate standing. The concepts and tools of economic analysis are applied to the production and distribution functions of organizations. The last portion is devoted to the macroeconomic influence of capital markets, the influence of interest rates, inflation, and the business cycle.

BUS AD 5001 Managerial Economic Analysis: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: BUS AD 5000 or ECON 1001 and ECON 1002. Microeconomic analysis of consumers, firms, and government. The concepts and mathematical tools of economic analysis are applied to the production and distribution functions of organizations.

BUS AD 5002 Analysis of National Economic Environment: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: BUS AD 5000 or ECON 1001 and ECON 1002. The character and functioning of the national economic system; analyzing and forecasting fluctuations in national income and product, employment, and prices; the influence of monetary and fiscal policies. Emphasis is on the acquisition of knowledge concerning forces affecting all business firms.

BUS AD 5100 Managerial Communication: 3 semester hours

An analysis of business writing and speaking, and the communication conventions common in organizations. Emphasis is placed on developing skills critical to career advancement and necessary for effective organizational functioning. A second goal is to prepare students for assignments in other business courses. This course must be taken within the first 12 credit hours of study, preferably in the student's first semester.

BUS AD 5198 Seminar in Business Administration: 3 semester hours

An intensive study of a specific area of business administration of some specific business or economic phenomenon, or a specific problem or theory. Several different courses may be offered under this course number.

BUS AD 5299 Individual Research: 1-3 semester hours

Prerequisite: Consent of instructor and graduate director. Special individual research topics under the guidance of a specific professor.

BUS AD 5325 Environmental Analysis and Sustainability in Business Operations: 3 semester hours

Same as SCMA 5325. Prerequisites: SCMA 5320 or permission of instructor. This course studies the environmental impacts of business operations, and it focuses especially on the principles and methods of "lean and green" operations, i.e., ways in which organizations can reduce their costs and increase profits, while reducing their environmental impacts. Specific topics include energy efficiency, resource reduction, waste reduction, design for the environment, externalities and internal pricing mechanisms, environmental technologies, life-cycle assessment, recycling, re-use, and re-manufacturing, as well as national and global environmental issues.

BUS AD 5450 Governmental Budgeting and Financial Control: 3 semester hours

Prerequisite: ACCTNG 5400. A study of municipal and federal financial control and budgeting procedures with emphasis on public policy. The impact of financial control on top management decisions and the effect of budget strategies on the allocations of public funds.

BUS AD 5900 Law, Ethics and Business: 3 semester hours

Analysis of the relationship between law and business with emphasis on the ability of, and extent to which, governments regulate business activities. Topics covered include the employer-employee relationship, protection of consumers, antitrust regulation, and securities law. Also discussed are ethical issues confronting management of the modern business enterprises.

BUS AD 6990 Strategy Formulation and Implementation: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: FINANCE 6500, MGMT 5600, MKTG 5700, SCMA 5320 and special consent. Graduate program capstone course examining concepts and methods that integrate functional areas of business. The perspective is that of general management charged with directing the total enterprise. Interactions between the environment, organization, strategy, policies and the implementation of plans are explored. Special emphasis is given to globalization of business and ethical perspectives. This course should be taken during the semester prior to graduation. In no case may it be taken sooner than two semesters prior to graduation.

BUS AD 6991 Graduate Business Assessment Testing: 0 semester hours

Prerequisites: Concurrent enrollment in BUS AD 6990 (or INTL BUS 5289 or MGMT 4614 if taken in lieu of BUS AD 6990). A one-time lab during which a major field exam in business is administered. Course graded on a satisfactory/ unsatisfactory basis. Satisfactory grade required for graduation.

BUS AD 7001 Doctoral Research: 1-12 semester hours

Prerequisite: Must have PhD Program Director or Area Coordinator approval. Investigation of an advanced nature culminating in preparation for comprehensive examinations and/or development of dissertation proposal. The course may be repeated for credit.

BUS AD 7002 Dissertation Research: 1-12 semester hours

Prerequisites: Must have Ph.D. Program Director or Area Coordinator approval. Investigation of an advanced nature culminating preparation of a doctoral dissertation. The course may be repeated.

BUS AD 7100 Scientific Inquiry in Business: 1-3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Consent of DBA program director and graduate standing. This course provides an overview of research methods for studying business problems including extraction of information from secondary sources, and primary data collection with surveys, interviews, participant observation, action research, field experiments, controlled experiments, case studies, design sciences and simulations. The course covers foundations of business research (substantive theories, formal theories, and frameworks). Students will learn the types of variables used to test theories and develop the skills required for reviewing the literature and conceptualizing research questions that are important for practice. Ethical issues related to conducting and publishing research will be discussed. Students will become nationally certified in protecting human research participants and in responsible research conduct.

BUS AD 7101 Quantitative Research Methods I in Business Administration: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Consent of DBA program director. This course provides an understanding of the application of quantitative analytical techniques to problems in the planning and management of business enterprises and service operations. The course provides experience in structuring analytical models and drawing inferences from their results. Topics include techniques for descriptive, predictive and diagnostic analytics, and may cover general linear statistical models, logistical regression, techniques for extrapolating time series, and statistical methods for testing conceptual models.

BUS AD 7102 Qualitative Research Methods I in Business Administration: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Consent of DBA program director and graduate standing. Working in groups, students will design and execute a qualitative research project using interviews or direct observations. During the course, students will prepare a qualitative research proposal that includes well-formed research questions, clearly positions the research as a contribution to knowledge, critically reviews the academic literature relevant to the student's topic, develops qualitative research instruments (such as an interview guide), executes the research, analyzes the data and writes up the report. Students will learn how to abstract their findings into lessons for scholars and/or practitioners. One important output of this seminar is a completed research paper suitable for publication in a respected practitioner or academic outlet.

BUS AD 7103 Quantitative Research Methods II in Business Administration: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Consent of DBA program director and graduate standing. This course provides an advanced understanding of quantitative research with special attention to prescriptive analytics. Emulating work in prior published studies, students identify and frame research questions, determine appropriate metrics, develop hypotheses, build and test quantitative models, and discuss the advantages and shortcomings of alternative quantitative approaches. One important output of this course is a completed research paper.

BUS AD 7104 Qualitative Research Methods II in Business Administration: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Consent of DBA program director and graduate standing. Working in groups, students design and execute a qualitative research study using a case study method or action research. Students prepare a qualitative research proposal that includes well-formed research questions, clearly positions the research as a contribution to knowledge, and critically reviews the academic literature relevant to the topic. Students develop qualitative research instruments (or design an experimental intervention), execute the research, analyze the data and produce a report that presents lessons for scholars and/or practitioners. An important product of this seminar is a completed research paper suitable for publication in a respected practitioner or academic outlet.

BUS AD 7105 Special Topics in Business Administration: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Consent of DBA program director. This course introduces special topics from the business administration perspective. Topics may vary by semester based students' research interests. The topics of this course may include advanced theoretical perspectives, advanced analytical techniques, or other business issues that go beyond the content in the foundational topics of the curriculum.

BUS AD 7106 Strategic Business Analysis: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Consent of DBA program director. This course synthesizes theoretical and empirical research to provide new insights for public policy and managerial practice. Course topics may address contemporary challenges in the global economy, regulatory processes, taxation, management of innovation, management of risk and disruptive events, consequences of international agreements, environmental issues, sustainability of business practices and business alliances, corporate governance, cultural challenges in international business relations, and other contemporary problems specific to students' places of employment.

BUS AD 7107 Capstone Project Research in Business Administration: 1-6 semester hours

Prerequisites: Consent of DBA program director. In this course, students will develop a formal proposal for their capstone research projects that includes a draft of all parts of the project that precede the data collection. This proposal includes research questions or hypotheses based on prior research and the methodology to be employed for addressing the research questions or corroborating the hypotheses. This course will be coordinated by the Academic Director of the DBA Program, and attended by interested faculty, especially those serving as Chairs. By the conclusion of this course, each capstone project proposal is approved by a capstone project committee (consisting of the Chair of the capstone project committee and two other members).

BUS AD 7108 Dissertation Research: 1-6 semester hours

Prerequisites: Consent of DBA program director. This course involves conducting research for the student's dissertation project under the guidance of the chair, committee members, and the student's dissertation community. An important component of research progress in this course involves students working with their chair and committee within the dissertation community, meeting on residency weekends during the semester. Each student will produce a dissertation in proper academic form with the expectation of submitting it for publication and will defend the work in an oral examination.

BUS AD 7109 Doctoral Foundations Seminar: 1-4 semester hours

Prerequisites: Consent of DBA program director. This course will cover the foundation necessary to succeed in the DBA Program. This seminar will also provide the doctoral students with an understanding of the culture of research.

BUS AD 7300 Management of Supply Chains: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Consent of DBA program director. This course provides a comprehensive overview of supply chain management, including procurement, sourcing, operations, production and logistics, with special attention to international issues. Topics include designing and operating multinational logistics systems; managerial issues and strategies for sourcing, transportation, and inventory management; legal and financial issues in import and export; risk identification and management; and the relationship of supply chain management to other activities. The course also provides students with an understanding of quantitative techniques used in the design and management of global supply chains.

BUS AD 7301 Statistical Modeling: 1-3 semester hours

Prerequisites: SCMA 5300; consent of DBA program director. Study of multivariate analytical techniques and their application to the analysis of business systems. Topics include the construction and adaptation of statistical models and extrapolative techniques to accommodate factor interactions, nonlinearities, and periodic effects. Methodologies include multiple regression, ANOVA, and general linear model, MANOVA, structural equation modeling, and time series modeling.

BUS AD 7400 The Role of Accounting Information in Firms and Markets: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Consent of DBA program director. This course provides insights into various accounting theories and practices, including financial analysis to identify opportunities, archival and behavioral inquiry in accounting, the role of accounting information in valuation, the role of accounting information in firm contracting, structural cost management, executional cost management, and governance and controls.

BUS AD 7500 Finance Theory and Applications Seminar: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Consent of DBA program director. This course addresses contemporary issues in corporate finance, investment, financial institutions and financial markets. Extensive reviews of the literature in different finance fields are conducted. Modigliani-Miller theorem, agency theory, capital asset pricing theory, and option pricing theory are discussed and applied in research analysis.

BUS AD 7600 Managing Talent for Strategic Advantage: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Consent of DBA program director. This course provides insight into research on topics that explore how organizational behavior and human resource management practices contribute to developing and sustaining effective and satisfying workplaces. Topics such as conflict management, change management, motivation, cultural intelligence, compensation strategies, selection and promotion decisions, performance management and legal issues in employment decision making, will be discussed.

BUS AD 7700 Contemporary Marketing Intelligence and Decision Making: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Consent of DBA program director. This course examines how firms generate valuable marketing intelligence for critical decisions in pursuit of marketing objectives. Marketing strategies and consumer behavior are studied through literature reviews and examination of case studies. Students challenge assumptions, frameworks, and findings and they discuss how marketing strategy is adapted in practice for various products and services. They also learn how data mining techniques are used in the development and execution of marketing strategies.

BUS AD 7800 Management of Sustaining and Disruptive Information Technologies: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Consent of DBA program director. This course provides insights into contemporary sustaining and disruptive information technologies and their strategic and supporting roles in organizations and society. This course provides the student with an understanding of the processes through which information systems are adopted and used by organizations, including their sourcing, design, development, implementation, and strategic management. The course will also examine best practices for managing new information technologies, such as social media, business intelligence, and the Internet of Things. Strategic opportunities, threats and processes for achieving cyber security will be considered as students discuss the impacts such technologies have on organizations, individuals, and society.