BUS Courses

BUS 100 - Contemporary Business (2 hours)
Business in a changing society. Ethics and social responsibility, financing, production, and distribution of goods and services. Prerequisite: Freshmen/sophomore standing only or consent of the Foster College of Business Dean's office.

BUS 202 - Sophomore Business Practicum (0 hours)
Solving technically challenging problems with a near-term economic benefit. Pass/fail. Prerequisite: only for students approved for practicum by the Center for Business and Economic Research.

BUS 220 - Career Planning Strategies (1 hour)
Prepares students for internship positions and employment after graduation; research career opportunities in business; and develops a systematic approach to employment planning. Pass/fail. Credit will not be given for both BUS 220 and ELH 301. Prerequisite: business major.

BUS 301 - Cooperative Education/Internship in Business (0-6 hours)
Cooperative education or internship experience. Credit applies to non-departmental Foster College of Business electives. Pass/Fail. Repeatable to a combined total of six credit hours for BUS 201 and 301. Prerequisite: Student in Foster College of Business; 2.0 grade point average at Bradley; 2.0 grade point in Foster College of Business; and consent of Foster College career advisor.

BUS 302 - Junior Business Practicum (0-3 hours)
Solving technically challenging problems under faculty supervision, with a near-term economic benefit. May involve research in collaboration with FCB faculty, for up to three hours credit. Repeatable to a combined total of three credit hours. Not eligible for cooperative education/internship credit. Elective credit toward major will only be granted with prior approval of a FCB department chair or program director. Prerequisite: junior/senior standing; approval by the Center for Business and Economic Research and FCB assistant to the dean for undergraduate programs.

BUS 361 - Collaboration in Organizations (3 hours)
Designed to provide students some of the knowledge and skills required to adapt to a formal team setting, where collaboration among cross-functional members occurs. Students will study leadership skills and traits, sensemaking and inventing techniques, group effectiveness tactics, and team building methods as applied within the context of product development. Prerequisite: Junior standing and permission of the instructor.

BUS 362 - Innovation in Organizations (3 hours)
Designed to provide students with knowledge related to developing a product or product enhancement based on the assessment of competitive environments and the strategic needs of the organization. Students will study methods for assessing customer needs, evaluating competitive environments, project planning, feasibility analysis, as well as product and process planning. The course will duly focus on the application of collaboration processes, applying methods of effective team interactions using peer feedback, accountability, and leadership skills. Prerequisite: Completion of BUS 350.

BUS 400 - Business Capstone Consulting Project (2 hours)
Participation in a Senior Consulting Project, where students form cross-functional teams and apply knowledge to address the organizational needs of local business owners and organizational executives. Concurrent enrollment with M L 452 required. Prerequisite: FIN 322; M L 350; MTG 315; senior standing. Corequisite: M L 452.

BUS 490 - Business Topics (0-9 hours)
Topics of special interest which may vary each time course is offered. Topic and course requirements stated in current Schedule of Classes. May be repeated under different topics for a maximum of nine hours credit. May count towards a Foster College of Business degree requirement upon approval of the department chair. Prerequisite: Approval of the Foster College of Business Associate Dean.

BUS 610 - Graduate Business Practicum (0-3 hours)
Graduate Business Practicum

BUS 621 - The Leadership Challenge (2.5 hours)
Exploration of the characteristics and themes of successful leadership. In-depth analysis of the strengths and development needs of participants through 360-degree feedback. Important interpersonal skill foundations in communication, conflict resolution, and trust building are emphasized. One-on-one coaching between participants and staff.

BUS 623 - Scanning the Environment (0.5 hours)
Uncertainty in business planning caused by the external environment. Utilization of a conceptual model to organize and frame the discussions of the macroenvironment in which the firm operates. Graded Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory.

BUS 625 - External Economic Environment (1 hour)
Provide a broad overview of the economic environment in which business firms and consumers carry out their individual economic activities. Review the institutional structure, the social goals, and implicit values of the market system and how they establish the parameters within which choices are made. Overview of how and why business cycles occur. How economic policy, both monetary and fiscal, have impacted the business cycle.

BUS 627 - Managing Technology (2 hours)
Management issues related to providing information technology resources. Impact of product and process-related technologies on development and execution of organizational strategies.

BUS 629 - Cost Management (1.5-2 hours)
Analysis of the nature of cost. Techniques for accumulation of costs incurred in production and assignment of those costs to products. Methods for reduction and management of non-value-added costs.

BUS 631 - Competition and Pricing (1 hour)
Elasticity measurement of market response to price, income, and other influences on competitive structure from commodities to monopoly; pricing strategies based on competitive environment; price, output, and product development for competition among few firms; the techniques of Cournot, Stackelberg, and Von Neumann.

BUS 633 - Creating & Maintaining Customer Satisfaction (3 hours)
Customer-focused topics, including effective and efficient product delivery, identifying customer segments that can be served by the firm, offering customer value, and building brand and corporate loyalty.

BUS 635 - Communication Workshop (2 hours)
Business writing and presentation skills will be learned and strengthened through practice and coaching. In addition to in-class assignments, students will be coached through various writing and presentation opportunities throughout the EMBA curriculum in order to reinforce the tools developed. Executive communication internal to the organization and to external stakeholders, utilizing various media outlets, will receive primary emphasis.

BUS 637 - Attracting & Developing Talent (1.5-2 hours)
Expose students to the challenges of attracting talent and provide advice on how to develop talent within an organization. Complexities of recruiting in difficult labor markets. Continuous improvement mechanisms to stimulate ongoing talent development.

BUS 639 - Building Employee Commitment (1.5-2 hours)
Key themes and practical approaches for enhancing motivation and building high levels of commitment and continuing dedication throughout the workforce. Financial and intrinsic reward systems are emphasized, as are the keys to developing a culture of involvement and credibility.

BUS 645 - Acquiring Capital & Making Investment Decisions (3 hours)
Planning and strategies involved in identifying value-enhancing capital projects. Interpreting cash flow figures, identifying risk factors, and employing risk analysis techniques. Strategies for acquiring capital and understanding the impact of capital structure on firm value.

BUS 647 - Global Environment & Issues (3 hours)
Provide an understanding of the forces shaping the international economy. Provide frameworks and guidelines for gathering, sorting, and assessing complex global and regional information to contribute to understanding organizations' strategies and tactics. Emphasis on leadership issues and diverse cultures.

BUS 649 - Developing Strategy (2 hours)
Provide an effective planning framework to integrate strategies with different functional areas. All of the functional areas will be integrated within the strategic planning framework. Emphasis on strategic planning as an ongoing, fluid process that evolves over time and adapts to environmental changes.

BUS 651 - Performance Measurement & Control Systems (2 hours)
Techniques for creation of profit plans and monitoring of success. Design and use of broad-based performance measures such as the balanced scorecard. Identification and control of risks that threaten the attainment of objectives.

BUS 653 - Strategic Positioning & Maximizing Performance (2.5 hours)
Expose managers to factors that impact different performance measures and provide strategies that maximize performance. Achieve balance at many different levels; incremental/radical strategies, flexibility/control, resources/capabilities, and growth/continuous improvement.

BUS 655 - Leading Successful Change (1-1.5 hours)
Background, insights, and skills in how to effectively challenge the status quo, create new directions, and lead organizations to embrace and successfully implement needed change. Examination of the forces for change and dynamics of resistance. Participants examine their personal style of change and apply change management and project management strategies to their respective organizations.

BUS 658 - EMBA Topics (0.5-5 hours)
Topics of special interest which may vary each time course is offered. May be repeated under different topics for a maximum of 5.0 hours credit. Topic stated in current Schedule of Classes. Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory.

BUS 681 - Professional Development (1-3 hours)
Apply professional knowledge and skills in a team environment on not-for-profit, international, or research project. May be repeated for a maximum of three hours credit. Prerequisite: consent of graduate program director.

This is the official catalog for the 2015-2016 academic year. This catalog serves as a contract between a student and Bradley University. Should changes in a program of study become necessary prior to the next academic year every effort will be made to keep students advised of any such changes via the Dean of the College or Chair of the Department concerned, the Registrar's Office, u.Achieve degree audit system, and the Schedule of Classes. It is the responsibility of each student to be aware of the current program and graduation requirements for particular degree programs.