ENT 06504 - Strategic Project-Based Experience (3 credits)

• This course is designed to provide strategic focused field based project learning experiences and opportunities for graduate students by affording them the opportunity to work with a wide variety of public and private organizations. The course uses a team-based approach to offer consulting advice to organizations with the goal of improving their performance. The emphasis in the course is on experiential approaches that provide a participative type of learning about the crucial issues faced by organizations. This course is interdisciplinary in nature and open to all graduate students.

ENT 06505 - Entrepreneurship & Innovation (3 credits)

• This course provides a broad framework for understanding the nature of entrepreneurship in multiple organizational settings. The course introduces students to the innovation and idea generation process and helps students apply an alternative way of "thinking" to assist in solving difficult issues for government, business, and the nonprofit sector.

ENT 06506 - Corporate Entrepreneurship (3 credits)

• This course provides an overview of the potential for innovation and entrepreneurial opportunities or new ventures within a corporate environment. The course covers various aspects of corporate entrepreneurship. Major topics include understanding the corporate entrepreneurial revolution, learning about the nature of entrepreneurship within established organizations (intrapreneurship), understanding the requirements for setting up an environment conducive to being intrapreneurial within a corporate setting, and learning about the entrepreneurial direction of firms as they grow and evolve. Among the issues discussed are the role of creativity within corporate entrepreneurship, the relation to product innovation and technology, the importance of corporate strategy within an entrepreneurial framework, and what it takes to create an entrepreneurial culture in a corporate setting.

ENT 06520 - Evolution of the Cannabis Industry (3 credits)

• This industry analysis course forces students to develop a deep understanding of the cannabis industry, its history, competitive dynamics, opportunities for innovation, and the current business landscape. A historical overview will address the origins of cannabis, 19th century legal uses, early prohibition, counterculture, the war on drugs, state medical legalization, new approaches to adult use, and current and potential future federal laws. An overview of the cannabis plant will review hemp vs. marijuana as well as products, ingestion methods, and the endocannabinoid system. An overview of laws and regulations will include federal vs. state vs. local, complexities in the system, and provisions relating to medical vs. adult use (recreational). Social equity will be focused on from perspectives including the lasting effects of the war on drugs, reinvesting in communities disproportionately impacted, and racial and social justice. Key points on cultivation will be reviewed such as plant science, facilities, financials, and regulatory compliance. Definitions and examples of business types in categories of plant-touching vs. ancillary will be addressed. Drivers of demand will be examined such as medical and adult (recreational) use, health and wellness, current and projected demographics, and genetics of plant strains. Analysis of the economics of cannabis will include markets across the industry, potential economic impact, public policy implications, and financial barriers to entry. Considerations for retail in cannabis will include products, in-store experiences, in-person retail and tech-based platforms for ordering and delivery, and social consumption via lounges, concerts, and other public venues.

ENT 06521 - Business Model Innovation in Cannabis (3 credits)

• Students in this course will explore business model innovations that are applicable across industries, and they will also delve into concepts and constructs that are unique to the highly regulated and rapidly evolving cannabis industry. In exploring contemporary business models and corporate structure, students will learn about common patterns and how to systematically understand, design, and implement a game-changing business model—or how to analyze and renovate an old one. Key elements for business model innovation across all industries to be analyzed include customer segments, value propositions, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partners, and cost structure. Students will learn how to identify, create, and deliver value for existing and future customers, as well as how to extract value for a corporate venture in a sustainable manner. Fundamentals of new venture financing will be considered, such as capital structures for new ventures (e.g., debt vs. equity), term sheets and how to negotiate them, and early-stage vs. later-stage financing. Cannabis-specific business model implications will be explored in depth as well. This exploration includes trademarks and IP, marketing and branding, multistate operators (MSOs) vs. standalone businesses, challenges and benefits of vertical integration, costs for licensing and compliance, and rules and regulations regarding plant-touching vs. ancillary businesses. Students will also learn about the most challenging financial hurdles for plant-touching cannabis entrepreneurs and operators: banking (given that most national institutions are not willing to support due to federal illegality) and IRS 280E Tax Code (no deductions or credits are allowed for federally controlled substances).

ENT 06555 - Driving Innovation (3 credits)

• Students in this course will work to gain an in-depth understanding on the role that innovation plays in driving process and cost efficiencies, strategy development, decision making, addressing customer demands and market trends, financial performance, and business growth. Key models from Entrepreneurship will be analyzed for learning how to target and implement innovation. 

ENT 06599 - Special Topics in Entrepreneurship (3 credits)

• This course provides a broad framework for understanding the nature of entrepreneurship in multiple organizational settings. The course introduces students to the innovation and idea generation process and helps students apply an alternative way of "thinking" to assist in solving difficult issues for government, business, and the nonprofit sector.

MIS 02515 - Electronic Commerce (3 credits)

• This course will introduce students to electronic business. It will cover such diverse issues as follows: e-commerce payment mechanisms, encryption and authentication of data, web assurance, electronic data interchange, legal issues on the web, and web marketing. There will also be a lab component that will provide students with exposure to and practice in web page design and creation.

MGT 06603 - Process Analytics (3 credits)

• This course introduces the fundamental Lean Six Sigma principles that underlay modern continuous improvement approaches for industry, government and other organizations. Process analytics introduces a different domain of quantitative analytics in understanding, improving, and creating processes, and it is critical for managers and business professionals to use the knowledge and tools to create competitive advantage. This course covers fundamental and applied knowledge on process analytics – including process data acquisition, analysis, matching and models in modern process analytics.

MGT 06601 - Strategic Planning (3 credits)

• This course prepares the operating manager for the responsibilities of performing strategic planning. The course will identify what goes into and how strategic planning is performed. Strategy formation and evaluation will be assisted by computer decision models and management games. The interrelationships of organizational units and proactive management posture with respect to environmental forces will be stressed. This course may not be offered annually.

MGT 07600 - Predictive Analytics (3 credits)

• This course is designed to acquaint the graduate student with advanced statistical forecasting techniques. Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to identify a forecasting problem, gather data and use computerized statistical packages to obtain solutions, analyze results, determine the validity and reliability of the model, and if necessary, recommend alternative methods to solve the model. This course may not be offered annually.

HRM 06605 - Strategic Human Resource Management (3 credits)

• Strategic Human Resource Management consists of planned organizational activities designed to increase organizational effectiveness and equity. This course outlines the transformation of HRM from a clerical function to an important strategic partner of top management. It focuses on the ability of HRM to provide a source of competitive advantage to forward-thinking organizations.

MGT 06520 - Global Leadership and Organizational Culture (3 credits)

• This course is designed for graduate business students. Course content will cover the theories of business leadership, and the focus will be on leadership from a variety of perspectives—organizational leadership in the external environment, as well as leadership at the top, middle and lower levels inside organizations. Students will focus on the theory and implementation of various business leadership tasks and responsibilities including working with other leaders in a multinational world, and supervising workers with diverse backgrounds. These business skills will include establishing workplace goals, organizing work units for productivity, conducting interviews, giving feedback to subordinate employees, designing and implementing employee motivation programs, changing an organization’s culture, the capacity to lead globally, and leading work teams and managing workforce diversity. By the end of the course, students will be able to effectively diagnose the complex dynamics of leadership in business environments and take action as leaders and to improve individual and organization performance.