M.S., Management

Director's Message

Thank you for your interest in ASAP’s management programs. We believe that you’ll find those programs to be especially well-tailored to meet the needs of busy working adults. Our curriculum enables you to obtain a high quality education by attending one, four-hour class a week in a location close to your home and workplace. You’ll learn with a small group or “cohort” in a classroom setting that’s designed to be highly interactive. Your instructors will bring an academic and a practical background that enables them to lead classroom discussions that demonstrate the relevance between your work and life experience and the material you’re studying. We hope that you’ll find ASAP to be not only challenging but also enjoyable and intellectually stimulating.

For more information about our program's accreditation, please visit the Division of Business and Management's IACBE Accreditation Information page.

With regards,
Bill Howard, Program Director

Skills & Job Information

Skills upon completion:

- Demonstrate social competency and well-developed communication skills
- Become adaptive to change and lead change within the organization
- Collaborate in teams and apply teamwork principles to decision making opportunities
- Integrate technology in managerial decision-making
- Promote shared values within the organization

Recent graduates represent a cross section of area employers and career fields including:

- Health care
- Human services
- Manufacturing
- Retail
- Human resources
- Banking and financial services
- Education
- Law enforcement and security
- State and local government
- Food service
- Operations
- Research and development
- Project management
- Public utilities

Program Curriculum

The M.S. in Management curriculum consists of 11 courses and 35 credit hours. Classes meet one night each week for 4 hours. In addition to classroom hours, students are expected to invest approximately 2-3 hours outside of class for each classroom hour. For planning purposes, students will spend 4 hours each week in class, plus an additional 8-12 hours outside of class, completing readings, assignments, case studies and group work.

MGT 510 Leadership (4 credits)

This course will engage students in a critical examination of the changing nature of work and organizational conditions that create new challenges relating to the skills of business leaders. In addition to skills, development in the areas of goal setting, problem solving, and communications, this course will include assessment of personal leadership styles, decision-making and the capacity to function as an organizational change-agent. The ability to lead others through change will be the central theme of the course.

MGT 550 Marketing for Managers (3 credits)

This course will focus on providing students with the wherewithal to conceptualize and develop an organization-wide marketing plan. The case study approach is designed to develop the necessary skills essential in making tactical and strategic marketing decisions.

MGT 580 Introduction to Action Research (3 credits)

An introduction to the rationale and procedures of action research. Topics include: nature and purposes of research, planning and conducting research, critique and evaluation of research, sampling, experimental and quasi-experimental design, and action research. Students will develop critical skills needed as consumers and producers of research.

Content from this course will be integrated into all courses throughout the program.

MGT 581 Statistics for Action Research (3 credits)

A continuation of MGT 580. Students will become familiar with tools for statistical analysis and will design statistical measures that apply to their action research project.

MGT 530 Managerial Economics (4 credits)

This course emphasizes the principles of economic theory that are essential to effective management decision-making. It reviews the fundamental principles of micro-economic and macro-economic theory. The focus is on: consumer demand; the nature and behavior of costs; the operation of markets; monetary theory and policy; financial institutions; employment and unemployment; capital formulation; and economic growth. A case study approach will be taken.

MGT 520 Managerial Accounting and Finance (3 credits)

This course is designed to provide applied competence in accounting and finance in the management of business organizations. The focus is on both how accounting measures can be used to promote efficient allocation of resources, and the ability to evaluate the business financing decisions in relation to their objectives. A case study approach will be taken.

MGT 540 Decision-Making for Managers (3 credits)

This course is designed to enable students to use various decision-making models and techniques for more effective decision-making. Adult learners will be exposed to STAAR, Statistical Analysis, Preferential Analysis, Decision Trees, Analytic Hierarchy Process, and Conjoint Analysis. Emphasis will be placed on group and team decision making. A case study approach will be taken.

MGT 515 Business Ethics (3 credits)

This course deals with morality in the business environment. It will deal with the centrality of ethical values to the individual and the organization, scope of the moral responsibilities of corporations, and ethical choices pervasive in management in the 21st century.

MGT 560 Business Law (3 credits)

This course provides non-lawyer managers an overview of state and federal government regulatory agencies and regulations, intellectual property rights, contracts and tort laws, as it applies to businesses. Emphasis on liabilities issues.

MGT 570 Business Strategy and Industry Analysis (4 credits)

This course focuses on understanding what elements go into building a successful enterprise and creating a winning business strategy. Conversely, Industrial Analysis answers the question: what makes one industry more attractive than another for investment and employment? The focus is on developing the ability to formulate innovative strategies to create and sustain competitive advantages in a dynamic business environment. Tools for industry analysis will be introduced such as benchmarking. A case study approach will be taken.

MGT 582 Action Research Project (2 credits)

This is the culmination of a three-part comprehensive course running over the life of the program. This course provides instruction and support to students as they integrate the action research information gained in previous course work and conduct and refine their projects. Students will share ideas, concerns and drafts of their final projects for peer review. Students will implement and complete their research, and report their findings to a faculty review board.

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