Colleges and Schools

Program Requirements

All School of Professional Studies degrees require a total of 120 semester hours of credit, which can be fulfilled through a combination of North Park classes and transfer credits. Learn more about program requirements for all our majors.

Bachelor of Arts

Students seeking a bachelor of arts (BA) in organizational management and leadership will complete courses in several disciplines: business administration (BADM), management information systems (ISIT), and organizational management and leadership (ORG). This program prepares students to lead as a process, not a position. It advances the skills of inquiry, critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and communication that are critical for individual and organizational development and leading through conflict and change.

Organizational Management and Leadership Major Requirements

  • 8 semester hours (sh) of professional studies core courses
  • 44 sh of general education courses
  • 28 sh of elective courses
  • 40 sh of major courses:
    • Organizational management and leadership core courses (32sh) — ORG 3034, 4024, 4074, 4094, 4120, 4220, 4240, 4260
    • Business administration course (4 sh) — BADM 4400, BADM 3030

Organizational Management and Leadership Minor

This 20-semester hour (sh) minor will provide a foundational knowledge of the organizational management and leadership area and serves as a great compliment to any other SPS major. This minor requires:

  • 16 sh of required course work — ORG 4024, 4220, 4240, 4260
  • 4 sh of elective coursework — Choose one course from ORG 3034, 4074, 4094, 4120

Courses

Click on the links below for course descriptions of all organizational management and leadership courses. For a complete list of all North Park’s programs and course offerings, review the academic catalog.

Communicating in the workplace with emphasis on written, verbal, non-verbal, and other visual modes of communication. The processes of imparting and receiving information are emphasized. Business writing, the use of visual aids, and professional presentation methods are put into practice. Ethical behavior in communications is examined.


The roles of leadership, managing people and change, and total quality management (TQM) are examined. The firm's mission and its relation to the individual is presented: performance appraisals, issues of gender and cultural diversity, negotiation techniques, hiring, and termination analysis are included. The characteristics of the ethical organization are examined.


The environment of marketing, including market identification and selection, the concepts of marketing mix, target markets, and the product life cycle as applied to the global economy, are fundamental to the course. Company mission and Maslow's hierarchy are implemented to determine organizational fit. Consumer behavior, organizational markets, product planning and development, and the essentials of marketing communication are presented and analyzed. Service and non-profit marketing procedures are included. The ethics of marketing and processes are examined.


An introduction to ethics and to ethical decision-making. A basic overview of value systems and ethical paradigms, utilizing a seminar format. Discussion of how values and ethics may be applied to the issues and dilemmas of the business world.


This course addresses functional, strategic, and competitive roles of digital business systems and technology in organizations. Topics include an introduction to hardware and software, types of information systems, the analysis and improvement of information systems, management of databases and information systems, technology evaluation methodologies, and workplace issues related to technology.


Investigate the dynamic interaction of individual, group and organizational behavior. Examine organizations as complex open systems. Explore the nature of learning organizations and strategies for maintaining positive organizational culture. Practice working in groups and facilitating team development. Beginning to use one's self as an agent of change; identifying and enhancing competencies required for such a role. Reflect on the ethical dimensions of problem solving in the workplace.


Provides a framework for students to become more familiar with themselves and their relationships with colleagues and team members within the context of organizations. Investigates a number of common psychometric instruments from two perspectives: an individual profile and within the context of group dynamics in organizations. From an individual perspective, students will investigate themselves as a leader, determine personal strengths and weaknesses, assess his or her style of leadership and the type of organization their leadership style best suits. From an organizational perspective, students will investigate how psychometric instruments can be used to diagnose organizational problems, determine change-readiness within organizations, and enhance team/group dynamics. Survey design and interpretation will also be discussed. The Action Research method will be investigated and applied. Ethical considerations for assessment instruments will be fully and thoroughly emphasized.


Provides the student with resources to mediate organizational experiences within the context of managing and leading. Examines several theoretical frameworks for organizational change. Through these frameworks organizations, and their varied circumstances, will be evaluated in order for students to determine which change methodology is most appropriate for a specific situation. The steps of change, common problems associated with change, and methods to measure outcomes will be explored. Students will investigate resistance to change and what can be done about it. Conflict, as a natural outgrowth of change, will be investigated. Methods for managing conflict, understanding its root causes, and addressing it productively will be explored. The concept of BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) will be investigated as a conflict management technique. The course will explain the action research process that is typically associated with change. Students will complete a team-based project requiring individual and team research and roll out the change management plan created with timelines, interventions, expected results and appropriate organizational metrics. Throughout, the ethics of appropriate change and conflict management will be emphasized.


Analyzes concepts such as perception, motivation, decision making, communication, and career development. Explores the changing concepts of a career and the implications of planning for multiple careers. Assists in finding direction in the midst of uncertainty, conflict and complexity. The organizations' career and the individual's career: "How is the fit?" Focus in on developing a flexible and realistic career plan and methods implementation. Careers and vocations will be discussed as they relate to the search for meaning in one's life.


Provides a capstone experience for the business administration and organizational and management and leadership major. As such it will summarize and synthesize the various disciplines of management and will assist the student in creating a strategic future for the (business) organization. The course will examine the key dimensions of strategic management: mission determination, environmental scanning, organizational analysis, strategy selection and organizational implementation. Students will complete a summary project requiring individual and team research, quantitative data gathering and qualitative analysis in service of creating a new direction for an existing organization. Throughout, the ethical dimensions of decision-making and implementation will be emphasized. The course will allow students to apply the lessons of strategic thinking to their own career direction.