Colleges and Schools

Given the ever-increasing, complex interdependency between international economies, this course is intended to give business and nonprofit organizational leaders an understanding of how to better manage operations in the context of supply, demand, competition, economic and trade policies in a global marketplace. The course will focus on macroeconomic topics such as gross domestic product, income and employment and combine them with absolute and comparative advantage theories that drive the continuous need for international trade. Global economic topics, such as the IS-LM model, cultural comparisons and foreign trade policy will help form the fluidity of both domestic and international business interactions from both diverse and Christian ethical perspectives.

In this course, students explore how the economic fundamentals, such as scarcity, supply and demand, business cycles, elasticity and productivity, influence the planning and behaviors of both businesses and nonprofit organizations. Real world examples are used to apply content in professional context. Additionally, attention is paid to the ethical dilemmas and moral responsibilities that accompany managing a firm.

This course combines mathematical methods with economic and business models in order to develop and provide empirical content for these models. This approach is appropriately applied in the solution of practical problems. In addition, these methods allow for a more precise analysis of relevant economic and business issues. Accurate and measurable analysis is the basis of the formulation of appropriate policy. Such policy may take the form of setting macroeconomic or microeconomic goals, or in the development and application of strategic objectives of business firms. Econometric methods and applications provide a significant basis for making more reliable economic and business decisions.

This course develops methods for the analysis of the organizational, technological, industrial, and informational structure of the business firm's competitive environment. In the process of introducing and developing applied business research methods and case studies, the competitive and strategic decisions made by firms will be assessed and evaluated. Managers must have a relevant and reliable understanding of competitive and industrial conditions, and the ability to analyze information and manage in a variety of new and changing situations. Ethical considerations and social responsibility are consistently included and explored in the process of discussing business decision making.

Focusing on the interplay among the corporate, government, and nonprofit sectors, this course will address the issues and current trends in corporate social responsibility and sustainability. The triple bottom line of social, environmental, and economic results will be explored. Topics covered include: sustainability, public private partnerships, corporations' role in climate change, supply chain responsibility, stakeholder engagement, cause and social marketing, environmental responsibility, socially responsible investing, sustainability reporting, transparency, and human rights.