Organizational Leadership and Communication (B.S.)

This course focuses on introducing, developing, and refining the communication skills necessary for success in professional and academic arenas. The types of professional and academic writing students will undertake will include business and technical writing (e.g., memos, letters, reports); academic writing (e.g. research papers, position papers, response papers); and electronically mediated communication (e.g. email, telephone). All writing projects will emphasize the processes of drafting, revising, and editing. While the course will focus principally on honing written communication skills, students will also engage in individual and collaborative oral communication projects. Additionally the course will introduce information and strategies that will help working adult learners to succeed in college.
Offered in the Adult Undergraduate program only.

This course will explore theories, processes, and variables that explain and predict communication behavior in complex organizations. A major emphasis of the class will be on application of these concepts to actual organizational contexts.
Offered in the Adult Undergraduate program only.

This course provides an overview of leadership perspectives, frameworks and theories and also focuses on how communication is the essential tool for engaging in relational leadership processes. In the last 30 years information about leadership has exploded, and this class is designed to help you to be better consumers of information about leadership as well as to have a clearer and more useful repertoire of ideas, and practices to intentionally engage in the leadership process, no matter the role in which that engagement occurs. You will also spend time analyzing your own experiences, beliefs, and assumptions about leading, following and communicating effectively.

Interpersonal Communication for Leadership is a core course for Organizational Leadership and Communication majors at Nebraska Wesleyan University. The course is significant for students of all majors as every person participates in interpersonal relationships in a variety of contexts: leadership, family, friends and colleagues. In this course we will explore the dynamics of human interaction, relational sense-making, and the influence of context and individual variables on relationships. Primary emphasis will be placed on the application of interpersonal communication concepts and theory to leadership contexts.

This course examines the theories, variables, models, and communication processes occurring in the context of formal and informal groups and teams. You will focus on understanding the leadership process within groups and teams, describe the factors that affect the performance of both groups and teams, and analyze communication functions that affect group members and the outcomes of group processes. The course is designed to also develop competent participation in and facilitation of group and team processes.

Through many contexts in history and through the midst of conflicting forces that arise within organizational systems, leaders are faced with adaptive challenges. The course distinguishes between authority and knowledge, provides a diagnostic framework for assessing the typical mechanisms in which social systems avoid work on critical issues, and explores strategies and tacticts of intervention to mobilize adaptive work.
Prerequisite(s): COMM 1100 Introduction to Organizational Communication, LEAD 3100 Introduction to Leadership, LEAD 3200 Interpersonal Communication for Leadership, and LEAD 4100 Group and Team Dynamics.

This course focuses on constructive individual and group interaction by providing practical strategies for handling complex interpersonal dynamics. Class content weaves theory with skill building to help students explore the nature of conflict and a range of approaches to resolving differences. Students will discover what influences problem solving and decision-making through the application of negotiation, communication, and perceptual skills.
Offered in the Adult Undergraduate program only.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or permission of the instructor.

This course provides a conceptual framework for understanding behavior within the organization. Students explore behavior at the individual, group, and organizational levels. Units of analysis include personality, leadership, conflict, motivation, power, and politics.
Prerequisite(s): Grade of "C-" or better in BUSAD 2500 Principles of Management or permission of the instructor.
(Normally offered each fall semester.)

Provides a conceptual basis for managers to interpret, assess, and influence human behavior in an organization. Analyzes the interaction of individual, group, and organizational dynamics that influence human behavior in organizations and determines appropriate management approaches to foster a productive work environment. Examines a variety of theories, models and strategies used to understand motivation and individual behavior, decision making, the dynamics of groups, work teams, communication, leadership, power and politics, conflict resolution, work design, organizational structure and culture, and managing change.

This course is designed to explore the intersection of the theory and practice of communication in an organizational context. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding how organizations function as a part of the larger society. Topics include messages, networks, globalization, environmental influences, communication roles, technologies, organizational communication diagnosis, and change. Offered in the Adult Undergraduate program only.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing and COMM 3501 Communication Research Methods.

The study of cultural differences that influence the exchange of meaning between individuals and groups of different cultural and/or racial backgrounds. The course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the uniqueness of cultures and the resulting variations in communication styles and preferences, and to provide strategies and skills for successfully communicating across cultural barriers. Students will spend at least 20 hours during the semester working with community agencies serving clients from different cultures.

This course focuses on a variety of issues a pluralistic society faces in current times. It will reflect upon historical foundations of cultural frameworks in the United States, immigrant cultures, cultural tolerance, empowerment and the close intersections of our global community. In addition, the students will have a chance to reflect upon their own cultural identity, biases, communication issues, and teachings in regards to racism, sexism, language diversity, and ethnocentrism.
Offered in the Adult Undergraduate program only.

This course is intended to serve as a general introduction for majors and interested students to the theories and research questions investigated by social scientists interested in the processes of human communication.
Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing.

This course is a general introduction to research methods most commonly used in the Communication discipline. Students will learn how to identify, understand, and appropriately employ a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods. Students will learn how to critically analyze and evaluate journal articles from Communication and related disciplines. This course will prepare students to complete research projects and use scholarly writing in future courses as well as in their careers. This course is quite similar to the COMM 3500 Research Methods Communication Research Methods course taught in CLAS, however, given the age, experiences and aspirations of the Adult Undergraduate Program students, a special effort will be made to provide a focused application to the organizational setting.
Prerequisite(s): COMM-1101 and COMM 2301 Communication Theory.

The course will provide knowledge and skill development relating to essential organizational communication effectiveness including individual, group, organizational and public strategies. Offered in the Adult Undergraduate program only.
Prerequisite(s): COMM 1200 Introduction to Professional and Academic Communication and COMM 1100 Introduction to Organizational Communication.

Students examine the role of marketing in society with an introduction to the fundamentals of strategic marketing planning and the development of the marketing mix. Topics include buyer behavior, market segmentation, distribution, pricing policies, communication strategies, and product development.
(Normally offered each semester.)

An introduction to management theory and practice. Students explore the history of management and the environment in which managers operate. Classroom discussion focuses on the basic managerial functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
(Normally offered each semester.)

Focuses on developing the appropriate mix of promotional tools used in marketing communications, including advertising, sales promotions, public relations, sponsorship, point of purchase, and personal selling. Examines the relationship of promotional strategies to the communication process. Students develop an integrated marketing communications plan for an area business.
Prerequisite(s): Grade of "C-" or better in BUSAD 2000 Principles of Marketing.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

Application of behavioral science theories, concepts, methods, and research findings to the understanding and prediction of consumer behavior as the basis for decision making by marketing managers. Designed to provide additional insight into sociological, psychological, and environmental factors affecting the consumer decision process and their importance to marketing strategies.
Prerequisite(s): Grade of "C-" or better in BUSAD 2000 Principles of Marketing.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

This course is taught from the leader's decision-making perspective with an emphasis on the marketing manager's role in the development and analysis of goal-oriented marketing strategies. Students explore how marketing decisions impact the overall development including market research, promotion, pricing, distribution, and competitive strategies.
Prerequisite(s): Grade of "C-" or better in BUSAD 2000 Principles of Marketing.
(Normally offered each fall semester.)

This course investigates ethical issues and moral dilemmas found in the modern business arena. The conflict between an organization's economic performance and its social obligations are studied. Various economic theories, legal regulations and philosophic doctrines are discussed. Contemporary Western moral philosophy, historic and contemporary Christian ethics, and social theory provide a context for the course. Case studies are integrated throughout the semester.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

Students use multidisciplinary business skills to identify, analyze, and execute practical management solutions to the various problems and opportunities of a small business enterprise. The major projects preparation of an actual business plan. Lectures and guest speakers from the community help provide students a clearer understanding of the link between theoretical studies and the practical world of business.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing and grades of "C-" or better in ACCT 1310 Principles of Accounting I, BUSAD 2500 Principles of Management and BUSAD 2000 Principles of Marketing, or permission of the instructor.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

In this course students will examine the history of leadership theory to understand its development and to explore the future of leadership study. Additionally, students will also explore the nature and charactership of leadership addressing the key question, What is leadership? This course utilizes an interdisciplinary approach in its survey of leadership issues, incorporating historical, political, literary, scientific, sociologically, and theological prospecitves.

This course sets the topics of management, finance, marketing, and other aspects of business decision making in a global context.  The course focuses on theoretical aspects (theory of international trade and finance) as well as applied aspects (overcoming cultural barriers, dealing with a different legal environment and standard systems) of international business.  Some other topics covered in class include: export and import strategies, international accounting issues, foreign exchange, and international labor relations.

This class provides a framework for understanding the importance of business ethics and corporate responsibility. The aspects of leadership, compliance and decision making in organization will be studied, along with the potential conflicts between, and impacts on the stakeholders of an organizaiton. This course will examine the relationships between business and society, considering the ethical questions and implications involved. Students will become involved in the local business community through off-campus visits and explorations of various business- community partnerships in the area.

This course invites students to explore the mindset of creativity and innovation with the application of creativity and innovation into the organizational and the entrepreneurial process. We will explore a variety of ways for students to increase their creativity and innovation in their professional roles. We will study companies which are creative and innovative and we will study companies who failed to be innovative and creative.