Curriculum

BUS 1050 FOUNDATIONS OF BUSINESS THOUGHT (3 CREDIT COURSE)
Fulfills Soc/Beh Sciences or Humanities Exploration

A liberal-education distribution course focusing on the nature of business and its historical, philosophical, and current role in today’s world. Key issues include what a business is and how profit sustains that existence. Personal and organizational values and ethics are discussed in an environment of competing and complementary rights and monetary goals. Course addresses specific activities of a business (i.e., accounting, finance, marketing, production, and human resource management). Readings of a classical nature are presented to underscore the timeless nature of business and the relevancy of great works to today’s business environment. Approach is pragmatic, with an emphasis on self-discovery complimenting occasional lectures. Course is designed for students considering an undergraduate degree in business, for those pursuing the business minor, and for those who wish to use the course to satisfy a liberal-education distribution requirement.

FINAN 6025 MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS (3 CREDIT COURSE)
Prerequisites: MATH 1100 AND graduate status in the School of Business

Addresses fundamental principles of economics from the managerial perspective. Topics include supply and demand in markets, analysis of production and cost, consumer theory, analysis of market structure, the banking system, and macroeconomics.

FINAN 6026 MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS (1.5 CREDIT COURSE)
Prerequisites: MATH 1100 AND graduate status in the School of Business

PMBA Section: Addresses fundamental principles of economics from the managerial perspective. Topics include supply and demand in markets, analysis of production and cost, consumer theory, analysis of market structure, the banking system, and macroeconomics.

FINAN 6660 FINANCIAL FRAUD AND OTHER SCAMS AND SHENANIGANS (3 CREDIT COURSE)
Prerequisite: FINAN 6020

Financial fraud has been and continues to be, a significant drain on society’s collective wealth and ethos. The purposes of this course are many: to trace the history of often repeated frauds, to review their Utah connections, to grasp the psychology of the victims, to discuss the ethics of the perpetrators, to examine the role of financial markets, to understand the costs to society of financial fraud, to study the responses of the law, regulation and the courts to such frauds, to investigate the reactions of the accounting and finance professions, to become better able to recognize fraud when confronted and to know what actions to take in those circumstances. While serious in any environment, fraud seems especially egregious in periods of serious financial strain and seems unusually easy to detect during those times. This course will examine why.

MGT 3410 BUSINESS LAW: THE COMMERCIAL ENVIRONMENT (3 CREDIT COURSE)

Coverage will include contracts, agency sales, business organizations, commercial paper, secured transactions, business torts, business crimes and bankruptcy.

MGT 3800 BUSINESS ETHICS (3 CREDIT COURSE)

This course focuses on the following: A) Students will be made aware of the demands that emanate from stakeholders and are placed on business firms. B) As prospective managers, students need to understand appropriate business responses and management approaches for dealing with social, political, environmental, technological and global issues and stakeholders. C) To have an appreciation for ethical issues and the influence these issues have in management decision-making, behavior, politics and practices. D) To help students to understand that the entire question of business’s legitimacy as an institution in a global and diverse society is at stake and must be addressed from both a business and societal perspective. E) To assist students to understand that the increasing extent to which social, ethical, public and global issues must be considered from a strategic perspective is crucial in such courses. F) To enable students to become more knowledgeable and effective contributors to groups and organizations in which they participate. G) To develop insight into the multi-faceted nature of ethical behavior in business, exploring the conflicts that arise from such aspects as self-interest, power, incurred obligations, competition, fair return, diversity, stating the truth, rights of individuals and rights of management. H) To develop a consciousness for management’s responsibility in the resolution of key problems facing society, such as ecology, racial discrimination, urban blight, financing education, efficiency in government and international relations. I) To assist students to develop personal guidelines on how to handle ethical conflicts.

PMBA 6540 BUSINESS ETHICS (3 CREDIT COURSE)

The purpose of this course is not to teach ethics, but rather to offer a foundation in ethical thoughts followed by a variety of perspectives on difficult ethical dilemmas that we all face in our daily management practices. We will examine methods by which we analyze these problems and decide upon the best course of action.

Ethical problems in management are complex. They go far beyond the simple ‘yes, I will’ or ‘no, I won’t’ choices between immediate financial benefits and obvious social costs where all that is needed is a very elementary level of ethical consciousness to compare the two and make the decision. Instead there are extended consequences, multiple alternatives, mixed outcomes, uncertain occurrences and personal implications that complicate the analysis of the financial, legal and social consequences in ethical problems. Therefore, it is important to understand the following:

1. Recognition of ethical problems. Obligations to others are at the heart of the ethics of management. Managers are people who decide and those decisions can affect other people both positively and negatively. The basic argument of a course of managerial ethics is that this impact upon others must always be included in the decision process. The first objective of the course then, is to get you to recognize these impacts; particularly the negative ones that can cause hurt or harm to others, or interfere with their rights.
2. Understanding of ethical analysis. In most managerial decisions the positive results outweigh the negative impacts. In some, however, the hurts or harms outweigh the benefits. The function of ethical analysis is to find a balance that is “right” and “just” and “fair”. This balance can be found by thinking through the economic, legal and ethical consequences of a managerial decision in a logical structured way. The second goal of the course is to introduce you to this logical structured analytical process.
3. Reliance upon personal values. The analysis of an ethical problem may be objective, following a logical and structured process, but the final choice depends upon a subjective scale – the norms, beliefs and values of the individual making the decision. There is no agreement among normative philosophers or management faculty upon an objective scale for ethical choice. Consequently, the third goal of the course is to assist you in examining your norms, beliefs and values, and thus gaining the self-confidence necessary to rely upon those norms, beliefs and values in making firm ethical decisions.

MGT 6545 LEADING RESPONSIBLY (3 CREDIT COURSE)

In part, “leading responsibly” is about encouraging, guiding and organizing others to avoid morally questionable acts and to seek out ways of doing good. It is about formulating and implementing policies, practices and procedures to promote these ends and about motivating others to adhere to them. In today’s highly competitive, global business organizations, these are remarkably difficult tasks. The course is intended to aid students to appreciate the demands of leading responsibly and to expose them to ways, as managers, they may meet those challenges. Thus, the course will examine, for example, possible conflicts between economic self-interests and obligations to the business’s stakeholders, between the desire to do the right thing and organizational pressures to do wrong, and between wanting to manage for the good of society and not having the knowledge to do so. Students will read, discuss and write about the topics covered, hopefully always evidencing a concern for how they personally will lead. Readings will be drawn from a variety of works of literature including psychology, law, philosophy, theology, finance, management and sociology. The course differs from and complements Management of Ethics (MGT 6540) both in terms of focus and pedagogy. It focuses on creating an organic climate for ethics rather than the analytic alternatives individuals use in attempting to resolve ethical dilemmas. To accomplish its goal, the course occasionally employs traditional cases; but, it emphasizes readings and discussions.

OIS 4470 TELECOMMUNICATION AND SECURITY (3 CREDIT COURSE)
Prerequisites: “C-” or better in (IS 4410 OR ACCTG 4410) AND Full major status in the School of Business

This course looks at management issues and practical implications related to securing information systems. This course focuses on access control, site security, networking & review of TCP/IP, attack methods, firewalls, host security, cryptography, cryptosystems, e-commerce & e-mail security and incident response. A clear theoretical understanding supports a large practical component where students learn to secure information systems and use contemporary security software.

OIS 6570 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY (3 CREDIT COURSE)

This course looks at management issues and practical implication related to securing information systems. This course focuses on access control, site security, networking review of TCP/IP, attack methods, firewalls, host security, cryptography, cryptosystems, e-commerce & e-mail security, and incident response. A clear theoretical understanding supports a large practical component where students learn to secure information systems and use contemporary security software.

Minor in Applied Ethics & Human Values

This interdisciplinary minor administratively housed in the Department of Philosophy consists of the analysis of ethical issues as they arise in the management and resolution of real-world problems. Business students are encouraged to consider this minor to complement their study in specific business disciplines.