Organizational management

The Bluffton cohort-based organizational management program (BCOMP) is an intensive, accelerated degree-completion program for adults, which provides students with knowledge and skills in management. In this program, qualified students currently working in business, industry, health and public service sectors can complete their course work in as few as four 18-week semesters.
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Objectives

• to prepare students for managerial-level positions;
• to enhance the skills of students currently holding managerial positions;
• to enable students to capitalize on their work and life experience; and
• to help working adults finish their degree through a program that is convenient, structured and tailored to meet their needs.
   

Features

• curriculum designed to apply current principles of adult learning;
• utilization of students experiences and skills learned on the job;
• a current, integrative, comprehensive approach to management;
• team-based research project;
• one four-hour class session per week; and
• classes of 15-20 people remaining together throughout the program.

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Special admission requirements
Admission requirements address the applicant s ability to perform well in a demanding academic environment, to apply classroom learning in an appropriate work setting and to contribute to the classroom experiences. The following criteria must be met:

• applicants must have at least 60 semester or 90 quarter hours of transferable college work;
• applicants must be at least 23 years of age;
• applicants must be regularly employed or actively involved in an organization; and
• applicants must demonstrate minimum proficiency in writing skills.
  
  

Probation and Suspension Policies

Probation
Any time after receiving grades in a minimum of two courses at Bluffton University that a student's cumulative grade-point average falls below 2.0, the student is placed on academic probation until the cumulative grade-point average reaches 2.0.

Suspension or Dismissal
Students who have been placed on probation will be monitored after each course. If the cumulative GPA remains under 2.0, the student will be subject to academic suspension and unable to continue in the program for one semester. At the end of each semester, the academic performance of all students will be reviewed.  Students who have been suspended must apply for readmission.

Bluffton University reserves the right to suspend or dismiss any student at any time, when in the judgment of the university authorities, the student has grossly neglected his studies or has been guilty of serious misconduct. A student suspended may apply for readmission after the semester of suspension is complete. A second suspension shall be considered a dismissal and readmission is not possible. A student suspended or dismissed receives no credit for work done during the semester in which the action is taken.

Major

(42 hours)

*OMP 224 Perceiving the Arts in the World Around Us (3)
*OMP 226  Humanities:  Continuity and Change (3)
OMP 301 Group and Organizational Behavior (3)
OMP 303 Organizational Theory and Design (3)
OMP 304 Principles of Management and Leadership (3)
OMP 305 Research and Statistical Methods (3)
OMP 306 Business Communication (3)
OMP 308 Management Control Systems (3)
OMP 406 Human Resource Management (3)
OMP 407 Faith and Community (3)
OMP 409 Personal Values and Business Ethics (3)
OMP 410 Living in the Global Community (3)
OMP 412 Independent Research Project (3)
OMP 413 Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations (3)
OMP 414 Entrepreneurship (3)
OMP 222 Modernity, the Individual & the Common Good (3)

Liberal arts and sciences core program
The liberal arts and sciences requirements listed below must be met to graduate. This can be done through course work at Bluffton, transfer credit, DSST, CLEP or academic credit by examination. An advisor will work with you to determine the best option. The completion of English composition is required before beginning BCOMP. It is recommended, but not required, that the remaining liberal arts and sciences core be completed before beginning the program as well.

	semester hours
English composition	3
*Humanities	3
*Fine arts appreciation (art, music or theatre)	3
Natural science (must be in two areas of science, one must be a lab course)	6

Other objectives of the Bluffton liberal arts and sciences core program, including studies in religion and theology, cross-cultural experience, the social sciences and humanities are met through the organizational management sequence of courses.

Courses

OMP 222 Modernity, the Individual and the Common Good (3)
This survey course examines the last 500 years of Western history and literature by focusing on important historical and literary periods. The course charts changes in self understanding by examining challenges to the common good in the rise of individualism.

OMP 224 Perceiving the Arts in the World Around Us (3)
The primary goal of the course is to help students become more aware of the roles the arts have in our daily lives by providing perspectives of history, basic theory, and interaction with visual art, music and theatre. Students will then apply these concepts to comment critically on works of visual arts, music, and theatre. The manner in which the three content areas coexist, interact and influence each other is a theme of the course.
 

OMP 301 Group and Organizational Behavior (3)
A study of group behavior in the context of the larger organization. Emphasis is placed on understanding the impact of various internal processes and the broader organization environment on the outcome of the group work.

OMP 303 Organizational Theory and Design (3)
An examination of the formal and informal functions of organizations and problem solving within an organization, using a systems model.

OMP 304 Principles of Management and Leadership (3)
Students examine motivational theory and its application to individual and group functioning in work situations. Leadership styles related to particular circumstances are analyzed. Negotiation is studied through reading and class practice with an analysis of the effect on productivity.

OMP 305 Research and Statistical Methods (3)
Research design and data analysis techniques are presented. Application of empirical methods for the research project are covered.

OMP 306 Business Communication (3)
An introduction to the communication process with special attention given to building skills in listening, verbal and nonverbal communication, public speaking and written expression.

OMP 308 Management Control Systems (3)
The primary objective of this course is an understanding of managerial accounting concepts and the way in which they impact the organization. Throughout the course, a simulated business will be used to illustrate these concepts and formulate an application of the material.

OMP 406 Human Resource Management (3)
An exploration of policies and practices regarding recruitment, selection, training and development of employees including EEO and OSHA legislation.

OMP 407 Faith and Community (3)
The role of the Christian community in developing moral values and assisting in the decision-making process will be explored. Students learn to identify the historical and biblical roots of faith, articulate the claims of faith and analyze the role of faith in their lives.

OMP 409 Personal Values and Business Ethics (3)
A course designed to explore the intricacies of business and personal ethics through the study of the basic philosophical theories of ethics. Theories are applied to current case studies of business and personal ethics situations.

OMP 410 Living in the Global Community (3)
An interdisciplinary examination of issues concerning the economic, environmental and social sustainability of the global community. The aim of this course is to help students relate their own lives and actions and those of their organization to the global context and understand some implications of their global citizenship.

OMP 412 Independent Research Project (3)
Students combine research with practical implementation of theories and concepts and develop either a team or individual project. Students will be encouraged to work in teams focusing on service learning projects; however, an individual project focusing on a student s workplace may also be acceptable. The project will empirically examine a problem in a community-based organization or within a student s place of employment. Library research methods and resources are introduced to assist students in the development of this project. The team of students, or individual student, will present the results of their project in oral and written form in class and to the community-based organization where service learning occurred or to their employer.

OMP 413 Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations (3)
The course provides an overview of the growing nonprofit sector in American society and introduces the student to unique governance, accounting and management issues associated with the nonprofit sector.

OMP 414 Entrepreneurship (3)
Entrepreneurship brings together, examines and develops the knowledge required to successfully organize, create and manage a business endeavor. The student will explore the feasibility of an idea through the use of a business plan with measured results.

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