How are organizations managed? What skills and abilities are needed? Organizations fail or succeed according to their ability to adapt to fluid legal, cultural, political and economic realities. The management of organizations will play a seminal role in this program, where the primary focus will be on business and economic development. Management is a highly interdisciplinary profession where generalized, connected knowledge plays a critical role. Knowledge of the liberal arts/humanities or of technological advances may be as vital as skill development in finance, law, organizational dynamics or the latest management theory. An effective leader/manager must have the ability to read, comprehend, contextualize and interpret the flow of events impacting the organization. Communication skills, critical reasoning, quantitative (financial) analysis and the ability to research, sort out, comprehend and digest voluminous amounts of material characterize the far-thinking and effective organizational leader/manager.

This program will explore the essentials of for-profit and nonprofit business development through the study of classical economics, free market principles, economic development and basic business principles. Selected seminar readings will trace the evolution of free market thinking in our own democratic republic. Critical reasoning will be a significant focus in order to explicate certain economic principles and their application to the business environment. You will be introduced to the tools, skills and concepts you need to develop strategies for navigating your organization in an ever-changing environment. Class work will include lectures, book seminars, projects, case studies, leadership, team building and financial analysis. Expect to read a lot, study hard and be challenged to think clearly, logically and often.

Texts will include Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management by Thomas Zimmerer , Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell, Asking The Right Questions : A Guide to Critical Thinking by M. Neil Browne and Stuart Keeley, and How to read a Financial Report by John A. Tracy. A stout list of seminar books will include Federalist Papers , The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich von Hayek, Common Sense by Thomas Paine, and Democracy in America by Alexis De Toqueville.

In fall quarter, we will establish a foundation in economics, business, critical reasoning and the history of business development in the United States.

Winter quarter will emphasize real-life economic circumstances impacting organizations. You will engage in discussions with practitioners in businesses and various other private sector and government organizations. A primary focus in winter will be on spreadsheet analysis of financial documents.