CoBPA Core Curriculum Mission Statement

The core curriculum builds upon the University General Education Requirements to develop the knowledge essential for upper level courses in business and public administration and the values and administrative skills requisite to a successful future in the private or public sector.  The core is designed to enhance the student’s skills in problem solving, communication, leadership, team building, and the use of technology.  The core seeks to foster the student’s desire for lifetime learning, intellectual curiosity, and courage to act in an ethical and socially responsible manner in the global community.  Furthermore, the core curriculum is responsive to the needs of the business community, public sector, accreditation bodies, students, and general public.

Preamble to the Desired Skill Set

Executives are required to continually update their professional skills as well as their knowledge of the competitive environment within which their organizations operate. At an even more fundamental level, as Aristotle reminds us, the human condition involves the quest for knowledge.1 Developing the habit of the mind that leads to inquisitiveness is an essential activity for both a successful career and a successful life.

Inquisitiveness is both a prerequisite to and an intended outcome of the successful completion of the business core curriculum.  In addition, this curriculum provides specific content and skills or competencies that facilitate the ongoing personal and business learning of our graduates.

Our graduates will possess a basic understanding of the principles of accounting, economics, finance, government, information systems, management, marketing, statistics, and technology.   Furthermore they will have a sense of how all of these areas interact within and among modern organizations.  As organizations continue to become ever more global in scope, an important part of our core consists of developing an awareness and appreciation of the globalization of commerce.

Professional skills needed to successfully perform in a competitive workforce include:

            Problem Solving
            Communication
            Leadership
            Team Building
            Technology
            Ethics and Social Responsibility

The skills desired of all BBA graduates are desired as follows:

A. Problem Solving

• Recognize opportunities and problems that exist for organizations.
• Formulate a systematic approach for seizing opportunities or solving problems.
• Integrate functional areas of organizations when analyzing problems.
• Develop strategies and implement the plan to achieve desired results.
• Evaluate the decision itself and the decision process used.

B. Communication

• Develop clear, concise, comprehensive, and convincing oral and written communication skills.
• Access and communicate information using modern technologies.
• Demonstrate the fundamentals of business writing, including the preparation of research reports, business plans or case studies.
• Effectively communicate with diverse audiences.
• Demonstrate effective interpersonal communication skills.

C. Team Building

• Understand the type of work environment that meets the team's motivational needs.
• Implement effective strategies for designing a team-building session (goal setting, strategic planning, expectations, decision making, organization and assignments, morale, relations with other units, communications).
• Develop group dynamics and become a contributing team member.
• Understand and appreciate the impact of demographic and cultural diversity within the workforce.
• Demonstrate how the concepts and theories of leadership are incorporated into business practice through communication, cooperation, trust, problem solving, and commitment to team efforts.

D. Ethics and Social Responsibility

• Understand and explore a variety of ethical views.
• Understand various theories of ethics.
• Recognize the difference between legal and ethical issues, ethics and social responsibility, and the various levels of ethical decision making (personal, corporate, professional, and societal).
• Apply ethics to organizational situations when developing and implementing strategies.
• Practice social responsibility.

E. Leadership

• Identify the differences between leading and managing.
• Discuss the traits/characteristics of effective leaders throughout history.
• Recognize different leadership styles and the situations when the various styles are most effective.
• Establish goals.
• Create an environment by building networks with success-oriented people.
• Develop the qualities necessary to succeed in a leadership role such as forward-looking, competent, inspiring, fair-minded, ambitious and articulate.

F. Technology

• Operate computer hardware components and peripherals to maximize efficiency and productivity.
• Identify transaction processing systems, decision support systems, management information systems, executive support systems, and knowledge work systems.
• Recognize the ethical and legal issues in using computers.
• Specify problems and opportunities that can benefit from information systems support.
• Demonstrate a working knowledge of software, including word processing, spreadsheet, database, and presentation applications.
• Utilize computer and graphic-related technologies to clearly communicate ideas and strategies.
• Evaluate and assess technology needs in the workplace to maximize productivity.