http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ A search of MERLOT materials Copyright 1997-2013 MERLOT. All rights reserved. Sat, 18 May 2013 10:21:44 PDT Sat, 18 May 2013 10:21:44 PDT http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/images/merlot.gif http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ 44 34 http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=620056 This course examines the distinction between leadership and management, as well as the major theories and models of leadership. Additional topics include decision-making, independent leadership, and management of groups and teams. This free course may be completed online at any time. See course site for detailed overview and learning outcomes. (Business Administration 401) http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=620046 Law, in its simplest form, is used to protect one party from another. For instance, laws protect customers from being exploited by companies. Laws protect companies from other companies. Laws even protect citizens and corporations from the government. However, law is neither perfect nor all encompassing. This course will introduce the student to the laws and ethical standards that managers must abide by in the course of conducting business. Laws and ethics almost always shape a company's decision-making process; a bank cannot charge any interest rate it wants to charge—that rate must be appropriate. By the end of this course, the student will have a clear understanding of the legal and ethical environment in which businesses operate. This free course may be completed online at any time. See course site for detailed overview and learning outcomes. (Business Administration 205) http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=620055 The purpose of this course is to lead students in an exploration of fundamental advertising principles and the role advertising plays in the promotional mix. Although some consider all promotion synonymous with advertising, unique characteristics separate advertising from other forms of promotional communication. This course will guide students through both traditional and 21st century models of advertising, exploring the technical and creative sides of this field. This free course may be completed online at any time. See course site for detailed overview and learning outcomes. (Business Administration 306) http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=620050 Effective communication skills are a prerequisite for succeeding in business. Communication tools and activities connect people within and beyond the organization in order to establish the business's place in the corporate community and the social community, and as a result, that communication needs to be consistent, effective, and customized for the business to prosper. This free course may be completed online at any time. See course site for detailed overview and learning outcomes. (Business Administration 210) http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=620092 This course is designed to provide the student with a simple and straightforward introduction to econometrics. Econometrics is a set of research tools employed in the business disciplines of accounting, finance, marketing, and management. It is also used by social scientists, specifically researchers in history, political science, and sociology, and it even plays an important role in such diverse fields as forestry and agricultural economics. Studying econometrics will help the student transition from being a student of economics to a practicing economist. By taking this course, the student will gain an overview of what econometrics is about and develop some "intuition" about how things work. This free course may be completed online at any time. See course site for detailed overview and learning outcomes. (Economics 203, Mathematics 301) http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=620043 This course focuses on financial accounting, a sub-discipline of accounting. The information generated in financial accounting is often used by individuals external to the organization, such as creditors, investors, government regulatory agencies, and taxing authorities. Additionally, business owners, managers, and executives would use this information as well to make strategic business decisions and to establish goals for the business. Topics addressed include the Income Statement (sometimes called P&L or profit/loss statement), the Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash Flows, and Statement of Shareholders' Equity. The student will learn how to compile and analyze these financial statements, determine the value of a firm, and compare the firm to its competitors. This free course may be completed online at any time. See course site for detailed overview and learning outcomes. (Business Administration 103) http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=620093 The history of economic thought represents a wide diversity of theories within the discipline, but all economists address these three basic questions: what to produce, how to produce it, and for whom. The student will learn that without a clear sense of the discussions and debates that took place among economists of the past, the modern economist lacks a complete perspective. By examining the history of economic thought, the student will be able to categorize and classify thoughts and ideas and will begin to understand how to think like an economist. This free course may be completed online at any time. See course site for detailed overview and learning outcomes. (Economics 301) http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=620052 Managing Human Capital involves strategically allocating the most valuable resources—people—to the right areas of a firm. The basics of managing human capital are covered in any basic management course, but this course will introduce more advanced topics in the field. The student will learn that identifying the best employees begins with identifying the firm's needs and carrying out a proper recruitment and selection process. Training, development, and performance evaluations can shape the selected into an ideal firm resource, while adequate and incentivizing compensation can keep those resources with the firm. This course will cover all these topics and more. This free course may be completed online at any time. See course site for detailed overview and learning outcomes. (Business Administration 301) http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=620098 This course surveys major topics and theories in the field of Industrial Organization. As part of the applied microeconomics structure, Industrial Organization uses the basic tools of microeconomic theory and game theory to study the structure and behavior of firms and their strategic interactions with one another in the marketplace. Industrial Organization also studies the impact that those interactions have on market structure and welfare. This course will emphasize market structure analysis and the strategic behaviors of competing firms, including (but not limited to) product differentiation, collusion, price discrimination, pricing strategy, non-price discrimination (i.e. advertising), horizontal mergers, vertical integration, and vertical restraints. This free course may be completed online at any time. See course site for detailed overview and learning outcomes. (Economics 306) http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=620091 In this course, the student will build on and apply what was learned in the introductory macroeconomics course. The student will use the concepts of output, unemployment, inflation, consumption, and investment to study the dynamics of an economy at a more advanced level. As the course progresses, the student will gain a better appreciation for how policy shifts and changes in one sector impact the rest of the macroeconomy (whether the impacts are intended or unintended). The student will also examine the causes of inflation and depression, and discuss various approaches to responding to them. By the end of this course, the student should be able to think critically about the economy and develop a unique perspective on various issues. This free course may be completed online at any time. See course site for detailed overview and learning outcomes. (Economics 202)