Course Descriptions for Course-Based Specializations

Doctoral

Course Descriptions for Course-Based Specializations

Foundation Course
Core Courses
Foundation Research Sequence
Advanced Research Courses
Finance Specialization Courses
Human Resource Management Specialization Courses
Leadership and Organizational Change Specialization Courses
Information Systems Management Specialization Courses
Dissertation Courses

View course descriptions for the Mixed-Model and Self-Directed specializations here.

Foundation Course (12-week course)

MGMT 8000 Foundations for Ph.D. Study (6 cr.)
In this required course, learners are introduced to the expectations of doctoral-level study at Walden University’s School of Management. Learners will be introduced to academic protocols, critical thinking, and inquiry-based analysis and other important doctoral program foundational skills, including time management, using the Walden online library, academic integrity, and other important doctoral program foundational skills.

Core Courses (each are 12-week courses)

MGMT 8010 Management in Human and Societal Development (8 cr.)
This course will help learners begin to understand the purpose of inquiry and the wide spectrum of intellectual resources available to them. It will also help learners begin to think of linkages among disciplines and how they might create a personal contribution to the organizational world. Through a review of multidisciplinary theories of human and societal development, particularly as they contributed to seminal concepts in the field of management, learners will explore the processes by which knowledge is generated and inquiry in the field of management is advanced. (Prerequisite: MGMT 8000)

MGMT 8020 Managing Organizational Systems and Complexity (8 cr.)
Learners explore the assumptions and core concepts of systems theory to help understand, analyze, and change complex organizations. Both seminal and current approaches to systems thinking, self-organizing systems, and complexity will be examined. (Prerequisite: RSCH 8100Z)

MGMT 8030 Management of Decision-Making (8 cr.)
Learners will examine competing paradigms of individual and group decision-making this course, which will include both seminal and current research related to rational and behavioral decision making theories, among others. Learners will explore how these approaches differ in their impact on ethics, group dynamics, sense-making, risk assessment, and leadership responsibilities. (Prerequisite: MGMT 8020)

Foundation Research Sequence (each are 12-week courses)

RSCH 8100Z Research Theory, Design, and Methods (4 cr.)
This research course provides students with core knowledge and skills for understanding, analyzing, and designing research at the doctoral level. Students explore the philosophy of science, the importance of theory in research, and research processes. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method research designs and methods are introduced. Ethical and social change implications of conducting research, producing knowledge, and engaging in scholarship are emphasized. Students will apply and synthesize their knowledge and skills by developing elements of simple research plans. (Prerequisite: MGMT 8010 or SBSF 7100)

RSCH 8200Z Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis (4 cr.)
This research course provides students with core knowledge and skills for designing quantitative research at the doctoral level, including understanding data analysis and applying statistical concepts. Students explore classical quantitative research designs and common statistical tests, the importance of quality assurance, and ethical and social change implications of conducting quantitative research and producing knowledge. This course approaches statistics from a problem-solving perspective with emphasis on selecting appropriate statistical tests for a research design. Students use statistical software to calculate statistics and interpret and present results. Students will apply and synthesize their knowledge and skills by developing a quantitative research plan. (Prerequisite: Specialization course 4 and MGMT 8990 OR SBSF 7100)

RSCH 8300Z Qualitative Reasoning and Analysis (4 cr.)
This research course provides students with core knowledge and skills for designing qualitative research at the doctoral level, including understanding data analysis. Students explore the nature of qualitative inquiry; fieldwork strategies and the nature of observation; theoretical approaches to qualitative research; the importance of quality assurance; and the ethical, legal, and social change implications of conducting qualitative research and producing knowledge. Students use software to code data and interpret and present results. Students will apply and synthesize their knowledge and skills by developing a qualitative research plan. (Prerequisite: Specialization courses 1 and 2 OR SBSF 7100)

Advanced Research Courses (each are 12-week courses, students choose one)

RSCH 8250Z Advanced Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis (4 cr.)
This research course builds upon knowledge and skills acquired in RSCH 8200: Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis and provides experience applying them. It provides students with more specialized knowledge and skills for designing quantitative research at the doctoral level, including understanding multivariate data analysis and applying more advanced statistical concepts. Students explore comprehensive quantitative research designs and suitable statistical tests, the importance of quality assurance, and ethical considerations and social change implications of conducting quantitative research and producing knowledge. This course approaches statistics from a problem-solving perspective with emphasis on selecting the appropriate research design and statistical tests for more complex research questions or problems. Students use statistical software to perform analyses and interpret and present results. Students will apply and synthesize their knowledge and skills by developing a quantitative research plan. (Prerequisite: RSCH 8200Z or SBSF 7100)

RSCH 8350Z Advanced Qualitative Reasoning and Analysis (4 cr.)
This research course builds upon knowledge and skills acquired in RSCH 8300: Qualitative Reasoning and Analysis and provides experience applying them. It provides students with more specialized knowledge and skills within each of the common qualitative traditions for designing qualitative research at the doctoral level. Students explore more complex qualitative research designs and analyses; multiple approaches to coding and organizing data; core components of a qualitative write up; the importance of quality assurance; and the ethical considerations and social change implications of conducting qualitative research and producing knowledge. Students will apply and synthesize their knowledge and skills by developing a qualitative research plan. (Prerequisite: RSCH 8200Z or SBSF 7100)

RSCH 8450Z Advanced Mixed-Methods Reasoning and Analysis (4 cr.)
This research course builds upon knowledge and skills acquired in RSCH 8200 Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis and 8300 Qualitative Reasoning and Analysis. It provides students with more specialized knowledge and skills for designing mixed-methods research at the doctoral level. Students gain an understanding of the types of mixed-methods designs and how to select the most appropriate approach for the research question. The course emphasizes integrating quantitative and qualitative elements into true mixed-methods studies, practice in data analysis, and integration of qualitative and quantitative data within a research write-up. Reliability and validity in mixed-methods approaches will be highlighted. Students will apply and synthesize their knowledge and skills by developing a truly mixed methods research plan that appropriately incorporates qualitative and quantitative elements. (Prerequisite: RSCH 8200Z or SBSF 7100)

Specialization Course Sequences (each are 6-week courses)

Finance Specialization

MGMT 8610 Financial Decision Making for Individuals and Firms (4 cr.)
This course provides a survey of fundamental concepts in financial decision making, primarily at the individual and firm level. Students examine core principles such as the time value of money, decision making under conditions of uncertainty, valuation, and capital budgeting. Students also explore the legal, ethical, and global dimensions of individual- and firm-level financial economic decision-making theories and practices. (Prerequisite: MGMT 8030)

MGMT 8620 Financial Markets: Risk and Return, Capital Structure, and International Dimensions of Finance (4 cr.)
This course provides a survey of fundamental concepts in financial decision making in which markets affect firms’ decisions and societal outcomes. Students examine the role, impact, and limitations of financial markets in society and how risk and return for firms is mediated and moderated by agency effects, information asymmetries, and both rational and irrational aspects of market behavior. Students also examine the structure of international capital markets. Students explore the legal, ethical, and global dimensions of firm- and market-level financial economic decision-making theories and practices. (Prerequisite: MGMT 8030)

MGMT 8630 Corporate Financial Management (4 cr.)
This course introduces students to advanced research topics related to corporate finance, including the sourcing and deployment of capital, corporate risk management, short- and long-term financing, and product-market interactions. Students identify potential research topics for their dissertation and explore the legal, ethical, and global dimensions of corporate finance theories and practices. (Prerequisites: RSCH 8300Z or AMDS 8427)

MGMT 8640 Valuation of Assets, Entities, and Opportunities (4 cr.)
This course introduces students to advanced research topics related to the valuation of assets, entities, and general opportunities. Students examine the valuation elements of mergers and acquisitions, options, international asset pricing, the valuation of intangible assets such as human resources, and capital budgeting and valuation with leverage. Students identify potential research topics for their dissertation and explore the legal, ethical, and global dimensions of valuation in finance theories and practices. (Prerequisites: RSCH 8300Z or AMDS 8427)

MGMT 8650 Financial Analysis, Planning, and Forecasting (4 cr.)
This course introduces students to advanced research topics related to financial management planning, forecasting, and decision making. Students explore the topics of econometric and time series analysis, cash flow, inventory, supply chains, sales forecasting, and both short- and long-range financial planning modeling. Students identify potential research topics for their dissertation and explore the legal, ethical, and global dimensions of forecasting and financial planning and analysis. (Prerequisites: RSCH 8250Z or RSCH 8350Z or RSCH 8450Z)

Human Resource Management Specialization

MGMT 8710 Organizational Behavior and Effective Human Resource Management (4 cr.)
This course introduces students to advanced research topics in organizational behavior. Students explore the implications for effective human resource management with a focus on individual, group, and organizational behavior. Topics include individual differences in employee motivation and job satisfaction, group development, team building, and organizational leadership, as well as organizational design, change, culture, and development. Students identify potential research topics for their dissertation and explore the global and ethical dimensions pertaining to course subject matter. (Prerequisite: MGMT 8030)

MGMT 8720 Strategic Thinking for Effective Human Resource Management (4 cr.)
This course introduces students to advanced research topics in the strategic management of human resources (HR) within a systems-thinking and metrics-based performance measurement context. Topics examined in this course include analysis of resource-based theories of organizational performance; strategic management; and HR strategy, planning, and management (including succession planning).The role of metrics, knowledge management, and human resource information systems (HRIS) in supporting HR and organizational strategies in global markets are also discussed. Students explore global and ethical dimensions of course topics and identify potential HR research topics for their dissertation. (Prerequisite: MGMT 8030)

MGMT 8730 Development of Human Capital Within Organizations (4 cr.)
This course introduces students to advanced research topics in the development and management of human capital within organizations. Topics examined in this course include human resource concepts related to training and development, rewards and compensation, individual performance management, the role of human resources in individuals for global positions, and organization-wide succession planning. Students identify potential research topics for their dissertation and explore the global and ethical dimensions pertaining to course subject matter. (Prerequisites: RSCH 8300Z or AMDS 8427)

MGMT 8740 The Legal, Ethical, and Cultural Environment of Human Resource Management (4 cr.)
This course introduces students to advanced research topics that address the legal, ethical, and cultural environment, both internal to organizations and more broadly. Topics in this course include analysis of the regulatory environment in which human resource professionals must operate, as well as the human resource role in communications, managing diversity and inclusion, and ensuring justice within organizations. Students actively engage in identifying potential research topics for their dissertation and explore the global and ethical dimensions pertaining to course subject matter. (Prerequisites: RSCH 8300Z or AMDS 8427)

MGMT 8750 Human Resource Management and Its Role in Labor Relations, Negotiation, and Conflict Resolution (4 cr.)
This course introduces students to advanced research topics in labor relations, negotiation, and conflict resolution. Students explore the human resource role in designing and managing conflict resolution processes, beginning with mediation and negotiating with labor and other major human resource constituencies. Students identify potential research topics for their dissertation and explore the global and ethical dimensions pertaining to course subject matter. (Prerequisites: RSCH 8250Z or RSCH 8350Z or RSCH 8450Z)

Leadership and Organizational Change Specialization

MGMT 8410 Leadership, Influence, and Power (4 cr.)
Power is the lifeblood of leadership. The varieties of power and their uses will be reviewed with an emphasis on how leaders influence others through the tools they have at their disposal, including aspects of personality and character that serve to help them effectively influence others. Learners will also explore the full spectrum of leadership behavior from autocracy to emergent consensus and how rights and powers are distributed to people in order to achieve their responsibilities in an organization. (Prerequisite: MGMT 8030)

MGMT 8420 Challenging Conventional Leadership (4 cr.)
Conventional organizational structures and leadership behavior represent one, albeit the dominant, form of organizational expectations based on widely understood assumptions and practices. Learners will explore alternative models and lessons from the full spectrum of human organizations. Utopians, reformers, intentional organizations and social experiments, globally, will be explored for new and promising methods, principles and systems that may be usefully applied to our organizations. (Prerequisite: MGMT 8030)

MGMT 8430 The Changing Face of Leadership - Diverse Perspectives (4 cr.)
Leadership in a global context with transnational organizations requires an understanding of differences that exist among people as employees, colleagues and customers. This seminar introduces students to advanced research topics in leadership and organizational behavior as they relate to the challenges of leading in internationalized, cross-cultural, and diverse contexts. Among the topics that will be examined in this course are analysis of theories of cross-cultural practice, diversity in thinking, culture and belief systems, and stakeholder management. Students will actively engage in identifying potential research topics for their dissertation and will explore the ethical and social change dimensions of the topics under study. (Prerequisite: RSCH 8300Z)

MGMT 8440 The Socially Conscious Leader (4 cr.)
Learners will explore the nature of leadership in the context of a stakeholder environment with “triple bottom line” (profit, sustainability, and social justice) responsibilities). Socially conscious leadership involves the utilization of widely diverse psycho- and socio-graphic information regarding stakeholder interests and those of the larger society. It also involves examining the pursuit and distribution of profit, the mission of the organization, the methods of management, and how organizational growth and restructuring to achieve new strategic objectives are pursued. In addition to studying the nature of informal as well as formal relationships among people and those between the organization and the community(s) in which the organization does business, learners will also explore the reasons for, and impact of, organizational and leadership failure. (Prerequisite: RSCH 8300Z)

MGMT 8450 Crafting and Responding to Change (4 cr.)
Learners will explore how the need for change is perceived, understood, and managed, and how change makes itself manifest from external and internal sources. Learners will also study ways that change techniques are used to mobilize the organization to effectively make the transition. This inquiry will take a whole systems and network perspective in relating change to internal and external contingencies. (Prerequisite: RSCH 8250Z, 8350Z, OR 8450Z)

MGMT 8600 Applications of Current Topics in Management (4 cr.)
Current topics in management and leadership will be explored from the perspective of applying new knowledge and practices developed in the previous ISM and LOC courses to organizations for the purpose of achieving positive social change. Current topics and issues will be determined by the professor each semester. (Prerequisite: 8991RSCH 8250Z or RSCH 8350Z or RSCH 8450Z)

Information Systems Management (ISM) Specialization

MGMT 8510 Managing E-Commerce Management Information Systems (4 cr.)
This course provides broad coverage of information systems management concepts and trends underlying current and future developments, as well as principles for providing effective implementation of information technology. Also, in this course learners evaluate emerging theories and practices of e-Commerce strategies. Strategies are associated with both sides of the electronic commerce world: e-commerce solutions for existing companies and e-business concept development for venture startups. The course is heavily case and discussion-oriented. Learners are expected to be able to develop and define, as necessary, their position and reasoning on a variety of e-Commerce Information Systems current issues as the course progresses. (Prerequisite: MGMT 8030)

MGMT 8520 Organizational Performance Improvement (4 cr.)
This course is designed to acquaint learners with the concepts of performance improvement and process re-engineering. Achieving high-level improvements in organizational performance through redesigned business processes and using information technology to re-engineer an organization are central to the course. (Prerequisite: MGMT 8030)

MGMT 8530 Managing Projects in Complex Environments (4 cr.)
This course explores the theory and practice of how to manage projects in complex environments. Topics include effective project management styles, critical factors for project success, organizational support systems that enhance projects, earned value analysis, the maturity of modern project management, and ethics in project execution.. Cost, schedules, technical planning, and control methods are examined. Students also investigate the utility of project management software in anticipating and managing the challenges of complex environments. (Prerequisite: RSCH 8300Z)

MGMT 8540 Systems Analysis, Design, and Implementation (4 cr.)
This course examines the analysis, design, and development of computer-based information systems. The key characteristics of object-oriented methodologies are presented and compared with traditional methods. Students are introduced to the life-cycle concept and related activities including information requirements determination, prototyping, system design, development, testing, implementation strategies, and computer networking concepts. Students identify potential dissertation research topics, problem statements, and research questions. (Prerequisite: RSCH 8300Z)

MGMT 8550 Security Management and Risk Assessment (4 cr.)
This course covers management aspects of information security from a business perspective. The focus of this course is on identifying threats and assessing risks to an organization, and implementing safeguards on corporate networks and the Internet. Other topics include: Return on security investment, business continuity planning, development of security policies, and information security auditing. (Prerequisite: RSCH 8250Z, 8350Z, OR 8450Z)

Dissertation courses

MGMT 8100 Dissertation Mentoring (0 cr.)
The purpose of this course is to assist doctoral students to receive mentoring for initiating and continuing steady progress toward their Ph.D. degree. Students will prepare quarterly progress plans, engage in regular scholarly discussion with their faculty mentor and fellow doctoral students, and submit a personal progress report at the end of each quarter. (Prerequisite: MGMT 8990 and RSCH 8200Z)

MGMT 8990 Developing a Prospectus (2 cr.)
This course provides an opportunity to design a dissertation prospectus in collaboration with program colleagues, and most especially with mentorship from a course instructor. In addition to reading about developing a prospectus in general, students may analyze examples of Walden University doctoral prospectuses covering a wide range of projects. Students refine their dissertation questions and further explore the research methods or project types that they may incorporate into their own dissertation. Finally, students engage in the iterative process of writing their own prospectus, incorporating feedback from peers and the course instructor. Ultimately, the prospectus is offered by the student as a document for review for consideration by potential mentors for the student’s dissertation. (Prerequisite: RSCH 8300Z)

MGMT 8991 Writing a Proposal (4 cr.)
This course integrates all of the previous work throughout the program, providing an opportunity to design a dissertation proposal in collaboration with program colleagues and course instructor. The development of a proposal may feed the final dissertation, allowing the student to incorporate feedback from the course in the completion of the dissertation. (Prerequisite: MGMT 8600)

MGMT 9000 Dissertation (24 cr.)
The final dissertation demonstrates a student’s scholarly ability to examine, critique, and synthesize knowledge, theory, and experience, so that new ideas can be tested; best practices identified, established, and verified; and theoretical, practice or policy constructs evaluated and advanced. In all cases, the dissertation is a rigorous inquiry that results in new knowledge, insight, or practice, demonstrating its efficacy in the world of management. Ultimately, every dissertation should make a fresh contribution to the field of practice in the management environment. (Prerequisite: All other courses in program. MGMT 8991 may be taken concurrently with first term of MGMT 9000.)