Entrepreneurship

Students are provided with a foundation for academic and professional success specific to Walden University and to the requirements for successful participation in the Doctor of Business Administration degree program. The topics covered in this course include change management, crisis management, innovation, and disruptive technology. Students engage in discussion and analyze scholarly literature related to these topics, their personal and professional experiences, and areas of academic interest from a practitioner approach and from a social-change-agent viewpoint. The focus of the course assignments is on the practical application of writing and critical-thinking skills and the promotion of professional business practice and academic excellence. Through their assignments, students emphasize their personal and professional development, including the completion of a personal SWOT analysis and professional development plan.

Students in this DBA strategy course concentrate on the creation and implementation of business strategies that maximize competitive advantage in the marketplace. Students develop an understanding of why and how individuals and business organizations work together creating sustainable businesses in the global marketplace. They apply models for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of business organizations and identify opportunities and threats resulting from forces shaping the marketplace. Students focus on practical business applications of writing, critical thinking, and classroom engagement in a combination of essay discussions, research assignments, and writing papers to analyze, develop, and defend ideas for strategic and innovative business solutions for sustainability.

An essential, "make or break" aspect of today's organizational environment is innovation. Students in this seminar course are provided with the opportunity to position themselves for professional success in management through the study of concepts, processes, and tools needed to accelerate the rate, breadth, and depth of innovation within any organization. Students examine what innovation is and is not, as well as how to establish the organizational policies, processes, and employee-support infrastructure required to facilitate successful innovation throughout organizations. Students assess current information through extensive use of topical journal articles and papers as well as classic articles and papers related to the field of study. They also disseminate their findings to their peers through group discussions.

Entrepreneurial finance is designed to help managers make accurate investments and business decisions in entrepreneurial settings. In this seminar course, students explore the development of a small business from startup to financial security. They examine the process and various sources of funding, including partnerships with venture capitalists, conventional sources, and initial public offerings. Most importantly, students explore how to construct funding as well as the trade-offs and benefits for each model. They analyze entrepreneurial equity and how to negotiate any agreement with funding sources. Students accomplish course objectives by examining foundational literature and theories, seminal works, and established models in the field of entrepreneurial finance. They also identify additional resources and disseminate research conclusions to their peers.

Business-to-business (B2B) marketing has emerged as its own discipline to meet the needs of other businesses. The challenge is to find new methods of enhancing marketability and value while maintaining important relationships with consumers. Students in this seminar course focus on B2B marketing techniques, strategies, customer acquisition, and relationship building. They explore the theory and conceptual challenges facing today's B2B marketing manager. Primarily, students learn aspects of online promotion and advertising, communications strategies to promote online initiatives, and creative ways of developing the B2B channel. They fine-tune critical-thinking skills by formulating an original research topic and debating with peers. Students accomplish course objectives by examining foundational literature and theories, seminal works, and established models in the field of B2B marketing.