Executive MOD Course Descriptions

The Executive MOD curriculum is designed to educate students on increasing the effectiveness of individuals and organizations. Prior academic preparation in business is not required as executive students demonstrate proficiency in business core prerequisites by completing a self-study learning package by the end of their second semester in the program. Executive students are required to complete the following 10 courses that are typically taken two a semester and completed within 18 months.

Understanding Organizational Change

ORGD 6010.  Introducing Organizational Change (3).  An overview of behavioral science interventions for organizational and transorganizational improvement; explores the concepts and history of organization development, power and politics in change, role of change agents, types of interventions, importance of measurement and empiricism, ethical considerations, and models of organizational change.  Approved for Distance Ed. 

ORGD 6320. Managing Strategic Human Resources (3) Examines the major topics in personnel and human resource management emphasizing the role of HRM policies and practices in achieving and facilitating organizational change. Topics include job analysis, human resource planning, staffing, career management, appraisal, compensation, development, and labor relations. Prerequisite: M.B.A. and M.O.D. students only or consent of Graduate Studies in Business. Not open to students with credit for MBA 6320. Approved for Distance Ed.

ORGD 6080. Leading for Organizational Success (3). Understanding the effective functioning of individuals, groups and teams in organizations.  Emphasizes application of behavioral science knowledge to major organizational issues such as performance, decision-making, communication, conflict, and leadership.  Employs a cross-cultural perspective. Prerequisite: M.O.D. students only or consent of Graduate Studies in Business. Not open to students with credit for MBA 6080. Approved for Distance Ed. 

ORGD 6030. Building a Strategic Organization (3).  Integrative course that examines the various strategy, structure, and culture options to cope with a challenging, global, competitive environment.  Focuses on dimensions of structure; impact of strategy, size, technology and environment on structure; organizational effectiveness criteria; theories of organization; the nature of organizational culture; pressures for changes in strategy from within the organization as well as from competitive forces, macro-environmental trends, and discontinuous shifts; and the interrelationships among organizational strategy, structure, and culture.  Approved for Distance Ed. 

Diagnosing Organizational Change

ORGD 6040. Diagnosing Organizational Issues (3). Use of applied research methods to identify organizational effectiveness issues and to determine possible causes.  Focus on measures of organizational effectiveness, hypothesis formulation, qualitative and quantitative research designs, and the role of empiricism in organizational change.  Prerequisites:  Prior academic preparation in accounting, finance, marketing, operations management, and statistics.  Approved for Distance Ed. 

STAT 6050.  Applying Statistics for Organizational Change.  (3). Use of techniques for collecting, analyzing, and feeding back data within an organization. Focus on qualitative and quantitative data collection procedures, statistical tools, and data analysis; techniques for presenting results to the organization; ethical dilemmas in analysis and feedback; and utilization of results for diagnosis and evaluation. Prerequisite: Prior academic preparation in statistics and ORGD 6040.

Targeting Organizational Change

ORGD 6020. Enhancing Individual & Group Effectiveness (3). Study of interventions that focus on improvements in individual and group performance; individual development interventions; improving interpersonal relations; characteristics of effective work groups and teams; team building; process consultation; individual and group decision making. Prerequisite: ORGD 6010, 6030, and 6080. Approved for Distance Ed.

ORGD 6090. Implementing Improvements in Operations and the Supply Chain. (3). Applies organizational development concepts to improving manufacturing and service operations and the supply chain. Examines the special trans-organizational change issues associated with supplier development. Addresses issues such as gaining commitment within and across organizational lines, sustaining improvements across time, and using cross-functional and inter-organizational teams in the implementation process. Prerequisites: Prior academic preparation in operations management and statistics and consent of program coordinator. Approved for Distance Ed.

ORGD 6060. Engaging Whole Systems for Change (3). Development, adaptation, and application of theories and methods emphasizing inter-group, systemic, and trans-systemic change. The focus is on the change of an organization or community, not necessarily determined by the size of the system. Prerequisites: ORGD 6010, ORGD 6030, and ORGD 6080. Approved for Distance Ed.

Mastering Organizational Change

ORGD 6070. Mastering Change (3). Capstone course integrating the knowledge and skills acquired in previous ORGD courses. Prerequisites: admission into the Master of Organization Development Program and ORGD 6010, ORGD 6020, ORGD 6030, ORGD 6040, ORGD 6060, ORGD 6080, ORGD 6090, ORGD 6320, and STAT 6050. Approved for Distance Ed.