Practical Reflection

The mission of the Hutton School of Business and the Robert W. Plaster Graduate School of Business is to foster academic excellence and student achievement at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Students are provided with a strong academic foundation in business, and are prepared to become productive, competent, and ethical professionals. The Hutton School of Business and Plaster Graduate School of Business provide a learning environment that is characterized by student-oriented instructional methodologies and the development of leadership and life-long learning skills in its students.

At the Hutton School of Business and Plaster Graduate School of Business, the following broad-based goals for students have been developed:

• Students will acquire the relevant disciplinary knowledge and competencies appropriate to their program of study.

• Students will acquire effective business-related professional skills.

• Students will be challenged to assess their personal values and connect them to ethical behaviors appropriate to their intended endeavors.

Based upon these broad-based goals, the Plaster Graduate School of Business has identified the following general intended student learning outcomes (MBA ISLO) for students:

1. Students will be able to demonstrate well-developed problem-solving skills.

2. Students will be able to identify the major theories and concepts in the areas of accounting, finance, management, and marketing.

3. Students will be able to apply their findings from the major theories and concepts in the areas of accounting, finance, management, and marketing to organizational decision making.

4. Students will be able to analyze the opportunities and challenges of global business issues.

5. Students will be able to apply standards of ethical behavior in business to managerial decision making.

6. Students will be able to apply appropriate technological and quantitative methods and tools to the solution of practical management problems.

7. Students will be able to demonstrate advanced professional business communication skills.

8. Students will be able to demonstrate well-developed organizational, leadership, and teamwork skills.

9. Students will be able to integrate theory and practical application across business functional areas for the purpose of strategic analysis, planning, implementation, and control.

Further, the Hutton School of Business and the Plaster Graduate School of Business has developed the following intended student learning outcomes for students pursuing the Project Management concentration (PM ISLO) in the Master of Business Administration Program.

1. Students will be able to increase their knowledge and identification of the project management process including planning the project, initiating the project, executing the project, monitoring the project, and controlling the project.

2. Students will be able to apply advanced analytical and critical thinking skills to evaluate information, solve problems, and make sound decisions in the different areas of project management.

3. Students will be able to conduct research on issues and questions relevant to the field of project management.

4. Students will be able to identify the ethical and legal responsibilities of project managers.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the student will perform the following:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the “project life cycle” and how projects are organized, initiated, planned, executed, monitored, and closed, (PM ISLO 1 & 2)

• Identify the “knowledge areas” as described by PMBOK® Guide and familiarize themselves with how they are utilized within project management and the life cycle, (PM ISLO 1 & 2) (PMBOK is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.)

• Demonstrate knowledge of the concepts of “scrum management,” “portfolio management,” “projects and subprojects,” “program management,” and project selection methods, (PM ISLO 1 & 2)

• Identify organizational types, structures, and culture in relation to project management, (PM ISLO 1 & 2)

• Demonstrate knowledge regarding how Agile project management and PM software assist in the project management process, (PM ISLO 1 & 2)

• Identify project roles regarding managers, executives, core team members, etc., (PM ISLO 1, 2, & 4)

• Demonstrate knowledge regarding project charters and their effect on project management, (PM ISLO 1, 2, & 4)

• Identify how project stakeholders, human resources, scope planning, scheduling, budgeting, risk, quality, and teams need to be managed and how they affect project management (PM ISLO 1, 2, & 4)

• Demonstrate knowledge as to the specific requirements for professional certifications as noted by PMI® (PM ISLO 1 & 2) (PMI is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.)