Southwestern College Professional Studies

Online Graduate Management Degree Program

The Southwestern College Professional Studies Master of Science in Management program (MSM) prepares leaders of today’s complex and diverse business environment to manage key business operations and lead their organizations to success. The learner will develop skills in areas that support the management functions of planning, organizing, leading, and measuring the performance of the organization. Topics include project management, human resource management, finance, organizational ethics and statistical analysis. The program not only introduces the learner to strategic, tactical, and operational areas, but also to a variety of leadership theories and styles necessary for leading successful organizations. The MSM graduate has demonstrated competence in interpersonal and written communication, ethical reasoning through complex practical application activities, as well as the ability to utilize resources to continue learning about best practices in management in order to prepare him for advancement in his field. The strong foundational concepts taught by professionals support the learners in the completion of projects that make a positive difference in their workplaces, churches, communities, or personal lives, and also may inspire them to continue in additional graduate degree programs.

Program Outcomes

Southwestern College’s Master of Science in Management (MSM) program focuses on the knowledge and skills necessary for any manager to be successful. Organizations today need very complex and diverse managers and leaders. They are not just expected to be experts in their particular field, but they are expected to understand the many aspects of business as well as how to lead the organization to success. Southwestern College’s Master of Science in Management program is a 39-hour degree program. Courses are six weeks long and are available completely online. The degree may be completed in 20 months of continuous part-time study. The program seeks to develop leaders for today’s complex and diverse business environments and to prepare them for leading an organization to success.

1. Learners demonstrate they have gained breadth and depth of understanding of key organizational management concepts and theories and leadership models and applications.
2. Learners demonstrate that they are recognized by their current employers as excellent employees who contribute to their organizations and are candidates for advancement in their field.
3. Learners demonstrate and exhibit an understanding and appreciation of the ethics in various organizational settings.
4. Learners exhibit poise and confidence in verbal an written communication.
5. Learners demonstrate that they have been and will continue to be a life-long learner.

Required Courses

Major Courses

MGMT500 Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
MGMT505 Project Management Fundamentals
LEAD500 Leadership Styles and Theories
LEAD565 Knowledge Based Leadership
MGMT580 Quality Management and Statistical Analysis
MGMT565 Financial Analysis and Management I
CAPS600 Graduate Project

In addition to the required courses listed above (select one class from each group below):

MGMT520 Managing Organizational Change and Conflict
OR
LEAD560 Leading Change in Organizations
MGMT560 Ethics in the Global Marketplace
OR
LEAD505 Organizational Leadership and Ethics

Elective Courses (Choose 12 credit hours from the following list):

MGMT510 Financial Accounting
LEAD510 Leadership in Context
LEAD515 Leadership Communication and Conflict Resolution
MGMT515 Managerial Accounting
LEAD520 Leadership Coaching
MGMT525 Business Law
MGMT530 Marketing Strategies
MGMT575 Financial Analysis and Management II
LEAD570 Leadership for the Future
LEAD580 Practical Problem Solving for Today’s Organizations

Course Descriptions

MGMT500 Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

This course covers models and theories of behavior, and human resources management concepts and processes as they apply to managing individual and work-group behavior in organizations. Organizational behavior topics include leadership, motivation, and teamwork. Human Resource management topics include human resources strategy, selection, performance evaluation, reward systems, and employee development. Heavy emphasis will be on the strategic implications of these topics.

MGMT505 Project Management Fundamentals

In this course, concepts, theories, principles and practical application of project management tools will be applied to real business situations. A critical analysis of tools and techniques that are available to aid project managers will be performed, with a view of the potential disconnect between these tools and real- world projects. Specific tools, including the Balanced Scorecard, Monte Carlo simulations, and stop-light charts, will be utilized.

LEAD500 Leadership Styles and Theories

The course will cover fundamentals of leadership, definitions of leadership, and an introduction to the tools available for research in leadership. Emphasis is on the application of theoretical concepts to actual organizational settings and situations, culminating in the determination of participants’ dominant leadership style and articulation of a personal leadership profile.

LEAD565 Knowledge Based Leadership

The course will cover the integration and alignment of strategic planning mission, and vision with goals and objectives to position organizations to transition to a knowledge based environment. Participants will develop a plan for capturing tribal knowledge, and using that knowledge to create and communicate a shared vision.

MGMT520 Managing Organizational Change and Conflict

Participants learn techniques for successfully managing and communicating change and conflict in complex organizations. Individual personality, preference and style assessment, interpersonal interaction, and group dynamics will be included. Also covered are implementation strategies for change in organizations as they respond to socioeconomic, technological, ethical and environmental factors, and how to adapt to new competitive conditions.

LEAD560 Leading Change in Organizations

Participants will learn to navigate the world of needs assessment tools in order to build an organization’s ability to operate on the consistent generation of information. Systems used to analyze information and implement change resulting from data will be covered through case studies, individual, and group exercises. Participants will develop practical tools for engaging people at all levels of an organization through inevitable change.

MGMT580 Quality Management and Statistical Analysis

This course explores foundations of quality management. Tools and methods for analytic study including basic probability and statistics are discussed. Models of quality management are utilized through practical case study application. Learners will have the opportunity to apply quality management and statistical analysis to a real-world project of their choice.

MGMT560 Ethics in the Global Marketplace

Learners explore the role of business in society and discuss critical managerial issues from historical, theoretical, and social/ethical perspectives. Content includes coverage of company values, actions, and outcomes that affect employees, investors, business partners, communities, and the natural environment. Learners examine business ethics in these relationships and ways that leaders can improve corporate citizenship. Special emphasis is placed on understanding the role of ethics in multi-national corporations.

LEAD505 Organizational Leadership and Ethics

The course will provide an understanding of the distinction between leadership and management in organizations. Theory is mixed with contemporary examples of the ethical challenges facing today’s leaders. Participants consider ethical frameworks (e.g., individual ethical competency, organizational system as an ethical agent) in organizational decision making.

MGMT565 Financial Analysis and Management I

This course introduces and covers a broad range of financial topics of interest to managers. Differentiation between accounting and finance; time value of money; macroeconomics, including supply and demand; forecasting techniques, capital budgeting and investment decisions are included.

CAPS600 Graduate Project

All learners in graduate MBA, Management and Leadership programs will be required to submit a professional electronic capstone portfolio as a graduate requirement in this course. This course includes an applied leadership project designed to demonstrate how to plan, implement, and integrate progressive initiatives for highly successful organizations by using the five practices of exemplary leadership based on Kouzes & Posner’s international research on leadership. Learners’ projects from this course are included in the final capstone portfolio submitted. The capstone portfolio is a tool for learners to document and demonstrate they have met specific institutional and program learning outcomes. Prerequisite:Completion of all courses in the learners’ program.

For descriptions of Elective Courses, please review the Southwestern College Professional Studies Catalog

Admission Requirements

To be admitted into the Master of Science in Management program, candidates must submit the following:

Southwestern College Professional Studies Graduate Program Application form – Application forms are accepted on an ongoing basis. No application admission fee is charged. Complete the online application.

Official transcripts of all prior college/university coursework – Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution with a grade point average of 2.5 or higher (on a 4.0 scale).

Print a copy of the transcript request form and mail the request to the institution which awarded your bachelor’s degree.

Two confidential letters of recommendation – using the Graduate Recommendation Form (at least one from a current or former employer).

A one page Admissions Essay – submit your written statement electronically to graduate@sckans.edu or via mail or fax to 316.688.5218.

Resume- Applicants should have at least three years of professional work experience.

All international learners must show evidence of their English language ability by providing the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) report. A score of 550 (paper test) or 213 (computer-based test) on the TOEFL is considered the minimum acceptable for admission to the MSL program.

Applicants who hold bachelor’s degrees from a U.S. institution or from an institution in another English-only speaking country will receive a waiver of the TOEFL. Applicants who are from native English speaking countries are not required to take the TOEFL.

Admission requirements may differ for international learners, or for learners whose undergraduate degrees were awarded outside of the United States. Please contact an admissions counselor for more details.

In addition to the above, it is recommended that candidates have a working knowledge of word processing and presentation software.

A candidate’s file must be complete before an admissions decision may be made. It is the responsibility of each candidate to provide all of the information requested above. Candidates will receive a letter of admission to the program.

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