A sound quality management strategy and plan are critical in today's complex business organizations and projects. Students in this course will review the history of quality efforts from Deming, Juran and Crosby in the setting of the original quality efforts, international competition, and the concept of Six-Sigma as initiated by the Motorola Corporation in response to that competition. The use of the Baldrige Excellence Framework for designing, implementing, and improving project and organizational practices that influence quality will be explored. Students will examine multiple specific process improvement approaches they could apply within their organizational / project quality plans, approaches such as preventions over Inspection and continuous Improvement of processes.

In this 2-credit introductory course, students will develop an understanding of the concepts and principles associated with the Theory of Constraints and Critical Chain thinking. We will explore the proposition that project managers should focus on those activities that are resource-constrained as opposed to the project's critical path when monitoring project progress. We will analyze case studies that test and extend these ideas in real-world scenarios. Through the review of these case studies, students will develop an understanding of the principles associated with the theory of constraints, critical chain approaches, and how they might be used within project management.

This course introduces the learner to the historical background, the institutions, and the political processes within the United States national government. The focus is on process, but the appropriate attention is given to the institutions of government in which the political processes occur, such as Congress, the courts, and local governments. The course employs a systems model of politics to identify how politics works in the United States. Both process and institutions are studied from a systems perspective so that critical functions and decision points can be identified, described, and assessed. Specific attention will be paid to the legislative process, elections, and enacting change.

Introduces the nature of politics and political institutions. Emphasizes political behavior and continuing issues of modern politics, such as power, authority, legitimacy, freedom, and order.