Business and Economics Department
- Mission Statement
- Faculty and Staff
- Degrees
- Course Descriptions
- Business and Economics Department Contact Information
Mission Statement 
The Department of Business and Economics works toward developing effective decision-makers and leaders in both the private and public sectors through a strong practical business education as well as a comprehensive liberal arts education. Academic programs instill excellence, build confidence, and develop strong leadership skills that graduates can use throughout their careers.
Faculty and Staff
Biga, Kay - Assistant Professor
Butler, Rebecca - Senior Lecturer, Accounting
Cao, Mei - Associate Professor, Transportation & Logistics
Carlson, Diek - Senior Lecturer, Economics
Christensen, Ethan - Assistant Professor, Marketing
Derick, Kathleen - Academic Department Associate, Transportation & Logistics
Dorin, Patrick - Senior Lecturer, Transportation & Logistics
Hembd, Jerry - Professor
Johnson, David - Associate Professor, Finance
Kibler, Bruce - Senior Lecturer, Management
Laughlin, Jill - Lecturer
Mahjabeen, Rubana - Asst Professor
Mahmud, Sakib - Assistant Professor
McCoon, Mark - Assistant Professor
Mokashi, Amit - Assistant Professor
Moran, Richard - Senior Lecturer
Nys, Anne - Senior Lecturer, Accounting
Opall, Brent - Assistant Professor
Osell, Shawn - Senior Lecturer, Economics
Pettingill, Kathryn - Academic Department Associate
Plasch, Edith - Senior Lecturer, Accounting
Roemhildt, Cassandra - Research Specialist, Transportation & Logistics
Simkins, Zamira - Assistant Professor, Economics
Spott, Patrick - Senior Lecturer, Business
Stewart, Richard - Professor
Degrees
Course Descriptions
| BUS - Business | ||
| Catalog Nbr. | Course Title/Course Topics | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BUS 583 | Organization Behavior and Development | 3.00 |
| Advanced study of organizations, the impact of human factors and management principles, and organization development is used to direct and manage change. Course is designed to build one's understanding of the theories and concepts for managing human behavior in organizations. Focus on case analysis and class exercises. Prerequisites: BUS 380. | ||
| DS - Data Science | ||
| Catalog Nbr. | Course Title/Course Topics | Credits |
| DS 700 | Foundations of Data Science | 3.00 |
| This course provides an introduction to data science and highlights its importance in business decision making. It provides an overview of commonly used data science tools along with spreadsheets, databases, statistics and programming assignments to lay the foundation for data science applications. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in Data Science program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 705 | Statistical Methods | 3.00 |
| Statistical methods and inference procedures will be presented in this course with an emphasis on applications, computer implementation, and interpretation of results. Topics include simple and multiple regression, model selection, correlation, moderation/interaction analysis, logistic regression, chi-square test, ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis test, MANOVA, factor analysis, and canonical correlation analysis. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in Data Science program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 710 | Programming for Data Science | 3.00 |
| Introduction to programming languages and packages used in Data Science. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in Data Science program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 715 | Data Warehousing | 3.00 |
| Introduce the concepts and techniques to work with and reason about subject-oriented, integrated, time-variant, and nonvolatile collections of data in support of management's decision-making process. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in Data Science program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 730 | Big Data: High Performance Computing | 3.00 |
| This course will teach students how to process large datasets efficiently. Students will be introduced to non-relational databases. Students will learn algorithms that allow for the distributed processing of large data sets across clusters. | ||
Prerequisites: Successful completion of DS 710 and declared Data Science Major | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 735 | Communicating about Data | 3.00 |
| This course will prepare you to master technical, informational and persuasive communication to meet organizational goals. Technical communication topics include a study of the nature, structure and interpretation of data. Informational communication topics include data visualization and design of data for understanding and action. Persuasive communication topics include the study of written, verbal and nonverbal approaches to influencing decision makers. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in Data Science program | ||
| DS 740 | Data Mining | 3.00 |
| This course covers two aspects of data analytics. First, it teaches techniques to generate visualizations appropriate to the audience type, task, and data. Second, it teaches methods and techniques for analyzing unstructured data - including text mining, web text mining and social network analysis. | ||
Prerequisites: Successful completion of DS 705 and DS 710 and Declared DS Major | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 745 | Visualization and Unstructured Data Analysis | 3.00 |
| This course covers two aspects of data analytics. First, it teaches techniques to generate visualizations appropriate to the audience type, task, and data. Second, it teaches methods and techniques for analyzing unstructured data - including text mining, web text mining and social network analysis. | ||
Prerequisites: Successful completion of DS 700, DS 705, DS 710, & DS 740 | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 760 | Ethics of Data Science | 3.00 |
| This course will focus on the investigation of ethical issues in computer science that ultimately also pertain to data science, including privacy, plagiarism, intellectual property rights, piracy, security, confidentiality and many other issues. Our study of these issues will begin broadly, with a look at ethical issues in computer science at large. We will then make inferences to the narrower field of data science. We will consider ethical arguments and positions, the quality and integrity of decisions and inferences based on data and how important cases and laws have shaped the legality, if not the morality, of data science related computing. Case studies will be used to investigate issues. | ||
Prerequisites: Successful completion of DS 700 or DS 780 | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 775 | Prescriptive Analytics | 3.00 |
| This course covers procedures and techniques for using data to inform the decision-making process. Topics include optimization, decision analysis, game theory, and simulation. Case studies and applications will be emphasized. | ||
Prerequisites: Successful completion of DS 705 & Admission to Data Science Program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 780 | Data Science and Strategic Decision Making | 3.00 |
| The interaction between data science and strategic decision making. Leveraging data resources for competitive advantage in the marketplace. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in Data Science program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 785 | Data Science Capstone | 3.00 |
| Capstone course; students will develop and execute a data science project using real-world data and communicate results to a non-technical audience. | ||
Prerequisites: Successful completion of Data Science 700, 705, 710, 715, 730, 735, 740, 745 & 775 | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT - Sustainable Management | ||
| Catalog Nbr. | Course Title/Course Topics | Credits |
| SMGT 700 | Cultural and Historical Foundations of Sustainability | 3.00 |
| The changing relationships of humans to the natural environment; changes in dominant scientific perspectives and the process of scientific debate. The quest for understanding, manipulating, and dominating the natural world. Cultural and organizational structures; the role and impact of technology; the systems approach to problem solving and its implications for the future. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 710 | The Natural Environment | 3.00 |
| Natural cycles, climate, water, energy, bio-systems, eco-systems, the role of humans in the biosphere; human impacts on natural systems. Use of case studies; some pre-reading, carbon cycle as a unifying theme. Disturbance pollution and toxicity; carrying capacity; natural capital. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 720 | Applied Research and the Triple Bottom Line | 3.00 |
| Document and project internal and external costs resulting from the inseparability of the natural, social and economic environments. Assess sustainability issues using basic modeling techniques; cause and effect, root cause analysis, regression analysis and business scenario based cases. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 730 | Policy, Law and Ethics of Sustainability | 3.00 |
| The Law and Ethics regarding sustainability of Economic development and emerging environmental challenges at national and international levels; including National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Carbon Footprints, Kyoto protocol, and Brundtland Commission. The policy and role of government and its agencies such as Army Corps of Engineers; Department of Interior, etc., in building a more just, prosperous, and secure environmental common future. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 740 | Economics of Sustainability | 3.00 |
| Understand the economy as a component of the ecosystem within which it resides, with natural capital added to the typical analysis of human, social, built, and financial capital. Explore traditional micro, macro, and international trade theory and policy and the implications of sustainability. Topics include: history of economic systems and thought; globalization and localization; distinguishing between growth and development; the nature and causes of market failure; consumption, consumerism, and human well-being; emerging markets; technological change; business organization and financial market alternatives; demographic change; and the global food economy. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 750 | The built Environment | 3.00 |
| Explore how the Built environment came to be and the intersection of human needs: water, air, food, water, waste, transportation, healthcare and education. Evaluate community design: what does a sustainable community look like? Study related technologies and evaluate alternatives, discuss unintended consequences. Course will include case studies. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 760 | Geopolitical Systems | 3.00 |
| An examination of decision making and public policy for sustainability at the national, state, and local level, with emphasis on the social, economic, political factors affecting decisions within both the public and private sectors. Attention is given to formal American policy making processes, informal grassroots activities and consensus building, public engagement with sustainability decisions, corporate sustainability actions and reporting, the promise of public-private partnerships and collaborative decision making, and practical examples of how decision making fosters effective transitions to sustainability goals at all levels. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 770 | Leading Sustainable Organizations | 3.00 |
| A macro-level perspective on leading sustainable organizations. Topics addressed include: organizational change and transformation processes, strategic and creative thinking, organizational structures and their impacts, conflict management and negotiation, stake holder management and situational leadership styles and behaviors. Focuses on how organizational leaders develop and enable sustainable organizations, especially in times of environmental change. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 780 | Corporate Social Responsibility | 3.00 |
| Corporate social responsibility and an organization. Evaluation of risks and potential impacts in decision making recognizing the links between the success of an organization and the well being of a community. Integrating corporate social responsibility throughout an organization, creating metrics and communicating CSR policies internally and externally. Development of best practices in an organization pertaining to corporate social responsibility. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 782 | Supply Chain Management | 3.00 |
| Planning, organizing and controlling the organization's supply chain is examined in context of the triple bottom line. Total cost analyses or product and process life cycles are considered in the context of strategy and operations. Topics include: sourcing, operations, distribution, reverse logistics and service supply chains. Process measurements and the impact on organizational performance in the context of footprints (e.g. carbon, water, pollution). Discussion of existing and potential software systems. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 784 | Sustainable Water Management | 3.00 |
| This course addresses practical applications of sustainability in aquatic environments. Topics covered include water and health, water quality and quantity, governance, assessing the aquatic environment, water treatment technologies, environmental mitigation, and impacts of climate change. Emphasis will be on selected areas of interest from the perspective of public health, engineering, and municipal conservation management. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
| SMGT 785 | Waste Management and Resource Recovery | 3.00 |
| Topics include the generation, processing, management and disposal of municipal, industrial and agricultural waste with an emphasis on the technical, economic and environmental aspects of various recovery processes. Additional topics will include producer responsibility, design for environment and life cycle analysis. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 790 | Capstone Preparation Course | 1.00 |
| Research, data analysis, scholarly inquiry resulting in project proposal. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 792 | Capstone Project | 3.00 |
| Completion of approved project utilizing concepts from coursework. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 795 | Special Topics in Sustainable Management | 3.00 |
| Various specialized areas of sustainable management will be examined. This course may be repeated for credit with a different topic. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Occasional by Demand | ||
| SMGT 799 | Study Abroad | 3.00 |
| Study abroad courses are conducted in various parts of the world and are led by one or more faculty members. This course may be repeated in different locations. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Occasional by Demand | ||
Business and Economics Department Contact Information
Business and Economics Department
University of Wisconsin - Superior
Erlanson Hall 301
Belknap and Catlin Ave.
P.O. Box 2000
Superior, WI 54880
Phone: 715-394-8206
Email: business@uwsuper.edu