Management and Leadership, M.S.

33-37 credits

Purpose of Degree

The intent of the Master of Science Degree in Management and Leadership is to provide graduate level instruction, which will enhance the management, leadership and decision-making abilities of the program's graduates, and prepare them for the dynamic, technology-driven work force they will encounter in both private industry and the public sector.

The Master of Science Degree in Management and Leadership offers graduate level instruction based in theory while providing opportunities to apply competencies to practical settings. This program will enhance the management skills and decision-making abilities of the participants in the program at a cost commensurate with graduate level public education, and significantly lower on a cost-per-credit basis than private graduate level education. The program is committed to developing competent managers and leaders capable of excelling in the constantly changing business environment that surrounds today's private marketplace and public sector.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Master of Science (M.S.) in Management and Leadership is to provide graduate level instruction based in theory with professional application, which will enhance the management skills and decision-making abilities of the participants in the program at a cost commensurate with graduate level public education, and significantly lower on a cost-per-credit basis than private graduate level education.

Outcome Expectations of Students and Degree Completion

Students graduating from the M.S. in Management and Leadership program will be able to:

1. Comprehend leadership models and theories and apply them to professional practice.
2. Understand the group dynamics of professional organizations and utilize leadership skills to set and achieve organizational goals.
3. Competently manage in a dynamic, technology driven economic environment.
4. Examine issues that relate to achieving business excellence, valuing human diversity, effecting change, using technology, and demonstrating social responsibility.
5. Demonstrate managerial competencies associated with managing employees, facilitating groups and communicating effectively.
6. Apply management skills and theory through a culminating experience.

Program of Study

Based on the student learning outcomes established above, the following coursework was established for fulfillment of the common area requirements. All students must complete the common area requirements.

Due to the unique structure of the program, in addition to completion of the common area, students can choose to complete the curriculum requirements established by each of the different departments involved in the proposal. The curriculum consists of 33 to 37 credit hours including a common area of study in management and leadership philosophy and techniques.

The program offers students concentrations in the following areas:

1. Sport Management
2. Public Administration

Common Area Of Study

Research Methods (Select ONE of the following):

Individual Areas of Concentration

Sport Management

Required Courses

Elective Courses (Select one)

Public Administration

Required Courses

Comprehensive Exam***

* Students with one or more years managerial experience or currently employed in a full-time managerial position, may substitute an elective for the internship. Prior permission is required, and must be approved on the plan of study.

** Electives may be selected from graduate course offered through the Departments of Political Science Department, Business Management Department, or Economics.

*** Students must pass a comprehensive examination during the final semester of study.

Admissions Requirements and Deadlines

Undergraduate Prerequisite Coursework or Competencies

Applicants are expected to possess a common body of knowledge essential for advanced study in management and leadership. This body of knowledge typically includes undergraduate coursework or life experience contributing to a foundation of knowledge in the following areas: marketing, law, management fundamentals, finance/economics, and computer applications. Applicants with an undergraduate degree in business or management will likely have taken coursework-providing competencies in these areas. Applicants with non-business undergraduate degrees will usually lack at least some of these competencies, and therefore, will need to satisfy them through alternative means, including but not limited to:

• Submission of a portfolio/dossier, including an updated vita or demonstration of work product generated during the course of employment and/or other professional experiences,
• Successful completion of undergraduate coursework. (Note: The faculty intend to work toward offering coursework to satisfy these competencies via alternative delivery methods), or
• Passing the relevant graduate level coursework with a grade of "B" or higher.

The alternative means described above for satisfying the prerequisite requirements are typical for programs in the management area.

Application Deadline

Applicants for admission are strongly encouraged to apply by March 15 prior to the academic year for which they are seeking admission.

Time for Degree Completion

Students enrolling in the program on a full-time basis will have an opportunity to complete the required common area and co-requisite area coursework within a full academic year and, depending on their internship and other program requirements, will typically complete all their degree requirements in three full semesters.

Graduate Assistantships

The M.S. in Management and Leadership program offers a variety of graduate assistantships. These are awarded based upon merit and achievement to full-time students in the graduate program. Graduate assistants do not teach classes, but complete projects and tasks assigned by professors.

The graduate assistantship is awarded for the first year of full-time study, with the possibility of extension through the first summer. Prospective students should apply for a graduate assistantship at the time of application to the program, using the application form online. Graduate Assistants have positions across the campus, including, but not limited to, the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, Office of Admissions, Enrollments Services, and the Graduate College Office.

For more information, contact: Professor Robert P. Fleischman, J.D., Ed.D. at 570-422-3316 or at bfleischman@po-box.esu.edu.

Business Management Courses

• MGT 501 Organizational Behavior (3)

  • This course examines the individual and group behaviors that impact organizational performance. Individual processes and attributes such as perception, learning, personality, emotional intelligence, ethics, motivation, and stress are examined in organizational settings. Team processes such as communications, decision-making, power, conflict, and negotiation are also considered. This course concludes with a consideration of the organization-wide processes of learning, change, and structural design.

• MGT 502 Organizational Strategy (3)

  • This course presents the tools and techniques of organizational strategic planning, including internal organizational analysis of strengths and weaknesses and external scanning of the stakeholders and trends in the environment that the organization inhabits. Students will practice strategic analysis and the formulation of appropriate strategies through comprehensive real organization and/or simulation cases in this capstone course that integrates all the functional areas of management. The course concludes with a consideration of strategy implementation issues and techniques.

• MGT 503 Organizational Leadership (3)

  • This course presents traditional (trait and behavioral theories) and contemporary models (contingency, participative, charismatic, transformational) of leadership. The course considers the sources and uses of power and influence as well as the phenomenon of leader emergence. The course includes leadership skills assessment and training exercises. Case of effective and ineffective leadership will be utilized extensively throughout the course.

• MGT 504 Organizational Control Systems (3)

  • This course presents the theoretical and practical tools essential to effective management control including financial statement analysis, cost measurement and control, budgeting, the balanced scorecard, total quality management, value chain analysis, theory of constraints, productivity, and capacity. The course is a survey of some of the most useful management control topics from financial accounting, managerial (cost) accounting, operations management, and systems theory.

Public Administration Courses

• POLS 501 Public Administration: Theory, Scope, and Methods (3)

  • Public Administration: Theory, Scope and Methods is an introductory course concerned with American government planning, organizing, and operation necessary for governance on the national, state, and local levels. This course provides the student with a graduate level overview of: the historical foundations of public administration; the nature of governmental activity; governmental structure, bureaucracy, and organizational theory; public personnel management; public budgeting and financial management; administrative law; and administrative ethics.

• POLS 514 Seminar in Local Government (3)

  • This seminar will provide students with an opportunity to examine the operation and concerns of local government in detail. The focus will be on the challenges caused by rapid population growth and economic development. Students will examine the juxtaposition of local government in the American system, the adequacy of local government structures, land-use policy, taxing practices, and environmental and social issues. There will be interaction with local government officials.

• POLS 516 Administrative Law (3)

  • Administrative Law is concerned with the administrative agencies. It studies the powers of agencies, the limits on their powers, the rules that bind agency action, and the remedies available to those injured by administrative power. For the purpose of this course, administrative law is the law governing the creation of, powers of, and limitations upon public bureaucracies, not the regulations they produce.

• POLS 518 Political Communications (3)

  • This course explores the role of the news media in both domestic and international politics. This course is designed to be accessible to both Political Science and Communications students. An emphasis is placed upon recent research and the exploration of current topics in this area.

• POLS 528 Comparative Policy Analysis (3)

  • This seminar concentrates on the theory, techniques, and content of a body of research broadly concerned with factors that determine the variation in patterns of public policy across jurisdictions and over time. Students read materials that focus on how cultures, economic systems, and political institutions differ and how these differences affect public policies.

• POLS 535 Inter-Government Relations (3)

  • This course examines the distribution of powers between the federal government and the states. It includes a review of the historic development of American federalism as well as its current trends and conflicts. Emphasis in the course is placed on evaluating the administrative processes that bind federal, state, and local governments together.

• POLS 537 Problems in Public Administration (3)

  • This course is a survey and analysis of the major contributions in traditional and contemporary organization theory; examination of decision making, leadership, and human behavior in complex organization; the study of Public Administration as an integral part of the public policy process; problems in budgetary politics; and personnel administration, administrative law, and democracy in the administrative state.

• POLS 540 Comparative Politics (3)

  • This course consists of a comparative analysis of Western European political systems with special emphasis upon the environmental factors that have shaped these systems and the identification of relevant categories, such as ideology and the organization of political authority, from which generalizations may be derived.

• POLS 545 International Law and Organization (3)

  • This course is a study of rules that govern sovereign states in their legal relations with each other; historic development and current status of the law of nations. Key cases are studied to illustrate rules. It includes a survey of the development of international institutions from the 19th century public unions to the more recent specialized agencies; procedures for settlement of disputes; development of law in and outside the community of nations; and the study of international organizations as a political phenomenon of the 20th century.

• POLS 562 Political Behavior (3)

  • This course is an examination of the formation and causes of cleavages and consensus in the political system; the study of political attitude formation, leadership performance, small group relationships; and the effects of political myth, ideology, communication and political power on these processes.

• POLS 566 Public Budgeting and Finance (3)

  • This course treats budget as a policy instrument that sets priorities for government. Students study the politics of the budget process as well as its procedures. Attention is also given to fiscal and monetary policies and to using computer simulations in budgeting. This course provides graduates with an overview of the budgeting process from revenue sources to expenditure controls. Special emphasis is placed on systematic budgeting techniques such as ZBB and MBO. It requires each student to become acquainted with accounting techniques used in public agencies.

• POLS 567 Public Personnel Administration (3)

  • This course explores the policies, programs, and techniques used in managing human resources in the public and non-profit sectors. It addresses issues of personnel leadership, neutrality, and accountability. It includes challenges resulting from legislation, collective bargaining, and changing demographics in the workforce.

• POLS 586 Field Experience and Internship (Semester Hours Arranged)

  • This course is designed to provide the student with practical experience in a governmental agency or other organization with local, state, or national governmental or political concerns. Prerequisite: A minimum of 6 semester hours completed on the graduate level in political science with at least a "B" average. Enrollment in department graduate program.

Sport Management Courses

• SMGT 546 Planning and Management of Sports Facilities (3)

  • The course is designed to provide the student with knowledge of the planning and management of facilities for school physical education, athletic, and intramural/recreational programs. Buildings, grounds, and equipment, as well as maintenance of these facilities will be discussed. Students will visit and tour a facility.

• SMGT 547 Sport Business and Finance (3)

  • This course is to provide the student with knowledge of the business and financial considerations of various sport enterprises.

• SMGT 548 Sport Marketing (3)

  • The course is designed to provide the student with knowledge of sport marketing as it relates to spectator and participant. It will also give the student knowledge and understanding of the marketing considerations of various sport organizations. Fund raising applications will also be discussed.

• SMGT 549 Sport and the Law (3)

  • The focus of this course will be on legal concepts and principles related to the administration, coaching and teaching of sports. Legal issues involving personnel, facilities, equipment, transportation, medical aspects, liability and gender will be examined. Legal terminology and the court systems will be included.

• SMGT 550 Sport Personnel Management (3)

  • This course focuses on various leadership styles, managerial communication and interaction skills and their relative effectiveness in sport organizations. Attention is directed to specific personnel tasks such as hiring, development and evaluation of sport staff, and personnel issues of current importance.

• SMGT 570 Introduction to Research (3)

  • This course provides an orientation to graduate study and research in health education and movement studies and exercise science. This seminar is designed to acquaint the graduate student with the methods and materials of graduate study and scientific inquiry. This course is required of all graduate students in the degree program.

• SMGT 586 Field Experience and Internship (Semester Hours Arranged)

  • This course is designed to provide the student with practical experience with a federal, state or private organization in some related aspect of physical education and/or sports medicine. Students will coordinate their course work acquired at East Stroudsburg University with specific field experience. This program will be supervised by a member of the SMGT Department. Prerequisite: Permission of the department.