ABUS 4151
About This Course
This course will focus on understanding innovation—how it is defined, how it is practiced, and how real organizations harness its power to stay ahead of the competition. The course is aimed at individuals who want to be innovators or entrepreneurs and/or those who want to join organizations where they will lead innovative teams. While the study of innovation is a lifelong pursuit, this course aims to build a solid foundation upon which students can build throughout their career.
The course is organized into three main units. The first unit of the course focuses on defining innovation, and examines frameworks to categorize innovations. The second unit delves into the process of innovation, and investigates how innovation happens in real organizations. The third and final unit focuses on how innovators actually make it happen in the real world. The modules of this unit focus on both the tactical (what are the ways a new venture can be financed?) and the theoretical (what leadership skills are required of an innovator?). The course ends with the evaluation of a real-world business plan and puts the student in the shoes of the decision maker charged with deciding the fate of that plan.
Instructors
D.B.A., University of Phoenix; M.B.A., Carlson School of Management; B.A., Augsburg College
Gordon Flanders teaches courses in marketing, market research, international business, consumer behavior, strategic management, advanced management seminar, critical thinking and decision making, selling and sales management, and macroeconomics. He is a tenured assistant professor of business and winner of a Merit Award for excellence in teaching, service, and research at Montana Tech of the University of Montana. Before working in academia, Dr. Flanders spent 20 years at 3M/Imation, where he earned the Circle of Technical Excellence Award and three Golden Step Awards for successful new product launches. The new products he launched have also won industry-specific awards for innovation and a US government environmental award.
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ABUS 4101 − Accounting and Finance for Managers
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ABUS 4151 − Innovation for Leaders and Organizations
- ABUS 4509 − New Product Development
MBA, University of St. Thomas
Drew was recently named the vice president of operations for Hawkins Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of industrial chemicals to municipalities and businesses throughout the central United States. A management executive with over 26 years of experience with Target, Kohl’s, Field & Stream, and Ulta Beauty, as well as business ownership, Drew has experience in retail operations, merchandising operations, property management, and franchising. He enjoys sharing his many varied business experiences, teaching and mentoring the next generation of business leaders, as well as learning from their experiences.
- ABUS 4151 – Innovation for Leaders and Organizations