Online Supply Chain and Operations Management Degree

Welcome to Composition: Writing with a Strategy! In this course, you will focus on three main topics: understanding purpose, context, and audience, writing strategies and techniques, and editing and revising. In addition, the first section, will offer review on core elements of the writing process, cross-cultural communication, as well as working with words and common standards and practices. Each section includes learning opportunities through readings, videos, audio, and other relevant resources. Assessment activities with feedback also provide opportunities to check your learning, practice, and show how well you understand course content. Because the course is self-paced, you may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as you need to gain proficiency in the seven competencies that will be covered in the final assessment. If you have no prior knowledge or experience, you can expect to spend 30-40 hours on the course content.

This is a Global Arts and Humanities course that contains three modules with corresponding lessons. This course is an invitation to see the world through the humanities, examine the humanities during the Information Age, and explore the global origins of music—essentially questioning what makes us human, and how people are connected across culture and time. Each module includes learning opportunities through readings, videos, audio, and other relevant resources. Assessment activities with feedback also provide opportunities to practice and check learning. With no prior knowledge or experience, a learner can expect to spend 30-40 hours on the course content.

​This course presents a broad survey of U.S. history from early colonization to the mid-twentieth century. The course explores how historical events and major themes in American history have affected diverse populations, influenced changes in policy an established the American definition of democracy.  This course consists of an introduction and five major sections. Each section includes learning opportunities through reading, images, videos, and other relevant resources. Assessment activities with feedback also provide opportunities to practice and check how well you understand the content. Because the course is self-paced, you may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as you need to, with the goal of demonstrating proficiency in the five competencies covered in the final assessment. If you have no prior knowledge of this material, you can expect to spend 30-40 hours on the course content.​ 

In this course you will learn key critical thinking concepts and how to apply them in the analysis and evaluation of reasons and evidence. The course examines the basic components of an argument, the credibility of evidence sources, the impact of bias, and how to construct an argument that provides good support for a claim. The course consists of an introduction and four major sections. Each section includes learning opportunities through readings, videos, audio, and other relevant resources. Assessment activities with feedback also provide opportunities to check your learning, practice, and show how well you understand course content. Because the course is self-paced, you may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as you need to gain proficiency in the four competencies that will be covered in the final assessment. If you have no prior knowledge or experience, you can expect to spend 30-40 hours on the course content.

This course teaches students to think like sociologists, or, in other words, to see and understand the hidden rules, or norms, by which people live, and how they free or restrain behavior. Students will learn about socializing institutions, such as schools and families, as well as workplace organizations and governments. Participants will also learn how people deviate from the rules by challenging norms and how such behavior may result in social change, either on a large scale or within small groups.

Welcome to Introduction to Communication: Connecting with Others! It may seem like common knowledge that communication skills are important, and that communicating with others is inescapable in our everyday lives. While this may appear simplistic, the study of communication is actually complex, dynamic, and multifaceted. Strong communication skills are invaluable to strengthening a multitude of aspects of life. Specifically, this course will focus on communication in the professional setting, and present material from multiple vantage points, including communicating with others in a variety of contexts, across situations, and with diverse populations. Upon completion, you will have a deeper understanding of both your own and others’ communication behaviors, and a toolbox of effective behaviors to enhance your experience in the workplace.

This course provides students with an overview of the basic principles and unifying ideas of the physical sciences: physics, chemistry, and earth sciences. Course materials focus on scientific reasoning and practical, everyday applications of physical science concepts to help students integrate conceptual knowledge with practical skills.

Applied Algebra is designed to help you develop competence in working with functions, the algebra of functions, and using some applied properties of functions. You will start learning about how we can apply different kinds of functions to relevant, real-life examples. From there, the algebra of several families of functions will be explored, including linear, polynomial, exponential, and logistic functions. You will also learn about relevant, applicable mathematical properties of each family of functions, including rate of change, concavity, maximizing/minimizing, and asymptotes. These properties will be used to solve problems related to your major and make sense of everyday living problems. Students should complete Applied Probability and Statistics or its equivalent prior to engaging in Applied Algebra.

Design Thinking for Business examines the design thinking methodology for solving complex problems. This course introduces students to design thinking as a human-centered approach to problem-solving and innovation that draws upon empathy and creativity to develop solutions to complex problems. Students will explore the principles and stages of design thinking and analyze the use of design thinking in developing solutions through real-world scenarios.

Applied Probability and Statistics is designed to help students develop competence in the fundamental concepts of basic statistics including: introductory algebra and graphing; descriptive statistics; regression and correlation; and probability. Statistical data and probability are often used in everyday life, science, business, information technology, and educational settings to make informed decisions about the validity of studies and the effect of data on decisions. This course discusses what constitutes sound research design and how to appropriately model phenomena using statistical data. Additionally, the content covers simple probability calculations, based on events that occur in the business and IT industries. No prerequisites are required for this course.

Health, Fitness, and Wellness focuses on the importance and foundations of good health and physical fitness—particularly for children and adolescents—addressing health, nutrition, fitness, and substance use and abuse.

Fundamentals of Spreadsheets and Data Presentations offers learners an overview of the use of spreadsheet functions and methods for presenting data within spreadsheets. Learners will have the opportunity to explore features and uses of MS Excel and apply the tools to situations they may encounter while studying in their program. They will also be introduced to real world uses and tools to collect, organize and present data.

This course provides students with an introductory look at the discipline of finance and its context within the business environment. Students gain the knowledge to differentiate between personal and business finance and how they may overlap in a business environment. Students also gain a fundamental knowledge of financial forecasting and budgeting, statement analysis, and decision making. This course provides the student a business generalist overview of the field of finance and builds on previous acquired competencies related to using spreadsheets.

Managing in a Global Business Environment provides students with a generalist overview of business from a global perspective, while also developing basic skills and knowledge to help them make strategic decisions, communicate, and develop personal relationships in a global environment. Business today is by its very nature a global environment, and individuals working in business will experience the global nature of business as they progress through their careers. This course builds on previously acquired competencies by providing an overview of U.S. federal laws in relation to doing business in a global environment.

Emotional and Cultural Intelligence focuses on key personal awareness skills that businesses request when hiring personnel. Key among those abilities is communication. Students will increase their skills in written, verbal, and nonverbal communication skills. The course then looks at three areas of personal awareness including emotional intelligence (EI), cultural awareness, and ethical self-awareness – building on previously acquired competencies and adding new ones. This course helps start students on a road of self-discovery, cultivating awareness to improve both as a business professional and personally.

Principles of Financial and Managerial Accounting provides students with an introduction to the discipline of accounting and its context within the business environment. In this course, students will learn to differentiate between financial, cost, and managerial accounting and where these accounting types fit into the business environment. This course will help students gain a fundamental knowledge of the budgeting process, how to analyze basic financial statements, and how to use spreadsheets to analyze data. This course provides students with a business generalist overview of the field of accounting and acts as a preview course for the accounting major.

This course ties together all the skills and knowledge covered in the business courses and allows the student to prove their mastery of the competencies by applying them in a simulated business environment. This course will help take the student's knowledge and skills from the theoretical to applicable.

Principles of Management provides students with an introductory look at the discipline of management and its context within the business environment. Students of this course build on previously mastered competencies by taking a more in-depth look at management as a discipline and how it differs from leadership while further exploring the importance of communication within business. This course provides students with a business generalist overview in the areas of strategic planning, total quality, entrepreneurship, conflict and change, human resource management, diversity, and organizational structure.

Business Environment Applications 1 provides students with a generalist overview of the business environment and a deeper look at a number of topics that make up the non-discipline areas of business which are required for a business person to be successful within any business environment. The first part of the course focuses on knowledge about organizations and how people operate within organizations, including the areas of organizational theory, structure, and effectiveness. The course then looks at business from a legal perspective with an overview of the legal environment of business. The course will prepare the student to consider specific legal situations and to make legal and ethical decisions related to those situations.

This introductory course provides students with an overview of the field of business and a basic understanding of how management, organizational structure, communication, and leadership styles affect the business environment. It also introduces them to some of the power skills that help make successful business professionals, including time management, problem solving, emotional intelligence and innovation; while also teaching them the importance of ethics. This course gives students an opportunity to begin to explore their own strengths and passions in relation to the field while also acclimating them to the online competency-based environment.

Principles of Economics provides students with the knowledge they need to be successful managers, including basic economic theories related to markets and how markets function. This course starts by defining economics, differentiating between microeconomics and macroeconomics, and explaining the fundamental economic principles of each. It then looks at microeconomics and how it is used to make business and public policy decisions, including the principles of supply, demand, and elasticity, market efficiency, cost of production, and different market structures. The course finishes by looking at macroeconomics and how it is used to make business and public policy decisions, including measurement of macroeconomic variables, aggregate supply and demand, the concepts of an open economy, and how trade policies influence domestic and international markets.

Project Management prepares you to manage projects from start to finish within any organization structure. The course represents a view into different project-management methods and delves into topics such as project profiling and phases, constraints, building the project team, scheduling, and risk. You will be able to grasp the full scope of projects you may work with on in the future, and apply proper management approaches to complete a project. The course features practice in each of the project phases as you learn how to strategically apply project-management tools and techniques to help organizations achieve their goals.

Change Management provides an understanding of change and an overview of successfully managing change using various methods and tools. Emphasizing change theories and various best practices, this course covers how to recognize and implement change using an array of other effective strategies, including those related to innovation and leadership. Other topics include approaches to change, diagnosing and planning for change, implementing change, and sustaining change.

Values-Based Leadership guides students to learn by reflection, design, and scenario planning. Through a combination of theory, reflection, value alignment, and practice, the course helps students examine and understand values-based leadership and explore foundations in creating a culture of care. In this course, students are given the opportunity to identify and define their personal values through an assessment and reflection process. Students then evaluate business cases to practice mapping the influence of values on their own leadership. In this course, students also participate in scenario planning, where they can practice implementing their values in their daily routine (i.e., behaviors) and then in a leadership setting. The course illustrates how values-driven leadership is used in goal setting as well as problem-solving at an organizational level. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Organizational Behavior and Leadership explores how to lead and manage effectively in diverse business environments. Students are asked to demonstrate the ability to apply organizational leadership theories and management strategies in a series of scenario-based problems.

Business Ethics is designed to enable students to identify the ethical and socially responsible courses of action available through the exploration of various scenarios in business. Students will also learn to develop appropriate ethics guidelines for a business. This course has no prerequisites.

Managing Operations examines management systems and processes to improve operating efficiency. In this course, students will be introduced to operations management concepts and will learn how analysis of these systems and processes can improve operating efficiency across the organization. Students will explore ethical and sustainable operations management strategies and will analyze operating processes for continuous improvement.

Transportation, Logistics, and Distribution examines logistics and the planning and management of transportation and distribution. This course introduces requirements and risks, facilities and inventory, strategy and supply chain synchronicity, efficiencies and costs, and laws and regulations related to transportation, distribution, and logistics. Students will explore warehousing and warehouse management, inventory and logistics management, distribution, and supply chain management from the lens of transportation, logistics, and distribution. This course is aligned with the Certified in Logistics, Transportation, and Distribution (CLTD) certification from the Association for Supply Chain Management.

Exploring Data builds proficiency with data, including the organization, preparation, transformation, cleaning, and verification of data. This course examines how to apply critical thinking, spreadsheet, and structured query language techniques to data management and decision-making. Students may simultaneously work toward the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate and the WGU Business Analysis Certificate. The course D468: Discovering Data, which also includes Google certificate materials, is a prerequisite.

Analyzing and Visualizing Data examines the principles and techniques used to effectively analyze data to answer questions and share data through the art of visualization. This course explores how to use formulas and functions to perform calculations, how to design and create visualizations and dashboards in Tableau, and how to build an effective data presentation that considers limitations associated with the data and best practices for audience considerations. This course provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate an understanding of what is involved in the conversion and formatting of data and apply the use of functions and syntax to create SQL queries for combining data from multiple database tables. The course D467: Exploring Data, which also includes Google certificate materials, is a prerequisite.

Data Applications examines the principles and techniques used to effectively analyze data to answer questions and provides foundational knowledge of R and RStudio environments. This course teaches students how to aggregate; how to format and adjust data using spreadsheets and SQL; how to use formulas and functions to perform calculations in SQL; how to organize, transform, clean, and analyze data in R; and how to create visualizations in R Markdown. Upon completion of this course, students will earn the WGU Business Analysis Professional certificate and may also choose to earn the Google Data Analytics Professional certificate.

Global Supply Chain Management introduces a broad range of supply chain management concepts. Students consider supply chains and supply chain management strategies, including planning and design, risk management, and global and sustainable supply chain networks and management. Students learn about managing important relationships and their interdependencies. Students also investigate how supply chain costs affect consumers, quality and continuous improvement, and the role of the sales and operations planning (S&OP) process. Portions of this course are aligned with aspects of ASCM APICS certification programs, namely the CSCP and the CPIM.

Quality, Continuous Improvement, and Lean Six Sigma examines how organizations can measure and improve the quality of products, goods, and services. Students consider different dimensions and characteristics of quality and are introduced to a variety of strategies and tools that are used to manage quality and measure performance. This course explores how to apply continuous improvement processes by analyzing the Lean Six Sigma DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) method. C955: Applied Probability and Statistics is a prerequisite for this course.

Solution Design and Visualization Capstone guides learners to synthesize and apply the skills learned throughout their business analytics, operations, and supply chain education. This course gives learners the opportunity to solve challenges in procurement, sales and operations planning (S&OP) processes, distribution, logistics and transportation faced by a fictional company. In the course capstone project, learners play the role of an operations and supply chain manager or consultant, redesigning the existing supply chain to implement lean processes and using Six Sigma methodology to improve efficiency and allow the company to bring new products or services to market faster. Learners in this course address a real operations and supply chain problem and design solutions, which they communicate in a report and a presentation. At the end of the course, learners will have an authentic experience they can add to their portfolio and show employers. Working through this capstone helps learners to understand how their knowledge interacts with real situations and how roles fit within the industry. The D472: 21st Century Operations and Supply Chain course is a prerequisite.

21st Century Operations and Supply Chain explores modern issues in supply chain management. Building on the supply chain landscape introduced in prior courses, this course addresses more complex supply chain and operations issues. The course examines how disruptions transform operations and the supply chain and how to use qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate solutions.

Discovering Data introduces analytical concepts, processes, and tools used in the field of business analytics. This course explores the importance of asking effective questions to collect the right data. Students will examine using analytical thinking to organize, analyze, and share data to drive decision-making. This course provides students the opportunity to work toward the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate and the WGU Business Analysis Certificate. Introduction to Spreadsheets is a prerequisite for this course.