Retail Management
Associate Degree

Identifies the concepts, principles, and operations of the private enterprise system. Students compare and contrast sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations, and they learn the advantages and disadvantages of each. This course also discusses the functions of modern business management, marketing, and ethics, and social responsibility. Human resource management and how employers can motivate their employees are described. Bookkeeping, accounting, financial management, and financial statements are also examined.

Basic principles of communication that are particularly applicable in business and industry, providing a foundation for more effective communication skills. Focuses on the proper use of English grammar in business settings.

An introduction to retailing concepts and processes. The student will explore the basics of retailing, such as setting up a retail business, primary target markets, products, location, etc. In addition, the student will survey personnel and risk management, and examine the basics of writing a business plan and operating a retail business in the global marketplace.

Designed to assure a basic level of computer applications literacy. Includes word processing, spreadsheet, database, email, and the Internet. Also covers various types of computer hardware and networking methods.

Overview of the structure and operations of the federal government, including constitutional principles, rights and liberties, the political process, and the relationships among the three branches of the federal government.

An introduction to the principles and practices of management, with emphasis on the management functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. Topics covered also include effective leadership and motivational techniques, communication, social responsibility and ethics, managing change and conflict, and control.

The basics of written communication in business. Explores differences in approach and format for various business documents. Also covers techniques for planning, researching, organizing, and writing reports.

Management of a retail business, with extensive coverage of the types of retailers, marketing and financial strategies, retail locations, human resource management, supply chain management, merchandise management, and store management.

A comprehensive review of mathematical skills and concepts commonly used in academic and vocational applications. Covers whole numbers, fractions, decimal notation, ratios and proportions, percents, statistics and measurement, geometry, real numbers, and algebra.

Introduces the student to the basics of supply chain management. The student will explore the distribution channel including the types of channels and the relationships among channel members. The student will also examine the supply chain operations of planning, sourcing materials, making products, deliveries, and returns. The use of technology to operate the supply chain will be discussed, and supply chain metrics (ways to measure performance) will be presented. Finally, the student will learn how to define opportunities and develop systems related to the supply chain.

Explores important concepts of retail buying, beginning with a discussion of customer needs, support staff requirements, and the education and training buyers need. The course also explores the roles of buying groups, merchandise assortments, planning and controls, and how technology and Internet commerce relate to retailing. In addition, the student will learn how to choose vendors, both local and international, how to translate plans into purchases, how to negotiate the buy, and how to price and sell merchandise once it has been bought.

The fundamentals of double-entry bookkeeping and the debit/credit method of recording transactions. The bookkeeping cycle, from recording transactions to preparing financial statements, is included. Emphasis is placed on service concerns operating as sole proprietorships.

Examines the various aspects of hiring, managing, motivating, and retaining retail employees. The course describes hiring techniques and discusses federal employment laws. The student will also explore concepts such as the effective management of employees; employee benefits, retention, and motivation; and customer service and relationship building.

Introduction to microeconomics, with emphasis on the functioning of individual markets and their effectiveness for resource allocation. Includes price and production theory, competition, labor, the distribution of income, and the theory of household behavior.

Surveys the field of psychology, including the development of behavior, physiological mechanisms of behavior, perception, motivation and emotion, consciousness, learning, memory, personality, and mental health.

Surveys the management of quality in all aspects of the retail environment. The course begins with a historical overview of quality and presents basic definitions of quality. It then explores quality as an aspect of leadership, effective management, and employee training and loyalty. The course also discusses the relationship between quality and customers, and examines the connection between quality and the retail item, from the design of products and services to the management of processes and suppliers.

A focused look at the management of capital in a business firm. Emphasis is placed on policies and actions relating to asset structure, risk, income, and cash flows. Operating and financial analysis are also explored.

Complete coverage of the role of consumers in the marketplace, including perception, learning and memory, income and social class, subcultures, cultural influences on consumer behavior, and global consumer culture.

Explores the basics of loss prevention in the retail environment, including security issues related to products, personnel and money. The course examines loss prevention technology and techniques, such as hazard controls, theft detection and prevention, surveillance systems, computerized inventory management systems, access controls, etc.

A study of the facilitation of exchange relationships in a dynamic environment through the creation, distribution, promotion, and pricing of goods, services, and ideas. The concepts of market segmentation, marketing strategies, and marketing information systems will be stressed, in addition to the process of planning, organizing, implementing, and controlling marketing activities.