Business Opportunities in Engineering

Catalog description

Business principles, leadership and management strategies, accounting fundamentals, engineering and business ethics, creativity, and personal character as a formula for success. ENGR 486 Business Opportunities in Engineering (2) This course focuses on business principles that will help Engineering students transition from academia to the business world. Engineers can be highly successful and climb the corporate ladder or transition to entrepreneurship. Awareness of what is needed to succeed in business is the key to success. This course opens the horizon to new ideas, business opportunities, and profitability. Fundamental aspects of accounting including budgeting, cash flow, profit-loss statements, job cost ledgers, overhead and fringe computation are examined. Creativity, critical thinking methods, and ethics as applied to engineering and business are studied in conjunction with case studies. Business plan structure and content are analyzed along with case histories of successful companies. Students will learn how to articulate a business viewpoint, create a mission or vision statement, and present a creative idea clearly and concisely using an "elevator ride" or "billboard" approach via essays, proposals, and business plan preparation and presentation. Students will learn leadership and management strategies that will be applicable immediately.