Study Abroad in London
Business
Department Dean: Allan R. Plath, PhD
Degrees:
- Ph.D., Brunel University, 1994
- M.B.A., Syracuse University, 1978
- B.A. University of Minnesota, 1965
A U.S. national who has lived abroad most of his adult life, Dr. Allan Plath is uniquely suited to bring an international perspective to the Business and Marketing classes he teaches at AIU London. Not only has he lived around the world—in such places as Hungary, Slovakia, Pakistan, Holland and Asia to name but a few—he has worked around the globe as well. Dr. Plath understands international business well beyond the textbook. And, of course, he shares this all with his AIU students.
AIU London Business Courses*
London Business Syllabi
ACG 241 ACCOUNTING 
Prerequisites: None
This course studies the fundamentals of double-entry debit/
credit business accounting preparation, and analysis of business
financial statements, and practical accounting procedures
for understanding assets, liabilities, and owner's equity.
ACG 242 PRINCIPLES OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
Prerequisites: MTH 120
This course is an extension of the basic principles of accounting,
covering the preparation of detailed income statements and
balance sheets, as well as retained earnings and cash flow
statements.The course will also cover accounting practices
applied to unincorporated entities, such as sole proprietorships
and partnerships.
ACG 243 PRINCIPLES OF MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING
Prerequisites: MTH 120, ACG 242
This course emphasizes the role of accounting in decision
making. Concepts and techniques for analyzing corporate annual
reports, accounting methods for budgetary operations and
long-range planning are discussed.
ADV 301 PRINCIPLES OF ADVERTISING
Prerequisites: MKT 244
This course is a survey of advertising, including media, point of
purchase, direct mail, newspaper, magazine, radio and television,
and areas of study within the organization comprising the
philosophy of advertising, principles of copyrighting and layout,
print and broadcast production, and budgeting.
BUS 141 INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS
Prerequisites: None
As an introductory survey of the business world, this course
considers the structure and forms of business enterprise, the
nature of business relationships, and the diversity and choice
of business careers.This course explores perceptions and
misperceptions of business and its role in a multicultural society.
BUS 240 BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS
Prerequisites: BUS 141, ENG 101
This course covers the applications of effective communication
principles in writing business letters, memoranda and reports.
Psychological elements of business correspondence and oral
communication are studied.
BUS 241 PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS
Prerequisites: MTH 120
Economic theory of the firm, resource allocation and price
determination, the free market supply/demand mechanism, and
pure and imperfect competitive models are analyzed.
BUS 242 PRINCIPLES OF MACROECONOMICS
Prerequisites: MTH 120, BUS 241
Factors determining aggregate economic performance
(employment, output, income, price level, economic growth
and fluctuations, monetary and fiscal governmental policy) and the
evolution of economic doctrines are studied.
BUS 243 PERSONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
This course covers fundamentals of personal finance including
salary and compensation, budgeting, savings, investments, renting,
establishing a home, property acquisition, installment contracts,
purchase acquisition, scams and frauds, credit, insurance,
retirement, taxes, and other financial issues. Exploration of
current technology tools available for planning, organizing,
execution, and evaluation in wealth generation will be made.
BUS 325 E-COMMERCE
Prerequisites: CIS 101, BUS 141, MKT 244
This course introduces students to the resources of the
World Wide Web. Students evaluate existing web sites applying
basic principles of marketing, management, and informational
technology.Web design software and HTML are used for
designing web pages that
BUS 340 BUSINESS LAW
Prerequisites: ENG 101
Consideration is given to law of contracts, negotiable
instruments, transactions, agency, sales contracts, bailments,
bankruptcy, common and public carriers, commercial paper,
formation of corporations, mergers and antitrust legislation.
This course focuses primarily on UK business law.
BUS 345 BUSINESS IN THE INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
Prerequisites: BUS 242
Consideration is given to the comparative analysis of market
conditions and business practices in the global economy, with an
emphasis on international economic factors and institutions,
including trade, financing, exchange rate development, and
government policies. Selected topics in international management
are covered.
BUS 346 PUBLIC RELATIONS
Prerequisites: MKT 344
The theory and practical application of publicity; planning,
execution and evaluation of public relations; mass media relations;
internal and external public relations; and trade and professional
associations are covered.
BUS 401 PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Prerequisites: None
This course is designed to develop the personal and professional
qualities that will assist individuals in searching for employment
and adjusting to the corporate work environment; portfolio
development and presentation will also be addressed.
BUS 442 BUSINESS IN EUROPE
Prerequisites: BUS 345
This course covers doing business in Western and Eastern
Europe from the perspective of domestic and foreign firms;
the structure, ontogeny, and political economy of the European
Community, European Free Trade Association and other multinational
zones in Europe; the historical evolution of the economy
and business forms in the region; public policy and social and legal
attitudes toward business; local customs and the international
business executive; and current trends and issues in the region.
CSM 220 COMPUTER CONCEPTS
Prerequisites: None
This course introduces students to the basics of computers. It
addresses categories of computer knowledge, such as the
Internet, hardware, software, applications, careers, and the future
of computing.
MGT 246 PRINCIPLES OF FINANCE
Prerequisites: ACG 242
This course begins with cash-flow projections and evaluation of
financial strengths and weaknesses. Capital structure is dealt
with, followed by cost of capital and evaluation of capital
investment opportunities.
MGT 250 LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
Prerequisites: ENG 101
This course combines the elements of management (planning,
organizing, implementing, controlling and evaluating) and
leadership principles and characteristics to the exercise of these
functions. Management and leadership as topics of study are
analyzed and compared. Interpersonal skills required for effective
leadership are explored.
MGT 255 CONTEMPORARY ETHICS
Prerequisites: MGT 250
This course introduces students to the ethical context of
business operations. It introduces students to a cooperative
framework, which will embrace the foundations of regional
differences and influences with respect to ethical decision making.
The difficult issue of ethical relativism and other problems
associated with multiple ethical systems are examined from
theoretical, as well as case-based applied perspectives.
MGT 310 COMPUTER APPLICATIONS AND SYSTEMS
Prerequisites: CIS 101, MTH 120 or MTH 200
This course ensures that business students have exposure
(beyond the learning outcomes of CIS 101) to the effective use of
spreadsheets in analytical situations and also includes a serious,
in-depth introduction to relational databases.The overall aim
of this course, taken at the beginning of the junior year, is to
provide students with the knowledge and skills to use
information technology as part of managerial decision making.
MGT 320 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Prerequisites: MGT 250
This course studies the behavior of individuals in organizations
and applications of psychological principles to business problems.
Topics include personnel selection, vocational satisfaction,
interpersonal relations, training, motivation and leadership.
MGT 325 PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
Prerequisites: BUS 141, MGT 250, QMB 240
This course introduces students to the interrelationship
between the functions and activities of the typical manufacturing
organization. Focus will be on the production strategic
management chain from materials to customers.Topics include
types of production processes, job flow and batch, inventory
control, plant capacity, computer utilization, and delivery and
dispatch.
MGT 341 INVESTMENT AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Prerequisites: ACG 242, MGT 246
This course is an analysis of the nature and underlying theory of
investments and its utilization by the individual investor and
portfolio manager.Topics include capital market theory, portfolio
theory and management, options contracts, interest rate futures,
factors influencing security prices, and the New York and London
stock exchanges.
MGT 342 CORPORATE FINANCE
Prerequisites: ACG 242, MGT 246
This course studies the principles and practices of managerial
finance and considers financial instruments, sources and
applications of funds, financial ratios, capital market analysis,
capital budgeting, investments and dividend decisions.
MGT 343 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Prerequisites: BUS 141, MGT 250
This is an introduction to the principles and practices of human
resource management.The personnel role in modern business
organizations will be the main focus. Students can develop
proficiency in the solving of human resource problems through
lectures and case studies.This course focuses primarily on UK
business law and practices.
MGT 345 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Prerequisites: MGT 246, MKT 244, MGT 320
This course draws upon the applied fields of organization
behavior, management theory/science and finance to develop
a theoretical and very practical understanding of project
management for students.The practical learning from this course
is accomplished through team-based project simulations.
MGT 440 ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Prerequisites: MGT 246, MKT 244
This course is an overview of small business management
and includes methods and procedures for establishing a small
business, problem-solving techniques required for successful
operations, entrepreneurial traits and risks, location selection
and franchising.
MGT 445 CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING
Prerequisites: MGT 250, MKT 244
This course introduces the principles and strategies for the
enhancement of creativity and innovation in the addressing of
business-related issues. Case studies and original problem
analyses are featured as strategies for developing more creative
approaches to problem solving.
MGT 450 INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND FINANCE
Prerequisites: BUS 345, MGT 246
This advanced elective course considers the current theories and
the practical consequences of international trade. A variety of
forms of commercial policy as a means of regulating trade are
examined. Internal financial flows and exchange rate mechanisms
are considered.The domestic consequences of exchange rate
policy are examined.
MKT 244 PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING
Prerequisites: None
This course is a study of the integration and coordination of
product development, promotion strategy, physical distribution
and pricing strategies that direct the flow of social, ethical, legal,
economic and international environments.
MKT 344 MARKETING RESEARCH
Prerequisites: MKT 244, QMB 240
This course is a systematic study of conducting and
evaluating marketing research activities within a firm.Topics
include survey planning, questionnaire construction,
interviewing, data collection, data analysis, demand analysis
and forecasting, and population sampling procedures.
MKT 442 CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Prerequisites: MKT 344
The emphasis of this course is on the descriptive and
conceptual analysis of consumer buying behavior with
a focus on the theory and research essential to
understanding individual choice behavior.
MKT 444 INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
Prerequisites: MKT 344, BUS 340
Incorporating the marketing concept into the framework of the
world marketplace and international business is the purpose of
this course.Topics include global market segmentation;
international physical distribution, pricing, product life cycle;
and regulations and embargoes.
QMB 240 INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS STATISTICS
Prerequisites: MTH 111 or MTH 120
This foundation course in descriptive and inferential statistics is
inclusive of frequency distribution, grading techniques, correlation,
linear regression, probability, hypothesis testing and confidence
intervals.
*Courses and content subject to change.
Course offered online.