Principles of Business Management

This course introduces 21st Century business management. It pays special attention to managing start-ups and new initiatives. By way of case studies, role play, and group projects, participants learn how entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, and their teams understand the complex situations they face, strategize, and then create business models enabling them to innovate continuously. All sessions of the course offer opportunities for participants to learn to design systems of human activity in a “hands-on” fashion, using the cloud-based technical platforms that distinguish this century’s businesses from all of their predecessors.

Upon successful completion of this class, students will be able to:
-Participate in “management” as a collaborative practice of organizing systems of human activity in turbulent environments.
-Co-design, develop, and test “branding”, that is, marketing objectives and images for a new product or service.
-Co-design, develop, and walk-thru (or “pitch”) to investors a model for a new business, including its marketing, operational, and financial objectives.

If you are new to business and/or you would like a solid, practical understanding of entrepreneurship, then this course is for you. It should also be useful to individuals thinking about joining a start-up or a “fast company”, such as employees of traditional corporations, as well as professionals, technical people, or “creatives” working alone.

Introduction to Business (Online materials -Students can view the materials online and / or download it as a PDF )

John Foster

John has been instructing an array of business management courses in Continuing Education at Temple University Japan since 2007, specializing in HRM, Organizational Behavior and Performance Management. He is Assistant Professor at Temple University Japan, Hosei University and Adjunct Professor Emeritus of business administration at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. John has had a varied career working in investment finance, information systems, corporate training, journalism, marketing and PR and e-commerce management, launching and managing a business, as a project manager with Microsoft and PR with Toys 'R' Us Japan. John has a BA in Economics from the University of British Columbia, an MBA from Deakin University and a member of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). He loves travel and stand-up comedy; he’s published two books and has plans for more.