This course provides an introduction to the main principles and issues in business and organizational security management. Topics include protection of, and assessing the loss potential of, personnel, facilities, and information, and continuity of operations. The course makes extensive use of case studies and analyses, field exercises and research.
This course covers the role of security in an organization or business context. Topics include budgets, contracts, financial analyses, how the security functions support the overall mission of the organization, and the relationship of security to other essential business functions. Students will also learn how to defend the costs of the security systems and security operations to high-level executives.
Students will learn to identify and manage risks, crises and disasters, and to prepare emergency and contingency plans. Students will learn how to prevent lossese, mitigate losses and accelerate recovery from security events or natural disasters. This will be accomplished through case studies and practical exercises.
This course covers the integration of physical, pesonnel, and information security, including the use of information technology to enhance physical and personnel security. Students will learn the essential elements of system design, development of procedures, testing and maintenance of integrated security systems. This will be accomplished through case studies and practical exercises.
All communities are vulnerable to a variety of hazards. Emergency management provides a structure for anticipating and dealing with emergency incidents. Emergency management involves participants at all governmental levels and in the private sector. Activities are geared according to phases before, during, and after emergency events. The effectiveness of emergency management rests on a network of relationships among partners in the system. The goal of this course is to introduce students to the fundamentals of emergency management as an integrated system, surveying how the resources and capabilities of all functions at all levels can be networked together in all phases for all hazards. Included is an in-depth look at the four phases of comprehensive emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
Hazardous materials plan development is a difficult and challenging job that requires a high level of skill and knowledge from planners charged with these responsibilities. Due to local funding shortages and frequent staff turnover at the state and local levels in the planning arena, and because of the complexity of hazardous materials planning requirements, there continues to exist a significant performance problem and training requirement for hazardous materials planning. This course provides students the assistance and confidence needed to effectively plan for and respond to hazardous materials incidents, through sound emergency planning and with the highest level of safety for response personnel within the student's jurisdiction. This course also addresses the fundamental principles of radiation as well as the nuclear threat.
As the costs of disasters continue to rise, governments and ordinary citizens must find ways to reduce hazard risks to our communities and ourselves. Efforts made to reduce hazard risks are easily made compatible with other community goals; safer communities are more attractive to employers as well as residents. As communities plan for new development and improvements to existing infrastructure, mitigation can and should be an important component of the planning effort.
This course explores emerging protection concepts for the information age. Students will identify threats to security systems, discover vulnerbilities, and suggest and design protection systems. Topics include management of information security and data processing facilities, data theft, misuses of information technologies, computer viruses and hacking, and network protection. The course also covers information technology laws, privacy issues, and information security planning.
Students apply principles of management to security administration. Topics include personnel management, security planning, organizational leadership and communication, and recruitment and training.
Students examine the application of security knowledge and techniques to the protection of business assets. The security planning process is examined by the study of risk analysis, security surveys, and financial planning and decision making for development of security programs and countermeasures.
Students discuss the role of the security manager in the identification, analysis, and response to a variety of human and natural crises. They examine threats resulting from riots, demonstrations, product tampering, work stoppage activities, terrorism, and natural disasters.
This course is an overview of important legal and ethical issues with which the business and organizational security management professional must deal. Students examine such issues as personnel law and obligations; negotiations; contract management; constitutional rights of individuals; legal liability of security professionals and organizations; legal compliance; and ethical standards.
This course focuses on historical and contemporary perspectives of human behavior. Theories of behavior in the context of threat-producing activities are discussed. Contemporary issues such as substance abuse, violence, ideologies, and similar themes are examined.
The Capstone Project provides students the opportunity to research a topics, problem, or issue within their field of study, and work individually with a Capstone advisor. Similar in weight to a thesis, but more flexible, this final project synthesizes and applies core concepts acquired from the program. The student selects an appropriate Capstone advisor who is knowledgeable in the field of study to work closely with and whom can guide the research project. Evaluation will be focused on the quality and professionalism of applied research and writing; critical and creative thinking; problem-solving skills; knowledge of research design, method, and implementation; and contribution to the field and topic of study. View the Capstone Guidelines for additional details. Prerequisites: A Capstone Proposal that has been approved by both the Capstone Advisor and the Academic Director, unconditional acceptance as a degree candidate, completion of at least 40 quarter-hours (including all core courses) with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better, and a B or better in MALS 4020. A final grade of B or better must be earned in this course to meet degree requirements.
The Capstone Seminar is a graduate seminar in which students utilize the knowledge and skills gained through the degree program to create a culminating work that critically addresses a problem or issue in the degree field of study. The student produces a paper of 7000-8000 words that presents a position on a relevant problem or issue, supports the position with professional and academic work in the field, analyzes and tests the paper position, and discusses the role of the findings within the field of study. The seminar is dependent upon collegial discussion of student research and work under the facilitation of a faculty member, and it is governed by the quality of participation and contributions of the students. The course structure, facilitated by the faculty member, guides the students through the process of independent research and writing of a capstone paper; the instructor provides intensive feedback on the capstone process and papers. Students are responsible for generating the course content through ongoing discussion of and peer feedback on the capstone process and individual papers, as well as the analysis and contextualization of focused students papers within the wider degree field of study. Students professionally and academically communicate their findings through written work and oral presentations. Students must have: unconditional acceptance as a degree candidate, completion of at least 40 quarter-hours (including all core courses) with a cumulative GPS of 3.0 or better, and a B or better in MALS 4020. A final grade of B or better must be earned in this course to meet degree requirements. Students must complete the Capstone Seminar in one quarter; no incomplete grades are assigned.
This is an advanced course for students wishing to pursue an independent study. The student must be accepted in a degree program, have earned a grade point average of 3.0 or better, obtained the approval of the department director, and have completed the Independent Study form and filed the form with all appropriate offices before registering for the independent study. Independent study is offered only on a for-credit basis.
This is an advanced course for students wishing to pursue a directed course of study, which is based on an existing course. However, the existing course is not offered in a reasonable time frame to accommodate the student. The student must be accepted in a degree program, have earned a grade point average of 3.0 or better, obtained the approval of the department director, and have completed the Independent Study form and filed the form with all appropriate offices before registering for the directed study. Directed study is offered only on a for-credit basis.