School of Business and Leadership

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Ronald W. Ferner, M.B.A., Dean

Professor

William R. Bowles, Ed.D., Chair, Graduate Programs in Business and Leadership
Timothy S. Yoder, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Yunn Kang, M.Div.

Adjunct Faculty

Teri Catanio, M.S.
Karen Daly-Smith, M.S.
David Marks, Ph.D.
Gary Melillo, M.B.A.
John Mesher, J.D.
Steven R. Schlenker, Ed.D.
Wayne Shaw, D.S.L.
Cheryl Tokke, M.S.
Thomason Varghese, M.B.A.
 

The School

In America today more business degrees are conferred upon college graduates than any other degrees. But succeeding in business is about more than getting a job. And the marketplace needs more than graduates with business degrees. Business is influential and people in business shape the world we live in.

Students who are serious about their faith and want to be successful business leaders, managers, or entrepreneurs can bring those commitments together at Cairn.

Students in the School of Business and Leadership receive an education that prepares them professionally and personally through the development of business skills, ethics, integrity, and character development. A biblical worldview is integrated in every subject, whether business communications, accounting, or organizational leadership.

On both the undergraduate and graduate levels, students are mentored by faculty with business and leadership experience. Faculty instill and encourage initiative, responsibility, creativity, and the application of wisdom in and out of the classroom. Practical business experience through internships, student groups, and employment strengthen the business education at Cairn. Graduates of the School of Business and Leadership serve in for-profit and non-profit business careers.

Mission Statement

The School of Business and Leadership offers undergraduate and graduate programs that aspire to educate students to serve Christ in the church, society, and the world by integrating the business skills learning process with a biblical worldview to produce biblically minded, well-educated, and professionally competent men and women of character.

The mission statement is realized by pursuing the following major goals in all of the School’s programs:

• Admitting students from diverse backgrounds with high leadership potential.
• Engaging students with a powerful Christian developmental experience using a nurturing educational process.
• Fostering a biblical world/life perspective grounded in ethical standards, a global outlook, deep functional knowledge, and a commitment to lifelong learning.
• Developing programs that foster intellectual and spiritual maturity, leadership potential, and a global view of missions.
• Sustaining an environment that attracts, develops, and retains the finest faculty in the world for this purpose.
   

The Programs

The School of Business and Leadership offers the following graduate programs:

• Master of Science in Organizational Leadership (M.S.O.L.)
• Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.)
• Graduate Certificate in Organizational Leadership

The M.S.O.L. and M.B.A. are two complementary programs that are different in their focus, purpose, and curriculum. The emphasis of the M.S.O.L. program is on the human side of the enterprise while the focus of the M.B.A. is on the functional (business) side of the enterprise. The purpose of the M.S.O.L. program is to equip graduates to be:

• change agents
• strategic thinkers and planners
• effective communicators
• team builders
• ethical leaders

The purpose of the M.B.A. program is to ensure graduates will understand the multicultural, political, legal, and regulatory business environments and comprehend critical functional business areas, such as:

• production/operations management
• marketing and sales
• accounting and finance
• decision analysis
• strategic management

The differences in the two programs are clearly seen in the topics each program covers. The M.S.O.L. program offers courses in:

• Foundations of Organizational Leadership
• Professional Ethics
• Philosophy of Leadership
• Organizational Culture and Change
• Communication Skills for Leaders
• Principles of Team Dynamics and Development
• Principles of Research

The M.B.A. program offers courses in:

• Foundations of Organizational Leadership
• Professional Ethics
• Accounting for Management Decisions
• Financial Management
• Managerial Economics
• Strategic Marketing
• Operations Management
• Global Business
• The Legal Environment of Business
• Strategic Planning

Organizational Leadership

Churches, schools, parachurch organizations, social service agencies, businesses, and hospitals meet people’s needs by providing a variety of services and products. While each organization has a specialized function, unique culture, and diverse resources, there are also a significant number of similarities, including complex human and political dynamics, diverse values and goals, and specialized technologies and skills. Christians in positions of leadership need to develop the skills required to work in collaboration with diverse groups of people, create a healthy and productive environment, and cultivate transformational change which leads to long-term viability and effectiveness.

These programs are designed for professionals who desire a better understanding of organizational dynamics, and who value collaboration with and insight from experienced peers. The educational approach of this program recognizes that all adult students possess insight and experience which, when shared with others, is a valuable contribution to the overall learning process. Students are provided with an environment that encourages reflection, innovation, dialogue, interdependency, and skill development.

The purpose of the Master of Science in Organizational Leadership program is to contribute to the development of professionally effective and relationally healthy Christian leaders locally, regionally, and internationally.

The Graduate Certificate in Organizational Leadership provides an overview of organizational leadership theory and practice from a biblical perspective. Upon completion of the program, participants will understand how to assess an organization’s culture and environment, how to improve organizational effectiveness, where and when to use certain leadership styles and approaches to improve performance, and how to more effectively supervise and manage personnel and teams.

Core Values

Excellence
The desire to manifest excellence through quality instruction, professional atmosphere, and a faculty of skilled practitioners.

God’s Truth
The belief that all truth is God’s truth, displayed in a commitment to the life principles revealed in the Bible and other truths discovered through our God-given capacities to inquire and learn.

Stewardship
The belief that leadership is a function of stewardship rather than ownership, and both leadership and followership are equally important in organizational effectiveness.

Personal Reflection
The belief that adult learning environments must be designed to stimulate learners to engage in personal reflection, resulting in a better understanding of who people are, why they act as they do, and how they can grow.

Action Learning
The belief that a lifelong journey of acquiring and applying knowledge in one’s personal and professional life is critical to individual and organizational success.

Respect
The belief that adult learning environments must be designed to demonstrate that people of different cultures, races, and perspectives have much to contribute to each other.

Interdependency
The belief that adult learning requires interdependency between students and faculty, resulting in the sharing of ideas and testing of assumptions and perceptions.

Integrity
The belief that integrity is essential in all endeavors, resulting in honest communication and genuine trust.

Distinct Objectives

The student and his/her organization will experience immediate results from this learning journey. This exciting and rigorous action learning program offers real-time opportunities to test the theories discussed in the interactive class environment. The faculty intentionally designs and integrates project assignments that address the complex issues currently impacting the health and performance of organizations. Specifically, the curriculum offers definitive competency development for leadership and organizational development for practitioners through the following objectives.

Biblical Worldview Integration
The practitioner synthesizes theory and research through an intentionally biblical lens to continually develop and inform a Christ-centered leadership practice.

Facilitation/Consultation Skills
The practitioner continually creates an environment of dialogue to help others think and learn to solve problems that impact organizational performance.

Relational Health and Group Process Skills
The practitioner engages all levels within the organization by developing mutually trusting and rewarding relationships through a commitment to courageous dialogue.

Influencing/Collaboration Skills
The practitioner uses influence and collaboration as consistent practices to ensure that ideas are shared and tested to enhance organizational performance.

Communication and Presentation Skills
The practitioner communicates comfortably and effectively with multiple levels in the organization and utilizes appropriate technology and tools to deliver messages to individuals, as well as small and large groups.

Personal Character/Ethics
The practitioner works within a clearly articulated ethical framework that includes principles and processes for individual and organizational problem solving and decision making.

Assessment/Diagnosis/Research Skills
The practitioner initiates data collection processes to identify and expose underlying issues that are impacting organizational performance.

Leadership Development Skills
The practitioner practices stewardship by immediately sharing new leadership learning in his/her environment to continually develop others in his/her circle of influence.

Organizational Strategy, Systems Thinking, and Intervention Design Skills
The practitioner integrates research with theory and practice to design appropriate interventions at multiple levels within the organization.

Critical Thinking and Reflective Practice Skills
The practitioner commits to critical thinking and reflection as tools for personal inquiry with a goal of elevating their practice and performance at individual and organizational levels.

Business Administration

The M.B.A. program at Cairn teaches the quantitative and operational skills necessary to help drive business success while emphasizing the importance of organizational dynamics and the essential values required for ethical, moral, and wise leadership in today’s marketplace. The program provides students with a degree that prepares them for a career involving more than just numbers.

Working professionals and graduate students can finish the required credit hours in less than three years. Graduate students who have previously earned Bible/Theology credits may qualify for advance standing and be able to complete the remaining program in less than two years.

Goals and Objectives

The vision of the School of Business and Leadership is to create an M.B.A. degree based on the distinctives given in the University’s mission statement. To that end, the following program objectives have been established:

Biblical Worldview Integration
Graduates will synthesize theory and research through a distinctly biblical lens to continually develop and inform a Christ-centerd leadership practice.

Ethics
Graduates will posses a thorough understanding of ethics in business, the laws regarding corporate governance, and the role of personal integrity and values.

Leadership
Graduates will possess leadership skills, understand group and individual dynamics, and be able to work in teams. Graduates will appreciate the importance of ethnic, cultural, and gender diversity in the organization.

Economic and Financial Systems
Graduates will understand global and domestic economic theories and their application to the business setting. Graduates will understand financial theories and markets, the financial reporting system, and financial analysis.

Business Environment
Graduates will appreciate the multicultural, political, environmental, legal, and regulatory setting of the organization.

Decision Analysis
Graduates will develop problem solving skills, including the ability to analyze uncertain situations, utilize facts and evidence in drawing conclusions, apply decision-making theories, and adapt and innovate in new settings.

Strategic Planning
Graduates will understand business as an integrated system; the relations between the functional areas; and long-range planning, implementation, and control.

Critical Thinking and Reflective Practice Skills
Graduates will apply critical thinking and reflection as tools for personal inquiry with a goal of evaluating their practice and performance at individual and organizational levels.

Program Features

At present, there are many universities in the area that offer M.B.A. degrees. The distinctives of a Cairn M.B.A. are the incorporation of a biblical worldview integrated with ethics, leadership, and quantitative analysis.

The M.B.A. curriculum consists of ten core courses (30 credit hours) and two electives (6 credit hours) for a total of 36 credit hours. In addition, graduate students at Cairn are required to transfer in or complete 12 credit hours of Bible/Theology. The 36 credit hours of M.B.A. courses are designed to be completed in less than two years.
 

Related Program Information

Delivery Methods

The graduate programs in the School of Business and Leadership are designed to accommodate working professionals by providing various program delivery options. Classes are held on Cairn’s Langhorne Manor campus and are conducted in either seven-week or three-day modules. Seven-week modules meet one night a week for four hours during the fall and spring semesters. The three-day condensed modules are held during the J Term and summer sessions.

Incorporating state-of-the-art technology, all graduate courses are web-enabled and designed to incorporate Cairn’s online course management site, eLearning. This site is used for online learning collaborative activities, for posting learning materials, and for course work submissions. Students will research pertinent topics and/or discussion questions, post results to forums, and engage each other in meaningful dialogue. Additionally, students are placed in learning teams and use the eLearning site to collaborate on project activities, presentations, and participate in group discussions.

Student Profile

One of the enriching elements of the programs is the diversity within the student body. Such diversity provides the opportunity for exposure to unique experiences and perceptions, as well as valuable interaction which benefits all participants.

Career diversity: Students work in varied leadership roles in churches, businesses, non-profit organizations, government, and education.

Ethnic diversity: In a typical class, ethnic diversity is African-American, 33%; Caucasian, 52%; Other, 15%.

Age diversity: The average age of students in the programs is 37. Students’ ages range from the early twenties to the mid-fifties.

Gender diversity: The average class is approximately 52% male and 48% female.

Church diversity: Students in the programs are evangelical in their doctrine and come from diverse church backgrounds, including Baptist, Assemblies of God, Bible Fellowship, and Evangelical Free.

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