Undergraduate Programs - Crash Course

Course: Management 250, Managing Organizations and People I
Professor: JP Stephens
Usually taken by: Sophomores

Introduction Managing People and Organizations is a required management course taken by all Weatherhead School of Management students, typically in their second year. Taught by JP Stephens, the course explores individual aptitudes and orientations, as well as a student’s personal management interests and career options. The course goes further and connects a student’s individual strengths and interesting with the ways organizations work and how successful they can be.

The course features two main projects to get student’s thinking about themselves and how they fit into organizations. The first project focuses on the individual and requires students to engage in self-assessments, ranging on topics from learning styles to leadership qualities. Through this assignment, students explore differences in values, career preferences, and personalities.

The second project involves working in a group of students to gain real-world experience in managing and working with others in a local business or non-profit. Students have worked with the human resources departments at the Cleveland Museum of Art, ALCOA, and numerous other local companies to complete this project. Professor Stephens also brings in a number of guest speakers that are able to add real world insight into the topics they are learning in class. A few students mentioned this is their favorite part of the course, as it brings to life the topics being learned.

Professor JP Stephens has been teaching at Case Western Reserve University for three years. He came from the University of Michigan, where he received his PhD.

What Students Say:

“Professor Stephens does a very good job of using different techniques and technology to keep the class interesting” - Edward Abramson

“Management 250 is a great opportunity to look into how effective companies manage their most valuable assets-their people. The group work that the class centers around works to not only build knowledge in the area of corporate human resources, but also build skills that lead to effective team work skills in a future professional setting." - Greg Bokar

“Management 250 taught me the most about interpersonal skills and how to work with different people. I feel this is very valuable in the real world because in the real world, you can't choose your best friends to work on a work related project.” - Sophia Chan

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