COURSES OF INSTRUCTION

COMM 301  Funding New Ventures  Units: 3.00   COMM 303  Business And Ethics  Units: 3.00  
This course provides a detailed examination of the Business ethics is increasingly important as expectations of
fundamentals of a corporate social responsibility keep rising, as do negative
financing strategy for new ventures, and the specific financing consequences for failing those expectations.  Public,
alternatives institutional, regulatory and government pressures mean
for obtaining capital to launch new ventures. The financing decisions on business ethics can now determine corporate
alternatives and career survival.  This advance course on business ethics
include crowdfunding, angel investing, and venture capital, builds on the introductory Business Ethics and Corporate
and thus cover Social Responsibility course in second year and is a credit
the entire financing spectrum from start-up to growth capital. toward the Certificate in Social Impact.  It is intended
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled to produce capability and commitment in a new core
in the 3rd or 4th year of their program. PREREQUISITES: competence for future managers.  The course will go into
COMM 201 or COMM 305   depth in critical areas such as professional ethics, moral
Offering Faculty: School of Business   standards, stakeholder management, decision models and
COMM 302  Launching New Ventures  Units: 3.00   designing ethics programs to achieve an ethical workplace
This course will focus on the specific commercial activities and corporate social responsibility objectives.  A number of
required to launch new ventures into industrial markets. critical issues will be explored in depth.
Students will gain an understanding of how to size-up NOTE: This course counts as credit towards the Certificate in
industrial markets, apply lean principles to the new customer Social Impact.
development process, align early-stage demand generation Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
activities with industrial buyer in the 3rd or 4th year of their program.  
behavior, and implement best practices to acquire, retain Offering Faculty: School of Business  
and grow their first industrial customers. This course will COMM 304  Organizational Intelligence and
make extensive use of cases both historical and ideally Strategy  Units: 3.00  
from the Living Case Initiative. This course will complement This course examines how firms organize for intelligence.
COMM 405. It proceeds through sessions that examine how firms
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled overcome organizational constraints to (a) sensing problems,
in the 3rd or 4th year of their program. PREREQUISITES: interpreting signals, selecting among alternative products and
COMM 201 or COMM 305   locations (Module 1: Sensing), (b) integrating new resources,
Offering Faculty: School of Business   coordinating across functions, re-configuring operations
(Module II: Organizing), and (c) developing competencies,
culture, and identity (Module III: Building). The course is
interactive and uses a combination of cases, lectures, and
team interactions. The course is expected to complement
other existing courses in strategy and advance students'
understanding of how context matters in strategy, and how
firms deal with conflict, complexity, and ambiguity while
formulating and implementing their strategies.
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
in the 3rd or 4th year of their program.  
Offering Faculty: School of Business  

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COMM 305  Introduction To Entrepreneurship  Units: 3.00   COMM 309  Real Estate Management  Units: 3.00  
The course introduces students to small business, what Real Estate is now the largest asset class in the world.
it means to be an entrepreneur, and the concepts of This course seeks to provide students with a general
entrepreneurship. Key assignments in the course include a understanding of Real Estate from the perspective of
simulation exercise, first hand interaction with entrepreneurs, the Manager, Investor, or Developer.  The concepts of
and an opportunity assessment (the pre-cursor to a business Development, Valuation, Finance and Law as they pertain
plan). This course will complement COMM 405. to real estate are introduced, providing the foundation for
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled further study or career paths in the field
in the 3rd or 4th year of their program.   Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
Offering Faculty: School of Business   in the 3rd or 4th year of their program.  
COMM 306  Business for Good: An Introduction to Impact- Offering Faculty: School of Business  
Driven Leadership  Units: 3.00   COMM 310  Environmental Accounting  Units: 3.00  
The primary objective of this course is to prepare students This course is appropriate for any student interested in
to deal with a range of complex social and environmental environmental issues and is particularly appropriate for
challenges during their future career as organizational students in the Queen's Environmental Studies Program.  The
managers and leaders. Another objective of this course course examines financial issues related to the environment
is to ensure that the content covered is consistent and in the context of natural capitalism and corporate social
complementary with other courses and other programming responsibility.  The course provides an overview of concepts
on social impact within the School of Business, to achieve and tools related to 1) financial reporting, 2) assessing
greater consistency and reinforcement between various and managing environmental costs and benefits, 3)
courses and other initiatives on social impact within the environmental entrepreneurship.
School. NOTE: This course counts as credit towards the Certificate in
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled Social Impact.
in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.   Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
Offering Faculty: School of Business   in the 3rd or 4th year of their program.  
COMM 307  Canadian Business-Government Offering Faculty: School of Business  
Relations  Units: 3.00   COMM 311  Fin Acctng Pract Prin & Concep  Units: 3.00  
This course is an analysis of public policies as represented This is the first of two courses that constitute intermediate
by laws and regulatory governmental activities, and their financial accounting. In these courses, generally accepted
effects on business decision-making, distribution of wealth, accounting principles and the basic assumptions underlying
and allocative efficiency in the public and private sectors. financial accounting decisions are examined in detail. Specific
The course will deal with such topics as: externalities and the topics in this course include the Statement of Cash Flows,
assignment of property rights (natural resource conservation, receivables, short- and long-term investments, and tangible
pollution, congestion, issue of corporate social responsibility); and intangible capital assets.
theories of the regulatory process and the performance of Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
regulatory agencies in specific markets; legislative process in the 3rd or 4th year of their program. PREREQUISITE:
and lobbying strategies; competition policy; marketing COMM 111 or 211/611  
boards; government assistance to failing firms; Canadian Offering Faculty: School of Business  
industrial strategy; public ownership; free trade, etc.
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.  
Offering Faculty: School of Business  

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COMM 312  Intermed Management Accounting  Units: COMM 319  Income Taxation  Units: 3.00  
3.00   Taxes and business decisions interact with each other,
This second course in management accounting emphasizes affecting managers personally as well as the firms they
the accounting concepts and analytical tools that are useful work for. The main theme of the course is that managerial
in planning and controlling organizational activity and tax planning is part of the practice of management; it is
in management decision-making. The principal costing part of the question of how to set up a business and chart
systems and the related problems of cost estimation and its investment, financing and compensation strategies.
cost allocations will be studied in greater depth than in the The objective is to apply this perspective to domestic and
introductory course. A mixture of problem-solving exercises, international topics such as the choice of business entities,
discussion questions, cases, and readings may be employed. tax arbitrage, financial markets, compensation planning,
*RECOMMENDED: Students must have a working knowledge business combinations, foreign investment and personal tax
of introductory statistics (particularly regression analysis) planning.
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
in the 3rd or 4th year of their program. PREREQUISITES: in the 3rd or 4th year of their program.  
(COMM 162 or STAT 263) and COMM 112 or COMM 212/612   Offering Faculty: School of Business  
Offering Faculty: School of Business   COMM 321  Derivative Securities  Units: 3.00  
COMM 313  Financial Accounting II  Units: 3.00   This course explores derivative securities and their
This course is a continuation of COMM 311. Specifically, applications as risk management and yield enhancement
this course examines the theoretical underpinnings and tools for financial institutions and non-financial corporations.
accounting decision-making related to such topics as long- We develop the key relationships of derivatives and valuation
term debt, pensions, leases, complex financial instruments (the cost-of-carry model, risk neutral valuations, binomial
and accounting for income taxes. IFRS and its implications trees, and the Black-Scholes model). We extend the option-
play an important part of the discussion in every topic. pricing framework to the valuation of real options. We
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled analyze standard derivative (futures, forwards, FRA's, swaps,
in the 3rd or 4th year of their program. PREREQUISITE: stock options) as well as more recent ones such as exotic
COMM 311   options and credit derivatives. We explore best practices in
Offering Faculty: School of Business   the area of market and credit risk management and address
COMM 317  Auditing  Units: 3.00   topical issues pertaining to the use of derivatives, including
This course examines the conceptual and analytical capital requirements for regulated financial institutions and
foundations of audit practice. It covers the role of the strategic issues associated with corporate risk management.
public accountant, the audit and the audit report and their This course is designed for students aiming to pursue a
interaction with the economic and legal environments. career in investment banking, consulting, or in the non-
Specific topics include audit objectives, ethics and legal finance corporate sector.
liability, audit planning and reporting, internal control, Requirements: This course is restricted to students
materiality and risk, statistical sampling, effects of electronic enrolled in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.
data processing, analytical review, and audit testing. PREREQUISITE: COMM 121 or COMM 221/621  
Requirements: This course is restricted to students Offering Faculty: School of Business  
enrolled in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.
PREREQUISITES: COMM 311 and COMM 401 (co-requisite)  
Offering Faculty: School of Business  

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COMM 322  Advanced Corporate Finance  Units: 3.00   COMM 324  Investments & Portfolio Management  Units:
This course is an advanced undergraduate course in 3.00  
corporate finance. The course will cover corporate finance The course covers such topics as equity valuation, market
topics at a deeper level, notably by using basic game theory efficiency, market anomalies, portfolio analysis and
and basic contract theory. It will also introduce new topics international diversification. Attention will be focused on
such as real options, financial constraints, and corporate bond valuation, interest rate theories and bond investment
governance. It is also recommended that students have the strategies. Derivative securities such as options and futures
capacity for mathematical reasoning and a basic knowledge may be introduced. The course will also address the
of regression analysis. Students will be expected to master evaluation of the investment performance of individuals and
the tools needed by practitioners in corporate finance; investment management institutions. Applications of the
to understand simple mathematical models underlying various theories will be explored through course assignments
corporate finance theories; and to have learned lessons from and through class discussions of current events.
case studies and empirical studies Requirements: This course is restricted to students
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled enrolled in the 3rd or 4th year of their program.
in the 3rd or 4th year of their program. PREREQUISITES: PREREQUISITE:COMM 121 or COMM 221/621 EXCLUSION: No
COMM 121 or COMM 221/621 and (COMM 172 or ECON 212)   more than one course from COMM 324 or ECON 322  
Offering Faculty: School of Business   Offering Faculty: School of Business  
COMM 323  Corporate Financial Planning  Units: 3.00  
This course emphasizes the practical application of financial
management principles using case studies. It is expected that
students will learn how to identify and analyze key corporate
financial planning/policy decisions by incorporating the
insights provided by theory into their analysis of actual case
histories. The application of the theoretical conclusions, and
their modification to take account of features of the actual
business environment or to explain observed behaviour, will
be stressed throughout the course. The course will cover
such topics as corporate goals, the roles of financial officers,
the valuation of public and private corporations, financial
analysis and pro forma financial statement forecasting,
credit analysis, bank borrowing and other forms of short-
term financing, optimal capital structure, raising new long-
term capital (designing, pricing, placing, timing, and hedging
new security issues), the cost of capital, capital budgeting
decisions (including the analysis of mergers, acquisitions,
leveraged buyouts, and divestitures).
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
in the 3rd or 4th year of their program. PREREQUISITE:
COMM 121 or COMM 221/621  
Offering Faculty: School of Business  

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COMM 326  Private Equity  Units: 3.00   COMM 328  International Finance  Units: 3.00  
Private equity (PE) plays an important role as an intermediary This course focuses on the financial issues that managers
between investors and firms. Private equity funds are also an confront in an international setting and develops a
important investment alternative for institutional investors framework for evaluating the many opportunities, costs, and
such as pension funds and sovereign wealth funds. The risks associated with multinational operations. The course
purpose of this class is to introduce students to private equity employs cases extensively to provide students with a detailed
and provide them with practical tools that will help them and analytic look at investment and financial decisions
understand, value and structure typical transactions in this undertaken by multinational firms. Topics covered include:
sector. determination of exchange rates; foreign exchange market;
The course will have two central themes. The first theme relationships among inflation rates, interest rates & exchange
will introduce students to the spectrum of different types of rates; currency futures, options & swaps; international
private equity firms from institutional investors to dedicated investing; foreign exchange exposure; hedging exchange risk;
specialist firms. The focus will be on developing a familiarity and cross-border valuation.
with the types of transactions considered by private equity Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
funds, how to structure them and measure the value added in the 3rd or 4th year of their program. PREREQUISITE:
to the portfolio firm. This part will take students through COMM 121 or COMM 221/621  
the stages of PE investments from finding a target, to Offering Faculty: School of Business  
due diligence, deal pricing and structuring, ownership, COMM 329  Management Of Financial Institutions  Units:
preparation for exit and exit. The second theme will address 3.00  
the unique challenges currently facing these funds, including This course examines the goals, roles, and structure of
measuring private equity fund performance, and how private financial intermediaries and the growth, financial, risk
equity funds realize their returns through distributions and management, and marketing decision problems facing
exit. the managers of these institutions. For the most part, the
The course will be applied in nature and focus on specific course will take the viewpoint of the managers of the various
cases. Cases will be the main teaching tool, with lectures kinds of financial institutions and concentrate on developing
and guest speakers to provide economic fundamentals frameworks and solution procedures for the decision
and institutional context. Approximately 50% of the cases problems facing them. The use of derivative securities to
will be developed internally with Smith Alumni at a large hedge financial intermediary and corporate risk will be
Private Equity firm who will provide funding for course covered extensively in the second half of the course. The
development and detailed data on specific transactions course will consist of a blend of lectures, readings, and case
in their portfolio. The Private Equity firm will also provide analysis, and it will emphasize the practical application of
access to the individuals who worked on the transactions for financial analysis tools and techniques. The descriptive
supporting material in the form of video interviews of the material in the early part of the course, and all the case
main participants. analysis, will focus on Canadian financial institutions and
Requirements: This course is restricted to students markets, such that students who expect never to work in
enrolled in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program. Canada may find the course content less pertinent to their
PREREQUISITES: COMM 121 and COMM 122   careers.
Offering Faculty: School of Business   Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
in the 3rd or 4th year of their program. PREREQUISITE:
COMM 121 or COMM 221/621  
Offering Faculty: School of Business  

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COMM 332  Marketing Research  Units: 3.00   COMM 335  Marketing Communications  Units: 3.00  
This course is designed to provide students with an This course provides an introduction to the topics of
understanding of the marketing research process, its uses, interest in the theory and practice of integrated marketing
limitations and biases. Students should acquire problem- communications. Beginning with a basic understanding
analysis skills and learn to translate a management problem of the communication process, we address effective
into a marketing research question. Students will learn communication and creative strategy. We also examine
about the advantages and limitations of various research strategies of integration across marketing communication
methods, both qualitative (e.g. focus groups, observation, elements, including traditional media advertising, internet
ethnography) and quantitative (e.g. surveys, experiments), and interactive advertising, direct, experiential, and word-
and how to appropriately deploy them in a hands-on practice of-mouth marketing, sales promotion, and public relations.
of marketing research. The ability to work well in teams and Additional topics include efficiency in media planning, and the
apply concepts learned in readings and in class to real-world effects and effectiveness of advertising and communication.
research problems will substantially contribute to a student's This course will introduce you to all topics necessary to
success in this class. design a complete integrated marketing communications
Requirements: This course is restricted to students campaign plan.
enrolled in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program. Requirements: This course is restricted to students
PREREQUISITES: COMM 131/231 and COMM 132 and enrolled in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.
COMM 162   PREREQUISITE: COMM 131/231  
Offering Faculty: School of Business   Offering Faculty: School of Business  
COMM 333  Marketing Strategy  Units: 3.00   COMM 336  Consumer Behaviour  Units: 3.00  
This course provides students with the tools to plan and The broad goal of the course is to help students think
implement a competitively superior marketing strategy. critically about the assumptions implicit in many marketing
Developing such strategies involves a comprehensive analysis decisions, enabling them to apply relevant theories of
of a firm's customers, products, competitors, markets, consumer behaviour to make better strategic marketing
resources and technology. Students will learn how to develop decisions. This course helps marketers understand
product/market objectives, to select markets in which the who buys what, how, and why, providing a framework
firm can operate with competitive advantage, and how for thinking about how marketing decisions relate to
to develop marketing mix tactics based upon the desired theories of consumer behaviour. Through readings, cases,
strategic vision. objectives. This course examines issues discussions, and hands-on marketing research, students will
such as evaluating opportunities in international markets, explore issues related to the various factors that influence
understanding consumer behavior in diverse markets, consumers, their market-related knowledge, brand choices
strategies for entering international markets, and growing and relationships, social and self identities, lifestyle patterns,
global brands. Students are exposed to the decisions faced decision making, and behavioural processes.
by global marketing managers with the aim of developing Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
frameworks coordinating strategies in world markets. in the 3rd or 4th year of their program. PREREQUISITES:
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled COMM 131/231  
in the 3rd or 4th year of their program. PREREQUISITES: Offering Faculty: School of Business  
COMM 131/231 or COMM 132  
Offering Faculty: School of Business  

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COMM 338  Marketing & Society  Units: 3.00   COMM 341  Operations Management  Units: 3.00  
This course is designed to give students the opportunity In order to deliver products and services to customers, an
to examine multiple perspectives related to the ethical organization must organize its operations in an effective and
implications of marketing decisions and strategies. Using efficient manner. This course develops skills in operations
current topics in the media, case studies and research management by integrating material across functional
projects, students will explore, discuss and debate the areas, introducing new managerial concepts and applying
ethical dilemmas that face marketing practitioners and rigorous problem solving techniques. Topics such as
society at large. The course has the three major objectives process improvement, quality management, supply chain
of encouraging students to 1) develop a broad-based management, and project management are considered for
perspective on marketing's role in society; 2) develop an manufacturing and service firms.
informed perspective on ethical issues within marketing; and Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
3) to learn how to incorporate ethics and social responsibility in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.  
as a part of decision-making practice and processes. Topics to Offering Faculty: School of Business  
be discussed include social marketing and entrepreneurship; COMM 342  Op Strategy & Innovation Mgmt  Units: 3.00  
ethics in advertising (e.g. deception/puffery advertising to This course examines the use of operations and innovations
vulnerable populations); ethical issues related to production, as competitive weapons.  The emphasis is on the successful
distribution and pricing; and volunteerism, philanthropy development of products, manufacturing process, and supply
and non-profit marketing. This course is designed for chains.  The use of computer technologies for product and
individuals with a focus on marketing, but is open to others process management will also be stressed.  The course
with an interest in the issues of ethics and corporate social proceeds from broad discussions of operations strategy
responsibility. to assessment of specific strategies (competing on quality,
NOTE: This course counts as credit towards the Certificate in productivity, and new products and processes) to discussions
Social Impact. of how those strategies can best be implemented over
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled time.  A key objective of the course is the development of
in the 3rd and 4th year of their program. PREREQUISITE: operations and innovation strategies which are integrated
COMM 131/231   with the overall business strategy of an organization as
Offering Faculty: School of Business   well as the other functional strategies such as marketing,
COMM 339  Channels and Internet Marketing  Units: 3.00   technology and human resources.
Marketing via the Internet channel is constantly impacting Requirements: This course is restricted to students
how businesses, entrepreneurs, public sector agencies, and enrolled in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.
not-for-profit organizations interact with clients, stakeholders PREREQUISITE: COMM 163 and COMM 341  
and channel partners. This course exposes students to Offering Faculty: School of Business  
materials and issues such as Internet retailing; search engine
optimization (SEO); B2C & B2B marketing tactics; social media
marketing; Internet consumer behavior; website design
and management; integrating Internet channel tactics into
the overall strategic marketing plan; international Internet
marketing issues; and Internet promotion and advertising.
Requirements: This course is restricted to students
enrolled in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.
PREREQUISITE: COMM 132  
Offering Faculty: School of Business  

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COMM 343  Strategic Service Management  Units: 3.00   COMM 351  Leadership  Units: 3.00  
The majority of customers experience mediocre service on This seminar style course examines the practice and impact
a regular basis, according to numerous studies, yet many of of leadership in organizations and communicites as we
these service providers remain unfocused on customers, or enter into the 21st century.  The evolvement of leadership
struggle to understand the needs of these customers. In this from the command and control style to the more recent
course, we apply proven service strategies associated with transformation authentic, and will be examined in a variety of
the operation, and more importantly, the improvement and settings as described in both popular and academic writings
differentiation of a service organization. on leadership.  The impact of leadership will be assessed by
Where the core operations management course is to a large research on whether and how individuals make a difference.
extent focused on plant and manufacturing operations, this   The course also examines emerging trends in leadership
course remains targeted on services, including healthcare, in the 21st century.  Texts and readings, exercises and team
hospitality, banking, legal, retail, government and other projects will be utilized.
customer-centric operations. Key tools and frameworks will Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
be applied to take a simple, structural path towards driving in the 3rd or 4th year of their program. PREREQUISITE:
improvement and innovation in your organization. Many COMM 151 or COMM 251/651  
classes involve cases, activities or exercises conducted in Offering Faculty: School of Business  
groups to enhance understanding of service concepts, and COMM 352  Organizational Analysis  Units: 3.00  
you will draw on your experience in previous courses in This advanced course in organizational behaviour goes
marketing, finance, strategy and others, tying together many beyond COMM-151* by exploring current research in and
of the skills developed over your Degree in this elective in the applications of social science to organizational and inter-
interests of creating customer enthusiasm. organizational behavior. The objectives of this course are 1)
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled to develop an understanding of the complexity and dynamics
in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.   of organizational life using analysis and the discussion of
Offering Faculty: School of Business   key issues facing employees in today's organizations, and 2)
COMM 350  The Future: Forecasting and the Business to provide students with opportunities to apply theory and
Environment  Units: 3.00   research to improve their understanding of management
Most organizations make or buy explicit predictions of the practice through the use of case discussions and analysis.
environment within which they expect to be operating. They Emphasis will be placed upon students' development of
serve as a basis for planning and control. These organizations critical thinking skills and an appreciation of the frontiers of
are trying to identify, understand and influence changes current knowledge in the selected areas.
that are occurring in the local, national and international Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
economic, political and social environments, as well as in in the 3rd or 4th year of their program. PREREQUISITE:
their own organization. The course examines the theoretical COMM 151 or COMM 251/651  
and historical origins of forecasting, and discusses the Offering Faculty: School of Business  
approaches used to make and assess predictions in the short-
to medium-term. The emphasis is on the practical application
of forecasting methods.
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.  
Offering Faculty: School of Business  

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COMM 353  Managing Across Cultures  Units: 3.00   COMM 356  Diversity and Inclusion in
Managing across cultures and international assignments have Organizations  Units: 3.00  
become necessities in today's global business environment. This course studies diversity and difference in the workplace,
As a result, it is imperative that managers understand and emphasizes the importance of equity and inclusivity
cultural differences, know which management practices in modern organizations. It examines individual and
are transferrable across cultures, and are able to effectively organizational experiences of social identity and intersecting
manage their own international assignments, as well as identities in contemporary society. Students will study
those of others. Therefore, the purpose of this course is multiple facets of gender diversity (including gender,
to provide students with this understanding and know- gender identity and expression, and sexual orientation),
how. The course material includes topics such as cultural as well as other dimensions of diversity (including race,
profiling, multicultural team management, establishing and ethnicity, age, religion, and class). Students will become
managing international assignments, managing one's own familiar with demographic trends in today's organizations,
international assignment, as well as communicating and related employment law, best practices for hiring and
ethical decision-making across cultures. Students will also promotion in order to maintain and leverage benefits of
study the cultures, management practices and business organizational diversity, theories and research on how
environments of various countries, including Canada, China, gender and diversity affect organizational interaction and
France, Japan, the USA, among others. In doing so, students performance, and ongoing issues involved in managing
will examine the success and failures in these countries of diversity within organizations. Classes are discussion-
some of the world's leading companies, such as McDonald's focused and assignments are designed to help students
and The Walt Disney Company. Furthermore, as part of a build informed opinions that incorporate systematic
multicultural team, students will have the opportunity to research and evidence on the topic of gender and diversity
select and study a country that interests them most. in organizations. The course will help students grow
NOTE: This course counts as credit towards the Certificate in comfortable discussing, addressing, and managing issues
Social Impact. of gender and diversity in their careers and organizations.
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled Students are expected to bring a high level of maturity,
in the 3rd or 4th year of their program.   sensitivity, and critical thinking to the course.
Offering Faculty: School of Business   NOTE: This course counts as credit towards the Certificate in
COMM 354  Relationships & Reconciliation in Business Social Impact.
and Beyond  Units: 3.00   Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
This course will examine Indigenous worldviews, in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.  
philosophies, and values as they relate to commerce, Offering Faculty: School of Business  
exchange, and capital. It will explore Indigenous resurgence, COMM 357  Interpersonal Skills For Managers  Units: 3.00  
seeking to understand the different ways in which Indigenous This course is the practical application of organizational
peoples are reclaiming and reimagining relationships behaviour and human resource management knowledge
in business and beyond. It will critically examine how to the effective and productive management of people and
colonization has impacted present relations between relationships at work. It provides a practical supplement to
Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous peoples in business COMM 151 and COMM 181. The objective of this course is to
contexts, and begin to explore strategies for decolonization in further develop interpersonal skills crucial to any manager's
this space. Students will be encouraged to examine their own role, including self-awareness, stress and time management,
biases and worldviews as they learn how to become effective creativity and problem-solving, and conflict management.
and supportive allies for Indigenous peoples. This course is highly experiential in nature.
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled NOTE: This course counts as credit towards the Certificate in
in the 3rd or 4th year of their program.   Social Impact.
Offering Faculty: School of Business   Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
in the 3rd or 4th year of their program.  
Offering Faculty: School of Business  

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COMM 358  Managing Human Capital  Units: 3.00   COMM 370  Business Communication in North
In COMM 358 we take a high-level, strategic perspective on America  Units: 3.00  
how to best plan, organize, develop, and manage talent to The course emphasizes the norms for written and oral
achieve organization objectives. Students will study how the communication skills required for success in a North
strategic management of people supports the execution of American business environment. Discussion of theoretical
strategy and the overall success of an organization. We will readings is framed by frequent cross-cultural comparison and
examine organization design and culture, factors influencing team-based work to enhance learning. The course also uses
attraction, engagement, and retention of talent, as well as an applied methodology wherever possible to help students
the evidence, techniques, and best practices for human practice and adapt their skills to the business culture in
capital development and management in an organization. North America. In addition, students are introduced to North
We review some strategic organization decisions and their American models of learning such as formative assessment,
effects on the workforce, including outsourcing, restructuring, peer review, and reflective practice.
and merger and acquisition activities. Underlying these This course is restricted to international exchange students
topics are the following themes set in a context of change who do not speak English as their first language. Students
and transformation of organizations: evidence-informed, eligible for this course must have either attended a university
ethical decision-making; the evaluation of HR alternatives where the primary language of instruction was not English,
and decisions; the impacts of decisions on people in must speak English as a foreign language, or must have
organizations. This course will be applicable for those presented a TOEFL score for admission to Queen's University.
interested in careers in human capital or management Requirements: This course is restricted to international
consulting, organization development, and human resources, exchange students enrolled in the 3rd or 4th year of the
as well as those interested in understanding the strategic Commerce Program. PREREQUISITE: Permission from the
management of people in organizations more broadly. Centre for International Management  
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled Offering Faculty: School of Business  
in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.   COMM 373  International Negotiations  Units: 3.00  
Offering Faculty: School of Business   This course requires the application of cumulative knowledge
COMM 365  Advanced Business Decision Modeling  Units: of functional areas and international business to negotiation
3.00   situations. It will introduce: current thinking and research on
This course builds on the foundations of data analysis and negotiating; exploring the different aspects of international
decision modeling set in COMM 162* and COMM 163*. negotiations, including planning, the effect of culture
  The emphasis in this course is advanced managerial on negotiating styles, and managing the process. It will
decision making under uncertainty.  Topics include stochastic concentrate on developing international negotiating
inventory control, waiting-line models, computer simulation awareness and skills through the use of international
modeling, risk and decision analysis, forecasting models, negotiation exercises, simulations and cases. The focus
revenue management, and dynamic pricing.  Computer will be on both the personal level (honing your own
spreadsheets will be used extensively, and a particular focus negotiating skills and awareness) and the corporate level
will be the interpretation and communication of model (analyzing the factors that are important to companies in
results from the viewpoint of decision makers. international negotiations, planning and implementing
Requirements: This course is restricted to students complex negotiations).
enrolled in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program. NOTE: This course counts as credit towards the Certificate in
PREREQUISITES: COMM 162 and COMM 163   Social Impact.
Offering Faculty: School of Business   Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.  
Offering Faculty: School of Business  

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COMM 374  International Business Strategy  Units: 3.00   COMM 376  Doing Business In Asia-Pac Rim  Units: 3.00  
International Business Strategy explores the key strategic The Asia-Pacific Region has emerged as an enormous
questions firms face when entering international markets, economic force comparable in significance to the United
and competing in the global economy. We focus on States and Europe, a growing mass of middle-class Asian
how globalization affects the strategic management of consumers have been added to the world economy, and a
companies, and what you as managers need to do to dynamic breed of Asian companies have joined the league
compete successfully in the international environment. This of multinationals. However, multinationals entering the
course uses practical business cases on firms from around Asia-Pacific Rim countries must realize that the competitive
the world to stimulate discussion and illustrate fundamental environments, socio-political institutions, cultural norms and
international strategy concepts. business practices in the Asia-Pacific region are markedly
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled different from those in Western industrialized countries.
in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.   The main objectives of this course are to identify such
Offering Faculty: School of Business   differences and to analyze the impact of these differences
COMM 375  International Business and the Nonmarket on the strategies of multinational companies. Topics include:
Environment  Units: 3.00   historical contexts, the role of the state, government-business
This course introduces students to the relevant non-market relationships, inter-business networks, institutional and
actors that affect the international business environment economic reforms, market competitions, consumer tastes,
and provides a broad range of theoretical frameworks for and business etiquettes.
understanding and shaping their motivations, capabilities Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
and strategies. Topics will include the international trading in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.  
environment, political and country risk analysis, the Offering Faculty: School of Business  
motivations of national governments, international and COMM 381  Business Law I  Units: 3.00  
national regulators, and the interaction of firms with Since legal considerations enter into nearly all business
government, industry and lobby groups. In covering a wide transactions and influence most important managerial
range of topics, this course favors breadth over depth. The decisions, owners and managers of business firms make
course primarily draws on readings from lecture notes, their economic choices and take actions within the general
classroom discussion and debate. framework of law and jurisprudence. While government
NOTE: This course counts as credit towards the Certificate in and business exert a powerful influence on each other,
Social Impact. the judge-made common law of contract is the basic law
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled governing not only business activities but dealings between
in the 3rd or 4th year of their program.   persons in society. This course will explore the Canadian legal
Offering Faculty: School of Business   infrastructure and context, and the laws of tort and contract
- the two most important private law doctrines. Students
will not only learn a cursory understanding of the law, but
also a framework for solving legal problems as business
people or professionals. This course is one of the Chartered
Professional Accounting (CPA) requirements.
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
in the 3rd or 4th year of their program. May not be taken
after beginning BCOM/JD combined degree program.  
Offering Faculty: School of Business  

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COMM 382  Business Law II  Units: 3.00   COMM 394  Coding Literacy for Managers  Units: 3.00  
This course expands upon the material from Business Law I A key development in today's digital business environment
(an introduction to common law, specifically the law of tort is that more and more organizations are empowering
and contracts).  Commerce 382 is concerned primarily with business professionals to build and deploy dynamic digital
the law and regulation relating to specific business activities solutions for their customers. Because business professionals
(sales, marketing, leasing and bailment) and business are intimately involved with the business units, business
relationships (business organizations, agency and credit processes, and customers, they are in a unique position
relationships).  Other topics which may be addressed include to deliver highly customized applications that match their
intellectual property, ownership of real property, insurance unique organizational needs. In this course, students will
and employment law. learn the fundamentals of systems thinking and coding in
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled order to be able to rapidly build and deploy customer- and
in the 3rd or 4th year of their program. May not be taken employee-centric apps.
after beginning BCOM/JD combined degree program. The course teaches students how to build digital solutions
PREREQUISITE: COMM 381 EXCLUSIONS: No more than one using a combination of tools including no code (e.g., data
course from COMM 382 or LAW 204/704   analytics in Excel), low code (e.g., visual app development
Offering Faculty: School of Business   platforms such as Salesforce), and code (e.g., JavaScript,
COMM 385  Negotiation Theory & Behaviour  Units: 3.00   Python). The course topics include computational thinking
Negotiation is part of everyday life in organizations, whether programming tools, communicating with business
negotiating with customers, clients, suppliers, co-workers or applications (API and Webservices), solving business
even the boss.  The purpose of this course is to introduce problems with programming, and coding for an agile
students to theory and research on negotiations with an business.
emphasis on the social, behavioural, and decision-making This course has an applied focus. It uses business cases as
processes.  Negotiations will be studied in a variety of a way to motivate logical thinking and the use of coding to
settings ranging from simple buyer-seller negotiations to solve business problems. In addition, the course leverages
multi-party, multi-issue, cross-cultural negotiations.  In cloud services and lab environments to enable students to
addition to the fundamentals of integrative and distributive use state-of-the-art coding tools and resources.
bargaining, special topics may include ethics, gender, power, Requirements: This course is restricted to students
emotions, technology, and the use of agents.  The course also enrolled in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.
includes a practical component in that students participate in PREREQUISITE: COMM 190  
simulations, exercises, and case analysis designed to develop Offering Faculty: School of Business  
their negotiating skills as well as their understanding of
negotiation processes.
NOTE: This course counts as credit towards the Certificate in
Social Impact.
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.  
Offering Faculty: School of Business  
COMM 389  Topics In Industrial Relations  Units: 3.00  
This course provides the student with an opportunity to do
independent research on some problem area in the labour
and employee relations field. Topics vary to suit particular
student interests but are centered in the following areas: the
management of technological change and job displacement;
the economic and behavioural implications of the shorter
work week and of worker participation in management; job
attitudes, job satisfaction, labour turnover, and productivity;
various aspects of public and wage-price policy, labour law,
and arbitration.
Requirements: This course is restricted to students
enrolled in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.
PREREQUISITES: COMM 181  
Offering Faculty: School of Business  

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COMM 395  Digital Strategy & Transformation  Units: 3.00  
The objective of this course is to help students understand
critical management concepts and frameworks related to
digital business strategy, innovation, and transformation.
As organizations move toward a digital reality (more natural
and intuitive ways for technology to better organizations,
individuals and society), creation of new business models
and approaches are essential. This course will examine
how companies such as Uber and NetFlix are disrupting
existing business models and ushering in unprecedented
convergence of people, business and things. For many
organizations, "going digital" is imperative to long-term
viability and the need to acquire and develop digital
capabilities is essential. This course will give students
knowledge and frameworks related to digital transformation,
systems thinking and digital leadership as well as an
understanding of movements in the technology industry that
are influencing change toward a more digital approach to
business.
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
in the 3rd or 4th year of their program. PREREQUISITES:
COMM 190 or (COMM 200/600 and CISC 124)  
Offering Faculty: School of Business  
COMM 398  Business, Government and the Global
Economy  Units: 3.00  
In an era of globalization and crises, international business is
argued to be characterized by "total competition." Managers
are certainly expected and are required to be fluent "market
strategies" such as competing on cost, differentiation, etc.
However, managers must also be fluent in understanding,
anticipating and shaping the workings of the "visible hands"
of governments and international institutions. This is
particularly important because the global economic system
has undergone tremendous stress over the past three years.
This course explores how the global economy works via the
in-depth examination of the various "systems" that govern
it - the systems of energy, finance, trade, and government-
business relations.
The course develops frameworks, tools, and concepts from
various disciplines - business strategy, economics, political
science, philosophy - that will help new managers meet
the non-market challenges they will inevitably face. It is
heavily case and discussion based and looks at the practical
application of the concepts discussed. Commerce 375 would
be an ideal, though not absolutely necessary, prerequisite.
NOTE: This course counts as credit towards the Certificate in
Social Impact.
Requirements: This course is restricted to students enrolled
in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.  
Offering Faculty: School of Business  

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