School of Business

Cultivating Innovative Leaders for a Sustainable Society

Through our Bachelor of Business Administration curriculum, we prepare students to transfer their knowledge and skills into different career pursuits such as entrepreneurs, non-profit advocators, or corporate leaders. Students can specialize in their interests by enrolling in one of our majors: Accounting, Computer Information Systems, Fashion Marketing, Management, or Marketing. Follow the School of Business on Instagram @woodburyuniversity_business.

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3+1

Get Your BBA + MBA in 4 Years

Woodbury’s 3+1 program delivers incredible value by combining both a BBA in Management and a Master’s in Business Administration, enabling students to earn both their undergraduate degree and an MBA in just four years, or less for transfer students. A minimum 3.0 GPA is required to be admitted into this intensive program.

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AACSB Accredited

Less than 5% of all business schools have AACSB accreditation, and only 1% of business degree programs with AACSB accreditation have a Fashion Marketing major. AACSB-accredited schools have better programs and faculty,  students with higher overall GPAs, more international students, and more employers that recruit from them.

10:1

Student to Faculty Ratio

Our 10:1 student-faculty ratio means you get increased access to your faculty and a more personalized classroom experience. Our highly-accomplished faculty, who are scholarly academics and industry professionals, get to know each of their students throughout their entire time at Woodbury University supporting them in their educational and career goals.

Experience the School of Business

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Our Programs

Accounting

Bachelor of Business Administration | BBA

Woodbury’s accounting program results in 100% of our students gaining employment within one year of graduation. Our program dates back to 1884, making it one of the oldest accounting programs in Southern California. Accounting majors are prepared to make important high-level financial decisions. They may decide to work for an existing employer, or start their own firm upon obtaining a CPA license.

Accounting program

Computer Information Systems

Bachelor of Science | BS

CIS majors are trained to create and deploy the latest cutting-edge systems. IT experts are always in demand, embarking on satisfying and high-paying careers. CIS graduates qualify for any IT role including the creation of websites and mobile apps, visualizing data, and leading IT departments in major corporations.

Computer information systems program

Fashion Marketing

Bachelor of Business Administration | BBA

Woodbury’s Fashion Marketing major provides analytical skills to those interested in developing and forecasting trends. With fashion being interpreted as any new movement in society, this program provides a well-curated list of core courses and electives that combine traditional careers in fashion-related industries with new sectors, such as luxury brand marketing, e-commerce management, entrepreneurship, and the science of trend forecasting.

Fashion Marketing program

Marketing

Bachelor of Business Administration | BBA

Marketing has never been more challenging with saturated markets. That’s why a career in marketing analytics, social media marketing, sales, advertising are always demanding and high paying. Our world-class marketing program provides all the skills needed to advance a career in marketing whether to start businesses, develop powerful brands, improve customer experiences, create loyal customers, and make firms profitable. Our curriculum balances between creativity and strategy with a focus on analytics so learners know what they are doing is actually working.

Marketing program

Management

Bachelor of Business Administration | BBA

Management represents a popular business major because it provides critical skills toward leading in a global workplace or starting an entrepreneurial venture. According to the World Economic Forum, roles requiring distinctly “human” traits are expected to grow in the coming years, with General and Operations Managers and Organizational Development Specialists in the top 10 emerging jobs for 2022.

Management program

MBA

BBA-MBA Accelerated Program

Bachelor of Business Administration | BBA 
& Master of Business Administration | MBA

The 3+1 BBA-MBA Accelerated program is for individuals who aspire to earn both their BBA in Management and MBA in four years or less, depending on prior college credits. The 3+1 BBA/MBA program is geared toward meeting the business performance needs of today’s diverse and innovative economy.

BBA-MBA Accelerated program

MBA

Master of Business Administration | MBA

Woodbury University’s MBA focuses on three tenets: Responsible Leadership, Sustainable Business, and Self-Empowerment. With our Merit Scholarships, we provide an affordable private-school MBA with a work-compatible and practice-based curriculum. Bachelor’s Degree holders in business or non-business areas are invited to apply. Our MBA does not require GMAT/GRE, and can be completed in as little as one year when entering with a Business undergraduate degree.

MBA program

Explore Our Curriculum

Bachelor of Business Administration
Master of Business Administration
school of business mba

Preparing Students for Careers

Our collective team effort lays out the path for students to achieve a successful business career.

Here are a few ways we accomplish this:
  • Prepare students for a promising Certified Public Accountant (CPA) career
  • Engage students in effective and decisive project management
  • Participate in a six-day field experience in fashion marketing
  • Collaborate with industry marketing leaders to increase brand valuation
  • Develop a meaningful resume and e-portfolio
  • Host departmental career workshops, job fairs, and networking events
  • Assist students for internships and employment through an online job board

school of business career services

Our Learning Environment

Through personalized attention, collaboration, and networking our motivated faculty and staff are here to help you achieve.

Our faculty advances knowledge in the business field by:
  • Publishing in leading academic journals
  • Being featured in popular industry publications
  • Operating and owning businesses
  • Being interviewed by various media outlets
Our influential Board of Advisors of industry leaders actively engage with students by:
  • Giving one-one-one personal feedback
  • Consulting on professional career paths
  • Preparing for job interviews
  • Reviewing and optimizing resumes

Student Spotlights

Learn more about our excellent School of Business students!

Dana Herrera, an LA County native, was born and raised near Burbank. Planning to graduate Spring 2021, she is entering the final stages of obtaining her bachelor in business administration (BBA) in Accounting.

Dana is a transfer student from Glendale Community College (GCC). She selected Woodbury University as her educational home because of its convenient location, but soon found the institution had so much more to offer. The initial recommendation to explore Woodbury came from an accounting teacher at GCC, who spoke highly of the accounting program. After connecting with a Woodbury recruiter, Dana quickly realized it was a match and received guidance toward a smooth transfer.

Read more about Dana’s journey here.

Marketing Student Issac Morales Works with Local Business to Raise Money for Woodbury’s Food for Thought Campaign

When School of Business Marketing student Issac Morales was assigned a civic engagement project for his Business Ethics (MGMT 350) course with Dr. Svetlana Holt, he knew he wanted to give back to the community. “I had in mind volunteering at a food bank,” Issac says. The Business Ethics civic engagement project, which is one of a number of civic engagement projects the School of Business requires its students to engage in during their time at Woodbury, focuses on finding a real-life problem related to moral responsibility and taking on a leadership role to alleviate the problem. As the course progressed, Issac began to give more thought to the way he wanted to give back.

“Throughout the following weeks [of] our Business Ethics course,” Issac says, “I was inspired and influenced by Dr. Holt’s lectures and assignments [as well as] by the Financial Sustainability Program, which essentially lead [me] to having a different approach towards…contributing and giving back effectively.” As a financial coach in Woodbury’s Financial Sustainability program, Issac was working on a budgeting presentation with Esteban Blas, Financial Advisor, and Edward Rivas, Interim Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs, when they came across the “Hungry and Homeless” report in iGrad.

Read Issac’s story here. 

Bradley Davolio will earn his BBA in Management this Spring.

While at Woodbury, Bradley, who transferred from community college, has served as a School of Business Ambassador and Tour Guide. Upon graduation, he will begin a position as a business development representative with ORACLE NetSuite. As he prepares to embark on his career, Bradley shares with us his journey to Woodbury and his experience as a part of the School of Business.

Read our interview with Bradley here. 

Victor Jarvis, a Woodbury University Business School management student, jumped right into the 3+1 BBA/MBA Accelerated program, designed for students wanting to get both their BBA in Management and an MBA in just four years. Starting his second year (Fall 2020), Victor anticipates graduating in 2023.  A professional trained dancer, he shares his passion for the arts, along with his desire to create a business that helps transform underserved communities in the following interview.

Read his story here.

Mia Morales, a Fashion Marketing student in the School of Business, has become a recurring recipient of the Ebell Scholarship. A Los Angeles native in her senior year, Mia transferred from Cal State Fullerton to Woodbury University three years ago. She also holds a degree in Fashion Design from Los Angeles Trade Technical College.

Given her interest and skills in the Fashion Industry, Mia aspires to become the Marketing Director for a major luxury brand, such as Dior or Louis Vuitton.

Read her story here.  

MBA Student Spotlight: Marina Vanyan

Marina Vanyan is no stranger to Woodbury University. Marina graduated with her Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Woodbury University School of Architecture in 2002. After having spent twenty-four years at a corporate firm, Marina went on to start her own firm, Vanyan Studio, five years ago. With a passion for leadership and entrepreneurship, in the Summer of 2022, Marina decided it was time to earn her MBA degree.

For this, she returned to her alma mater and enrolled in the Woodbury University School of Business. As Marina embarks on this new chapter of her educational journey, she discusses her journey as an entrepreneur, her decision to pursue her MBA, why she chose to return to Woodbury to continue her education, and the lessons she has learned along the way.  

Read Marina’s spotlight here.

Alumni Spotlights

Learn more about our accomplished School of Business Alumni!

Lilit Davtyan, SB12, received her BBA in Accounting from Woodbury University and is currently the CEO of Phonexa, an all-in-one suite for marketing automation.

Lilit also earned a Master of Business Taxation from the University of Southern California. She has served as an official member of the Forbes Finance Council and currently serves on the Forbes Business Council. We caught up with Lilit to discuss her time at Woodbury and her journey after graduation.

Read our interview with Lilit here. 

Michael Srourian is an alum of the Marketing program (class of 2019). Michael, who comes from a family of entrepreneurs, launched armenia.jpg, an Armenian contemporary art and streetwear brand, in April 2021.

Michael Srourian was studying graphic design at Los Angeles Valley College and working at his brother’s marketing and branding agency when he made an important decision. Michael recalls, “I was learning a lot of graphic design at the agency with my brother [and] I was studying graphic design as well at Valley College. I realized switching my major to a Business Management degree in Marketing would be more of a complimentary [choice] for me, because I was already getting experience in design at the agency.”

Read Michael’s spotlight here. 

Brandon Megrabyan earned his BBA in Management from Woodbury’s School of Business in 2021 and is currently studying for his MBA.

Here is Brandon’s journey to Woodbury and his experience as a student in the School of Business in his own words:

“Growing up, I was always very familiar with Woodbury University and the school of business as both of my parents graduated in the class of 1995. Once I graduated from high school I was excited at the opportunity to attend Woodbury University and continue down the same path my parents took. Seeing the great accomplishments my mom and dad have achieved over the years showed me how valuable their education at Woodbury was and how much they learned and grew here. In 2021 I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business management and immediately knew that I wanted to enter the Master’s program. The great classes I have had the pleasure of taking with Dr. Saba, Dr. Marques, Professor Condon, as well as Dr. Dhiman are among my favorites and have shaped me into the young business person I am today.

These classes were eye-opening experiences that showed me that I am a true entrepreneur. I learned how to lead, communicate, and manage an organization efficiently and ethically which is sure to create sustainable and lasting results. I use these lessons every day as I work as a Senior Project Manager at my family’s construction management company as well as work as Realtor at Keller Williams Calabasas Estates.

Studying at Woodbury University gave me an edge as a business person which I knew I could use to my advantage and would immediately recommend to anyone. Our AACSB accredited program goes above and beyond expectations and has produced amazing entrepreneurs and business people year after year.

I am the businessman I am today because of my time here, and I highly recommend Woodbury University to anyone searching for a top-tier business school.”

Christopher Teringalian earned both his BBA and MBA degrees from Woodbury University’s School of Business. In 2010, he earned his BBA in Management and earned his MBA in 2011. Christopher is currently Vice President, BM at JP Morgan Chase & Co.

His former roles include positions at US Bank, Union Bank, and Wells Fargo. Here is what Christopher had to say about his experience as a student in the School of Business and how it impacted his career in his own words:

“Unlike many students, who use college as a path to discover their future jobs and careers, I knew early on that banking was where I would showcase my strengths. The financial world is a competitive one and one where I had thrived for a while even when I first started attending Woodbury, but I knew I needed to legitimize myself with a degree from an institution that was not only respectable but also a good fit for my family and myself. Woodbury University was that institution. I feel extremely fortunate to have attended and graduated from Woodbury University and since I have always been local, every time I drive by, I relive the sense of pride and accomplishment that I felt all throughout my tenure and during graduation.

Woodbury’s School of Business was modeled after the real world in more ways than one. Not only were most of the professors professionals in their own fields who were also so passionate about teaching that they also taught at Woodbury, but the fact that they could apply the concepts they taught to the actuality of their respective industries provided myself and my fellow cohort members invaluable, first-hand examples, which made learning the material so much more effective. In addition, the School of Business reinforced my own ambitions and competitive nature by connecting me with a cohort who was like-minded and shared my passion to succeed. This fueled my fire even more, so to speak, and I haven’t stopped since. Ultimately, the School of Business provided me with crucial, well-rounded knowledge about the business world, at large, and how to navigate its ever-changing environment in a way that would ensure I remain successful.

Since graduating from Woodbury, I have successfully climbed the ranks at more than one well-known banking institution, serving as manager of two distinct branches simultaneously. This has been a challenge, but a welcomed one because with it I have continued to learn and acquire knowledge and experience that has only helped push me forward. Aside from this, I have also ventured into a few entrepreneurial projects that are still in development and I look forward to seeing these ventures grow and become successful also

None of my achievements would have been possible without the invaluable guidance I received from a few standout professors, including Dr. Joan Marques, Dr. Svetlana Holt, Dr. Satinder Dhiman, and Dr. Armond Aghakhanian, to name a few. They made Woodbury what it was back when I was attending and I am sure, if they are still there, they are now doing the same for their current students.

If I could give any current or future students some words of advice, I would ask them to realize the importance of investing in themselves because it will make a direct impact on their future success. The investment starts with their commitment to a university and to professors that will not give up on them and it will continue until they feel they have reached whatever goals they set for themselves. I continue investing in myself every single day and I am nowhere near done. Wishing continued success to all students, prospective students, their families, the staff, and the administration of Woodbury University!”

Spotlight on School of Business Alumna Kristy Armas

Kristy Armas originally came to Woodbury University in the 1990s as a transfer student from a community college. At Woodbury, she went on to earn her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management. Twenty years later, Kristy would return to the School of Business, this time to earn her MBA degree.

Kristy has spent the last fifteen years working in philanthropy and has held various roles at a variety of nonprofit organizations. Her past titles have included Coordinator, Development at City of Hope; Major Gifts Officer at Los Angeles Mission, Inc.; and Director of Development at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. Kristy currently holds the position of Philanthropy Officer with the Union Rescue Mission- Los Angeles. We spoke with Kristy about her journey to Woodbury, her experience as a student in the School of Business, the impact having a graduate degree has had on her career and her journey since graduating from the MBA program.  

Read Kristy’s spotlight here.

Spotlight on Forbes Next 1000 List Member, Kipenzi Chidinma, MBA’12

When Kipenzi Chidinma founded LINĒIJ™ in 2015, she became the first person of Turks and Caicos descent to launch a sustainably sourced, bespoke, luxury fashion brand. The company manufactures luxury apparel, private label items, personal protective equipment, bespoke executive/promotional gifts, and footwear for adults/children, and has offices in New Orleans, Istanbul, and Los Angeles. In 2021, Kipenzi was featured on the Forbes Next 1000 List.

Kipenzi Chidinma was working at Siemens as a research scientist when she had the opportunity to join a management program for employees that had been with the company for under six years. “I signed up to be in the management program,” Kipenzi says, “and you got to shadow people from different departments. And I shadowed someone from the marketing department. I was like ‘this is what I want to do. I want to get out of the lab.’” However, Kipenzi, who had studied criminal justice and biology as an undergraduate at Cal State Los Angeles, knew that trying to get into marketing with her degree would be difficult. Ultimately, Kipenzi chose to return to school to pursue an MBA. “I initially looked at a lot of different programs that were offered,” Kipenzi recalls. However, Woodbury’s flexibility and the fact that its MBA program contained an ethics course caught Kipenzi’s attention, and she decided to attend the School of Business to earn her MBA.

Read Kipenzi’s spotlight here.

Jocelyn Ramirez earned her MBA from Woodbury in 2009 after receiving her BFA in Fashion Design with a Fashion Marketing Minor.

She is the founder of Todo Verde, a highly successful food business that provides plant-based, culturally relevant dishes to the local community. In 2021, Todo Verde provided concessions to The Ford Theater. Here is what Jocelyn had to say about her experience with the School of Business, in her own words:

“I chose Woodbury because I came from a small graduating high school class and was used to the individualized attention you get from small classroom sizes. Throughout the School of Business program, some of the classes that continue to be a highlight for my work now are marketing, leadership, and entrepreneurship led by Dr. Dhiman and Dr. Marquez. Specific courses like these continue to help me strategize work campaigns and build a strong team to move our projects forward. Since graduating, I’ve published a cookbook, contributed recipes to major food media platforms nationwide, and managed concessions at one of LA’s major concert venues.”

 

Meet Carmen Sarkis, an Alumna of the School of Business’ MBA Program (Class of 2011).

Carmen Sarkis (Class of 2011) is an alum of the School of Business’s MBA program. She is currently a doctoral student at Pepperdine University, where she is studying to earn an EdD in Organizational Leadership. She currently works as a consultant with the Proctor Gallagher Institute. She is also a realtor with Keller Williams Realty, Inc. Here is what Carmen had to say about her experience as a student in the School of Business in her own words:

“My experience at Woodbury University and my MBA program significantly impacted my professional goal and career aspirations. In particular, my experience in the School of Business was exceptional, providing a conducive learning environment and an academic and practical foundation to creative, strategic business decisions, including communication with a diverse audience. Coupled with the quality educational resources and a robust set of curricula, being part of institutions’ School of Business will contribute to my academic success, positively impacting my professional ambitions and career aspirations.

Notwithstanding, various business classes played a pivotal role in my career planning and development. Courses like organizational behavior and strategy, business and management ethics significantly shaped my career. These programs instilled an all-encompassing organizational insight that helped me progress my career on the right path. I acknowledge ethics are essential in ensuring one adopts the right strategies in a given platform. At the same time, student organizations affiliated with the School of Business, including the job networking opportunities and the Dining Etiquette events, were a vital platform to share ideas, establish connections, and interact with individuals with whom we shared the same academic objectives and career path. Engaging in various events and being part of student organizations spurred a practical enthusiasm to plan, coordinate, direct, and integrate robust initiatives to ascertain organizations’ efficiency and productivity.

Further, the mentorship I received while in the institution contributed to my progress in career development. Professor Satinder Dhiman is an individual who has inspired me to become a better version of myself in life and career-wise. Besides being my academic counselor and mentor, he is the most humble person I’ve ever met in my life. Since my first day in business classes, Professor Dhiman was a great inspiration, with his all-encompassing knowledge in social and business subjects, making him a role model. He guided me through my career path and my current school for my Doctorate of Organizational Leadership. Such mentorship and an academic environment founded on excellence and success instigate me to leverage my skills, competence, and available resources and contribute to the ongoing effort to align management approaches and organizational philosophies as a business leader in real estate and consulting.”

Meet Vincent P. Barabba, an Alumnus of the School of Business (Class of 1954)

Vincent P. Barabba, (SB’54), is the co-founder and Chairman of Market Insight Corporation, which created MyProductAdvisor.com. Mr. Barabba served in the United States Air Force from 1954-1958 and has served twice as the Director of the U.S. Bureau of the Census—the only person to have been appointed to this position by Presidents from two different political parties. Additionally, he was appointed twice as the U.S. Representative to the Population Commission of the United Nations.

Mr. Barabba also worked in the private sector as the Manager of Market Research for the Xerox Corporation and as the Director of Market Intelligence for Eastman Kodak. Additionally, he served as the General Manager of Corporate Strategy and Knowledge Development at General Motors where he played a critical role in the development of OnStar. In January 2022, he released A Systems Thinking Decision-Making Process: How to Avoid Burnt Toast which draws from lessons learned during his years of professional experience.

We caught up with Mr. Barabba to learn more about his new book and how his time at Woodbury impacted his career.

Read our interview with him here. 

Faculty Spotlights

Find out more about the inspiring faculty in the School of Business.

Thomas Chapman picture

Dr. Thomas Chapman Co-authored New Journal Article

Examining the Maturity of Bitcoin Price through a Catastrophic Event: The Case of Structural Break Analysis During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Finance Research Letters, Volume 49, October 2022

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Bitcoin’s structural break remains the same at five: Debut, Propagation, Securitization, Liberalization, Solidification.
  • During the Solidification phase Bitcoin price remains steady despite the pandemic.
  • Bitcoin can be explained better with economic factors than with COVID-19 variables.

Dr. Yasuo Nishiyama Publishes in Applied Economics Letters

In January 2022, Dr. Yasuo Nishiyama, Finance and Economics Professor, published a peer review research article titled, “Wine Quality and Pricing in the Global Wine Export Market: The Case of Chilean Wines” in Applied Economics Letters, a reputable Taylor & Francis journal.

This paper hypothesizes that, from 1985 to 1999, Chilean export wine producers achieved significant quality improvements, which led to successful product differentiation in the global export market. Concomitantly – as the monopolistic competition theory predicts – they increased their wine prices, which represent the value wine consumers attach to the wine attributes (including the quality).

Using the wine rating score as an approximation of quality, the paper tests this hypothesis using the nonparametric Wilcoxon rank-sum test. The results strongly support the hypothesis.

 

Stephanie Thomas Received Prestigious Ed Roberts Award

In January 2020, the Berkeley based Center for Independent Living awarded Stephanie Thomas the Ed Roberts Award, a premiere award in the disability community. Ms. Thomas is an adjunct faculty member of Fashion Marketing in the School of Business. Ed Roberts was the unofficial “Father of Civil Rights” in the disability community. His work, and tenacity helped lay the foundation for many of the rights we have today. Ms. Thomas, a congenital amputee, received this honor alongside the first woman in a wheelchair to win a Tony Award, Ally Stroker; actor and activist RJ Mitte, and star of last summer’s break out film Peanut Butter Falcon, featuring an actor who has Down Syndrome Zack Gottsagen, as well as attorney James T. Fousekis, who has supported the disability community for years.

Wendy K. Bendoni Serves as Professional Advisor for The American Influencer Council

In July 2020 Wendy K. Bendoni became part of the Professional Advisory Board of the American Influencer Council, Inc. AIC is a newly formed not-for-profit invite-only membership trade association, led by a team of influencers who are quickly becoming a significant anchor in the U.S. digital economy.  AIC strives to sustain the integrity and viability of the influencer marketing industry in the U.S., which is projected to reach $15 billion by 2022.  The AIC mission is to foster digital economy research and analysis as it relates to the commerce of career influencers and their contributions to the U.S. GDP. The Council has a five-prong approach, which includes 1) learning & development, 2) consumer transparency, 3) standardization & professional ethics, 4) data science & influencer economy, and 5) public goodwill.

Wendy K. Bendoni Serves on Board for DataEthics4All Think Tank Group

DataEthics4All (with over 500 members) invited Wendy K. Bendoni to become a Think Tank founding member. The Think Tank consists of AI Researchers, Data Scientists, Policy Makers and Data Ethics Advocates.  The area of AI data analysis has been a primary focus for Prof. Bendoni’s research in the last past five years.  The DataEthics4All Think Tank will be responsible for Independent Research on the Impact of Unethical Data Use. The committee follows the Ethical Pillars that include: Preserving Data Privacy, Fair Data Processing, Clear Data Ownership, Data Transparency and Trust, Preventing Ad Technology Weaponization and Evolution of Data Ethics in Times of Crisis.

Some additional members of our DataEthics4All Advisory Board include: Chief Data Officer, TD Ameritrade; Data Strategist at IBM; Head of Blockchain, Digital Assets, and Data Policy, World Economic Forum; Corporate Vice President, New York Life Insurance Company, Head of Digital Intelligence & Analytics, First Republic Bank: VP & Global Chief Data Officer, GE; VP and Chief Information Security Officer, Hitachi Vantara.

In June 2020 prof. Bendoni also became part of the development event committee for Ethics4NextGen AI Summit and Hackathon to raise the next generation of Inclusive AI. In her Summer 2020 class, prof. Bendoni had her Marketing Intelligence class work on solutions in ethical data collection for all three hackathon themes, including: 1) AI in Criminal Justice 2) AI in Predictive Policing 3) AI in COVID -19 Contact Tracing.  Student’s work will be featured on the Ethics4NextGen Summit and Hackathon website. Woodbury’s marketing and fashion marketing students will be competing in the September 17th Ethics4NextGen AI Hackathon.

Dr. Svetlana Holt Published in the Encyclopedia of Business and Professional Ethics

“Change Management” is the title of a peer-reviewed article that Dr. Svetlana Holt recently got published in the Encyclopedia of Business and Professional Ethics, a living document from Springer Nature, one of the world’s leading academic publishers.

A fragment of the introduction:

Contemporary organizations exist in social, political, and economic environments that change rapidly and unpredictably. Organizational leaders succeed with such changes by looking at strategy, organization design, and processes, by studying theories of change management related to the individual, group, inter-group, and organizational level. They apply modern-day methods of diagnosing organizations and designing interventions that will increase the effectiveness of their organizations. The complexities in developing a culture of change and continuous improvement within an organization include determining its readiness for change, uncovering the reasons for resistance to change and tactics for coping with such resistance.

The entire article can be found here.

Dr. Satinder Dhiman and Dr. Joan Marques Edit and Co-Author “Leadership After Covid-19″

Capturing the importance of effective leadership in a post-pandemic world in 32 insightful chapters, Dr. Dhiman and Dr. Marques collaborated with 48 scholars globally toward the creation of “Leadership After COVID-19: Working Together Toward a Sustainable Future.” This timely work was published by globally renowned academic publisher, Springer (2022) as part of the Future of Business and Finance book series.

This collective effort was inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has permanently changed lives around the world with no dimension of life and leadership having been spared from its wrath. The initiators of this work were aware that the pandemic also stirred us into thinking about novel approaches to lead organizations and societies toward a shared, sustainable future.

As a result, this book offers novel perspectives on leadership and change management after the COVID-19 pandemic that take us beyond striving for thriving—perspectives that are grounded in emergent theory, research, and practice. It highlights sustainable leadership and change management strategies to effectively deal with unpredictable and rapidly changing situations—particularly in a world that is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA). This book also highlights engaging perspectives by specialists from different disciplines such as business, psychology, education, and health care. It serves as a practical guide in identifying and responding to leadership challenges and opportunities in each of the four VUCA categories of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity—and how they affect businesses, organizations, and societies as a whole.

Dr. Satinder Dhiman published The Routledge Companion to Mindfulness at Work

Dr. Satinder Dhiman, Associate Dean and MBA Chair, recently published a major reference work with Routledge (Taylor & Francis), titled, “The Routledge Companion to Mindfulness at Work” (September, 2020)

Given the ever-growing interest in the benefits of mindfulness to organizations and the individuals who work in them, this Companion is a comprehensive primary reference work for mindfulness (including creativity and flow) in the workplace, including business, healthcare, and educational settings.

The work consists of 34 chapters, contributed by 57 authors, and aims to serve as a vital resource to the fields of management and organizational studies, human resource management, psychology, spirituality, cultural anthropology, and sociology. Find out more about this book here.

Dr. Satinder Dhiman edited The Palgrave Handbook of Workplace Wellbeing 

Issued in two handsomely hard-bound volumes spanning over 1,500 pages, The Palgrave Handbook of Workplace Wellbeing, edited by Satinder Dhiman, is a seminal Major Reference Work that showcases the pioneer research of more than 90 management and leadership scholars and practitioners from the six continents. This handbook presents best practices in managing and leading the 21st century workforce in a concrete and practical way.  It represents the most comprehensive survey of workplace wellbeing to date. It offers strategies and tools to cultivate wellbeing in the present-day boundary-less work environment. This timely publication is particularly relevant during the post-Covid-19 times in garnering workplace well-being.

Research shows that organizations with higher levels of employee engagement routinely out-perform those with lower employee engagement. This handbook provides valuable insights into why employee well-being is such a powerful driver of employee performance and engagement and what organizations and leaders can do to enhance workplace well-being and fulfillment. It brings the research on workplace well-being up to date while precisely mapping its terrain and extending the scope and boundaries of this field in an inclusive and egalitarian manner.

You may enjoy reading the introductory chapter (front matter) by clicking here. 

Book Publication

Dr. Thuc-Doan Nguyen Published “Gender Gap in College Enrollment”  in the Major Springer Reference Work, “Encyclopedia of Business and Professional Ethics.

A brief excerpt:

Gender equality is a human right. Globally, the gender gap is favoring men. Women have less opportunity in economic participation, less access education, greater health and safety risks. Policies to fix the old gender gap in college enrollment, however, create the new gender gap. Regardless the advantages in higher education, women still face inferior social and economic status. Thus, research and policies to address the boy’s issues need to be done in a systematic way to avoid the return of the old gender gap.

Dr. Nguyen contributed a chapter, titled, “Making Work a Happy Practice,” in The Routledge Chapter PublicationCompanion To Happiness At Work.

Research shows clear interactions between work and life. Workplace satisfaction has proven to affect people’s well-being in life. Work can and should foster individual wellness. In the chapter, Dr. Nguyen elaborates on the following questions: 1) What is happiness and meaning in the workplace? 2) What brings happiness at work? and 3) How do we create working environments that bring meaning and happiness?

Woodbury University

Dr. Nguyen won a Faculty Development Grant for her project, “Traditional Fish Sauce Fermentation Knowledge and Practices.”

Nước mắm is a liquid condiment made from fish, coated in salt and fermented. While traditional nước mắm is extracted from fermented fish without any additives, industrial fish sauces are mixtures of the fish extract, water, preservatives, artificial flavors, and artificial colors. Increasingly, modern factories that produce industrial fish sauce are entering the market. Traditional fish sauce production is currently facing the risk of extinction. Using observation and in-depth interview methods, this project aims to study the roles of cultural identity, ethics and sustainability in food consumption and production. Findings will become the foundation for a promotion campaign to preserve an endangered cultural heritage as well as mobilize sustainable food consumption.

Dr. Joan Marques Edits and Co-Authors New Research Companion

In December 2021, Routledge Academic Publishers (Taylor & Francis Group) published “Business with a Conscience”, a new research companion, edited and co-authored by Dr. Joan Marques, Dean of the School of Business.

Adhering to the global trend of increased responsibility and evoking a constructive change in the narrative of business, this Research Companion serves as a critical reference work for business scholars and practitioners in various settings. It brings together sixty contributing scholars from multiple business areas, from a variety of cultures and locations of the world, in order to achieve the compilation of a 35-chapter long reference work that will find an expansive appeal.

Including insights from the broad business spectrum ranging from internal managerial practices to strategic applications, including international sensitivity, this volume highlights the urgency for increased awareness in business decision-making on all fronts.

Dr. Satinder Dhiman and Dr. Joan Marques Edit and Co-Author “Leadership After Covid-19″

Capturing the importance of effective leadership in a post-pandemic world in 32 insightful chapters, Dr. Dhiman and Dr. Marques collaborated with 48 scholars globally toward the creation of “Leadership After COVID-19: Working Together Toward a Sustainable Future.” This timely work was published by globally renowned academic publisher, Springer (2022) as part of the Future of Business and Finance book series.

This collective effort was inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has permanently changed lives around the world with no dimension of life and leadership having been spared from its wrath. The initiators of this work were aware that the pandemic also stirred us into thinking about novel approaches to lead organizations and societies toward a shared, sustainable future.

As a result, this book offers novel perspectives on leadership and change management after the COVID-19 pandemic that take us beyond striving for thriving—perspectives that are grounded in emergent theory, research, and practice. It highlights sustainable leadership and change management strategies to effectively deal with unpredictable and rapidly changing situations—particularly in a world that is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA). This book also highlights engaging perspectives by specialists from different disciplines such as business, psychology, education, and health care. It serves as a practical guide in identifying and responding to leadership challenges and opportunities in each of the four VUCA categories of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity—and how they affect businesses, organizations, and societies as a whole.

 

Innovative Leadership in Times of Compelling Changes: Strategies, Reflections, and Tools

Coordinated and edited by Dr. Joan Marques, this book entails 22 chapters, written by 33 management scholars from around the globe.

This peer-reviewed work, published in November 2021 by global academic powerhouse Springer focuses on the need of leaders in professional and personal realms to understand the importance of innovative thinking to safeguard sustainability and enhance satisfaction and motivation among stakeholders in organizations.

It provides professionals with a set of reflective stances, cautionary points, and roadmaps that enable them to do the right thing. From crisis management to spiritual practices, and from pro-social concepts to social responsibility and sustainability: the common denominator is a collective and concerted effort to develop leadership behaviors and strategies to safeguard generations to come.

Leading with Awareness: A Roadmap for Awakened Leaders

Dr. Joan Marques, Dean at Woodbury University’s School of Business, recently released her new single-authored book, Leading with Awareness, published through Routledge (Taylor & Francis), one of the world’s large publishing houses for professional and academic books.

Presenting the essentials of awakened leadership through 50 contemplative branches, this text is a revolutionary, yet sensible leadership manual, that takes the reader from self-reflection to interaction, touching on internal and external factors that influence business decision-making.

The book is designed to expand awareness within those who presently lead or aspire to lead. One can only lead others responsibly having understood how to lead the self, becoming an “awakened leader.” Awakened leaders stay true to their values but are very much aware that life and business are continuous processes of growth and change—an awareness more critical than ever in today’s VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world. Awakened leaders recognize that these constant changes are calls to regular reflection, enabling greater empathy, understanding, and ultimately, improved decision-making. Read more here.

Exploring Gender at Work: Multiple Perspectives – A New Anthology

Dr. Joan Marques, Dean of the School of Business at Woodbury University, edited and co-authored an anthology titled, “Exploring Gender at Work: Multiple Perspectives,” in collaboration with 39 scholars from 13 countries. This timely work, published by globally renowned Palgrave MacMillan, consists of 23 chapters and reviews the phenomenon of gender and its many manifestations of equality.

This collective project aims to increase awareness and justice in academic and professional environments, as it addresses long-standing and ongoing social problems, such as discrimination, stereotyping, prejudice, as well as a plethora of societal and industry influences that sustain the trend of gender imbalance. Spanning a broad scope in time, backgrounds, and implementation, this anthology addresses a variety of approaches including a historical overview, contemporary gender-based issues, gender approaches across the disciplines, and cultural influences. Readers are confronted with existing biases as they process topics related to gender communication differences, stereotypes, tensions and resistances, assigned social roles, transgenderism, non-binary identities, tension fields between equality and equity, relational aggression, and more. Read more here. 

Dr. Joan Marques published The Routledge Companion to Happiness at Work

Dr. Joan Marques, Dean of the School of Business published a major reference work with Routledge (Taylor & Francis), titled, “The Routledge Companion to Happiness at Work” (Nov.’20)

An unprecedented and important reference work, this research companion covers a range of aspects of happiness, an aim everyone aspires to achieve, yet can be easily overlooked in today’s demanding and multi-challenged world, or confused with a plethora of quantifiable or career goals.

The work consists of 31 chapters, contributed by 51 authors, and aims to help readers internalize happiness, form a healthy opinion about this emotion, and detach it from external factors that can only cause temporary discomfort or delight. This companion will be valuable for researchers, students, and coaches, whether they seek input for future theory development, or motivation for performance in personal and professional life. Find out more about this book here.

Dr. Adam Wood Co-Authored Accepted Western Academy of Management Paper 

“The Rise of Vietnamese Firms: A Strategic Profile of Vingroup” is the title of a recent paper, co-authored by Associate Professor Adam Wood. The paper, which was a collaboration with scholars A. Camillo and I. Camillo, has been formally accepted for presentation at the Western Academy of Management, an event that was cancelled due to Covid-19, but will now be published in the Academy’s annual proceedings.

In this paper, the authors intended to determine the future success of Vingroup and its contribution to Vietnam’s economic success. Specifically, they aimed to determine whether the dynamic growth of Vingroup could lead to a successful and sustainable global competitive advantage and lead it to position itself as an economic power to support Vietnam’s national economic growth. Preliminary results shown in a four-year trend analysis ending in 2018 indicate that the firm is financially stable, going concern, and solvent.

Dr. Paul Sabolic Embarks on New Major Labor Agreement Project

Dr. Paul Sabolic, Visiting Associate Professor, School of Business

Dr. Paul Sabolic’s consulting team was recently selected to manage the Project Labor Agreement for the construction and improvements to the Los Angeles County Harbor/UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California. The $4,000,000,000 construction project is estimated to run for roughly five years.  The project was sanctioned by the Los Angeles County Community Workforce Development Department.

The consulting team, consisting of Sabolic and colleagues Mark Johnson, Jeffery Henderson, and Ivory Anderson, is a nationally recognized Labor Relations company with a collective experience of 100+ years among its members. Together this team has negotiated and administered labor agreements and/or community outreach for more than 100 projects nationally (40 in the county of Los Angeles) in excess of $100 billion.

The entire article can be found here.

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In addition to our majors, the School of Business also offers minors that are meant to help broaden students’ areas of expertise. The School of Business offers two 15-unit minors and two 18-unit minors:

  • Computer Information Systems
  • Fashion Marketing
  • Management
  • Marketing

For students majoring in a program that is not Business, our minors provide the foundations of a business education that will help provide the student with versatility to become a leader in their field. For students majoring in a School of Business program, these minors will help broaden their knowledge of the business world.

Learn more about our minors

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Thinking About a DBA?

Woodbury University’s School of Business hosts the Executive Doctorate of Business Administration degree from Grenoble Ecole de Management. The degree is delivered by Grenoble Ecole de Management and most of the workshops take place on the Woodbury campus.

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Accreditations:

AACSB International: The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
ACBSP: Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs
WSCUC: Western College and University Commission (formerly WASC)

 

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