Complete MBA-516 or take concurrently.
Explore MBA with Positive Organization Development Specialization
As the pace and complexity of modern business environments grow, employers recognize the need for a new type of business professional: one who is more agile, reflective, can leverage one's own strengths and those of the team, and uses systems thinking to inform organizational decisions. Take the next step in your career and learn how to strategically affect change and drive organizational results with Champlain's online MBA in positive organization development.
This organizational development master’s degree program will train you to become a more effective champion of positive change management within your organization and gain a foundation in the philosophies, theories, applications, and practices of appreciative inquiry. This online MBA in organizational development program was developed in partnership with Champlain College's internationally renowned David L. Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry.
Build Your Career Future
As the business world becomes increasingly complex, today's business professionals must have a diverse skill set. These new business professionals must be agile and approach challenges with a systems-thinking mindset and, increasingly, must have a focused area of specialization.
A concentration in positive change management is a great way to highlight these in-demand skills and showcase subject matter expertise, as well as gain knowledge that can be applied to your workplace from day one. To earn the MBA with a certificate in positive organization development, complete the MBA core courses as well as the following: Foundations of Positive Organizational Development, Creating Cultures of Wellbeing, Advanced Applications of Appreciative Inquiry.
Take the next step
Academic Excellence and Recognition
Regionally accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.
Ranked among the Best MBA Programs in Vermont by University Headquarters
Designated as a Military Friendly School for our commitment to the military community
Named the Best Online Bachelor's Programs by U.S. News & World Report
What Can You Do With an MBA?
Master's degrees from accredited online MBA programs are in high demand in the business world, and employment in master’s-level occupations is projected to grow by 15% from 2019 to 2029. A master's degree also pays off: the median salary for professionals with a master's degree is $78,210.*
Additionally, the median salary for training and development professionals is $115,640 with roles of this nature expected to grow 7% from 2019 to 2029.*
*Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 2020; job titles: Monster, 2020
Top Organizational Development Occupations
- Change Management Specialist
- Training and Development Manager
- Training and Development Specialist
Program Details
Learn more about Champlain's 100% online MBA program with a specialization in healthcare administration, designed for working professionals.
MBA Course Descriptions
Champlain's online MBA courses encompass the top skills needed by today's business professionals.
MBA Required Courses (24 Credits)
Positive Organization Development Specialization Courses (9 Credits)
MBA Required Courses
Throughout history, technology provided opportunities for innovation, resulting in changes in business and society at a global scale. These technologies often disrupted business policies and processes, impacting jobs and organizational structures. Students examine how technological innovation is experienced in society and viewed over time and into the future by business people, philosophers, and sociologists. Students explore the question, How do we imagine that business, society and our place within will be affected as technology continues to advance?
Decision-making in any organization cannot be separated from financial considerations, and those involved with strategic planning and operations need to understand the impact their work has on the organization's financial performance. Managers must understand the organization's financial models in order to make a meaningful contribution to the overall success of the organization. Students will focus on using financial information rather than creating it and will use case studies and simulations to experience low-risk financial decision-making.
Prerequisites
The operation of an organization focus on the transformation processes used to produce goods or provide services. Develop the skills needed to ensure the ongoing strategic contribution of a firm's operations to its competitive position. Investigate design thinking and the impact it can have on the complex processes underlying the development and manufacture of products as well as the creation and delivery of services. Topics include process analysis and cross-functional and cross-firm integration as part of a strategic vision.
Students learn organization analysis from a holistic perspective. Financial reports and financial ratios are the basis for traditional organizational analysis and builds from that foundation into the analysis of customer, supplier and employee metrics. Focus is on the Balanced Scorecard and other holistic approaches.
Marketing has the power to shape and influence individuals, communities, and society in myriad ways. Technological innovation continues to change the way we market to consumers, and the ways in which consumers interact with products and services. In this course, students will explore and critically examine the impact of current issues and emergent technology on enhancing the customer experience while at the same time applying foundational marketing approaches to build strategies and tactics for an organization of their choosing.
Students use a framework to explore the dynamics of human interaction within and between organizations. Throughout the course, they will use a perspective that a key function of management is to negotiate for resources and use that perspective to develop collaborative relationships with employees, vendors, suppliers, and interested communities.
Students explore the development and execution of an innovative and imaginative business strategy for the future. They consider answers to questions such as, How do you identify an opportunity for a new business that meets an otherwise unmet need? What happens when an organization fails to change when faced with a challenge to their traditional model? How can you mitigate risk? What are the processes that organizations use to keep themselves focused on changing stakeholder requirements and needs?
This course is built around a project that is designed to apply, in a comprehensive manner, the core areas of knowledge around which the MBA has been built. The project may be performed for a current employer, a sponsoring workplace or as an internship as either a service-learning project for a qualifying nonprofit organization or another organization of the student's choosing.
Prerequisites
The MBA 590 Capstone course must be taken only after all other courses in the program have been completed.
Positive Organization Development (POD) is the intentional approach to change that emphasizes what elevates and inspires individuals and organizations. Whereas traditional approaches to change have focused on identifying and improving breakdowns and deficits within organizations, POD seeks to uncover positive deviance and assets and accelerate successes within a system. While not ignoring problems, students will explore how to create optimal organizational states by drawing upon the theory and science of Appreciative Inquiry, positive organizational scholarship, positive psychology, and sustainable enterprises.
Students will explore the theory and practice of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) as a specific philosophy and specific action-research framework for creating positive organizational change. Case studies will examine how AI has been applied in different sectors to create positive whole-system change. Students will be introduced to the practical tools and resources for engaging groups and organizations in AI, as well as applying the principles of AI to their own life.
Prerequisites
Take POD-500 or permission by program director
Employee wellbeing in organizations has been shown to impact not only individuals' mental health, but also their collaboration, engagement, productivity. Creating and sustaining a culture that supports the wellbeing of employees in today's continually disrupted and distributed workplace takes intentional design and commitment. This course is designed to provide students with not only the science behind wellbeing, but also practical tools and approaches for empowering organizations to cultivate an enduring culture of wellbeing.
Prerequisites
Take POD-500 or permission of Program Director.
In addition to developing advanced communication and analytical skills, and a strategic mindset, graduates of the MBA online program will demonstrate a mastery of the following industry-specific competencies:
- Strategic Decision-Making and Innovation: Develop and implement innovative strategies, leveraging technology and creative thinking to drive organizational growth and adaptability in rapidly changing business environments.
- Financial Acumen and Analysis: Use financial analyses to drive decision-making, assess the financial implications of business strategies and actions, and manage resources for organizational sustainability.
- Leadership and Ethics: Lead with integrity, embrace ethical considerations in decision-making, and manage diverse teams with a focus on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
- Integrated Business Perspective: Integrate business knowledge across functional areas, including marketing, finance, operations, and human resources, to make informed decisions that enhance overall organizational performance.
- Communication and Negotiation: Use proven communication and negotiation skills to effectively manage relationships with stakeholders, resolve conflicts, and articulate persuasive strategic visions.
Positive Organization Development Specialization Learning Outcomes
- Apply theories and methodologies of strength-based organization change including Appreciative Inquiry, positive psychology and positive organizational behavior to generate value within organizational systems.
- Develop strategic initiatives designed to create and sustain cultures of wellbeing within organizations
- Design and implement Appreciative Inquiry-based interventions to create generative change from interpersonal to whole-system level within organizations.
Champlain College Online's business faculty, led by Department Chair Dr. Albert Orbinati, are expert practitioners in the field. Their industry expertise ensures that our business management curriculum is aligned with the needs of employers, and reflects the skills today’s business professionals need for success. Classes led by our seasoned experts will give you real-world insight into the business world, and create a rich community of career-focused learning.
Alumni of the Champlain College Online MBA program work in corporations, small businesses, government organizations, and non-profits nationwide, including:
- Alliance Bank
- Ben & Jerry's
- Burton Snowboards
- Cabot Creamery
- City of Burlington
- Collins Aerospace
- Dealer.com/Cox Automotive
- Deloitte
- Fidelity Investments
- GE Healthcare
- Internal Revenue Service
- JP Morgan Chase
- Keurig Dr. Pepper
- MetLife
- Mylan Technologies
- National Life Group
- Northrop Grumman
- People's United Bank
- Social Security Administration (SSA)
- University of Vermont Health Network
- UTC Aerospace Systems
Titles our alumni hold include:
- Accountant
- Auditor
- Business Administrator
- Business Analyst
- Chief Engineer
- Chief of Staff
- Chief Operating Officer
- Claims Specialist
- Consultant
- Contract Specialist
- Financial Analyst
- Financial Manager
- Global Inventory Planner
- HR Specialist
- IT Auditor
- Management Analyst
- Program Analyst
- Program Officer
- Quality Assurance Analyst
- Sr. Software Engineering Manager
- Underwriting Analyst
Increasing your career mobility is at the center of everything we do. As an online master's degree student, you get free access to the Fast Start Formula Career Bundle for getting noticed and getting hired, taught by Jen Morris, a leading executive career coach that partners with us to support our students in their job search journeys.
Tuition & Costs
Graduate Tuition Fall '23 - Summer '25
*Based on a 3-credit course; cost will vary if course is a different number of credits
** Starting Summer 2024, not retroactive
See the graduate cost of attendance and fees here
Meet the Department Chair
Albert Orbinati, PhD
- Business (A.S., B.S., M.S., Certificates)
- Human Resource Management (B.S., Certificates)
- Leadership (M.S.)
- Management Information Systems (B.S.)
- Organization Development & Human Relations (M.S.)
About
Albert Orbinati, PhD, is Assistant Professor and Department Chair for the undergraduate and graduate business programs at Champlain College Online.
Prior to Champlain, Dr. Orbinati's roles have included Assistant Vice President of Online Learning and Continuing Education at Medaille University in Buffalo, NY; Dean of the School of Professional and Continuing Education at Russell Sage College in Albany, NY; and Director of Online and Non-Traditional Programs at Utica University in Utica, NY. In addition to his career in higher education, Albert is a member of the U.S. military, and currently holds the rank of Major in the Vermont Air National Guard.
Dr. Orbinati holds a B.A. in Urban Planning from Binghamton University, an M.A. in Adult Education from Central Michigan University, an M.B.A from Champlain College, and a Ph.D. in Adult Education from Capella University.
Why Champlain
Online Experience
"I did not expect my online classes to be so collaborative or to have such constant engagement. One might think the traditional classroom approach would have more of those things, but I found them be even more present in Champlain's online format."
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