Graduate Certificate in Competitive Intelligence

This course provides an overview of intelligence analysis. It first explores the nature of human thought processes: why we think the way we do, and the many analytical, perceptual, and cognitive errors we frequently make in conducting our own analysis. The student is also provided a foundation from which to understand and conduct critical analysis. With this foundation, students are then given a series of historical case studies to examine and analyze.

The course focuses on both U.S. and foreign aspects of counterintelligence, including the history and evolution of counterintelligence, the differences between passive and active CI measures, principles and processes of counterintelligence and its relationship to covert action, the ethics of counterintelligence, and the evaluation of CI successes and an estimate of the damage caused by failures. The student will develop a comprehensive knowledge of the use and practices of counterintelligence, especially in protecting homeland security and national security interests against foreign adversaries. Additionally, the collection process and the changes for the future in the infusion of CI technology will be discussed.

This course is a study and analysis of international threats to security. It focuses on a variety of aspects related to both U.S. and foreign threat analysis and action, including the evolution of responses to threats, perspectives on threat action since World War II, principles of threat analysis and response, and assessments of successes and failures of such actions. The student will develop a comprehensive knowledge of threat analysis, how intelligence agencies in the U.S. assess and counter international threats in order to guard U.S. global interests and protect U.S. national security from adversaries, and how various threats affect national security policy and decision-making.

This course examines the area of business law and applies it to the business environment. Traditional topics covered include: the legal environment of business, contract law, property, sales contracts, commercial paper, agency law, ethics and the regulatory environment. The course also examines the issue of the global economy from the view that the largest companies dominate in the creation of jobs and technological innovation.

This course is a study of the major corporate finance and financial management theory, strategy, processes, functions, and other issues. Topics include the finance function, concepts of sources and uses of funds, analysis and estimation of need for funds (short- and long-term), short-term sources, working capital management policy, long-term sources, capital structure policy and implementation, capital budgeting and the cost of capital. Students must have access to Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel software.

This course provides the student with an introduction to the methods and techniques of criminal intelligence analysis and strategic organized crime. The rapid increase in multinational analysis and transnational organized crime, corporate drug trafficking organizations, and the impact of crime on national and international policy has created a critical need for law enforcement intelligence experts in the relatively new field of criminal intelligence. The course shows how to use criminal intelligence analysis to predict trends, weaknesses, capabilities, intentions, changes, and warnings needed to dismantle criminal organizations. This course provides knowledge needed by law enforcement professionals at the federal, state, and local level, by criminal intelligence analysts working in private industry, and by military intelligence personnel making a transition from a military to a law enforcement career. The course provides a background of the use of intelligence to dismantle criminal organizations and businesses. This course emphasizes criminal/law enforcement intelligence, as opposed to criminal investigation.

This course provides an overview of the analysis of political leaders. It explores various political psychological approaches to studying leaders to include biographies, psychoanalysis, traits, characteristics and motivations. Examples of specific political leaders are discussed throughout the course to offer the student a broad knowledge of world leaders. The course also provides students with a solid foundation from which to conduct their independent analysis of political leaders.

This course will examine cybercrime and the legal, social and technical issues cybercrime presents. With a multi-disciplinary perspective, we will focus on ways information technology is used to commit crimes, investigative techniques used to discover the crimes, and the challenges involved in prosecuting cybercrimes These challenges include jurisdictional issues, application of traditional laws to cybercrimes, and privacy issues encountered during prevention, investigation and prosecution.

This course provides a framework for understanding and protecting against industrial espionage. It reviews the history of industrial espionage, current methods of information elicitation, and explores counterespionage options to defend organizations. Students will also learn how companies place their proprietary and protected information at risk as well as how to prevent unwanted information disclosure. Topics such as the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 and operational counterintelligence are covered. The purpose of the course is to teach how to recognize and neutralize serious threats to both business and government entities.