BUAD 101 Introduction to Business

Syllabus (Online)

Instructor Information

Name	Pollis Robertson
E-mail Address	robertsonp@kellogg.edu

Office

Campus	Kellogg Community College
Office	C256
Office Phone	269-965-4121 Ext. 2506
Fax	269-565-2033

Class Information

Beginning Date	01/13/2007
Number of Weeks	16
Meeting Times/Location	Online

Course Description

 A survey course analyzing business organization and management in the areas of marketing, finance, human resources, electronic commerce, and operations management. Emphasis is placed upon developing a vocabulary of business terminology and acquainting the student with careers and opportunities in business. Cases and current events related to business practices are utilized.

Textbooks

1. Nickles, McHugh and McHugh, . Understanding Business 2005, . Edition: 4t . Publisher: McGraw Hill/Irwin . Year: 2005.

Program Outcomes

A.	Explain theoretical and practical understanding of concepts, models, and techniques associated with different business disciplines.
B.	Network effectively with others in situations requiring teambuilding, leadership, change, and negotiation.
C.	Assess customer needs and develop effective approaches to customer service.
D.	Determine responsibilities of community members and the use of ethics as an integral feature of personal, social, and professional considerations.
E.	Summarize and communicate ideas, observations, analyses, conclusions, and recommendations to others in a variety of professional contexts.
F.	Evaluate and access information to interpret, summarize, synthesize and convey this information to others using state of the art information retrieval, analysis, and presentation software and equipment.
G.	Interpret and analyze business situations by using measurement systems and frameworks from relevant business functional areas to identify and solve problems. Effectively operate in unstructured situations, self-managed learning and career development.

Core Abilities

A.	Demonstrate critical thinking skills in gathering, analyzing, interpreting facts, and problem solving using scientific inquiry.
B.	Evaluate knowledge of the implications of being a citizen in a global community.

Competencies

1.	Demonstrate an understanding of the concepts, principles, and operation of the private enterprise system.
2.	Contrast the major economic systems in businesses throughout the world.
3.	Identify the various types of businesses that comprise the business scene, the roles they play, the strengths they have and their observable similarities and differences.
4.	Describe the various legal forms of business ownership such as sole proprietorship, partnership and corporation the nature of each, the processes involved in creating each and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
5.	Demonstrate the need for management in business organizations and the role of management in developing an organizational structure, acquiring human resources and creating a supportive work environment.
6.	Demonstrate an understanding of the marketing function and describe the concepts and processes involved in designing product strategy, promotional strategy, distribution strategy, and pricing strategy.
7.	Describe the importance of and the role of the financial management function and illustrate the concepts and processes involved in managing the acquisition and allocation of short- and long-term funds.
8.	Illustrate the risk management functions and describe the concepts, processes and strategies involved in managing risk in a business.
9.	Demonstrate an understanding of the information management functions and describe the concepts and processes involved in creating and utilizing a management information system.
10.	Examine the competitive challenges facing a business and the business community because of the impact of the external and internal environments because of such factors as new technology, global competition, demographic shifts, and governmental regulations.
11.	Illustrate the importance of business ethics and social responsibility to businesses long-term success and society's well being.
12.	Demonstrate an understanding of the major characteristics of the digital economy

Learning Objectives:

Learning objectives for each chapter are available on Blackboard for each chapter.

Methods of Achieving Goals:

Class content related to the chapter’s learning objectives is presented in on-line written lectures and multimedia presentations. Feedback Quizzes to assess mastery of learning objectives for each chapter is presented

Skill development emphasis is modeled after the SCANS (Secretary's Committee on Acquiring Necessary Skills) requirements. On-line group discussion forums to help students improve the following skills: Critical thinking, Communications, Diversity appreciation, Business Ethics/Values, and Organizational Business Decision-making.

The course consists of six discussion-forum assignments as follows:

Assignment #1

Introductory assignment, Purposes: (1) To have students to practice using the basic features in Blackboard. (2) To establish basic netiquette guidelines for the course. (3) To have students introduce themselves to class members using the discussion board features in Blackboard.

Assignments #2 – #6, are based on the Boxed Material as indicated below.

1. Spotlight on Small Business (Examples of current issues relating to Small Businesses.)

2. Legal Brief (Examples of Laws affect business decisions)

3. Dealing with Change (Examples of the dynamics issues that businesses must face and how they respond to these changes.)

4. Making Ethical Decisions (Examples ethical dilemmas to give student practice at making business decisions.)

5. Reaching beyond Our Borders (Illustrations of how Global business is commonplace in today’s organizations.)

6. Case for chapter (The selected chapter case is used to give students practice at making business decisions.)

The main goals of these assignments are to provide the opportunity for students to practice applying the major concepts that were presented in each assigned unit of the course and to provide feedback about each of the assignments from the instructor and other students in the course. Please refer to the “Weekly Schedule of Activities – Course at a Glance” for the course to see how the discussion forums are dispersed throughout the course.

Special emphasis is place on students being able to understand and use important business terms that are presented in each chapter.

I am recommending that you log into and work on the course a minimum of 90 minutes three times each week.

CAUTION!!! If you find that this course is not what you expected and you just don't like it. Please call me (269-965-4121- ext 2506) or e-mail me to discuss what we can do.  However, if you elect to do nothing in the course, you will receive a failing grade.

Derivation of Grade:

Quizzes and Tests

Two tests, midterm and final, will be given covering material in the text and from class discussions based on the assigned learning objectives. Tests will consist of a combination of essay, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and true/false questions. (Students will be required to take the midterm and the final tests at the test center that is most convenient.) The midterm test will counts as 25 %, and the final test will also count as 25%. There will be one multiple choice quiz for each assigned chapter. There will be five essay quizzes covering each of the main sections in the text. The questions will be very similar to the test questions. The quizzes are designed to give students immediate feedback about how well they have mastered the learning objectives for the chapter and to practice for the midterm and final tests. The quizzes will be given on-line and will count as 25 % of the final grade. You must take all of the quizzes that are included on the Midterm test prior to the midterm test date. Credit for these quizzes will not be given after the Midterm.

Assignment-Discussion Forums

There are six discussion forums as indicated above. Students are expected to actively participate in these group discussions to reinforce the concepts presented in the text. The group discussions will count as 20% of your grade. You must participate in the on-line group discussion to get the points. Participation on-line means that you must be prepared by doing the off-line readings/or Internet preparation and responding a minimum of three times (Your initial posting, and responding two different individuals’ postings in each assigned on-line discussion forum. It is very important to notice that your responses must be posted within the allotted time frame as specified in the assignment instructions. Points will be deducted if you failed to respond to the assignment within the allotted time.

Stock Portfolio Assignment

Students will be given an imaginary $10,000.00 to invest in the stock market for 10 weeks. The criterion is to find no more than three stocks to invest the $10,000.00. You must present a three page maximum summary of why you chose to invest in the particular stock. In addition, you must use the Internet to establish your stock portfolio and show the stock performance in a trend chart for the year prior to your ten weeks investment period. In addition, you must show the stock performance for the ten-week period that you owned the stock. Your report must show the price per share, the number of shares purchased the date of purchase, the ending value of your stock (after the ten weeks) and your total net gain or loss. (Detailed instructions will be provided for this assignment in the Assignment Area in Blackboard. Also, part of the Discussion Forum assignment #3 will provide an opportunity for student to practice establishing a computer generated stock portfolio.)

Final grade is based on an averaging of the above elements as follows:

Item	Activities	Points	Percentages
Assignment Discussion Forum	6	250	20
Online Multiple choice Quizzes	16	160	16
Online Essay Quizzes	5	90	9
Midterm Test	1	200	25
Final Test	1	200	25
Stock Portfolio Investment	2	50	5
Total	25	1000	100

Grading Scale

A	94 - 100%
A-	90 - 93%
B+	87 - 89%
B	83 - 86%
B-	80 - 82%
C+	77 - 79%
C	73 - 76%
C-	70 - 72%
D+	67 - 69%
D	63 - 66%
D-	60 - 62%
F	< - 60%

Guidelines and Information Attendance Requirement Attendance Requirements:

"Timeliness" is a valuable asset to take to the job marketplace. The Department of Business has on-time attendance, on-time assignment completion, and on-time make-up examinations as priority items in the development of course requirements and evaluations. In this course these issues of timeliness are addressed as follows:

Regular class attendance and class participation are necessary for successful completion of this course. A student who does not attend regularly will normally experience considerable difficulty. While attendance will not directly be a major consideration in the determination of the final course grade, it will be used to influence the grade in marginal situations.

If you are absent from a class session, it is your responsibility to become fully familiar with any information presented during that session. You are responsible for all assignments made during your absence.

When repeated or extended absence reaches levels where successful completion of the course is jeopardized, an "excessive absence" report will be made to the counseling staff. An attempt is then made to contact the student to resolve any problems.

Missed or later assignments Make-up Policy.
Each assignment will specify the due date and the penalty for late or missed assignment. Exams and quizzes must be taken as listed in the weekly schedule of activities for the course. In the events of emergencies or documented situations beyond the student or the instructor's control, makeup examines or quizzes will be given on the week before the final exam date of the class.



Plagiarism or Cheating Policy
Plagiarism or cheating as referenced in the student handbook will be enforced in this class.

Withdrawal for refund date __________Withdrawal for Grade of W date _________

Missed or later assignments Make-up Policy. Each assignment will specify the due date and the penalty for late or missed assignment. Exams and quizzes must be taken as listed in the weekly schedule of activities for the course. In the events of emergencies or documented situations beyond the student or the instructor's control, makeup examines or quizzes will be given on the week before the final exam date of the class. If postings are not made to the discussion forum within the due date and the penalty phase, no credit will be given since the opportunity for feedback about the assignment will have past.

Extra Credit Opportunity Students maybe given the opportunity to earn up to 5% of their grade as extra credit.

Plagiarism or Cheating Policy Plagiarism or cheating as referenced in the student handbook will be enforced in this class.

ADA Statement: Kellogg Community College does not discriminate in the admission or treatment of students on the basis of disability. KCC is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the rehabilitation Act.

Disclaimer: Information contained in this syllabus was, to the best knowledge of the instructor, considered correct and complete when distributed for use at the beginning of the semester. However, this syllabus should not be considered a contract between Kellogg Community College and any student, nor between the instructor and any student. The instructor reserves the right, acting within the policies and procedures of Kellogg Community College, to make changes in course content, course policies, or instructional techniques without notice or obligation.