RequiredText:

Madura, J. (1998). Introduction To Business. Cincinnati, OH: Southwestern College Publishing.

Foundations of Business Administration (BU 113) concentrates on the management, finance and marketing functions of business organizations. The specific course objectives include:

An introduction to basic business concepts through lectures, readings, assignments, group work and class discussions;

Exposure to the classical and contemporary thinking in business;

The opportunity to develop and improve skills in three areas: business writing, business presentations and working in groups.

Course Structure:

This will be a team-taught course. Class will meet in large group sessions for basic lecture material and periodically will also meet in smaller groups for discussions, activities and presentations. There will be both group and individual assignments. Students are responsible for both reading and lecture material.

Resume and cover letter. Each student must prepare a resume showing his/her personal experience and qualifications for a selected job position, as well as an accompanying cover letter (5%).

Run a group business. Each team will be required to select a product and sell it for about three weeks during the semester. The product can either be a physical good or a service. The team will develop a marketing strategy, market the product and keep financial records of the business. Assignments associated with this business will include the following:

Business Plan and marketplace evaluation of business. Each team will submit a business plan (single spaced), along with a management, marketing and finance plan, describing the nature of their business concept, an evaluation of the performance of the business during the marketplace activity, and a description of how they plan to develop their business. The revised resumes of each team member should be attached (8%).

Report to shareholders. Each team will submit a comprehensive memo reviewing the success of the team business from a marketing, financial and management perspective, and also present this to the class. The analysis should include suggestions for improving the business (9%).

Note that each company will be required to issue stock in their company to investors. Each student in the class will be required to be an investor, and the class as a whole represents the investment community. Students must invest at a minimum $1.

Team evaluation. Each student will prepare a 2-page memo evaluating the functioning of his/her team as a whole, as well as individual evaluations of each team member using the evaluation form provided. Each team member therefore will receive constructive feedback on his/her performance and corrective action can be taken to improve the individual and team performance (6%).

Ethics memo. Each student will attend an on-campus lecture and will prepare a written reflection of an ethical issue facing business today. This memo should integrate material from the text (Chapter 3) and include the student’s personal thoughts on the issue (6%).

Finance Application Memo and Presentation. Each group of students will prepare a financial review of two publicly traded companies based on publicly available information about the companies. The group will then prepare a 2-page memo (single-spaced) as well as a presentation to the class using appropriate visual aids (9%).

Site Visit Memos/Presentations. Each group of students will meet with a real company two times during the semester to research issues relating to the organizational structure and marketing strategy of the company. A written memo and class presentation summarizing each site visit is required (12%).

Exams: There will be four exams, including the final exam. The exams during the semester will not be cumulative, but they will cover both lecture and reading material; the final exam may be somewhat cumulative (32%).

World Wide Web Exercise: Each student will complete and submit answers to a web-based assignment (6%).

Note: Where applicable, all memos should include a copy of the PowerPoint slides used in the related presentation.

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