INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS (B101)

Class syllabus

Instructor: D. Mark Nygren Email: Office: Smith Building- Room 208A (Available by appointment)
Phone: 496-1846
Text:Contemporary Business (by Boone and Kurtz)
Credits:3 Semester hours

Course Description

An overview of all functions of business, including human resource management, production, marketing, accounting, finance, and international business. Exposure to principles applicable in both small and big business settings. Designed to give the student exposure to the various career opportunities in business.

Course Objectives

Each student will be able to:

  1. Explain the role of business in the economic and social development of the community, nation and the world.
  2. Examine the entrepreneur option of running and starting a business.
  3. Analyze the fundamentals of management, marketing, and finance.
  4. Examine how quality, teamwork, communication, and customer service are essential in business.
  5. Identify and use common business terms jargon for each functional area of business.
  6. Develop a set of personal business career options.
  7. Apply business ethics and social responsibility.

Grading Components

Evaluation:Grades will be based on the following point system.1205 possible

READING ASSESSMENT EXAMS (4) ------400 points

Reading assessment exams are intended to test you on the chapter readings. Class lecture will cover some text material with emphasis on personal experience. The Exams will be conducted in the testing center and will cover topics from the text reading. All exams are subject to changes in dates or number of exams given.

FINAL EXAM------100 points

There will be a comprehensive Final over the entire course chapter readings. The exam will be given on scheduled time and date in the testing center. The final will consist of 100 questions worth one point each.

PERSONAL AND TEAMBUILDINGACTIVITIES------80 points

During the semester, you will have the opportunity to participate in some personal and team-building activities. Please make every effort to participate and contribute to these activities. These activities are intended to help you become a better person, have fun, and learn the value of teamwork and leadership, which are valuable skills in the world of business. Each activity is worth 20 pointsand includes written one page personal essay and may also include a team building assignment. Please print out the Personal and Team Building Activitiesassignment sheet from my webpage that explains these assignments in detail.

ORAL & WRITTEN RESEARCHPRESENTATION------75 points

Your team must seek out asingle business topic that relates to your assigned chapter in the text. Do not try to cover the entire chapter in your research. Some possible resources might be magazines, business journals, government publications, or other books related to your subject matter. Some additional resources you might consider are Proquest, Academic Abstract, and Newsbank. These can be found on the library webpage under internet resources. Your team should submit a three-five pagetyped paper, double-spaced on your topic with a listing of sources. Please include a copy of any articles or resources you used to compile your research paper as well.Find a topic from your assigned chapter that would be interesting and informative to the class. Refer to your class schedule for the date and chapter your team will be presenting.

Each team will also have the opportunity to share an oral, 20-minute presentation on their research paper. Please plan on presenting a professional presentation that incorporates a WOW FACTOR. This should include a class activity, skit, role-play, panel, game, or some fun way to involve the class. Just a power point presentation will not be acceptable. Get Creative and involve the class!!

BUSINESS SEMINAR PAPER------40 points

Each semester there will be various executives and entrepreneurs coming to speak on campus. You will be required to attend one or more of these seminars and submit a one page, double-spaced typed summary of what you learned and plan to apply from the presentation. I will inform you on what event to attend.Your paper will be due the first class period following the Business Event.

B101SELECTEDREADINGS PAPER------150 points

You will be responsible for five two page typed double-spacedreadingsfound on my webpage, Jesus Christ the Perfect Leader, Corporate Culture, True Blue,Bednar’s Talk, and Nothing Shall Be Withheld. Each article is worth 30 points. Your paper should include a summary of what you got out of the article and how you plan to apply some of the key points in your personal life

CAREER EXPLORATIONASSESSMENT…………………………100 Points

One of the main purposes of B101 is to allow students the opportunity to explore various career opportunities in business. This project is to encourage you to begin the process of networking with people in the field of business, particularly in your area of interest. Using the career exploration center on the text webpage,the text prologue, and interviewing individuals in a field of interest, you will complete the career exploration assessment assignment. This will be due at the end of the semester as indicated on the class schedule. Pleaseprint out the careerexplorationassessment sheeton my webpagethat explains this assignment.

CHAPTER READINGS AND PARTICIPATION……………………180 Points

You will be responsible for reading each chapter. You will also have the opportunity to earn up to 10 points per chapter forparticipation and reading it. Please draw upon the text webpage for PowerPoint slides, review quizzes, and additional management topics. These resources will be additional help to prepare you for the exams and give you additional information. Please complete the reading self evaluation on each chapter. This is found on the grade tracking sheet on my webpage. Please print outthe grade tracking sheet on my webpage,to keep track of all your scores. You will turn in your grade tracking sheet at the end of the semester for your final grade.

HARVARD CASES…………………………………………………...... 80 Points

You will be responsible for reading 5 Harvard Cases related to business management. Please read them and prepare a short summary of the key points you got out of the case. It will be due on the date indicated on the class schedule.

Grading Scale:

93% - 100% = A / 80% - 82.9% = B- / 67% - 69.9% = D+
90% - 92.9% = A- / 77% - 79.9% = C+ / 63% - 66.9% = D
87% - 89.9% = B+ / 73% - 76.9% = C / 60% - 62.9% = D-
83% - 86.9% = B / 70% - 72.9% = C- / below 60.0% = F

Class Policies and Important Points

1. No assignment will be accepted late. You need to learn to be responsible and complete your assignments on time. If an assignment is late due to a medical emergency or family tragedy, leave a message on my telephone and I will work with you. Trips home, etc. are not excuses for late work unless emergencies exist, so plan accordingly. You may turn work in early if you are planning to miss a class. There will be a 50% reduction on any late assignments

2. The Code of Honor and Dress & Grooming standards apply and will be enforced.

3. Plan on taking the final exam at the date and time indicated on the schedule. Check travel plans now. I cannot accommodate everyone who wants to leave early.

4. If you have a diagnosed disability, or believe you have a disability that may require reasonable accommodation on the part of BYU-Idaho, please call 1-800-we-care to make an appointment with Red Taylor, Director at the center for students with disabilities. "In compliance with the applicable disability law, qualified students with a disability may be entitled to 'reasonable accommodation.' It is the student's responsibility to disclose to the SSD office any special needs he/she may have and to provide the appropriate documentation of the disability. The SSD office is located inside the LearningAssistanceCenter, McKay Library 1st floor."

5. The emphasis in this course will be on material discussed in class; therefore, attendance is very important. Because the course will be conducted primarily on a discussion basis, it is very important that the student read the text and other materials so that he or she is prepared to participate in class discussions.

6. Learning outside the classroom: What happens out of the class can be as important, or more important than what happens in the class. For every hour of class, you should spend 3 to 6 hours a week in out-of-class learning activities. Learn to Love Learning!

7. Attendance Policy: One of the most important parts of your grade and certainly what you get out of the class will be your attendance. We both have the responsibility to be active participants in the classroom. If your not here, we all miss out!! Attendance will affect your grade as follows:

1-2 absences = no grade drop / 5-6 absences=2 grade drop
3-4 absences = l grade drop / 7 or more = F grade

8. Learning Styles: We all have different learning styles. It is challenging to hit every ones Hot Button every time we meet. As a teacher, you can interest all of your students some of the time; you can interest some of your students all of the time; but you can't interest all of your students all of the time.

STANDARD CODE OF CONDUCT

DEMAND THE HIGHEST ETHICAL STANDARDS FROM YOURSELF. The collaborative and team oriented nature in this class means that there are many group projects both in and out of class. It is inevitable that you will have opportunities to hand in work that is not your own. Remember when these opportunities present themselves that you are being trusted and challenged to uphold the highest standards of ethical behavior. We want you to learn from your experiences in this class and at BYU-I in general, that you need to be able to trust each other and yourself to make the ethical decision. Accordingly, cheating, plagiarism, and other cases of intellectual dishonesty will not be tolerated, and will be referred to the judicial board for review.

TAKE PRIDE IN YOUR WORK. Business leaders know that everything they present to the public reflects on them and their organization. Long-term success comes only to companies and individuals who produce the highest quality products and services, and deliver them in a timely fashion. Every paper, presentation, and project is an expression of the pride you take in yourself and your work. Make every effort to write well, meet deadlines, and take the time to make both the format and the content of your work of the highest quality. This may mean writing one more draft, double checking spelling and grammar, or reviewing overheads and practicing your presentation one more time.

  • Be On Time - Professional behavior means being on time for classes, appointments, and meetings. Furthermore, it means staying there once you have arrived. Just as you wouldn’t leave the middle of a business meeting in order to get a soda, you shouldn’t disrupt a class by leaving in the middle for a drink, chat or to pick up your e-mail.
  • Be Prepared - Unprepared managers have very short careers (or end up in dead-end jobs). To succeed, you need to prepare for each class session. Nothing shows less respect for others than making them wait while you do something you were supposed to have done in advance. If you don’t prepare and try, instead, to “fake it,” you run the risk of looking foolish and wasting everyone’s time with irrelevant comments.
  • Show Some Respect - Professionalism also means being civil to those with whom you disagree (and perhaps dislike). In business, often find that you must work with people with conflicting opinions or personal styles. Your ability to work with, tolerate, and effectively interact with these individuals is critical to your success. Finally, you demonstrate a lack of respect for your colleagues or professors when you engage in private discussions while course or meeting business is in progress. Do not study for another class, surf the internet, text message during my class, read the Scroll, or any other activity that is rude and offensive during my class.
  • Get Involved - Professionalism means keeping up with the discussion. It means making a contribution. Not everything you say has to be deadly serious, however. As long as it fits, its okay, even desirable, to inject a little humor once in a while. Just make sure it isn’t mean and doesn’t step on anybody’s toes.

John A. Widsoe on Education:

To be merely mentally trained is to be only partly trained. The man whose mind only has been trained may be likened to the ship with great engines and a huge propeller, ready to drive the ship forward, but without rudder, chart, compass, or definite destination. When we add to the man, so trained, spiritual training, then it is as if we add to the ship, with its wonderful machinery, a compass, a chart, a rudder, and a dependable intelligence which controls the whole machinery, above and below deck, so that the vessel may reach a safe haven, according to a definite purpose.

Joseph Smith Jr. on Doing it Right:

"If we start right, it is easy to go right all of the time; but if westart wrong, we may go wrong, and it can be a hard matter to get it right."

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