Term 2, Jan 2009
Decision Making 1
COMM 101 (06) & (08)
Course Outline
Section 06T-Th 1:00 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.Lecture Room: 46 Commerce
Section 08 T-Th 2:30 p.m. - 3:40 p.m.Lecture Room: 46 Commerce
Professor: Colin Boyd
Office: Commerce Room 151
Office Hours: M-W 2:00 – 4.00; drop-ins or appointments at other times welcomed
Phone: 966-8436
E-mail:
The PAWS e-mail system for this class has been disabled. If you wish to send a message to other members of your class, then please send it to me so that I can forward it. E-mail, and the course web page (listed below) will be the main means of out-of-class communications. Note: e-mails sent from external ISPs such as Yahoo, Hotmail or Shaw will be automatically quarantined in a spam mail-box by the University’s e-mail system. Your e-mail may thus never be read, as I get over 150 spam e-mails a day. To send e-mails to faculty members and other students within the University you should only ever use your account.
Dept Secretary: Madeleine George, Commerce Room 171, phone: 966-8449.
My web site: Boyd/
Class web site: Boyd/Comm101/Jan09COMM101.html
Note: login ID is “usask\” followed by your NSID. E.g. usask\abc123
Your password for your own NSID is required to access the page.
Don’t enter anything in the “domain” box on the login.
Text:note that this text is not the same as the text used in other sections of 101
The Future of Business,2nd Edition By N. Althouse, S. Rose, L. Allan, L. J. Gitman, and C. McDaniel, ISBN-10: 0176252525, 652 Pages, 2008, Published by Nelson.This text has a student resources web site, located at
Course Description and Purpose:
The focus of this course is on integrated organizational decision making. To achieve this, students will examine case studies requiring an integrated analysis across six disciplines (accounting, finance, human resources, management/strategy, marketing and operations) over the four stages of an organizational life-cycle (start-up, growth, maturity and revitalization) as an organization’s activities shift from strategic exploration to exploitation and back to exploration again.
Learning Objectives:
- To introduce the concept of organizations and their role in society
- To provide an understanding of internal organizational functions
- To expose the nature of Canadian business and its role in a diverse global economy
- To apply business concepts using the case method
- To understand the breadth and depth required for organizational decision making
- To apply both quantitative and qualitative business analysis tools
- To develop a sense of business ethics and social responsibility
- To identify current business events and interpret potential consequences
- To learn the value of leadership and business strategy
- To recognize the importance of adapting organizations to change
Instruction Method:
The class is presented in aninteractive lecture format. It will follow topics presented in the textbook, with additional information presented by the instructor. PowerPoint slides will be used to introduce theories and to guide and provoke class discussions. These will be interspersed with videos and visits to Internet web sites of interest, and with discussions about specific business cases. Electronic copies of the slides will be made available to students beforehand so they may have the option of printing off slides, thereby reducing the amount of note-taking required in each class. Some required information will not be included in the slides, so it is important that students attend and pay attention to each presentation and discussion.
The class will also deal with current events as they evolve over the term, with the instructor illustrating how these current events tie into the theories presented in the text book. Students are encouraged to scan the business press daily (e.g. papers such as the Globe and Mail, National Post, and the Wall Street Journal, and magazines such as Macleans. The Economist, Fortune, and Forbes Magazine) and to watch business programs on TV and the Internet
Required course work includes two assignments to be completed in groups of 2 and then 4 respectively, as well as a midterm examand a final exam. With up to 62 students in each section, it is important to respect others by arriving on time if possible, and limiting disruptions in class.
Academic Dishonesty & Plagiarism:
The Edwards School of Business and the University of Saskatchewan have various sets of general guidelines and rules that students are expected to know and to follow. Every student who is registered in this class is expected to have read and understood the specific rules regarding student academic dishonesty which are posted on the Programs and Academic Information page of the Edwards School of Business website at the following location:
Ignorance of these rules is not a legitimate defense against an accusation of student academic dishonesty, and hence every student is strongly advised to read these rules and to obey them. The rules regarding plagiarism (submitting academic work that is not your own) are particularly important to read and understand because of the possible severity of the punishment, which at the extreme could involve expulsion from the University.
Evaluation:
Assignment # 110%
Midterm exam25%
Assignment # 220%
Final exam45%
Regular attendance and participation is expected in this class. In the event that any student is absent from an excessive number of classes without prior agreement with the instructor, up to 10% of the student’s mark will be deducted to reflect poor performance on these dimensions.
Specific details of the assignments will be posted on the class web page. There are two assignments that will be submitted for grading. The following requirements apply to each of the assignments:
$Each submission must include a title page indicating the names of group members, the name and number of the class, the name of your instructor, and the due date of the assignment. Assignments must be double spaced, in 12 point font.
$Assignments are due at the start of the class on the due date. Late assignments will not be accepted. If you have only a partially complete assignment, hand in what has been done on time so you can at least get partial marks.
$Assignments that, in the mind of the marker (and instructor), are not satisfactory in terms of neatness or grammar, or that fail to comply with the above rules will be returned unmarked and assigned a grade of zero.
$Assignments must be done on a word processor and/or excel spreadsheet as appropriate. Hand written assignments will not be accepted.
Course Schedule:
The following is the schedule for the course. The instructor will note any changes to this outline as the course progresses. Students should come prepared reading the assigned chapter(s) and any other assigned materials prior to the classand staying informed on current business issues. The latest information on the actual schedule of classes can always be found on the web page.
1TuesJan 6Introduction
2ThurJan 8Lecture on Product-Market Positioning
3TuesJan 13Chapter 1 – Understanding Evolving Economic Systems and Competition
Lecture on SWOT Analysis
4ThurJan 15Chapter 2 – The Global Marketplace and Governments' Roles
5TuesJan20Chapter 2 (continued) Governments in Canada
Appendix (598 – 610) on Corporate Governance, the Legal Environment and Taxation
6ThurJan 22Chapter 3 – Social Trends, Social Responsibility and Making Ethical Decisions in Business
7TuesJan 27Lecture on Ethical Decision-Making
8ThurJan 29Chapter 4 - Using Technology to Manage Information and for Business Success
9TuesFeb 3Chapter 5 – Forms of Business Ownership
10ThurFeb 5Chapter 6 – Entrepreneurship: Starting & Managing Your Own Business.
Assignment #1 DUE
11TuesFeb 10Chapter 7 – Management and Leadership in Today's Organizations
Lecture on Strategy and Structure
12ThurFeb 12Chapter 8 – Designing Organizational Structures
TuesFeb 17Mid-term break
ThurFeb 19Mid-term break
13TuesFeb 24TBA
14ThurFeb 26Chapter 9 – Managing Human Resources and Labour Relations
15Tues Mar 3Midterm Exam, based on Chapters 1 to 8 and related class materials
16ThurMar 5Chapter 10 – Motivating Employees and Creating Self-Managed Teams
17TuesMar 10Chapter 11 – Achieving World-Class Operations Management
18ThurMar 12Chapter 12 – Understanding the Customer and Creating Marketing Strategy
19TuesMar 17Chapter 13 – Developing Quality Products at the Right Price
20ThurMar 19Chapter 14 – Distributing Products in a Timely and Efficient Manner
21TuesMar 24Chapter 15 – Using Integrated Marketing Communications to Promote Products.
Assignment #2 DUE
22ThurMar26Chapter 16 – Using Financial Information and Accounting
Lecture on Understanding Financial Reports
23TuesMar31Chapter 17 – Managing the Firm's Finances
24ThurApr 2Chapter 18 – Understanding Money, Financial Institutions, and the Securities Markets
25TuesApr7Course Review
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