Hybrid Syllabus

MC 556

Management of Finance

3 Credit Hours

Effective: October, 2009

October 16-18, 2009

Instructor: Jan Vlachý

Required Resources

Douglas R. Emery, John D. Finnerty, John D. Stove (2007). Corporate financial management (3rd ed.). Pearson Education Inc., New Jersey

Whitaker, A. Research and APA Style Guide. (2010). Trenčín, Slovakia: City University. Available for purchase in the library or online at

Access to a personal computer and the Internet is required. All written assignments must be word-processed. See the library's APA Style Guide tutorial for a list of resources that can help you use APA style.

Financial Calculators

Students should note that in order to meet the course requirements they need to have and to be able to use a financial calculator. Two recommended models are the Hewlett Packard 12C and the Texas Instruments BAII Plus. An alternative is acceptable as long as it is a financial (not scientific) calculator with the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) function. Course instructors are not responsible to give tutorials on calculator use.

Copyright 2009by City University

All rights reserved

MC 556

Management of Finance

This document provides an overview of the course foundation elements, assignments, schedules and activities. For information about general City University policies, please see the City University catalog. If you have additional questions about the course, please contact your instructor.

Notification to Students with Disabilities

If you are a student with a disability and you require certain help, please contact the site administrator as soon as possible.

Scholastic Honesty

City University of Seattle expects each student to do his/her own work. The University has "zero tolerance" for cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration on assignments and papers, using "notes" during exams, submitting someone else's work as one's own, submitting work previously submitted for another course, or facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others. The penalties are severe! A first offense can result in a zero grade for the course and suspension for one quarter; a second offense can result in a zero grade for the course and suspension for two or more quarters; a third offense can result in expulsion from the University. The Policy and Procedures may be found at

In addition to providing your work to the instructor for grading, you must also submit an electronic copy for the CUarchives (unless the work is specifically exempted by the instructor). You will not receive a grade for particular work until and unless you submit this electronic copy. The procedure for submitting work to the archives is to upload it via the website Files should include the cover page of the work with the student name, instructor name, course name and number, and date. File names should indicate the type of assignment, such as “researchpaper.doc”, “casestudy.doc” or “ thesis.doc” (student name should not be a part of the file name because the system adds it). All files received into the archives are submitted to for plagiarism checking.

Course Description

The course covers further topics in corporate financial management, including a more detailed coverage of market efficiency and agency theory, strategic financing decisions (capital structure decisions, dividends and repurchases), tactical financing decisions (initial public offerings, financial restructuring, lease financing, hybrid financing), working capital management, bankruptcy, reorganization, and liquidation, mergers and LBOs, and multinational financial management.

Learning Goals

Upon the successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

  1. Understand the valuation implications due to efficiency constraints and agency situations;
  1. Review the optimal capital structure and understand capital structure theory in more detail;
  1. Understand distributions to shareholders, including dividends and repurchases;
  1. Understand initial public offerings and financial restructuring
  1. Understand other financing decisions including lease financing and hybrid financing (preferred stock, warrants, and convertibles);
  1. Perform effective working capital management - including cash, accounts receivable, inventory, short-term investments and short-term financing;
  1. Analyze financial distress and its consequences, reorganization and liquidation in bankruptcy;
  1. Analyze the conditions for, process, and results of mergers, leveraged buyouts, and divestitures;
  1. Compare and contrast multinational and domestic financial management.

Core Concepts

To achieve the goals of this course, you will need to master the following core concepts:

  1. Capital market efficiency;
  2. Agency theory;
  3. Optimal capital structure and capital structure theory in general;
  4. Dividends and repurchases; stock splits and stock dividends;
  5. Initial public offerings and financial restructuring;
  6. Lease financing;
  7. Hybrid financing, including preferred stock, warrants and convertibles;
  8. Working capital management;
  9. Bankruptcy, reorganization, and liquidation;
  10. Mergers, LBOs, and divestitures;
  11. Multinational financial management.

Entry Competencies

A prerequisite for enrolling in this course is completion of MC 553 (Principles of Finance) or evidence of an equivalent knowledge of finance.

Recommended Supplementary Resources

As a City University of Seattle student, you have access to library resources regardless of where and how you are taking this class. To access the resources necessary to complete your coursework, visit the library menu in the My.CityU portal at and the CU Slovakia library home page at

A good place tobegin your research isthroughthemanagement program resources page in the My.CityU library. Itprovides links to relevant journals, books, andWeb sites. Searchthe online databases for journal, magazine, and newspaper articles. For additional help, visit the Slovakia library or submit your question in the Contact Us section of the Slovakia library’s web site.

Electronic Resources

The following Internet resources may be of use to you in this course. Many other useful Web addresses are provided in the textbook. Please be aware that Web addresses may change from time to time.

City University of Seattle

Financial news:

Journal of Finance

The Wall Street Journal Online

United States Securities and Exchange Commission (includes EDGAR database of company annual reports)

Wall Street Research Net

About Hybrid Courses

Your instructor will provide you with login instructions and a demonstration on BlackBoard. Each week you will be required to enter a virtual classroom online, respond to a discussion question and make other postings. Each response should be carefully thought through and posted in the appropriate discussion area of the BlackBoard. Be sure to check the Announcements Section of the Blackboard shell for this class each week.

Hybrid Definition

At City University of Seattle a hybrid course is defined as a blend of classroom and online learning activities that integrates the best aspects of both formats. Courses meet face-to-face on a regular basis but for shorter periods of time than fully face-to-face courses. These classes are integrated with online learning activities that students participate in using the Blackboard Learning Management System.

Hybrid Course Delivery Format

This course has been approved as a hybrid course. Online activities will generally consist of one or more discussion questions each week to reinforce the assigned reading material. Instructors have the academic freedom to structure discussion questions that they feel will best challenge the student and promote better understanding of the assigned material. As part of this activity, each student will be required to respond to other students’ postings. This interaction is a vital part of the learning together experience and is designed to reinforce classroom discussion during the face-to-face session. Please refer to the “Overview of Hybrid Course Activities and Grading Scale” section of this syllabus for additional assignment instructions and grading criteria.

Overview of Course Activities and Grading

The grade you receive for the course will be derived using City University’s decimal grading system, based on the following:

Assignments

Discussion Questions - online / 20%
Case Analysis / 20%
Financial News Analysis – online Homework / 20%
Final Examination / 40%
TOTAL / 100%

Please see the current City University catalog or consult your instructor for guidance in determining your decimal grade.

Explanation of Assignments and Grading

Discussion Questions - Online

Each week a discussion question or topic will be placed in the Discussion Board for your response. You are to research the material in your text and post a response as well as a response to at least two other classmates within 10 days. Your responses should have substance, be well thought out, and demonstrate your grasp of the material. Each response should demonstrate college level understanding of grammar and spelling. All responses are to be posted to the BlackBoard learning management system. It is advisable to post your original response by mid-week to allow other students time to read and digest your words and respond to you.

Separately, you will be expected to post at least one response (to each thread) and generally contribute to discussion on your classmates’ Financial News Analysis threads (see below).

If you have a question or comment meant specifically for your instructor, contact your instructor directly. If you have questions related to the course, use the Question and Answer Forum in the Discussion Boards Section of the Blackboard shell. If you want to talk about issues unrelated to the course material, use the Coffee Talk Forum found in the Discussion boards Section of the Blackboard shell. This is a great place to mingle and get to know each other better.

Grading Criteria for Discussion Questions
Appropriateness and Quality of Responses / 70%
Quantity of Responses / 30%
TOTAL / 100%

Financial News Analysis – Online Homework

This assignment is designed to (a) stimulate you to find out what is happening in the financial world today by reading current newspapers and magazines, (b) help you to learn the course material by seeing how it applies to real companies, events, and situations, and (c) challenge you to analyze and evaluate financial news so that you and your classmates can form your own opinions and discuss them.

Steps:

  1. Review recent issues (published within the past 30 days) of local or international business periodicals. Look for news articles that (a) related to topics covered by the MC553 course and (b) raise interesting issues about company financial management. If unsure about the selection, ask your instructor.
  2. Write a brief report in English. Your report should:
  • Explain the news item (the event and why the newspaper or magazine thought it was newsworthy); do not forget to note the exact source details
  • Give some facts about the companies and people involved (you may have to do some further research beyond the news article itself)
  • Explain the connection between the news article and the MC 553 course
  • Identify key actions or decisions described in the news item and evaluate them, giving your own opinions and your reasons
  • A copy of the original news item should be attached
  1. Post your report on a separate theread of the Discussion Board and invite your classmates to discuss your report (this is due on the second Monday after the In-Class Session)
  2. Manage the ensuing discussion, argue your points, highlight new or interesting insights
  3. Keep the original Report posted on the web, but - where appropriate - issue adjusted versions as your understanding of the problem develops. Post a document marked as FINAL three days before your exam schedule. This should indicate changes vis-a-vis the initial draft as well as the reasons why they were made (make sure you don’t miss any credits to other contributors)

Grading Criteria for Financial News Analysis

Choice of news article (relevance, importance, interest), clarity of explanation of the news item and its connection to the course material / 30%
Analysis and evaluation of the issues relating to financial management / 30%
Professional presentation and active/efficient management of the discussion thread / 40%
TOTAL / 100%

Case Analysis

Your instructor will provide the graded case assignment. You should treat them as problems presented to you by your company’s top management for analysis and decision recommendations. Hence, your paper should demonstrate the qualities of thorough and relevant research, logically sound analysis, and focused professional writing. For each question about the case, clearly indicate which question you are answering, and show all computations (where applicable) to support your conclusions. Where assumptions must be made, state and justify them clearly.

If necessary, you are welcome to contact your instructor to receive guidance on the assumptions you should make, etc. All written Assignments must be delivered on time. Late delivery may result in severe downgrading, or entry may be denied to the Final Exam.

Grading Criteria for Case Analysis

Demonstrated understanding of relevant course concepts / 20%
Clarity of explanations / 20%
Completeness and accuracy of calculations / 20%
Logically supported conclusions / 25%
Professional presentation (including language and format) / 15%
TOTAL / 100%

Additional Requirements for Assignments

Professional Presentation of Written Work

All assignments submitted for this course should be of professional quality. The student should present each paper in a format that would be appropriate for submitting to upper management.

This course requires that you use the American Psychological Association (APA) style in preparing any written work where other sources are used. A recommended style guide is included in the “Required Text and Materials” section. Refer to this style guide for proper format, referencing methods, and bibliographic format. References should be cited for all facts, ideas, conclusions, and opinions not your own.

A proper title page should preface all written assignments, unless otherwise required. The title page should include: your name, the title of the paper, the name and number of the course, the date submitted, and the name of the instructor.

Your instructor may prefer you to submit your written assignments electronically. Hard copies of your work should be typed or word-processed on white 8½ by 11 inch paper and double spaced. Some assignments may require that your work be prepared on a computer spreadsheet.

When submitting hard copies, do not use binders or special covers. Staple your completed assignments in the upper-left hand corner. Your instructor may have different or additional requirements for the submission of written work.

Examinations

Examinations are closed book. You will be allowed to use one 8½ by 11 inch page of notes in your own handwriting. Both sides of the page may be used. The page of notes must be turned in with your exam. You should have a financial calculator during exams.

Each exam is three hours. You should be prepared to answer or solve multiple choice questions (conceptual and computational), short answer questions and longer essay questions, and problems. Your instructor will provide additional information about exam format and grading criteria. Grading criteria will be based on the learning objectives of the course.

When writing the exams, you should present all computations and label them clearly. For both problems and computational multiple-choice questions, partial credit may be earned based on well-labeled computations, even if the final answer is not correct. All work must be done on the exam pages provided unless your instructor requires that you write your answers on separate answer sheets. Test questions and answer sheets must be submitted to the proctor.

Course Schedule

All Students will be expected to have studied Chapters 1, 2 and 3 in advance as they will be dealt with only summarily and with a focus on any quastions or issues raised by the Students on-class.

The Final Exam Session will be organized as per instructions of the University staff.

Session
/

Topics and Assignments

/ Activities, Readings & HW
BEFORE ATTENDING IN-CLASS SESSIONS / Study in Advance: Chapters 15, 14 / Homework: Questions 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 15; Problems A1, A3 (Ch. 15); Questions 1, 2, 8; Problems A1, A4 (Ch. 14)
FRIDAY:
1
2 / Course Introduction; Discussion of Concepts: Capital Market Efficiency and Agency Theory
Capital Structure and Dividend Policy / Chapters 14, 15
Chapters 16, 17, 18
SATURDAY:
3
4
5
6 / Issuing Securities
Long-Term Debt and Asset-Based Financing
Working Capital and Liquidity Management, Financial Planning
Receivable and Inventory Management / Chapter 19
Chapters 20, 21
Chapters 22, 24
Chapter 23
SUNDAY:
7
8
9 / Mergers and Acquisitions
Financial Distress and Restructuring
International Corporate Finance;
Course Summary, Follow-Up / Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
FOLLOWING THE IN-CLASS SESSIONS / Due:Online Homework and Discussion Questions
Due:Case Analysis
Final Examination / According to Instructions, Initial analysis to be posted by 2nd Monday thereafter
To be submitted at the Final Exam
Chapters 14-27

MC 556 SYL Page 1 Eff: 10/09