Bus 311 Syllabus

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Course Description

Organization, planning, leadership, and control; evolution of philosophies of management, decision making, motivation, human relations, and communication; organizational behavior and theory; history and present management practices, showing interrelationships between the needs and expectations of the individual, the organization, and society.

Course Objectives

Business 311 Introduction to Management is a course designed for students who are pursuing the Business Minor and those non-business majors who are taking this course for fulfillment of their major program. After completing this semester-long course the student should:

  1. Understand and apply the basic principles, theories, and practices of contemporary management.

  2. Develop analytical and critical thinking skills as they apply to management decision-making through active reading of textbook and other course material, application activities, and group discussions.

  3. Understand, describe and discuss current issues of management.

Required Material

Robbins, S. P. and DeCenzo, D. A. (2008), Fundamentals of management: Essential concepts and applications, 6th Ed., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall Publishing.

Group Assignment: Current Management Challenges

When we teach this course in a face-to-face format students often tell us that one of their favorite activities is classroom discussions about current issues or challenges in management. In particular, they enjoy discussing issues that have the opportunity to “debate” different sides. For example, outsourcing is a current issue in management that has numerous pros and cons associated with it. Discussions about outsourcing often lead to lively debates among students. We have designed the team assignments with this in mind.

Discussions will be one week in length. During the first part of the week group members prepare for the discussion; during the middle part of the week the team debates/discusses the issue while playing predetermined roles (we will notify you of your role via email prior to the discussions); at the end of the week the group works together to prepare ands post a summary of the discussion.

Timeline and tasks for each group assignment:

·         First part of the week (Prepare): Each member of your group must read the assigned article(s) about the current management challenge (e.g., outsourcing). The articles are one source of information for the discussion and will also be the source for exam questions. Each member who was assigned to play the “for” or “pro” side of the issue must identify and post the reference for one additional article that includes information supporting the “for” or “pro” side of the issue. Each member who was assigned to play the “against” or “con” side of the issue must identify and post the reference for one additional article that includes information supporting the “against” or “con” side of the issue. Articles must be current (6 months old or newer), must come from credible sources, must be accessible through the UI library journal-search website (contact librarians at the library if you need help with this), and must be available in full text format. To receive full credit articles must be referenced in your post using APA or MLA format. The completion deadline for "Discussion-Preparation" tasks is Tuesday at 11:55pm.

·         Middle and end of the week

     (Discuss): The entire group participates in the discussion in a pre-assigned discussion thread on Blackboard. Early in the discussion members should stick to their assigned roles. For example, if you are assigned to play the role of being “for” outsourcing, then focus on bringing out arguments/evidence from the assigned article, your additional article, and any other sources that support outsourcing. As the discussion continues, and your group works toward reaching some conclusions about the management issue feel free to add in your own views. The quality of the discussion (and thus, the score that the team earns) is in part a function of the extent to which the group clearly displays discussion-type behaviors. For example, posting multiple times during the week, responding to statements and questions posted by others, and other behaviors that move beyond posting a single fact or opinion will be rewarded. The completion deadline for "Discussion" tasks is Friday at 11:55pm.

     (Summarize): Work together to prepare and post a thoughtful summary of the  discussion (one to two page, single spaced) and the references for articles posted by the members of your group. The summary must be posted as the last entry in the discussion thread from the previous week. The completion deadline for "Discussion- Summary" tasks is Saturday at 11:55pm.

The group's grade for an assignment will be based upon meeting the required deadlines, the thoughtfulness of the discussion, the quality of the referenced articles, and the quality of the posted summary. The intention is for all team members will receive the same grade; however the instructor will assign a score of zero (or a reduced score) if an individual does not participate or performed poorly.

Have fun with this task!

Individual Activities, Quizzes, and Exams

Individual activities are assigned at the end of each module. You are not required to submit responses to individual activities. These activities are intended to provide you with learning opportunities that enhance or support the lecture and readings. Questions about the individual activities will be asked on the quizzes and/or the exams.

Quizzes are administered online through Blackboard. You are welcome to use your books and personal notes to help you respond to quiz questions, but the time to respond to the quiz is short so do not rely completely on searching for the answers to all of the questions in the book. Preparation is the key. Each student will receive ten (10) questions randomly selected by the Blackboard software from a large set of possible questions. Thus, the questions you are required to answer will likely differ from those of your colleagues. While ten questions is not able to cover all of the module material, it is a sampling technique that is a reasonable way to reward those who have reviewed the entire module. With the exception of discussion weeks (when there are no quizzes), each week the quizzes will be available from Monday morning at 12:01am to Saturday evening at 11:59pm. Questions for the quizzes will be drawn from the assigned readings, the module lecture, and the individual activity. Note: In addition to questions about the assigned reading, lecture, and the individual activity, Quiz 1.2 will include questions about the course material (syllabus, schedule, etc.) and procedures.

Three examinations are scheduled for the semester and are given in a face-to-face, proctored format. Notice the dates, times, and locations of each exam listed on the course schedule and plan accordingly. To be fair to the other students no make-up or early exams will be given. If you must miss an exam, the absence will be considered excused only if it is a university-approved absence listed in the Student Handbook.  In such cases prior documentation and notification of the absence is required; otherwise, the score for the exam is a zero.  Questions for the exams will be drawn from the assigned readings (including discussion readings), the module lectures, the individual activities, and the quizzes. Expect multiple choice, short answer and fill-in-the-blank questions on the exam.

Off-campus students must work with Mara Lei Monroe (eoreg@uidaho.edu) to arrange for a proctor to administer the exams - exam dates and times may vary slightly from the on-campus students to accommodate the proctors'' availability.

 

Grading

The course grade will be determined based upon student performance on three (3) exams, nineteen* (19) quizzes, and three (3) group assignments. The points for each of these components are as follows:

Component  Points
Quizzes (19 @10pts each) 190
Group Discussions (3 @ 50 pts each) 150
Exam #1 100
Exam # 2 100
Exam # 3 100
Total 640

All group assignments and quizzes must be completed within the the time window allocated for the activity. The examinations are taken at assigned times and locations.

*Note that there are 20 quizzes in the course; we will drop the lowest quiz score so that you grade is determined in part, by 19 of the 20 quizzes.

 

Strategies for Learning

The fact that the course is online, rather than face-to-face adds another dimension to the mix. While the online nature of the course offers a certain degree of flexibility and control to the learner, it also places most of the responsibility for sorting through and organizing the material on the learner. Consider the following two strategies for learning:

  1. One strategy we can offer from the experience of students in the past is to "take notes" from the readings (book and articles), from the video-based lectures, and from the individual activities. Taking notes is an active method of synthesizing and organizing the material. Students who "read" the book, listen to the lectures, and perform the individual activities without taking notes often say "there is too much information to remember for the quizzes and exams". Note taking requires a greater level of cognitive effort and attention than reading/listening alone. Here the goal is not to read a chapter or listen to a lecture. The goal is to look for information that will help you make sense of and organize the material into your own personalized notes. Notes can be revisited for quizzes and for studying much easier than re-reading a chapter or listening again to a lecture.
  2. A second method that is commonly recommended to students about written material is something called the "PQ4R" method. Using a search engine (e.g., Google), type in PQ4R to find some links to websites that describe the method.

Good luck with whichever methods you choose to use in this course.

 

 

 
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Instructional Designer - Shveta Miglani
College of Business and Economics
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