Guide

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Faculty Course Guide Course BUSN 5000 Business Catalog Description This course is designed to provide a foundation in such general business concepts as economics, finance, accounting, business law, marketing, and other business systems. Course Objectives The intent of this course is to allow students in the MBA program who do not have a business background to build a knowledge base that will allow them to compete in the MBA program with those students who have undergraduate degrees in business. This will include learning a new vocabulary and learning some of the underlying values, concepts, theories, and analytical methods commonly used in the business world. Course Content Business Terminology. MBA students without an undergraduate degree in business are often disadvantaged by their unfamiliarity with the language of business. To help overcome this problem one of the primary objectives of this course will be to ensure that students are familiar with the terms commonly used in the business world and in the MBA program. (30%) Capitalism and Free Enterprise. The basic foundation of business as practiced in the western world is free enterprise capitalism, the economic and political system that best supports business activity. Students will learn the values and the philosophical and practical assumptions that support the working of this system. (10%) The Functional Areas of Business. Students will learn basic concepts, theories, tools and techniques in the functional areas of business: 1

Transcript of Guide

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Faculty Course Guide

Course BUSN 5000 Business

Catalog Description

This course is designed to provide a foundation in such general business concepts as economics, finance, accounting, business law, marketing, and other business systems.

Course Objectives

The intent of this course is to allow students in the MBA program who do not have a business background to build a knowledge base that will allow them to compete in the MBA program with those students who have undergraduate degrees in business. This will include learning a new vocabulary and learning some of the underlying values, concepts, theories, and analytical methods commonly used in the business world.

Course Content

Business Terminology. MBA students without an undergraduate degree in business are often disadvantaged by their unfamiliarity with the language of business. To help overcome this problem one of the primary objectives of this course will be to ensure that students are familiar with the terms commonly used in the business world and in the MBA program. (30%)

Capitalism and Free Enterprise. The basic foundation of business as practiced in the western world is free enterprise capitalism, the economic and political system that best supports business activity. Students will learn the values and the philosophical and practical assumptions that support the working of this system. (10%)

The Functional Areas of Business. Students will learn basic concepts, theories, tools and techniques in the functional areas of business: accounting, finance, management, operations and marketing. Specific attention will be paid to the need to consider these areas in an integrated manner. (10%)

Ethics. Businesses and those who work in them are constantly faced with ethical questions and dilemmas. This course will introduce a framework for thinking about and deciding ethical issues as well as how to think about the application of ethics in business situations. (10%)

The Management Process. Organizations are managed through a well-integrated series of functions. These functions include Goal Setting, Strategy development, Planning, Organizing, Budgeting, Leading, and Controlling. Emphasis will be placed on how these functions are an integrated self-reinforcing system that supports and coordinates the work of the organization. (20%)

Leadership and Motivation. Organizations are composed of

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individuals and groups that, collectively, do the work that makes the organization successful. This course will briefly introduce the basic principles of motivation, group behavior, and leadership. The coverage will be brief and be designed to bridge the gap between the beginning of the program and the required Organizational Behavior and Leadership course. (10%)

International Business. Business is increasingly conducted in an international framework and the students will be provided with a framework that allows them to understand the role of international issues in the conduct of business. (10%)

Suggested Course Activities

Lectures and discussions, which focus attention on, the terminology used in business.

Discussions of the strong and weak points of free enterprise capitalism and how it compares with other economic systems.

Cases, exercises, role plays, and discussions that: focus on the need to take an integrated view of the organization and the management process; that examine the ethical issues facing business and provide practice in using ethical theories in the analysis of ethical issues; and that high-light the international dimension of business.

Prerequisites There are NO prerequisites for this course.

Recommended Texts

Understanding Business , 6th Edition by Nickles, McHugh and McHugh. (2002). ISBN: 0-07-249922-2

Contemporary Business , 10th Edition by Boone and Kurtz. (2002). ISBN: 0-03-034363-1

Instructor Qualifications

The instructor should have an MBA with some business experience or a doctorate that includes preparation in all of the functional areas of business.

Suggested Waiver Policy

The course covers material from the following courses and could be waived if the students have had undergraduate or graduate courses in four of these five areas: Principles of Accounting, Principles of Economics, Principles of Finance, Principles of Management, and Principles of Marketing.

Instructor Support Materials

Example syllabus for this course  Microsoft Word Syllabus Template - Save the file to your hard drive

and then complete the syllabus by filling in the highlighted areas.

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HTML - Save the file to your hard drive and then complete the syllabus using an HTML editor like Microsoft FrontPage.

Department of BusinessSchool of Business and Technology

Webster University

Faculty Course Guide

Course BUSN 5600 Accounting Theory and Practice

Catalog Description

Students examine the accounting function and its role in modern business. Basic accounting theory and principles are examined, and some of the more important contemporary accounting developments are reviewed. Case studies are analyzed with an emphasis on situations from the students' own work experiences. This course is designed for consumers as opposed to producers of accounting.

Course Objectives

Accounting has come to be known as the language of business because many interested parties use the results of the accounting process to make decisions and informed judgments about the economic activities of an organization.  Effective participation in planning, control and decision-making activities related to the achievement of an organization's objectives requires command of this language.

Students are given the opportunity to learn accounting and it's supporting concepts and principles in relation to their application in the business environment.  This course provides coverage of generally accepted accounting principles that drive financial reporting; the financial statements that include the income statement, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows, and the related notes and other disclosures accompanying these financial statements.  Emphasis will be placed on understanding the presentation of assets, liabilities and owners' equity as well as the measurement of revenues and expenses.

The intent of the course is to take the student through the basics in order to understand the "big picture" of what accounting information is, what it

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means, and how it is used.  Financial statements are examined to discover what they do and do not communicate.  This knowledge will help the student gain the decision-making and problem-solving skills so crucial in today's business environment.

Course Content The Conceptual Framework of Accounting (10%) - The student should understand the core concepts and principles that determine how transactions are analyzed, recorded and ultimately reported in the financial statements.   These generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) provide the framework for financial reporting and students should be aware of the environment and process by which accounting standards are developed. 

The Financial Statements (70%) - The primary financial statements - Balance Sheet, Income Statements, and Statement of Cash Flows - should be rigorously developed from the user perspective.  Students should understand how to read, interpret, and analyze the information in each statement and students should understand the interrelationships between the statements and how they integrate.  Transaction analysis is important and should be emphasized in terms of the affect a transaction has on the financial statements - the procedural aspects of the bookkeeping process is of less importance to MBA students.

o Financial Statement Components - The financial statement structure should be developed so that the student gains an understanding of the measurement and valuation issues related to the accounting for and presentation of each statement component.  Alternative generally accepted accounting principles should be explored in areas where they exist and the limitations surrounding the use of financial statements for certain decision making should be emphasized.  Students should understand the difference between historical costs used in the Balance Sheet vs. current asset values and the use of accrual accounting in the Income Statement should be contrasted, compared and reconciled to measuring cash flows in the Statement of Cash Flows.

Balance Sheet - the accounting for and presentation of current assets, property plant & equipment, current liabilities, noncurrent liabilities, and stockholders' equity.  

Income Statement - the recognition of revenue and expenses, gains and losses, and the other nonrecurring items affecting net income.

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Statement of Cash Flows - the determination of cash flows from operating activities, investing activities, and financing activities.

Additional disclosures and other items included in an annual report such as explanatory notes, management's statement of responsibility, summary of financial data, and the independent auditor's report. 

Interpretations Made from Financial Statement Data (10%) - The objective here is to have students learn how to use the financial statements to make informed judgments and decisions relative to the information presented in the financial statements.  Examples would include trend analysis, profitability analysis (ROI and ROE), liquidity analysis (working capital, current ratio, quick ratio), etc. 

Introduction to Managerial Accounting (10%) - Financial Accounting should be compared to Managerial Accounting to provide the student with an appreciation for the planning, control, and decision-making focus of internal reporting vs. external financial reporting.

Suggested Course Activities

This course requires various problem solving, case analysis, and writing assignments each week in addition to compelling class discussion on many interesting topics. These assignments are for the students benefit; the material will be learned much more effectively by integrating these activities than from the reading alone. In addition, an important objective is to develop an awareness and appreciation for current issues beyond the concepts that are described in the textbook. Each week throughout the course assignment activities such as those described below should be required:

Chapter Problems - each chapter has a variety of problems that reinforce some dimension of the material from that chapter. The requirements should be obvious from the information given.  The goal, of course, is to have students develop appropriate analytical and problem solving techniques techniques and when mistakes are made to learn through those mistakes.    

Cases emphasize the practical interpretation and application of the material and can be used to illustrate more real-world examples.   

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Outside reading and related reports provide an opportunity to keep student currents with the latest news developments surrounding financial reporting.  

Significant class discussion should take place each week around the assignment items and it is your responsibility to proactively participate in that class discussion.  Participation in class discussion activities will comprise 10% of the final grade.

Prerequisites There are NO prerequisites for this course. 

Recommended Texts

Accounting: What the Numbers Mean , by Marshall, McManus, and Viele, 6th edition, 2004, McGraw-Hill, ISBN: 0-07-283464-1

Survey of Accounting , by Stice, Stice, Albrecht, and Skousen, 1999, South-Western, ISBN: 0-53-884617-8

Survey of Accounting , by Warren, 2001, South-Western, ISBN: 0-32-418344-5

Instructor Qualifications

The instructor must have an undergraduate or graduate degree in accounting or an undergraduate degree in accounting and a masters degree in a related discipline.  The ideal instructor will have a CPA and/or a CMA and will possess significant professional accounting experience.

Suggested Waiver Policy

This course is intended only for students WITHOUT the appropriate undergraduate or graduate background in Financial Accounting.  The department suggests the waiver of any student that has taken Financial Accounting (3 hours) or Principles of Accounting (6 hours) in the past ten years.  An Accounting Applications course or a course in Computerized  Accounting Applications should be evaluated for the presence of the stated course objectives as these course typically focus only  on the bookkeeping and mechanical side of the accounting process.  The intent is to insure that each Webster MBA student has met the above stated objectives.

Instructor Support Materials

Example syllabus for this course. Microsoft Word Syllabus Template - Save the file to your hard

drive and then complete the syllabus by filling in the highlighted areas.

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HTML Template - Save the file to your hard drive and then complete the syllabus using an HTML editor like Microsoft FrontPage.

Department of BusinessSchool of Business and Technology

Webster University

Course BUSN 5600 Insert Section Number Here Accounting Theory and Practice

Instructor Name:Phone:Email:

Enter Your NameEnter Your Phone NumberEnter Your Email Address

Course Description

Students examine the accounting function and its role in modern business.  Basic accounting theory and principles are examined, and some of the more important contemporary accounting developments are reviewed.  Problems and cases are analyzed with an emphasis on situations from the student's own work experiences.  This course is designed for consumers as opposed to producers of accounting.

Incoming Competencies(Prerequisites)

This course is designed for students entering the MBA program who have never completed a course in financial accounting. There are NO prerequisites for this course.

Course Objectives

The Conceptual Framework of Accounting - The student should understand the core concepts and principles that determine how transactions are analyzed, recorded and ultimately reported in the financial statements. 

The Financial Statements - The primary financial statements - Balance Sheet, Income Statements, and Statement of Cash Flows - should be rigorously developed from the user perspective. Students should understand how to read, interpret, and analyze the information in each statement and students should understand the interrelationships between the statements and how they integrate.

Financial Statement Components - The financial statement structure should be developed so that the student gains an understanding of the measurement and valuation issues related to the accounting for and presentation of each statement component. 

Interpretations Made from Financial Statement Data - The objective

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here is to have students learn how to use the financial statements to make informed judgments and decisions relative to the information presented in the financial statements. 

Learning Outcomes

Enter Learning Outcomes. Hit <enter> for additional bullets.

Course Materials

Accounting: What the Numbers Mean, by Marshall, McManus, and Viele, 6th edition, 2004, McGraw-Hill, ISBN: 0-07-283464-1(see Course Guidelines for alternative recommended textbooks - hit "Delete" to remove this line)

Course Grading Describe in Detail Your Grading Procedures. Insert Scale Range or Bullets as Needed. However, stay within the confines of this box.

Course Activities Describe in Detail Your Course Activities.

Policy Statements

Academic Dishonesty: Webster University strives to be a center of academic excellence. As part of our Statement of Ethics, the University strives to preserve academic honor and integrity by repudiating all forms of academic and intellectual dishonesty, including cheating, plagiarism and all other forms of academic dishonesty. Academic Dishonesty is unacceptable and is subject to a disciplinary response. See page 29 of the Webster University 2003-2005 Graduate Catalog for a complete description. The University reserves the right to utilize electronic databases, such as Turnitin.com, to assist faculty and students with their academic work. 

Note This syllabus may be revised at the discretion of the instructor without the prior notification or consent of the student.

Weekly Schedule Pre-Assignment for Week 1 Enter work to be completed prior to week 1. If

none, type "None".

Week 1 Topics: Include Lecture Title, Subject, and/or Chapters. Hit

<enter> for additional bullets.Assignment for Week 2:

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Include Assigned Reading, Homework, and/or Exams. Hit <enter> for additional bullets.

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Week 9 Topics:

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Include Lecture Title, Subject, and/or Chapters. Hit <enter> for additional bullets.

Faculty Course Guide

Course BUSN 5620 Current Economic Analysis

Catalog Description

Implications of current economic events are examined through the applications of economic theory.  Emphasis is placed on acquainting the student with the methods of economic analysis in the context of current economic issues.

Course Objectives

This course exists as a pre-requisite for the Master of Business Administration for three reasons.  First, courses in the MBA program will assume a certain proficiency with regard to basic economic analysis.  Particularly, many courses utilize the basic demand and supply model.  Second, a basic understanding of macroeconomic events and macroeconomic policies is assumed of every business student.  However, as many students will develop this understanding as an undergraduate student, this material is relegated to prerequisite level.  Finally, as an international institution, The School of Business and Technology has as a goal international literacy on the part of all business students.  Given the interdependence of macroeconomics and international economics, the decision was made to include an introduction to international economics in this course.

Course Content

Introduction to Demand and Supply Analysis - The student should receive a thorough introduction to basic demand and supply analysis.  This should include the nature of markets and their role in the allocation of goods and services.  Particular attention should be given to familiarizing students with the demand and supply model.  It is not necessary to discuss market failures including imperfect competition, externalities, etc.  Nor is it necessary to introduce price elasticity.  This portion of the course might cover two weeks or approximately 25%.

Familiarization with Measures of Economic Activity - The three primary measures of economic activity should be covered thoroughly.  An effort should be made to make these coincide with the data as presented in the press.  This portion of the course might cover two weeks or approximately 25%.

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o GDP - In addition to explaining the determination of GDP, the course should discuss Real GDP and the determinants of growth in RGDP.   International comparisons in RGDP should be presented.

o Inflation - The basic concept and construction of a price index should be included.  In addition students should become familiar with the dominant price indices, the problems with utilizing price indices, and the concept of a "chain weighted" index.  The computation of inflation and its adverse effects should be also be discussed.  International comparisons in inflation rates should be included.

o Unemployment - The computation and issues surrounding the measure of unemployment should be covered.  Differences in unemployment rates across countries (particularly the US versus Europe) should be discussed.

Develop an Understanding of Fiscal and Monetary Policy - The two primary policy instruments of government should be presented.  A slightly heavier weight might be given to monetary policy given its preeminence in counter-cyclical policy.  This portion of the course might cover two weeks or approximately 25%.

o Fiscal Policy - The course should discuss the counter-cyclical effects of deficit and surplus budgets.  This should include both deliberate and automatic stabilization.  The discussion should also include the impact of a budget deficit on private spending and on the balance of payments.

o Monetary Policy - The role of monetary policy in the conduct of counter-cyclical policy should be covered thoroughly.  The discussion should include a descriptive portion on the role of the central bank.  The strengths and limitations of monetary policy should also be included.  A particular effort should be made to relate the course material to current policy activity.  The impact of monetary policy on exchange rates should be addressed.

Familiarization with the International Economy - The student should be sensitized to the growing importance of international commerce.  This can be accomplished by discussing the motivations for both free trade and trade protection, by discussing the importance of the balance of payments as related to trade and capital flows, and by discussing the importance of exchange rates and exchange-rate regimes on relative economic well-being.  This portion of the course might cover two weeks or approximately 25%.

Suggested Course Activities

This course is suitable for lecture format.  An effort should be made to assess the following:

Mastery of the demand and supply model.

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Satisfactory understanding of the macroeconomic environment. Satisfactory understanding of the international economy. The general ability to understand and utilize abstract models.

The general ability to communicate effectively in writing.

Prerequisites There are NO prerequisites for this course.

Recommended Texts

Essentials of Economics by Schiller, 9th Edition. (2002). ISBN: 0-07-237407-1 (or later edition)

Economics: Theory and Practice by Welch and Welch, 7th Edition. (2003) ISBN: 0-47-000028-7 (or later edition)

Principles of Economics by Any Author (Related Chapters Only)

Principles of Macroeconomics by Any Author (Related Chapters Only)

Instructor Qualifications

The instructor must have a masters degree in a related discipline.  The ideal instructor will have either an undergraduate or graduate degree in the discipline of economics (regardless of field of specialization).  However, instructors with a minimum of six graduate hours in (graduate-level) economics combined with a demonstrable understanding of the course content will be considered.

Suggested Waiver Policy

This course is intended only for students WITHOUT the appropriate undergraduate or graduate background in Macroeconomics.  The department suggests the waiver of any student that has taken Principles of Macroeconomics (or more advanced Macroeconomics course) in the past ten years.  A Survey of Economics course (typically the combination of Macroeconomics and Microeconomics within one three credit hour course) should be evaluated for the presence of the stated course objectives above.   Students with an extensive background in economics (defined as twelve or more credit hours of economics) should be waived regardless of time elapsed.  The intent is to insure that each Webster MBA student has met the above stated objectives but not at the expense of requiring the student to cover the same material unnecessarily.

Instructor Support Materials

Example syllabus for this course  Microsoft Word Syllabus Template - Save the file to your hard drive

and then complete the syllabus by filling in the highlighted areas.

HTML - Save the file to your hard drive and then complete the syllabus using an HTML editor like Microsoft FrontPage.

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Department of BusinessSchool of Business and Technology

Webster University

Faculty Course GuideCourse BUSN 5760 Applied Business Statistics

Catalog Description

The student examines the application of statistical analysis, hypothesis testing, and regression analysis in business decision making. The course should focus on the utilization of statistical methods as applied to business problems and operations.

Course Objectives

The first general objective of this new statistics course is to teach students the fundamental descriptive and inferential statistics that will be used in many advanced courses. Specifically, students will be taught the fundamentals of statistical probabilities and distributions, random sampling, one-sample hypothesis testing and confidence intervals, difference of means tests, correlations, simple and multiple linear regression, and several types of non-parametric statistics. The instructor should also teach the assumptions underlying the statistics, including how the level of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio) influences the choice of statistics, the importance of normality and linearity assumptions and the relative importance of violations of these two assumptions. In addition, the course will teach several non-parametric statistics that should be used when the assumptions of parametric statistics cannot be satisfied. Because this course will teach the statistics that will be used in a wide range of courses, the statistical problems will be drawn from a variety of different subject-matter areas, including economics, finance, operations management, and human resources management.

The second general objective of the new statistics course is to teach statistical analysis from an applied or user’s perspective. The emphasis should not be on the mathematical theory underlying the statistics. This does not imply that mathematical formulae are inappropriate. Only that the instructor should not spend much time showing how statistics are derived and proved using calculus and linear algebra. The focus should be on teaching how statistics are used to analyze data, using Excel to perform the calculations. Accordingly, students should be somewhat familiar with Excel before taking the course. One significant advantage of not spending time on mathematical derivations and proofs is that the instructor can spend the time to cover more information on statistics and data analysis.

Course The following topics must be taught it students are to have a working

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Content knowledge of how to statistically analyze problems using basic descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. The course is designed with the assumption that the midterm and final examinations will take 4 hours of course time. This leaves the equivalent of 32 student-contact hours (eight four-hour class sessions) for teaching students (unless take-home exams are given).    1. Brief overview of descriptive statistics: (3 hours)

 a. Graphical descriptive techniques: using charts and graphs, stem and leaf diagrams, and box plots to summarize data

 b. Numerical descriptive measures: statistically summarize data distributions using measures of central tendency and variability (range, standard deviation, variance)

2. Introduction to probability theory, including discussion of different discrete and continuous distributions, random sampling, expected values, simple and joint probabilities, and contingency tables (4 hours)3. Confidence intervals and hypothesis testing (one-sample and two-sample tests), including both parametric (e.g., differences of means) and non-parametric techniques (e.g., Chi-Square and Wilcoxon Rank Sum test) (6 hours)4. Simple linear (bivariate) regression and correlations (and related non-parametric techniques) (e.g., Spearman rank correlation) (4 hour)5. Linear multiple regression (including dummy variables, and multicollinearity) (4 hours)6. Introduction to model building and testing, including hierarchical regression and stepwise regression (2 hours)7. Introduction to decision making and statistical applications in quality management (3 hours)

Based on the time allocations above, approximately 80% of the total student contact time is allocated to mandatory topics (6.5 class sessions or 26 hours). The times shown above are estimates, and the instructor may allocate more time for some topics. Alternatively, the remainder of the class time can be used to discuss discretionary topics.

Suggested Course Activities

If time permits, the instructor may elect to introduce the following optional topics into the course:

• Binomial, Poisson, and hypergeometric distributions• Different sampling designs, such as stratified random sampling• ANOVA and related non-parametric techniques for two or more populations (e.g., Kruskal-Wallis and Friedman tests)• Using interaction terms in multiple regression (moderator analysis)

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• Quadratic regression models• Reliability and validity (psychometrics)• Exploratory factor analysis• Index numbers• Time series analysis and forecasting (In Beta CMBA test) • Bayes’ theorem

Prerequisites The students are assumed to be familiar with basic descriptive statistics and the idea of probability distributions. However, these will be review briefly in the beginning of the course as a refresher for students who have forgotten some of the details. Students who cannot master these introductory review topics should be diverted into a basic undergraduate statistics course or encouraged to learn the material through self-study.

No prior course in Excel or any statistical package is required, but students should be familiar with the basic operation of Excel. If not, they should probably be referred to a short seminar in Excel, such as the seminars conducted by ACS.

Recommended Texts

There are many textbooks in this area, but the more desirable textbooks have a user-orientation (i.e., the focus is on application of statistics to analyze problems). No single text is necessarily the best, so the choice is largely at the instructor’s discretion. Excel is incorporated into the body of some texts, while others use chapter appendices or workbooks to teach statistical analysis using Excel. In addition, many textbooks have macros on CD-ROM that supplement Excel’s basic statistical tools. In addition, not all books will have all the non-parametric topics, so the textbook may need to be supplemented by lecture and handouts. However, notwithstanding the way Excel and non-parametric statistics are incorporated into the course, the focus of the textbook should be on statistical application and the problems in the textbook should cover a wide range of business and management areas.

The following books appear to meet the course requirements, but other textbooks may also be perfectly acceptable.

Berenson, M. L., Levine, D. M., and Krehbiel, T. C. 9th Edition. (2004). Basic Business Statistics: Concepts and Applications. Prentice Hall. ISBN: 0-13-103791-9 (Includes CD-ROM with PHStat2 to supplement Excel).

Comments: There is a wide range of problems in the book, some with data sets on a CD-ROM. Excel incorporated in chapter appendices and Minitab is also discussed in the appendices. Text incorporates most of the non-parametric topics: Wilcoxon rank sum test, Kruskal-Wallis, Friedman Rank. The text is somewhat weak on correlation analyses, and there is no Spearman rank-

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order test. The text is similar in content to Statistics for Managers Using Microsoft Excel.

Supplemental materials: • Instructor’s Solution Manual• Student Solution Manual (even numbered exercises)• Test Item File with Excel-based test questions• Instructor’s CD-ROM with PowerPoint slides, test items, and solutions manual• PHStat2 statistical add-in for Excel• MyPHLIP web site with additional problems, tips, practice exams, and links• Student version of Minitab can be bundled with the textbook

Levine, D. M., Stephan, D., Krehbiel, T. C. and Berenson, M. L. (2002). Statistics for Manager using Microsoft Excel (3rd Edition). Prentice Hall. ISBN: 0-13-029090-4. (Includes CD-ROM with PHStat2 to supplement Excel).

Comments: There is a wide range of problems in the book, some with data sets on a CD-ROM. There is a short Excel primer chapter in the book. Excel references are incorporated into the text itself, not in chapter appendices or workbook, and menu and drop-down boxes are illustrated. The text is similar in content to Basic Business Statistics: Concepts and Applications, but without the Minitab appendices. The text is somewhat weak on correlation analyses, and there is no Spearman rank-order test. This may be a simpler text than Basic Business Statistics, and does not cover all the non-parametric techniques, but the Kruskal-Wallis rank test and Wilcoxon rank sum test are covered.

Supplemental materials: • Instructor’s Solution Manual• Student Solution Manual (even numbered exercises)• Test Item File with Excel-based test questions• Instructor’s CD-ROM with PowerPoint slides, test items, and solutions manual• PHStat2 statistical add-in for Excel• MyPHLIP web site with additional problems, tips, practice exams, and links

Siegel, A. F. (2003). Practical Business Statistics (5th Edition). Irwin McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 0-07-282125-6. (Includes CD-ROM with StatPad to supplement Excel.)

Comments:

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There is a wide range of problems in the textbook, but few data sets are on the CD-ROM. Good examples to supplement text. Excel references are incorporated into the text itself, not in chapter appendices or workbook, and menu and drop-down boxes are illustrated, and there is a detailed Excel Guide to supplement the textbook that was written by the author. Non-parametric techniques are treated in a separate chapter rather than integrated into the rest of the text. Non-parametric discussion includes the Wilcoxon rank sum test, Mann-Whitney U test, and sign tests for differences, but not the Kruskal-Wallis or Friedman tests.

Supplemental materials: • Instructor’s Manual• Some data files for import to Excel• Test Item File • PowerPoint slide presentations• Practice quizzes• StatPad statistical add-in for Excel• McGraw Hill’s web site for additional materials

Suggested Assessment Methods

Given the applied nature of the course, assessment should consist primarily of statistical problem solving. However, asking for definitions of terms through short answer or multiple choice questions is also acceptable. The tests could be given in class, or take-home tests. Obviously, security is somewhat of a problem with take-home exams, yet the problems can be more sophisticated and also test the students’ abilities to use Excel.

Suggested Supplemental Readings

None, except as needed to offset textbook deficiencies in a given area, such as non-parametric statistics.

Instructor Qualifications

Required: The instructors must have a thorough working knowledge of all the required topic areas, although non-parametric statistics can be learned as required if the instructor is otherwise qualified. A degree in statistics or applied statistics is not required, but the instructor must be prepared to demonstrate his or her competencies in each of the mandatory topics. Because the course is based on Excel, the instructor should be familiar with the data analysis package in Excel.

Desirable: A working knowledge of one or more of the following statistical packages: SPSS, SAS, Minitab, or Statistica.

Suggested Waiver Policy

Because of the short half-life of statistics, most students should not be waived out of the course, even if they have taken prior statistics courses. Simply knowing statistical theory may not be sufficient preparation given the course’s focus on applied statistical analyses. Moreover, many traditional

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statistics courses focus exclusively on parametric statistics and otherwise qualified students may lack knowledge of non-parametric statistics. However, this may not be reason enough to force them to take the entire course, and we may want to suggest that they study non-parametric topics and then take the final exam. Therefore, waivers will be given only when the student has taken an advanced (through regression) statistical course within the past 3 years AND the student demonstrates proficiency by passing both course exams with an overall score of 80% or better.

Instructor Support Materials

Example syllabus for this course  Microsoft Word Syllabus Template - Save the file to your hard drive

and then complete the syllabus by filling in the highlighted areas.

HTML - Save the file to your hard drive and then complete the syllabus using an HTML editor like Microsoft FrontPage.

Department of BusinessSchool of Business and Technology

Webster University

Faculty Course Guide

Course BUSN 6070 Management Accounting

Catalog Description The student examines advanced topics in management accounting as

these relate to management information needs for planning, control, and decision-making. Topics include interpretation of standard cost variances; application of quantitative techniques; evaluation of divisional performance; activity-based costing; and the behavioral impact of accounting systems.

Course Objectives

Accounting has been known as the language of business because many interested parties use the results of the accounting process to make decisions and informed judgments about the economic activities of an organization.  Effective participation in planning, control, and decision-making activities related to the achievement of an organization’s objectives requires command of this language.  The primary objective of this course is to develop the students’ ability to use management accounting information to analyze, think critically, and effectively

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communicate their findings.  An emphasis is placed on big picture relationships that illustrate how cost management affects activities along the organization's value chain that business students need to understand in order to function effectively in today’s business world.

Students are to learn about management accounting concepts and tools in relation to their application in today’s business environment.  Students must understand how these concepts and tools are interrelated in business practice and this course should give emphasis to integrative learning.  Planning, control, and decision-making concepts should also emphasize service organizations and manufacturing companies with equal importance.

The intent of the course is to facilitate the student’s ability to apply management accounting concepts and tools to increasingly complex organizational environments by developing problem solving skills and technical competence. 

Course Content Underlying Concepts, Tools, and Terminology – The student should understand the core concepts, tools, and terminology that encompass management accounting information as it is used for planning, control, and decision-making purposes.  At the root of this conceptual framework are three guiding learning objectives: 

1. The activities of an organization are viewed as a value chain consisting of value-added and nonvalue-added activities.  The identification of each is fundamental to cost management,

2. Information about an organization’s costs, how they are classified, and how or where they may be used are quite different within an organization based on different management accounting purposes, and

3. Cost behavior, as a supporting framework, must be thoroughly understood to appreciate how management accounting information is effectively designed and used. 

Management Accounting Concepts and Tools to Support the Analysis of Profits – The student should understand the factors that contribute to an organization’s profitability as well as the relationships between those factors.  These factors include alternative pricing approaches, an organization’s cost structure, understanding and using contribution margin, the volume of activity and how sensitive profits are to changes in volume, the break-even point, and the concept of operating leverage.  To understand how these factors interact with one another it is

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fundamental that cost behavior patterns, such as fixed, variable, and mixed costs, are identified and used in profitability analysis. 

How Organizations Determine the Cost of Providing a Product or Service – An organization’s accounting information system is used to provide information about the cost of providing its products or services as required for financial reporting purposes.  But in order to effectively use this information for internal purposes of planning, control, and decision-making, the student must understand how those costs should be viewed differently.  Product and service costing systems must be explored, such as job-cost and process cost systems.  The methods by which costs are accumulated and assigned to product or service activities are critical to having valid cost information and the distinction between direct costs, which are traceable to a product or service activity, and indirect costs, which must be allocated to a product or service activity, are critical for the student to understand.  Cost allocation and assignment techniques are to be explored with a special emphasis on activity-based costing. 

Management Accounting Information for Decision-Making – An organization’s management accounting information system must support its decision makers and students must understand how costs are organized and viewed differently for decision-making purposes.  Of critical importance to this objective is the ability for students to distinguish costs that are relevant to the decision at hand from those costs that are irrelevant and therefore should not be considered.  Distinct cost terms are used to classify these costs as relevant or not and many decision-making examples should be used to illustrate this concept.   

Management Accounting Information for Planning – An organization’s management accounting information system must support its planning process and students must understand how costs are organized and viewed differently for planning purposes.  This course should explore the organizational process and dynamics for planning and students should be able to complete the sequence of individual budgets and understand the cost standards that comprise an organization’s operating budget and define expected performance, which is sometimes referred to as its master budget.  In addition to this process of planning for profits and costs on the annual operational level, long-term planning for capital investments are also explored.  To facilitate long-term planning and to support accurate capital investment decisions, the time value of money concept is introduced and techniques for analyzing capital investment proposals are

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presented. 

Management Accounting Information for Control – An organization’s management accounting information system must support its control function and students must understand how costs are organized and viewed differently for control purposes.  Once budgets and other plans and decisions are implemented, the appropriate question is “how well are we doing?” and an organization’s control function should provide the answer.  Students should understand important control techniques and principles in order to properly compare the actual operating results to those costs that should have been expected for the level of activity achieved (flexible budgets).  Variances should be explored in terms of their significance and meaning relative to corrective action.  The behavioral implications of a performance reporting system is important for all students to appreciate and the concept of responsibility accounting is developed to guide the performance measurement system and the Balanced Scorecard should be developed in order to emphasize the importance of using a mix of performance measures that focus on financial as well as non-financial organizational perspectives.

Suggested Course Activities

This course should require various problem solving, case analysis, and writing assignments each week in addition to compelling class discussion on many interesting topics. These assignments are for the students benefit; the material will be learned much more effectively by integrating these activities than from the reading or lectures alone. In addition, an important objective is to develop an awareness and appreciation for current issues beyond the concepts that are described in the textbook. Each week throughout the course assignment activities such as those described below should be required:

Chapter Problems - each chapter has a variety of exercises and problems that reinforce some dimension of the material from that chapter. The requirements should be obvious from the information given.  The goal, of course, is to have students develop appropriate analytical and problem solving techniques and when mistakes are made to learn from those mistakes.    

Cases emphasize the practical interpretation and application of the material and can be used to illustrate more real-world examples.   

Outside reading and and other related materials or websites provide an opportunity to keep student current with the latest

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developments surrounding management accounting topics.  

Significant class discussion should take place each week around the assignment items and it is your responsibility to proactively participate in that class discussion.  Participation in class discussion activities should comprise 10% of the final grade.

Prerequisites BUSN 5600 - Accounting Theory and PracticeBUSN 5760 - Applied Business Statistics

Recommended Texts

Management Accounting , by Atkinson, Kaplan, and Young, 4th edition, 2004, Prentice-Hall, ISBN: 0-13-008217-1 (This text will be used in St. Louis)

Managerial Accounting , by Garrison and Noreen,10th edition, 2003, McGraw-Hill, ISBN: 0-07-242338-2

Management Accounting: A Strategic Approach , by Morse, Davis, and Hartgraves, 3rd edition, 2004, South-Western, ISBN: 0-324-11997-6

Management Accounting: Analysis and Interpretation , by McWatters, Morse, and Zimmerman, 2nd edition, 2001, McGraw-Hill, ISBN: 0-07-028300-1

Instructor Qualifications

A Masters degree in Accounting - OR - A Masters degree in a business related discipline with a BS degree in Accounting.  In both cases an accompanying CMA and/or CPA is preferred.  Professional experience in an appropriate management accounting and/or reporting function that demonstrates the instructors involvement with planning, control, and decision making systems. Instructor should have previous experience teaching graduate financial accounting.

Suggested Waiver Policy

This course is intended for all MBA students. 

Instructor Support Materials

Example syllabus for this course. Microsoft Word Syllabus Template - Save the file to your hard

drive and then complete the syllabus by filling in the highlighted areas.

HTML Template - Save the file to your hard drive and then complete the syllabus using an HTML editor like Microsoft

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FrontPage.

Department of BusinessSchool of Business and Technology

Webster University

Faculty Course Guide

Course BUSN 6110 Operations Management

Catalog Description

This is a course that focuses on the major managerial issues in manufacturing management and the tools that can be used to manage them. Special attention will be given to project management, including PERT, critical path scheduling, and time-cost models, in operations management and other business settings. The major operations management issues are quality management and control, capacity management, plant location, layout and design, production planning and scheduling, supply chain management, and inventory management. The analytical tools covered include queuing theory, statistical quality control, linear programming, and learning curves. Where appropriate, the use of operations management techniques in service and distribution organizations will be demonstrated.

Course Objectives

Historically, the operations management course has focused on the manufacturing environment and historically that has been appropriate. However, the structure of modern economies has changed and less attention should be given to manufacturing and more devoted to use of traditional operations management approaches in the non-manufacturing environment. In terms of class time approximately 60% of the class time should be spent on manufacturing applications. The class must also cover both the managerial issues and the actual technical use of the tools and techniques. This issue will be discussed later in this guideline when quantitative methods are covered.

Course Content Introduction and Integration (2 hours) This early part of the course should: introduce the student to the overall plan of the course and show how this material relates other major areas of study in the MBA program. The

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course should also address how operations can be used to create competitive advantage when designed to support the corporate and business-level strategies.  

Project Management (4 hours) This material should be taught as a generalizable approach to planning and control as opposed to a specifically operations management topic. It should include basic network analysis, PERT, time-cost issues, and decisions to expedite an activity. 

Plant, Product, and Process Design (4 hours) These three topics can be taught as an integrated whole that starts with product design, proceeds through process selection, and plant layout. In this section some attention can be spent on job design and work measurement, but it should not normally be a major focus of the course. Specific attention needs to be devoted to manufacturability, global manufacturing (globalization), plant layout to include assembly line organization and balancing, the impact of cycle time on capacity, group technology and focussed factories. This is a good area to deal with non-manufacturing businesses by reviewing retail and office layouts as well as product design and process selection for service industries. 

Quality Management (4 hours) The importance of quality, the Shingo system, continuous improvement, and SQC should be the focus of this section. The ability to construct and use SQC charts is an important objective of this section.  

Supply Chain Management (4 hours) Management of the supply chain is one of the most important corporate functions because it directly impacts both efficiency and quality. The key topics are supply chain design and measurement, (including vendor evaluation), outsourcing, Just-in-Time, capacity planning, and facility location.  

Operations Planning and Scheduling (4 hours) This section of the course covers, aggregate planning, operations scheduling, MRP, inventory control, simulation, and synchronous manufacturing. Synchronous manufacturing should be taught with an emphasis on bottleneck analysis. 

Quantitative Methods (8 hours) While this is not intended to be an operations management specialist course, there are a number of quantitative tools that

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the students must know how to use and they are listed below. Except for SQC which should be taught in the QC section of the course the other techniques can be taught different places depending on the application which is to be emphasized.

PERT: the student should be able to draw basic arrow diagrams, develop PERT diagrams using three time estimates, be able to use PERT probabilistically, be able to make expediting decisions, and time-cost problems;

Queueing Theory: the student needs to know how to set up the problems for solution and how to interpret the output;

Quality Control: the student should be able to construct, plot, and interpret the information on an SQC chart and be able to develop an appropriate sampling plan;

Linear Programming: students need to be able to set up LP problems for solution and to interpret the results. The applications should include product line profitability, service productivity analysis, and distribution scheduling problems.

Inventory Control: students should be able to calculate EOQ and be familiar with the total cost model for both fixed order quantity and fixed time period models. 

Discretionary Time (6 hours) These hours can be used in at least a couple of ways. They can be used to examine some of the core topics above in more detail or to provide more practice in the use of the quantitative methods. Alternatively, these six hours can be used by the individual faculty member to introduce the class to any related special expertise they may have developed during their career. 

Suggested Course Activities

Lectures and Discussions about the managerial issues involved in operations management including the tradeoffs that are required.

Problems, cases, and exercises that require the class to use analytical techniques to solve operation-type problems. These could include assembly line balancing problems, product line questions using PERT, queueing theory problems, inventory control problems, bottle neck problems, etc. The problems and cases in most texts are very simple so some harder problems or cases for homework should

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be useful.

Prerequisites All MBA program prerequisites, BUSN 6060, MRKT 5000, FIN 5000.

Recommended Texts

Operations Management for Competitive Advantage by Chase and Aquilano, 10th edition. ISBN: 0-07-284507-4NOTE: Aquilano and Chase is an undergraduate text by the same authors.Operations Management by William J. Stevenson, 7th edition. ISBN: 0-07-244390-1

Instructor Qualifications

The ideal candidate would have an MBA with extensive experience with the use of operations tools in real-life situations. Or, a person with a degree in engineering with extensive experience in manufacturing management, preferably with some  experience above the plant level.

Suggested Waiver Policy

Graduate course in Operations Management.

Instructor Support Materials

Example syllabus for this course. Microsoft Word Syllabus Template - Save the file to your hard

drive and then complete the syllabus by filling in the highlighted areas.

HTML Template - Save the file to your hard drive and then complete the syllabus using an HTML editor like Microsoft FrontPage.

Department of BusinessSchool of Business and Technology

Webster University

Faculty Course Guide

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Course BUSN 6120 Managerial Economics

Catalog Description

The student examines the application of microeconomic theory as applied to the managers' responsibilities within the organization. This course should emphasize the quantitative and qualitative application of economic principles to business analysis.

Course Objectives

To introduce students to a broad spectrum of issues they might consider when making managerial decisions (e.g. what market type am I in, what pricing strategy do I employ, how price sensitive are my customers, what factors most influence my sales and/or costs, how do I pay my employees in a manner that elicits the highest level of performance, etc…), and to empower students to use quantitative analysis (either by generating the data themselves or simply interpreting/evaluating data created by others) in order to enhance or govern their decision-making on the job.

Summary of Course Breakdown:Supply and Demand    (1 hour)Elasticity (2 hours)Regression Analysis (3 hours)Forecasting (2 hours)Production and Cost (3 hours)Principal-Agent Problem

(2 hours)

Industry Concentration and Market Structures

(4 hours)

Game Theory (2 hours)Various Pricing Strategies

(3 hours)

Uncertainty and Risk (2 hours)Total  24 hours

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Allowing for 4 hours of testing in the first 8 weeks, plus the 24 hours suggested above, this allows 4 hours of freedom (32-28) during the first eight weeks to cover discretionary topics of interest to the instructor.

Course Content Supply and Demand (1 hour)

The beginning of the course should review the basic tenants of supply and demand.  The differences between quantity demanded and demand, and quantity supplied and supply should be reviewed.  The non-price factors that cause changes in equilibrium price and quantity should be reviewed.  Time should be spent on showing students how changing market prices and quantities can be explained using comparative statistics. Students should also be introduced to price controls that might prevent a market from equilibrating.  Lastly, students should be introduced to what a demand function is, how one might be generated, the difference between linear and non-linear demand functions, and how demand functions can be used for the purposes of estimating various elasticities.

Elasticity (2 hours)

The fundamentals of elasticity should be reviewed; namely, what it is, how to calculate it, how to interpret coefficients of elasticity, what factors influence changes in elasticity, the correlation between elasticity and total revenue, and the other forms of elasticity (e.g. cross-price, income, advertising, supply).  Students should be taught how to use elasticity estimates to make projections in response to changes in price or quantity.  Students should be taught how to obtain elasticity estimates from either a linear or log-linear demand function.

Regression Analysis (3 hours)

Students should be introduced to the basics of how to interpret regression results from either a simple or multiple regression.  Interpreting regression results entails (at the very least) the following: a) understanding how to interpret the coefficients generated; b) understanding whether a given variable is statistically significant by looking at its t-statistic; c) understanding the value of using the 95% confidence interval to make 'best-case’ and ‘worst-case’ scenarios; d) understanding the usefulness of adjusted R-squared and the F-statistic. Examples should be given that illustrate to the

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students how regression analysis can be used to assist managerial decision-making.  An optional endeavor would be for the instructor to show students how they could generate regression results using Excel.

Forecasting (2 hours)

Students should be exposed to various methods of forecasting, given its applicability in business settings.  Six categories of forecasts include: expert opinion, opinion polls and market research, surveys of spending plans, economic indicators, projections, and econometric models.  Additionally, students should be introduced to concepts such as seasonal and cyclical fluctuations, as well as smoothing techniques. 

Production and Cost (3 hours) The beginning of this discussion should review the basic

tenants of production and cost theory.  Students should review the concepts of total product, marginal product, and average product.  Students should review the concepts of total and average cost, total and average fixed cost, total and average variable cost, and marginal cost.  Students should understand the ‘mirror-image’ relationship between production and cost.  Students should be introduced to the concept of marginal revenue product, and how this concept relates to the profit-maximizing level of employees to hire.  Students should be shown how regression analysis can be used to project cost or sales estimates.  Students should discuss the long run topics of economies of scale and scope.  And students should be introduced to the four different profit positions a firm could be in (e.g. profits, break-even, loss but stay in business, shut down).

Principal-Agent Problem (2 hours)

Students should be introduced to managerial issues related to the relationship between owners and managers, as well as labor relations and compensation issues related to the relationship between managers and workers.

Industry Concentration and Market Structures (4 hours)

Students should be introduced to the concept of industry concentration; namely, what it is, various ways of calculating it, and inherent biases regarding how industry concentration is

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measured.  The discussion of industry concentration should lead nicely into a discussion of the 4 primary market structures that exist: perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, and oligopoly.  Students should be schooled in how these market structures differ from each other in terms of: structure, conduct, and performance.  That is, what are the underlying assumptions associated with each, how do these parameters influence the way firms within that structure interact with each other, and how do these differing ways of market interaction influence prices, sales, and market shares within a given industry.  Students should be introduced to all forms of entry barriers (i.e. classical barriers like economies of scale or legal barriers, pricing barriers like predatory pricing, and non-pricing barriers like product proliferation). Students should understand how market prices react to entry or exit from an industry, and should be familiar with long run implications regarding profits, prices, and output levels across all market structures.  Particular time should be spent discussing oligopolies, given the many ways in which firms can interact.  Specifically, time should be spent discussing: the Sweezy principle, the Cournot and Stackleberg models, the Bertrand and price leadership models, cartels and collusion, and the concept of contestable markets.  An optional endeavor would be for the instructor to show students how to quantitatively compare price and quantity outcomes across different market structures.

Game Theory (2 hours)

Students should be introduced to the basic tenants of game theory.  This would include: a) a discussion of dominant strategies; b) a discussion of Nash equilibrium; c) a discussion of the prisoner’s dilemma; d) miscellaneous topics including mixed strategies, trigger strategies, finite versus infinitely repeated games, simultaneous move games, and such.  An effort should be made to apply the concept of game theory to business situations involving decisions such as which price to choose or what advertising level to choose, given reasonable expectations of what your competition might do. 

Various Pricing Strategies (3 hours)

This segment of the course tries to illustrate various ways that a firm can try to capture consumer surplus in an attempt to boost company profits, and to price their products accordingly

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to consumers with differing demand elasticities.  To that end, students should be introduced to the following: using elasticity to solve for profit-maximizing price, the differences among the various forms of price discrimination, block pricing and two-part pricing, transfer pricing and commodity bundling, and randomized pricing, cross-subsidization, and price matching.  An optional endeavor for the instructor would be to show students how to solve for the optimal pricing strategy given a demand function.

Uncertainty and Risk (2 hours) Students should be introduced to the concepts of expected

value, standard deviation, and the coefficient of variation in order to ascertain expected wealth and risk levels when forecasting an uncertain event or business venture.  Given the ups and downs of the business world, there are inherent uncertainties that will always exist, and students should be introduced to how managers can assess the expected returns and risk associated with uncertain business ventures or strategic decisions.

Suggested Course Activities

Lectures and discussions regarding the material presented above.  Strongly suggested that the course be taught in an interactive classroom in which students can be shown how to generate regression results using Excel, and that real-world applications of the topics discussed can be found through various articles on the Internet.  Strongly suggested that some of the quantitative problems be solved in class so students are forced to work through the problems, and then receive immediate instructor feedback.

Prerequisites BUSN 5620 and BUSN 6060

Recommended Texts

Managerial Economics , 4th Edition, Keat and Young. (2003) ISBN: 0-13-035335-3

Managerial Economics and Business Strategy , 4th Edition, Michael Baye. (2003) ISBN: 0-07-281863-8

Fundamentals of Managerial Economics , 7th Edition, Hirschey and Pappas. (2003) ISBN: 0-32-418331-3

Managerial Economics , 7th Edition, Maurice and Thomas.

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(2002) ISBN: 0-07-239291-6

Each of these textbooks is strong, and the instructor should review each before deciding which textbook is best suited for his/her strengths and his/her students.  The expanded course objectives discussed above were based upon both the Keat and Young text, and the Baye text, but these topics should be considered as the required topics to cover.  This allows other instructors some ‘degrees of freedom’ as to what additional topics they would like to add to the course.

Instructor Qualifications

Ph.D. in Economics with teaching experience in this field would be ideal.  Also acceptable would be either an MBA or M.S. in economics with either teaching experience with this class or real-world experience as a manager.

Suggested Waiver Policy

 

Instructor Support Materials

Example syllabus for this course. Microsoft Word Syllabus Template - Save the file to your hard

drive and then complete the syllabus by filling in the highlighted areas.

HTML Template - Save the file to your hard drive and then complete the syllabus using an HTML editor like Microsoft FrontPage.

Department of BusinessSchool of Business and Technology

Webster University

Faculty Course Guide

Course BUSN 6200 Strategy and Competition

Catalog Description

The student examines the conceptual and practical aspects of business policies and policy decision making by utilizing all the concepts, theories, and tools that were presented in the previous

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courses. The student should be able to analyze and recommend a comprehensive and workable approach to the situation. The course should cover current business issues and developments. Prerequisites: completion of all other required courses in the M.B.A.

Course Objectives

The intent of this course is to give the student an intensive capstone experience that brings together the many aspects of business decision-making.   This course gives students a chance to apply much of their prior MBA learning in a competitive environment that fosters the development of business judgment.  The focus of this course should be on business and corporate level strategy, strategic thinking, strategy formulation and competition and competitive interaction.

Course Content Discussion overview of strategy (1 hour) 

External and industry analysis (3-4 hours) Understanding the environment, the “playing field” is the foundation to formulating any kind of strategy. Strategy is about movement and countermovement vis-à-vis a competitor or competitors. Therefore it is essential that the strategist have tools to understand the industry environment and evaluate competitors.

Appropriate topics include: (1) General environmental analysis (i.e., government, technology, stakeholders, the economy, industry trends, industry concentration, etc. (2) Competitor analysis (i.e., relative strengths and weaknesses of rivals)(3) Porter’s Five Forces(4) SWOT (with an emphasis on external opportunities and threats)(5) Scanning, monitoring and forecasting the environment arenecessary skills in spotting opportunities and developing competitive strategy.  

Internal analysis (3-4 hours) To narrow down the range of possibilities found in the environmental analysis, an internal analysis is needed to tell the firm what it can do.

Appropriate topics include: (1) SWOT analysis (with an emphasis on internal firm strengths and weaknesses)

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(2) analysis of available resources, capabilities and core competencies(3) Resource based view of sustainable competitive advantage;

(4) Value chain. 

Business-level strategy (3-4 hours) At the most fundamental level, business strategy is about how to out-compete the competition. It involves the choices firms make in product positioning and the overall value proposition offered to the customer vis-à-vis the competition’s value proposition.

Appropriate topics: (1) Porter’s generic strategies (i.e., cost leadership, product/service differentiation, and focus/niche)(3) Risks of generic strategies (4) Profitability and generic strategies (5) How Porter’s generic strategies help nullify the threat of five environmental forces, which produces higher firm performance; (5) “Best cost” strategy (i.e., “value” or “integrated cost leadership-differentiation”) (6) Strategic groups (7) Integration of functional areas (i.e., marketing, production, finance, HR) to achieve business-level strategy. 

Competitive Rivalry and Competitive Dynamics (3-4 hours)MBA students should be familiarized with the nature of competition. This is fundamental to a course in Strategic Management.

Appropriate topics: (1) Chen’s Model of Competitive Rivalry(2) Competitor intelligence and analysis(3) Drivers of competitive actions and responses (4) Strategic and tactical actions (5) Likelihood of attack and response(6) First-mover advantages(7) Slow vs. fast market cycles.

A natural extension of these topics is D’Avini’s work on Hypercompetition (see “Recommended Readings”) which shows the movement and countermovement between firms jockeying for superior positions in the market. Since more and more industries are involving into hypercompetitive environments (i.e., computer, automobile, home appliances,

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electronics), it is desirable to include this material in the course. 

Corporate-level strategy (4-6 hours) The primary areas covered by corporate-level strategy are which businesses and industries should the company compete in? And are these businesses closely related, unrelated, vertically integrated?

Appropriate topics: (1) Types of diversification (2) How should diversification be achieved – mergers and acquisitions vs. start-ups? (3) How can complex, diversified companies by managed? (i.e., BCG matrix, GE business screen)(4) Offensive vs. defensive strategy. 

Optional TopicsAlthough we expect these topics to comprise approximately 80% of the course, the remaining 20% we leave to instructor discretion to bring in their own expertise and experiences.  Appropriate optional topics include such as things as international business and global competitive strategy, strategy implementation, leadership in a strategic context, coordination and control across multiple business units, etc.

Suggested Course Activities

The Capstone Strategic Management Simulation (10 hours) is a required component of BUSN 6200. This is to ensure that all Webster University MBA students have a common, high quality integrative experience in their last semester of their program of studies. Capstone is a dynamic business simulation that runs the entire nine weeks of the course. This web-based simulation, located at www.capsim.com, brings together all of the primary functions of business (i.e., production, forecasting, marketing, pricing, finance, human resources and labor negotiations, distribution, trend analysis) and combines it within a competitive framework that teaches strategic thinking, and “strategy” as competitive movement and countermovement.

Instructors need to familiarize themselves with the simulation. First, visit the website and arrange a phone “tour” of the simulation. Next, order and read through the simulation manual. Finally, play a practice game yourself. For questions regarding this simulation, contact [email protected] or [email protected].

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Prerequisites All core courses in the MBA program.

Recommended Texts

Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization 5th Edition, by Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson (Thompson Publishing) (2003). ISBN: 0-32-411479-6NOTE: This course outline was developed using the Hitt et al textbook.  Other textbooks may not cover the recommended course material.

Strategic Management & Business Policy 9th Edition, by Wheelen & Hunger (Prentice Hall), (2004). ISBN: 0-13-142179-4

Recommended Readings:

Hypercompetition by D’Avini What Is Strategy by Porter

Note: others to be added

Instructor Qualifications

MBA (with emphasis in finance, marketing, or economics) with Qualifications: relevant work experience, i.e. top management level of ongoing, successful company (therefore not including unproven start-ups), OR product manager experience, or Ph.D. in Strategic Management or related area.

Suggested Waiver Policy

None – this is a required course with no exceptions.

Instructor Support Materials

Example syllabus for this course. Microsoft Word Syllabus Template - Save the file to your hard

drive and then complete the syllabus by filling in the highlighted areas.

HTML Template - Save the file to your hard drive and then complete the syllabus using an HTML editor like Microsoft FrontPage.

Department of BusinessSchool of Business and Technology

Webster University

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Faculty Course Guide

Course FINC 5000 Finance

Catalog Description

The student examines the general nature of financial management, the American financial system, taxes, and the major financial decisions of corporations. Specific attention is given to present value and capital budgeting; risk and asset pricing; financial analysis and forecasting; financial decisions and market efficiency; and capital structure. Problem-solving methodology is used to illustrate the theories and tools in financial decision making. 

Course Objectives

Finance ties the theoretical foundations of economics with the accounting field and language to develop a managerial outlook on corporate financial management. Understanding the financial makeup of a firm and managements' goal of increasing shareholder wealth through decisions on the capital structure to the firm's investments is the goal of the course.  

Students start with the basic goals of finance and the relationship to accounting and accounting statements and the information contained therein.  Time Value of Money is emphasized and utilized throughout the course.  Using Time Value of Money (TVM) concepts, together with risk and return, students learn to evaluate capital structure and basic weighted average cost of capital.  These concepts are developed to provide understanding of the importance of good financial management.  Capital Budgeting techniques are developed in a decision-making model.  

The intent of the course is to take the student through the basics in order to understand the "big picture" of what financial management is, what it means, and how it is used.  For students that do not take any more finance courses they should have a basic knowledge of the field of finance and the importance in their careers, businesses, and personal lives.  For students that go on to take more finance, they should have a solid foundation from which the other courses can start building.  In either case, this knowledge will help the student gain the decision-making and problem-solving skills so crucial in today's business environment.

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Course Content Relevance of financial statements and the DuPont methodology.

Understanding of TVM concepts and calculations.  Algebraic methodologies and financial calculators should be encouraged.  Use of tables is discouraged.

Integration of finance theory with the chapter materials.

Students should have a basic understanding of risk and return, efficient market hypothesis, and competitive markets and the consequences and challenges for financial managers.

Suggested Course Activities

This course requires problem solving, analysis, and class discussion on finance topics.  Assignments, completed in written form, are for the benefit of the student and should be assigned and completed weekly.  The field of finance requires students have both the practical 'how-to' numerical analysis and a solid theoretical foundation.  Also, students should develop an awareness and appreciation for current issues and the financial news.  Knowledge of how financial data is reported should be integrated.  each week throughout the course the following types of assignment activities may be required.

Chapter Problems - each chapter has a variety of problems that reinforce some dimension of the material from that chapter. The requirements should be obvious from the information given.  Students should attempt a problem set and be able to discuss their solution and approach with the instructor and class.

Lecture and discussion--a majority of the class may revolve around presentation of theoretical issues and problem solving.  Students should be encouraged to participate in applying theoretical ideas to numerical problems.

Cases and group cases may be assigned at the discretion of the instructor.  In the situation of group cases, team members should be allowed to grade each member's contribution to the team.

Full participation in this course is expected. Please advise the instructor ahead of time if you experience difficulties in keeping up with the course assignments and other activities.

Prerequisites BUSN 5600 Accounting Theory and Practice or equivalent course background is a prerequisite. Statistics and Economics are also suggested courses, but not required.

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Recommended Texts

Brigham and Ehrhardt, Financial Management , Theory and Practice, 10th edition, Harcourt, Inc., 2002. ISBN: 0-03-032931-0

Ross, Westerfield, and Jaffe, Corporate Finance, 6th edition, McGraw-Hill, 2002. ISBN: 0-07-283193-6

Brealey and Myers, Principles of Corporate Finance, 7th edition, McGraw-Hill, 2003. ISBN: 0-07-287222-5

Instructor Qualifications

The instructor must have an graduate degree in finance or an undergraduate degree in finance and a masters degree in a related discipline.  The ideal instructor will have adequate academic background as well as possess significant professional experience.

Suggested Waiver Policy

This course is intended for all MBA students.  There should be value-added for students that have had a previous finance course, however, there may be students with finance undergrad degrees.  These students should ask to have another finance course replace this course in their degree requirements.  The intent is to insure that each Webster MBA student has met the above stated objectives.

Instructor Support Materials

Example syllabus for this course. Microsoft Word Syllabus Template - Save the file to your hard

drive and then complete the syllabus by filling in the highlighted areas.

HTML Template - Save the file to your hard drive and then complete the syllabus using an HTML editor like Microsoft FrontPage.

Department of BusinessSchool of Business and Technology

Webster University

Faculty Course Guide

Course FINC 5880 Advanced Corporate Finance

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Catalog Description

This advanced study of corporate financial analysis and planning includes capital budgeting, cost of funds, and capital structure and valuation. Selected topics that may be covered are leasing, mergers, takeovers, business failure, reorganization, and liquidation. A combination of problem-solving and case-study methodologies is used to illustrate theories and techniques helpful in financial analysis and planning.

Course Objectives

Finance ties the theoretical foundations of economics with the accounting field and language to develop a managerial outlook on corporate financial management. Understanding the financial makeup of a firm and managements' goal of increasing shareholder wealth through decisions on the capital structure to the firm's investments is the goal of the course.  

FINC5880 builds on time value of money, valuation, cost of capital, and introductory financial concepts covered in FINC5000.  This course should advance the concepts (building blocks) of the introductory finance and introduce the more advanced special topics of financial management, such as real options and derivatives.

The intent of the course is to take the student through the advanced finance topics in order to understand the "big picture" of specialized financial issues and instruments.  For students that do not take any more finance courses they should have a solid understanding of the field of finance and the importance in their careers, businesses, and personal lives.  This knowledge will help the student gain the decision-making and problem-solving skills so crucial in today's business environment.

Course Content Understanding of TVM concepts and calculations.  Algebraic methodologies and financial calculators should be encouraged.  Use of tables is discouraged.

Understanding of dividend policy and theory. Coverage of working capital management. Integration of finance theory with the chapter materials. Students should have a basic understanding of risk and return,

efficient market hypothesis, and competitive markets and the consequences and challenges for financial managers.

Expand on issues which affect cash flow, capital structure, and valuation.

Introduce advanced topics such as;  leasing, real options, hybrid financing, capital structure considerations, financial

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futures and option, risk management, and mergers.

International considerations should be part of the curriculum.

Suggested Course Activities

This course requires problem solving, analysis, and class discussion on finance topics.  Assignments, completed in written form, are for the benefit of the student and should be assigned and completed weekly.  The field of finance requires students have both the practical 'how-to' numerical analysis and a solid theoretical foundation.  Also, students should develop an awareness and appreciation for current issues and the financial news.  Knowledge of how financial data is reported should be integrated.  each week throughout the course the following types of assignment activities may be required.

Chapter Problems - each chapter has a variety of problems that reinforce some dimension of the material from that chapter. The requirements should be obvious from the information given.  Students should attempt a problem set and be able to discuss their solution and approach with the instructor and class.

Lecture and discussion--a majority of the class may revolve around presentation of theoretical issues and problem solving.  Students should be encouraged to participate in applying theoretical ideas to numerical problems.

Cases and group cases may be assigned at the discretion of the instructor.  In the situation of group cases, team members should be allowed to grade each member's contribution to the team.

Full participation in this course is expected. Please advise the instructor ahead of time if you experience difficulties in keeping up with the course assignments and other activities.

Students should be expected to regularly read The Wall Street Journal &/or Barrons, and to actively contribute to class discussions, integrating actual events with concepts from both FINC 5000 and FINC 5880.

Prerequisites FINC 5000 Finance or equivalent.

Recommended Texts

Brigham and Ehrhardt, Financial Management , Theory and Practice, 10th edition, Harcourt, Inc., 2002. ISBN: 0-03-032931-0

Ross, Westerfield, and Jaffe, Corporate Finance, 6th edition,

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McGraw-Hill, 2002. ISBN: 0-07-283193-6

Brealey and Myers, Principles of Corporate Finance, 7th edition, McGraw-Hill, 2003. ISBN: 0-07287222-5

Instructor Qualifications

The instructor must have an graduate degree in finance or an undergraduate degree in finance and a masters degree in a related discipline.  The ideal instructor will have adequate academic background as well as possess significant professional experience.

Suggested Waiver Policy

This course is intended for all MBA students.  

Instructor Support Materials

Example syllabus for this course. Microsoft Word Syllabus Template - Save the file to your hard

drive and then complete the syllabus by filling in the highlighted areas.

HTML Template - Save the file to your hard drive and then complete the syllabus using an HTML editor like Microsoft FrontPage.

Department of BusinessSchool of Business and Technology

Webster University

Faculty Course GuideCourse MRKT 5000 - Marketing

Catalog Description

Students examine the character and importance of the marketing process, its essential functions and the institutions exercising these functions. Course content focuses on the major policies that underlie the activities of marketing institutions and the social, economic, and political implications of such policies. This course gives an overview of the entire marketing process and the integration of the elements that makeup a Marketing Plan.

Course Objectives

The first objective will be for the student to be able to properly identify and select markets for which specific products will be targeted.

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Gain an understanding of the basic functional aspects necessary to formulate an integrated Marketing Plan. This includes Consumer Buying Behavior, Environment, Marketing Research, Product Management, Promotion, Channels of Distribution and Pricing.

Perform Marketing Research that is targeted towards reading topical articles related to Marketing and being able to reference their topics to what is being discussed in the class.

Gain the ability to assemble a comprehensive, conceptual Marketing Plan based on what is learned in this class.  This objective deals with the practical application of the subject of Marketing and integrates the information presented in the entire class. This overview of a conceptual marketing plan will be used to build detailed Marketing Plans in future courses.

Course Content

Mandatory TopicsAt the completion of this course the student will be able to: (1) segment the markets available for the product selected, (2) Understand consumer buying behavior and how it affects the buying process, (3) Access the impact of the environmental issues that affect the success of the marketing plan, (4) Know the marketing management process and how important it is to the success of the marketing effort, (5) Know the fundamental aspects of utilizing Marketing Research as the basis of the marketing effort, (6) Know the fundamentals of Promotion and how it is used  to communicate with the customer, (7) Understand the channel of distribution process and how it impacts the success of the marketing process, (8) Know the essential aspects of pricing and how it should reflect the value of the product as determined by the customer. Each of these eight elements of the marketing process needs to be integrated properly to develop a successful Marketing Plan.  This integration must be experienced once the fundamental elements of the marketing process have been addressed. The concept of having the right product for the right market at the right time is very important in successfully understanding the success of marketing plans. After completing the course, students should have been introduced to the following topic areas:   Product /Service Introduction · Generic description of the product to determine competition· Differentiated value that represents the product being sold Market · Market Segmentation / Positioning Process· Selecting the markets to target

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· Consumer Buying Behavior· Environment issues that must be addressed Marketing Research· Fundamentals of gathering, analyzing and forecasting · Various ways to gather information: Questionnaires, Focus Groups, Industry Data, etc.· Statistical analysis of information gathered Product Management· Life cycle tool for Managing the Marketing Plan· Stages of the Product Life Cycle· New Product Development Channels of Distribution· Channel Selection· Channel Management· Competitive analysis  Promotion· Advertising· Publicity· Sales Promotion· Personal Selling· Budgeting for Promotion Pricing Strategies· Strategic Pricing · Tactical Pricing Strategy Integration of Marketing Fundamentals· Framework for conceptual marketing plan· Competitive Analysis

 

Suggested Course Activities

Research Exercise (example)Every graduate course should have a research project that will enhance the student’s ability to understand the material being taught in the class.  This represents a typical research exercise that would be appropriate for the course. This research example is due on the seventh week of the class.

The Research Project for this course is designed to relate current articles (within the last year) to the material covered in the class. The topics that should be addressed are:o  Market Segmentationo  Marketing Research

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o  Consumer Buying Behavioro  Product Managemento  Channels of Distributiono  Promotiono  Pricing 

The student is expected to write a one-page response for each topic. The format of this one page response is:o Name of topico Name of Source o Title of Articleo Author and Date o Summary of the Articleo Class Application

Case Study Analysis

It is highly recommended that case discussion and analysis is part of a weekly class exercises. The cases selected can be from those presented in the text or from other sources if desired. The purpose of the case discussions is to provide an opportunity for the students to apply what they are learning in the class with real world situations. It is suggested that the following outline be followed in analyzing and presenting these cases: Summary of CaseKey Marketing Issues addressed in the caseAnswer the questions presented in the caseClass Application – utilization of the “language of marketing” presented in the case. Students should give presentations on the cases that they have been assigned as the group leader.

Prerequisites MRKT 5000 is a core area of concentration beginning course, and therefore does not require a prerequisite course. This course is the prerequisite for other courses in the Marketing Core area of concentration.

Recommended Texts

Preferred Text Marketing, Concepts and StrategiesEdition 12thPride & FerrellHoughton Mifflin Company There is a complete set of support material that is available from the publisher upon request. This includes videotapes of selected cases covered

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in the text, overhead slides, teaching workbook, and sample exam questions. Alternate Texts  (Both of these texts have a complete set of support material available) Marketing Kerin, Berkowtiz, Hartley, Rudelius7th EditionMcGraw Hill Principles of Marketing Kottler & Arnstrong  Tenth EditionPearson / Prentice Hall

Instructor Qualifications

Required Qualifications: Instructors must have at least a master’s degree in business or marketing. Experience in the marketing field is important. Instructor must have experience in teaching this type of general course and familiarity with the different components of marketing process.  Desirable Qualifications:  MBA or Doctoral Degree with over five years experience teaching marketing-related courses at the graduate level. Varied experience in the field of marketing is a real plus.

Suggested Waiver Policy

Since this course outlines and addresses the key Marketing information that will be covered in subsequent marketing courses, it is mandatory that every Marketing student take this course. No waivers are allowed.

Support Materials

Sample Syllabus

Grading This is a typical breakdown of the grading policy to use for this course.Exams    Mid-term 30%  Final Exam 40%Research Exercise

15%

Case Analysis 5%Class Participation

10%

Use of multiple choice and true/false examinations are not appropriate for Graduate Level courses.

Subjective exam questions and questions designed to promote student application of what they have learned in the class are

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encouraged It is also recommended to place a relatively high percentage of the

class grade to student participation in the class (10 - 15%) Final examinations should be limited to two hours.

Integration with Other Core Courses  

This course is designed to be the introductory course in the Marketing Core area of concentration. The students taking this course will see the entire overview of the marketing curriculum. Most of the main topics covered will become the topic of one of the six required courses in the Marketing core.

This course is also the only Marketing course in the MBA required curriculum. To satisfy this requirement this course also needs to be all-inclusive, stand alone in terms of covering the depth of the marketing knowledge needed for these students.

  Provides the complete picture of what will be included in the Marketing Plan developed in the MRKT 6000 course.

Illustrates the methods used to develop a comprehensive Marketing Plan.

Special attention should be placed to include this material in the MRKT 5000 course to support pricing requirements in the curriculum. This is the information that should be covered in this class: 

Gross Margin Ratio -= gross margin / net sales Net Income Ratio = net income / net sales Operating Expenses Ratio = Total Expense / Net Sales Inventory Turnover = Cost of Goods Sold / Average Inventory at Cost ROI = Net Income / Total Investment Capital Turnover = Net Sales / Total Investment Markup % = Profit / Total Cost Margin %  = Profit / Selling Price Markdown Percentage  = Dollar Markdowns / Net SalesContribution

Per Unit = Selling Price – VC Break Even = Fixed Cost / Contribution Per Unit

Cover this information relating to the application of the above topics: Given a retail price and channel margin structure, calculate the

manufacture’s contribution. Given a retail price, channel margin structure, market size, and

marketing investment, calculate breakeven market-share. Given acquisition cost, revenues, contribution margin, discount rate,

and brand loyalty, calculate lifetime customer value. Given specific market size, purchase cycle, average retail price, and

market share information, forecast annual dollar sales for the

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company’s product / service.

Other related areas that should be covered in terms quantitative information: Development of Promotion Budget Cost Build Up of that Impact Channels of Distribution Selection has

on the Pricing and Competitive Cost Structure. Forecasting Based on Marketing Research (regression

analysis/computer programs available) Mean, Standard Deviation, etc.

Determining Marketing Plan = Sales Volume Relationship Building a Demand Structure from a Competitive Structure Cost Orientated Pricing Equation

Determining MR and MC for Demand Orientated Pricing Method.

   

Faculty Course GuideCourse MNGT 5590 Organizational Behavior

Catalog Description

This course introduces students to many of the basic principles of human behavior that effective managers use when managing individuals and groups in organizations. The include theories relating to individual differences in abilities and attitudes, attribution, motivation, group dynamics, power and politics, leadership, conflict resolution, organizational culture, and organization structure and design.

Course Objectives

Organizational behavior encompasses a wide range of theories about the behaviors of individuals and groups in organizations, as well as how organizations are structured. In this introductory course, the objective is to introduce terminology, fundamental theories, and key issues. The topics include individual differences, perception and attributions, motivation, decision making, leadership, power and politics, conflict and negotiation, work groups and teams, culture, and organizational structure. The focus is on developing students’ knowledge of concepts and terminology, although students will apply those concepts by analyzing short videos and cases. This is not a behavioral skill development course, although some of the

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information is relevant to managerial practices and behaviors.

Course Content

Mandatory Topics

After completing this course, students should have been introduced to the following key topic areas. (Note: The bullet points under the main topics represent examples of subtopics of the mandatory topic; they are not mandatory topics themselves and instructors may choose to teach different subtopics.) The course is designed with the assumption that the midterm and final examinations will take 4 hours of course time. This leaves the equivalent of 32 student-contact hours (eight four-hour class sessions) for teaching students (unless take-home exams are given).

Individual-Level of Analysis (14 hours total)         • Individual differences (7 hours)                o Abilities and aptitudes (e.g., cognitive, physical, psychomotor, sensory)                o Personality traits and theories (e.g., Five Factor Model or “Big 5”, Myers-Briggs, Emotional Intelligence, 16 PF, McClelland’s Achievement Motivation Theory and Murray’s Manifest Needs, self-monitoring, locus of control, etc.)                o Attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job involvement, etc.)                o Values and ethics        • Perception and attributions (2 hours)        • Learning theory (or reinforcement theory) (1 hour)        • Motivation and applied motivation topics (e.g., empowerment, pay for performance, goal setting, job redesign) (4 hours)

Group-Level of Analysis (8 hours total)        • Small group and team formation and processes (3 hours)        • Intergroup Conflict and Conflict Resolution (includes negotiation) (2 hours)        • Power and politics (2 hours)        • Decision making models (e.g., individual and group, participatory management, rational and bounded rationality models) (1 hour)

Organization-Level of Analysis (6 hours total)        • Organizational culture (1 hour)        • Organization development and change (3 hours)        • Organization structure and design (2 hours)

Based on this allocation, approximately 87% of the total student-contact time (after testing) is allocated to mandatory topics (28 hours, or 7 class sessions). The instructor may allocate more or less time for some topics,

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provided that each of the mandatory topics is discussed to some degree. The remainder of the class time can be used to discuss discretionary topics, or develop mandatory topics in more depth.

Discretionary Topics

The mandatory topics cover most of the material in standard organizational behavior textbooks. Usually there are other chapters on less important topics, which, if time permits, may be discussed at the instructor’s discretion. Examples of such discretionary topics include:• Detailed discussion of individuals’ abilities• Detailed discussion of managing diversity• Emotions and moods• Detailed discussion of job design and redesign to empower workers• Detailed discussion of small group and team development processes• Stress• Communications• Career dynamics and the employment relationship• Work-family life balance• Managing global organizations (transnational and multinational organizations)• Determinants of organizational structure

Suggested Course Activities

Assessment Methods

Midterm and final examinations using multiple choice and short answer essay questions to assess knowledge of terminology and concepts. Essay questions or cases may be used to assess application of theory to facts.

Have students write an integrative paper that forces them to analyze a real-world situation with which they are familiar in terms of the concepts and theories found in the textbook. In addition, it may be desirable to ask for suggested action plans to resolve the problematic situation.

  Supplemental Readings

Whether to use supplemental readings is up to the instructor, but there are many useful avenues for incorporating them into the class. The primary concerns are whether students will read the material and the cost of the additional readings. Putting articles on electronic reserve reduces the cost, but doesn’t address the students’ willingness to read. E-books are emerging as useful alternatives to requiring students to buy another book, but there are relatively few E-books at present.

The online course has used John Kotter’s Leading Change book as a supplement to the regular textbook. The book is quite short and readable,

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and replaces the time otherwise spent attending class each week. However, the students seem to like the book, so it may be useful in the regular classroom as a supplemental reading. In the online course, instead of writing an integrative paper about personal situations, the students write a paper in which they critically analyze Kotter’s book using concepts and theories from the textbook. There are also many books with supplemental readings relating to organizational behavior, such as Matteson and Ivancevich’s “Management and Organizational Behavior Classics,” Kolb, Osland, and Rubin’s “The Organizational Behavior Reader,” and Annual Editions’ “Organizational Behavior” series.

Prerequisites Students majoring in human resources development must have completed the requisite course Introduction to Human Resources Development (HRDV 5000) before taking this course. Students who are not human resources development majors do not need to have completed Introduction to Human Resources Development (HRDV 5000) before taking this course.

Recommended Texts

There are many textbooks in this area, most of which cover the same topics. The main difference is that some textbooks have a more experiential orientation, using many exercises to develop the students’ understanding. While experiential textbooks are valuable, instructors are forewarned that they are difficult to use in nine-week semesters because the exercises consume a large amount of time. Another consideration is that experiential textbooks often tradeoff breadth of knowledge to achieve greater insight into a few topics. This may make is it difficult to teach all the mandatory topics. Finally, experience shows that often students come to class without having read assigned material. This fact of life makes experiential exercises less valuable, or even more time consuming should the instructor allocate time for students to read the textbook material during class.

Therefore, more traditional textbooks that discuss the topics in detail, with only short exercises and cases are probably best for this educational format. However, this does not mean that traditional textbooks cannot be supplemented with some detailed exercises, cases, videos, and readings. Alternatively, if the instructor can get students to prepare before class and participate in the exercises, experiential textbooks may be used effectively.

The following textbooks are examples of good organizational behavior textbooks, but many other textbooks are perfectly acceptable.

McShane, S.L. & Von Glinow, M.A. (2003). Organizational Behavior: Emerging realities for the workplace revolution (2nd Edition). McGraw-Hill Irwin. (Includes student CD-ROM).Supplemental materials:

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• Instructor’s Manual• Computerized test bank • Instructor’s CD-ROM with chapter outlines, PowerPoint slides, and answers and solutions to questions and exercises• Student and instructor web site (PowerWeb)

George, J.M. & Jones, G.R. (2002). Organizational Behavior (3rd Edition). Prentice Hall. (Includes student CD-ROM).Supplemental materials: • Instructor’s Manual• Computerized test bank • Instructor’s CD-ROM with chapter outlines, PowerPoint slides, and answers and solutions to questions and exercises• MyPHLIP web site with business headlines, study guides, tutors, research links, and career center• Mastering Management CD-ROM available for bundling with textbook (extra fee)

Ivancevich, J.M. & Matteson, M.T. (2002). Organizational Behavior and Management (6th Edition). McGraw Hill Irwin. (Note: this book is presently being used in the online course)Supplemental materials: • Instructor’s manual and computerized test bank • PowerPoint (transparencies have not been available, despite the book saying they are available)• Videotape cases or segments on several topics • Mastering Management CD-ROM available for bundling with textbook (extra fee)

Instructor Qualifications

Required: Given the breadth of organizational behavior, instructors with a wide-range of backgrounds may be qualified to teach the course. Instructors must have at least a master’s degree, ideally in management or business, or in a management-related field (e.g., human resources management, industrial relations, human resources development), or in industrial / organizational psychology. However, individuals with Master’s degrees in sociology, political science, education, or general psychology may teach if their expertise and experience focuses on organizations. In all cases, the instructor must show, through experience or educational background, the ability to teach all the mandatory topics, not just a subset of them.

Desirable: A doctorate in management, management-related areas, or industrial psychology. Work experience, consulting experience, or research in the area is also desirable.

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Suggested Waiver Policy

Students who have taken other types of graduate-level organizational behavior courses covering the three levels of analysis may be waived. No waivers will be given for courses that cover only specific aspects of organizational behavior, such as Industrial / Organizational Psychology, Leadership, Small Group Process and Team Building, or Organization Theory courses.

Support Material

Sample Syllabus

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