Course Outline and Schedule

Week 1 :: Introduction and Business Foundations

• Introduction to course
• Class syllabus, book and web sites
• Here is a link to the Business Department Student Orientation where you can explore how becoming a Business major may benefit you. http://bit.ly/mcbusinessorientation

• Chapter 1: The Foundations of Business

  1. Introduction
  2. Getting Down to Business
  3. What Is Economics?
  4. Perfect Competition and Supply and Demand
  5. Monopolistic Competition, Oligopoly, and Monopoly
  6. Measuring the Health of the Economy
  7. Government’s Role in Managing the Economy

Week 2:: Class Projects & Business Ownership

• Introduce group and individual assignments

• Chapter 4: Selecting a Form of Business Ownership

  1. Factors to Consider
  2. Sole Proprietorship
  3. Partnership
  4. Corporation
  5. Other Types of Business Ownership
  6. Mergers and Acquisitions

Week 3 :: The Challenges of Starting A Business

• Chapter 5: The Challenges of Starting a Business

  1. What Is an Entrepreneur?
  2. The Importance of Small Business to the U.S. Economy
  3. What Industries Are Small Businesses In?
  4. Advantages and Disadvantages of Business Ownership
  5. Starting a Business
  6. The Business Plan
  7. How to Succeed in Managing a Business

Week 4 :: Accounting

• Chapter 12: The Role of Accounting in Business

  1. The Role of Accounting
  2. Understanding Financial Statements
  3. Accrual Accounting
  4. Financial Statement Analysis
  5. The Profession: Ethics and Opportunities

Week 5 :: Business Ethics & Business Analytics

• Chapter 2: Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

  1. Misgoverning Corporations: An Overview
  2. The Individual Approach to Ethics
  3. Identifying Ethical Issues
  4. The Organizational Approach to Ethics
  5. Corporate Social Responsibility
  6. Environmentalism
  7. Stages of Corporate Responsibility

• Business Analytics

Week 6 :: Test #1 & Global Business Environment & Info. Tech.

• Test #1 - online all week - chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, 12 and Business Analytics on-line all week

• Chapter 3: Business in a Global Environment

1. The Globalization of Business
2. Opportunities in International Business
3. The Global Business Environment
4. Trade Controls
5. Reducing International Trade Barriers
6. Preparing for a Career in International Business

• Chapter 15: Managing Information and Technology

1. Data versus Information
2. Managing Data
3. Types of Information Systems
4. Computer Networks and Cloud Computing
5. Data Communication Networks
6. Security Issues in Electronic Communication
7. Careers in Information Management

Week 7 ::Case Study Presentations

• Individual project: presentations

Week 8 :: Spring Break

Week 9 :: Managing for Business Success & Teamwork and Communications

• Chapter 6: Managing for Business Success

  1. What Do Managers Do?
  2. Planning
  3. Organizing
  4. Directing
  5. Controlling
  6. Managerial Skills

• Chapter 8: Teamwork and Communications

  1. The Team and the Organization
  2. Why Teamwork Works
  3. The Team and Its Members
  4. The Business of Communication
  5. Communication Channels
  6. Forms of Communication

Week 10 :: Operations Management in Manufacturing and Service Industries

• Chapter 11: Operations Management in Manufacturing and Service Industries

  1. Operations Management in Manufacturing
  2. Facility Layouts
  3. Managing the Production Process in a Manufacturing Company
  4. Graphical Tools: PERT and Gantt Charts
  5. The Technology of Goods Production
  6. Operations Management for Service Providers
  7. Producing for Quality

Week 11 :: Human Resource Management & Legal Environment

• Chapter 7: Recruiting, Motivating, and Keeping Quality Employees

  1. Human Resource Management
  2. Developing Employees
  3. Motivating Employees
  4. What Makes a Great Place to Work?
  5. Performance Appraisal
  6. Labor Unions

• Chapter 16: The Legal and Regulatory Environment of Business

  1. Law and the Legal System
  2. Criminal versus Civil Law
  3. Negligence Torts
  4. Product Liability
  5. Some Principles of Public Law

Week 12 :: Test #2 & Marketing

• Test #2 chapters 3, 6, 7, 8 and 11 on-line all week

• Chapter 9: Marketing: Providing Value to Customers

  1. What Is Marketing?
  2. The Marketing Mix
  3. Pricing a Product
  4. Placing a Product
  5. Promoting a Product
  6. Interacting with Your Customers
  7. The Product Life Cycle
  8. The Marketing Environment
  9. Careers in Marketing

Week 13 :: Product Design/Development

• Chapter 10: Product Design and Development

  1. What Is a Product?
  2. Where Do Product Ideas Come From?
  3. Identifying Business Opportunities
  4. Forecasting Demand
  5. Breakeven Analysis
  6. Product Development
  7. Protecting Your Idea

Week 14 :: Group Project Presentations

• Group project: presentations

Week 15 :: Managing Financial Resources and Personal Finances

• Chapter 13: Managing Financial Resources

  1. The Functions of Money
  2. Financial Institutions
  3. The Federal Reserve System
  4. The Role of the Financial Manager
  5. Understanding Securities Markets
  6. Financing the Going Concern
  7. Careers in Finance

• Chapter 14: Personal Finances

  1. Financial Planning
  2. Time Is Money
  3. The Financial Planning Process
  4. A House Is Not a Piggy Bank: A Few Lessons from the Subprime Crisis

Week 16 :: Test #3 (Final Exam)

• Test #3 chapters 9, 10, 13, 14 and 16 - online for one day only - see calendar for specific day