BA400 Business Honors Seminar
Spring 2016
San Diego State University
College of Business Administration
COURSE INFORMATION
Class Days: Wednesdays on 2/10, 2/24, 3/16, 4/6, 4/27
Class Times: 4:00 – 6:00
Class Location: SSW 2601
Office Hours: after class and by phone or appointment
Office Hours Location: SSE 3114
Contact info: 760-505-7075; rjudge@mail.sdsu.edu
Course Overview
The objectives of this seminar are to integrate your business education with the broader community in order to develop business
professionals who are aware of the current issues and problems affecting the local, national, and global environments, and who are
conscious of their social and ethical responsibility to the community and society.
Student Learning Outcomes
BSBA students will graduate being:
•
Effective Communicators
•
Critical Thinkers
•
Able to Analyze Ethical Problems
•
Global in their perspective
•
Knowledgeable about the essentials of business
BA400 contributes to these goals through its student learning outcomes that will develop your ability to:
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Critically assess how current events influence business activities
•
Document your accomplishments effectively and succinctly in written form
•
Present your reasoned opinion in small group discussions
•
Listen, evaluate, and appreciate conflicting views
•
Apply ethical reasoning to business issues
Enrollment Information
Detailed information for new and continuing students is contained on the Class Schedule and the Honors Program Website
http://cbaweb.sdsu.edu/honors. In general, applications are accepted from:
•
Students with a 3.6 or higher overall GPA at the time that they declare an upper division major
•
Students who are members in good standing of the SDSU University Honors Program at the time they declare their upper
division major
•
By petition
Course Materials
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Current business publications, News feeds, government and regulatory websites
•
Recommended Materials: Business Writers Handbook, Alred, Brusaw, Oliu, 10th edition, 2012
Course Structure and Absence Policy Requirements
Each session will start with a class and small group discussion of current events and impact on business operations and culture. Come
prepared with topics, insights and your awesome brains. We will also try to spend some time reviewing the portfolios of those
volunteering to show their work. An online portfolio (discussed below) it a valuable tool to present yourself, accomplishments and
creativity. Great insight into how to do this can be achieved by observing other’s thoughtful work.
Other activities that will be spread throughout the semester:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Guest Speakers
Career services
Research symposium
Travel abroad
Career Opportunities
Discussion questions: problems facing society, problems facing business, problems facing employees
Field trips
Interaction activities
Agendas will be released the week prior to each class, but we will discuss upcoming activities in advance where possible.
Class discussion and interactions are an important part of the seminar. Attendance is required. If you are absent from one of the
seminar sessions, a one-page single spaced report summarizing a current relevant business topic. It is YOUR responsibility to email me
with a proposed topic for approval prior to writing this report. If you miss part of a session, you are responsible for a pro-rated paper.
Students enrolled in a class that overlaps our meeting times must come when their class ends (or contact me for alternative
arrangements if it overlaps the entire period).
Portfolio Requirements:
Each student must complete by graduation the following reports. They will all be incorporated in a Web based tool called Portfolium.
Your online portfolio will then be available for grading and review by potential recruiters/employers (you can of course make it private
except for my review). So … it behooves yourself to do an excellent job of the portfolio. More and more companies are looking for
portfolios rather than resumes.
1.
Business Honors Seminar Report (one report each semester): This report analyzes the current problems and issues affecting
our local, national, and global business environments during the current semester. It will become one of the items in your
Portfolio. See Blackboard for format guidance.
2.
G.E. Exploration: Humanities: Prepare a report for your upper division G.E. course in humanities, making linkages between
the course’s content and the business arena (for example, specify how the material in the course could be useful in a business
context, or explain how regulatory and business factors affect that discipline, or provide examples of current business
problems related to that area and business methods that could be used to address problems).
3.
G.E. Exploration: Social/Behavioral Science: Prepare a report for your upper division G.E. course in social/behavioral science,
making linkages between the course’s content and the business arena (for example, specify how the material in the course
could be useful in a business context, or explain how regulatory and business factors affect that discipline, or provide
examples of current business problems related to that area and business methods that could be used to address problems).
4.
G.E. Exploration: Math/Science: Prepare a report for your upper division G.E. course in math/science, making linkages
between the course’s content and the business arena (for example, specify how the material in the course could be useful in
a business context, or explain how regulatory and business factors affect that discipline, or provide examples of current
business problems related to that area and business methods that could be used to address problems).
5.
Community Involvement: Leadership: Participate in a leadership capacity for an organization, such as a student group,
student government, local government, political parties, civic organizations, or community activities, events, or organizations.
6.
Community Involvement: Service Learning and Social/Community Welfare: Participate in an organization for the purpose of
improving social/community welfare by applying business and leadership skills. Examples include: VITA (Volunteer Income
Tax Assistance), service learning courses/assignments, various community charitable and social welfare organizations.
Campus resources to help identify opportunities are available at Student Affairs.
7.
Community Involvement: Academic Responsibility: Represent the college or university in an academic competition,
intercollegiate academic forum, community event, or similar activity.
8.
Business Internship: Participate in one business internship.
9.
Professional Meetings: Participate in your professional discipline by attending two professional meetings.
10. Business Honors field trip: Attend at least one business honors seminar field trip
11. Improvement Activities: Participate in and prepare a report on two personal improvement activities/courses. Campus
examples include leadership offerings by the Office of Student Life and Development (SSW 1602) and various short noncredit
workshops offered by Counseling and Psychological Services. Off campus activities also are acceptable
Note 1: All papers must be complete prior to graduation. However, you only are required to complete one semester report for each
semester you were in the program. Thus if you join the Honors Program in the Fall semester prior to a May graduation you would only
need two semester reports.
Note 2: Each semester you will need to update or complete a Portfolio Progress report which tracks your efforts to complete these
reports. The assignment (and report template) to complete that report is posted in Blackboard.
Minimal Schedule for report completion:
Semesters until graduation
Number of reports which must be completed
Last semester
All completed
One
12
Two
9
Three
6
Four
3
Students with Disabilities
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it is your responsibility to contact Student
Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. To avoid any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact Student Disability
Services as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive, and that accommodations based upon disability
cannot be provided until you have presented your instructor with an accommodation letter from Student Disability Services. Your
cooperation is appreciated.
Academic Honesty
The University adheres to a strict policy regarding cheating and plagiarism. These activities will not be tolerated in this class. Become
familiar with the policy (http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/srr/conduct1.html). Any cheating or plagiarism will result in [Insert your policy on
cheating or plagiarism, e.g. failing this class and a disciplinary review by Student Affairs.]
Examples of Plagiarism include but are not limited to:
•
Using sources verbatim or paraphrasing without giving proper attribution (this can include phrases, sentences, paragraphs
and/or pages of work)
•
Copying and pasting work from an online or offline source directly and calling it your own
•
Using information you find from an online or offline source without giving the author credit
•
Replacing words or phrases from another source and inserting your own words or phrases
•
Submitting a piece of work you did for one class to another class
If you have questions on what is plagiarism, please consult the policy and this helpful guide from the Library
Assessments and Grading
This course is a Credit/No Credit course. Credit will be given if you have made satisfactory progress on the activities and reports
required per your scheduled graduation date. This includes the following items:




Progress Report - This report itemizes your progress on activities and reports required for the Portfolio. The Progress Report
must be updated at the start of every semester using the template found in Blackboard.
Business Honors Seminar Report. This report analyzes the current problems and issues affecting our local, national, and
global business environments during the current semester (one report for every semester). It will become one of the items in
your Portfolio. See Blackboard for format guidance.
Completion of the required number of portfolio reports based upon your graduation date
Completion of Absence papers for missed sessions
Grade of Incomplete
A grade of Incomplete (I) indicates that a portion of required coursework has not been completed and evaluated in the prescribed time
period due to unforeseen, but fully justified, reasons and that there is still a possibility of earning credit. It is your responsibility to bring
pertinent information to the instructor and to reach agreement on the means by which the remaining course requirements will be
satisfied. A final grade is assigned when the work agreed upon has been completed and evaluated. An Incomplete shall not be assigned
when the only way you could make up the work would be to attend a major portion of the class when it is next offered.