COMM 210 – Section BB
Contemporary Business Thinking
Tuesday 20:30 – 23:00, MB S1.430
Instructor:
Telephone:
E-mail:
Dickson Jay
514-808-5311
Dickson.jay@concordia.ca
Office:
MB 13-108
Office Hours: By appointment
1. Course Description
This course presents a broad survey of the world of business and helps students develop a critical perspective on
the contemporary business discourse. Students explore influential business texts, both contemporary and classic,
and evaluate the validity and usefulness of the authors’ central ideas. The course also fosters students’
inclination to keep well informed about contemporary issues in organizations and business.
2. Course Learning Objectives
COMM 210 is an introductory course that will expose you to fundamental business theories and develop your
ability to apply them to current organizational and business events. Through an in-depth reading of various texts
reporting on current business activities and trends, you will learn to think critically about the quality of the
arguments presented, uncovering the assumptions underlying them and comparing them with classic and
contemporary texts that highlight foundational business concepts.
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
• Recognize examples and counter-examples of fundamental management theories in reports of current
business activities
• Improve thinking skills and perform critical analyses of business texts
• Construct persuasive arguments using the language of business
• Write an effective persuasive essay
• Demonstrate awareness of and interest in current business events
• Demonstrate ability to work effectively in groups
3. Course Delivery
This course will be delivered in person.
4. Instructional Methods
A number of diverse instructional methods will be used throughout this course. Students are advised to
engage in self-learning prior to class. One suggested approach is to complete assigned readings,
develop concept maps (visual representations) of important ideas, and analyse assigned texts to prepare
for class. Classes will include a blend of lectures, discussions, and skill-building exercises. In addition,
students will learn about several library resources that can be used to access industry information,
market analyses, business articles, and other important business resources. Taken together, these
activities and resources will extend your knowledge and understanding of business concepts, encourage
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you to develop your own ideas, and strengthen your ability to present a logical and persuasive
argument.
5. Course Materials
Assigned readings and videos are listed in the course schedule. The primary texts and resources are summarized
in this section.
Textbook: Dyer, L. (2019). Critical Thinking for Business Students, Third edition, Captus Press.
Students can purchase the online eBook from the publisher at
http://www.captus.com/information/eBook.htm (select "Concordia University" and then select "Purchase" under
the section for COMM210.) Alternatively, students may purchase a physical copy from the publisher at
https://secure.captus.com/checkout/offer.aspx?OfferID=1338. The textbook may also be available for rent or
purchase through Concordia's Book Stop, the Used Book Classifieds web page, or the Concordia Co-op
Bookstore.
Articles: Two types of articles will be used in this course. Some articles are from the Harvard Business Review
(HBR) and can be purchased at the Harvard Business Education web site via the following coursepack URL:
https://hbsp.harvard.edu/import/964361. The remaining articles are available through the Concordia University
Library Course Reserves at no additional cost.
• Theory articles: These articles are drawn from influential classic business theory. They are written by
(in alphabetical order): Barney, Chandler, Collins & Porras, French & Raven, Greiner, Handy, Herzberg,
Hill, Kaplan & Norton, Mintzberg, and Tannenbaum & Schmidt.
• Business articles: These articles are generally drawn from the business press. They will be posted in the
Library's Course Reserves system and will be accessible through a link in your Moodle course.
Additional Resources: Several additional resources will be used in this course. This includes the following
resources developed by marketing and management librarian Dr. Olivier Charbonneau.
• Essential tutorials for COMM 210. This playlist of five videos provides basic guidance for conducting
research and referencing sources. Each video has been assigned on the schedule at the end of this course
outline.
• Business Research Portal. The Business Research Portal provides guidance (and links) for accessing
industry information, market analyses, business articles, and other important business resources. This is
a valuable resource for finding sources for your COMM 210 project.
Links to all additional resources will be provided in the course schedule (below), on the Moodle page for this
course, and in other course documents.
6. Grading Scheme
Engagement
Midterm Exam
Team Project
•
Progress report 1 (5% each)
•
Progress report 2 (5% each)
•
Final report (15%)
•
Presentation (5%)
Final Exam
Total
10%
30%
30%
30%
100%
Engagement: Student engagement is strongly related to performance on assessments and retention of concepts.
Engagement may include: completing assigned readings before class; participating in synchronous and
asynchronous discussions; providing written or oral responses to posed questions; providing responses to polls
or surveys; and actively contributing to your group project. In addition, at the start of each class, we will discuss
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current events and how it relates to the business topics we study. Students are expected to peruse business and
news website to remain updated on current events.
Midterm Examination: The mid-term examination will be administered during Class #7 (October 25). It will
include topics covered in the first 6 classes. Students will have two hours to complete the midterm examination.
Additional information about the midterm examination will be provided during class. No makeup exam will be
offered without proper official justification.
Final examination: The final examination will be conducted in person during the regular final examination
period. It will be a cumulative exam, in that it will cover all materials used and discussed throughout the course.
The final exam schedule is centrally coordinated by the Exam Office. Information about the scheduling process
is available on the Exam Schedule webpage. Students can access their exam schedule by logging in to the
Student Hub with their netname and going to My CU Account > Academic > View exam schedule. Alternate
exams for legitimate conflicts are managed by the Exam Office. Please note that you must pass the final
examination to pass the course.
Team Project: In the team project, you will work in a group of up to five students, applying the concepts
discussed in class. Instructions for completing the project are available on the course Moodle site and will be
discussed in class. Progress reports are due at the beginning of Class #5 (October 4) and Class #9 (November
8). The final report is due Class #12 (November 29). Group presentations will be delivered during Class #12
(November 29) and #13 (December 6).
Peer Assessment: You will be asked to assess your team members’ contribution to the Team Project using the
Concordia University peer evaluation system. The Peer Assessment provides valuable feedback to the students,
professor and team members. In addition, peer assessments help JMSB in the AACSB accreditation process.
Information on Peer Assessment will be posted on MOODLE. Information provided by your teammates about
your participation in the team project may (positively or negatively) impact your team project or engagement
grade. A portion of your engagement grade will be assigned to completing the peer evaluation and the value and
quality of your written feedback.
7. Late Submissions
Late submissions for any assigned work will not be accepted without a valid reason. It will be the instructor’s
discretion as to whether the submission is accepted or penalized.
8. COVID-19 Symptoms
If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, you should contact Quebec Public Health (1-877-644-4545) and
follow their instructions. You are also required to consult the Procedure for suspected or confirmed COVID-19
cases and complete the Self-Isolation form under the My CU Account section the Student Hub (for students) or
Carrefour (for faculty and staff).
9. Short-Term Absence
Students who need to signal to their professors a short-term absence of up to two consecutive days should
consult the Short-Term Absence form (housed on the Student Hub), which provides information regarding
requests for short-term medical accommodation without documentation like a medical note.
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10. Information on MOODLE
Throughout the term, vital information will be available on the course Moodle site. It is your
responsibility to log on to the course Moodle site regularly so that you are well prepared for the class
meetings and other activities.
11. Zoom
Zoom is an institutionally-approved technology. This means we have been assured of the privacy
protections needed to use freely within the classroom). Zoom may be used in this course to facilitate
learning at a distance. It may be used to record lectures and/or other activities in this course. If you
wish to ensure that your image is not recorded, speak to your instructor as soon as possible. Also,
please note that you may not share recordings of your classes and that the instructor will only share
class recordings for the purpose of course delivery and development. Any other sharing may be in
violation of the law and applicable University policies and may be subject to penalties.
12. Extraordinary Circumstances
In the event of extraordinary circumstances and pursuant to the Academic Regulations, the University
may modify the delivery, content, structure, forum, location and/or evaluation scheme. In the event of
such extraordinary circumstances, students will be informed of the changes.
13. Behaviour
All individuals participating in courses are expected to be professional and constructive throughout the
course, including in their communications. Concordia students are subject to the Code of Rights and
Responsibilities which applies both when students are physically and virtually engaged in any
University activity, including classes, seminars, meetings, etc. Students engaged in University activities
must respect this Code when engaging with any members of the Concordia community, including
faculty, staff, and students, whether such interactions are verbal or in writing, face to face or
online/virtual. Failing to comply with the Code may result in charges and sanctions, as outlined in the
Code.
14. Plagiarism
The most common offense under the Academic Code of Conduct is plagiarism, which the Code defines
as “the presentation of the work of another person as one’s own or without proper acknowledgement.”
This includes material copied word for word from books, journals, Internet sites, professor’s course
notes, etc. It refers to material that is paraphrased but closely resembles the original source. It also
includes for example the work of a fellow student, an answer on a quiz, data for a lab report, a paper or
assignment completed by another student. It might be a paper purchased from any source. Plagiarism
does not refer to words alone –it can refer to copying images, graphs, tables and ideas. “Presentation” is
not limited to written work. It includes oral presentations, computer assignments and artistic works.
Finally, if you translate the work of another person into any other language and do not cite the source,
this is also plagiarism. In simple words, do not copy, paraphrase or translate anything from anywhere
without saying where you obtained it. (Source: The Academic Integrity Website).
For some of your assignments, your professor will be using the software Urkund / Ouriginal. It uses
text matching technology as a method to uphold the University’s high academic integrity standards to
detect any potential plagiarism. Urkund / Ouriginal is integrated into Moodle. For the assignments set
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up to use Urkund / Ouriginal, the software will review your paper when you upload it to Moodle. To
learn more about Urkund’s privacy policy please review its Privacy Policy.
15. Intellectual Property
Content belonging to instructors shared in online courses, including, but not limited to, online lectures,
course notes, and video recordings of classes remain the intellectual property of the faculty member. It
may not be distributed, published or broadcast, in whole or in part, without the express permission of
the faculty member. Students are also forbidden to use their own means of recording any elements of
an online class or lecture without express permission of the instructor. Any unauthorized sharing of
course content may constitute a breach of the Academic Code of Conduct and/or the Code of Rights
and Responsibilities. As specified in the Policy on Intellectual Property, the University does not claim
any ownership of or interest in any student IP. All university members retain copyright over their work.
16. Student Services
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Access Centre for Students with Disabilities
Student Success Centre
Academic Advising for JMSB Students
JMSB Undergraduate Student Affairs Office
Concordia Library Citation and Style Guides
Health and Wellness Hub
Financial Aid and Awards
Academic Integrity
Dean of Students Office
International Students Office
Student Hub
Sexual Assault Resource Centre
As a Concordia student, you are a member of the Concordia Student Union and have many resources
available to you including:
– HOJO (Off Campus Housing and Job Bank)
– CSU Advocacy Centre
Aboriginal Student Resource Centre
Students with children
Concordia Food Coalition
There are an average of 200 active Student Groups on campus in a given year.
17. Class Management
You share responsibility for the learning that takes place. Students are expected to come to class prepared to
participate! Therefore, you are expected to:
➢ Come to class on time (at the start and after the breaks). Please send me an email if you will be absent
from class
➢ Read the assigned readings, think through their implications, and come to class prepared to discuss the
materials
➢ Contribute to the creation of an environment conducive to learning (e.g., turn off your cell phone when
you enter the classroom, be mentally present)
➢ Be an active learner by taking part in class discussions and exercises
➢ Contribute to the class learning by sharing news, articles and videos relevant to the class
➢ Give constructive feedback to your colleagues
➢ Check the course folder on Moodle prior to every class
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Tentative Class Schedule
Class
1
Sept 6
2
Sept 13
3
Sept 20
4
Sept 27
5
Oct 4
Oct 11
Business
Theory
Topic(s)
Critical
Thinking
Topic
Assigned Readings and Videos
(to be completed before class)
Introduction to the Course
• Course Outline
• Dyer, Chapter 1: What is Critical Thinking?
Building
Successful
Organizations
Claims
• Dyer, Chapter 2: Claims
• Dyer, Appendix 1: Business Terms in the Popular
Discourse
• Chandler, A. D. (1990). The enduring logic of industrial
success. Harvard Business Review, March – April, 2-11.
• Counter, R. (2018). How a Canadian Company Older
than Confederation Has Stayed Nimble. Canadian
Business, August 9,
• Allison, S. (2019). Concordia University Student
Advocacy Office – Academic Integrity.
Evidence
• Dyer, Chapter 3: Evidence
• Greiner, L. (1998). Evolution & revolution as
organizations grow. Harvard Business Review, MayJune, 3-11.
• Lev-Ram, M. (2017). How to Manage a Bunch of
Clowns: Q&A with the CEO of the Cirque du Soleil.
Fortune, February 24.
• Charbonneau, O. (2016). Essential tutorials for COMM
210 Contemporary Business Thinking - Is Google a
search engine?
Evidence
• Dyer, Chapter 3: Evidence
• Barney, J. B. (1995). Looking inside for competitive
advantage. Academy of Management Executive, 9(4), 4961.
• McIntyre, C. (2017). A Place to Run. Maclean’s,
September, 50–51.
• Charbonneau, O. (2016). Essential tutorials for COMM
210 Contemporary Business Thinking - How to train your
Google.
Underlying
Assumptions
• Dyer, Chapter 4: Underlying Assumptions
• Collins, J. & Porras, J. (1996). Building your company’s
vision. Harvard Business Review, Sept-Oct, 65-77.
• Goler, L., Gale, J., Harrington, B. & Grant, A. (2018).
The 3 Things Employees Really Want: Career,
Community, Cause. Harvard Business Review, 20
February.
• Gallo, C. (2017). How Mark Zuckerberg Effectively
Communicates Facebook’s New 5-Word Mission
Statement. Forbes, 25 June.
• Grant, A. (2019). Stop Asking Kids What They Want to
Be When They Grow Up. New York Times, Apr 1.
• Charbonneau, O. (2016). Essential tutorials for COMM
210 Contemporary Business Thinking - What can you
learn from Wikipedia?
Structure,
Function and
Growth of
Firms
Strategy,
Resources and
Capabilities
Values and
Vision
Due
MySelf selfassessment
(from the
Carnegie
Mellon
University
Career &
Professional
Development
Center)
Progress
report 1
Reading Day – No Class
6
6
Oct 18
7
Oct 25
Class
8
Nov 1
9
Nov 8
10
Nov 15
11
Nov 22
12
Nov 29
13
Dec 6
• Handy, C. (1994). The Sigmoid curve. In: The age of
Paradox, Chapter 3, pp. 49-67. Boston: Harvard Business
Press.
*Essay
•
Buchanan, L. (2016). What's Next for Toms, the $400
Organizational
Writing
Million For-Profit Built on Karmic Capital. INC.
Change
Magazine, May.
Workshop
• Charbonneau, O. (2016). Essential tutorials for COMM
210 Contemporary Business Thinking - Finding the best
sources for your business paper.
* Read the assigned articles before class. An essay writing workshop will be conducted during
the live class. You will be given an essay question that draws on the assigned articles. This
workshop will provide students with a preview of what to expect for the midterm and final
examinations
Midterm Examination
Business
Theory
Topic(s)
Managers and
Leaders
Power and
Motivation
Critical
Thinking
Topic
Causal
Claims
Techniques
of Persuasion
Performance
and
Measurement
Writing an
Effective
Essay
Leadership
Critical
Thinking in
Business
Assigned Readings and Videos
(to be completed before class)
• Dyer, Chapter 5: Causal Claims
• Mintzberg, H. (1990). The manager’s job: Folklore and
fact. Harvard Business Review, March-April, pp. 3-16.
• Hill, L. (2017). Becoming the Boss. Harvard Business
Review, January.
• Bhatia, T. (2018). Do Frequent Feedback Conversations
Guarantee Employee Performance Improvement? Talent
Management Excellence Essentials, July, 15.
• Sebenius, A. (2016). CEOs Behaving Badly. The
Atlantic, April.
• Charbonneau, O. (2016). Essential tutorials for COMM
210 Contemporary Business Thinking - Pro tips on
bibliographies and referencing for business students.
• Dyer, Chapter 6: Techniques of Persuasion
• French, J. R. & Raven, B. (1959). The bases of social
power. In: D. Cartwright & A. Zander, Group dynamics,
pp. 150-166. New York: Harper & Row.
• Herzberg, F. (1987). One more time: How do you
motivate employees? Harvard Business Review, SeptOct, 5-16.
• Jenkins, S. (2016). Our Fixation with Maths Doesn’t Add
Up. The Guardian, March 10.
• Chu, J. & Weiss, J. (2013). The Cobbler's Conundrum.
Fast Company, July/August: 98-112.
• Dyer, Chapter 7: Writing an Effective Essay
• Kaplan, R. & Norton, D. (2005). The balanced scorecard:
Measures that drive performance. Harvard Business
Review, July
• Castellanos, S. (2019). Rolls-Royce Looks to CTO to
Reduce Carbon Footprint. Wall Street Journal, May 6.
• Tannenbaum, R. & Schmidt, W. H. (1973). How to
choose a leadership pattern. Harvard Business Review,
May-June, 162-180.
• Toller, C. (2015). The case for letting teams elect their
own managers. Canadian Business, Dec 22.
Project Presentations
Due
Progress
report 2
Project
Report
Project Presentations
Final Exam date and time is posted on the MyConcordia Portal
NOTE: Changes to this document will be announced in class and posted on MOODLE. It is the student
responsibility to keep informed of what is said and done in class. Student absence IS NOT a valid excuse for not
keeping informed.
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Assessment of Learning Objectives
The learning objectives are assessed through homework and classwork assignments, quizzes, a group
project, and examinations.
Learning
Activity
Assignments and
classwork assignments
Group Project
Quizzes
Recognize examples and
counter-examples of
fundamental
management theories in
reports of current
business activities.
Class exercises, and essay
assignments based on
fundamental theories and
business news or business
press articles
Exploration of
contemporary issues in
organizations or business
to find evidence
supporting or challenging
fundamental theories
Quiz questions based on
business press articles
reporting on organizations
or business
Improve thinking skills
and perform critical
analyses of business
texts.
Evaluating the arguments
presented in business
press articles or popular
business books
Gathering and analysis of
secondary sources such as
books, articles, and
company annual reports
Quiz questions based the
critical thinking process
In-class essay writing
exercise, structured
debates, essay
assignments
Progress reports, oral
presentation, group final
report
N/A
In class discussions about
current business
illustrating fundamental
theories
Monitoring of current
news pertaining the
business issues studied in
the group project
Quiz questions based on
business press articles
reporting on organizations
or business
In-class group exercises
and discussions
Group project based on
the collection and analysis
of evidence from a variety
of primary and secondary
sources
Group discussion in
preparation for the quiz
Learning
Objective
Construct persuasive
arguments using the
language of business;
Write an effective
persuasive essay.
Demonstrate awareness
of and interest in
current business events.
Demonstrate ability to
work effectively in
groups.
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