Syllabus
Montgomery College
Course Title
Business Principles
Course Number
Times and room
Busi 1301 – 41003
Tuesday and Thursday 10:00 – 11:20 AM
Room F306
Course Description
A general survey of business functions and activities, including basic
history of business, basic economic systems, types of ownership,
management, marketing, finance, manufacturing, law and other topics
of business operations. Subject matter includes an analysis of the
specialized fields within the business organization, career planning as
related to the fields, starting your own business and current trends in
profit and nonprofit business activities.
Credit Hours
3 Credit Hours
This is a college transferable course.
Check with the school you wish to transfer credit for details.
Prerequisites
ENGL 0305 or ENGL 0316 and ENGL 0307 or 0326
See note below regarding “ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION “
ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION
While this course does not have a prerequisite in mathematics, the student
will benefit with basic math and arithmetic skills. These skills can be improved
by attending tutorials at the ELC or participating in voluntary sessions held by
the instructor. These sessions will facilitate the student's ability for achieving
success while working with pricing, marketing research, business statements,
and marketing finance subjects, all of which will be discussed in this course.
If necessary, some class time will be devoted to assessing and/or reviewing
basic math skills, and extra sessions outside of class will be conducted by the
instructor for those students requesting more instruction. ELC sessions in
math are also available for students..
Semester and Year
Instructor
Information:
Spring 2009
Richard L. Sharman
Mat Masters Degree Electrical Engineering,
Cornell University, Ithaca N.Y.
BS Engineering Physics,
University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio.
Management Development,
G.E Corp. University, Crotonville, N.Y.
Advanced Marketing Mgt.,
G.E Corp. University, Crotonville, N.Y.
Mr. Sharman has held several executive management positions with three
major US corporations including Vice President of Marketing, Vice President
Business Systems, Vice President of Operations and General Manager. He
has also been a product planner, project engineer and managed Optical and
Infrared Technologies in a laboratory environment. He has owned a
consulting business for wireless communications, is a member of Tau Beta
Pi, the National Engineering Honor Society and is listed in several Marquis
Who's Who publications including Who's Who in America. Mr. Sharman has
taught a variety of business and marketing courses at Montgomery College
since 1997. More personal data is available on the course website.
Office Hours
½ hour before and after class. Anytime by appointment.
Normally I will reply to you within one day when contacting me by email – :
richard.sharman@lonestar.edu
Learning
Outcomes
LEARNING OUTCOMES
This course is designed to present an overview of business and the
business environment in a global context. It will introduce the student
to advanced study opportunities in business.
In successfully completing this course, the student will:
 Be able to read, comprehend and discuss contemporary
business issues.
 Understand the significance of business to the American
(domestic) and international economies.
 Understand key economic issues affecting business, inflation,
unemployment, fiscal and monetary policy, etc.
 Explore career opportunities within the world of business.
 Examine the foundations of the capitalist economic system
while contrasting other forms of national economic organization
including a look at Third World economic development.
 Apply the marketing concept to goods and services.
 Investigate the role of management and human resource
development in business organizations as "business
consultants".
 Assess the factors of business law and ethical behavior in
conducting business. Examine the ability of contemporary
business constructs to satisfy the needs and wants of society.
Required Materials


Evaluation
Understanding Business 8th edition, Nickels, McHugh and
McHugh 2007. Irwin McGraw Hill, publisher.
Access to course website: http://dsharman.pageout.net
Grading
Grading will be based on a numerical system of 0-100. In determining the
final numerical grade for the course:
• The composite of grades for homework, projects, presentations and tests
will contribute 75%. Homework, projects etc., will be weighted as equivalent
to “x” tests. E.g. one homework assignment may be equal to ½ of a test.
(Bonus points may be earned through extra effort and average into the
overall tests score.)
• The final exam grade will contribute 25%.
• Numerical scores may be rounded when calculating test and course grades.
Other factors that reflect additional assessment of the student's mastery of
the subject may be used in deriving the final course grade.
 Since attendance and class participation may be considered in calculating
the final course grade, tardy students need to see the instructor after role
has been taken in order to be considered present. Students leaving before
conclusion of the class will be marked absent for the session. Students
must retain returned, graded documents in case errors in record keeping
occur.
MAKE-UP TESTS, USE OF TESTING CENTER
No make-up tests or exams will be given. Students will be allowed to
substitute their final exam score for any one (1) test the student has missed
or wishes to apply the higher grade. The testing center will only be used
when students have a documented special need as described in the ADA
statement above.
Final letter grades will be assigned in the following manner:
Letter Grade
Assignment
100 - 90 (A)
80 – 89 (B)
70 – 79 (C)
60 – 69 (D)
59 and below (F)
Classroom
Behavior
Hats, sleeping and electronic devices
 Hats with bills will be reversed or will not be worn in the classroom.
 Students sleeping will be asked to leave the room and marked absent
for the session.
 All Electronic devices including cell phones and recorders must be
turned off unless authorized by the instructor.
The Lone Star College Catalog [Student Conduct, Section 562.01d]
states, “Disruptive activity that hinders other students’ learning or deters
an instructor from effective teaching will not be tolerated under any
circumstances.”
Cheating, plagiarism, and/or collusion
Cheating, plagiarism, and/or collusion, or other techniques for meeting a
requirement for this course with other than the students own, personal
demonstrated abilities will not be tolerated. Any such activities will be cause
for immediate suspension from the course with a failing grade and possible
further disciplinary actions by the College.
See http://montgomery.lonestar.edu/117702/ for more details on college policy.
Withdrawal Policy
Last day to drop and receive a “W” for this course is April 6, 2009
See http://montgomery.lonestar.edu/134973/ for college policy
Syllabus Change
While every attempt has been made to prepare this syllabus and class
schedule in final form, it will be the instructor's prerogative to make any
changes as may be deemed necessary in order to meet the learning
outcomes.
Certificate/Degree
Plan
Degree plans for programs offered at Montgomery College can be located in
the Lone Star College catalog or on the Montgomery College web site at:
http://www.lonestar.edu
Academic Integrity
See Lone Star College Academic Integrity Policy
Software Piracy:
Law strictly prohibits unauthorized copying of software Montgomery College
Montgomery College administration will take appropriate disciplinary action
against anyone violating copyright laws.
Computer Virus
Protection:
Computer viruses are, unfortunately, a fact of life. Using the diskettes on
more than one computer creates the possibility of infecting computers and
diskettes with a computer virus. This exposes the computers of the campus,
your personal computer, and any others you may be using to potentially
damaging viruses. The campus has aggressive anti-virus procedures in place
to protect its computers, but cannot guarantee that a virus might not
temporarily infect one of its machines. It is your responsibility to protect all
computers under your control and use and ensure that each diskette you use,
whenever or wherever you use it, has been scanned with anti-virus software.
Since new viruses arise continually, your anti-virus software must be kept
current. And, since no anti-virus software will find every virus, keeping copies
of data (backups) is extremely important.
Equal Opportunity
Statement:
See Lone Star College catalog or go to http://www.lonestar.edu
ADA Statement
See Lone Star College catalog or go to http://www.lonestar.edu
Advising
For additional assistance or more information on degree plans or future
courses that Montgomery college may offer, please contact the
BASS Division office.
Course Schedule
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
The following schedule is provided as a general guide to the topics covered
in this course. It will serve as a reference for reading assignments. Class
lectures will frequently discuss material differently than or not contained in,
the text so class attendance is important. Timing of actual topics and
sequences will vary depending on classroom dynamics.
Lectures,
discussions, group work, projects and student presentations will be used to
develop topics. Where possible, use of the Internet and PC software should
be employed by the students to further explore course subjects. Lecture
material and discussion topics will be drawn from the text, current events and
the instructor's personal and professional experience. Tentative reading
assignments are shown below:
WEEK OF:
TOPIC
READING FOR REFERENCE
Jan 12
Introduction & Course Orientation
Ch.1
Review of Syllabus and class expectations
Jan 19
Jan 26
Economics, Global Markets
Ch. 2 (cont.) Ch. 3
No class Monday
Global mkts. (cont) Ethics/ Social behavior Ch. 3 (cont.) Ch 4.
Feb 02
Bus. Law, Business Ownership;
Feb 09
Entrepreneurship and Starting a Business
Ch.6
Feb 16
Chs.7, 8
Feb 23
Management leadership, Adapting Orgs.
No class on Thursday Feb. 19
Motivating employees, Human Resources
Chs. 10, 11
Mar 02
Employee-Management Issues, Marketing
Ch.12, 13
Mar 09 – 15
bonus ch. A, Ch 5
MID-SEMESTER BREAK
Mar 16
Marketing, Marketing research**
Pricing concepts**, Product life cycles
Ch. 13/ Lecture notes
Ch. 14/ Lecture notes
Mar 23
More pricing concepts
Mar 30
Promotion, Distribution supply chains
Chs. 16, 15
Apr 06
Understanding Financial Information &Accounting
Chs. 17, 18
Apr 13
Money and Financial Institutions**
class exercises
Ch. 20
Apr 20 Securities markets/Your personal finances **
Apr 27 Managing your personal finances **
May 4
Ch 19, D/lect notes
Ch D/ lecture notes
Final Exam** 10:00-11:50 Room F306
Basic math skills needed for success with these topics and tests.
**See additional consideration in pre-requisites above.