BUS 10a
FUNCTIONS OF THE CAPITALIST ENTERPRISE
COURSE SYLLABUS
Spring 2015
Class Hours: Mon/Wed 8:30-10:00
Location: Lemberg 54
Dr. William J. Oliver
781-728-9455
Email: willo@brandeis.com
Please put “BUS 10a” in the subject line
Office: Lemberg 11 (in the basement, near the Coke machine)
Office Hours: Mon/Wed 10:00-2:00
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Objectives
This course is an integral part of the Business minor and major. It uses case examples and practical
concepts to build a framework for addressing key management issues. There are five primary
learning outcomes for students:
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Understand the fundamental concepts and functions in business management
Recognize the interrelationships among these functions
Learn how to apply the language and tools of the course to a range of business issues
Learn how to read, analyze, and discuss business school case studies
Develop oral presentation skills for business
The first half of the course reviews the key functions of managers through cases and mini-lectures on
finance, marketing, operations, organizational behavior, and strategy. The second half applies this
knowledge to three broad themes: the unique issues related to entrepreneurship, business in the
global economy, and business ethics.
This section of BUS 10a is somewhat unique, in that it focuses more on the issues faced by the
entrepreneur and the innovator, while the other sections focus on other aspects of business.
This is a hard course. It anticipates that you spend 3 hours of study per hour of class time1, a total of
120-140 hours preparing for 26 one and a half hour classes. That includes 2-3 hours reading and
preparing cases before each class session. In addition, you will spend 20-30 hours preparing each of
two presentations and a paper. If you are not a good reader, or English is not your primary language,
you may find that you need additional study time.
Core Concepts
Upon completing this course, you will demonstrate your newly developed ability to assess businesses
using several of the most important analytical tools. These will help you understand articles in the
press. They will also help you understand the company you work for after graduation:
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Finding reliable and meaningful information about a company on line
Financial ratio and trend analysis, and Key Performance Indicators – to assess a company’s
health
Quality management – reducing errors and process delays to improve operational performance
Porter’s five forces for assessing strategic position
SWOT analysis for summarizing a company's condition and potential
Business model as a method of describing a business
Product life cycle as a tool to assess a company’s products
Disruptive innovation that will undermine current company's strategic position
Theory X and Y, Z, teams, and organization structure as aspects of company culture
Globalization
Five ethical frameworks for sizing up ethical challenges
See discussion at: http://www.academictips.org/acad/timemanagement.html, and at:
http://commerce.depaul.edu/undergrad/docs/About/studyhourformula.pdf,
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Personal brand – using the concepts of business to build your own “Me, Inc.” This will help you
plan your own future—it will also facilitate assessing career opportunities
Prerequisites: ECON 2a; BUS 6a (or BUS 4a), which may be taken concurrently with BUS 10a.
I encourage you to take BUS 1B before 10A.
Materials
Core Readings: The course is built on a core set of readings and cases. Many of these are available
through LATTE. You will also purchase a case readings set from HBS Publishing, at the link below.
If you have question about purchasing, call 800-810-8858 or 617-783-7700.
Link: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/access/32091437
Recommended Text: Ronald J. Ebert and Ricky W. Griffin, Business Essentials, any edition. The
text is available on reference in Goldfarb library, and older editions are available on line for less than
$10. The text will not specifically be used in lectures or the test. It is a valuable reference extending
into many other aspects of the Functions of a Capitalist Enterprise.
Grading
You will receive a grade that reflects the professor’s judgment about what you learned, and your
contribution to the overall class discussions. The following will inform the professor’s final grade.
Contributions to class discussions and team projects (25%)
The course is built around class and team project participation. Although attendance is a prerequisite for participation, the real requirement is to be part of a class discussion. There are four
levels of class participation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
A key promoter of other student’s participation
Contributes regularly, but through individual comments—not building a discussion
Contributes more than once to every class discussion
Attends every class, contributes to some
In addition to class participation, team project participation will be assessed through a one-page selfassessment completed after each team project. The objective for each student is to move up to a
higher level than experienced in previous courses. Mid-way through the term, the professor will
meet with each student to assess performance and adjust individual participation objectives.
To be effective in class participation requires advance preparation. For each reading: write down 510 insights you got from the article. Also write down 3-5 questions you would ask the author
(perhaps things you don’t understand, or even disagree with) if you had the chance. For each case
study, spend two to three hours preparing (no, I am not kidding):
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Keep a notebook of your case preparation notes (this is not handed in)
Read the open and closing paragraphs of the case
Look at the figures in the back. For each, ask yourself what is the point of the figure
Read all the headings in the body of the case
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Read the first sentence of each paragraph
Write down: why are we discussing this case. Some cases specifically ask a question, others
are a chance to learn some aspect of business. Part of this step is to assess which of the core
concepts apply—and should structure the discussion
Read the case (at this point, you will have spent your first hour)
Write down: 10 key observations that you think should come up in the discussion of the case.
You should write them down so you do not have to remember them during class, or think
about how to express them. Write them down
Write down: what are 5 key questions on which the case discussion should turn. If the case
asks for a decision; what are the key sub-questions. If the case is to learn about a
management approach, what is it that makes the approach unique and successful?
Do calculations: as you learn the core concepts, apply them to the case. Write down your
thoughts, so that you can easily refer to them during the discussion
Look outside the case. The Internet can often give you information about what has actually
happened to the company since the case was written. This can liven up the discussion
I recommend that you get together in a group of 2-3 to discuss the case. A group can meet in
person, on the phone, or even simply exchange emails about the case. The group will
increase your confidence that you have something valuable to say
After each class session, reconsider your participation that day: level 1, 2, 3 or 4? Write that
in your notebook. Plan to “take it up a notch” next class session.
Midterm exam (25%) This is a written, open-book exam that will be conducted during the normal
class period. You will be asked essay questions about the materials covered and issues discussed in
class. It will require you to do some calculations as well as assess some companies from the
perspective of the approaches you have learned in the course thus far. The midterm will be very
challenging. You will complete the exam with your computer and submit it on LATTE at the end of
the class period.
Five assignments to assess businesses:
Tracking a company (5%) Individual assignment. You will choose one of two methods for
completing this part of the course. You will write about a company each week. See separate
instructions on LATTE
PowerPoint presentation on “Cafeteria Day” (10%) Group assignment in teams of 5 or 6
students concerning one of the university‘s cafeterias or food stores. See details below.
Business attire is required.
PowerPoint presentation on globalization (15%) Group assignment in teams of 4 or 5
students. Each presentation (on a theme of your choice) should last 8-10 minutes, plus time
for Q+A. The presentation should describe how globalization has affected a company, or
how a company has been instrumental in driving globalization. As with any good report, you
start with a theme—lay out the topic you will explore. Then, lay out the facts. Discuss
several global perspectives. Come to a point of view and recommendations for your
company.
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Please submit the topic as indicated on the schedule: who is on your team and what your
proposed topic will be; only one submission per team, though! I will let you know the
following day if that topic has already been selected by another team. Business attire is
required.
Essay on the ethical issues surrounding the sub-prime mortgage debacle (5%) Individual
assignment. Write two pages double spaced, due at the start of class. This is an individual
assignment.
Final paper analyzing a business problem facing a real company (15%) Group
assignment in teams of 3-4 students. The final paper must be done in teams of 3 students.
The final paper is an opportunity for teams of 3 students to examine in depth a topic of your
choice. See instructions on LATTE.
NOTE: Teams will reconfigure for each assignment. Grades on written assignments and
presentations are assigned to all members of the team, though I reserve the right to alter individual
grades when it is clear that an individual contributed significantly more or less to the assignment.
Submitting Assignments
Papers must be submitted as an MSWord document. Presentations must be submitted as a
PowerPoint. Files must be readable on the Wintel platform; if you prepare documents on a Mac, you
are responsible for submitting them in compliant format (if I cannot read your file, you cannot expect
a good grade). Assignments are to be submitted to LATTE by 8:00 AM the day before class. Papers
that are submitted late will be graded down one full grade (e.g. from A to B) for each day or portion
thereof.
Computers in the Classroom
It is expected that you use your computer in class to support your classroom learning. Some
examples of good computer uses include taking notes, referring to case studies (to avoiding wasting
paper), referring to lists, notes or analyses you did in preparation for class and calculating ratios.
You can also quickly check into something you are hearing in a discussion by searching a topic. On
the other hand, email, social media, shopping, checking sports scores are not appropriate uses. If you
are found misusing your computer in the classroom, the professor will ask you to leave, and you will
lose credit for participating that class session.
Seating
Please select a seat on the first day of class, and use that seat for each class session. This helps the
professor get to know you (i.e. it helps establish your class participation grade). Please bring the
name tent that you create the first day. Also, double check that LATTE has your picture—all these
are things you can do to make it easier for the professor to know you as an individual.
Academic Honesty
You are expected to be honest in all of your academic work. Instances of alleged dishonesty will be
forwarded to the Brandeis Office of Academic Integrity. Potential sanctions include failure in the
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course and suspension from the University. For the University policy, please see section 5 of the
Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.
Special Accommodation
If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a
reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me immediately. Also, sports are
an important part of many students’ academic life. Alas, class participation is the foundation of this
course and requires attendance. There is no substitute for being part of the class discussion of a case.
While absence for sporting events will be allowed, your participation will still be assessed as a whole
across the term. This means that several sports-related absences can have the effect of reducing your
participation score.
Syllabus is Not a Contract
The purpose of BUS10A is to allow students an opportunity to learn the core concepts of business
(the Foundations of the Capitalist Enterprise). This syllabus is merely a guide to the learning
process. There is an odd notion in some corners that a syllabus is somehow a “contract” with
students: do this and good grades will happen. This is not such a document. Alas, the purpose of
grades is to reflect in a quantitative manner students’ learning achievement, not to measure whether
they followed the steps in the syllabus.
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Course Calendar (subject to change)
Date
1/12
1/14
No class-MLK day
1/21
Quality management
Process improvement
1/26
Four Ps of Marketing Mix
2/2
Due on LATTE by
8AM day of class
Introduction: what is capitalism?
Where has it been? Where is it
going?
Finding reliable and meaningful
information about a company
on line. SWOT analysis
1/19-
1/28
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Topic
Cafeteria Day: team
members and venue
Management theories X and Y, Z
Porter’s five forces
2/4
Student presentations:
“Cafeteria Day”
2/9
Financial ratio and trend analysis
Comparing companies using
ratios
2/11
Financing the enterprise
2/16
No Class
Case
Advance Readings
In class exercise
Syllabus, Drucker, Theory of Business (ResourcesLATTE)
Kellogg’s in class
exercise
Kellogg’s 2010 annual report (Resources-LATTE), A
Guide to Case Analysis (Resources-LATTE), How to
Find Information on a Company (LATTE)
Benihana of Tokyo
Quality Management (Key Concepts-LATTE),
Reebok International
Ltd
Taran Swan at
Nickelodeon Latin
America (A)
Four Ps (Key Concepts-LATTE), 4Ps Video (Key
Concepts- LATTE)
Howard Schultz and
Starbucks Coffee
Porter: Five Competitive Forces that Shape
Strategy (Key Concepts-LATTE)
In class ratios exercise
Financial Ratios Defined (Key Concepts-LATTE),
Kellogg’s annual report (Resources-LATTE)CocaCola 2010 annual report (Resources-LATTE)
Economist: Theories X & Y (Key Concepts-LATTE),
Resonant Leadership (Key Concepts-LATTE)
Cafeteria Day
Presentations
Ratios practice set
Cartwright Lumber
Company
Date
Topic
2/18
No Class
2/23
Business Model and industry life
cycle
2/25
Midterm Preparation
3/2
Midterm (in normal class time)
3/4
Case
Advance Readings
Crown Cork and Seal in
1989
Product Life Cycle (LATTE)
Globalization
Li & Fung
Globalization readings (LATTE)
3/9
Midterm Results
Technology in Business
Cisco Systems
Architecture: ERP and
Web-enabled IT
3/11
Entrepreneurship
3/16
Entrepreneurship
3/18
Business Planning
Zipcar: Refining the
Business Model
Managing Innovation
Kodak and the Digital
Revolution (A)
3/25
Disruptive innovation
Teva Pharmaceutical
Industries, Ltd
3/30
Globalization presentations
4/1
Globalization presentations
3/23
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Due on LATTE by
8AM day of class
Eisenmann, Business Model Analysis for
Entrepreneurs (Resources-LATTE)
Globalization team
members and
proposed topic
Facebook
Bhide, The Questions Every Entrepreneur Must
Answer (Resources-LATTE)
Amit-Creating Value through Business model
Innovation (LATTE)
Chesbrough: Business model innovation
(Resources-LATTE)
Business Model Canvas Video (Key ConceptsLATTE)
Kuemmerle-Entrepreurs Path to Global Expansion
(Resources-LATTE)
Date
Topic
4/6
No class - Passover
4/8
No class - Passover
4/13
Social Entrepreneurship
4/15
4/20
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Due on LATTE by
8AM day of class
Final paper: teams
and one-page outline
Case
Patrimonio Hoy
Advance Readings
Pralahad, Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid
(LATTE)
Christensen: Will Disruptive Innovations Save
Healthcare? (Resources-LATTE)
Healthcare innovation
Five ethical frameworks
4/22
Business Ethics
Individual ethics
paper
4/27
Bringing it altogether for your
career in business
Final paper
Parable of the Sadhu
Ethics readings (Resources-LATTE)
Business Ethics – subprime mortgage
Subprime mortgage crisis readings (Resources on
LATTE)
Tom Peters reading on LATTE