Autumn 2007 First Class Assignments
August 21, 2007
First Class Assignments is published each term to inform students of assignments to be prepared before the first
class meeting. These pre-assignments are mandatory for students enrolled in the class and strongly recommended
for those who hope to add any of these courses during subsequent rounds of registration.
Purchasing Course Materials
•
Purchase your CoursePack(s) and textbook(s) before classes begin. Most CoursePacks will be available
the week of September 17, 2007.
•
If the bookstore runs out of a CoursePack, they will not order additional copies until a pre-paid request
form is submitted. Order forms will be available on the empty CoursePack shelf and/or the service desk.
Complete the form and bring it to a register for pre-payment. The pre-payment equals the cost of the
CoursePack in full. Your CoursePack should be ready for pick-up, at that location, within 3 business days.
•
You may order textbooks as well as CoursePacks electronically. E-mail the campus text department at:
uchicagotext@bncollege.com. E-mail the Gleacher Center store at: bksuchicagogleacher@bncollege.com.
Please include the following information: course number(s), name, shipping address, daytime phone,
credit card # & expiration date. We will send used copies unless requested otherwise (there are no used
CoursePacks available). Sales tax will be charged where applicable, shipping is $6.95 for the first item
and $1.95 for each additional item. Add an additional $5.00 for second-day air and $10.00 for overnight
(orders must be placed before 12:00pm CST, for overnight shipping). If you choose, you may call the
campus textbook department at 773-702-7116 or the Gleacher Center store at 312-464-8650.
•
Weekend students may use the “CoursePack Reserve” system set up by the Gleacher Center bookstore.
Use your credit card to purchase CoursePacks by phone (312-464-8650) and have them held for you until
you arrive in town for the first class; or if you choose, you can send the information via e-mail to:
bksuchicagogleacher@bncollege.com.
University of Chicago Bookstore Return Policy for CoursePacks only
•
Returned CoursePacks must be in original condition.
•
WITHOUT EXCEPTION, YOU MUST HAVE A RECEIPT FOR A REFUND.
•
Return credit is given in the original form of payment.
•
CoursePacks may be returned to either bookstore.
•
CoursePacks purchased before October 1, 2007 may be returned thru October 4, 2007, and must be
accompanied by a Drop Slip or proof that you are not enrolled in the class (a print out of your course
schedule from that day). CoursePacks purchased on or after October 1, 2007 are non-returnable.
•
Defective merchandise will be exchanged or replaced only (defective material must be relinquished to
receive replacement).
•
PLEASE NOTE: Some CoursePacks may have special return policies. Any exception is noted at time of
sale.
Autumn Quarter 2007
Page 1 of 6
University of Chicago Bookstore Return Policy for Textbooks
•
Returned textbooks must be in original condition.
•
WITHOUT EXCEPTION, YOU MUST HAVE A RECEIPT FOR A REFUND.
•
Return credit is given in the original form of payment.
•
Books may be returned to either bookstore.
•
The last day for returns is Friday, October 5, 2007. Any textbooks purchased on October 6, 2007 or after
will be non-returnable.
•
Defective merchandise will be exchanged or replaced only (defective material must be relinquished to
receive replacement).
•
PLEASE NOTE: Some textbooks may have special return policies. Any exception is noted at time of sale.
PLEASE NOTE: CoursePacks and textbooks are copyrighted material and any reproduction of them
without permission is a violation of copyright laws.
Please direct questions about the return policy to the bookstore staff either on campus or at Gleacher.
COURSES WITH A PRE-ASSIGNMENT:
30000-01/02/85
Dey, Aiyesha
Please read chapters 1 & 2 of the textbook, Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts, Methods and Uses (12th
ed.) and prepare problems 1.23, 1.24, 1.26, 1.27, 1.29, 1.33, 2.26, 2.29 (use T-accounts), 2.31 (use T-accounts). No
problems will be collected, but I encourage you to complete them prior to class. Problem 2.29 will be discussed in class.
Please familiarize yourself with the course web platform at http://chalk.uchicago.edu and look at the course material posted
there.
30000-03/81/82
Weil, Roman L.
These assignments and all others for the course refer to the 12th edition of the textbook, Financial Accounting: An
Introduction to Concepts, Methods, and Uses. Do not buy an 11th edition. The material differs in significant ways for the
core of the course.
For September 24/25, 2007
1. Learn how to go the Class website on Chalk. chalk.uchicago.edu [note, no www.]
2. Read chapters 1 and 2 of textbook. Work problems, as follows, where the number before the period is the chapter
and the number after the period is the problem number. 1.23, 1.24, 1.26, 1.27, 1.31, 1.34, 1.35, 2.27, 2.34, 2.39,
2.41
3. Read pages 571-577 and pages 669-671 of the textbook.
4. Read the Doomsday Rule—Short Form. Answer the following questions.
If Doomsday is Thursday, what day of the week is April 12:
What is the relation between Doomsday’s day of the week and Christmas’s day of the week?
If Doomsday is Thursday, what is the date of Labor Day?
5. Expect a surprise quiz for the first class—surprise in its content, not the fact that it will happen.
30000-04/05/06
Class 1
(a)
(b)
Srinivasan, Suraj
Topic:
Reading:
Problems:
Topic:
Reading:
Autumn Quarter 2007
Introduction to Financial Statements
Text Chapter 1
1.23, 1.24, 1.26, 1.27, 1.29, 1.33
Balance Sheet
Text Chapter 2
Page 2 of 6
Problems:
2.26, 2.29 (use T-accounts), 2.31 (use T-accounts), 2.33, 2.34. (2.33, 2.34
can be done after class to reinforce the material covered in class)
For the first class, please read chapters 1 and 2 of the textbook, Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts,
Methods and Uses (12th Edition) and prepare problems 1.23, 1.24, 1.26, 1.27, 1.29, 1.33, 2.26, 2.29 (use T-accounts),
2.31(use T-accounts). Problem 2.29 will be discussed in class (no problems will be collected). You can do 2.33 and 2.34
after the first class to reinforce the material covered in class.
Please familiarize yourself with the course web platform at http://chalk.uchicago.edu and look at the course material
including the class notes and the syllabus posted there.
30000-07
Engel, Ellen
For September 24th:
Read Chapter 1 of the textbook, Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts, Methods and Uses and prepare
problems 1.23, 1.24, 1.26, 1.27, 1.29 and 1.33.
For September 26th:
Read Chapter 2 of the textbook, Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts, Methods and Uses and prepare
problems 2.26, 2.29 (use t-accounts), 2.31 (use t-accounts), 2.33 and 2.34 from the second chapter. Problem 2-29 will be
discussed in class (no problems will be collected).
30118-01/81
Weiss, Ira
Purchase the CoursePack and textbook and read the following.
1. Chapters 1 and 2 of the textbook, Taxes and Business Strategy, 3rd Edition (Scholes, Wolfson, Erickson, Maydew and
Shevlin.
2. Article (in CoursePack), “Tax Tips for MBA Students”, by Jonah Rockoff and Ira Weiss
3. Optional Background Reading (in CoursePack), a. “Background: Fundamental Tax Concepts”
33001-01/81/85
Bleakley, C. Hoyt
Purchase the CoursePack and textbook. Review the first week’s readings listed in the syllabus.
33401-81/85
Bryan, Michael F.
Please read the first three chapters of the textbook. No other assignments prior to the first class.
33911-01
Harris, Milton
Purchase the CoursePack and read and be prepared to discuss “Moral Hazard and Observability” by Bengt Holmström
(available through JSTOR: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0361915X%28197921%2910%3A1%3C74%3AMHAO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q).
34101-01/02/85
Kaplan, Steven N.
34101-01/02:
For the first class meeting, students should prepare the Yale University Investments Office case in your CoursePack.
Students (including those who are attempting to register for the course) should use the detailed questions given in the
CoursePack to organize their thoughts and put together a one- or two-page memorandum that summarizes their analysis. If
you are thinking of adding the course, you must attend the first week.
34101-85:
For the first class meeting, I will expect you to prepare both the Yale University Investments Office case and the Technical
Data Business Plan case in your CoursePack. For each case, students (including those who are attempting to register for
the course) should use the detailed questions given in the CoursePack to organize their thoughts and put together a twopage memorandum that summarizes their analysis. If you are thinking of adding the course, you must attend the first week.
34102-01
Schrager, James E.
If you plan to try and add the course, you must attend the first class session.
34103-01/81
Deutsch, Waverly
Please purchase the CoursePack and do the pre-class assignment described in it.
Autumn Quarter 2007
Page 3 of 6
34105-01
Rudnick, Ellen A.
Students will be required to give a brief talk (5-7) minutes on the summer internship experiences. Guidelines for the talk
are included in the CoursePack and will also be sent out in a separate email prior to the first day of class.
34106-01/81
Meadow, Scott F.
Assignment for the first week of class (may be done individually or in groups):
Please read the case "Staples (A)" and write a two-page paper describing the structure of the industry that Staples would
operate in and a reasoned analysis of whether Staples is an attractive investment. Alternatively, you may choose to fill in
the relevant sections from the attached template that we will be using throughout the quarter. Support your position with
facts from the case and be prepared to discuss these in the first class.
35000-01/81/82
Heaton, John C.
Purchase Bodie, Kane and Marcus text and the CoursePack. Read chapters 1 through 5 of Bodie, Kane and Marucs
"Investments".
35100-81/85
Bandyopadhyay, Akash
Visit the course website at: http://faculty.ChicagoGSB.edu/akash.bandyopadhyay/teaching/courses/BUS_35100/
for the "First Class Assignment". This problem set must be turned-in for credit at the beginning of the first lecture. If you
need help on the technical backgrounds then review Calculus and Probability/Statistics from the first two articles of the
CoursePack (author: Ales Cerny).
35152-81/85
Culp, Christopher L.
Please obtain the textbook and CoursePack and do the readings indicated in the syllabus for Lecture 1.
35200-01/82/85
Sorensen, Morten
Purchase the textbook (by Berk and DeMarzo) and the CoursePack. Read the course description, the syllabus, and the
indicated readings for the first lectures.
35201-01/81
Leftwich, Richard
Read the Course Outline (on the Blackboard website)
Prepare the Clarkson Lumber case (in the CoursePack) addressing the questions posted on the Blackboard website.
Form a group (of up to four) and prepare a group case memorandum for the Clarkson case addressing the case questions
and submit it at the beginning of the class. Late memoranda will not be graded. See the course outline for an explanation of
and criteria for the case memoranda. If you are unable to form a group before the first class, you may submit an individual
case memorandum. All other case memoranda must be group memoranda.
Answer the Clarkson quiz (individually not as a group) on the Blackboard site.
35901-01
Fama, Eugene F.
Read Foundations of Finance chapters 1-4 and section IV of chapter 7. This is background statistical material. If you find
this material statistically difficult, this course is not for you.
37000-01/02/85
McGill, Ann L.
Please purchase the CoursePacks, review the syllabus carefully, complete the readings, and prepare the case [EMI and the
CT Scanner (B)] for discussion. The CoursePacks contain the list of readings and detailed preparation instructions.
37000-03/81
Bharadwaj, Neeraj
Please see the course Chalk site for details regarding the reading assignment for the first session. Also, please print out
and review the course syllabus from the course Chalk site prior to arriving at the first session (Note: Material will be
posted onto chalk on September 18th).
37000-83
Jeuland, Abel P.
1-Read the 3 articles in the CoursePack:
"Marketing Myopia" by Levitt
"The Core Competence of the Corporation" by Prahalad and Hamel
Autumn Quarter 2007
Page 4 of 6
"How to Link Strategic Vision to Core Capabilities" by Shoemaker
These 3 articles will be discussed during the first class session (general class discussion). To prepare for this class
discussion, read the 3 articles critically by considering questions such as: Are some views espoused correct or wrong?
Are these views logically consistent? Is the article incomplete?
The goal of the class discussion will be to arrive at a definition of marketing.
2-Check on Chalk (only registered students can access the course material --37000-83--posted on Chalk) for additional
assignments. These might include brief readings from the recent business press providing current marketing examples.
Contact your instructor via email if you have any questions.
38110-81
Ginzel, Linda & Haas, Howard
Purchase the CoursePack and 2 textbooks. Read the syllabus and familiarize yourself with the course requirements. To
prepare for our first class, read chapter 1 from the book: On Becoming a Leader. Also, be sure to read the first three
articles in your CoursePack:
“Successful change and the force that drives it” by J. Kotter
Excerpts from Managing by H. Geneen and A. Moscow
“What Makes and Effective Executive” by P. Drucker
Come to class prepared to discuss the following: Leadership and management are two distinctive but complementary
skills; however management is the foundation on which leadership is built. What have the readings helped you to
understand about these two business skills?
IMPORTANT: All students considering and/or enrolled in this course must be present for the first week of class on
Thursday, September 20. In addition, all students must attend team research presentations on Thursday, November 29.
38912-01
Thaler, Richard & Kamenica, Emir
Write a short essay (less than 600 words) on the following. Submit your answer to Professor Thaler by email by 10:00 am
the day of the first meeting of class.
Economic theory is largely based on the theory that agents choose optimally, based on some objective function or utility
function. What do you think is the single best empirical evidence in favor of that theory? Why?
40000-01/81/85
Eisenstein, Donald D.
Read The Goal. Read the articles “Competing on Capabilities,” “Deep Change ...” “Varsity Subs”, “Basic Concepts in
Probability” (review if needed) and “McD’s Service ...” found in the CoursePack. Check the course Chalk web site for the
syllabus, course information and updates.
41000-01/02/85
Bester, C. Alan
There is no formal first class assignment for this section of Business Statistics. I encourage students who are new to
statistics or wish to review stats concepts to read "How to Lie With Statistics", by Huff and Geis, and review the "Cartoon
Guide to Statistics" by Gonick and Smith. Both books may be purchased from Amazon for under $25 (go to the page for
How to Lie and look under 'Better Together').
41000-03/81
Polson, Nicholas
Purchase the CoursePack and textbook before you come to class.
41000-04/05/82
Russell, Jeffrey R.
Read chapters 1 and 2 in Bowerman and O’Connell.
41100-01/02
Bandi, Federico M.
Download the CoursePack from my web page and install Minitab on your PC.
It is important that you have complete command of the topics listed under "Prerequisites" in the syllabus (also posted on
my web page). Use your old stats book to review these topics (Chapter 2 of Dielman, which is optional, gives a quick
review). Prepare to be quizzed on this material.
42001-01/81
Bertrand, Marianne
Purchase the CoursePack and textbook.
A) Read Chapter 10 of Besanko, David Dranove, Scott Schaefer, and Mark Shanley, Economics of Strategy, as well
Autumn Quarter 2007
Page 5 of 6
as the “Note on the Structural Analysis of Industries” in CoursePack.
B) Read the “Crown Cork and Seal” case. See detailed first class assignment in the CoursePack for three case
questions for class discussion.
C) Write a two-page memorandum on the case (see instructions in the syllabus). The memo should focus on
answering case question 1 listed in detailed first class assignment.
42001-03/82
Shivakumar, Ram
Please read pages 1-8 from the textbook, the articles by Porter and Welch and the case titled “Ice Fili”. No write-ups are
required for this case though you must be prepared to participate in class discussions.
42103-85
Kleinman, David C.
Please be alert for materials that will be distributed by e-mail at various times after registration is completed and before the
first class. If possible, try to get started forming your team. We shall distribute a class list by e-mail as soon as possible.
Phone me at 773-702-7458 or e-mail me at david.kleinman@chicagogsb.edu if you have questions.
Autumn Quarter 2007
Page 6 of 6