SOLANO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS
Spring 2014
COURSE MATERIALS
Professor V. Lee Prescott
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SOLANO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Introduction to Business, Bus 005
Professor: V. Lee Prescott
Office: Room 517
Telephone: 707.864.7000 ext 5072
E-Mail: vprescot@solano.edu
- My preferred means of communication is e-mail.
Office hours: TBA
Text: UNDERSTANDING BUSINESS, 10th edition, Nickels, McHugh & McHugh.
Purpose of the Course.
The purpose of this class is to introduce you to the many facets of the free enterprise
system and of the business that operate within it. Since it is the first course in
business, Introduction to Business is not going to teach you "everything you wanted to
know about business but were afraid to ask". It is anticipated, though, that through
your experiences in this course, you will gain a better understanding of what private
enterprise is all about and what is included in each of the several academic areas of
study in business at institutions of higher learning such as the one you are attending.
It is hoped that this improved understanding will increase your appreciation of the free
enterprise system and will assist you in planning both your academic program and
future career.
Goals of the course.
 Acquaint you with the free enterprise system - the foundation upon which
American business is built;
 Acquaint you with the American economic system and contrast it to other
possibilities:
 Acquaint you with the aspects involved with starting a business;
 Acquaint you with the various functional areas of business - accounting, finance,
management, and marketing, - and how these areas are interrelated by means
of information systems;
 Acquaint you with the nation's security markets - a dynamic part of your
everyday life;
 Stimulate you to think about how you are affected by the business system and
how you might fit into that system;
 Acquaint you with the language of business.
Student Learning Outcome.
Recognize the importance marketing, legal, economics, accounting, business forms,
financing, risk, and personnel management in business and formulate hypotheses based
on these concepts.
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Resource Materials.
Periodicals such as Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes,
Newsweek, Time, U.S. News and World Report, and your daily newspaper; The
Library; and the Internet.
Method of Instruction.
I plan to use a combination of any or all of the following instructional methods: lecture,
discussion student case analysis, controversial topic debates, films, and guest speakers.
Power Point slides.
The PowerPoint Slides used in my lectures are available for your use by going to
bcs.solano.edu. In the “Main Campus” box, click on “Drive H: Workarea.” Scroll
down and click on ”vprescot”. You then will see a list of courses; Click on “Bus 5.”
There, find the appropriate chapter and click on it. You may view them there, or you
may print them out and bring them to class to assist in note-taking.
Class Attendance and Participation.
This is a college-level UC and CSU transferable course. Students must attend class in
order to participate in student-involvement activities. I expect each student to be on
time for class and be prepared for each day’s lesson. That is, be prepared to ask
questions, answer questions, and otherwise participate in discussion of the topic(s) for
that day.
Consistent and timely attendance is expected. Past experience indicates a direct
relationship between regular attendance and passing grades. Also, with that in mind,
each student is expected to read and understand the attached page titled Student
Responsibilities, Attendance and Participation as extracted from the Solano
Community College Catalog.
Grades and Grading Criteria.
There will be a ten-point or one-grade penalty assessed on all examinations not
taken when scheduled. Be advised that make-up exams will be different from the
regularly scheduled exams.
Late assignments will not be accepted. They are due at the beginning of class
on the dates due. The Current Business News assignments are due on the day of each
exam. You have plenty of notice and sufficient time to complete the assignments on
time. Assignments must still be completed when due, regardless of whether exam is
taken when scheduled.
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Grades will be based on your performance on the following:
Examination #1 (ch. 1 – 4) ----------------------------------- 150 points
Examination #2 (ch. 5 -6) ------------------------------------- 100 points
Examination #3 (ch. 7 – 9) ----------------------------------- 100 points
Examination #4 (ch. 10 – 12) -------------------------------- 100 points
Examination #5 (ch. 13 – 16) -------------------------------- 150 points
Examination #6 and Final Exam (ch. 17 – 20) ------------ 250 points

(Final exam to be held on 5/19/14 – 1:30 – 3:30 pm)
Current Business News -------------------------- 120 points (20 points each)
Participation------------------------------------ + / - (Instructor appraisal)
The following grading criteria will be in effect for this class:
A >= 90%
B = 80 to 89%
C = 70 to 79%
D = 60 to 69%
F = 59% and below
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Student Responsibilities
Attendance and Participation
Students must attend the first meeting of their classes each semester in order to verify
their class enrollments. Students failing to appear are withdrawn from class rolls.
Regular attendance and participation is required of all students enrolled in courses and
laboratories at Solano College. This includes regular attendance, completion of
examinations, assignments, participation in class activities and discussions. Instructors
shall provide students with written statements describing course requirements, grading
standards and course prerequisites.
Regular attendance is an obligation assumed by every student at the time of
registration. Absences per semester should not exceed the number of hours or the
number of days, as determined by the instructor, that a class meets per week.
Absences in excess of the maximum may result in students being dropped from classes
or having their grades lowered. Students who fail to attend their classes may be
dropped by their instructors no later than the end of 62.5 percent of the full-term class,
short- term class, or summer session.
Students have the responsibility for verifying their enrollment status. If students
withdraw from classes, it is their responsibility to make sure that drop cards have been
submitted to the Office of Admissions and Records or that they have completed the
withdrawal via RSVP telephone or online services.
It is the responsibility of students to know the status of their attendance records and to
complete all academic work missed due to absences.
Compliance with the above regulations may be waived in the presence of verifiable
extenuating circumstances including accidents, illnesses, shift changes and temporary
changes in military assignments. Students who are dropped from classes because of
unsatisfactory attendance and/or participation may petition their instructors for class
reinstatement. Instructors may reinstate a student by signing an add card and writing
“Reinstate” on the card. The add card must be submitted to the Office of Admissions
and Records.
Withdrawal from Classes
Students are responsible for officially dropping from classes and verifying that drop
cards are submitted to the Office of Admissions and Records or complete the drop
process by using the RSVP telephone system or web online services.
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A student may withdraw from a class during the fast four weeks of instruction by filing a
drop card with the Office of Admissions and Records or complete the drop process by
using the RSVP Telephone system or web online services. Courses dropped by the end
of the first four weeks of instruction will not appear on the student's record.
Courses dropped after 30% of instruction through the end of 62.5% of the term/session
will be recorded as a “W” on the student's record. A student must petition the Academic
Council for a “W” after the last day to drop if extenuating circumstances apply.
Documentation shall be required.
Short-term or summer session courses, which are less a full semester in length,
dropped during the first 30% of the class will not appear on the students record Courses
dropped 31% to 62.5% of the term/session will be recorded as a “W” on the student's
record. Courses dropped after 62.5% of the term/session maybe recorded as a “W” if
extenuating circumstances apply. The student must petition the Academic Council and
provide documentation to verify cases of accidents, illnesses, or other circumstances
beyond the control of the student.
Withdrawal from College
Students who find it necessary to drop all courses during the semester are required to
fill out a Withdrawal Card at the Office of Admissions and Records or the withdrawal
using the RSVP telephone system or web online services. Seeing a counselor is
advised before deciding to withdraw. It is important to clear any debts owed to the
College before leaving the College. Failure to withdraw properly could result in a failing
grade.
SCC Catalog
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M,W,F COURSE SCHEDULE

We will be covering approximately ½ chapter per class lecture. This is
a rapid pace, so be prepared. READ AHEAD OF THE LECTURE and bring
your questions and comments to class…..

Note that most of the test questions will come from the textbook, but
you are also responsible for the material covered in the lectures.

Please reference the SCC calendar and mark Holidays and days off on
your calendar accordingly.

REGARDING TEST DATES:
o I have purposely not listed test dates on the syllabus because
they are subject to change depending on how the class is
progressing. Of course, this is another good reason to be in class,
so you don’t miss test date announcements.
o I will announce on the first day of class – the probable test dates.
If test dates change, I will give you advanced notice.
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“CURRENT BUSINESS NEWS” Assignment
This is an extremely important exercise. The transference of knowledge/understanding from the classroom to
real life is an expected outcome of this course. Researching relative information, summarizing it in your own
words, and recording your thoughts/comments enhances learning transference.
PROCESS FOR NEWS REPORTS
At the end of each chapter, there is a box labeled “Key Terms.” Choose one of the chapters covered by
the Exam. For example, the 1st Exam covers Chapters 1 thru 4. You may choose any one of the
Chapters for your News Report Assignment: Chapter 1, or Chapter 2, or Chapter 3, or Chapter 4.
Choose one of the Key Terms in your chosen chapter and research online or written publications, and
find a current news article that contains your chosen Key Term. Summarize it in two or three paragraphs.
Include two or three paragraph personal Comments. Note: each summary/comment paragraph must
contain (only) 2-5 sentences.
GRADING CRITERIA
Everyone should make 100% on their news reports. However you need to know that it is (very) strictly
graded on the following criteria. You start with 100 and get a -10 for each item incorrect. It takes just as
much time to do it wrong as it does to do it right - only your grade will be better with the latter! (See
example news report on next page.)
1. Correct news report header information (must use listed ‘bold’ identifiers)
Name: (Your full name)
Article: (Title of article)
Article Date: (Date of article)
Reference: (Source of article)
Chapter: (Chapter #)
Key Term: (End of chapter key-term)
2. Use bold/capitalized/underlined sub-titles, i.e., SUMMARY and COMMENTS
Leave a blank line (only) after the header and between paragraphs.
2-3 paragraph summary (2-5 sentences per paragraph).
2-3 paragraph comments (2-5 sentences per paragraph).
ONLINE RESOURCES
The source for your news article may be a newspaper, magazine, company news letter, or online news
source. The best single source for finding relevant news journal articles is the SCC college library
databases. (I tried several of the key-terms and got numerous direct hits for each one.)
1. Start by going to the SCC home page at: http://www.solano.edu and selecting the Library
(in left menu tree) or go directly to the SCC Library at: http://www.solano.edu/library/
2. Select "Find Articles" (“Quick Search” at bottom of page), then Business from dropdown
menu, then select one of the databases to search a key term (use full text option for article).
3. All you need to login is a SCC or Solano County library card number (your patron ID).
(except for Benicia & Dixon). If you don't have a library card, for this semester only you may
use 21177008334204
4. This will bring you to the search page.
5. Also try: www.findarticles.com (use menu bar: Business), or any of the online news services.
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Current Business Assignment Example
Note: Keep report length to one page
Name: John Doe
Article: The Money Supply
Article Date: July 7, 2009
Reference: http://www.ny.frb.org/aboutthefed/fedpoint/fed49.html
Chapter: 20
Key Term: Money Supply
SUMMARY
While historically the money supply has been believed to influence the economy the Federal
Reserve now feels that this influence is not as strong as it once was. The Federal Reserve
website states: “In the past few decades the relationship between growth in the money supply
and the performance of the U.S. economy has become much weaker, and emphasis on the
money supply as a guide to monetary policy has waned.”
The Federal Reserve publishes data weekly on the M1 and M2 money supplies. These two
measurements, the M1 and the M2, measure different degrees of liquidity that different types of
money have. The M1 is a measure of money in public hands that includes: cash, demand
deposit accounts, travelers checks, and other accounts against which checks can be written.
The M2 money supply includes the M1 money supply along with savings accounts, time
deposits under $100,000, and balances in retail money market mutual funds.
Most of the article discusses the different groups of money that historically composed the M1,
M2, and M3 money supply measures. The definitions of these measures has changed over
time due to laws, new bank products, et cetera. In 2006 the Federal Reserve ceased collecting
data and publishing the M3 money supply measure because they felt that the M1 and M2
measures were adequate.
COMMENTS
One of the first things that I thought of when reading this article is how cumbersome it must be
to collect the data to publish M1 and M2 money supply data. The article states that in April
2008, the M1 was approximately $1.4 trillion, and the M2 was approximately $7.7 trillion.
I will admit that the intricate workings of the Federal Reserve are still somewhat of a mystery to
me. While I do understand the “big picture” of what they do, there are still activities of the
Federal Reserve that are beyond my comprehension. This chapter in the textbook did explain
a lot of topics that I was not very familiar with, and it is always nice to have a greater
understanding of something.
The idea of having a centralized banking system, e.g. The Federal Reserve, is a good idea.
This makes it possible to unify the country with a uniform standard of money. There are some
issues that I am not entirely in agreement with. Primarily, the United States is no longer on the
gold standard. To me this was a bad decision. My understanding is that no major world
economic force uses this standard; however, if we did I speculate that our economy would be
more stable.
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