Syllabus BADM—3501, Sections 10,11 & 12 Professor Klock
Financial Management Fall 2014
§10: 2020 K 20, T&R 3:45-5:00
§11: 2020 K 20, T&R 11:10-12:25
§12: Duques 255, T&R 12:45-2:00
Instructor Info: Office hours T & R 10:30-11 and 2:10-3:40. Also T 5:30-7:00
Office: 503 Funger, phone: 994-8342
Email: msk20@gwu.edu
Web page: http://savickas.net/cgi-bin/GWfinance/viewfaculty.cgi?fn=16
REQUIRED TEXT and MATERIALS:
1. Text: Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 7th ed. by Brealey, Myers & Marcus
The book is packaged with McGraw Hill Connect Plus Finance which you must have to
access all graded assignments including tests on line. The service also gives you access
to on-line practice materials, self-quiz and study tools and more to help you succeed.
Assignments can be assessed from the Blackboard course page. Students who purchase a
used book or rent electronic access to the book can purchase Connect Plus with a credit
card via Blackboard. Detailed instructions are at the end of this document.
2. Either a laptop, an iPad, a tablet, or a smart phone with internet connection. The
quizzes and exams will be done on that device in class through Blackboard. Charge your
batteries before exams
3. Financial Calculator: any calculator that has PV, FV, PMT, and IRR functions, e.g.
Texas Instruments TI BA II Plus or TI 83 Plus (see http://www.tvmcalcs.com for others).
Subject matter: Finance involves the valuation of legal rights to receive payments at
different times under different contingencies. The most basic problem in finance is
moving wealth across time and the next most basic problem is valuing uncertainty. Most
problems involve a combination of time and risk. Financial management focuses on
decisions in the context of a business entity about what to invest in and how to finance
the investment.
Students are expected to have completed all prerequisites for the course. A strong
understanding of microeconomic principles, simple algebra, and elementary statistics are
very important.
Class format: The class is organized as a lecture. Students are encouraged to ask
questions. Students are responsible for their own performance. Like anything else, skill
cannot be acquired without repetitive practice. In other words, if you read the book and
come to every class, but do nothing else, you will not do well. To do well, you must also
practice working and solving problems over again repeatedly. Understanding something
you read is not the same as being able to solve a problem quickly under pressure.
Practice problem solving over and over again. A minimum of six hours of reading and
practice per week outside of the classroom is expected. The instructor’s role is to provide
a set of expectations, assist in learning the material, and administer the graded work.
Students are expected to have the self-discipline required to develop and practice skills
on their own. Lectures for section 12 will be recorded and posted daily to all sections
blackboard accounts. If you miss a class for an athletic trip or other reason you can
watch the recording.
More about on-line resources: Please read the above paragraph a second time. Now let
me explain a couple of points a little further. Sometimes students complain at the end of
this class that they did not get enough homework. Note that there is no limit on the
amount of homework you can do, therefore the complaints probably really mean that
there was not enough assigned homework. One of the functions of schools is to sort and
filter students. This is a difficult task and I don’t believe in making things more difficult
than necessary. As an employer, would you rather hire someone with the motivation and
initiative to work hard even when not forced to, or someone who does well only when
pressured to do so? I don’t force people to work. You can distinguish yourself from the
competition by disciplining yourself to study hard on your own. If you don’t do
homework problems in the book, please do not complain to me that you didn’t get
enough homework. There is more than enough homework in the book to keep you busy.
You should take advantage of the self-quiz and study tools. Also, please understand that
there is a very big difference between knowing something and having a high level of skill
with use of the knowledge. Knowing the material does not translate into a good exam
grade. Quickly applying the material correctly will translate into a good grade. This type
of skill is acquired only through practice and repetition. If practicing a skill is not a
priority for you, that reveals useful information. You should also evaluate why you are
here. Good reasons to attend college are to improve analytical skills and communication
skills.
Grading policies: There is no extra credit, ever. The only way to compensate for a poor
performance is to do better the next time. If you are not feeling well, you can elect not to
take a test. The make up for missed tests is the final exam (i.e., you will not be penalized,
the weight of the missed test will pass on to the final). If you miss the final exam, you
must have a physician’s note or documented evidence of another university recognized
excuse. Quizzes: I have scheduled six short problem quizzes. Each quiz will be 15
minutes during class. There are no make-up quizzes, instead, I will drop the three lowest
quiz grades. Any missed quizzes excused or not will be counted among the three
dropped scores. Only the three highest quiz grades will count towards your final grade.
Everyone is responsible for knowing and understanding the code of academic integrity.
There have been several recent cases where students have failed for violating the code.
In 2013 I the office of academic integrity disciplined two of my students who attempted
to work on tests and quizzes from outside the classroom. Be advised that I use video
recordings to document who is in the classroom. I have many more years of experience
dealing with cheaters than cheaters have cheating. HW must be submitted through
Blackboard before the deadline. HW cannot be submitted late so you should plan to
submit it well before the deadline in case you have an emergency. Quizzes and tests will
be taken on Blackboard in the classroom using Tegrity which records your screen to
detect cheating. A separate handout on using the system will be provided. Finally, note
that each student will have a different correct answer for HW, quizzes, and tests. In
performing calculations, do not round intermediate results. If your final answer varies
from the correct answer by more than 1%, it will be scored incorrect.
Instructor Bio: Professor Klock began teaching college statistics and economics in 1980.
He received a Ph.D. in economics in 1983 and began full-time faculty work in finance in
1984. He joined the GWU faculty in 1987. In 1988 he received a law degree and was
admitted to the Maryland Bar. Professor Klock spent seven years as Chair of the Finance
Department, and two years as an Associate Dean. His research has been well cited, and
he has published more than 45 articles in journals including: Journal of Financial and
Quantitative Analysis; American Economic Review; Journal of Corporation Law;
Wisconsin Law Review; Columbia Business Law Review; Journal of Accounting,
Auditing and Finance; The Financial Review; and many others.
Tentative Schedule:
Date
Topic
Graded Assignments
8/26
Chapter 1
8/28
Chapter 2
9/2
Chapter 3
9/4
Chapter 4
9/9
Chapter 5
First HW due BEFORE 10:30 a.m.
9/11
Chapter 5 continued
First Quiz (covers chapter 5)
9/16
Chapter 6
9/18
Chapters 6 & 7
Quiz 2 (covers chapter 6)
9/23
Chapter 7
HW #2 due BEFORE 10:30 a.m.
9/25
Chapter 8
9/30
FIRST EXAMINATION (chapters 1-7)
10/2
Chapter 8 continued
HW #3 due BEFORE 10:30 a.m.
10/7
Chapter 9
Quiz 3 (covers chapter 8)
10/9
Chapters 9 & 11
10/14
Chapter 11
10/16
Class postponed due to FMA conference, make-up on Dec. 2
10/21
Chapter 12
HW #4 due BEFORE 10:30 a.m.
10/23
Chapter 13
Quiz 4 (covers chapters 11 & 12)
10/28
Chapter 14
10/30
SECOND EXAMINATION (chapters 8-14)
11/4
Chapter 16
11/6
Chapters 16 & 17
11/11
Chapter 17
Quiz 5 (covers chapter 16)
11/13
Chapter 18
11/18
Chapter 19
HW #5 due BEFORE 10:30 a.m.
11/20
Chapter 20
11/25
Video—“Trillion Dollar Bet”
11/27
THANKSGIVING, NO CLASS
12/2 Designated Make-Up Day for Oct. 16 Chapter 23 & Quiz 6 (covers chapters 1820)
12/4
Chapter 24
Comprehensive Final Examination as scheduled by the university -- No early make-ups
Your semester average will be as follows:
HW:
5%
Quizzes
10% (total of 10% for the average of your three highest)
Midterms
55% (total, each midterm counts 27.5%)
Final
30%
I will curve the averages at the end of the semester.
STUDENT INFORMATION SHEET
Please print out, fill out, and bring to class to pass in, or email it to me.
Fall 2013
NAME_________________________________
Class (sophomore, junior, senior, grad)
Major
Previous courses taken in finance and economics
Concurrent classes being taken in finance and economics
Plans after graduation
Interests/hobbies
Concerns/comments
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