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Birmingham-Southern College
Division of Business
BA 201
The Real “Bottom Line”: Foundations of Business Thought
Course Syllabus, Fall 2010
Business is a profession worthy of a person’s highest ideals and aspirations, fraught with moral
possibilities both of great good and of great evil.
Michael Novak, author of Business as a Calling
Faculty
Dr. E. Byron Chew, Professor of Management
Office: HB 211, Phone:226-4844, Cell: 205-542-3540
Email: bchew@bsc.edu
Office Hours:
Mon & Wed: 10-11am, 5–6pm
By Appt only M&W 12:30-2 & Tues
Please call 205-542-3540 for Appointment
Dr. Sara Robicheaux
Office: HB 208, Phone: 226-4828
Email: srobiche@bsc.edu
Office Hours:
Mon & Wed 8:15-9:15am, 2-3pm
T & Th by appointment
Email for Appointment
Teaching Assistants
Jacob McPherson; jamcpher@bsc.edu
Sally McEwen; sdmcewen@bsc.edu
Thomas Ray; tlray@bsc.edu
The TA’s will be available for a study session before the tests.
If you notice a problem on Moodle or have a homework grade discrepancy, please contact your
TA.
Course Description
Using a variety of classic and contemporary literature, Foundations of Business Thought
provides students the opportunity to explore their own and others' perceptions and opinions
about business and the role individuals play in business organizations, whether corporate or
entrepreneurial. The course reviews the evolution of thought on the organizational structure of
business enterprises to gain a contextual framework for understanding how individuals
contribute to accomplishing objectives of business organizations. In particular, the course
considers objectives of business that include more than profitability, in other words, more than
the "bottom line."
Course Objectives
Through successful completion of the course, students will be able to express their perspectives
and articulate opinions on the
 nature of business enterprises
 organizational and social contextual structure of business
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
roles through which individuals set and accomplish business objectives
Through successful completion of the course, students will be able to demonstrate
 collaborative work methods to accomplish goals and complex tasks
 processes of conducting basic business research
 skills required to produce a business research paper
Through successful completion of the course, students will have the opportunity to explore
 their personality characteristics including preferred work environments, leadership and
communication styles and potential for success/comfort in organizational settings
 crafting a statement of personal vision, mission, and goals
 developing a personal development plan
Goals for BA 201:1Y and Mission-linked goals for the Department of Business and Accounting
In support of the educational goals of the College expressed in the Foundations, each of the
majors offered through the Department of Business is based on two layers of student learning
goals. The first set, mission-linked goals, ties the learning outcomes of the majors directly to the
liberal arts mission of the College. The second set, disciplinary depth goals, define the overall
content and skills expectations within each major. In addition to providing a 1Y experience,
Foundations of Business Thought (BA 201) is a required course for the Accounting and Business
Administration majors and meets the following mission-linked goals.
BA Mission-linked goals included in BA 201:1Y are:
Critical thinking
 to gather, analyze, and synthesize information and to identify misinformation, prejudice, onesidedness
Communication skills
 to make convincing arguments in both written and oral forms
Global and cultural awareness
 to think outside one’s own local contexts
Independent learning
 to organize one’s own research and learning
Interdisciplinary thinking
 to integrate the breadth of one’s learning
Professional responsibility
 to demonstrate appropriate professional demeanor and ethics
Teamwork
 to work productively with others
Technology
 to gain experience in the use of relevant technology
Mission-linked goals, for the Division of Business, not included in BA 201:1Y
Decision-making – to analyze and synthesize the elements of a situation, generate
alternatives, and recommend a course of action
Disciplinary depth – to gain competence in business administration, accounting, or
economics
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The second set of student learning goals, disciplinary depth goals, defines the overall content
and skills expectations within each major. The disciplinary depth goals are:
Students Completing the Business Administration Major Should Understand:
 The basic functions of the financial manager, including forecasting and planning, evaluating
the potential profitability of prospective investment opportunities, and evaluating the
overall financial performance of the firm and the link to financial markets
 The basic concepts of finance and economic theory and how those concepts support
effective financial decision-making
 The fundamental structures and use of financial statements in performing the functions of
financial management
 The political-economic environment effecting business decisions
 The general structure and functioning of financial markets and price determination
 The time value of money and the use of discounting and compounding tools in assessing
intertemporal decisions
 The process of capital budgeting as an integral part of strategic management
 The underlying realization that successful management is entrepreneurial
 The roles and responsibilities of a manager
 The wide range of activities which managers undertake, including the steps that should be
taken to plan, organize, lead, and control organizations effectively and efficiently
 The concepts of strategic management and what it means to think strategically
 The type of leadership that works best with certain situations and individual personalities
 What it means to see change rather than stability as the nature of things
 The manager's responsibility for the creation of a collaborative workplace
 The definitions of marketing, marketing management, the marketing concept and its role in
the economic system, and its application to both profit and not-for-profit organizations
 The "external" marketing environment and its impact on the firm and its marketing strategy
 The elements of a marketing strategy
 The role and purpose of market research and marketing information systems
 The basics of consumer behavior
 The channels through which products reach market
 The marketing of services
Statement of Professional Responsibility
The faculty of the Department of Business and Accounting, both collectively and as individual
professors, feel that students should be accountable for developing the work habits and
personal discipline that will be expected of them after graduation as professional members of
the business community. It is important that students reach satisfactory standards of written
and oral communication as well as a satisfactory amount of accounting or management or
marketing or finance. It is just as important that students learn integrity and professional
responsibility as it is economics or statistics.
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Honor Code
Students are responsible for knowing and strictly abiding by the BSC Honor Code contained in
the Student Handbook. When in doubt regarding any assignment, clarify instructions with the
professor. Specific information regarding application of the Honor Code in this class is
provided by separate handout. Please see document on Moodle.
Required Texts
Foundations of Business Thought, Boardman and Sandomir, Seventh Edition,
Pearson Custom Publishing
Business As A Calling, Novak, The Free Press
Introduction to Type in Organizations: Individual Interpretive Guide,
Hirsh and Kummerow, Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc.
Leadership That Gets Results, Daniel Goleman, Harvard Business Review
A Writer’s Reference, Diana Hacker
Other readings as assigned.
How we Learn and Why we Don’t, Dr. Lois Breur Krause
ASSIGNMENTS
Responses to Discussion Questions
For each assigned reading, there will be a set of discussion questions that are designed to
stimulate thinking on the formation of attitudes, perspectives and opinions about business.
Over the course of the term, many of the discussion questions will lead you to
compare/contrast, or layer your contextual understanding of the points of view expressed in the
readings. Responses to the discussion questions must be turned in at the time of class each
week; if absent, the discussion questions must be electronically submitted prior to the beginning
of class. You should bring a hard copy of your answers to class so that you can take class notes
from the discussion. Generally, this discussion will take two forms. One will be a discussion in
a small group where you will have an opportunity to correct or expand upon your answers. The
second will be a discussion over selected questions with the entire class. There will be
additional written assignments based on class discussions. Also, students will read the
biographies of each philosopher and be prepared to summarize them in class and take a quiz on
the biographical material.
Business Review
Current articles in business will be regularly incorporated into the class discussion. The
professor will supply you with these articles. On the days that the articles are supplied to you,
you are responsible for various writing assignments that deal with the articles. Be prepared to
discuss them in class. You may be asked to bring articles for class discussion. See “Current
Events” on Moodle.
Business Discovery Project
In order to learn the foundations of business research by using secondary sources, you will
receive a business research workbook. This workbook, plus the interactive research guide, will
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be used to form an understanding of a business' current situation and operational context. The
information that you have discovered will be organized into a business research paper. Specific
expectations for the paper will be given during the course of the class.
Exploration of My Type in Organizations
In addition to forming and articulating opinions about business, you will have the opportunity
to explore and develop deeper understandings of how your unique personality has expressed
preferences for certain characteristics in work environments, leader styles, communication
styles, etc. You will complete the Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory, and then complete the
assignment, “My Type in Organizations,” found on Moodle. This assignment will give
directions on compiling a notebook, within which your research will be organized and
synthesized.
Tests and Quizzes
Quizzes may be unannounced. Quizzes will cover readings and in-class material including
information from speakers. They will take place at the very beginning of class. There are no
make-up quizzes. All students are required to take announced quizzes.
Two tests will be administered. Test #1 is scheduled about midterm and covers Parts I and II.
Test #2, which is scheduled on the last day for this course, covers Parts III and IV of the
coursework.
Writing Center
First year students are required to make and keep an appointment with a Writing Center tutor
prior to submission of the Business Review paper. Other students are encouraged to take
advantage of the assistance provided by the Writing Center. Please refer to the policy regarding
the Writing Center visits posted on Moodle.
GRADING
Grades will be determined according to the following point distribution:
Discussion Questions, Quizzes, Business Review, Participation
Business Discovery Project
My Type Project
Test #1
Test #2
20%
20%
20%
20%
20%
Grading Policy
Drop grades are not permitted. Attendance at the tests is mandatory. One (1) test may be made
up if the absence is excused. To qualify as an "excused" absence, the student must provide
written evidence of an excuse in advance of the absence unless the cause is unavoidable.
Unexcused test absences and other assignments not turned in on due dates result in grades of
zero. If a class absence is unavoidable, submit any assignments to the Teaching Assistant prior
to the beginning of class. Any late assignment, including the Projects, will result in a grade of
zero.
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Course Content
Part I Purposes and Objectives of Business
Plato, The Republic
Aristotle, The Politics
Chen Huan-Chang, The Economic Principles
Confucius, The Analects
Rand, Atlas Shrugged
Smith, Wealth of Nations
Friedman, The Social Responsibility of Business
Heilbroner, Controlling the Corporation
Novak, Business as a Calling
Part II Organizational and Social Context of Business
Marx, Das Kapital
Tawney, The Acquisitive Society
Weber, The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism
Rockefeller, The Personal Relation in Industry
Carnegie, The Gospel of Wealth
An Employer’s View of the Labor Question
Novak, Business as a Calling
Part III Functional Components of Business
Tzu, The Art of War
Cicero, De Officiis
Aquinas, The Summa Theologica
Of The Sin of Usury
Darwin, The Origin of the Species
Pacioli, Particulars of Reckoning
Saikaku, The Eternal Storehouse of Japan
Defoe, The Compleat English Tradesman
Bacon, The Essays
Polo, From the Travels of Marco Polo
Tawney, The Conditions of Efficiency from the Acquisitive Society
Lawrence, Lady Chatterley’s Lover
Ford, From My Life and Work
McGregor, The Human Side of Enterprise
Part IV The Individual in Business
Veblen, Theory of the Leisure Class
Galbraith, The Affluent Society
Hayek, The Non Sequitur of the “Dependence Effect”
Novak, Business as a Calling
Twain, Cecil Rhodes and the Shark
Goleman, Leadership that Gets Results
Hirsch and Kummerow, Introduction to Type in Organizations