BUSA 101 - Introduction to Business
Student Syllabus
Instructor Information:
Instructor:
Dennis Heiner
Telephone:
733-9554, ext. 6411
Office:
CSI Campus – Evergreen C92
Hours:
TBA
Textbook:
Understanding Business by Nickels & McHugh, McGraw-Hill, 2002, 6th Edition.
Course Description:
A survey of business subject areas for both business and non-business students. Topics covered will
include business operation and organization, financial management, marketing, accounting, and labor
relations. Career opportunities in the field of business will be discussed. No prerequisites.
Grading:
Grades will be based on performance in the following areas:
Points Item
100 Exam 1
100 Exam 2
100 Exam 3
100 Internet Searches
100 Experential Learning Labs
200 Projects
700 – Total Points
Points
630+
560-629
490-559
420-489
Below 420
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Grade
A
B
C
D
F
Exams:
Students who miss a regularly scheduled exam must take a comprehensive final. The comprehensive final
will replace all missed exam scores. Students who take the tests on or before the scheduled date will not
need to take the comprehensive final.
Exam questions will be true/false and multiple choice.
Project:
Each student must complete 2 of the following projects:
1-
“Towards a Career in Business”. This project requires the student to explore a potential job
including a visit to the workplace and an interview with a potential employer. You will
also need to type a resume, cover letter, and thank-you letter. Be Careful: People have
actually landed jobs in the past while doing this project.
2-
“Investing in Stocks.” To do this project, you need to invest a hypothetical $100,000 in at
least 10 different stocks. You must tell me why you chose the stocks you did. You must
also track the price weekly for 10 weeks and prepare a summary of how your portfolio is
doing after 10 weeks. There is a handout to help you with this project.
“The Ropes Course.” CSI has an excellent ropes course, which can be used to teach
teamwork, trust, and creative problem solving. The course lasts from approximately 8:00
am to 2:00 pm. Students need only attend one Saturday session. The only cost associated
with this project is a lunch. The Fall 2002 Ropes Course is currently scheduled for Nov. 2.
3-
Internet Searches:
The purpose of internet searches is to give each student some applied experience in using the internet to
research a business related problem or issue. At the end of each chapter there is a section entitled “Taking
it to the Net.” Students need to complete one of the “Taking it to the Net” exercises in this section prior
to class discussion of that chapter. Each successfully completed Internet search is worth 5 points. There is
no credit for a “Taking it to the Net’ exercise turned in late. Students with less than 100 points worth of
internet searches may do the second search in a chapter to replace lost points. The maximum points
possible on Internet searches is 100. These points do not count as part of the 40 possible extra credit
points.
Experiential Learning Labs:
Experential learning involves active participation on the part of students in such activities as cases, roleplaying, group projects, and group interaction. Students must be in class to benefit from these labs.
Students will be allowed to miss one experiential lab with no penalty. After that, students will be docked
10 points for each lab missed. Labs can only be made up by doing extra credit work. Approximately onethird of the class time is devoted to experiential labs.
Extra Credit:
Up to 40 points worth of extra credit are available for doing a summary of a Wall Street Journal article. A
successful summary will be at least 1 page. Each page completed will earn the student 2-4 points. The
last possible day for extra credit is Dec 11th. Students who do all three projects discussed above will be
able to use the third project for extra credit.
Course Objectives:
At the end of this course students should achieve the following:
1.
2.
3.
Understand basic terms and concepts associated with marketing, managing, financing,
operating, and using technology of a business.
Be aware of some practical applications and concepts of the above listed aspects of a
business.
Demonstrate the ability to research and apply for a job.
Department Objectives:
Listed below are the CSI Business Department instructional goals and means whereby this course meets
those goals.
Goal
1.
Communication
2.
Analysis and Critical Thinking
3.
Problem Solving
4.
Effective Performance
5.
Pursue Personal Goals
Measurement Device
Written projects plus oral class discussion.
3 exams + in-class discussion of cases and other
business concepts.
Use of quantitative computer simulation and math
problems to solve problems.
Grading system based on 90%+ = A, 80%+ = B,
70%+ = C, 60%+ = D, Below 60% = F.
Allows the students to earn points by exploring
careers or writing projects dealing with applying
business techniques to current job.
Outcomes Assessments:
Students will have successfully completed this course when they receive 70% or higher on the quizzes,
exams, and project. The students at that point will have demonstrated that they know how to apply for a
job (project requirement) as well as basic terms, concepts, and principles of marketing, management,
finance, operations, information technology and the business environment.