Term 2, Jan 2010
Decision Making 1
COMM 101 (02) & (04)
Course Outline
Section 02
Section 04
M-W 10.00 a.m. – 11.20 a.m.
M-W 11.30 a.m. – 12.50 a.m.
Lecture Room: 3 ESB
Lecture Room: 3 ESB
Professor:
Office:
Office Hours:
Phone:
E-mail:
Colin Boyd
ESB Room 151
M-W 2.00 – 4.00; drop-ins or appointments at other times welcomed
966-8436
boyd@edwards.usask.ca
Note: e-mails sent from external ISPs such as Yahoo, Hotmail or Shaw
will be automatically quarantined in a spam mail-box by the University’s
e-mail system. Your e-mail may thus never be read, as I get over 150
spam e-mails a day. To send e-mails to faculty members and other
students within the University you should only ever use your
abc123@mail.usask.ca account.
My web site:
www.edwards.usask.ca/faculty/Colin Boyd/
Class web site:
http://www.edwards.usask.ca/faculty/Colin Boyd/Comm101/Jan10COMM101.html
Note: login ID is “usask\” followed by your NSID. E.g. usask\abc123
Your password for your own NSID is required to access the page.
Don’t enter anything in the “domain” box on the login.
Please note that we will not be using the University’s “Blackboard” or
PAWS communication systems.
The Future of Business, 2nd Edition By N. Althouse, S. Rose, L. Allan, L. J. Gitman, and C.
McDaniel, ISBN-10: 0176252525, 652 Pages, 2008, Published by Nelson. This text has a student
resources web site, located at http://www.futureofbusiness2e.nelson.com/student/
Course Description and Purpose:
The focus of this course is on integrated organizational decision making. To achieve this,
students will examine case studies requiring an integrated analysis across six disciplines
(accounting, finance, human resources, management/strategy, marketing and operations) over
Term 2, Jan 2009
the four stages of an organizational life-cycle (start-up, growth, maturity and revitalization) as
an organization’s activities shift from strategic exploration to exploitation and back to
exploration again.
Learning Objectives:
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To introduce the concept of organizations and their role in society
To provide an understanding of internal organizational functions
To expose the nature of Canadian business and its role in a diverse global economy
To apply business concepts using the case method
To understand the breadth and depth required for organizational decision making
To apply both quantitative and qualitative business analysis tools
To develop a sense of business ethics and social responsibility
To identify current business events and interpret potential consequences
To learn the value of leadership and business strategy
To recognize the importance of adapting organizations to change
Instruction Method:
The class is presented in an interactive lecture format. It will follow topics presented in the
textbook, with additional information presented by the instructor. PowerPoint slides will be
used to introduce theories and to guide and provoke class discussions. These will be
interspersed with videos and visits to Internet web sites of interest, and with discussions about
specific business cases. Electronic copies of the slides will be made available to students
beforehand so they may have the option of printing off slides, thereby reducing the amount of
note-taking required in each class. Some required information will not be included in the slides,
so it is important that students attend and pay attention to each presentation and discussion.
The class will also deal with current events as they evolve over the term, with the instructor
illustrating how these current events tie into the theories presented in the text book. Students
are encouraged to scan the business press daily (e.g. papers such as the Globe and Mail,
National Post, and the Wall Street Journal, and magazines such as Macleans. The Economist,
Fortune, and Forbes Magazine) and to watch business programs on TV and the Internet
Required course work includes two assignments to be completed in groups of 2 and then 4
respectively, as well as a midterm exam and a final exam. With up to 62 students in each
section, it is important to respect others by arriving on time if possible, and limiting disruptions
in class.
Academic Misconduct & Plagiarism:
The Edwards School of Business and the University of Saskatchewan have various sets of
general guidelines and rules that students are expected to know and to follow. Every student
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Term 2, Jan 2009
who is registered in this class is expected to have read and understood the specific University
rules regarding student academic misconduct which are posted at
http://www.usask.ca/university_secretary/honesty/StudentAcademicMisconduct.pdf. The
Programs and Academic Information page of the Edwards School of Business website also
provides information about academic misconduct at the following location:
http://www.edwards.usask.ca/ginfo/academic_dishonesty.html
Ignorance of these rules is not a legitimate defense against an accusation of student academic dishonesty,
and hence every student is strongly advised to read these rules and to obey them. The rules regarding
plagiarism (submitting academic work that is not your own) are particularly important to read and
understand because of the possible severity of the punishment, which at the extreme could involve
expulsion from the University.
Evaluation:
Assignment # 1
Midterm exam
Assignment # 2
Final exam
10%
25%
20%
45%
Regular attendance and participation is expected in this class. In the event that any student is absent from
an excessive number of classes without prior agreement with the instructor, up to 10% of the student’s
mark will be deducted to reflect poor performance on these dimensions.
Specific details of the assignments will be posted on the class web page. There are two
assignments that will be submitted for grading. The following requirements apply to each of
the assignments:
$
$
$
$
Each submission must include a title page indicating the names of group members, the
name and number of the class, the name of your instructor, and the due date of the
assignment. Assignments must be double spaced, in 12 point font.
Assignments are due at the start of the class on the due date. Late assignments will not
be accepted. If you have only a partially complete assignment, hand in what has been
done on time so you can at least get partial marks.
Assignments that, in the mind of the marker (and instructor), are not satisfactory in
terms of neatness or grammar, or that fail to comply with the above rules will be
returned unmarked and assigned a grade of zero.
Assignments must be done on a word processor and/or Excel spreadsheet as
appropriate. Hand written assignments will not be accepted.
Course Schedule:
The following is the schedule for the course. The instructor will note any changes to this outline
as the course progresses. Students should come prepared reading the assigned chapter(s) and
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Term 2, Jan 2009
any other assigned materials prior to the class and staying informed on current business issues.
The latest information on the actual schedule of classes can always be found on the web page.
1 Mon Jan 4
Introduction
2 Wed Jan 6
Lecture on Product-Market Positioning
3 Mon Jan 11
Chapter 1 – Understanding Evolving Economic Systems and Competition
Lecture on SWOT Analysis
4 Wed Jan 13
Chapter 2 – The Global Marketplace and Governments' Roles
5 Mon Jan 18
Chapter 2 (continued) Governments in Canada
Appendix (598 – 610) on Corporate Governance, the Legal Environment and
Taxation
Lecture on Ethical Decision-Making 1
6 Wed Jan 20
7 Mon Jan 25
Chapter 3 – Social Trends, Social Responsibility and Making Ethical Decisions in
Business
8 Wed Jan 27
Chapter 4 - Using Technology to Manage Information and for Business Success
9 Mon Feb 1
Chapter 5 – Forms of Business Ownership
10 Wed Feb 3
Chapter 6 – Entrepreneurship: Starting & Managing Your Own Business.
11 Mon Feb 8
Chapter 7 – Management and Leadership in Today's Organizations
Lecture on Strategy and Structure
Assignment #1 DUE
12 Wed Feb 10
Chapter 8 – Designing Organizational Structures
Mon Feb 15
Mid-term break
Wed Feb 17
Mid-term break
13 Mon Feb 22
TBA
14 Wed Feb 24
Chapter 9 – Managing Human Resources and Labour Relations
15 Mon Mar 1
Midterm Exam, based on Chapters 1 to 8 and related class materials
16 Wed Mar 3
Chapter 10 – Motivating Employees and Creating Self-Managed Teams
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Term 2, Jan 2009
17 Mon Mar 8
Chapter 11 – Achieving World-Class Operations Management
18 Wed Mar 10 Chapter 12 – Understanding the Customer and Creating Marketing Strategy
19 Mon Mar 15 Chapter 13 – Developing Quality Products at the Right Price
20 Wed Mar 17 Chapter 14 – Distributing Products in a Timely and Efficient Manner
21 Mon Mar 22 Chapter 15 – Using Integrated Marketing Communications to Promote Products.
Assignment #2 DUE
22 Wed Mar 24 Chapter 16 – Using Financial Information and Accounting
Lecture on Understanding Financial Reports
23 Mon Mar 29 Chapter 17 – Managing the Firm's Finances
24 Wed Mar 31 Chapter 18 – Understanding Money, Financial Institutions, and the Securities
Markets
25 Mon Apr 5
How to give a presentation
26 Wed Apr 7
TBA
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