BUS 10a
FUNCTIONS OF THE CAPITALIST ENTERPRISE
COURSE SYLLABUS
Spring 2014
Class Hours: M,W 8:30 AM–9:50 AM
Location: Pollack Fine Arts 001
Dr. William J. Oliver
781-728-9455
Email: willo@brandeis.com
Please put “BUS 10a” in the subject line
Office: Sachar 11 (in the basement, near the Coke machine)
Office Hours: Monday 10:00-2:00, Wednesday 12:30-2:00, and by appointment
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Objectives
This course is an integral part of the Business minor and major. It uses case examples and practical
concepts to build a framework for addressing key management issues. There are five primary
learning outcomes for students:
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Understand the fundamental concepts and functions in business management
Recognize the interrelationships among these functions
Learn how to apply the language and tools of the course to a range of business issues
Learn how to read, analyze, and discuss business school case studies
Develop oral presentation skills for business
The first half of the course reviews the key functions of managers through cases and mini-lectures on
finance, marketing, operations, organizational behavior, and strategy. The second half applies this
knowledge to three broad themes: the unique issues related to entrepreneurship, business in the
global economy, and business ethics.
This section of BUS 10a is somewhat unique, in that it focuses more on the issues faced by the
entrepreneur and the innovator, while the other sections focus on other aspects of business.
This is a hard course. It anticipates that you spend 3 hours of study per hour of class time1, a total of
120-140 hours preparing for 26 one and a half hour classes. That includes 2-3 hours reading and
preparing cases before each class session. In addition, you will spend 20-30 hours preparing each of
two presentations and a paper. If you are not a good reader, or English is not your primary language,
you may find that you need additional study time.
Core Concepts
Upon completing this course, you will demonstrate your newly developed ability to assess businesses
using several of the most important analytical tools. These will help you understand articles in the
press. They will also help you understand the company you work for after graduation:
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Finding reliable and meaningful information about a company on line
Financial ratio and trend analysis, and Key Performance Indicators – to assess a company’s
health
Quality management – reducing errors and process delays to improve operational performance
Porter’s five forces for assessing strategic position
SWOT analysis for summarizing a company's condition and potential
Business model as a method of describing a business
Product life cycle as a tool to assess a company’s products
Disruptive innovation that will undermine current company's strategic position
Theory X and Y, Z and resonant leadership, teams, and organization structure as aspects of
company culture
IT Strategy, or how information changes businesses
See discussion at: http://www.academictips.org/acad/timemanagement.html, and at:
http://commerce.depaul.edu/undergrad/docs/About/studyhourformula.pdf,
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Five ethical frameworks for sizing up ethical challenges
Personal brand – using the concepts of business to build your own “Me, Inc.” This will help you
plan your own future—it will also facilitate assessing career opportunities
Prerequisites: ECON 2a; BUS 6a (or BUS 4a), which may be taken concurrently with BUS 10a.
I encourage you to take BUS 1B before 10A.
Materials
Core Readings: The course is built on a core set of readings and cases. Many of these are available
through LATTE. You will also purchase a case readings set from HBS Publishing, at the link below.
If you have question about purchasing, call 800-810-8858 or 617-783-7700.
Link: http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/access/14233733 xxxxxxxxxxxx
Recommended Text: The text is available on reference in Goldfarb library, and older editions are
available on line for less than $10. The text will not specifically be used in lectures or the test. It is a
valuable reference extending into many other aspects of the Functions of a Capitalist Enterprise.
Text: Ronald J. Ebert and Ricky W. Griffin, Business Essentials, any edition. Please note that other
sections of BUS 10a use the 6th edition.
Grading
Contributions to class discussions and team projects (25%)
The course is built around class and team project participation. That is not attendance, but
participation. Project participation will be assessed through a one-page self-assessment completed
after each team project. There are four levels of class participation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
A key promoter of other student’s participation
Contributes regularly, but through individual comments—not building a discussion
Contributes more than once to every class discussions
Attends every class, contributes to some
The objective for each student is to move up to a higher level than experienced in previous courses.
Mid-way through the term, the professor will meet with each student to assess performance and
adjust individual participation objectives.
To be effective in class participation requires advance preparation. For each reading: write down 510 insights you got from the article. Also write down 3-5 questions you would ask the author
(perhaps things you don’t understand, or even disagree with) if you had the chance. For each case
study, spend two to three hours preparing (no, I am not kidding):
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Keep a notebook of your case preparation notes (this is not handed in)
Read the open and closing paragraphs of the case
Look at the figures in the back. For each, ask yourself what is the point of the figure
Read all the headings in the body of the case
Read the first sentence of each paragraph
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Write down: why are we discussing this case. Some cases specifically ask a question, others
are a chance to learn some aspect of business. Part of this step is to assess which of the core
concepts apply—and should structure the discussion
Read the case (at this point, you will have spent your first hour)
Write down: 10 key observations that you think should come up in the discussion of the case.
You should write them down so you do not have to remember them during class, or think
about how to express them. Write them down
Write down: what are 5 key questions on which the case discussion should turn. If the case
asks for a decision; what are the key sub-questions. If the case is to learn about a
management approach, what is it that makes the approach unique and successful?
Do calculations: as you learn the core concepts, apply them to the case. Write down your
thoughts, so that you can easily refer to them during the discussion
Look outside the case. The Internet can often give you information about what has actually
happened to the company since the case was written. This can liven up the discussion
I recommend that you get together in a group of 2-3 to discuss the case. A group can meet in
person, on the phone, or even simply exchange emails about the case. The group will
increase your confidence that you have something valuable to say
After each class session, reconsider your participation that day: level 1, 2, 3 or 4? Write that
in your notebook. Plan to “take it up a notch” next class session.
Midterm exam (25%) This is a written, open-book exam that will be conducted during the normal
class period. You will be asked essay questions about the materials covered and issues discussed in
class. It will require you to do some calculations as well as assess some companies from the
perspective of the approaches you have learned in the course thus far. The midterm will be very
challenging. You will complete the exam with your computer and submit it on LATTE at the end of
the class period.
Five assignments to assess businesses:
Tracking a company (5%) Individual assignment. You will choose one of three methods for
completing this part of the course. You will write ab out a company each week. See separate
instructions on LATTE
PowerPoint presentation on “Cafeteria Day” (10%) Group assignment in teams of 5 or 6
students concerning one of the university‘s cafeterias or food stores. See details below.
Business attire is required.
PowerPoint presentation on globalization (15%) Group assignment in teams of 4 or 5
students. Each presentation (on a theme of your choice) should last 8-10 minutes, plus time
for Q+A. The should involve how globalization has affected a company, or how a company
has been instrumental in driving globalization. As with any good paper, you start with a
theme—what is the topic your paper will explore. The ideal paper spells out a question in the
first paragraph. Consider the facts. Select several global perspectives
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Please submit the topic as indicated on the schedule: who is on your team and what your
proposed topic will be; only one submission per team, though! I will let you know the
following day if that topic has already been selected by another team. Business attire is
required.
Essay on the ethical issues surrounding the sub-prime mortgage debacle (5%) Individual
assignment. Write two pages double spaced, due at the start of class on Monday, April 23.
This is an individual assignment.
Final paper analyzing a business problem facing a real company (15%) Group
assignment in teams of 3-4 students. The final paper must be done in teams of 3 students.
The final paper is an opportunity for teams of 3 students to examine in depth a topic of your
choice. The paper must be 10 - 15 double-spaced pages (plus footnotes and references) and
cover:
 Describe the facts around a problem a real company is facing today,
 Use the core concepts you learned in the course (i.e. the list above) to evaluate the
situation, and
 Offer a clear set of recommendations that are carefully analyzed.
NOTE: Teams will reconfigure for each assignment. Grades on written assignments are assigned to
all members of the team, though I reserve the right to alter individual grades when it is clear that an
individual contributed significantly more or less to the assignment.
Submitting Assignments
Papers must be submitted as an MSWord document. Presentations must be submitted as a
PowerPoint. Files must be readable on the Wintel platform; if you prepare documents on a Mac, you
are responsible for submitting them in compliant format (if I cannot read your file, you cannot expect
a good grade). Assignments are to be submitted to LATTE by 8:00 AM the day before class. Papers
that are submitted late will be graded down one full grade (e.g. from A to B) for each day or portion
thereof.
Computers in the Classroom
Computers are welcome in class, if they are used to support your classroom learning. Some
examples of good uses include taking notes, referring to case studies (to avoiding wasting paper),
referring to lists, notes or analyses you did in preparation for class. You can also quickly check into
something you are hearing in a discussion by searching a topic. On the other hand, email, social
media, shopping, checking sports scores are not appropriate uses. If you are found misusing your
computer in the classroom, the professor will ask you to leave, and you will lose credit for
participating that class session.
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Seating
Please select a seat on the first day of class, and use that seat for each class session. This helps the
professor get to know you (i.e. it helps establish your class participation grade). Please bring the
name tent that you create the first day.
Academic Honesty
You are expected to be honest in all of your academic work. Instances of alleged dishonesty will be
forwarded to the Office of Campus Life for possible referral to the Student Judicial System.
Potential sanctions include failure in the course and suspension from the University. For the
University policy, please see section 5 of the Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.
Special Accommodation
If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a
reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me immediately.
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Course Calendar (subject to change)
Date
Topic
13-Jan
Introduction: what is capitalism?
Where has it been? Where is it
going?
Syllabus, Drucker, Theory of Business (ResourcesLATTE)
15-Jan
Kellogg‘s 2010 annual report (Resources-LATTE), A
Guide to Case Analysis (Resources-LATTE), How to
Find Information on a Company (LATTE)
20-Jan
22-Jan
Finding reliable and meaningful
information about a company on
line. SWOT analysis
No Class
Quality management
27-Jan
Four Ps of Marketing Mix
29-Jan
Theory X and Y, Z and resonant
leadership
Taran Swan at
Nickelodeon Latin
America (A)
Economist: Theories X & Y (Key Concepts-LATTE),
Resonant Leadership (Key Concepts-LATTE)
3-Feb
Porter’s five forces
Howard Schultz and
Starbucks Coffee
5-Feb
Snow day
Business Model, Chesbrough (Key Concepts-Key
Concepts-LATTE), Business Model Canvas Video (Key
Concepts-LATTE)
Porter: Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy
(Key Concepts-LATTE)
10-Feb
Student presentations: “Cafeteria
Day”
12-Feb
Porter’s Five Forces
Business Model
No Class
No Class
Financial ratio and trend analysis
Comparing companies using
ratios
17-Feb
19-Feb
24-Feb
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Due on LATTE by
8AM day of class
Case
Benihana of Tokyo
Cafeteria Day: team
members and venue
Reebok International
Ltd
Advance Readings
Quality Management (Key Concepts-LATTE),
Business Model (LATTE)
Four Ps (Key Concepts-LATTE), 4Ps Video (Key
Concepts- LATTE)
Cafeteria Day
Presentations
Crown Cork and Seal in 1989
Ratios practice set
Financial Ratios Defined (Key Concepts-LATTE),
Kellogg’s annual report (Resources-LATTE)Coca-Cola
2010 annual report (Resources-LATTE)
Date
Topic
26-Feb
Financing the enterprise
3-Mar
5-Mar
10-Mar
Midterm Preparation
Midterm (in normal class time)
“Big data," communications and
ERP: IT tools of business strategy
12-Mar
17-Mar
19-Mar
24-Mar
Midterm Results
Midterm Results
Globalization
Entrepreneurship
26-Mar
Business model
31-Mar
Managing Innovation
2-Apr
Disruptive innovation
7-Apr
Social Entrepreneurship
9-Apr
14-Apr
Five ethical frameworks
Business Ethics
16-Apr
Healthcare innovation
21-Apr
Globalization presentations
23-Apr
28-Apr
Globalization presentations
Course review, personal brand
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Due on LATTE by
8AM day of class
Case
Cartwright Lumber
Company
Advance Readings
Ratios practice set
Cisco Systems
Architecture: ERP and
Web-enabled IT
Globalization readings (LATTE)
Globalization team
members and
proposed topic
Final paper: teams
and one-page outline
Individual Ethics
Paper
Li & Fung
Facebook
Zipcar: Refining the
Business Model
Kodak and the Digital
Revolution (A)
Teva Pharmaceutical
Industries, Ltd
Patrimonio Hoy
Parable of the Sadhu
Business Ethics – subprime mortgage
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Bhide, The Questions Every Entrepreneur Must
Answer (Resources-LATTE)
Amit-Creating Value through Business model
Innovation (LATTE)
Chesbrough: Business model innovation (LATTE)
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Pralahad, Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid
(Resources-LATTE)
Ethics readings (Resources-LATTE)
Subprime mortgage crisis readings (ResourcesLATTE)
Christensen: Will Disruptive Innovations Save
Healthcare? (Resources-LATTE)
Globalization
presentation
Final paper
Personal Brand (Resources-LATTE)
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