BUS 4444H 2020 2021 Syllabus PDF

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Summary

This is a course syllabus for the above mentioned course for the year 2020 to 2021....

Description

ZICKLIN UNDERGRADUATE HONORS PROGRAM BUS 4444H CASES IN BUSINESS Spring 2021 Professor Gloria Thomas [email protected] Room 12-256 Vertical Campus

This course is an elective in the Zicklin Undergraduate Honors Program (ZUHP) that serves as a prerequisite for both ZUHP capstones. It is an interdisciplinary course that delves into cases and current event topics. The course features guest teachers as well as distinguished visitors in an effort to acquaint you with a variety of topics that are important across business disciplines. The course will give you a unique appreciation of the complexity and interconnectedness of diverse facets of real-world business problems. It is will teach you to distinguish between competing perspectives and motivations, and to develop and defend your own perspective based on careful logical analysis. Above all, the course is designed to promote critical thinking and in-depth analysis of complex, multifaceted problems. It will emphasize written and oral communication. It will also make you aware of important current events in the business world. Learning Objectives: i. As stated above, the course is structured to give you a unique, interdisciplinary perspective on business. By the end of the semester, you should be able to identify and understand the multiple and often competing perspectives from which business problems can be approached. ii. This course is more about the development of skills than the acquisition of knowledge. It stresses critical thinking skills, and will teach you to zero in on the fundamental issues in a complex topic. Specifically, by the end of the semester, you will be able to analyze a group of diverse readings/articles on complex business topic, sorting important from unimportant facts to determine the fundamental issues. You will learn to approach problems from a higher level of abstraction. iii. As is the case with all ZUHP courses, this course will emphasize written and oral communication skills. Weekly written assignments and a discussionbased classroom environment will help you to learn communicate your ideas effectively and persuasively.

If you have problems writing, I strongly suggest that you visit the Writing Center for help on your weekly written assignments. Of the Zicklin Undergraduate Learning Goals, this course will emphasize the following: analytical thinking; written and oral communication; integrative abilities.

What Will the Classes Be Like? In order to achieve the above objectives, this course will rely heavily on your active participation in class discussions. Our classes will consist of faculty-led case discussions, student-led debates of controversial topics in the business press, student-led discussions of topics in the business press, and guest speakers. We will rely heavily on sources such as the Wall Street Journal. I strongly suggest that you get in the habit of reading it regularly.

Spring 2021 Covid Update: Based on our class vote, we will include a few BB discussion board classes with our mostly Zoom discussions. Instead of hard copy, essays, still due at the beginning of class should be emailed to me in the format described below and submitted to Turnitin. The team paper will also be emailed and submitted to Turnitin. Attendance and other policies remain the same. I expect you to be present for our Zoom classes –and this does not mean sign into Zoom with a still photo of yourself while you attend to other matters. Academic Honesty: Academic integrity is of utmost importance to the Zicklin Undergraduate Honors Program. ZUHP honors students are expected to exhibit the highest standards of integrity—academic and otherwise. Cheating, plagiarism and collusion in dishonest acts, as defined in Baruch’s statement of academic honesty, will result not only in a zero on the dishonest work product, but an F in this course and dismissal from ZUHP. You are expected to bear individual responsibility for your work in this course. Ignorance of the rules is not an acceptable excuse for disobeying them. Many of you will go on to work on Wall Street or in Public Accounting firms. Cheaters who work in these businesses often end up in jail, or at least with huge fines, so I strongly suggest that you get in the habit of being honest now!!! If you are having a problem, come see me; do not take the easy way out and attempt to cheat your way through an assignment. If you have any questions regarding what plagiarism is, I suggest that you check out this tutorial: http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/tutorials/plagiarism/default.htm. In fact, it is a good idea to check it out even if you think you understand plagiarism. Course Requirements: -Weekly Essays: Most weeks, a case or topic for debate will be assigned. Depending on the topic, you may be required to submit a thoughtful 2-3 page analysis of the case/debate topic in hard copy at the beginning of each class. Essays must also be submitted to Turnitin (please see note on academic honesty). You may have one free pass when you will be able to skip that week’s essay, but you must email me when you are taking that pass. (This comes under common courtesy.) A free pass on the paper does not mean a free pass on attendance or class participation. If you do not take a free pass during the semester, I will not count your lowest essay score toward your final grade.

-Final Exam: Your final examination will consist of a comprehensive case analysis.

-Final Group Project: As a final project, you will be required to work with a team to develop a business case which you will submit in a 15 to 20 page paper. At the end of the semester, your team will lead the class in a discussion of your case. When developing a case, you need to consider the principles or points that you would like your case to demonstrate. These principles should be articulated in a 1-2 page Teaching Note included at the end of the case. The JCP case will serve as a good example of how a case can illustrate specific principles. In fact, figuring this part out is a crucial aspect of case writing and teaching. Case teaching is not just an exercise in descriptive storytelling. In addition to the full written case—which will be due on the last day of class, you will need to submit a short (1-3 pages) version of your case or a relevant article to your fellow classmates (and me) several days before your presentation so that we can participate in the discussion. The weekly papers are worth 40% of your grade; the final case is worth 20%; class participation is worth 20%; Final Exam 20%. Class participation will be judged on the quality of your contributions to case discussions, not simply on the quantity. Please note that you should choose a case that has not already been written up as a Harvard Case!

Attendance and Other Course Expectations As noted above, class participation counts as 20% of your grade. If you are accustomed to sitting quietly in class and earning an A by excelling on the exams, this is the time to start participating! Without a good grade in this portion of the class, you cannot receive an A or A- in the course. It should go without saying that you cannot receive a good grade in participation if you are silent. But monopolizing the conversation simply to speak up is not the way to excel. You will do well in this portion of the course if you make thoughtful, high caliber comments that demonstrate a good understanding of the readings. Clearly, you cannot receive a good grade in participation if you are not present. Therefore, an unexcused absence counts as a 0 for that portion of your class participation grade. Unexcused absences are a good example of unprofessional behavior. Would you fail to show up at work or for a meeting with your boss without some good excuse (which does not include a conflicting meeting/interview that you scheduled for the same time)? Soft skills including general professional behavior and common courtesy are important components of the Zicklin Undergraduate Honors Program and are expected in ZUHP classrooms. Arriving late, leaving for breaks when there is no break, and texting and talking when others are speaking are all examples of behaviors that reflect badly on you--both as a student now and as an employee later. These behaviors

will reduce your class participation grade. Point reductions will be quadrupled when we have a guest speaker!

Text: There is no required text in this course. Required cases will be posted on Blackboard.

Weekly Topics

February 3

Introduction: Critical thinking and case analysis

February 10

Team Presentations: Current Events

February 17 writing examples)

Writing Workshop (Writing Center Guest followed by analysis of good/bad

February 24

JC Penney Case (essay due: BB Discussion Board followed by Zoom)

March 3

Big Tech Debate

March 10

Team meetings

March 17

WeWork case (Essay due) BB Discussion Board

March 24

Old Economy Presentations (P & G; DuPont; GE; Ford or GM)

March 31

Spring Break!

April 7

Activist Investing (Essay due)

April 14

Stakeholder vs. Shareholder Capitalism; ESG (Debate)

April 21

Mr. Don Schulman: Accenture training case

April 28

Team cases

May 5

Team cases

May 12

Team cases, wrap up 2...