Class                M-W  5:30-6:45pm in room 200 BSA

Sect. & Call      002 - 16070

Professor         Dr. William Acar   

Office               On M-W evenings, the atrium of the M&IS department.

Hours               M-W  4:30-5:30 pm, W 6:45-7:15  pm & by appointment

General Info     For university notifications as well as class announcements, please consult regularly your university email as well as the postings on the physical Principles of Management Bulletin Board on the first floor.

E-mail              wacar@kent.edu   {Please note that I do not have to respond to messages that do not bother to include:

i) the sender’s full name or “signature”, ii) a subject heading, iii) a salutation addressing me by name and title.}

Phone              330-673-6514

Prerequisite     Sophomore standing (completion of 30 hours).  Since students without the proper prerequisites risk deregistration from the class, in case of doubt please consult the U-G Course Catalogue or the advisors at the UPO (Undergraduate Programs Office, room 107).

Registration     It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that one is not just authorized to register, but also duly registered.  Using Student Tools on FlashLine during the first two weeks, ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section.  You only have till Sunday 7 September to settle your course fees and correct any registration errors.  You should therefore review your enrollment situation (and consult with your advisors at the UPO if needed) before that date.  Even though you may diligently attend and earn good grades on your exams, I will not be allowed to give you a final term grade unless you are properly registered in this section.

Required Text   "Principles of Management” by Charles W.L. Hill  &  Steven L. McShane, McGraw-Hill / Irwin (ISBN 978-0-07-353012-3 for the student edition).

Objective   Students will recognize each functional area of management (i.e. accounting, finance, information systems, human resources, management, marketing, operations, planning) and its contribution to organizational success.

Method    My method is to develop critical thinking through comparative analysis.  The course consists of a mixture of lectures and discussions designed to make room for some personal research.  You are supposed to read the chapters assigned in the following course calendar before each class.  The classes are sessions in which your instructor (with the participation of occasional guest lecturers) will discuss the material with you in order to bring up the subtle points that may be missed in your initial study.  In this manner, every class in which you follow the instructor's questions (or, better still, respond to them) will serve as exam preparation for you.

Please note that class time will not be spent showing you simple summaries intended for short-term memorization.  Pointers on the important elements of each chapter, as well as the Power-Point slides illustrating each chapter, have been posted on Blackboard Learn for long-distance viewing before class or just after the lecture.  The latter can also be accessed on the McGraw-Hill / Irwin website: http://www.mhhe.com/hillmcshane   

Attendance

Please note that, even when this course is taught in two sessions, the students must attend the session in which they are registered.  Exams must be taken during the session in which one is registered.  No departures from this rule will be allowed except in cases of dire emergency – and these will have to be cleared with the professor beforehand.  Failure to do so may result in no grade being given for exams taken outside one's allocated time.

Attendance is for your benefit and is your responsibility.  Grades usually correlate strongly with attendance, especially since most exam questions will focus primarily on all that is covered in class and the way it is presented.  It is therefore to your advantage to attend regularly and try to respond to the questions that the instructor asks to check on your understanding.

Moreover, as you can gather from my opening lecture, you (and your grade) would greatly benefit if you and a few classmates organize yourselves into a student support group or “quality circle” for the purpose of sharing notes and asking each other questions.  If an impediment arises and you can’t attend on a certain day, do not call or e-mail the lecturers; simply read the chapter, visit the Power-Point slides posted for you and make arrangements with members of your support group to take notes for you.  If you run into questions your group meetings have left unresolved, bring them to the instructors’ attention.

Class Participation       When seats are available, students will be expected to fill the seats from which they can best follow the lecture, namely those in the front center of this large room.  Students who have to leave early often sit at the back in order not to be disruptive; I would rather you make the best of your attendance while you in class by avoiding the corners and sitting as close to the front at possible.

             Students should come to class prepared to discuss any pre-assigned material (text, cases, handouts) in class.  They are also expected to be active participants in class discussions.  All parts of the course (lectures, discussions, handouts) are fair game for the exam; hence attending and following the thrust of the lectures becomes extremely important.  However, attending them with no preparation whatsoever will not allow you to truly benefit from them.   You should read, or at least scan, the material beforehand with an eye for noting the connections between the various parts.                

              Students are responsible for asking questions about material not clearly understood.  There will also be group discussion periods in each session to develop your critical thinking and give you a chance to acquire an understanding of the material that goes beyond mere memorization.  In most cases, you will simply discuss the material with the person(s) closest to you.  So sit near your study partners but avoid chatting in class.

Students with Disabilities         In accordance with University policy 3342-3-01.3, if you have a documented disability and require accommodation to obtain equal access in this course, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester (or when expecting an assignment for which accommodation is required).  Students with disabilities must verify their eligibility through the Student Accessibility Services (SAS) office in the DeWeese Health Center (call 672-3391 or visit  http://www.kent.edu/sas/index.cfm  for information or to register).

Grading            A total of 100 points can be obtained.  The changeover to the plus-minus system will not  be implemented this term in this class.  An easy, direct grading scale will be used for both the numbers and percentages.  The conversion scale will conform to, or possibly be more lenient than, the following:

A = [90-100], B = [80-89], C = [70-79], D = [60-69], F = [ < 60].  The point breakdown is:

 Exams    The exams will consist of multiple-choice questions based on the recent material as well as all previous material from the lectures, textbook, handouts and class discussions.  In addition, to test your retention and digestion, they will also comprise some thoughtful and integrative questions to which the answer cannot be gathered by straight and literal memorization of the course material. 

                        Exam 1 will bear on a small segment of the book.  The subsequent exams will bear mostly on a segment of the book, but will also contain a number of questions from the earlier parts, so as to test your digestion of the entire course and prepare you for the state’s Assessment of Learning exam that is administered to 4^th-year seniors.

Exams, especially the first, are likely to contain a couple of extra questions to cover for the odd chance of a question being misread or misinterpreted.  (Students who follow proper exam procedures will be granted these bonus points.)  Given this precaution, no grade change will be made on an individual basis because of questions misread or misunderstood.  You can review the way you responded to past exam questions by looking up your copies in the M&IS Student Service Center located on the M&IS floor.  However, asking questions of the instructor and reviewing past exams must be done before the day of the exam.

Due to the size of the class and the speed with which multiple-choice exams are administered, it is infeasible for me to answer questions during the exam.  This would unfairly favor those students who ask questions over the others.  The point is that interpreting the questions correctly is part and parcel of what my system (of the students reading beforehand and the instructor going over the subtle points in class) is set up to teach you.  Those who follow this system and attend class regularly usually recognize the intent and scope of the questions, and do well on the exams.

The exams will not be expected to take up the entire time scheduled in the Schedule of Classes, but the time allocated for them is decided upon by the instructor; it is designed to be commensurate with the number of questions asked and the degree of difficulty of the exams.  For the sake of exam fairness, students must turn in their exam copies before or at the end of the time specified by the instructor.

Missed Exams   Students are expected to take exams on the dates indicated in the syllabus or posted on the PoM Bulletin Board.  Make every effort to attend.  In the event of an emergency or unavoidable conflict affecting one exam, there will be no need to make it up; I will simply adjust the weight of the other three exams accordingly.  However, exams (final included) are not optional – so you need to clear your absence with me through a legitimate excuse backed by written documentation.  In the unusual case that you are prevented from yet another exam by an emergency after having already missed an earlier one, alternate arrangements (probably an essay exam) could be made, but only for those facing a legitimate emergency.

Writing Assignments   Given the importance of writing in general as well as in the business world, the AACSB and the College now require that writing skills be practiced in business courses. Thus a writing requirement is required of all Principles of Management (PoM) sections and will be graded uniformly across sections by awarding respectively 2, 3 and 5 points to its three consecutive online assignments.

              In your writing course parallel to this one on Blackboard Learn, you will first look at several online tutorials on business writing in weeks 1-3. There will then be three (graded) short writing essays assigned and to be returned Blackboard. The first will be a formal e-mail or memo to be done in the 4^th week. The second will be a business letter in the 8^th week and, finally, the third will be an executive summary in the 12th.  The current plan is for this homework to be assigned on the Sunday of the prescribed week and become due on the following Saturday at noon.  Specific details will be provided to you by this class’s professional English Communications grader, Ms. Sarah Kean, in postings on the Learn parallel course she will be conveniently administering on-line.

              The three writing assignments will account for 10 points of your total grade and should be taken seriously. They will be graded according to criteria summed up in a rubric which will be visible to you. There will be opportunities for a redo on the first two assignments if you receive a grade below a C-equivalent, but your maximum grade on a redo will be limited to the point equivalent of a B.  However, since students are expected to learn and improve their writing during the semester, redoing the third assignment will not be allowed.

Drop Date         The last day to withdraw with a transcript mark of “W” is Sunday 2 November 2014.

Student Feedback   Formal class evaluations will be filled out at the end of the term; however, don’t wait till then to share your concerns or simply your views with me.  Your feedback is valuable: feel free to visit or e-mail me and offer any suggestions, insights or other feedback throughout the semester.

·         I will be using Backboard Learn primarily for posting, not for e-mail.  If you wish to email me, please do so at the address and according to the procedure described in the third paragraph of p.1.

Academic Honesty   Plagiarism is the misrepresentation of the source, nature or conditions of one’s academic work.  The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them due credit is considered a serious academic offense.  Cheating occurs when one or more people engage or cooperate in such misrepresentations.  It is the University’s policy that cheating or plagiarism results in receiving a failing grade (0 points) for the work or course.  Repeat offenses may result in dismissal from the University.

           Also, quizzes, tests or final exams from this class’s previous semesters may not be used as study guides.  If you obtain current or previous quizzes, tests or final exams in this manner, you are hereby informed that this will be considered cheating and subject to appropriate disciplinary action.

When Do Class Sessions End?   Class sessions will not end 5 minutes before the end of the allotted time, but when I or the tutor have finished lecturing.  Attending classes to their very end carries its own reward: after all, that is when many “exam tips” are likely to be delivered. 

Electronic Equipment  In this class, the use of electronic equipment is limited to posting the book’s P-Point slides, my class notes and whatever writing tutorials on Blackboard Learn.  The posted material should be consulted before class (and printed if you so wish).   In class, want you to work on developing your critical thinking by following the class proceedings closely – and participating in the ensuing discussions.  Hence ALL electronic equipment should be put away and turned off during all class sessions.

COURSE CALENDAR

8-25      Introduction to the course (and initial formation of study groups at end of class)

8-27      Chapter 1:         Introduction to Management

9-1        NO CLASS        Labor Day

9-3        Chapter 2:         The Environment(s) of Management

9-8        Chapter 3:         Globalization and the Manager

9-10      Chapter 4:         Stakeholders, Ethics & Corporate Social Responsibility

9-15      Exam 1             [chapters 1, 2, 3 & 4]

                                    {Please follow the exam procedures indicated on the exam sheet or mentioned in class}

9-17      Chapter 5:         Planning & Decision Making

9-22      Chapter 6:         Strategy & Competitive Advantage

9-24      Chapter 7:         Managing Operations

9-29      Chapter 8:         Organizing & Organizational Structures

10-1      Chapter 9:         Control Systems

10-6      Instructor-Moderated Review Session

10-8      Exam 2             [chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, 9  +  earlier material]

10-13    Chapter 10:       Organizational Culture

10-15    Chapter 11:       Developing High-Performance Teams

10-20    Chapter 12:       Staffing & Developing a Diverse Workforce

10-22    Chapter 13:       Motivating & Rewarding Employee Performance

10-27    Chapter 14:       Managing Employee Attitudes & Well-Being

10-29    Instructor-Moderated Review Session

11-3      Exam 3             [chapters 10, 11, 12, 13, 14  +  earlier material]

11-5      Chapter 15:       Managing through Power, Influence & Negotiation

11-10    Chapter 12:       Effective Leadership in Organizations

11-12    Chapter 17:       Communication in Organizations

11-17    Chapter 18:       Managing Innovation and Change                                                                             

11-19    Chapter 6:         Review Strategy & Competitive Advantage                                                           

11-24    Chapter 8:         Organizing & Organizational Structures

11-26    NO CLASS       Thanksgiving Recess

12-1      OPEN AGENDA            Speaker Session?

12-3      Instructor-Moderated Review Session

12-8      Final Exam       [chapters 15, 16, 17, 18   +  earlier material]  in the same room as the lectures.

PLEASE NOTE  that the timing of the final exam (5:45 pm on Dec 8^th) is not  under the control of your instructor, but has been posted long ahead of time on the University Registrar’s website.  Its timing, as well as that of your other exams, can be verified by accessing the official Registrar’s website at:  http://www.kent.edu/registrar/calendars/fall_finalsched.cfm

Do check again closer to the exam date.