10123-003-004-007 Riczo

KENT STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Exploring Business - BUS 10123-003 – CRN 11565

Exploring Business - BUS 10123-004 – CRN 11566

Exploring Business - BUS 10123-007 – CRN 11569

Fall Semester, 2015

College of Business Administration: BSA Room 100 & 200

Instructor: Steve Riczo, M.H.A., B.A.

E-mail: sriczo1@kent.edu

Office Phone: 330-672-7301

Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays: 2 – 4 PM College of Business Administration Room 438

Course Description: Introduces students to the world of business and to the basic disciplines of business such as entrepreneurship, marketing, economics, globalization, business ethics, leadership, organizational structure, operations management, human resources, accounting, finance, and investing.

Objectives:

        1. Learn basic principles of business as described in the Course Description above.

2. Apply what the student has learned about the basic principles of business to real life cases.

3. Learn about the various career opportunities available in businesses.

4. Develop an understanding of how business affects our lives including how it contributes to our standard of living and overall quality of life.

5. Encourages students who wish to pursue a career in business to evaluate the various disciplines in the business world in order to narrow down career choices and future academic work toward that goal.

6. For those students who do not wish to pursue a career in business, to develop basic business skills that will help them in their day-to-day life such as: managing personal finances, learning interviewing skills; learning how to deal with businesses; and how to put together a personal balance sheet and income statement when applying for a loan.

7. Interact with other students in the class on a regular basis that may lead to lasting personal, academic and business relationships.

8. Assist students in developing career paths in a dynamically, rapidly changing world and developing an understanding of how the evolution of business in the US and throughout the world can help students plan for changes in the future.

10. Help students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

11. Encourages students to develop an understanding of the importance of current events and the effect that politics and government has on business and your personal lives.

Required E-Book and Hard Copy Textbook:  Exploring Business (this is a custom edition for Kent State University developed from Understanding Business, 11^th Edition by William Nickels, James McHugh and Susan McHugh). You are required to purchase both the SmartBook electronic version and the hard copy textbook. Do not purchase this from any source other than directly from McGraw-Hill or the KSU bookstore – there are no used copies as this is a brand new book. The combined hard copy/SmartBook ISBN # is 1259759814.

You will be required to register to access McGraw-Hill’s Connect/SmartBook.  The access code will be included with your book. You will be doing your weekly required reading assignments and answering questions, for which you receive points toward your grade, directly from Connect/SmartBook.

Required Laptop Computer: It is a requirement of this course and the College of Business that you have a laptop computer. It is a requirement of this course that you bring your laptop computer to each of your classroom sessions as you will be using it for in-class assignments and quizzes.

Required “Clicker” for In-Class Polling Questions: It is a requirement of this course that you bring to each class your Turning Technologies “Clicker” which you can purchase from the KSU Bookstore. Turning Technologies carries several types and if you do not already own one of their clickers from a prior course, then your most cost-effective option may be their “Response Card RF LCD” model.

Communicating with Your Instructor and/or Assistant: Students are encouraged to communicate with instructor and graduate assistants. Please use KSU email via FlashLine or stop by during office hours (Instructor will make every effort to respond to emails within 24 hours or faster when possible). If you need to speak with instructor by phone, please call 330-672-7301 (ext 2-7301 from a KSU campus phone).

Who Should Take This Course and When: This course is open to any major but should be taken sometime during the student’s first 30 - 60 semester hours since one of the objectives of the course is to introduce students to various functional areas or majors and career paths in business.

Enrollment/Official Registration: Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Student Tools on FlashLine) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section.  Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until Sunday, September 13th, 2015 to correct the error.  If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.

Course Withdrawal Deadline: Sunday, September 13, 2015

Grading Policy for Course & Mandatory Class Attendance/Participation:

Each student’s final grade for this course will be determined as described in this section.

40% Quizzes and Final Exam (to be held in-class)

40% Class attendance and class participation including completion of all activities contained in Power Point presentations such as video questions, polling questions and Lightening Round activities

20% Completion of Reading Assignments and answering questions in SmartBook on the assigned readings each week prior to the first class for that week. This is an important course requirement that will help you to get the most out of this course and properly prepare you for class participation each week. Even if you miss a question the first time around, SmartBook will keep asking similar questions until you get them correct which is required to receive the chapter reading points toward your grade.

Important Note Regarding Class Attendance & Participation: Class attendance and active participation is mandatory. Attendance will be taken at every class through the interactive activities which verify your presence in class. Grade penalties will be applied for missed classes, arriving late and/or leaving class early. Class participation will also be monitored and it is not enough to simply attend class, but rather actively participate in every class. For example, if you come to class but do not participate, you will lose points from your “class attendance and class participation” requirement which will adversely affect your grade. If you must miss a class, you must contact the instructor before class via FlashLine email. Your attendance will be excused only if you have a University-approved reason with documentation provided to the instructor (ie, a note from the Kent State University Health Clinic or your personal physician if you are sick and must miss class).

Important Note Regarding Quizzes/Final Exam: All quizzes will be in-class and be closed book, closed notes. Students will log into Blackboard during class from their laptop computers and take each quiz in Blackboard. The final exam will be cumulative and, unlike the quizzes, will be open book, open notes and will not be in-class but rather taken through Blackboard during Finals Week. Questions for quizzes and the final exam will be drawn from the SmartBook assigned reading and will also include questions from the instructor’s Power Point presentations, classroom discussions, and in-class activities such as videos. The in-class quizzes will often, but not always, be held every other week usually covering two chapters and other information described as described in this paragraph. In total there will be eight quizzes during the semester in addition to the final exam (please see quiz schedule on the grid included at the end of this syllabus).

Grading Scale:

The grading scale for this course is derived from the grades you receive based on your performance on: reading assignments in SmartBook; quizzes; class attendance; in-class participation including completion of all activities in your instructor’s Power Point presentations; and, the final exam. We will be using the following point system and points shown below represents total points for the entire semester:

Grade

970 to 1000 points, A+

940 to 969 points, A

900 to 939 points, A-

870 to 899 points, B+

840 to 869 points, B

800 to 839 points, B-

770 to 799 points, C+

740 to 769 points, C

700 to 739 points, C-

670 to 699 points, D+

640 to 669 points, D

639 points or less, F

Course Requirements

Read the assigned material by the due date so that you do not fall behind which will also help your grade for the course via quizzes and exams. All of the chapters assigned in this syllabus are from the required text for this course described above. Additional readings such as articles and case studies may be assigned.

While in class, laptops are permitted only for course-related purposes. Cell phones must be turned off during class or set on vibrate-mode if needed for emergency purposes (by advanced permission of instructor). Ongoing communication is encouraged between students and instructors and teaching assistants (if any).

Students are responsible for monitoring their FlashLine e-mail and Blackboard for any changes, assignments or instructions at least every few days. Instructor will attempt to email students anytime anything new is posted on Blackboard that constitutes a requirement for the course.

Your active participation in the class discussions and in-class team assignments is mandatory and is important to demonstrate that you are intellectually involved in the material. It also contributes to honing your skills pertaining to individual communication and group discussions – vital skills in the workplace. This will be a highly interactive class so please be prepared to actively participate. Students are expected to be on time and prepared for all classes. Late students and those leaving class early are subject to grade penalties. Students are required to conduct themselves as business professionals during class and disruptions of any type during class are prohibited.

Reasonable accommodations will be provided to any student who has a documented disability in accordance with the Kent State University guidelines. University policy 3342-3-01.3 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these accommodations through Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit http://www.kent.edu/sas/index.cfm for more information on registration procedures).

Students are required at all times to comply with the academic honesty policies of Kent State University. Academic honesty: Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit.  In addition, it is considered to be cheating when one cooperates with someone else in any such misrepresentation. An example would include texting or sending an email to another student who is not present in-class a password or other information to make it appear that he/she is present in the classroom and actively participating in the in-class activities when that is not the case. The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense.  It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course.  Repeat offenses will result in dismissal from the University.

Take all quizzes and do other assignments on time and according to the schedule outlined in this syllabus and/or by the course instructor.