Class                T-R 2:15-3:30 p.m. & 5:30-6:45 pm, room 100 BSA

Sect. & Call      001: 14140 – 002: 14141

Professor         Dr. William Acar 

Office               A413 BSA  (M&IS Student Service Center: across from A402 BSA)

Hours               T-R 1:15-2:15 pm & 3:30-4:30 pm & 6:45-7:15 pm, and by appointment.

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) 672-1156  --  In case of emergency call me at home at 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, in room 107).

Registration     It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that one is not just authorized to register, but also duly registered.  Using Web for Students, ensure you are properly enrolled.  You only have till Sunday 9 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 need be) 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 grade at the conclusion of the term unless you are properly registered in this class and section.

Required Text   "Management " by Richard L. Daft, South-Western 2003 (ISBN 0-035138-3 and, for the special edition with a study guide bundled in, ISBN 0 -324-25546-2)

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   How to do well in this course? The course consists of a mixture of lectures and discussions, but makes room for some personal research.  You are supposed to read the chapters assigned in the following course outline beforehand.  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.  Power-Point slides pertaining to each chapter have been posted for long-distance viewing from the comfort of your home or the convenience of the College’s computer lab (preferably before the sessions, but right afterwards when there’s a time conflict).  These cover all parts of the 22 chapters of your text, and are intended to help you review the material highlighted for you during the class lectures.   They can be accessed by visiting the College’s home page (http://business.kent.edu) through an Internet explorer or browser, and by clicking on “Course Information”, choosing the top block "Syllabi", clicking on “Department of Management & IS”, and finally on the course number and the instructor's name "M&IS 24163 – Acar".  You may use one of two the passwords: either management or acarclass.

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 instructor 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 have probably gathered from my initial questionnaire, 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 email the lecturer; simply 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 my attention.

Similarly, make sure that all members of your support group have a personal copy of all course handouts (when any), so as to be able to assist each other with replacing any material lost or misplaced.

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 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; 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.

Students with Disabilities         In accordance with University policy, 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 given 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 ).

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 Outcomes Assessment 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 (across from A402 BSA).  However, asking questions of the instructor and reviewing past exams has to occur 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 the 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 given 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, there will be no need to make up a mid-term exam; I will simply adjust the weight of the other 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.  Furthermore, if you are prevented from the final by an emergency and have already missed one other exam, alternate arrangements (including the possibility of an essay exam) could be made for those facing a legitimate emergency.

Drop Date              The last day to withdraw with a transcript mark of “W” is Sunday 9 November 2007.

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 only be using WebCT-Vista for posting grades.  If you discover a common problem and contact me ahead of time, I may be able to e-mail a general last-minute announcement to all using Flashline. 

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.  As well, cheating occurs when two or more people cooperate in such misrepresentations. It is the University’s policy that cheating or plagiarism results in receiving a failing grade for the work or course.  Repeat offenses 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.

Bonus Points   Class sessions will not end 5 minutes before the end of the allotted time, but when I’m done lecturing.  Attending classes to their very end carries a couple of bonuses.  For one thing, that’s when many “tips” are likely to be delivered.  In addition, conditional upon my getting clerical assistance with this from the M&IS Department, there will be occasional surprise quizzes at the end of class time to serve as a review mechanism for some subtle parts of the course – as well as an opportunity for you to earn some extra bonus points.

8-28      Introduction to the course (and initial formation of study groups at end of class)

8-30      Chapter 1:         Introduction to the How of Management

            Chapter 22:       Introduction to the What of Management  (pp. 708-716 only).

9-4        Chapter 3:         The Environment of Management

9-6        Chapter 5:         Managerial Ethics & Corporate Social responsibility

9-11      Chapter 6:         Small Business & Internet Start-ups

9-13      Exam 1             [chapters 1, 3, 5  & 6, and pp. 708-716 in ch. 22]

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

9-18      Chapter7:          Organizational Planning & Goal Setting

9-20      Chapter 8:         Strategy Formulation and Implementation

9-25      Instructor:         Foundations of Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategies

9-27      Chapter 22:       Operations and Service Management

10-2      Chapter 21:       Types of Information Systems & Productivity Analysis

10-4      Chapter 9:         Managerial Decision Making

10-9      Instructor-Moderated Review Session

10-11    Exam 2             [chapters 7, 8, 9, 21, 22  +  earlier material]

10-16    Chapter 10:       Fundamentals of Organizing

10-18    Chapter 11:       Using Structural Design to Achieve Strategic Goals

10-23    Chapter 13:       Human Resource Management

10-25    Chapter 14:       Managing Diverse Employees

10-30    Chapter 15:       Foundations of Behavior in Organizations

11-1      Instructor-Moderated Review Session

11-6      Exam 3             [chapters 10, 11, 13, 14, 15  +  earlier material]

11-8      Chapter 16:       Leadership in Organizations

11-13    Chapter 17:       Motivation in Organizations

11-15    Chapter 18:       Communicating in Organizations

11-20    Chapter 19:       Teamwork in Organizations

11-22    THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY         No Class

11-27    Chapter 20:       The Importance of Control

11-29    OPEN AGENDA            Speaker Session?

12-4      OPEN AGENDA            Speaker Session?

12-6      Instructor-Moderated Review Session

12-11    Final Exam       [chapters 16, 17, 18, 19, 20  +  earlier material]  in the same room as the lectures.

    -12

            ( According to the current posting on  http://www.registrars.kent.edu/home/FALL/exams.htm

             Afternoon class exam:  12:45 noon on Wednesday 12 Dec 07 in room 100 BSA

             Evening class exam   :   5:45  p.m. on      Tuesday 11 Dec 07  in room  100 BSA  )