Course Syllabus - Module 1 - Spring 2018 Course Description This is the first module of our UW MBA Consortium online program and is team-taught by three instructors. You can learn more about your instructors by visiting the Instructor Information document. In this module, you will analyze and discuss corporate issues in order to formulate strategies that are in line with the interests of the stakeholders. This module introduces and elaborates on concepts and techniques that you will apply during the course by analyzing case studies that cover major functional areas of business. Among the topics covered are legal issues in human resources, hiring and employee development, performance management, constraint management, lean systems, quantitative models in operations management, outsourcing, supply chain management, quality management, financial statement analysis, valuation, capital budgeting, and working capital management. Prerequisite Requirements As prerequisites for this course you will preferably have completed all the foundation courses or equivalents, and definitely the following courses or equivalents: ACCT 703 and 704: Financial and Managerial Accounting FIN 720: Fundamentals of Managerial Finance MKTG 730: Marketing Analysis Foundation MGMT 740: Foundations of Organizational Behavior MGMT 741: Production and Operations Management BSAD 702: Statistics Foundation Course Goals/Outcomes Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: Identify major employment legislation and articulate the current protected classes. Create a human resource plan including recruitment, staffing, and testing Describe best practices for respecting worker privacy, motivating for high performance, and providing fair employment. Explain "theory of constraints" and its implications for managers Describe basic concepts of "lean production" systems Identify "business reengineering" concepts Differentiate between the implications of various outsourcing decisions Identify the key components of "quality management" Analyze financial statements using ratio analysis Apply different valuation models to determine the value of a firm and its stock Describe and differentiate different capital budgeting decision rules Analyze capital structure decisions and working capital management policies Utilize spreadsheets to analyze different financial problems Required Textbooks and Course Materials
Textbooks You can order the following textbook from the UW-Eau Claire bookstore: Textbook: Intermediate Financial Management, 11th edition (Custom Book) Attention: This book will also be used for Module 2. Please do NOT sell it back once the semester has ended. Publication: Brigham and Daves (Cengage, 2011) ISBN: 978-1-3-0500006-3 Software Many exercises in this course will require the use of spreadsheets. You need to have access to Microsoft Excel, version 2013 or later, and know the basics of spreadsheets, such as how to enter a formula into a cell. Most individual assignments must be submitted in a.doc or.docx format. Therefore you need to have access to Microsoft Word, version 2013 or later. Grading and Late Work Policy Final Grade Calculations Including the first week's orientation activities, the course is worth 1470 points. See below for a detailed breakdown of how your final grade will be calculated: Orientation Section = 100 points Introductions post = 5 points Webinar = 26 points Quizzes = 19 points Academic Honesty Discussion = 25 points Team Case = 25 points HR Section = 320 points 4 discussions @ 30 points each = 120 points 4 mini-case assignments @ 50 points each = 200 points Operations Section = 410 points* 2 assignments @ 60 points each = 120 points 2 assignment @ 30 points each = 60 points 3 mini-case assignments @ 50 points each = 150 points 4 discussions @ 20 points each = 80 points *The number of assignments, cases and discussions and points allocated to them are subject to change. Finance Section = 590 points 6 spreadsheet assignments @ 40 points each = 240 points 5 group discussions @ 30 points each = 150 points 5 Quizzes @ 40 points each = 200 points Overall Grading Scale Letter Percentage A 92-100 A- 90-91.9 B+ 88-89.9 B 82-87.9
B- 80-81.9 C+ 78-79.9 C 72-77.9 C- 70-71.9 D+ D D- F 0-69.9 Late Work Policy We do understand that many of you are balancing a lot on your plates between school, work, and family. Sometimes things come up at the last minute and you will need to make a choice between fulfilling your other obligations or submitting an assignment on time. To allow for these situations, you may submit individual assignments (i.e., mini-cases, spreadsheet problems, quizzes) after the due date if necessary. There will, however, be a 10% deduction on your grade per day late. Due to the interactive nature of discussions, any late discussion posts will NOT be graded. If you need to submit your work late, please contact the instructor ahead of time to make special arrangements. We also recognize that sometimes situations occur that require you to have more than a few days extension, for example, a death in the family, hospitalization, etc. In certain cases, late work will be accepted without the penalty. Student Expectations A typical unit will consist of a combination of the following: 1. Reading assignments from the instructor's commentary, the required textbook, and/or supplemental articles 2. Discussions you participate in throughout the unit either with the entire class or in a small group 3. One or more individual assignment that might include a mini-case analysis, operations problems, spreadsheet problems, or a short quiz. Some units also contain Integrated case studies that require you to analyze a real-world business problem by applying concepts and techniques you learned in this or the prerequisite courses. You can expect to spend a minimum of eight to ten hours on the activities assigned in a given unit. In the discussions, you will be asked to generate and participate in the exchange of ideas with the instructors and the other students. These discussions play a central role in the learning experience. For some discussions you'll interact with the entire class; in other discussions, you'll work in small groups. You'll get the most out these discussion assignments if you read all required materials and previously posted comments before participating. The case studies will require you to analyze a real-world business problem applying concepts and techniques you learned in this or the prerequisite courses. Most if not all case analyses are team projects. Teams will be formed and announced by the instructors. Your team members will rely on you to participate and contribute to the projects. How often should you expect to be online? We recommend that you log on to the course once each day at a minimum to check announcements. During each unit you'll also need to read through the assigned reading materials, participate in discussions, and complete your individual assignments. The amount of time you spend each time you log on to the course will vary depending on what you are working on. Be sure to print a copy of the the calendar and look ahead to see when all assigned activities are due. You may have a class discussion for which you will need to submit an initial comment on early in the week and then respond
to another student's comment by the end of the week. Requirements of this kind will be spelled out in the specific assignment or discussion. You can log on anytime that is convenient to you, but finish all activities by the deadlines. Instructor Expectations You can expect each of the three instructors to be active in the course during their respective units. Please use the appropriate instructor's "Raise your hand" area for asking questions. All instructors monitor their "Raise your hand" discussion topic through the entire course even during units they are not actively teaching. For any general course questions that are not directed toward one specific instructor, you can use the "Ask the class" discussion area. Feel free to answer each others' questions if you know the answer and the instructor hasn't responded yet. All instructors strongly encourage you to post questions about the course in the discussion area rather than using email. If you are uncomfortable asking your question in discussions, however, you are more than welcome to email the instructor directly. All instructor contact information is posted in the Instructor Information document. You can expect your instructors to respond to any questions posted in discussions or via email within 24 hours Monday through Friday. You can expect grades and feedback on all course assignments within one week of the due date. Academic Misconduct (Required by the UW-System MBA Consortium and the UW-System) Academic dishonesty is not acceptable. The UW-System subscribes to the definitions of academic dishonesty provided by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. These include: Cheating - Intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids in any academic exercise. Fabrication - intentional and unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or citation in academic exercise. Plagiarism - intentionally or knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as your own in any academic exercise. Plagiarism is considered a form of theft and at the university is a serious violation. Penalties can range from a lowered grade to expulsion. Facilitating academic dishonesty - intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another commit an act of academic fraud. Accommodation for Students with Disabilities In order to ensure that all of our students have equitable access to our online course materials, we strive to meet the guidelines set by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which requires the public to provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities when posting web-based materials. Desire2Learn (D2L), our learning management system, has Gold-Level Nonvisual Accessibility Web Certification by the National Federation of the Blind. If you need accommodations, please contact Online Course Support at 888.832.7090 or 715.836.6019 or email BizHelp@uwec.edu and we will work with you to find a reasonable accommodation.
Course Calendar - Spring 2018 NOTE: All activities are due by 11:59 p.m. CST on the date specified in this course calendar UNLESS specified otherwise. January 29 - February 4, 2018 MBA Consortium Orientation Please see the MBA Consortium Orientation Course in D2L to participate in the required orientation. February 5-11, 2018 Introduction to Human Resource Management (HRM) Complete the External Influences Discussion Submit the Stakeholders and Internal Influences Tuesday, Feb. 6 Friday, Feb. 9 Respond at least once by: Sunday, Feb. 11 Sunday, Feb. 11 February 12-18, 2018 Legal Issues in HRM Complete the Protected Classes Discussion Submit the Challenges of the Contemporary Workplace Individual Tuesday, Feb. 13 Friday, Feb. 16 Sunday, Feb. 18 Sunday, Feb. 18 February 19-25, 2018 Hiring and Recruiting Employees Complete the Hiring and Recruitment Discussion Tuesday, Feb. 19 Friday, Feb. 22 Sunday, Feb. 25
Submit the Creating a Human Resource Plan Individual Sunday, Feb. 25 February 26 - March 4, 2018 Performance Management Complete the Retaining and Motivating the Best Employees Discussion Tuesday, Feb. 27 First posting due by NOON on: Thursday, March 1 Second posting due by Friday, March 2 Submit the Best Human Resource Practices Individual One group member to post summary by: Sunday, March 4 Sunday, March 2 March 5-11, 2018 Constraint Management Submit the Constraint Management Individual Submit the EOQ Model Individual Complete EOQ Model Discussion Thursday, March 8 Friday, March 9 Friday, March 9 Individual posting due: Friday, March 9 Submit group consensus to dropbox by: Sunday, March 11 March 12-18, 2018 Lean Systems Submit the Lean Systems Individual Complete the Lean Systems Discussion s Tuesday, March 13 Wednesday, March 14 Available on: Thursday, March 15 First posting due: Friday, March 16
March 19-25, 2018 Quantitative Models in Operations Management Continues through: Sunday, March 18 Complete the Quantitative Model Individual Submit the Hi-Ho Yo-Yo Mini-Case Tuesday, March 20 Wednesday, March 21 Sunday, March 25 March 26 - April 1, 2018 Outsourcing and Supply Chain Management Complete the Croc's Case Discussion Tuesday, March 27 First posting due: Wednesday, March 28 Continues through: Sunday, April 1 Submit the Xbox Supply Chain Mini-Case Sunday, April 1 April 2-8, 2018 Quality Management Complete the Customer Service Discussion Submit the Tip-Top Markets Mini-Case Tuesday, April 3 First posting due: Wednesday, April 4 Continues through: Sunday, April 8 Sunday, April 8 April 9-15, 2018 Managing Ongoing Operations by the Numbers
Read Unit Overview, Reading, PowerPoint files, Complete the New Allure of Going Private Discussion Tuesday, April 10 Wednesday, April 11 Sunday, April 15 Complete the following spreadsheet problems: -Cumberland Industries -Joshua & White Technologies Complete the Managing Ongoing Operations by the Numbers Quiz Friday, April 13 Sunday, April 15 April 16-22, 2018 Managing Ongoing Operations for Investors Read Unit Overview, Reading, PowerPoint files, Complete the Financial Statement Analysis Discussion Tuesday, April 17 Wednesday, April 18 Sunday, April 22 Complete the Henley Corporation Spreadsheet Problems Complete the Managing Ongoing Operations for Investors Quiz Friday, April 20 Sunday, April 22 April 23-29, 2018 Managing the Long-Term Financing of Ongoing Operations Read Unit Overview, Reading, PowerPoint files, Complete the Influence of Credit Ratings Discussion Complete the Reacher Technology Spreadsheet Problems Tuesday, April 24 Wednesday, April 25 Sunday, April 29 Friday, April 27
Complete the Managing the Long-Term Financing of Ongoing Operations Quiz Sunday, April 29 April 30 - May 6, 2018 Capital Budgeting Decisions for Ongoing Operations Read Unit Overview, Reading, PowerPoint files, Complete the Capital Budgeting Decisions Discussion Complete the Gardial Fisheries Spreadsheet Problems Complete the Capital Budgeting Decision Rules Quiz Tuesday, May 1 Wednesday, May 2 Sunday, May 6 Friday, May 4 Sunday, May 6 May 7-11, 2018 Managing the Current Accounts of Ongoing Operations Read Unit Overview, Reading, PowerPoint files, Complete the Working Capital Management Discussion Complete the Rusty Renovations Spreadsheet Problems Complete the Managing the Current Accounts of Ongoing Operations Quiz Complete course evaluation Tuesday, May 8 Wednesday, May 9 Friday, May 11 Friday, May 11 Friday, May 11 Complete by: Friday, May 11