Fall 2013 Information

To: Majors and Prospective Majors in the Department of Management and Business
From: Tim Harper, Chair
Date: March 14th, 2013

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As you begin to think about your next semester, take some time to think out to the end of your Skidmore career. A little planning now can save you from anguish later. Here are some things to think about.

Attending the Business Major Information Session: Tuesday, March 26th from 5:30 -7:00 PM in Emerson Auditorium.

ADVISING WEEK

Registration Schedule

• Class of 2014 Last name A - K: Wednesday, April 3 @ 8am
• Class of 2014 Last name L - Z: Thursday, April 4 @ 8am
• Class of 2015 Last name A - K: Tuesday, April 9 @ 8am
• Class of 2015 Last name L - Z: Wednesday, April 10 @ 8am
• Class of 2016 Last name A - K: Thursday, April 11 @ 8am
• Class of 2016 Last name L - Z: Friday, April 12 @ 8am

Please meet with your academic advisor well ahead of your registration date. Be prepared for this meeting. It's your responsibility to check your progress on your all-college and major requirements by reviewing your Degree Audit (available to you online), which you should print and take with you to your advisement meeting. If you have questions about what you need to do for the business major, check the on-line college catalog and/or the departmental web page. Also, your advisement meeting will be more successful if you create a Fall 2013 planning sheet prior to the meeting.

Importantly, only your advisor can lift your "advising hold." The two of you should spend some time talking about how you are doing and what your academic plans are. Often your advisor will have some insightful advice about your program of study. 

COURSE SEQUENCING

After MB107 we generally recommend that you take MB234 Foundations of Accounting I. This gives you greater flexibility in scheduling future classes, particularly if you study abroad. You should also take EC 103 Introduction to Macroeconomics and/or EC 104 Introduction to Microeconomics early in the sequence as they provide context for all your classes. Of course, you should also take MB 214 Marketing and MB 224 Organizational Behavior in your first or second year.

Here is the required sequence of the courses that build on each other and are necessary (in addition to others) to complete the major.

1) MB 107 Business Organization and Management
2) MB 234 Foundations of Accounting I
3) MB 235 Foundations of Accounting II
4) EC237/MS104/SO226 – Statistics Requirement (may be taken concurrently with MB 235)
5) MB338 Foundations of Finance
6) MB 349 Business Strategy

STUDENTS PLANNING TO STUDY ABROAD

It is never too early to start thinking about your study abroad plans; please, meet NOW with your academic advisor if you plan to study abroad next year. In preparation for such a meeting, you should review the listing of "affiliated programs" that have been approved for credit by Skidmore College. A listing of programs is available through the Off-Campus Study & Exchange Program (www.skidmore.edu/ocse).

1) Sit down with your academic advisor to make sure that you will have satisfied all of the requirements for the major by the time you are scheduled to graduate. Remember, there is a prescribed group of courses that must be completed sequentially: you will need to factor this into your study abroad program. You should have at least completed MB 234, MB 235 and EC 237 or MS 104 or SO226 before you leave if you are planning to go abroad in the spring of your junior year. It's better if you can also get your finance (MB 338) out of the way.

2) If you must complete course work away from Skidmore, it is essential that the Chair of the Department approve the courses for transfer credit before you register. You cannot take accounting, finance, or strategy outside the US.
Remember: the purpose of going abroad is to get something we don't have here at Skidmore. Pick a program that will allow you to study something other than business. The US is a premier business educator, do your business classes here and expand your horizons abroad with courses that are distinctive to the place you choose to study.

SPECIAL NOTES FOR Spring 2013

Statistics Requirement: EC 237 Statistical Methods (offered in the Economics Department) is required for the Business major. You may substitute MS 104 Introduction to Statistics (offered in the Mathematics Department) or SO 226, Statistics for the Social Sciences to satisfy this requirement.

Foundation Courses: We are offering the following sections of our foundations courses:

MB 234 Foundations of Accounting I (3 sections)
MB 235 Foundations of Accounting II (2 sections)
MB 214 Foundations of Marketing (3 sections)
MB 224 Foundations of Organizational Behavior (3 sections)

These sections fill fast. If you have just finished MB 107 and think you might major or minor in Business, try to get into either MB 234 (1st priority), MB 214, or MB 224.

Coaching Course: For those of you who have an interest in serving as MB107 coaches, think about registering for MB 240, Coaching Experience. This is a one-credit course that meets once a week for an hour and offers a unique learning opportunity for students to serve as coaches for a group of students working on the MB 107 Executive Presentation Project. Please, contact Professor D'Abate or Professor Harper for more details on this class. Remember this course may be taken no more than three times during your academic career at Skidmore. This course cannot be taken simultaneously with MB 316.

Elective Courses: As many of you know, not every elective course in our catalog is offered every semester. I would like to call your attention to those that will be offered in Spring 2013:

MB 190 Brand Called Me: Students will be required to present themselves in a variety of situations related to career development.  Learning contexts will include formal job and informational interviews, formal and short impromptu presentations, and dialogues regarding career issues.

MB 240 Coaching and Teamwork Service Learning Experience:  This 1-credit course provides students an opportunity to serve as a coach for a group of students working on the

MB 107 Executive Presentation project.  Note, this course cannot be taken simultaneously with MB 316.

MB 303 Cost Accounting for Management Decisions:  A review of the various methods of cost accumulation for product costing and the analysis of cost data for planning and control.

MB 308 Financial Accounting II:  This is an advanced financial accounting course continuing the study of financial accounting from MB 307.   Students analyze the problems arising in the application of accounting theory to specific business situations.

MB 316 Dynamics of Leadership:  Integrates traditional theories of leadership with contemporary approaches to group dynamics in order to provide a framework for the leadership roles encountered in modern organizations, both public and private enterprises.  This course cannot be taken simultaneously with MB 240.

MB 317 Marketing Research:  Topics explored in this course include the overview of research design, the use of the internet in marketing research and the application of research as it relates to creating promotions and brands.  

MB 333 Business Law I: This course examines the origin of laws, the court system, and legal procedures with emphasis on their impact in business and economic situations.

MB 337 Advertising and Promotions: In this class you’ll examine advertising and promotion principles from an integrated marketing communications perspective, emphasizing the planning, design, and implementation of advertising campaigns.

MB 339 Investments:  If you loved finance and want more or are thinking about a career in financial services, this course is a resume builder.  You’ll investigate the concepts of security analysis and valuation of the fundamentals of market analysis.

MB 343 Intellectual Property in the Global Economy:   This course is a globally-oriented, interdisciplinary study of intellectual property (e.g. copyrights and patents) as fundamental business assets that drive innovation and influence international trade and social issues such as: economic development, agriculture, healthcare, the environment, education, and the advancement of knowledge and art in modern society.
MB 350 Entrepreneurship and Small Business:  Want to own your own business - then this class is for you.  The course is designed to present problems faced by entrepreneurs in developing, organizing and managing small businesses.  

MB 351 (01) The Big Idea:  This course is designed to help students locate their inner entrepreneur.  Whatever the major, creative thought does matter, and this course will provide the tools necessary to turn creativity into opportunity.  Students will work in small groups to develop businesses and learn how to be entrepreneurial in their native environments - whether it's the arts, sciences or business.  

MB 351 (02) Innovation and The Structure of American Industry: Why and how does innovation occur in some industries and not in others?  Students will explore historical and contemporary theories of innovation within the context of varied industry structures and macro-environmental factors.  Using Innovation Masters and other print and online sources, students will study the nature, frequency, defining characteristics and rate of innovation in approximately ten industries.  Further, students will examine the interrelationships among a variety of industry environments, organizational forms and industry structures.

MB 359 Global Financial Institutions:  Extends MB 338  to the role of private and public financial institutions in the global environment including the U.S. Federal Reserve System, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, European Union Central Bank, and Bank for International Settlements. The course examines the history, role, and functions of these financial institutions and the important services provided by financial institutions in the conduct of both domestic and international money and capital market activities and funds transfers.

MB 360 Advanced Entrepreneurship and Small Business:  MB 360 is an advanced seminar in management focusing on small business strategic incubation emphasizing critical and strategic processes as they are applied to real business case studies.  

IA 351 Global Illicit Markets: Sex, Drugs, Guns, Money, Corruption and Globalized Black Market Trade: Students will examine the rise of global illicit markets, the role of conflicts in illicit trade and the actors, governments, firms and industries involved in such transactions.  The objective will be to apply economic, political and cultural theoretical lenses and bring international business perspectives to the analysis of these markets. Students will explore the effects of illicit activities on a myriad of industries, using case studies of illicit activities.

Honors in Management and Business:  Please contact Prof. Harper immediately if you are eligible for Honors in Management and Business.