Spring 2013 Information

To: Majors and Prospective Majors in the Department of Management and Business
From: Tim Harper, Chair
Date: October 12th, 2012

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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.

ADVISING WEEK

Registration starts on Tuesday, November 6th, 2012. 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.

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 Statistical Methods (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 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, 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: This is an excellent 1-credit course.  The course is designed to improve students' skills in presenting herself or himself in a variety of situations related to career search.  Situations like formal job interviews, informational interviews, short impromptu presentations, formal prepared presentations, and everyday conversation regarding careers.

MB 240 Coaching and Teamwork Service Learning Experience:  This 1-credit course provides students the 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 312 Identity and Opportunity:  Students will analyze the relationship between various social processes (i.e., identity, categorization and stereotyping) as well as the workplace phenomena. The course will also focus on identifying various demographic factors that influence outcomes in the workplace.

MB 313 Consumer Behavior:  This course examines the psychological, sociological, and anthropological theories related to consumer decision making. Topics covered include motivation, memory, cognition, attitude formation and change, persuasion, learning, and value systems of cultures and subcultures.

MB 316 Dynamics of Leadership: The importance of team work and effective leadership in a global economy make this another good pick.  This cannot be taken simultaneously with MB 240.

MB 319 Management Information Systems: An introduction to management information systems and e-commerce, engaging a number of the disciplines that define the field of MS.  From Web design and active server pages to spreadsheet-driven decision support systems, students will acquire a working knowledge of a variety of Information Systems. 

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 334 Business Law II:  A continuation of Business Law 1, examining laws of real property, sales, wills and estates, trusts, security instruments, mortgaging and leaseholds, personal property and bailments.

MB 337 Advertising and Promotions: In this class, you'll work with a real-world client to develop a comprehensive advertising campaign which will address the client's specific marketing and promotional needs. This is a good resume builder.

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.

MB 350 Entrepreneurship and Small Business:  Want to own your own business - then this class is for you.  Specifically, this course considers all functions relating to small business decisions and culminates in the development of your own business plan.

MB 351 The Big Idea:  This course is designed to help students find 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 Global Credit Crisis:  Students will focus on the role that credit and leverage play in the global financial system.  Credit products such as bonds, loans, mortgages and credit derivatives will be investigated to enhance students' understanding of the key products.

MB 351 (B) Business and the Natural Environment:  This case based course aims to foster awareness, sensitivity and literacy concerning the major forces and challenges bearing upon the intersection of business organizations and the natural environment.

MB 355 Business, Ethics and Society:  This interdisciplinary course examines the role of business in American society including ethical obligations to employees, consumers, stockholders and others including corporate responsibility in the community.

Honors in Management and Business:  Business majors are required to complete a thesis project (refer to the college catalog) in order to be eligible for honors in Management and Business.  Students were required to register for certain courses in Fall 2012 in order to be eligible for honors in Management and Business.