FME Spring ‘02 Syllabus Revision Date: 1/21/01
Foundation Management Experience (FME) '01-'02
Spring '02 Syllabus
1. Instructors:
Instructor / Phone / E-Mail (@babson.edu) / Office / Office HoursSteven Gordon / 239-6416 / gordon / Babson 319 / M 11:30-12:30, W 1:00-2:00
Heidi Neck / 239-5577 / neck / Blank 111 / MW 2:00-3:00
2. Required Texts:
Author(s) / Title / Publisher / Key on syllabus1. / Griffin & Ebert / Business, 5th Edition / Prentice Hall / GE
2. / Stair and Reynolds / Fundamentals of Information Systems / Course Technologyl / SR
3. / Adamski, Hommel, & Finnegan / Microsoft Access 2000 / Course Technology / A
4. / Deneault / Financial Accounting Basics for FME / Babson College / D
3. Evaluation scheme for spring semester:
Percent of semester grade
Exam 1 / 15%Exam 2 / 15%
Final Exam / 25%
FME and FCL Assignments / 10%
Class and FCL Participation / 10%
Field Project / 25%
Total / 100%
Note: If a student fails all three exams, they will fail FME for the spring semester.
4. Course Goals and Overview:
To be successful in business today, you must master a complex set of skills. You need to know about the various functional areas of business and how they interrelate. You need to learn organizational, interpersonal and communications skills to manage effectively and facilitate your interactions with others. You need to learn a variety of technical tools (including information systems) to help you monitor activities and make sure your efforts produce the results you desire. And you need to understand how business can be responsive to the needs of the community and world at large. You can't master all this material at once; indeed, this will be the focus of much of your work over four years at Babson. We have designed FME to help you begin the learning process.
The spring semester of FME continues with the Comet Computer case and traces the growth of this start-up company. This semester you will also execute the business plans you developed in the fall semester and report on your accomplishments. You will learn about information systems and how they can help your business succeed.
5. FCL Labs/Homework Assignments and Class Participation
All assignments must be submitted before class starts on the day they are due. Late homework will not be accepted or graded. Homework will be graded on a scale from 10 for outstanding to 0 for unacceptable. Homework may not be resubmitted for a better grade. Your attendance in your Access Foundation Computer Lab will be factored into your FME class participation grade. Homework assignments for the FCL are also considered FME homework and will count accordingly towards your FME homework grade.
6. Attendance Policy
You are expected to attend all FME classes and activities. If you miss a class, you should notify your professor by telephone, voice mail, or E-Mail prior to class. Unexcused absences are likely to have a significant negative impact on your final course grade; i.e., your class participation grade will suffer.
7. Coaching for Leadership and Teamwork
The Coaching for Leadership and Teamwork has been scheduled for March 2, March 9, and March 14. You will receive your assigned date early in the start of the Spring Semester. The Coaching program is a pre-requisite for registering for IMC for the fall.
The Coaching program provides an opportunity for students to practice and receive feedback on the competencies of leadership, teamwork, decision making, listening, and oral communications. Your FME field project experiences will give you a vehicle for practicing good communication, team building, decision making, and leadership skills with feedback provided by faculty and peers. In the Coaching program, you will engage with fellow students in a team-based activity, and receive feedback on your interpersonal effectiveness from trained coaches who are Babson alumni and MBA students, all with significant business experience. The feedback that you receive will be helpful in the development of your competency portfolio.
8. Academic Honesty Policy
Over the years, a number of questions have been asked about whether or not working together is considered cheating on FME homework assignments. The following policy should serve as a guideline. However, if you have any doubt, ask your professors as soon as possible. Please note that other sections may have different guidelines. What your roommate is allowed to do does not necessarily apply to you. Along the same lines, please be advised that the homework for different sections might differ in minor ways -- please be sure to obtain your homework assignment from your own Blackboard classroom.
You may work together on homework assignments. Homework assignments are a learning experience, and one of the best ways to learn is to work with others. HOWEVER, the work you submit must be your own. Let us give you a few examples of how this policy translates in practice.
You may do the following things:
1. Ask a friend to explain how he or she approached a problem.
2. Show your homework to a friend while asking him or her to listen to and critique your explanation of what you've done. Do not allow your friend to copy and hand in your results as his or her own.
3. Work together with a friend to get the answers to a problem. However, if you do this, you MUST then put aside or destroy the work you did together and, for submission, separately and individually recreate the work you had done. We understand that pressure often exists to omit this second step, and we urge you not to try to sneak one by us the one time you're short of time -- it's much better to take a zero on the assignment than to have to face the Judicial Board.
If you have worked with a friend, you MUST acknowledge your collaboration on the assignment. Failure to do so is considered to be cheating.
9. disAbility Services
Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact Chip Kennedy in the Office of Class Deans as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.
10. Tentative Spring Semester Syllabus (You are responsible for any changes made during the semester. Students should check BlackBoard for details and any changes.)
1 / FCL /
Wed / 23-Jan / Course Overview (and Review)
Team Building Exercise
Fri / 25-Jan / Field Project – Action Plan Review/Update
2 /
FCL
Mon / 28-Jan / Comet (S1) – Where are the Controls? / Comet Case / AssignmentWed / 30-Jan / IT and Organizational Effectiveness / Mrs. Fields’ Cookie Case / Assignment
Fri / 1-Feb / Field Project – Report on Control Systems
GE (13)
3 /
FCL
Mon / 4-Feb / Ethics / Reading / TBAWed / 6-Feb / Managing Conflict / Reading / TBA
Fri / 8-Feb / Field Project – Report on HR System
4 /
FCL
Mon / 11-Feb / Performance Appraisal Workshop / Handout, GE (8)Wed / 13-Feb / Systems Development / SR (8)
Fri / 15-Feb / Field Project – Report on Marketing Efforts
5 /
FCL
Mon / 18-Feb /Holiday – No Class
Wed / 20-Feb / Introduction to DBMS / SR (3)Fri / 22-Feb / Database Design / Reading / Assignment
6 /
FCL
Mon / 25-Feb / Comet (S2) – Information Planning / Comet Case / AssignmentWed / 27-Feb / Field Project
Fri / 1-Mar /
EXAM 1 8:00 AM – All sections
7 /FCL
Mon / 4-Mar / Inventory Management / ReadingWed / 6-Mar / Comet (S3) – Data Needed for Decisions (Laptop) / Comet Case / Assignment
Fri / 8-Mar / Field Project
8 /
FCL
Mon / 11-Mar / Evaluation of Financial Statements / D (4:58-63)Wed / 13-Mar / Ratio Analysis / D (4:64-77) / Assignment
Fri / 15-Mar / Field Project
9 / 3/18-3/22 Spring Break- Enjoy!
10 /
FCL
Mon / 25-Mar / Comet (S4) – Research Order Fulfillment (Laptop) / Comet Case / AssignmentWed / 27-Mar / Comet (S5) – Advertising & Promotional Effectiveness (Laptop) / Comet Case / Assignment
Fri / 29-Mar /
Field Project
11 /Mon / 1-Apr / Advanced BSE Transactional Analysis / Review D (1-3) / Assignment
Wed / 3-Apr / Financial Statement Analysis / Reading / Assignment
Fri / 5-Apr / EXAM 2 – Application of Access Skills 8:00 AM All sections
12 /
Mon / 8-Apr / Field Project
Wed / 10-Apr / Selected IT or Management Topics / TBA / TBA
Fri / 12-Apr / EXAM 2 – Management 8:00 AM All sections
13 /
Mon / 15-Apr /
Holiday – No Class
Wed / 17-Apr / Selected IT OR Management Topics / TBA / TBAFri / 19-Apr / Field Project – Business Operations Cease
14 /
Mon / 22-Apr / Financial Implications of B-2-B E-Commerce / Reading / Assignment
Wed / 24-Apr / Practice Report to the Community/ FME Closing Status
Fri / 26-Apr / Practice Report to the Community/FME Closing Status / Annual Report
15 /
Mon / 29 Apr / Course Summary and Review / Performance Appraisal Summary
Wed / 1-May / Final Report to the Community
Fri / 3-May / Final Report to the Community
TBA / FINAL EXAM – All Sections
Gordon & Neck, Section 3 Spring ’02 Page 6 of 6