Step 1: Read this document in its entirety very carefully.

Step 2: Watch This Week in GB310 and The Next Big Things on our Canvas course mainpage. It will always keep  you up to date on your upcoming course obligations. You can access Canvas fromhttps://canvas.wisc.edu.

Step 3: Check the website daily for course announcements and new discussion threads.

Step 4: Check your email daily for updates and information.

Course Description: Part of a two-course online sequence introducing non-business students to basic concepts, practices, and analytical methods the market enterprise system uses. This course is a basic overview of essential economics, business law, finance, and accounting topics. The description provided in the course catalog does not reflect the actual breadth of subject areas presented in this course, and it is inaccurate. The course will introduce students to fundamental economic principles and present critical legal topics that are a significant concern to businesses. However, most of the course will be devoted to finance and accounting.

This course delivers all of its content online, and I designed it for abroad campus audience of students who are not majoring in business nor working towards a Certificate in Business. Rather, the audience for this class wants to understand essential business concepts so they can work more effectively with co-workers within for-profit firms and make better decisions as employees, entrepreneurs, citizens, regulators, or researchers. This course will help you explore how businesses make decisions that impact their firms, individuals, and society as a whole.

Requisites: Sophomore standing or higher; not open to business students. My only assumption about your ability to master this material is that you can do algebra.

There is, however, a very important informal prerequisite for this course, and that is patience. As an online class, there is a tremendous dependency on technology, and as we all know, technology can fail. You must recognize this going into the class and accept that there will be problems. The best way to address them is with a patient, calm, and determined demeanor. In other words, do not flip out when there is some technological hiccup. We will get through them.

Credits: GB310 is a three-credit course. I have kept the course's structure, integrity, and rigor consistent within-person UW courses. You will fulfill the course credits by completing fourteen content modules. Each module contains required videos, chapters, and preparatory materials. Though there are many do nothing, learn nothing, easy online courses where everybody gets an A, this course is definitely not one of them. Please adjust your expectations accordingly.

Course Structure, Format, Organization & Activities: This course is delivered in one introductory and fourteen content modules. In general, each module will provide you with a variety of learning experiences:

•     Readings

•     Video lectures

•     Assessment  Preparation  documents  containing  key  terms,  concepts,  equations,  and  practice  problems  (where applicable) to prepare for the exams.

You will work independently, doing the readings, watching the lectures, and working on practice problems. The video lectures are closed captioned, and text transcriptions are also provided. The readings and videos do not entirely substitute for one another. By design, each medium contains some information the other does not. The only way to learn all the material is to fully engage in both the readings and the videos to prepare for the exams.

Assets Available for Download: Each module has a chapter and an assessment preparation document in PDF format, both readily downloadable. Also, if you have space on your computer, you may want to download the video files for a module. To do so, click on the Download Links button of the video frame. For example,

To make notetaking during the videos more efficient, you can download PDF transcripts of the videos and important images from the videos in PowerPoint. These assets are available in the Additional Resources section at the bottom of each content module. Note that these files contain the transcripts and images for all the videos in a module.

Learning Outcomes: In addressing the four disciplines that impact businesses that we will touch on in this class, there are three global over-arching learning outcomes, and each module of content will help students to:

1. Talk the talk: Students will demonstrate the appropriate application of fundamental business terminology and concepts necessary to effectively communicate with professionals across a given business organization.

2. Walk the walk: Students will apply the common business processes and tools they can leverage to develop their professional, academic, and personal futures.

3. Be able to think like a businessperson: Students will explain the various reasoning businesses use to make decisions and the impact those decisions have on the firm and society. Students will examine their assumptions and predispositions regarding the role of business in society and reflect on how the course has influenced their positions.

THINGS YOU NEED

Course  Technology:  Since  all  educational  activities  will  occur  online,  you  must  have  a  reliable  high-speed  internet connection. It is your responsibility to ensure you satisfy this requirement, or else this class will be a nightmare, and we do not want that.

The Canvas course management system is a required component in conducting the course, and you can access it from https://canvas.wisc.edu. I expect all students to use and monitor the site daily to participate in class activities.

There are over 140 instructional videos. If you have the storage capacity, you may want to download and watch the videos. Downloaded videos often provide a smoother viewing experience than streaming them directly.

You will take the exams online with remote proctoring. To do so, you will need a microphone, webcam, and speakers for your computer. In other words, atypical laptop will do nicely.

There are technology support links at the bottom of our mainpage.

Textbook: There is no required textbook for the course. Yup, you heard that right. Go blow the money you saved on something fun. Remember this when we talk about opportunity costs. All materials will be available on the Canvas site.

Calculators: The Wisconsin School of Business created online financial calculators for this course. You will need to use them to solve many of the problems in this class. You can access them through the GB310 Financial Calculators linkin the Examinations section of the Modules page. These calculators will be essential to solving many problems quickly.

If you like, you may also use a single non-programmable handheld calculator. Phones are strictly forbidden as calculators.

COMMUNICATION

Canvas: Canvas is the primary means by which students receive course information and materials. I expect you to monitor the site daily to stay abreast of your responsibilities.

Email: Send your email to the teaching assistant and meat [email protected].

Iteach over six hundred students across two courses, generating thousands of emails a semester. Managing this email traffic is a major logistical challenge for my teaching assistants and me. To keep things simple and organized and to ensure we answer students’ questions promptly, send all emails to [email protected].

If you send an email anywhere besides [email protected], it will be deleted unanswered.

Do not use the email function within Canvas because it goes to the incorrect Inbox.

You should expect a response to your email within one business day. Saturday, Sunday, and holidays are not business days.

GB310 is a business course, and as such, you will conduct yourself professionally. Laziness is unprofessional. It is your responsibility   to   stay   abreast   of   the   information   sent   to   you.    Consequently,   if   you   send   a   question   to [email protected] when the answer is clearly in the syllabus, an email sent to you, or the course main page, we will ignore your question. If you do not get an answer to your question by the end of the next business day, it is likely that your answer has already been made available to you.

Student  Discussion  Board:  There  is  a  discussion  board  at  the  top  of  our  Modules  page  for  students  to  post administrative and content questions to their classmates. This has typically been the fastest way to get an answer to a quick question in the past. Students are strongly encouraged to answer questions posted by other classmates. As always in this class, all communicationshall be conducted professionally.

EVALUATIONS

Business in Society (BiS): These are activities in which you briefly reflect upon a topic you might not have otherwise considered, then potentially see there are alternative ways to think about these matters. This course component should feel more like play than work, allowing you to easily earn 100% of sixteen course points if you get the job done.

The Business in Society activities will have a timeline something like this:

1.   I set out a question, proposal, or scenario.

2.   You think about it. These exercises are an opportunity for you to reflect on what you know and believe at this point. Do not do any research on the topics. You are to reveal what opinions you bring to the table now without coaching from the internet. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers—just the quality of your thoughts.

3.   You  will  deliver  your  thoughts  on  the topic by the posted  deadline.  Specific  instructions  on  submitting  your deliverables will become available before each assignment.

4.   After I receive all the submissions, I will release a video with my view on the topic.

5.   You will compare and contrast your view to mine, then submit your response to my view.

I hope these activities will move you toward thinking like a businessperson.

It should take at least a paragraph or two to articulate your thoughts. Submissions that show no effort, such as one-sentence or, worse yet, one-word submissions, will earn a zero.

Deadlines, all due by 11:59 p.m.

February 8: Your view of BiS#1.

February 11: Your response to Mark's view of BiS#1.

March 7: Your view of BiS#2.

March 10: Your response to Mark's view of BiS#2.

April 4: Your view of BiS#3.

April 7: Your response to Mark's view of BiS#3.

April 25: Your view of BiS#4.

April 28: Your response to Mark's view of BiS#4.

I will not accept late submissions—ever. If you miss a deadline, hold your breath, you earned a zero.

Exams: All exams are two hours and will be administered online via Canvas using the Honorlock proctoring system. Taking exams while using Honorlock is a course requirement, and I will not administer exams to students without it.

By enrolling in this course, you consent to Remote Proctoring, including installing the Honorlock Chrome extension and sharing some personal data with Honorlock.

I will make detailed exam and Honorlock instructions available the week before each exam. When it becomes available, you will find information about the exams on the Exam Materials page. You  can access the page  either from the Course Administration section of our mainpage or the Examinations section of the Modules page.

You must take your exams on a laptop or desktop; other devices will not work. Your responsibility is to have all the requisite electronics and a reliable internet connection for exams. This is particularly true if you are taking the course overseas. Students have completed this course from around the globe, which is great. However, some countries have strong firewalls that make it difficult or impossible to take exams online. China is a prime example of one such country in which students have had a nightmare getting around the Great Firewall. If you plan on taking the course from such a location, sorting out all the technical details is entirely your responsibility. Be certain to investigate the issue in advance, or you will risk dropping the course when the first exam is upon you.

There is a significant limitation to Honorlock proctored exams. It is impossible to provide an online review of your exam after you submit it without putting my exams into the public domain, which would destroy the academic integrity of the course. It is an unfortunate technological constraint, but I can do nothing about it.

Exam Dates and Times: Exams open at 6 a.m. on the start date and close at 11:59 p.m. the following day. All times are Central Time.

Exam One opens Monday February 19, and closes Tuesday.

Exam Two opens Monday March 18, and closes Tuesday.

Exam Three opens Monday April 15, and closes Tuesday.

Exam Four opens Monday May 6, and closes Tuesday.

PREPARING FOR SUCCESS

1. The expectation is that you will stick to the course schedule. That means you will complete all module materials in their designated weeks. Students who put off the work and then crammed for the exams have done very poorly. The most crucial step to success in GB310 this summer is to start tasks on time, like today, and work hard consistently to master them. You are smart; you would not be at the UW if you were not. What is really on the table here is your work ethic.

2. Read the module’s chapter and watch the videos closely. You might find it helpful to review the transcripts of the videos.

3. Each module has an assessment preparation document. These documents contain keywords, key concepts, key equations, and multiple-choice questions. These questions maybe conceptual or quantitative. The correct answers are at the end of the document. In some cases, there are complete solutions. If you do not get the correct answer, go back and review the chapter and videos. Try to figure it out. A surprising amount of learning occurs as you work to understand why you got something wrong.

Your letter grade would be a BC, given the 55.9 course points earned during the semester. The course points equation, and the associated letter grades are in the Calculate My Grade spreadsheet on our main page. Use it to quickly ask ‘What if?’ questions about what letter grade you may achieve.

The letter grade breakpoints reflect a grading curve based on many previous offerings of the class. Here is the distribution of letter grades the breakpoints have produced historically from more than two thousand observations.