NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
mgmt 601
THE ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS
DR.
STEPHEN W. HARTMAN
MBA PROGRAM
NO PREREQUISITES
3 CREDITS
spring,
2008
OFFICE
HOURS:
mondays and wednesdays 2-4 PM and by
Appointment
OFFICE TEL.: (516) 686-7972 O.W.
Course Web Site
http://iris.nyit.edu/~shartman
Reference Web Site
http://members.aol.com/shart62475
INTRODUCTION
This
course is designed to provide the student of management with a heightened
awareness not only of the interests that exist outside of the physical
boundaries of the corporation, but also of the system of values that lie beyond
the rationale of the profit motive. It
is hoped that the student will achieve a greater realization that business
institutions do not exist in a void, but are shaped and challenged by
continuous interaction with the environment within which they exist.
Today's
businesses are facing unprecedented challenges in terms of bitter international
competition, productivity, and light year technological advances to mention
only those which seem to be most apparent.
While this environment creates many new opportunities, only those
business organizations that successfully meet these demands will survive in the
years ahead, which undoubtedly will mean greater concentration of capital as a
result of business mergers and failures.
In
this course the graduate business students will be challenged to create a
systematic framework of analysis for enabling creative thinking in terms of
understanding the dynamics of modern business and government.
· To explain the social responsibilities and ethical duties of business.
· To study and understand how forces in the internal and external environments of business firms are changing the task of management, altering business operations, and modifying the role of business in society.
· To explain that many of these environmental forces are global in nature.
· To develop an understanding of the power of business to influence its environment.
· To develop an understanding of the power of ideas in the business environment to shape the business-government-society relationship.
· To appreciate the importance of law and government regulation as a force directing business behavior.
· To study historical patterns in the business-government-society relationship, learning how the past shaped the present, and learning how present trends are shaping the future.
· To develop in students an ethical and philosophical basis for making business decisions.
· To incorporate the knowledge of many fields through an interdisciplinary approach.
· To expose students to analytical methods that is appropriate in studying major issues in the business-government-society relationship.
· To develop a tolerance for ambiguities in discussing issues in the business environment about which knowledgeable observers reach different conclusions and to develop an understanding that there are no clear solutions to some problems.
·
To conduct a stimulating and interesting course
having long-lasting value to students in their management careers.
TEACHING METHODOLOGY
The student's principal obligation is to do the
assigned reading, complete the quizzes and case studies. The student is required to prepare individual
case study analyses based on answering specific questions on answering the
questions at the end of the case as well as developing updated information
regarding the topic.
student
subscriptions
As graduate MBA students it is
expected in this course that each student will at least read the Wall Street Journal. The instructor will make available a special
student discount subscription form for those not having access to the
paper.
In recent years there has been a
flood of business journalism as the environment of business assumes center
stage importance in current day events.
Students are therefore asked to consult other publications such as the
New York Times Business Section, Forbes magazine, Money magazine, and the ETV
program Wall Street Week, as well as TV business wrap-up programming.
While it is impossible to keep up
with everything, students should at least be aware of the major developments of
the day. Consistent with this
philosophy students are asked to cut out and bring to class one business
article from the business press each class session. Prepare to be called on and discuss the
contents of the article with the class.
READ YOUR BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS!
case study methodology
Students
are required to complete three case studies in this course. You should do whatever research you feel is
appropriate to answering the questions raised as well as further developing the
case. The research guide at the end of
this course outline gives a detailed explanation of what is required. A brief report regarding the case will be
given to the class where the students and the instructor will ask questions
about your conclusions.
The
textbook cases are integrated with the text and serve as vehicles for applying
the chapter materials. These cases allow
students to explore issues and to develop their on-line analytical and
communication skills. The cases are
generally written from the perspective of a firm that must determine how to
address a particular issue or problem.
The cases generally focus on a relatively well-defined set of
issues.
Several
questions are at the end of each textbook case.
Intended to guide students' preparation of the case for their individual
papers, these questions are for guiding thinking, and a case discussion does
not 0onsist of simply answering the questions.
Since the cases are based on actual events, the students are expected to
do library periodical research to understand the issues further, and update the
events described in the text before making a decision about what should be
done.
grade weighting
Quizzes -
30%
Final
Examination - 30%
case studies
- 30% (combined)
Class
participation – 10%
grading
90-100 = a
86-89 = b+
80-85 = b
76-79 = c+
70-75 = c
0-69 = f
Complete On Time Case Study Assignments (within one Week of their due date) with correct grammar, spelling, footnotes and bibliography = Full Credit
Complete Late Case Study Assignments (up to one Week after their due date) with correct grammar, spelling, footnotes and bibliography = One Letter Grade Penalty
Complete Case Study Assignments more than 3 weeks late regardless of grammar, spelling, footnotes and bibliography = Two Letter Grade Penalty
Missing or Incomplete Case Study (questions not completely answered and/or no footnotes or bibliography) Case Study Assignments = 0 Points
A b
average is a passing
grade in all
graduate courses.
REQUIRED
TEXTBOOK
|
WEEK |
TOPICS AND CASE STUDIES |
CHAPTER |
|
1 |
Lawrence and Weber, The
Corporation and Its Stakeholders Shaw & Barry, The Nature of Morality. |
1 1 |
|
2 |
Lawrence and Weber, Public Affairs Management.
Shaw & Barry, Normative Theories of Ethics. |
2 2 |
|
3 |
Lawrence and Weber, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Corporate Citizenship. Shaw & Barry, Justice and Economic Distribution. |
3, 4 3 |
|
4 |
Lawrence and Weber, Ethical Issues in Business and Ethical Reasoning and Corporate Programs. First Case Study Due February 25, 2008. Choose any case study listed at the end of this outline, and discuss where things stand today.
|
5, 6 |
|
5 |
Lawrence and Weber, The Challenges of Globalization, Business‑Government Relations. |
7, 8 |
|
6 |
Lawrence and Weber, Influencing the Political Environment |
9 |
|
7 |
Lawrence and Weber, Antitrust, Mergers, and Competition Policy. Shaw & Barry, The Nature of Capitalism |
10 4 |
|
8 |
Lawrence and Weber, Ecology and Sustainable Development and Managing Environmental Issues. Second Case Study Due March 24, 2008. Choose any case study listed at the end of this outline, and discuss where things stand today. |
11, 12 |
|
9 |
Lawrence and Weber, Technology: A Global Economic-Social Force. Shaw & Barry, Corporations. |
13 5 |
|
10 |
Lawrence and Weber, Managing Technological Challenges.
|
14 |
|
11 |
Lawrence and Weber, Industrial Pollution and Environmental Policy and
Managing Environmental Quality. Shaw & Barry, The Environment |
14, 15 11 |
|
12 |
Lawrence and Weber, Consumer Protection. Third Case Study Due April 21, 2008. Choose any case study listed at the end of this outline, and discuss where things stand today. |
16 |
|
13 |
Lawrence and Weber, The Community and the Corporation. |
17 |
|
14 |
Lawrence and Weber, Employees and the Corporation |
18 |
|
15 |
Final Examination.
The final exam is a 50 question multiple choice exam. |
|
mgmt 601 RESEARCH CASE STUDY GUIDE
1. All case studies shall be typed double-spaced. Generally the length of the case study should be five pages.
2. The questions being answered within each case study are to be clearly stated followed by the student’s response. The students are required to update the case study using current resources including newspapers and the Internet.
3. Footnotes and bibliography:
a)
I
strongly suggest using Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations (Chicago: The University of Chicago
Press, latest edition) as this still is the standard guide for writing term
papers in the country.
b)
Footnotes
may either be at the bottom of the page or on a separate piece of paper at the
end of the text. However, footnotes
inserted in the text are not acceptable simply because there is very little
standard of agreement on their formatting and students invariably become
confused with them.
4. Since so many of our students are using word processing to prepare their research papers, I strongly recommend students use the spelling checker option to reduce the number of spelling and typographical errors. In addition, I strongly recommend students use a grammar checker to check the grammar of all written work.
5. Acceptable research materials are authored articles in scholarly academic journals (see bibliography at end), government hearings and other documents, internal research from an organization whether published or not, published books using original research rather than reviews of previously available research, and interviews. These are termed primary source materials. Newspaper and magazine articles are acceptable secondary source materials only if they are (1) authored and (2) used to supplement primary sources mentioned above. TEXTBOOKS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE RESEARCH SOURCES OR DOCUMENTS. Go to the original sources themselves.
6. All students are urged to have a backup copy of their case studies. Students who say they have submitted the case study and never received a grade must present evidence that they did in fact submit the case study; otherwise, no grade can be given under any circumstances.
7. First class case studies are expected in this course. Team efforts are not only acceptable, but encouraged. When time permits, oral presentations of the research by students will be required.
8. All case studies are carefully read and criticized. The best way to get an A for the case study is to do A quality work and follow this guide. Plagiarism is a major No No! Any student who plagiarizes his or her research will fail the case study and the course! GIGO!
reference
Dictionary of Business Terms, 3rd
edition (
Dictionary of International Business
Terms, 3rd edition (
Dictionary of Personal Finance (New York: Macmillan Publishers,
Inc., 1992).
The McGraw-Hill Pocket Guide to
Business Finance: 201 Decision-Making Tools for Managers (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992).
The Vest-Pocket MBA, 3rd Edition. Penguin Books. 2004.
ISBN 1-59184-051-1
bibliography
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Brooks, Ian and Weatherston, Jamie. The Business Environment
: Challenges
and Changes / 2nd ed.
Deal, Terrence E., and Kennedy, Allan
A. Corporate Cultures.
Friedman,
Globalisation and the Environment : Perspectives from OECD and Dynamic
Non-Member Economies.
Lodge, George C. The American Disease.
Makower, Joel, The E Factor, the Bottom Line
Approach to Environmentally Responsible Business.
Maynard, Jr, Herman Bryant and
Mehrtens, Susan E. The Fourth Wave, Business in the
21st Century.
Mills, C. W. Power Elite.
Ouchi, William. The M-Form Society.
Ouchi, William. Theory Z.
Parenti, Michael. Democracy for the Few.
Peters, Tom. Thriving on Chaos.
Russo, Michael V.,
ed. Environmental Management :
Skinner, Steven J. The
Environment of Business.
Thurow, Lester C. The Zero-Sum Solution.
Welford, Richard and Starkey, Richard, Eds. Business and the Environment : a reader.
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scholarly management
journals
(Partial Listing)