Bus& 101 Introduction to Business Readings and Workbook Course Designer: Leslie Lum Academic Year 2010-2011 Revised 5/11 Funded by the Gates Foundation/State Board Open Course Initiative 5/28/2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 5 Thirty Second Commercial 22 Resume 6 COMPANY ANALYSIS 24 DOING THE COMPANY ANALYSIS 25 Writing Self Assessment (Courtesy Robin Jeffers) 42 Company Selection 26 Company Research 29 Company Analysis- Marketing 37 Company Financial Analysis 38 Company Management Paper 39 Company Presentation 41 Links to sample student paper 42 Team Writing Assignment 47 Team Research Scavenger Assignment 49 MODULE 1: THE CONTEXT OF BUSINESS 51 Module 1 Goals 51 The Economy 52 GDP: One of the Great Inventions of the 20th Century 52 Economic Growth 55 World’s Economies 56 GDP per capita 66 Inflation 69 Business Cycles 74 Government and Policy 77 Fiscal Policy 77 Monetary Policy 79 Currency Risk 80 Economic Indicators 81 Individual Assignment – Calculating growth rates 85 Team Assignment - Economic Indicators 86 Team Assignment – Costco Case 91 Commanding Heights A Case Study of Bubbles 147 Module 1 Questions for Timed Writes 148 2 MODULE 2 - ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND LEGAL FORMS OF BUSINESS 149 Businesses and Entrepreneurship 150 Forms of Ownership 155 Choosing the Business Structure 158 Starting a Business – The Business Plan 159 Breakeven Analysis 167 Team Assignment – Forms of Business 171 Team Assignment – Entrepreneurship and Business Plan 173 Team Assignment Optional - Breakeven analysis of your business plan 174 Module 2 Questions for Timed Write 175 MODULE 3 – MARKETING 176 Marketing Process 177 Target Market 183 Marketing Strategy 184 The Marketing Mix 185 Product 186 Brand 190 Customers 191 Team Assignment – Multicultural Markets 193 Team Assignment – Product Life Cycle 194 Team Assignment – Starbucks Branding and Channels 196 Team Assignment – Marketing Mix and Wii game 198 Team Assignment – Market Segmentation 199 Team Assignment – Education Business 201 Individual Assignment Psychographic Profile 202 Module 3 – Questions for Timed Write 204 MODULE 4 – ACCOUNTING, FINANCIAL ANALYSIS, AND BANKING 206 Accounting 207 Income Statement Basics 208 Balance Sheet Statement Basics 210 Income Statement Analysis of Companies 211 Balance Sheet Analysis 213 Financial Ratio Analysis 214 Federal Reserve 220 Banking 220 Credit Analysis and Lending 224 Credit Analysis 225 Equity 226 3 The Time Value of Money 228 Team Assignment – Financial Analysis Retail Apparel Companies 234 Team Assignment – Credit Analysis 242 Financial Analysis Worksheet for Company Analysis 39 Individual Assignment – Time value of money 243 Team Assignment – Bank Financial Crisis – The Role of the Federal Reserve 245 Module 4 - Questions for Timed Writes 246 MODULE 5 – MANAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP AND EMPLOYEES 248 Management 249 Mission Statement 249 Corporate Culture 250 Top Management 251 Corporate Social Responsibility 252 Human Resource Management 253 Recruiting and Retaining Talent 255 Employee Benefits Overview 256 Retirement Savings 258 Traditional IRA 259 Roth IRA 259 Savings and Thrift Plan - 401K Plans 259 401K Asset Allocation 260 Comparing 401Ks to Traditional and Roth IRAs 262 Unions 263 Team assignment - Comparing mission statements 265 Team assignment – Corporate Social Responsibility Hall of Fame and Shame 267 Team Assignment – Boeing Case Study 269 Team Assignment : Creating an Employee Benefit Plan 271 Team assignment - Comparing benefit plans 273 Team Assignment : Selection Process 275 Class Assignment: UPS Labor Negotiations (Based on 1998 Case) 281 Individual Assignment – The Trouble with Steve 283 Individual Assignment – Company Presentations 285 Module 5 - Timed write questions 287 4 Introduction 5 Introduction The goal of this course is to provide an overview of the world of business. It is a vast and complex world which encompasses much more than most people think it does. It would be impossible to do it justice in the short time that most courses run. It is also difficult to understand business without experiencing it at various levels. Yet, most people in their first year of a US college may have ―retail‖ experience as a customer of business but may not have any experience forming or running a business or understand exactly what businesses can do. To make it more relevant, this course will focus more heavily on consumer businesses where students can pull in their own experience and it will use examples that students may be better able to relate to. Some of the students in this course will go on to major in business. Many will not. It is fortunate that much of business is relevant to people whether or not they pursue a business career. This includes how to purchase products or services in a smarter way, avoid persuasion tactics that may be to your detriment, manage finances, get a job, and act in an ethical fashion. This course starts with the most important document in most people’s careers---their resume. The key advancing in a career is to engage in lifelong learning. In the world of supply and demand, individuals who stop learning are likely to be less attractive to potential employers. The resume is just a means of communicating an individual’s capabilities to the marketplace. It is incumbent upon the student to continually add to his or her resume so that he or she is in demand. The resume and thirty-second commercial will be used to introduce individual students to the class and the instructor. In order to make this meaningful, the student should take this task seriously. Putting together a good resume can take a lot of time. However, it is well worth the effort because having a well-written resume is essential to getting a good job. 6 Resume (Adapted from Bellevue College Career Center) Some Basic Rules for Resumes Your resume is your most important internship search tool. It is an announcement of why you are valuable and why you should be chosen for an interview. Keep in mind that the purpose of the resume is to give a snapshot view of who you are. It should not include lengthy descriptions and elaborate details. There is no ―right‖ or ―wrong‖ way to write a Resume; however, consider the following general rules: CONTENT: Do NOT include your home address on your resume. Please include only your telephone number and email address for contact information. Use a work-appropriate email address – not something like [email protected] or [email protected]. If you choose to put an objective at the top of your resume, make sure it says ―internship‖ and not ―job‖, and make sure it grabs the attention of the employer. If you just say ―To obtain an Accounting internship‖ you are being redundant – they already know that. This is the first thing they will read, so sell yourself! Emphasize the skills, experience, and education most important to the particular internship for which you are applying. Tailor the resume to the specific position. Use the same keywords and concepts that appear in the internship announcement. Include as much information as possible about specific skills. For example technology is increasingly important in all fields, so list the computer software you know how to use. Use clear, concise language. Eliminate unnecessary words such as personal pronouns. Jobs and other activities that you are still doing should be discussed in the present tense. Anything that happened in the past should be in the past tense. Do NOT include references, and do NOT say ―References Available upon Request.‖ Use perfect grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Proofread it before sending it to anyone, and have a friend, family member, or Specialist in the BCC Career for Career Connections proofread it before sending it to an employer! If you need help with grammar, visit the BCC Writing Lab: http://bellevuecollege.edu/writinglab/ FORMAT: Do NOT use a template. Write the content first and then apply your own formatting. Do NOT use frilly fonts, colored paper, photos, etc., and don’t include personal info. If you include information about hobbies, make sure it’s relevant and explain how it’s relevant (teamwork, leadership skills, etc.) Make your name bigger than the rest of the information on your resume. When an employer is going through a stack of resumes, your name should stand out. Put the most important information at the top of your resume. If you have little or no work experience in the field, make sure that your educational experience or whatever else that’s relevant is listed first. Also, dates should be in reverse chronological order – the most recent events should be listed first. Make your resume easy to read by using 1‖ margins, clear headings, and space between sections. Use only one or maybe two styles of font. Be consistent with formatting. The first person at the company to read your resume will likely spend only about 15 seconds reading it, so it should be easy to read and the most important information should stand out. Particularly, the names of degrees & job titles should stand out with bold formatting – usually, what you did is more important that where you did it! Unless you have 10+ years of experience, keep your resume on one page. When saving your resume, use your full name and the word ―resume‖. For example: ―Jane_Doe_Resume.‖ Do not just name it ―Resume.‖ 7 Anatomy of a Resume Resumes have distinct sections that provide the potential employer easy access to the types of information that they need in order to select who to interview for the position. Here are some basic sections you may want to include: Subject: Description: Contact Information Required: full name, (area code) phone number and email address. (Required) Optional: street address, city, state, zip code. When posting your resume on the BCC internship site (CONNECT!), do not include your address. Objective Brief statement of what you are seeking. Should also provide readers with a broad (Optional) picture of your background.