Let's Get Down to Business...

Welcome aboard!

Welcome to "Let's Get Down to Business," a Blog that's an important part of my "Introduction to Business" course.  

With the help of my trusty sidekick, Kaiser the Supervisor, we're going to introduce you to the business world. 

This Blog will be an important part of the course.  At least for you and me; Kaiser is more interested in when he'll get his next milkbone. 

We'll use it to distribute a lot of the "stuff" that makes up the course.  It will also get used to answer questions and clarify things.  And I plan to "post" current events relevant to our topics. 

First Helpful Hint of the Course:  Check the Blog frequently.  Use it to learn the language of business and to keep up with all the breaking news.  And read all the materials about all the things we'll be doing in the course. 

I'm hoping you'll use the "Comments" feature to do just that; ask a question, contribute an observation or add your two cents worth.

Enough preliminaries.  Let's get started.  Here's the course syllabus.  Be sure to get the right one for your section:  

Download BA 101 Syllabus (Noon Section - Fall 2009)

Download BA 101 Syllabus (Two PM Section - Fall 2009)

Familiarize yourself with the things we'll be doing, how they'll get done and when we'll do them.

Next, skip over to the Category titled "Business Plan Project: All About It." 

Study the "Requirements and Submissions" post in that category and download the "Business Plan Project Materials" document.  That's another "must-read" and something that will be near the top of our list of things to discuss.

Thank you for signing up for the ride.  Kaiser and I promise we'll work hard to show you what a business education might be like and, even better, show you what a career in the wide, wild and sometimes wacky world of business would be all about.   

Welcome aboard!

When the Instructor waves his arms...

Here are some ideas on how to know what's important and, even better, how to recall it at the right time (that would be for a quiz or exam).

Note-taking Strategies

How do you know what's the important material that you should take notes on?  You may be taking great notes, but they won't be useful if you're not writing down the right things.

The advice given to University of Connecticut students is right on the mark:  "If the instructor is talking loudly and waving his arms, you'd better write that down."

Instructors usually will do something to alert you that something is important.  There might be little "red keys" in their Power-Point presentations or they'll be waving their arms.  Look and listen for those cues.  Kick it up a notch when you see or hear them.

Transcribe your notes

A good set of lecture notes has a very short "shelf-life."  You won't be able to decipher them more than a couple of days after the lecture, much less on the night before the mid-term exam. 

Re-write and organize your notes on the same day as the lecture.  Identify the key points emphasized by the instructor.  Put those points into phrases that you understand (and could use on an exam).  If you can't find the right phrase, ask your teammates or the instructor for some help.  Don't hesitate to raise your hand during the next class and ask, "Could ______ be summarized as _____?"

Flash Cards

A big part of this course is learning the vocabulary of business.  That means learning the meaning of a lot of strange-looking words and phases.  Also, count on the exams including "fill-in-the-blank" questions.

They're definitely "low-tech," but there's no better way to learn "vocab" than to use Flash Cards.  Go buy a bunch of them; they're cheap and effective (and don't forget some rubber bands to hold them together).  Write the word or phrase on one side and its meaning on the other side.  Then as you're eating your morning bowl of Cheerios, go through the stack.  Put them in your pocket, not your back-pack, so you can flip through when you're riding the bus.

Putting it all together

Do a little test preparation every day.  When you're re-copying your notes or flipping through your flash cards, think about the kinds of questions that might get asked.  How could an idea be applied (essay-type questions) or how could a definition be re-phrased and still be true or false?  Before doing these things though, make sure you're well-rested, had a little exercise and ate something decent. 

How to Prepare for Class

Having an organized approach is essential to success in the business world.  It's no less essential for success in your business education. 

Think about developing a routine for getting things done.  Checklists are great organizing tools.  More than anything, they'll keep you from forgetting something. 

The best checklists aren't neatly ordered; instead they're full of scribbles, cross-outs, underlining and other cryptic notes that only you can decipher.  And that's OK.  There are no style points in this and probably every other course in your business education.

Let's look at some ideas for organizing and preparing yourself to be successful.   Sounds like a worthwhile cause, doesn't it?

The Business Plan Project: Requirements and Submissions

At least half, and maybe slightly more, of the course's points, time and effort center on the Business Plan Project.

It's an essential part of being "introduced" to business and starting (or continuing) your business education. 

The project is ostensibly designed as a practical exercise.  Initially, you'll identify a product or service and target a market segment.

From there, you'll form an organization that will identify the financial and human resources needed to bring the business to life.  Along the way, you'll make dozens of decisions about what to do and how to do what you've decided to do.

But you won't be doing this alone.  You'll do it as a member of a team of 4 or 5 of your colleagues.  Developing the plan may be a walk-in-the-park compared with herding your team through this endeavor. 

I can assure you that you will survive the experience.  That doesn't mean there won't be frequent bouts of frustration, bewilderment, confusion and, yes, amazement at what you'll produce.   

Teams are not groups.  Groups decide things, but Teams innovate solutions.  Successful teams run on commitment and trust.  And they perform at a level higher than the individual bests of their members; teams are something more than the sum of their parts.

So start reviewing the attachment and its description of the project's requirements.  As you're reading, be thinking at two levels.  First, think about how you and your team will do what has to be done. 

But also think about how you might take all the puzzle's pieces and put them together in a way that's worth something to someone.  Because isn't that what business is all about?  Taking a pile of "sticks and bricks" (also known as resources, both human and financial) and organizing them in ways that sustain customer loyalty and create long-term value.

• Download Business Plan Project (2009-2010)

Driving Directions for the Blog

The Course Blog is full of helpful information.  Navigating it is easier with some driving directions.  So, buckle-up and let's go for a ride.

You may want to adjust your browser window before before leaving the starting line.  The Blog was "built" on a desk-top with a good-sized monitor.  Down-sizing it a little bit might help it fit onto a lap-top. 

The Blog is organized by Categories that relate to (1) each week's activities and (2) specific assignments.  They're in the Right Sidebar under the "Categories" caption.

Laptops, Cell Phones and Other Electronic Paraphernalia

Everyone seems to have an opinion about laptops in the classroom.  Some say they're essential for note-taking.  Others report they're used for everything but note-taking. 

Instructors complain that laptops don't let them make eye-contact with their students; all they see is the backs of open laptops.  Some instructors feel laptops inhibit classroom discussion because they provide "easy cover" for reticent students.

Many businesses have "No-Laptop Meetings" and areas that are designated "Laptop-Free Zones."

To get to the bottom of this, we conducted an experiment last year.  All laptops and other electronic gadgets were banned from our classroom.  We also conducted a poll on what the students thought about our experiment.

The results overwhelmingly favored keeping laptops out of our classroom.  It wasn't even close; over 70% of the students voted that laptops were a distraction.

So, add laptops to the list of things that aren't allowed in our classroom.

There are, however, some exceptions to this rule.  First, it does not apply to anyone with a documented disability.  It also does not apply during "team time."  Finally, we might consider designating a single person to be a note-taker for the class if necessary.

Thanks for your cooperation. 
 

Important Dates and Deadlines

It's likely our course will have a "Wait List." 

One of the most valuable aspects of getting your business education at PSU is small class sizes.  If you were attending Harvard and enrolled in their introductory economics course, the lecture hall would be filled with nearly 900 other students. 

At PSU's Business School, maximum class sizes usually have between 45 and 60 of the best and brightest students in the land.  And I'm stricter-than-most when enforcing that guideline, to the chagrin of the students who don't make the cut. 

We'll reconcile the course's membership during our first meeting and then "true it up" on the following Thursday.  If you're on the Wait List, show up on the first day and see what happens.  If you're not on the Wait List or show up after the course's first session, don't expect to get into the course.

The Last Day you can drop the course without incurring a financial penalty is October 4.  In other words, if you drop the course before then, you'll get all your money back.  Drop the course after that date and you'll get a decreasing amount back.  And the longer you wait, the smaller the refund. The percentage of your hard-earned tuition dollars that will be refunded decreases until November 4.  After that date, all the money you've paid belongs to the University. 

Good luck.

Makeup and Extra Credit Policies: A Little Clarification

Deep inside the fine print of the syllabus is the course policy regarding missed quizzes and exams.  It's easy to skip over until something happens and you need to use it.

Fortunately, the policy has the virtue of brevity:  "Prior notice is required if any quiz or examination will be missed for reasons beyond the student's control."

Note that you are not guaranteed an opportunity to make up a missed quiz or exam.  It's a two-step process very much like a typical business transaction.  First, you must deliver "prior notice" that you will be unable to take a quiz or exam "for reasons beyond [your] control."  If the first step is successfully accomplished, the second step determines when and how the missed quiz or exam can be made up.

"Prior notice" means communicating to me before the quiz or exam starts that you will be absent.  This communication can take any form; e-mail, blog-post or voice-mail.  The essential point is if I've not heard from you when the curtain goes up, the opportunity to make-up the quiz or exam is lost.

The "reasons beyond your control" requirement comes into play in two ways. First, there's an expectation of mutual reasonableness.  I expect you to arrange the controllable parts of your schedule to fit the course's schedule; events that you can't predict or control are what trigger this policy. 

Second, be assured that the policy isn't enforced arbitrarily; it's applied on a case-by-case basis.  Situations occasionally happen where you might be unable to call or tell me in some way that you won't be joining us to take a quiz or exam: you might be seriously ill or have won a $200 million Megabucks prize.

If you suspect something might be a problem, bring it up sooner than later.  It's much easier to work things out in advance rather than at the last moment.

Last but not least, no extra-credit opportunities are available for individual students; instead there are the world-famous and nationally-acclaimed team presentations.  More about them later.   

Five Most Common Flaws in Business Plans - and How to Fix Them

John Mullins studied stacks of good and not-so-good business plans and came up with five common problems (I'll bet you thought the list would be longer).

The results of his research were published in the Wall Street Journal; it's mandatory reading for all of us.  Make sure your plan doesn't suffer any of the dread diseases that he's diagnosed.  Better yet, apply the cures that he prescribes.

Download Five Most Common Flaws with Business Plans

Here's my "back-of-the-envelope" summary of the key questions your business plan has to answer.

1. What's the problem that your solution fixes?  Who has the problem and why will they like getting it fixed?
2. Who's your Initial target market?  Isn't it easier to win a large share of a narrow market than a small share of a large, complex and highly competitive market?
3. How will your business perform its three essential tasks:  (A) How will it gain market awareness? (B) How will it persuade customers to switch to your product? (C) How does its Distribution Channel(s) work?
4. Do your Numbers and Assumptions make sense?  They may be correct, that is, the calculations add up to show profits, but are they realistic?  Will your customers believe them?
5. What's your "Plan B?"  What will you do if "Plan A" doesn't work?  Why should anyone believe your team can pull it off?

Top 10 Reasons to Study Business

TOP TEN REASONS TO STUDY BUSINESS

1. You can use the skills you'll learn in any area of passion.  From a Physician with his or her own practice to a race car owner to the head of a non-profit - they all use business management skills everyday.
2. You'll learn the vital skills of teamwork and collaboration - skills required for a job in any field.  It's not realistic to think you can work all by yourself.
3. Business is part of everything.  It touches fields as diverse as sports and entertainment to government and education.
4. A Business degree expands your options.  Business majors go on to be Doctors, Lawyers, Educators, Government Leaders, as well as Small Business Owners and Corporate Executives.
5. The World is getting Smaller - and Business is Leading the Way.  Products and services come from every corner of the world.  The opportunities to travel and learn about other cultures are endless in the business world.
6. Business is Challenging.  It requires a variety of skills - from the quantitative skills necessary to interpret a financial statement or economic data to the "soft skills" necessary to sell your idea and manage people.
7. A Business Degree prepares you for Life.  The skill you'll learn at Portland State's Business School apply to all aspects of life - managing your personal budget (finance) to getting a great job (marketing) to managing your hectic schedule (operations).
8. A Business Degree develops and sharpens your leadership skills.  Whether you want to be a CEO, a high school principal, the chief of staff at a hospital or the chair of a church committee, you'll need the skills honed in Business School.
9. You can work for the best companies in the world.  Major local and national firms recruit at leading business schools like Portland State.
10. You'll learn the skills necessary to solve the world's most challenging problems.  Challenges such as supplying emergency aid to devastated areas (operations) to finding inexpensive alternative fuels (finance) to promoting healthy lift styles (marketing) all require skills taught at PSU.

Source:  Adapted from Kelly School of Business at Indiana University

 

Sample Plans from the Hall of Fame

Here are some Final Plans that are enshrined in the Hall of Fame.  They're great examples of "how to do it."  The format and contents of each differ from our course's requirements, but the essential elements are the same.  Enjoy.

Download All Things Decadent Business Plan

Download Que Bella Business Plan

Download Rainy Day Pancakes Business Plan

Where to Find the Best Bargains in Corporate Taxes?

The Oregon Legislature didn't waste any time picking their first target for raising taxes to plug the hole in the budget:  corporate tax rates. 

Not only did the legislature make sure profitable businesses pay more, they also raised the corporate minimum tax.  That means unprofitable businesses will get to pay taxes even when they lose money.  

At the national level, the Obama Administration is proposing to raise the federal corporate tax rate.  The President also wants to re-structure how companies like Nike and Intel pay taxes when they earn profits both in the US and abroad. 

It's interesting to compare these ideas with what's happening in the rest of the world.  Attached is an article from The Economist that will give you that perspective.  Take a look at the international trend in business taxes and the rates charged in countries like Britain, Japan and Ireland. 

Is the US in-step with the rest of the world?  What explains the difference?  Is the US as "business-friendly" as it used to be?  What explains the change?  Are we pursuing the best strategy for competing effectively in a global economy?

Enjoy.  Download Escaping the Shakedown

Globalization: Something New or Something Old?

Why are Toyota's Tundra trucks manufactured in San Antonio and Nike's shoes made in Vietnam?  What is this situation's net "on-shoring/off-shoring" result?  Should everyone in Ohio be happy with it?  Would a law taxing the foreign-earned net income of US-based companies fix the problem? 

A global balance sheet might show the US as the world's largest debtor (borrower) and China as the world's largest creditor (lender).  How did this happen?  Has this always been the case?  Is it something to worry about?  What should (could) be done about it?

The idea of an interconnected and inter-dependent global economy is nothing new.   Arguably, the Vikings and Christopher Columbus were motivated by the economic gains that would come their way from discovering new worlds. 

What has changed, especially during the past 25 years, are political and social attitudes about free-trade and the institutions necessary to conduct commerce on a global scale.  We'll examine each of those factors in detail, but first, here are my lecture notes and PowerPoint slides dealing with "International Commerce:

• Download International Commerce (Spring 2009)