This course is designed to help students with an engineering or scientific undergraduate degree understand and increase their effectiveness in the world of business.  The class includes both individual and collaborative (team) learning.  Upon successful completion of this course, you will:

1. understand the key components present in a business, such as finance, marketing, operations, strategy, organizational behavior, and
2. understand how these components work and how they interact with each other and with the outside world, and
3. participate in a semester-long collaborative group project to design and plan for a new company or new product within an existing company (team project), and
4. learn from current practitioners in business, many of whom also come from an engineering or other technical background, and
5. learn how businesses think, which is considerably different from the style of systematic thinking and problem-solving typical in the engineering disciplines.

This course is not:

1. an MBA program condensed into one semester, or
2. a test of how well you can calculate (finance, market analysis, payroll, etc):  I expect that you already have these skills due to your background. 
3. a crash course covering business jargon or survey of all things business.

Expectations:
The course requires learning from books, references, participation, and team project result.  You must stay current with the day class (via posted video), and must use your virtual team to discuss topics. 

Your virtual team will meet weekly at a day and time of your choosing.  We use the Elluminate collaborative system.  This also will be the vehicle for the semester-long project.  NC State provides the software.  You will need to provide a webcam and headset (earphones/microphone).

You must understand how to use the Library to look up articles and do research on topics.  In some cases, I will assign you a general topic, and you will be expected to find, read, and be prepared to discuss articles which relate to that topic.

It is up to you to let me know if you have special needs or are otherwise having difficulty in class.  For example, I realize that English is a second language for many students so please see me if you are having difficulty and I will try to adjust to meet your needs. 

If there is any student in this class who, due to a disability, has need for non-standard note taking, test taking , or other course modification, please get me the letter from the Student Health Services documenting your needs, and we will make arrangements. 

It is also up to you to contact me about any situation which would keep you from staying current with classes and/or team project or from getting preparation done.  I realize that an emergency situation can happen to any of us, and promise to listen and help meet your needs.  In most cases, I expect you to figure out a way to work around the problem in a way that it does not affect your work in the class.

Active participation is required.  This will include participation in class discussions via your virtual team.  I will also participate in selected virtual team meetings and call on several students during these virtual meetings.  This is to get your views on the subject being discussed, and will help me confirm that you are prepared.

True collaboration and teamwork will be required for the semester-long group project.  This will affect both your grades and the grades of your team.

Your success in the class depends on a mix of learning from others and developing ideas and concepts of your own.  You must fairly identify any work of others contained in your work and will be expected to follow the University policies on academic integrity. Please note that I do not expect this to be a problem, but am only including it to be sure that everyone has a clear understanding.

Written assignments must in printed form, double spaced, font size 10, 11, or 12.  These must be emailed to me by the date on which they are due.  Please keep a backup copy.

Grading:

Class participation                        200 possible points (via virtual teams)
Team project                                 250 possible points
Examination results                      300 possible points
Individual written assignments    250 possible points
                                                  1000 total possible points

The team project is worth a possible 250 points (25%) of the grade.  Each individual group member’s grade comes partly from peer evaluation, so it serves each member to participate to the utmost in the project.

Your participation counts heavily – worth up to a possible 200 points (20% of the grade). 

The Ten Day MBA, 3rd Edition, by Steven Silbiger. ISBN: 978-0060799076. This costs about $15.

There will also be one or more outside readings and/or research required for each class session:  This will be assigned no later than the prior class session.

You will need a microphone and headphones to participate in the required collaborative meetings.  Most people use a headset.  The USB-based devices have given better, more consistent results, but we have also found that the $20 ones usually work just fine.

You will also need a webcam.  The inexpensive ones are adequate.  You may already have one built-into your computer or laptop. 

The higher-quality cameras can include auto-focus, glass lens, face-following software, and/or speakerphone.  Each of these features improves your experience, but none is mandatory to participate.

NCSU has recommended minimum specifications for computers that are generally used for courses. Those specifications can be found here: http://www.ncsu.edu/it/compspecs/

Engineering Online recommends that your computer meets or exceeds the following minimum specifications below. A computer with greater capability (processor speed, RAM, internet bandwidth, disk capacity) will be more likely to properly display the video content of Engineering Online courses.

Windows:

• Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 2003, or Windows Vista
• Intel-compatible 1 GHz processor
• 512 MB RAM
• 60 GB hard drive with 1 GB free space available
• Video display at 1024 x 768 or greater
• Sound output and speakers
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 or later, Firefox 2.0 or later, or Google Chrome 1.0
• Windows Media Player 9.0 or later
• Silverlight  (viewers may be prompted to install this when first viewing a presentation)
• Real One Player Basic (required for certain courses)
• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Broadband Internet connection (256 Kbps or more)

Mac OS X:

• Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later
• G4 processor
• 512 MB RAM
• 60 GB hard drive with 1 GB free space available
• Video display at 1024 x 768 or greater
• Sound output and speakers
• Safari 2.0.4 (or later) or Firefox 2.0 (or later)
• Silverlight  (viewers may be prompted to install this when first viewing a presentation)
• Real One Player Basic (required for certain courses)
• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Broadband Internet connection (256 Kbps or more)
• NOTE:  The Flip4Mac plug-in causes problems when viewing Mediasite presentations and should be disabled.

Linux:

• Playback of Mediasite presentations on Linux is accomplished via the Moonlight Project, an open source implementation of Microsoft Silverlight. For more installation on the installation and configuration of Moonlight, please visit http://www.go-mono.com/moonlight/. The compatible operating systems and browsers are listed on this page.
• Microsoft Media Pack for Moonlight
• Adobe Reader for Unix
• Broadband Internet connection (256 Kbps or more)

Peter C Janca, Management, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Adjunct Lecturer
Nelson Hall 1331, Box 7229
NCSU Campus
Raleigh, NC 27695

Phone: 919-513-3941
EMail: pcjanca@ncsu.edu