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Gary Amundson has been an instructor in the College of Business at Montana State University-Billings for six years.  For the previous eleven years, he was Senior Vice President of for a major Montana based firm that was publicly traded and did business throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as Mexico, Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.  He served as director and/or officer of several industry trade associations; and was national chair of one for three years.  Prior to that he was a Professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson for nine years.

Amundson was given the Outstanding Teaching Award at MSU-Billings for the 2002-2003 school year by faculty in the College of Business; he was cited for the Excellence in Teaching Outstanding Faculty Award for the 2001-2002 school year by the Associated Students at MSU-Billings.  He was named Club Advisor of the Year at the University of Arizona in 1985; and given Emeritus status in 2004 by the University of Arizona Foundation for his work and contributions to an Industry Advisory Council.  In 2004, he was awarded an Honorary Degree from Skyview High School in Billings for his service on the school's PAC Committee.

• Contemporary Business - 11th Edition.   Copyright 2005 - by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning.  Thomson Learning is a trademark used herein under license.   ISBN:  0-324-20613-5.  Louis E. Boone (University of South Alabama); David L. Kurtz (University of Arkansas).

The textbook is excellent and you are expected to keep up with the readings.    It is recommended you read chapters coordinating with the chapters assigned and the "Itinerary" pages of dates.  A full listing of the chapters and their titles is attached in this syllabus outline.   The CD ROM that comes with the text is an excellent source for studying for exams.  It also has significant projects related to each chapter.

This course is designed to acquaint the student with skills, concepts and a general understanding of business.  The course will integrate quizzes, short papers, current issues/articles, and exams to allow the student to gain knowledge and understanding that will help them in everyday living as well as to prepare them for more advanced and detailed courses related to business

The specific coursework will center around the subject matter contained in this text.  It is expected that students can cross-reference the chapters listed below with the assignment of chapters listed below with the assignment of chapters on the "itinerary" pages.  The course will have three "Modules" in which quizzes and major tests will be concentrated on four of the chapters covered in each respective module.

To gain a general understanding of the components of the business environment in the private enterprise system; to explore career opportunities related to business; to gain knowledge related to business terms, concepts, and practices; to aid in developing effective interpersonal communication skills through written communication via the internet.

This is the Itinerary Page that will give you an overall view of the chapters and the sequence that they will be taught.

• Module 1:  Chapters to be covered in Weeks 1-2-3-4-5 (January 18-February 18, 2006).    
  • Chapters 1-2-3-4-5-6-7.

Week 1-January 15-21, 2006 Ch 1:  Business:  Business 2005 and Beyond;
Week 2-January 22-28, 2006  Ch 2:  Business Ethics & Social Responsibility;. 
Week 3-January 29-February 4, 2006 Ch 3: Economic Challenges Facing Global & Domestic Business;
Week 4-February 5-11, 2006 Ch 4:  Competing in Global Markets. 
Week 5-February 12-18, 2006 Ch 5:  Options for Organizing Small & Large Businesses;  Ch 6:  Starting Your Own Business:  The Entrepreneurship Alternative; Ch 7:  Electronic Commerce:  The Internet & Online Business. 
1st Major Test - Week 5 - (February 15, 2006).  Test on Chapters 5-6-7.

• Module 2:  Chapters to be covered in Weeks 6-7-8-9-10.  (February 19 to March 24, 2006). 
  • Chapters 8-9-10-11-12-13-14.

Week 6-February 19-25, 2006 Ch 8:  Management, Leadership, and the Internal Organization;
Week 7-February 26-March 4, 2006 Ch 9:  Human Resource Management,  Motivation & Labor-Management Relations. 
Week 8-March 5-11, 2006 Ch 10:  Improving Performance through Empowerment, Teamwork & Communication;
Week 9-March 12-18, 2006 Ch 11:  Production & Operations Management.  
Week 10-March 19-25, 2006 Ch 12:  Customer-Driven Marketing;  Ch 13:  Product & Distribution Strategies; Ch 14:  Promotion & Pricing Strategies. 
2nd Major Test:  Week 10 (March 22, 2006).   Test on Chapters 11-12-13-14.

• Module 3: Chapters to be covered in weeks 11-12-13-14-15 (March 27-May 4, 2006).  
  • Chapters 15-16-17-18-Appendix A-Appendix B-Appendix C.

Week 11-March 26-April 1, 2006 Ch 15:  Using Technology to Manage Information;  Week 12-April 2-8, 2006 Ch 16:  Understanding Accounting & Financial Statements;  Week 13-April 9-15, 2006  Ch 17:  Financial Management & Institutions & Appendix C:  Developing A Business Plan; 
Week 14-April 16-22, 2006 Ch 18:  Financing & Investing through Securities Markets; Pick-A-Business Paper Due; 
Week 15-April 23-29, 2006 Appendix A:  Risk Management & Insurance; Appendix B:  A Guide to Your Personal Finances; Appendix C:  Developing A Business Plan. 
3rd Major Test & Final:  Week 15 (April 23-29, 2006).  Chapters 18-Appendix A-Appendix B-Appendix C. 

General Policies

• Spring 2006...Each week, the assignments are due the following Monday at midnight.  That allows the instructor to begin reviewing early Tuesday morning.  Gary Amundson will try to then have corrections and comments returned to you by Wednesday.  Example:  Week 2 (January 23-29, 2006).  Assignments/quiz/test/point helper for this week are due on Monday, January 24th at midnight.   Quizzes/tests generally close at 11:30 p.m.   Gary Amundson will be able to review on Tuesday and Wednesday.  If this is not working well, we will make adjustments.    Online semester schedules do not take time off for holidays as do regular classes.   Example this semester is Spring Break (week 8 ... 3/6 to 3/12/06)...online assignments are due just like all other weeks; same in Fall Semester for Thanksgiving break, etc.
• Quizzes/Tests:  Expect either a quiz or an examination (test) each week.  Exceptions are in Week 12 and Week 13 where outlines of covered subject matter is substituted for quizzes.  Also, no quiz in major paper assignment weeks is anticipated.  Such exercises will be a combination of or limited to True/False; Multiple Choice; Fill-In-The-Blank; Matching; or Short Answer.  It is intended that most of the quizzes and exams will be offered through e-college and policies of times the exams/quizzes are open and closed will coincide with e-college, the MSU-Billings shell provider.   Example if Gary Amundson indicates midnight is the closing time for a quiz...and e-college says it is 11:30 p.m....we must go with the e-college restriction.
• "Point Helpers".  Articles from Newspaper/Wall Street Journal/Other:  It is planned to assign you weekly articles/columns that ask for 5-10 specific short "bullets" about important aspects of the article.   They will usually be from the online Wall Street Journal or Barron's.   You will be expected to respond through the "Journal" in the course shell.   They are due by the deadline for each respective week.   The Wall Street Journal online is available to all MSU-Billings through the library and you need to see sections related to assistance from Jan Fandrich at the MSU-Billings library.   Points are tentatively planned to allocated as follows:  Major Exams (usually 4 chapters) = 100 points; Weekly Quizzes 15-20 points; Point Helpers 10-15 points; Major Assignments = 30-50 points.  This may be changed.
• Extra Credit:  Will be allowed and may be restricted to selective exercises such as outlining of Chapters. 
• Wall Street Journal/Local Newspaper:  I recommend you read the Wall Street Journal.  You can subscribe to it through Gary Amundson at reduced rates if they are better than you can get elsewhere.  In addition, you can get your own online subscription at no extra cost which is great for you.   You can also access the WSJ through your local library.  I also recommend you read the business section of your local newspaper daily and generally the Sunday editions carry the most extensive business coverage.  Local papers are usually the very best source of business coverage in the city/region in which you live.  The WSJ is a great source for national news.   Barron's is another and numerous publications are great sources for business news.
• Wall Street Journal Online:   The www.wsj.com gives you access to the  Wall Street Journal Online at no charge.    However, to look up most articles requires a password/username.   If you subscribe to the WSJ you will have your own personal Username and Password.   Otherwise, the best contact for the WSJ is through the MSU-Billings library.    Contact is Jan Fandrich, Montana State University-Billings Library, 1500 University Drive, Billings, MT  59101.   Voice 406-657-1665; Fax 406-657-2037; email jfandrich@msubillings.edu.   Here are her instructions I will try to send to you the first week.     (1) Go to the library's home page at http://www.msubillings.edu/library; (2) On the left side, click on "Articles"; (3) On the right side, click on the down-arrow beside "indexes H-Z"; (4) Choose one of the following:    For a browse able list of issues by date, click on "WSJ (Browse)".....For an Advanced Search screen, click on "Wall Street Journal".     Feel free to call or email Jan for help.   She is great to work with.   www.barrons.com is the access to Barron's Online.    If you have problems, let Gary Amundson know as soon as possible.   If you access the wsj.com site through a working username/password and want to share with others there are two significant things to remember:   One is DO NOT check the box that says remember or save your password; the other is DO NOT ever use your credit card to buy or pay for an article.   There is no article assigned that will require you to purchase.   If you have a problem, let Gary Amundson know.     It is great to get your own subscription through GA in the WSJ's "Partner In Education" subscription which gives you both the newspaper delivered daily, and the online WSJ.   Subscribe through Gary Amundson.   Be sure to send your mailing address.   Spring 2006 prices are are the lowest in years:   52 Weeks $59.95; 26 Weeks $32.95; and a 15 Week Special $19.95.   The WSJ will bill you for payment.
• Other ways we are finding to access WSJ columnists include:   Sunday newspapers such as the Lee Enterprise and other major regional papers get a "Sunday WSJ" and I often use articles from it as they are excellent...access is sunday03@wsj.com.    Frequent columnists in Sunday are Jonathan Clements who writes column "Getting Going" and has access at jonathan.clements@wsj.com; Terri Cullin writes Fiscally Fit... go to http://online.wsj.com/articles/fiscallyfit; Jeff Opdyke writes Love & Money at lovemoney@wsj.com; Kelly Greene does Encome at encore@wsj.com.    The list will get expanded.    
• Point Helpers are a weekly exercise intended to give you depth and breadth of topics on a particular aspect of business that is published in the Wall Street Journal and/or Barron's.  Finding the article can be done in several ways, but the most consistent is to look the article up through the author.    You will also have some pick and choosing from time to time.   I want the Point Helpers to be done through your "Journal" in the course shell.  Identify the article, author & date as well as the Week....   You'll become somewhat of a regular reader of the WSJ and hopefully it can carry over to other classes and a lifetime habit!    If you have better ways of looking up articles, share them with me to pass along to other students.   I do appreciate your input and have made a number of positive changes in the past due to suggestions from students.   The Wall Street Journal will change policies related to looking up older articles through the archives.   You are not expected to pay for any article assigned through this class.    Contact Gary Amundson if you are having problems looking up articles.   
• The course is in three modules and it is expected to have the three major exams cover four of the chapters in their respective module.  Three major tests will cover specific chapters.   No final exam is planned at the course beginning; however, GA reserves the right to implement it at a later time.
• Journal assignments will be added throughout the course.  Point Helper Articles emailed to you for response should be answered through the Journals.   Note that the "Journal" is found by clicking on the "DropBox"...then on "Journal".
• Disability Support Services:   Students with disabilities, wherether physical, learning, or psychological, who believe that they may need accommodations in this class, are encouraged to contact Disability Support Services as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.   Please meet with DSS to verify your eligibility for any classroom accommodations and for academic assistance related to your disability.     DSS is located in the Academic Support Center on campus.   Phone is 406-657-2283.   Director of DSS is Trudy Carey at tcarey@msubillings.edu.

90%-A
80%-B
70%-C
60%-D 

Points will be given on all assignments.  Late assignments will be docked points.   If you miss a quiz or test...it may be gone forever...you usually have a full 7-8 days to take it so don't miss it.    Once you open the exam/quiz...finish it before closing it.   Let Gary Amundson know if you had problems.    Gary will review all 'fill-in-the-blank' answers because the computer sometimes does not recognize your version of spelling versus what is in the computer as an accepted answer.   I will adjust your score under these circumstances and will make notation in the grade book that you will see.  

Three assignments require you to take advantage of the student services offered to all students at MSU-Billings.     You are expected to have your Resume reviewed by Career Services (Director Patricia Reuss) before you turn in the final copy (or you will be docked points).    Pat expects your email and she can be contacted at 'preuss@msubillings.edu'.   Be sure to tell her to put you on the list to send to Gary Amundson.  Her phone is 406-657-2168.     In addition, this office coordinates all internships and has listings for full and part time jobs.    Career Services is a great service for all MSU-Billings students.   Take advantage of it!

Your Beige Book Paper; and Pick-A-Business Paper; must also be reviewed by the Writing Lab that is located in the Academic Support Center @ MSU-Billings.   It must be done and you need to have your name put on the list for Gary Amundson prior to handing in each respective assignment or you will be docked points.     This is a wonderful service for all of you and you should utilize this on all papers for all classes whether online or traditional classes.    It adds value to your papers.    The Writing Lab is also located in the same facility where they do math and other tutoring.   Contact person for Gary Amundson papers at the Writing Lab is Kathy Mosdal O'Brien 'kobrien@msubillings.edu'.  Her phone is 406-657-2021.