Instructor:  Kay L. McLennan, Ph.D., Professor of Practice, Business Studies
e-Mail & Voice Mail:  kmclenna@tulane.edu & 504.862.8000 x1360
Office Hours:  Wednesdays (by appointment at the SCS Elmwood Campus)
Course:   The online version of the Business Ethics course is a highly participative asynchronous Internet-based course.  The course site – with all of the course materials and discussion forums -- is accessed by logging into the myTulane Blackboard platform (at http://mytulane.blackboard.com)

After completing the requirements of this course, students should be able to:

• Understand what the study of economics entails and the relationship between scarcity and choice.
• Explain the concept of opportunity cost and measure this cost in terms of explicit and implicit costs.
• Use a demand schedule and a demand curve to demonstrate the law of demand.
• Use a supply schedule and a supply curve to demonstrate the law of supply.
• Understand the notion of equilibrium and how equilibrium price and quantity are determined in a competitive market.
• Calculate various types of elasticities and interpret the results.
• Understand the concepts of marginal product, diminishing returns, and the different types of costs (implicit versus implicit and fixed versus variable costs).
• Use the concept of opportunity cost to explain the behavior of firms.
• Define economic efficiency in terms of Pareto improvements.
• Discuss the four phases of the business cycle.
• Explain why macroeconomists use aggregation.
• Explain the difference between the expenditure, value-added, and factor payment approaches to GDP, and describe how GDP is calculated using each approach.
• Discuss how the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is compiled and how it is used.
• Define Say’s law, and explain why it is crucial to the classical view of the economy.
• Explain why economic growth is an important determinant of a nation’s standard of living.
• Explain the difference between expansions and recessions
• Understand the application of all the theory to real world problems like domestic security and the role of the stock market in the macro economy.

In terms of the cognitive learning objectives to be attained for each topic area studied (see “Course Topic Outline” above), students will:

• Gather knowledge (or facts or theories) about each topic area from the readings, instructor lecture notes, and e-discussions with classmates and the instructor;

• Demonstrate comprehension (or seeing relationships, concepts, principles, and abstractions beyond simply remembering material, typically involving translating, interpreting and estimating future trends) through problem solving and e-discussions with classmates and the instructor; and

• Understand the application (or the ability to use learned material in new and concrete situations, including the application of rules, methods, concepts, principles, laws and theories) to specific issues and challenges in the economy.   

Learning is best accomplished when students are provided with experiential opportunities.  Accordingly, class members are expected to log into the class site at least three times a week (please note that the Blackboard software keeps track of when you enter the class site) as well as post assigned essays, contribute substantive comments during the three module discussion periods, and take the final exam within the specified time frames.  As a general rule of thumb, students are expected to respond to the comments on their work and at least 60 percent of the essay postings of the other students in their group.  In addition, during each discussion period, students must contribute comments on three different days.

The final grade in the course will be made up of grades on essay submissions, group discussions, and the final exam.  The calculation of your final grade has the following components:  essay submissions = 40 percent of the final grade; group discussion participation = 40 percent of the final grade; and the final exam = 20 percent of the final grade.

With a potential of earning a total of 1,000 points in the course, the following point ranges (and accompanying grades) will be used.

  Further, the following grading component criteria will be used.

• Each module problem set/exercise/essay assignment will be worth 75 points (taken together, the problem set/exercise/essay assignments in the course total 300 points).  The specific grading subcomponents for each essay include:
  • Demonstrating a mastery of the subject material; and
  • Posting all work on time.  Note: Business/other commitments (including travel) will not excuse late work.  If you have a demanding job or travel commitments, it will be your responsibility to work ahead in the course so that you will be able to meet the deadlines specified.

• Participation in group discussions (in your individual groups) will account for 300 points of the 1,000 points in the course.  More specifically, you will be able to earn 75 points during each of the four modules based on the following subcomponents: 
  • Providing substantive comments that include personal or real world examples and backing up claims and assertions with relevant sources;
  • Responding to the required 60 percent of the essay postings of your group members; and
  • Responding to group members’ comments on your essays.
  • Providing timely responses.  In terms of timely group discussions, you should aim to respond to group members’ comments on your essays within a 2 day time frame.  Further, given the requirement that you are to log into the course site a minimum of three times a week, for each week long discussion period, you will need three different—spaced out—days of comments.  If you are going to be off line for a few days (for example, on an out-of-town business trip), please let your group members know.  If you wait until the final few days of a module to comment on your group members’ work or your group members’ comments on your essays, the benefits of having meaningful discussions on the course material will be lost.  Also, untimely comments will compromise the educational experience for others in the class and will be penalized.  Note: Again, business/other commitments (including travel) will not excuse late work.  If you have a demanding job or travel commitments, it will be your responsibility to work ahead in the course so that you will be able to meet the deadlines specified.
• Completing the online exam for each module will account for 300 points of the 1,000 points in the course [or 75 points per module, including twenty-five (worth 3 points each) multiple choice/short answer questions per test].
• Final exam (worth 100 points).  The final exam will test all the material studied in the course.

Given the asynchronous nature of this course, the expectation is that students will be able to meet all deadlines for completing reading assignments, posting essay submissions and discussing group members’ submissions.  Tardy postings will compromise the quality of group discussions and accordingly are unacceptable.  In turn, only extraordinary or emergency circumstances will merit consideration for a deadline extension and will have to be evaluated by the instructor on a case-by-case basis.  Also, please e-mail the instructor as soon as possible to explain any anticipated or missed deadlines.

All academic assignments in this course are conducted under the provisions of the Tulane University Honor Code.  In particular, while students will collaborate during group discussions of the material and their work, when it comes to assembling their initial essay responses and taking module exams, students are expected to work independently.  The complete Honor Code is available online at: http://college.tulane.edu/code.htm. Also, all Honor Code Board meetings will take place in New Orleans.  In turn, if a student wishes to appear before the Honor Board (to counter an allegation of a violation of the Honor Code), the student must keep in mind that they will need to do so in New Orleans.  Further, if a student waives the right to appear in person before the Honor Board (in New Orleans), written statements will be accepted.

Any student with a disability in need of course or examination accommodations should request accommodations through the University’s Office of Disability Services located in the Mechanical Engineering Building.  Please do this as soon as possible.  In turn, please let me know you are eligible for accommodation (through an e-mail correspondence) and provide a copy of your approved accommodation form from ODS to me (as well as to each professor in whose course you wish to receive accommodations).  I am committed to working with the Office of Disability Services to ensure that all approved accommodations are provided.  However, if you do not deliver the approved accommodation form, I will not know you have been approved to receive accommodations and will have no basis for providing those accommodations.