TEMPLE UNIVERSITY

THE FOX SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

BA 4101: GLOBAL BUSINESS POLICIES
Fall 2013
Meeting Days & Time: 60 Minutes Before Class Time or by appointment
Meeting Place: A539 Alter Hall

Instructor:

PROFESSOR RAJESWARARAO CHAGANTI

Office/hours:

ONE HOUR PRIOR TO CLASS MEETINGS ON

TUESDAY AND THURSDAY OR BY PRIOR
APPOINTMENT

Contact info:

CHAGANTI@TEMPLE.EDU
215 204 5675

Course prerequisites

All lower and upper division core requirements must be

successfully completed before registering for BA 4101.

BA4101: GLOBAL BUSINESS POLICIES

COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Welcome to the capstone course of the undergraduate curriculum! The Business Policies course
culminates your learning experience before graduation. The objective of this course is to introduce you to
the role of the strategic manager, someone, such as a CEO, who is concerned with the problems of and
responsible for the overall and long-term well-being of the organization, both business and not-for-profit.
OBJECTIVES

Provide you with the critical thinking skills necessary to function as a strategic manager or to
perform the tasks comprising the strategic management process this is the primary objective
of the course

Integrate and apply the knowledge accumulated in functional areas, such as marketing, human
resource management, operations, accounting and finance

Prepare you for management careers by providing in-class opportunities for you to communicate
orally and in written formats, to lead and to work with others in realistic work settings

Expose you to the ethical and societal issues raised in operating an enterprise

To provide you with experience in dealing with real strategic decision issues facing managers in
all types of organizations: business and not-for-profit; large and small; and domestic and
multinational, primarily through the use of the case method

Prepare you for the real world of work in all its settings

DESIRED OUTCOMES
By the end of the semester, you can answer the following questions concerning a firm:
1. Based on the facts presented in a case and independent research, how well is the firm doing over
time and relative to its peers?
2. Describe the firms strategy
3. Based on the analysis of the firm and its industry, is the strategy appropriate? Explain the answer
in detail.
4. Recommend changes to the strategy to enhance, maintain or turnaround the performance of the
firm
5. Based on the analysis of the firms organizational structure, culture, systems and processes,
examine in detail the way the strategy is implemented.
6. Recommend changes to the implementation of the strategy to enhance, maintain or turnaround the
performance of the firm

Also, you must be able to:

Prepare clear and concise written business reports with appropriate content, substance and
documentation;

Deliver polished multi-media business presentations to executives in a professional manner;

Articulate, discuss and defend your ideas and proposals in a professional manner;

Develop teamwork, leadership and diversity skills through group projects and class discussions.

REQUIRED COURSE MATERIAL

[HBSP] Cases and some specific readings are available online at a discount from Harvard
Business School Publishing: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/access/20709528
[BB] Black Board Readings: Any other readings assigned by your instructor will be posted at the
Blackboard of the section in which you are enrolled.
Useful online resources: quickmba.com, netmba.com, and investopedia.com.

Suggested Readings:
It is strongly recommended, but not required, that you read and subscribe to at least one business
publication. The following business publications are available at the Temple libraries or via
short-term subscription (see your instructor):
The Wall Street Journal
Business Week
Fortune
Forbes
The New York Times
The Economist
GRADING
A students grade in the course will be based on performance in several activities and efforts. The weight
for each is given in below:
Attendance, preparation, class participation, attitude:
Assignment and event participation on EMC Case
In-class finance test:
Individual conceptual tests and/or case-related assignments (in class or hw):
One memo to management (individual written memo):
Team presentations:
Final memo (TBA) to management (individual written memo):
ALL

25%
5%
5%
5%
20%
20%
20%
100%

TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE1

Unless otherwise noted, all readings are in the required coursepack or are on the course website for
the semester.
Each week you need to be prepared to discuss the assigned readings
Week 1

Aug 26

Course Introduction and Overview

Form Teams for Case Presentations

Week 2

Sept 2

Strategy, Resources, and Performance

Read:
What is strategy? Porter [BB]
Types of strategy: Which strategy fits your business? HBSP Chapter [HBSP]
Learning by the Case Method [HBSP]
Read:
Unstructured Case: CoolBurst [BB]
Assignment:
Answer as many questions on page 8 as possible and appropriate in this case

Week 3

Sept 9

Organization Performance
Read:
An Overview of financial statement analysis Darden Allen and Simko [HBSP]
The Balanced Scorecard: Measures that Drive Performance Kaplan and Norton
[BB]
How to Read a Financial Report Merrill Lynch [BB]
Read: Airborne Express [HBSP]
Assignment:
Answer as many questions on page 8 as possible and appropriate in this case
Read:
Creating competitive advantage Ghemawat and Rivkin [HBSP]
Core competence of the corporation Prahalad and Hamel [BB]
Competing on Resources Collis and Montgomery [BB]

Week 4

Sept 16

Strategy, Resources and Performance

Read: The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy - Porter [BB]
Read: Samsung Electronics [HBSP]
Questions (for class discussion):
Assignment:
Answer as many questions on page 8 as possible and appropriate in this case
Additional Assignment:

This schedule is subject to change. Your instructor will inform you of any changes.

Answer the Question Is this industry attractive?

Week 5

Sept 23

*** In-class test on firm performance

Remember to bring your calculator to the class. You are allowed to bring a one
sheet (two sides) of notes to the test
Strategy and Performance
Re-Read: Samsung [HBSP]
Assignment:
Answer as many questions on page 8 as possible and appropriate in this case
Additional Assignment:
Draw value chain for the firm

Week 6

Sept 30

Strategy and Performance

Read: Apple Inc. in 2010 [HBSP]
Assignment:
Answer as many questions on page 8 as possible and appropriate in this case
Read:
From competitive advantage to corporate strategy Porter [BB]
Creating corporate advantage Collis and Montgomery [BB]
Note on organization structure Nohria [HBSP]
What is an organizations culture Christensen [HBSP]
When to Ally & When to Acquire Dyer, Kale, Singh [BB]

Week 7

Oct 7

Strategy Implementation Discussion -- Continued

Week 8

Oct 14

*** In-class conceptual test

Strategy Formulation
Read: Mural Arts Program [BB]
Assignment:
Answer as many questions on page 8 as possible and appropriate in this case
Assignment
Prepare one question (and your answer in six lines)) for the CEO to be handed in.
Presentations by teams 1 & 2

Week 9

Oct 21

Strategy Formulation and Implementation

Read: Dollar General [HBSP]
Assignment:
Answer as many questions on page 8 as possible and appropriate in this case
Assignments
Presentations by Teams 3 & 4
Individual memos from members of Team 1& 2

Week 10

Oct 28

Strategy Formulation and Implementation

Read: Edward Jones in 2006 [HBSP]
Assignment:
Answer as many questions on page 8 as possible and appropriate in this case

Week 11

Nov 4

Presentations by Teams 5 & 6

Individual memos from members of teams 3 & 4
Strategy Implementation
Read: Best Buy in Crisis [HBSP]
Assignment:
Answer as many questions on page 8 as possible and appropriate in this case

Week 12

Nov 11

Presentations by teams 7 & 8

Individual memos from members of teams 5 & 6
Strategy Implementation
Read: Lincoln Electric [HBSP]
Assignment:
Answer as many questions on page 8 as possible and appropriate in this case
Presentations by Teams 1 & 2
Individual memos from members of teams 7 & 8

Week 13

Nov 18

Strategy Implementation
Read: Renault-Nissan [HBSP]
Assignment:
Answer as many questions on page 8 as possible and appropriate in this case
Presentations by Teams 3, 4 & 5

Week 14

Nov 25
Dec 2

Strategy Implementation
Read: Dansko, Inc. [HBSP]
Assignment: Answer as many questions on page 8 as possible and appropriate in this
case
Presentations by Teams 6, 7 & 8
ALL TEAM EVALUATIONS ARE DUE IN CLASS see Attachment C

Dec 4
(Wed)

Classes End/Study days

Completed final written memo will be due Dec 4, by 5 pm, both in hard copy
turned into the Strategic Management Office Department Administrative
Assistant and an electronic version posted on Safe Assign on the BA4101
Community site. NOTE: The BA4101 Community site on Blackboard is
different from the regular site for your class. The final exam will be an individual
memo. Further details will be announced in class and on the Blackboard.

QUESTIONS YOU WILL CONSIDER IN ALL CASES

1. Based on the facts presented in a case and independent research, how well is the firm doing over
time and relative to its peers?
2. Describe the firms strategy
3. Based on the analysis of the firm and its industry, is the strategy appropriate? Explain the answer
in detail.
4. Recommend changes to the strategy to enhance, maintain or turnaround the performance of the
firm
5. Based on the analysis of the firms organizational structure, culture, systems and processes,
examine in detail the way the strategy is implemented.
6. Recommend changes to the implementation of the strategy to enhance, maintain or turnaround the
performance of the firm

Semester Calendar
Mon, August 26
Mon, September 2
Mon, September 9
Tues, October 22
Wed, October 23
Thurs, November 28 Sun, December 1
Tues, November 26 Weds, November 27
Weds, December 4
Thurs, December 5 Fri, December 6
Mon, December 9 Sat, December 14
Sat, December 14 at
10:00PM

Classes begin
Labor Day holiday
Last Day to Drop a Course
Last Day to Withdraw from a Course
Priority Registration Begins (Spring session)
Thanksgiving holiday break
**Calendar Adjustment for Thanksgiving break
Weekday Classes End
Study Days
Final Examinations
Winter recess begins

**TUESDAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING - FOLLOW YOUR THURSDAY CLASS SCHEDULE

**WEDNESDAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING - FOLLOW YOUR FRIDAY CLASS SCHEDULE

GRADING
There is a deadline for course withdrawal to which the Deans Office strictly adheres (See calendar
above). Absolutely, no "makeup" work will be permitted. It is unfair to classmates who meet their
responsibilities on time.

A students grade in the course will be based on performance in several activities and efforts. The
approximate weight for each is given in below. However, these weight ranges are only guidelines; your
instructor may want to deviate somewhat from them, depending upon class circumstances:
1. Class attendance, participation and attitude [20 percent]. Class attendance, class preparation,
and class participation are essential, just as in your future jobs and work careers. You will be
called on in class occasionally to assure that everyone is given an opportunity to participate.
Come prepared to discuss your assignments. Treat attendance at class as a professional
responsibility: be prompt, prepared, attentive, and positive in attitude! As on the job, attendance
is mandatory! Missing ten percent of class sessions is considered excessive; so if your section
meets once a week, this translates into two absences, the number sufficient for you to be dropped.
Remember, your instructor has the final authority to drop you from the course if you do not fulfill
her/his course attendance requirements.
Excessive lateness may be counted as absences, at the instructors discretion.
After giving due notice, your instructor will begin grading class participation from about the third
week. During each class session, you can earn a maximum of 10 class participation points. You
may also earn bonus points for highly original or pertinent contribution (at the discretion of the
instructor). The total points you earn during the term, relative to the highest points total in class,
will determine your final class participation grade/score. Both the quality and frequency of your
participation will count towards your grade. Note, however, that high-quality or relevant
contribution will earn you a higher participation grade than frequent but insignificant
contribution. It is your responsibility to check periodically with your instructor on how you
are conducting yourself with regard to class participation.
Reading the popular business press, specifically the WSJ, is encouraged and can help your class
participation grade if it helps you contribute something relevant to the issues and cases at hand.
Not participating in class will affect your class participation grade (and thereby, your final grade)
significantly, even if your performance is exceptional otherwise. Not wanting or not liking
to participate during class is a deliberate choice that you make, being fully aware of its
effect on your grade. Also, you will not get class participation points for just being present
in class.
Note that class participation is likely to be a highly competitive exercise. It is up to you to attract
the attention of the instructor without, of course, disturbing/distracting the class session. If you
feel that you are being passed over despite making attempts to participate, please bring this issue
to the instructors notice at the end of that class session. Also, if you have any other problem on
this count, discuss the issue with your instructor immediately instead of waiting till the end of the
term.
Your instructor may ask you to write the answer to questions of the case to be collected
(randomly) for participation points
2. One memo on a case [15 percent]. Each of you, individually, is required to write analyses of a
case and answer a few specific questions for the case. The paper is due on the date the case is due
for discussion in class.
The page limit for this paper is 6-8 double-spaced pages (not including the cover page and
exhibits) for this submission is seven double-spaced using Times New Roman 12 point font. Do
not add another double space between paragraphs. In addition to your answers to the questions
your paper will be evaluated generally for writing competence (i.e., format, English Usage,

logical structure, etc.). Your instructor may downgrade your memo due to ineffective writing
skill. If that is the case, once your paper is graded and returned, you will have the opportunity to
rewrite it for a better grade.
The instructor can require you to have your written assignments evaluated by a Writing Center
consultant before and/or after you submit your work. Your final grade for a rewritten assignment
may be adjusted upward at the discretion of the instructor.
Please note that the rewritten assignment is primarily for writing problems in your paper and not
intended to make-up for wrong answers in the first place. As such you should not introduce new
material or analyses not present in the original submission, such as that obtained from class
discussion of the case or instructors comments. Any increase in grade will derive from
improvement in the organization, structure, format, clarity of the written work, and English
usage. It is recommended that you refer to the book Effective Business Writing, by Maryann
Piotrowski, TU Writing Center material or any of the many other books on the subject of writing
style.
This is an individual assignment and not a team assignment. Your instructor will assign the case.
This written submission will be due on the day the case is scheduled for presentation by other
groups and for discussion in the class. A word data file copy of all individual memos must be
filed in the SafeAssign folder of the Blackboard of your class section one hour before class
(no exceptions!). You will not be allowed to submit more than one document on Safe Assign.
Please make sure that your entire memo including the cover page, body, and appendices are
included in one document. Please see Temple Universitys plagiarism policies that apply to the
submission. You may be given additional instructions in this regard.
3. Two case presentations by teams of 4 students [20 percent]. Teams of students will be formed
by the instructor with the objective of achieving diversity among team members in disciplines,
race, gender, and ethnicity, as might be expected in the workplace. Broad guidelines for case
presentations are presented on the community Blackboard site in the form of an evaluation sheet.
Your instructor will provide further guidelines in this regard.
Each team will analyze two cases (on different dates) and present the analyses in class
presentations on the days when the cases are scheduled for discussion. It is important to note
that it is assumed that these presentations are to be given to the case companys top
management, not to a college class. Each presentation will be approximately 18-20 minutes,
followed by a question and answer period, with the class playing the role of the companys top
management. No written reports are required of the teams making the presentation.
Your instructor will assign the cases to your team.
Good teamwork is essential if your team is to perform effectively. Since it is inevitable that
sooner or later you will have to participate in a team project while on the job, this is a great
opportunity to practice your interpersonal skills before the consequences of your actions can
affect you professionally.
4. In-class finance test [5 percent].
5. In-class conceptual test [5 percent].
6. Assignment and event participation on EMC case [5 percent].
7. Final examination [20 percent]. There will be a final written memo for the course and details

10

on the final will follow in due course. It will be case based.

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PLAGIARISM POLICY
It is the policy of the University that plagiarism of any sort is totally unacceptable and subject to
severe and immediate disciplinary action. Acts of plagiarism include copying in part or whole from
previously submitted reports, using as ones own without acknowledgement or citation or quotation
material from previously published matter in any medium (i.e., printed or web-based or audio/visual),
purchasing commissioned research, or providing common submissions of the same material in different
sections, being the major ones. If you have any doubts as to whether something that you will submit as
your work will be questioned, be sure to discuss this matter with your instructor before any formal final
submissions, not afterwards! An act of plagiarism is grounds for immediate failure in the course.
The University Disciplinary Committee to which most plagiarism charges will be forwarded may assess
additional penalties.
DISABILITY DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the
instructor privately to discuss the specific situation as soon as possible. Contact Disability Resources and
Services at 215 204-1280 in 100 Ritter Annex to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with
documented disabilities.
ON THE USE OF CELL PHONES AND OTHER PORTABLE DEVICES
Students must switch their cell phones off during the class session. Students may bring laptop computers
or other portable devices to class sessions for taking down notes. They, however, must shut or switch
these devices off during in-class exercises or mini-tests.
Furthermore, students with laptops or other portable devices must disable wired or wireless connections
to the Internet during class sessions. This requirement is to prevent such students from browsing the
Internet in real-time for information on topics/cases being presented or discussed. Thereby, it ensures that
they do not gain an unfair advantage over their fellow-students who are not required to bring such devices
to the class room.
Any violation of the above policy will result, at the least, in the student(s) being asked to leave the
room for the remainder of the session. Note, however, that students participating in a case presentation
may connect to the Internet to display pertinent content as part of their presentation.

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SOME OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

All assignments must be turned in on time unless written permission from the instructor is obtained in
advance of the due date time (your instructor may give you more specific instructions as to exactly
where, when and how s/he wants assignments submitted). Please do not ask to be an exception to this
policy, since it would be unfair to your classmates. If you have a serious problem in meeting any
deadline, see the instructor about it before the assignment due date, not afterwards.
Copies of all major written assignments and presentations need to be deposited in the appropriate box on
your sections Blackboard.
The final Memo for the course must be submitted at BOTH BB of this section and SafeAssign for the
community in a timely fashion. SafeAssign detects possible plagiarism in student papers.
Assignments will be evaluated by the SafeAssign system for originality. Any identical wording between
your paper and that of any other paper currently or previously submitted virtually anywhere else can be
detected easily and that constitutes plagiarism. Prior semesters, several students failed the course
because of this practice. It is absolutely necessary that you provide your instructor with the identical hard
copy report to that which you file in the BB SafeAssign box.Filing of different versions of the same
assignment will be grounds for immediate failure in the course.

Blackboard Sites:
It is your responsibility to visit often the Blackboard site of your section and follow the guidelines and
policies. Additional resources will be available at the BA4101 Community Blackboard site.

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ATTACHMENT A: Guidelines for Case Memo

The page limit for this paper is 6-8 double-spaced pages (not including cover page, exhibits, and
bibliography) using Times New Roman 12 point font. Do not add another double space between
paragraphs. The cover page near the top should provide DATE/TO/FROM/RE on separate lines
appropriately spaced. A few lines below include an Executive Summary (ES), single-spaced of 150
words or less. The ES essentially is a synopsis of the most important elements of your report. Think of it
as something to be read by someone that doesnt have time to (or wont) read your entire memo. Hence,
the ES should definitely include (but not necessarily limited to) your key results, conclusions,
recommendations and expectations of results derived from implementation.
Remember, you are writing a report to the companys management! Its not supposed to be an
academic exercise prepared for a course instructor. In other words, dont regurgitate case material unless
it is in support and relevant for some point that you are trying to make. Dont recopy a case exhibit
verbatim into your report (or presentation). Of course, you can introduce such material if it has been
reinterpreted or employed in further analyses or computations.
A suggested general outline for an appropriate case analysis is provided below (your instructor may give
you additional instructions). However, remember that these are only guidelines. There is no "one best
way" to analyze cases or real world business situations. The case memos should have the following
components:
1. How well is the firm doing over time and relative to its peers?
2. Describe the firms strategy
3. Is the strategy appropriate? Explain the answer in detail.
4. Recommend changes to the strategy
5. Examine in detail the way the current strategy is implemented.
6. Recommend changes to the implementation of the new strategy

13

READINGS AND CASES USED IN BA4101 FALL 2013

TUESDAY AND THURSDAY AT 5.30 P.M
PROFESSOR R CHAGANTI
ITEMS AT BB:
1. The Balanced Scorecard: Measures that Drive Performance Kaplan and Norton [BB]
2. What is strategy? Porter [BB]
3. How to Read a Financial Report Merrill Lynch [BB]
4. Core competence of the corporation Prahalad and Hamel [BB]
5. Competing on Resources Collis and Montgomery [BB]
6. From competitive advantage to corporate strategy Porter [BB]
7. Creating corporate advantage Collis and Montgomery [BB]
8. When to Ally & When to Acquire Dyer, Kale, Singh [BB]
9. Unstructured Case: CoolBurst [BB]
10. Mural Arts Program [BB]
ITEMS AT HBSP:
1. Types of strategy: Which strategy fits your business? HBSP Chapter [HBSP]
2. Learning by the Case Method [HBSP]
3. An Overview of financial statement analysis Darden Allen and Simko [HBSP]
4. Creating competitive advantage Ghemawat and Rivkin [HBSP]
5. Note on organization structure Nohria [HBSP]
6. What is an organizations culture Christensen [HBSP]
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

Airborne Express [HBSP]

Samsung Electronics [HBSP]
Apple Inc. in 2010 [HBSP]
Dollar General [HBSP]
Edward Jones in 2006 [HBSP]
Best Buy in Crisis [HBSP]
Lincoln Electric [HBSP]
Renault-Nissan [HBSP]
Dansko, Inc. [HBSP]

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ATTACHMENT B:
Guidelines for Presentation of the Case Situation in a Professional Manner
The group should make the assumption that it is a strategic analysis team that has been assembled by the
case companys top management to confront the situation presented in the case. When youve
completed your strategic assessment, you will present your results to the companys top management
(in effect, the class listening to your presentation or the reader of your report) is the company top
management. Think of the case as material/data given to you by the top management to kick off
your assignment.
Students therefore should assume that the audience, the listeners or reader, is thoroughly familiar with
the case organization in question and the specific data presented in the case (remember, it is the
company management that provided you with the case material). As such, do not simply rehash case
material; only cite or repeat such material in support of an argument or position.
Interpret the facts according to the theoretical framework covered in class, and take a position on
whether the company's actions will lead to positive results or not; vague generalizations that no one
would disagree with are worthless. You have been exposed to a series of strategic analysis tools and
techniques. Use these in your analysis!!!
Even if the firm is performing well and there is general agreement with management's strategy, you
must evaluate this in relation of alternative courses of action (there always are alternatives, some of
which likely are being followed by the companys competitors). There are few business strategies that
do not present some risks or obstacles for management. Remember, this presentation (or report) is
going to the organization's top management, not to the course instructor.
Unless otherwise indicated, students are encouraged to do outside research on the case situation, but
within certain parameters: (1) you should not investigate any aspect of the case company subsequent
to the date at which the case takes place (this date should be evident from a reading of the case); (2)
any changes in the case companys external environment a new competitive situation, technological
advances, government regulations, upturn or downturn in the economy, etc. that occurred between
the date of the case and the current date (that is, the date during this semester when you are
conducting your analysis) may be considered as part of your external environmental
assessment/forecasts. Instructors will provide additional guidance on the sources and approaches that
might be used in data collection. The analyses should be treated as a major strategic document for the
organization in question.
Specifically, instructors will be looking at the following factors in evaluating both the presentations and
written assignments:
o Depth and soundness of the analysis, including financial analysis;
o Proper grammar, sentence structure and overall usage of English;
o Conciseness and clarity;
o Use of strategic management tools and techniques of analysis;
o Creativity and originality; and
o Professional use of visual aids

15

 Every member of the group must take part in the presentation. Presenters are required to use visual aids
(i.e., Power Point or a similar package) for the in-class presentations.
The class, acting as a company executive committee, will question the group immediately after the
presentation. One or more groups from the class may be assigned the primary responsibility for
leading the questioning of each presentation; their effectiveness in critically questioning the
presenters will also be evaluated [and constitute a significant proportion of their class work grade].
Your instructor may organize the discussion differently.
The presenting group's ability to respond to questions is an important part of the presentation
experience. It provides students with an opportunity to develop skills in "thinking-on-your-feet," to
defend ideas and to articulate ones position extemporaneously -- skills necessary in any management
situation! The rest of the class, therefore, must come prepared to question critically the presenting
groups.
Students should be able to discern the logic and responsiveness of the presented material to the issues
raised by the case -- and the weaknesses as well. The questions that the students raise will form the basis
of the ensuing discussion.

16

ATTACHMENT C: Guidelines for Self-Evaluation of Team Members

At the end of the term, each team is required to submit one team assessment sheet on which the signature
of each member is placed on a separate line. Cumulatively, the team will have 100 points available for
each member. Thus, a three-person team will have 300 points available; a four-person team will have 400
points, etc. The total score for all members in a team should equal the points available.
How the score is to be determined. The team as a whole will meet and decide the grade for each
member. If all members have contributed more or less equally, then assignment of the same score (i.e.,
100 points) for each member is all that is needed. If one individual, in the teams assessment, contributed
significantly more, then that individual can receive a higher score (i.e., more than 100 points) than the
other members. Keep in mind that any higher score for one individual comes at the expense of others in
the team. The instructor may adjust a members final presentation scores up or down depending on this
team evaluation.
The Team can fire a member who does not contribute! A team may ask a member who is not
contributing to leave. The fired student then will have to complete assignments as determined by the
instructor. The team must inform the instructor and the student of the decision at least one week prior to
the due date of an assignment. This action should not be taken casually because the fired student will
have a very heavy burden placed upon him/her to complete the course. Before the team takes this step, the
offending student should be made fully aware of the teams dissatisfaction with his/her performance and
given sufficient opportunity to make amends. The instructor will not interfere with this decision.
The instructor will play no role in the team evaluation. The peer evaluation process is just that! Its
the estimation of your contribution by your teammates and you. It should be a team decision. You will
find that this team self-evaluation protocol is very similar to that employed in many businesses and other
types of organization. Do not try to involve your instructor in this task. More often than not, the team
evaluation process proceeds easily and uneventfully. If the team reaches a total impasse in its
deliberations, it may approach the instructor for assistance in mediating the problem. However, any
approach to the instructor should be made by the team as a whole. The instructor will not discuss an
individual students complaint against a teammate without all members present.
IMPORTANT!!!! GO TO NEXT PAGE.

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YOUR INSTRUCTOR WILL COLLECT THIS ATTESTATION BY THE THIRD CLASS SESSION.
HOWEVER, DO NOT SUBMIT THIS SIGNED FORM UNLESS YOU ARE FULLY IN ACCORD
WITH THE STATEMENTS BELOW. IF YOU NEED MORE TIME BEFORE YOU CAN HONESTLY
SIGN THE FORM, YOUR INSTRUCTOR WILL GLADLY PROVIDE IT.
I acknowledge that I have read and fully comprehend the foregoing course description. I understand the
course requirements, my obligations and work responsibilities for the course and towards my project
team. Any questions that I have had concerning the Business Policies course objectives, course
administration, required attendance, student performance expectations, TUs plagiarism policy and
grading policies either have been fully answered by the material provided to me or by my instructor.

__________________________ (Signature)

__________________________ (Printed name)

__________________________ (Date)

BA 4101 Fall 2013 (Class)

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