Course Overview
Welcome to the Course Overview, which is a page you will utilize throughout the course to find specific information regarding questions you may have, readings, discussions, assignments, etc. Students should pay close attention to the information on this page as it is the sole resource which will outline when an assignment is due, how much it is worth, where it should be submitted, and specific assignment requirements. Click the following links to "jump" to the type of source you are looking for below:
Textbook Information
The textbooks for the course are below. The assigned readings and questions for the first two weeks are available within the "Textbook eReserves" folder on the course homepage. If you haven't yet purchased your text, you should do so as soon as possible.
| M: Finance, 3rd edition, Cornett, Adair, & Nofsinger, 2016, ISBN- 978 0 07 786177 3.
Note: The same authors have a different Finance text, currently in the 4th edition, called Finance: Applications and Theory. This is not the same book! Please make sure you have the "M" book. |
Course Introduction
According to Webster's Graduate Catalog:
Managers and human resources management professionals must be able to understand financial information contained in financial statements and reports. Line managers must be able understand financial information contained in financial statements and reports in order to evaluate their unit's financial performance, to communicate clearly with other managers, and to apply financial information when making decisions. Human resources management professionals must understand financial statements and principles if they are to effectively assist line managers and be strategic partners with other business functions. This course will focus on the interpretation and use of basic financial information by non-financial managers, not on the production of financial statements and reports.
Course Requirements
Students should make note of the following suggestions provided by the instructor:
- Sign on to the course website early each week to check discussion forum messages and to post messages yourself.
- Complete each week's homework assignment using Microsoft Word or a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and submit the assignment for grading each week before the deadline for that week.
- Complete the quiz each week (if one is offered) by the deadline for that week.
- Complete the portions of the case study as directed.
Questions
Everyone has questions from time to time. In this class many are about financial issues, of course, but many are about the Excel program as well (since many of you will be doing your homework in Excel). You will notice within each week there will be a link to ask "General Questions" in the discussion forum. I would rather this be the method/location of any Q&A. This is in place of the WorldClassRoom mail tool unless the matter is confidential. This way other students will be able to benefit from your questions and the answers provided. Other students may have answers to your questions as well. Historically, people run into trouble when:
- They can't figure out how to do something in Excel (common examples: how do you make an Excel graph? how do you make a text box?)
- They can't figure out how to get the right answer in Excel (common example: it works on my financial calculator, but not on the spreadsheet)
People respond to these problems in different ways. Some will simply leave the answer blank, and turn in the assignment incomplete. Others will do the problem on a piece of paper, using their calculator, and simply write the answer on the spreadsheet (in which case it is easier to just do the homework in Word to begin with). Neither of these alternatives above is very good. What you should do if you run into difficulties when you are doing your homework in Excel is the following:
- Ask your question in the discussion forum.
- Send your question to the instructor in a WorldClassRoom email message (If that fails, try the Webster email address listed for the instructor on the syllabus).
- Call your instructor on the phone (Don't forget to adjust for the time zone where your instructor lives).
Above all, do not sit there and work yourself up into a state over the homework. Ask your classmates! Call the instructor! Everything assigned in this class can be done easily on an Excel spreadsheet. Let the computer do the work for you! We will show you how!
Participation
The discussion forum is the way to communicate with other students and with the instructor. Each week you are expected to sign into the discussion forum, read the postings, and post at least one message yourself. Also, you are expected to respond in a meaningful way to any "discussion issues" that are raised. Remember, participation will be a part of your grade. Your participation score is derived from a combination of your general postings and from your responses to the discussion issues.
It is most important that you participate actively in the discussion forum each week. Do not hesitate to ask a question because you are afraid it will "look dumb" and do not hesitate to respond to someone else's question because you are not really sure about it yourself. We are all here to learn and explaining the how & why of something to somebody else is perhaps the most important learning role one can take.
You are encouraged to discuss homework problems and how to solve the problems in the discussion forum. However, when you are helping someone else with a homework problem, be careful not to just give them the answer. That does not help them learn how to solve the problem themselves.
Meaningful contributions each week are expected. It is ok to chat on occasion and to say hi to someone you know, but in order to count toward your participation grade your messages must contribute in a meaningful way to the discussion. Also, when someone asks a question, do not wait for a few days, expecting the instructor to provide the answer. If you have a thought about an issue that has been raised, then express it then and there.
Assignments
Throughout the course, the instructor will assign homework problems for students to complete and submit for grading.
Submit all assignments due within a particular week each Sunday, no later than midnight CST. Assignments that are submitted after the deadline will be assessed a late penalty unless it has been cleared with the instructor beforehand or the situation was beyond your control. Contact the instructor ASAP if it appears you are going to submit an assignment late.
If an unavoidable situation is going to force you to turn in homework late or miss a test, please try to let the instructor know ahead of time so alternate plans can be made. You'll find that we can work out almost any kind of difficulty involving unexpected emergencies, scheduling conflicts, etc., but it is easier to make alternate plans if we know about it in advance.
Quizzes
Some weeks may have on-line quizzes. You take the quizzes by going to the Quizzes page of the course website and following the directions posted there. The quizzes are automatically graded by the computer system when you click "submit for grading." Please feel free to use your text and all available materials during the quiz. You are expected to complete each quiz by the deadline each week.
Case Study
A major portion of this course is devoted to increasing your ability to assess the status of a business by analyzing its financial statements. A good way to do that is to actually analyze a real business firm, so that is what you will do during the next nine weeks. Specifically, the company selected is HOME DEPOT and each week you will perform a portion of a financial analysis on that company by applying the techniques you learn in that week. Your results will be accumulated as the term progresses so that by Week 9 you will have a complete report to turn in for grading. You will also discuss your results with the rest of the class during Week 9. Therefore, a portion of your homework assignment each week will be devoted to the project.
Project Overview
The company selected for analysis this term is HOME DEPOT (HD). The task is to describe the company's current financial status.
Your Role
Imagine you work for a firm that is considering buying stock in the company your instructor chooses. Imagine also that your boss, who also happens to be your instructor, has asked you to evaluate the company for possible inclusion in your firm's portfolio. Specifically, your boss wants you to describe the company's current financial status. You are to prepare a formal report of your efforts for your boss, and brief him on the results of your study in nine weeks.
Procedure
As you go through the course studying the various subjects that apply to the company, you will conduct a portion of the analysis and complete that section of the report. Here is the schedule for this term:
| Week 1 | Start |
|
| During |
|
|
| End |
|
|
| Week 2 | Start |
|
| During |
|
|
| End |
|
|
| Week 3 | Start |
|
| During |
|
|
| Week 4 | Start |
|
| During |
|
|
| End |
|
|
| Week 5 | Start |
|
| During |
|
|
| Week 6 | Start |
|
| During |
|
|
| End |
|
|
| Week 7 | Start |
|
| During |
|
|
| End |
|
|
| Week 8 | Start |
|
| During |
|
|
| End of |
|
|
| Week 9 | During |
|
As you can see, the general approach is to apply what you learn each week to your analysis, thereby building the report as you go through the course. Two weeks are allowed for each major phase of the report, which is enough time to conduct the analysis, record your findings, submit them for review, and receive feedback from your instructor. In weeks 7 and 8 you will finalize the document and prepare the formal version for submission and grading. In the final week of the course you will discuss your findings with the instructor and your classmates.
Academic Honesty
Students are encouraged to share methodology and help each other [through the use of the forum] in solving weekly homework assignments, however, students must not share completed assignments in their communications. This means you cannot send your Excel spreadsheet or Word file to another student, and you cannot receive another student's Excel spreadsheet or Word file and adapt it for your own use. You must build your own homework file. When you put your name on a file and submit it for grading the work in that file must be yours and yours alone. The official statement-"Students who are discovered cheating or committing plagiarism will be awarded a failing grade for the course, and may be subject to dismissal or further discipline."
Important Note: This course overview is subject to change.