"I have the greatest job in the world. I have been extended the priviledge of being a teacher."
-Mohammed Sangeladji

Contents

• Preface
• Notes
• Pre-course Materials
• Course Materials
• General Materials
• Writing, Math, and Spreadsheet Concepts (CSUN only)
• General Education Concepts (CSUN only)
• Student Tips
• Impact of BUS 302
• Overall Peer-Student Evaluations
• Tips for passing BUS302L (lab)
• Additional Case Writing Materials
• Additional Case Presenting Materials
• Case Discussion ("Challenge") Materials
• Additional Materials

Preface

The purpose of this web site is to provide information and materials for students enrolled in Wayne Smith's Business 302 course, Class # 13769, for the Spring, 2020 semester. This course meets Mon/Wed 9:30am - 10:45am (Wed 1/22 - Wed 5/13, 16 weeks) in BB2206 [ Campus Map ]. This course is taught in the traditional format. This course is offered by the College of Business and Economics at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). CSU Northridge is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system.

My email address is wayne.smith@csun.edu. For email sent to me by students, the Subject line should start with "[CSUN Bus302]" (without the quotes). Interested students may learn more about me by reviewing my personal web page. The PDF materials on this page require the "free" Acrobat Reader.

The dates in parentheses indicate when the document was last updated.

Note: Materials listed as (CSUN only) are restricted to CSUN students, faculty, and staff only. To access these restricted materials, CSUN stakeholders will need to enter their full CSUN email address and their CSUN password.

Notes

The following notes are updates and changes that occur prior to the beginning of class (in descending chronological order).

• Sat. May 11, 2019:  All course prerequisites for this class will be enforced. BUS 302 students (potential adds) will need to provide written proof of completion of all prerequisites on the first day of class. A printout of a current CSUN Degree Progress Report (DPR) can be used for courses completed at CSUN (the DPR is available via the CSUN Portal). A printout of a current Unofficial Transcript from a Community College can be used for courses completed elsewhere.

• Sat. May 11, 2019:  Students enrolled in BUS302 (lecture) are strongly encouraged to enroll in BUS302L (lab) during the same semester.

• Sat. May 11, 2019:  Yes, there are many students who wish to add this course. I cannot handle adds until the first day of class. Students can sign up on the COBAE Waitlist for BUS 302.

The above notes are also available as a subscription feed [ .atom ]. A subscription feed is a contemporary approach to automated notification.

Pre-Course Materials

These materials can be accessed before the first class session. These resources can be useful for prospective students desiring to gain a better appreciation for the subject matter of this course without enrolling in the course or purchasing the required textbook(s). Materials in this particular section will not appear on any quiz or exam.

• COBAE Associate Dean's WaitList for "Adds" (link is in upper left-hand corner) [ .html ]

Course Materials

These materials should be reviewed before the first class session.

• Syllabus [ .pdf ] (Fri. Dec 20, 2019)
• Outline/Calendar [ .html ] (Mon. Apr 6, 2020)
• Library Materials [ .html ] (Sat. May 27, 2023)
• BUS 302 and 302L Course (Common) Page [ .html ]
• Wayne Smith's BUS 302L Statistics Exam Review [ .html ]
• The "ABC's" of Gateway Success [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• Key COBAE Courses [ .pdf | .odg ] (Sat. Dec 31, 2016)
• LDC Core Concepts ("Top Ten Topics") [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)

General Materials

The following materials apply to all my courses independent of subject matter.

• Focus on the Organization [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• "How Successful Student Professionals Communicate Electronically" [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• Class Behavior [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• Class Participation Guidelines [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• Quantitative Evaluation [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• Understanding Standardized Scores [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• The Language of Performance [ .pdf ] (Mon. Aug 15, 2011)
• The Role of Office Hours [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• How to Fool Yourself with Information Technology [ .pdf ] (Tue. May 21, 2019)
• Managing Expectations about Performance, Scores, and Final Grades [ .pdf ]
• Tips for passing the Upper Division Writing Proficiency Exam [ .pdf ]

Writing, Math, and Spreadsheet Concepts (CSUN only)

Bus 302 requires nine course pre-requisites at the lower-division level. Six of the course pre-requisites are tested explicitly in the Bus302L lab. The following sample quizzes can assist motivated students in the three other course pre-requisites—Business Communication (English composition), Mathematics, and Computer Literacy (spreadsheets).

• Sample Quiz - Writing [ .pdf ]
• Sample Quiz - Math [ .pdf ]
• Sample Quiz - Spreadsheets [ .pdf ]

General Education Concepts

Bus 302 is a junior-level class, and is often the first class taken by juniors (especially transfer students). General Education (GE) is an important component of a professional education. The following sample quizzes can assist motivated students in reviewing learning outcomes from a GE package of courses, especially in the key areas of Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning.

• Sample Review - Reading Comprehension (CSUN only)
  • Reading Passage [ .pdf ]
  • Answers [ .pdf ]
• Sample Reviews - Critical Reasoning (CSUN only)
  • Argument Construction
    • Reading Passage (Q. 75) [ .pdf ]
    • Answers (Q. 75) [ .pdf ]
  • Argument Evaluation
    • Reading Passage (Q. 18) [ .pdf ]
    • Answers (Q. 18) [ .pdf ]
  • Formulation/Evaluation of a Plan
    • Reading Passage (Q. 2) [ .pdf ]
    • Answers (Q. 2) [ .pdf ]
• New GMAT Section - Integrated Reasoning [ .html ]

Student Tips

The following tips were written by my BUS 302 students to assist future students.

• Tips for Success - By Students, For Students [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• Tips for Team Contracts - By Students, For Students [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• Tips for Written Cases - By Students, For Students [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• Tips for Passing BUS302L (lab) - By Students, For Students
  • Business Statistics [ .pdf ] (Thu. Oct 21, 2010)

Impact of BUS 302 on other classes and in the workplace

The following quotes were all written by my prior BUS 302 students.

• How has BUS 302 assisted your coursework in other courses? [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• How has BUS 302 assisted your job or work outside of CSUN? [ .pdf ] (Fri. Aug 26, 2011)

Overall Peer-Student Evaluations

The following student evaluations of the best students in their respective teams were all written by my prior BUS 302 students.

• What Students Say About the Best Students At the End of Class [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)

Additional Case Writing Materials

The following materials apply primarily to the case writing deliverables in this course.

• Case Preparation Document (aka "Workplan") [ .pdf ] (Wed. Feb 12, 2020)
• Scoring Written Deliverables [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• Sample Case Scoring Rubric [ .xls ] (Thu. Oct 9, 2014)
  • Writing Error Frequency and Reference [ .xls ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• Formatting Requirements for Written Deliverables [ .pdf ] (Wed. Jul 8, 2015)
• Structure Requirements for Written Case Deliverables [ .pdf ] (Sun. Sep 18, 2022)
• SECs "Plain English" Handbook (read the 2-page "Preface" only) [ .pdf ]
• A Management Writer's Reference [ .pdf ] (Tue. May 21, 2019)
• Management Vocabulary [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• English Language Use Exercise (CSUN only) [ .pdf ]
• Application Tips for Word Processors [ .pdf ] (Mon. Dec 27, 2010)
• Application Tips for Spreadsheets [ .pdf ] (Tue. May 21, 2019)
• A Note on Decimal Places [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• The Three "T's" of Business Writing [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• Developing and Revising Prose: Managing your Writing Brand [ .pdf ] (Sat. Dec 31, 2016)
• The Rhetorical Contexts for Written Deliverables in BUS 302 [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• Final Checklist for each Written Case Deliverable [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• CSUN LRC Writing Center Workshops [ .html ]

Additional Case Presenting Materials

The following materials apply primarily to the case presentation deliverables in this course.

• Presentation Tips [ .pdf ] (Wed. Sep 1, 2010)
• Presentation Technology in the Gateway Rooms [ .pdf ] (Tue. Apr 14, 2015)
• Binkley, C. (2008) "Business Casual: All Business, Never Casual", Wall Street Journal, Apr 17 [ ABI Inform ]
• Binkley, C. (2008) "Want to Be CEO? You Have to Dress the Part", Wall Street Journal, Jan 10 [ ABI Inform ]
• (Book Review--"Lip Service"--a book about smiling) Tavris, C (2011) "And the Whole World", Wall Street Journal, Aug 6 [ ABI Inform ]

Case Discussion ("Challenge") Materials

The following materials apply primarily to the discussion after a case is presented in class.

• Towards Insightful Questions (General Overview) [ .pdf ] (Tue. Apr 25, 2017)
• Case Discussion Questions (template) [ .pdf, .doc ] (Tue. Sep 12, 2023)
  • Detailed Rationale for Clarification Questions [ .pdf ] (Tue. Apr 25, 2017)
  • Detailed Rationale for Difference of Analysis Questions [ .pdf ] (Tue. Apr 25, 2017)
  • Detailed Rationale for Extension or Exploratory Questions [ .pdf ] (Tue. Apr 25, 2017)
• Sample Discussion Questions (Specific Examples) [ .pdf ] (Fri. Oct 20, 2017)

Additional Materials

The following materials don't "fit" anywhere else neatly.

• Jung Typology Test (Myers-Briggs Personality Profile) [ .html ]
• "Two-Stage" decision-making [ .html ]