Before You Start
Hi and welcome to our Small Business Management class. My name is Donna Rivera-Loudon and I will be your instructor for the next nine weeks. If you have not already done so please go back and bookmark our class homepage. It is the page where you found all the links to the week's lessons. By
bookmarking this page you will be able to find it quickly each time you enter our online classroom.
Click here if you need instructions on how to bookmark a webpage. In this lecture we will discuss some of the basics that need to be covered before we get into the textbook. Make sure you complete all assignments in this lecture.
Several of these assignments count towards your week one class participation
grade. Review the information on this page carefully. It will make the class run a little more smoothly for you. HINT: In this course, all underlined words or phrases are links to another page or site.
I have provided several tools to help this course run smoothly for you. Please take a few minutes to print and/or read the following items. Keep them handy so you can refer to them when needed. This is where a three ring binder will prove helpful. If this is your first online course go to the Orientation Area and complete the orientation quiz. If you are unable to attend the final exam meeting, complete the Proctor Form using the proctor form instructions as a guide.
What Makes a Successful Online Student? - An excellent article and additional resources designed to help online students be successful. I highly recommend you visit this web site no matter how many online classes you have taken. Weekly Outline - An outline of the topics we will be discussing each week. Assignment/Grade Sheet - Designed to help you keep track of when your assignments are due, your points for each assignment and your ongoing grade. Copy and Paste - Instructions on how to copy and paste into the discussion board and online forms. Netiquette - Guidelines for using proper etiquette on the discussion board and in your email messages. Failing to follow proper Netiquette can result in a grade of "F" in the class so make sure you are familiar with these guidelines. Discussion Questions - List of the discussion questions you will be answering on the discussion board. Grading Criteria - *Important* This is the criteria I will use when grading assignments. This information will help you know what to expect when completing your assignments. No surprises that way. About Me - A little bit of background information about me, as well as my teaching philosophy. Online Tutoring - Use this link to enroll in online tutoring. Make sure you list Introduction to Business as one of the courses you are enrolled in. Below are a few additional items you need to read. They will help you understand what is required in this course. Case Studies: There are four case studies in our class. Make sure you
follow my grading criteria so you can get the most points possible from each
case.
Business Plan: You will be creating a business plan in our class. Chapters Six to Twelve in your textbook cover various components of the plan. I
would like to encourage you to read my lectures during these weeks because I will try to make the development of a business plan a little easier for you. If
you use my guidelines in the lectures to build your plan you can do it one piece at a time and it will not seem so overwhelming then if you try to do it all at
once. Keep up with the Business Preparation assignments as these are designed to help you acquire the information you will need for your completed plan. Quizzes: The password for all our class quizzes can be found on our
class discussion board. Midterm Exam: The midterm exam will consist of 50 multiple-choice questions
and 10 essay questions. The midterm exam will be taken at home.
You will first need to read and complete the Interactive Syllabus. This syllabus will familiarize you with what is expected in this class and what you can expect of me. Your completed syllabus is worth five points toward your Week One class participation grade. Please take a few minutes and go to our class discussion board. Post an introductory message about yourself. I have posted some suggestions on the board to help you do this. Read some of the postings of your fellow students. We can all get to know a little about each other this way. This assignment is worth five points toward your
Week One class participation grade. You will be creating a Business Plan in this class. Think about what type of
business you would like to start or would like to create a business plan for.
Post you business idea to the discussion board under the appropriate area of the
board. This assignment is worth five points toward your Week One class participation grade.
Final Exam: The final exam will consist 75 multiple-choice questions and 10 essay questions. The essay questions will be taken at home and submitted before the multiple-choice portion of the exam can be taken. The multiple choice portion of the final exam must be taken at the final exam meeting or via an instruction-approved proctor. See the Interactive Syllabus for further details.
Questions: If you have a question concerning this class, please send me an email with the phrase MGMT 7 - Question in the subject line. Doing this will help ensure your questions are not blocked by my spam detector.
Reading Assignments: You will need to read both my online lectures and the assigned chapters in your textbook to successfully complete this course. The assignments and exams will be based on both.
Required Time: I recommend you plan on spending approximately 6 to 7 hours each week for this course.
Late Assignments: All late assignments will receive a ten percent reduction in grade.
Computer Labs: Please free to use the Barstow College Computer Labs if needed. See the Computer Lab Schedule for the hours the lab is opened.
Office Hour: If you need an immediate answer to a question my office hour is the best time to contact me. My office hours are:
Tuesday from 5:15 pm to 6:15 pm
In addition to my office hours, I will also check my email every morning except for Sundays and holidays. I will make every effort to respond to your questions by the following morning.
Subject lines: Please use the appropriate subject line when submitting an assignment. I will include this subject line in any assignment that requires one.
My Concluding Remarks
Please keep in mind that it can be easy to get behind in an online course. Hence, it is important that you do not put off getting started. I am looking forward to spending the following nine weeks with you in our virtual classroom. Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have. I am available for you and want to do my part to assist you in successfully completing this course.
Mrs. RL
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