DMBA 620 9044 Effective Financial and Operational Decision Making (2175)
FACULTY CONTACT
Gregory Worden Gregory.Worden@faculty.umuc.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Prerequisite: DMBA 610. A study of sound decision making in business, focusing on financial analysis and operational issues found in every enterprise. Discussion covers economics, financial reporting and analysis, information systems, and project management in an international context. The goal is to understand and apply the principles and techniques of effective management planning, control, and decision making in the global environment.
COURSE INTRODUCTION
Welcome to DMBA620 – Effective Financial and Operational Decision Making
This is the second 6credit course in the Dual MBA program, in which we we explore the organizational processes that support strategic objectives in the modern global environment. Focus is on project management and financial analysis as key processes that allow an organization to function effectively.
Please note that each class week begins on a Monday and ends on the subsequent Sunday at 11:59 p.m. US Eastern Time.
The last date to withdraw from this course may be found online at: http://www.umuc.edu/withdrawals (http://www.umuc.edu/withdra wals).
COURSE OUTCOMES
At the end of this seminar, students should be able to:
1. Understand the economic environment of management decisionmaking.
2. Interpret financial statements to aid decisionmaking by organization stakeholders.
3. Implement effective financial reporting and evaluate performance of organization units.
4. Make effective financial decisions based upon analysis of cash flows.
5. Implement effective financial analysis and value financial assets
6. Facilitate the implementation of business strategy and evaluate the strategy performance of organization units.
7. Identify a project in contrast to an ongoing process and apply selected project management techniques to improve operational decision making.
8. Determine the key factors that establish an organization's operational efficiency and effectiveness and apply them to effective operational decision making.
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9. Assess the uses of information systems in support of operational decision making in an organization.
10. Assess the uses of operations management techniques in improving an organization's performance.
CORE LEARNING OBJECTIVES
(Check all core learning objectives that apply to each course objective)
Professional Certifications
In addition to fulfilling its seminar objectives, DMBA 620 seeks to enhance the careers of aspiring project managers, operations managers and information systems managers, and in line with the University’s overall focus on the professional and academic advancement of students, exposes students to concepts and skills required for the Project Management Professional, Project+, Certified ScrumMaster, Certified Supply Chain Professional, Certified Quality Engineer, and Certified Software
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Development Professional and offered by the Project Management Institute, Computing Technology Industry Association, Scrum Alliance, APICS The Association for Operations Management, American Society for Quality and IEEE Computer Society, respectively. For instance, the project management portion of DMBA 620 follows the nine knowledge areas of project management defined by the Project Management Institute and tested in the Project Management Professional certification examination. Often your faculty members will have attained one or more professional certifications, and you can ask what these certifications have meant to them.
DMBA 620 does not correlate with requirements for any accounting, economics or finance professional certifications. However, DMBA 620 imparts a practical grasp of key topics in these disciplines, in order to support development of sound decisionmaking skills.
COURSE MATERIALS
Click to access your course materials information (http://webapps.umuc.edu/grcmBook/BPage.cfm?C=DMBA%20620&S=9044&Se m=2175)
CLASS GUIDELINES
Preparation:
Review and adhere to UMUC MBA program student expectations:
1. Review and honor all UMUC, TGS and MBA policies listed in the syllabus.
2. Invest approximately 20 hours throughout the week in each 6credit graduate seminar.
3. Complete readings and research in advance of each week.
4. In weeks when discussion contributions are required, post by the specified date or, when there is no date indicated, sufficiently early to allow you and others to develop a substantive scholarly discussion.
5. Consistently demonstrate professionalism in your interactions with peers and faculty.
6. Produce high quality, original work that properly cites the words and ideas of others.
7. Uphold the integrity of your UMUC MBA degree by not plagiarizing or cheating.
8. Accept feedback and suggestions with an open mind, taking time to reflect, and then using what you have learned to further improve your performance in future assignments.
9. Notify your professor immediately if you confront a personal emergency that puts you at risk of submitting a late assignment.
10. Honor the principle that “everything written or said within the classroom stays within the classroom.”
11. Stay current on Class News and postings by visiting your online classroom regularly.
Classroom Management:
LEO classroom is main source of information and communication in this course. The class is organized into weekly modules. Assignments and deliverables are explained and specified in each module. Faculty provide prompt and constructive feedback on students' deliverables in approximately one week following their submission.
If you have questions about the subject matter, if you don’t understand an assignment, or you have questions about a grade you received, contact your faculty member. He or she is there to help you understand the material, your grade, and how you may improve your performance in this seminar.
You should prepare and save all your assignments, including all discussion activities, on your computer before you post them to the classroom. You should never type your assignment directly into the classroom. If your computer crashes or if you are disconnected from the Internet before you finish posting your work, you will lose everything you have not saved. In addition, shortly after the seminar is over you will no longer have access to any of the materials you posted in the classroom.
Preferred Contact Method
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See the Faculty Information section located under Course Content in the online classroom for information about contacting your faculty member..
Required Readings/Materials Accessible in Class
The required reading and other resources in this seminar are taken from a variety of professional and academic sources. The particular location of each resource is either linked directly or is indicated next to the resource as listed in the Weekly Reading Assignments in the Course Content area of the LEO classroom.
Some of the required articles that are not directly linked are placed in the Reserved Readings section in “Course Resources” module in the content area of your classroom and are marked RR(Reserved Readings) when listed in the Weekly Reading Assignments in each week's module in the Course Content area of the LEO classroom.
Faculty may assign additional readings or support materials during the course of the seminar.
Accessing Articles in the Web Databases
Articles available in the ABI/Inform Global (A) and Business Source Complete (B) databases will be helpful for research in this seminar. Such articles can be accessed through the UMUC library web page (http://www.umuc.edu/library/database/ (http://www.u muc.edu/library/database/)). This database is part of the University System of Maryland Library Databases and EJournals. Instructions have been prepared to help find articles in the databases? to see them, visit http://info.umuc.edu/mba/public/MBAlibra ry.html (http://info.umuc.edu/mba/public/MBAlibrary.html).
Supplemental Materials
There are some interesting web sites of relevance to this seminar in the Webliography area of the classroom (accessed under Course Content). You are encouraged to add to this list as you come across websites that you find useful for a particular topic. When you add a web site to the Webliography, please send an email to the professor and the rest of the class letting them know about the website, as well as what you found interesting about it.
Use of Webex or Other RealTime Session Support Software
UMUC has authorized the use of Webex or other realtime session support software, such as Google, as an option for faculty to use in supporting the learning experience. The guidelines for the use of real time support software are:
Attendance at any actual realtime, i.e., live session, is optional. UMUC respects the fact that your work schedule or other activities may not permit you to attend.
If you do not attend an announced realtime session, then you are expected to view the session archive (recording) at your convenience but before the due date of the related seminar assignment. This is so that you will gain the knowledge imparted at the realtime session in a timely manner and thus be “on a level playing field" with your classmates who attended the session. Please be aware that your section professor may verify that you have accessed session archives as required.
Team Communications
There are several ways in which you may communicate with your team members at minimal cost in addition to LEO system posts or email. You can use the Chat function and Pager as a form of instantmessaging in the LEO system. In addition, there are numerous free commercial applications you can use to arrange any required real time audio enabled meetings. Any of the many audio meeting applications can be used to effectively
communicate with your team members and to support real time audio discussions within your team. Regardless of the application used for team communication, a summary of all communications outside of the LEO classroom MUST BE POSTED in the team's Group locker so that faculty may track group progress and review individual contributions if necessary.
Avoiding and Preventing Plagiarism
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UMUC has a license agreement with Turnitin, an educational tool that helps prevent or identify plagiarism from internet and other sources. If deemed necessary, faculty may submit individual and/or team written assignments to Turnitin.com. It is important that you stay alert to issues of academic Integrity in your work, including the best practices for supporting your work and avoiding plagiarism. UMUC provides a number of resources and tools to help you understand and uphold academic integrity standards at:
http://www.umuc.edu/students/academicintegrity/academicintegrityresources.cfm (http://www.umuc.edu/students/academicintegrity/academici ntegrityresources.cfm)
Other forms of guidance are available in your LEO classroom under Content>Course Resources>Writing Resources. You may contact Help@UMUC for technical support if you are unable to locate your classroom resources (call 8883608682).
GRADING INFORMATION
DMBA PROGRAM GRADING GUIDELINES
With respect to team assignments, all team members will typically receive the same grade for an assignment based on the final submitted team product. However, a faculty member may adjust a person’s individual grade for a specific team assignment up or down based on the quality of his or her participation. If a team member does not make a significant or timely contribution to a team assignment, it will result in reduction of that student’s grade for the assignment.
All individual contributions to team assignments MUST BE posted in the Group Locker area, so that the faculty member may review these contributions, if necessary.
Discussion Activity
A discussion is a timedelimited activity intended to promote active discussion of the course material among students, as well as productive engagement between students and faculty on the principles and practices being introduced in the course. Each student must post at least one main posting by WEDNESDAY, 11:59 p.m., of each week and respond to all assigned discussion topics by FRIDAY, 11:59 p.m., then make final responses to classmates no later than Sunday close of the week. Late postings undercut the usefulness of the discussion design and are also unfair to those students who do actively participate within the prescribed time limits. Extensions are therefore NOT PERMITTED on discussion due dates.
If a student is unable to participate in a discussion, due to an unexpected business, health, or personal emergency beyond the student's control, the student may request that the faculty member provide an alternative assignment. Such request should be made within one week of the missed discussion activity. The student must support this request with a compelling rationale, indicating why such an action is justified. Faculty may request documentation and have discretion to grant or deny a request for an alternative assignment. Should such a request be granted, the faculty member will determine a submission due date, not to exceed one week. There will be no extensions of that due date. Failure to meet the due date will result in a grade of zero for that week's discussion activity.
All Assignments other than Discussion Activity
A faculty member may, in his or her discretion, elect to grant an extension when a student is unable to meet a due date because of an unexpected business, health, or personal emergency beyond the student's control. For such an extension to be considered, a student must make an extension request before the assignment due date (unless this is physically impossible). The student must support this request with a compelling rationale, indicating why such an extension is justified. If a faculty member grants an extension, he or she will set a new due date for submission of the assignment, not to exceed one week. There will be no extensions of the new due date.
For late assignment submissions that have not been approved by the faculty member, and for assignments submitted after an extension due date, the penalty will be a fivepoint reduction in grade for each day that the assignment is late. Faculty will not accept assignments that are more than seven days late or that are submitted after grades have been posted for that assignment? such assignments will be assigned a grade of zero.
Note that there will be no extensions for assignments due in the last week of class. Assignments submitted after these deadlines will receive a grade of zero.
Extra Credit and “Redoing” Assignments
This is a very fastpaced seminar, and assignments are due every week. The syllabus is designed to build upon each week, and the assignments are chosen carefully to develop skills and build knowledge. It is important that you do a good job on all of the assignments and that you hand them in on time. There is no "extra credit" granted to individuals in this seminar, and students will not be able to redo assignments.
Submit Original Work
You are encouraged to refer to and build upon the theories, concepts, and ideas explored in previous coursework. However, everything you submit must be original work written by you specifically for this seminar. Resubmission of coursework from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC), partially or in its entirety, is unacceptable unless prior approval is obtained from the instructor for the specific assignment. Using coursework from a previous class, partially or in its entirety, without explicit prior approval of your instructor, will result in a grade of zero for the assignment.
PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS
An overview of all assignments is contained in the Class and Assignment Schedule in this syllabus. Specific assignment details are posted in each week of the Course Content section of the LEO classroom. If the assignment in a given week is a discussion activity, that week’s Course Content will link directly to the discussion area? for all assignments that are not discussions, the weekly module in Course Content will link directly to the assignment section of the classroom.
Discussion Activities: There is a series of Discussion activities. Topics are posted in the Course Content weekly modules that link to the Discussion area of the classroom. Each of you is expected to discuss this topic critically in the context of the reading that you have done for that week, as well as the reading from preceding weeks. This is your opportunity to discuss the course
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material with one another, just as you would in a facetoface class. You should direct your comments to one another and not just to the professor. When responding to a Discussion activity, please use the text box. This makes it easier for the rest of the class to read what you have to say. Please do not attach files to your comments unless directed to do so.
Frequent and substantive posts are required to succeed in the Discussions. The postings should be grounded in theory from the assigned resources and industry research. Please utilize both academic and industry sources, available through UMUC library databases and open Internet resources. Class interaction should reflect your understanding of the learning material and its application to realworld organizations and industries. Detailed Discussion Participation Guidelines are posted in the Course Policies section of the Course Content.
Individual Assignments: There are six individual assignments in the seminar that you post in your Assignments folder.
Team Assignments: There are two team assignments, which are to be posted in the team's Group Assignment folder. Teams must complete a team agreement and work plan prior to the first team assignment, and a peer evaluation of team members following each team assignment. The individual contributions of each team member to the team assignment must also be posted in the team's Group Locker area, for review by faculty. Individual contributions should be stored in their original form in folders set up for each of the two weeks that require team assignments. Note that the Group discussion area is used for members to collaborate, discuss, and prepare the team assignment, which is then posted in the Group Assignment folder by one member of the team.
Team Agreement. Each team develops an initial Team Agreement to ensure selfmanagement of team activities. Additional instructions on team agreements and work plans, with templates, are posted in the Course Content area of the classroom, Week Two module.
Peer evaluations of team member contributions will be administered following each team assignment. Individual grades for team projects will not be posted until the peer evaluations are completed. Faculty may assign a 5% per day late penalty on team project grades for individuals who do not submit timely peer evaluations.
ACADEMIC POLICIES
Academic Policies and Guidelines
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
As a member of the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) academic community that honors integrity and respect for others you are expected to maintain a high level of personal integrity in your academic work at all times. Your work should be original and must not be reused in other courses.
CLASSROOM CIVILITY
Students are expected to work together cooperatively, and treat fellow students and faculty with respect, showing professionalism and courtesy in all interactions. Please review the Code of Civility for more guidance on interacting in UMUC classrooms: https://w ww.umuc.edu/students/support/studentlife/conduct/code.cfm (https://www.umuc.edu/students/support/studentlife/conduct/code.cf m).
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
UMUC is committed to ensuring that all individuals are treated equally according to Policy 040.30 Affirmative Action, Equal Opport unity, and Sexual Harassment (https://www.umuc.edu/policies/adminpolicies/admin04030.cfm).
Students with disabilities who need accommodations in a course are encouraged to contact the Office of Accessibility Services (OAS) at accessibilityservices@umuc.edu (mailto:accessibilityservices@umuc.edu), or call 800888UMUC (8682) or 240684 2287.
The following academic policies and procedures apply to this course and your studies at UMUC.
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150.25
151.00
170.40
170.41
170.42
170.71
Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism (https://www.umuc.edu/policies/academicpolicies/aa15025.cfm) – UMUC defines academic dishonesty as the failure to maintain academic integrity. All charges of academic dishonesty will be brought in accordance with this Policy.
Note: Your instructor may use Turnitin.com, an educational tool that helps identify and prevent plagiarism from Internet resources, by requiring you to submit assignments electronically. To learn more about the tool and options regarding the storage of your assignment in the Turnitin database go to: https://www.umuc.edu/l ibrary/libresources/turnitin.cfm (https://www.umuc.edu/library/libresources/turnitin.cfm).
Code of Student Conduct (https://www.umuc.edu/policies/studentpolicies/stud15100.cfm)
The following policies describe the requirements for the award of each degree:
Degree Completion Requirements for the Graduate School (https://www.umuc.edu/policies/academicpolicie s/aa17040.cfm)
Degree Completion Requirements for a Bachelor ’s Degree (https://www.umuc.edu/policies/academicpolicies/ aa17041.cfm)
Degree Completion Requirements for an Associate’s Degree (https://www.umuc.edu/policies/academicpolici es/aa17042.cfm)
Policy on Grade of Incomplete (https://www.umuc.edu/policies/academicpolicies/aa17071.cfm) The grade of I is exceptional and only considered for students who have completed 60% of their coursework with a grade of B or better for graduate courses or C or better for undergraduate courses and request an I before the end of the term.
170.72
Course Withdrawal Policy (https://www.umuc.edu/policies/academicpolicies/aa17072.cfm) Students must
edu/) under Academic Calendar.
130.80
cpolicies/aa13080.cfm) – appeals may be made on final course grades as described herein.
205.06
w.umuc.edu/policies/academicpolicies/aa20506.cfm) – Note: Undergraduate and Graduate Schools have
different Grading Policies (i.e. The Graduate School does not award the grade of D). See Course Syllabus
for Grading Policies.
* The grade of "B" represents the benchmark for The Graduate School. Students must maintain a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher. Classes where final grade of C or F places a student on Academic Probation must be repeated.
** The Graduate School does not award the grade of D.
COURSE EVALUATION SURVEY
UMUC values its students' feedback. You will be asked to complete an online evaluation toward the end of the term. The primary purpose of this evaluation process is to assess the effectiveness of classroom instruction in order to provide the best learning experience possible and make continuous improvements to every class. Responses are kept confidential. Please take full advantage of this opportunity to provide your feedback.
LIBRARY SUPPORT
Extensive library resources and services are available online, 24 hours a day, seven days a week at https://www.umuc.edu/library/i ndex.cfm (https://www.umuc.edu/library/index.cfm) to support you in your studies. The UMUC Library provides research assistance in creating search strategies, selecting relevant databases, and evaluating and citing resources in a variety of formats via its Ask a Librarian service at https://www.umuc.edu/library/libask/index.cfm (https://www.umuc.edu/library/libask/index.cfm).
LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SUPPORT
To successfully navigate the online classroom new students are encouraged to view the Classroom Walkthrough under Help in the upper right menu of the LEO classroom. Those requiring technical assistance can access Help@UMUC Support directly in LEO under the Help menu. Additional technical support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week via selfhelp and live chat at htt ps://www.umuc.edu/help (https://www.umuc.edu/help) or by phone tollfree at 888360UMUC (8682).
SYLLABUS CHANGES
All items on this syllabus are subject to change at the discretion of the Instructor and the Office of Academic Affairs.
CLASS & ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE
Course Schedule of Assignments Overview
Before beginning a discussion assignment , please make sure that you read and understand the Discussion Participation Guidelines in the Course Policies section of the Course content.
All initial contributiions must be submitted by 11:59 PM ET Wednesday , and all final contributions to discussions and all Assignments must be posted by 11:59 PM ET Sunday, unless otherwise specified.