To: Majors and Prospective Majors in the Department of Management and Business
From: Christine Page, Chair
Date: October 1, 2009

As you begin to think about your next semester, take some time to think out to the end of your Skidmore career. A little planning now can save you from anguish later. Here are some things to think about.

ADVISING WEEK

Registration starts on November 2nd. Please meet with your academic advisor well ahead of your registration date. Be prepared for this meeting. It's your responsibility to check your progress on your all-college and major requirements by reviewing your Degree Audit (available to you online), which you should print and take with you to your advisor meeting. If you have questions about what you need to do for the business major, check the Skidmore College catalog and/or the Departmental web page.

Importantly, only your advisor can lift your "advising hold." Your advisor is not a "rubber stamp." The two of you should spend some time talking about how you are doing and what your academic plans are. Often your advisor will have some insightful advice about your program of study. Take advantage of this.

COURSE SEQUENCING

After MB107 we generally recommend that you take MB234 Foundations of Accounting I. This gives you greater flexibility in scheduling future classes, particularly if you study abroad. You should also take EC 103 Introduction to Macroeconomics and/or EC 104 Introduction to Microeconomics early in the sequence as they provide context for all your classes. Of course, you should also take MB 214 Marketing and MB 224 Organizational Behavior in your first or second year.

Here is the required sequence of the courses that build on each other and are necessary (in addition to others) to complete the major.

1) MB 107 Business Organization and Management
2) MB 234 Foundations of Accounting I
3) MB 235 Foundations of Accounting II
4) EC237/MS104 Statistical Methods (may be taken concurrently with MB 235)
5) MB338 Foundations of Finance
6) MB 349 Business Strategy

STUDENTS PLANNING TO STUDY ABROAD

It is never too early to start thinking about your study abroad plans; please, meet NOW with your academic advisor if you plan to study abroad next year. In preparation for such a meeting, you should review the listing of "affiliated programs" that have been approved for credit by Skidmore College. (A listing of such programs is available on the Office of International Programs website www. Skidmore.edu/ administration/int-programs.)

1) Sit down with your academic advisor to make sure that you will have satisfied all of the requirements for the major by the time you are scheduled to graduate. Remember, there is a prescribed group of courses that must be completed sequentially: you will need to factor this into your study abroad program. You should have at least completed MB 234, MB 235 and EC 237 or MS 104 before you leave if you are planning to go abroad in the spring of your junior year. It's better if you can also get your finance (MB 338) out of the way.

2) If you must complete course work away from Skidmore, it is essential that the Chair of the Department approve the courses for transfer credit before you register. You cannot take accounting, finance, or strategy outside the US.

Remember: the purpose of going abroad is to get something we don't have here at Skidmore. Pick a program that will allow you to study something other than business. The US is the premier business educator, do your business classes here and expand your horizons abroad with courses that are distinctive to the place you choose to study.

SPECIAL NOTES FOR Spring 2010

Statistics Requirement: EC237 Statistical Methods (offered in the Economics Department) is required for the Business major. You may substitute MS 104 Introduction to Statistics (offered in the Mathematics Department) to satisfy this requirement.

Foundation Courses: We are offering the following sections of our foundations courses:

MB 234 Foundations of Accounting I (3 sections)
MB 235 Foundations of Accounting II (2 sections)
MB 214 Foundations of Marketing (3 sections)
MB 224 Foundations of Organizational Behavior (3 sections)

These sections fill fast. If you have just finished MB 107 and think you might major or minor in Business, try to get into either MB 234, MB 214, or MB 224.

Coaching Course: For those of you who have an interest in serving as MB107 coaches, think about registering for MB 240, Coaching Experience. This is a one-credit course that meets once a week for an hour and offers a unique learning opportunity for students to serve as coaches for a group of students working on the MB 107 Executive Presentation Project. Please, contact Professor Harper for more details on this class. Remember this course may be taken no more than three times during your academic career at Skidmore. This course cannot be taken simultaneously with MB 316.

Elective Courses: As many of you know, not every elective course in our catalog is offered every semester. I would like to call your attention to several that will be offered in Fall 2009:

MB 190 Brand Called Me: This is an excellent 1-credit course.  The course is designed to improve students' skills in presenting herself or himself in a variety of situations related to career search.  Situations like formal job interviews, informational interviews, short impromptu presentations, formal prepared presentations, and everyday conversation regarding careers.

MB 240 Coaching and Teamwork Service Learning Experience:  This 1-credit course provides students the opportunity to serve as a coach for a group of students working on the MB 107 Executive Presentation project.  Note, this course cannot be taken simultaneously with MB 316.

MB 308 Financial Accounting 11:  The is an advanced financial accounting course continuing the study of financial accounting in MB 307.  If you have a strong interest in accounting post-Skidmore, this is a very good course to take.

MB 316 Dynamics of Leadership: The importance of team work and effective leadership in a global economy make this another good pick.  This cannot be taken simultaneously with MB 240.

MB 313 Consumer Behavior:  A great course that explores psychological, sociological, and anthropological theories related to consumer decision-making. 

MB 317 Marketing Research:  This course focuses on fundamental issues in research design and analysis. 

MB 333 Business Law I: This course examines the origin of laws, the court system, and legal procedures with emphasis on their impact in business and economic situations.

MB 334 Business Law II:  A continuation of Business Law 1, examining laws of real property, sales, will and estates, trusts, security instruments, mortgaging leaseholds, personal property, and bailments.

MB 337 Advertising and Promotions: In this class, you'll work with a real-world client to develop a comprehensive advertising campaign which will address the client's specific marketing and promotional needs. This is a good resume builder.

MB 339 Investments: If you loved finance and want more or are thinking about a career in financial services, this course is a resume builder.

MB 346 Global Sales and Merchandising Mangement: If you're interested in professional sales and merchandising in the context of dynamic international environments, this course is for you.

MB 351 "Special Topics: Not-For-Profit Marketing" -  This class investigates the unique marketing nees of nonprofits including how to "brand" a nonprofit, how to develop messages that reach a variety of stakeholders, and how to measure success when the bottom line is most often something less tangible than dollars and cents.

MB 355 Business, Ethics, and Society:  This interdisciplinary course examines the role of business in American society including ethical obligations to employees, consumers, stockholders, and others, and corporate responsibility in the community.

MB 359 Global Financial Institutions:  Given the current state of the economy and financial institutions, this course promises to be very enlightening.  It extends MB 338 (Finance) and specifically examines the role and contributions of commercial banks in the economic growth and development of nations and the world economy.