Dakota State University
BUS 315 Credit and Collection
Spring 2002
Additional Comments
The Field of Credit and Collection
The world runs on credit. There are three main areas within finance: financial management, investments, and markets and institutions. All of them involve or use credit in one way or another. Most people in finance work in the financial management area; every business needs a financial manager. And within financial management a prominent function is credit and collection.
The Management Information System in the Course
We will use a very small management information system to manage this course, a one-course-only intranet using Web technology. This site is at http://www.courses.dsu.edu/finance/bus315/bus315.htm An intranet makes possible the fast, efficient, and timely distribution of announcements, course information, document files, student grade spreadsheets, and other material and also provides pertinent links to other Web sites both on- and off-campus. The Announcements page especially should be consulted daily. It not only allows you to receive information quicker than waiting for class, it also archives all announcements so you can be sure that you have not missed any announcements.
This Semester
This is a new course for me. Therefore I will be designing it as I go along and I am open to suggestions as to what to include, etc.
We will make at least one field trip during the semester. This will be after the two units on consumer credit and will be a tour of the consumer credit operations of Wells Fargo Financial Bank in Sioux Falls.
Class
Much of the material presented in class is found in your textbook (though there will be many supplements), and the transparencies should serve as notes to augment the textbook. Both of these materials are things you can read on your own. Class time is best spent on the more challenging material and especially in relating current events in the markets and/or in the financial, economic, and political worlds to the material being studied at the moment and to finance and credit in general. Therefore do not hesitate to ask questions in class, either about the material being studied at the moment or about finance and credit and collection in general. We will use the Web at the start of each class period to look at economic news, sites related to credit and collection, as well as updated standings in the investment contests.
Communication Skills
English is a rich, powerful language with a huge vocabulary capable of exquisite precision. English has become the de facto international language. But individual disciplines like finance and credit and collection and any other field also have languages of their own. It is just as important to master these specialized vocabularies and usages as it is to use Standard English. You will be expected to sound like you know what you are talking about.
Class Notes
I will generate a set of class notes that will help you digest the material in the course's textbook as well as include other material. I convert these notes into transparencies for class use. You can download the notes from the Web site. You could print the notes as they are but the big advantage of getting the files is that you can tailor the notes to suit your own purposes, as well as greatly reduce the size of the printouts.
Download and modify these notes before class and bring them with you. Then you can listen to the lectures and discussions and make additional notes instead of spending all your time frantically trying to copy down what is on the screen.
Study Guides
A study guide will be produced for each unit. The guide will include reading assignments and may include question and problem assignments from the textbook. They will also include a detailed set of objectives that will guide your studying for exams. Asterisks on the list indicate objectives that will definitely be on an exam. Asterisks do not apply though for the final exam.
The study guides will be available on the Web. You can view them directly, print them directly from a browser, or download the files. Again, the big advantage of getting the files rather than simply the documents is that you can tailor the files to your specific purpose. A good way to use the objectives is to insert a large blank between the objectives and then to write the appropriate answer in the blank space. The process of writing the answer helps you learn the material and once you have the filled in objectives, studying for exams becomes much easier. For some objectives, of course, you will not be able to write in the answer because it will be about a calculation to perform or a financial statement to interpret, etc.
General Procedure
Each unit has reading assignments in the textbook listed. Read these sections before coming to class, listen to the class lecture and discussion over the same material, and then go back and read the book again. Some objectives in the study guide may not be covered in class; they can be easily found by reading the textbook or consulting notes. The textbook can go into much greater detail and elaboration that there is time for in class.
Do any assigned questions and problems in the textbook. The answers to these problems will be on reserve in the library. The calculations in credit and collection can be numerous, and there will be calculations on some of the exams. Practice ahead of time is essential.
The study guides on the Web site are extremely useful for studying.
Getting Extra Help
The best tutor you can get is me. Make use of this resource. When coming in for extra help bring
a) your textbook
b) a calculator
c) the problem assignments you've attempted, when applicable
d) an open and eager mind
You can also contact me easily by e-mail. See the BUS 315 Web site: jim.janke@dsu.edu
Also feel free to discuss any aspect of finance and credit and collection with me. Sometimes the most useful, most remembered discussions can be those that didn't even pertain directly to an upcoming exam.
Selected Bibliography
Business Credit
Consumer Trends
Credit Card Management
Journal of Marketing and Public Policy
Credit World
The Wall Street Journal
ADA Statement
If there is any student in this class who, due to a disability, has need for non-standard note taking, test taking, or other course modification, please feel free to come and discuss this with me privately, as soon as possible. Also, please contact the DSU ADA Coordinator, Nancy Moose, 256-5146, located in the Student Services Center.
Attendance
It is expected that you will attend class regularly and complete assignments on time. Late reports are penalized points.
Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism, copying answers or work done by another student either on an exam or on an out-of-class assignment, allowing another student to copy from you, and using unauthorized materials during an exam. I will determine the appropriate penalty for academic dishonesty. Such penalty may include, but is not limited to, failure on an exam or assignment or failure in the course.