AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
AGEC 391
FALL 2002
Instructor: Dr.
John C. Foltz
Ag Sciences Room 40I
Phones: Office - 885-6047 Home - 883-0170
E-mail: jfoltz@uidaho.edu
Office Hours: MW -- 2:00-4:00 p.m., other
times by appointment.
Secretary: Amber
Youmans
Department of Agricultural
Economics
Ag Sciences Room 39
University of Idaho
Moscow, ID 83844-2334
Phone: 208-885-6264
E-mail: ambers@uidaho.edu
Teaching
Asst.: Angel Aguiar
Ag Sciences Room 19E
Phone: Office - 885-7514
E-mail: ahaguiar@hotmail.com
Class
Schedule: Section 01 M 2:30-3:20 AG SCI 138
Section 02 W 2:30-3:20 AG SCI
138
TV Broadcast:
Local Cable Channel 8 -- M W 8:00
p.m. each week.
Videotapes:
Videotapes are also available
for checkout at your own
pace. I have outlined a
suggested lecture schedule at the
bottom of the syllabus. It
follows a Monday, Wednesday
lecture schedule. 1 set of
video lectures is available
on reserve at the University of
Idaho library for 2 hour
use; 2 sets are available for 1 day
checkout from the
Department of Agricultural
Economics and Rural Sociology
on campus. However, a friendly
reminder from your
professor -- DO NOT GET BEHIND!!
Keep up with the
lecture material -- it will make
your life easier come
exam time.
Text: The following
text is available from the University of
Idaho bookstore.
Phone: 208-885-7334
Downey, W. David and Steven P.
Erickson, Agribusiness
Management, McGraw-Hill, 2nd Edition, 1987.
A Case Study packet will be
available for purchase from
my secretary for $6.00.
Web
site: http://www.uidaho.edu/ag/agecon/391/agec391.html
Objectives: 1.
To acquaint the student with the general area
of business management with an orientation
towards agribusiness.
2. To create and/or stimulate
interest in businesses,
problems of management,
and the basic principles of
management.
3. To help the student
understand and obtain a degree
of competency in using
specific tools and
techniques of analysis
for solving management
problems.
Grading: Your
grade will be determined as follows:
Possible
Points Weight
Class Participation 130 15%
Online &
In-class
Agribusiness Management
Simulation 50 25%
2 Case Studies 200 15%
2 midterm exams 200 30%
Final Exam 100 15%
680
100%
Letter
grades will be assigned as follows:
Your
total points on each component of the course/total possible points x weight,
then
these component "percentages" are summed and graded on the following
scale:
Percent
of Total Points Letter Grade
90-100% A
80-89.9% B
70-79.9% C
60-69.9% D
Below
60% F
You can
use the grade sheet found at the end of the syllabus to keep track of your
grades.
This breakdown is meant to provide a general gauge so you may assess your
performance
in my class. Based upon overall class
performance, adjustments
may be
made at the end of the semester. Such
adjustments will not raise the
minimum
requirements for a particular grade. If
you have any questions about
your
grade during the semester, feel free to discuss them with me at any time.
Mid-Term
Examinations
Mid-term
examinations will be given on the dates listed on the schedule below and
are
worth 100 points each. Examinations
will cover material from lectures, class
handouts,
homeworks and assigned readings. All mid-term exams will cover material
presented
since the previous exam, and are not comprehensive. Exam questions will
be both
objective type (multiple choice, True-False, etc.) and subjective type
(short
answer and essay). Any exam missed
without permission for a make-up is
scored
as a zero (see discussion of make-up exams).
Copies of old exams are
available
on the class web site.
Final
Examination
A
non-comprehensive final exam will be given.
Format of the final will be similar
to the
mid-terms.
Make-up
Examinations
Make-up
exams are a privilege not a right.
Treat them as such. If you must
miss
an
examination, clear it with me in advance and obtain permission for a make-up.
Call if
necessary (home or office), but inform me in advance! Only in clear-cut
emergencies
will a make-up be given without prior approval.
Homework/Case
Studies
There
will be 2 written case studies due during the semester. The remainder of the
case
studies are to be read PRIOR to coming to your recitation section – to prepare
for
in-class discussion. A calendar for
these assignments is available on the
class
web site. ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE ON THE
DATE LISTED. You are encouraged to work
in
groups to facilitate understanding, but you must turn in your own work.
General
Rules
1. I
expect academic honesty from everyone -- this means turning in your own
homework assignments, and no cheating on
exams. Any indication of behavior
contrary to my expectations will be referred
immediately to the proper
administrative authorities.
2. The
format of this class is probably significantly different than classes
that you have taken in the past. The use of the technology does allow you a
variety of ways to access the course
material (videotapes, web site).
However,
it does have the downside of limiting our interaction to some
extent regarding lecture material. However,
recent classes have found the
class to actually be more interactive than
a typical lecture class,
due to our discourse regarding the case
studies during the recitation
sections and the use of the WebCT On-line
threaded discussion. I
encourage e-mail, and will attempt to
answer it as quickly as possible.
You may also feel free to call me on the
phone.
3.
During lecture, I invite open discussion.
However, if you wish to
conduct a side conversation with someone in
the class, do it outside of class.
Respect the rights and opinions of others
and demonstrate a professional
Level of courtesy.
4. CELL
PHONES – if your cell phone rings during lecture or an exam, please
turn it off immediately and do not answer
it. IF YOU ANSWER YOUR CELL PHONE,
YOUR GRADE FOR THE CLASS WILL BE LOWERED
ONE LETTER!
5. If I
make a mistake in grading, please tell me about it immediately. This
includes both arithmetic errors and
questions about my evaluation of your
test and case study answers. I am happy to entertain a discussion about
anything I grade up to one week after it is
returned to you. After one
week, your grade stands as given.
AGEC 391
Lecture and Reading Schedule
Downey Video
Week
or date Topic Chapter Lecture
Aug. 26 Introduction to course &
instructor 1
or
Aug. 28
I. ROLE & ORGANIZATION
OF AGRIBUSINESS
Sep. 2
LABOR DAY HOLIDAY
Sep. 4 A. Agribusiness in Perspective 1
2
Sep.
9 B.
Managing the Agribusiness 2 3
Sep.
11 C. Organization of an Agribusiness 3 4
Sep. 16 D. Co-ops in Agribusiness
4 5
II. FINANCIAL MGMT. &
CONTROL OF
THE AGRIBUSINESS
Sep. 18 A. Economics for Managers
5 6
Sep. 23 A. Economics for Managers, cont.
5 7
Sep. 25 B. Understanding Financial Statements
6
8
The Balance Sheet
Sep. 30 B. Understanding Financial Statements
6
9
The Income Statement
Oct. 2 C. Analyzing Financial Statements 7 10
Oct. 7 C. Analyzing Financial Statements 7 11
WEEK
OF OCT. 7 FIRST EXAM IN YOUR RECITATION
SECTION
Oct. 9 D. Financing the Agribusiness
8 12
Oct. 14 D. Financing the Agribusiness
8 13
Oct. 16 E. Tools for Controlling the
9 14
Agribusiness
Oct. 21 F. Tools for Mgmt. Decisions
10 15
in Ag Business
Oct. 23 G. Strategic Planning in
Agribusiness - 15a
III. MARKETING IN
AGRIBUSINESS
Oct. 28 A. The Ag Marketing System
11 16
Oct. 30 B. Mkting. Mgmt. in the
12 17
Agribusiness Firm
Nov. 4 C. Tools for marketing decisions
13 18
Nov. 6 D. Selling in Agriculture
14 19
WEEK
OF NOV. 11 SECOND EXAM IN YOUR
RECITATION SECTION
Nov. 11 E. The Selling Process 15 20
Nov. 13 E. The Selling Process
15 21
IV. OPERATING THE AGRIBUSINESS
Nov. 22 FALL BREAK
- Dec. 1
Nov. 18 A. Production Planning
16 22
Nov. 20 B. Controlling Production 17 23
V. HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
Dec. 2 A. Personnel Management
18 24
Dec. 4 A. Personnel Management
18 25
Dec. 9 B. Managing Human Resources in
19 26
Agribusiness
Dec. 11 B. Getting Started in Agribusiness 19 27
Management
MONDAY
DEC. 16 FINAL EXAM 3:30 - 5:30 P.M. AG SCI 138
AGEC 391
FALL 2002
Assignment Actual Possible
Case Study
Discussion _____ 100
Speakeasy On-Line
Discussion _____ 130
Total _____ 230 X .15 = _____
Oral Report _____ 100
Written Report _____ 100
Teammember
Evaluations _____ 10
Total _____ 210 X .25
= _____
(Your evaluation by
your teammates may be used to adjust this portion
of your grade within
15% at the discretion of the instructor)
#1 _____ 100
#2 _____ 100
Total _____ 100 X .15
= _____
#1 _____ 100
#2 _____ 100
Total _____ 200 X .30
= _____
Final Exam
_____ 100 X .15
= _____
TOTAL
_____