New Jersey Institute of Technology

School of Management
Principles of Management

Jeff Lefkowitz, MBA

MGMT 390 (105)

Telephone: 973.879.5434 (cell)

Spring 2015

E-mail: JEL25@njit.edu

Course Schedule: Thursdays 6:00p-9:05p

Room: KUPF 105

Course Materials: There is one textbook that students may acquire. This textbook will
have a few required readings and serves as an excellent resource. Additional required
course materials (including in the form of cases) will be made available on Moodle
and/or distributed in class (NB: I find free cases). Students will also need access to a
computer which has a program for making presentation decks (e.g. Powerpoint, or
similar products), and internet access. The textbook information is:
Understanding Business, Tenth Edition; Nickels, McHugh, McHugh

Course Description:
Management is the only discipline that reaches into every aspect of a contemporary
organization. This class is designed to provide insights and understanding of the broad
force of management, including those impacts on the Finances and Core and Support
Operations. After successfully completing this class, students should understand and
be able to explain the objectives below.

Objectives:
a. To define management and the impact of the organizations environment/culture
on the process of managing
b. To understand the role of ethics, responsibility, and inherent conflict of those in
management
c. To examine organizational structures, and understand benefits and liabilities
therein
d. To develop Analysis/Problem Solving skills
e. To examine different types of assets and understand how planning is resource
specific
f. To understand what it means to manage human assets
g. To understand the difference between managing Programs, Projects, and
Processes
h. To understand the critical role of Controlling
i. To recognize the difference between Managing vs. Leading
j. Students will also develop oral, written, and Powerpoint presentation skills.
Outline: Below is a general outline of the class schedule. Some topics may go
quicker or slower depending on discussions and content so be prepared and be
flexible.

Grading:
In the business world, evaluations are done based on the quality of results. For the sake
of this class we will define quality in consideration of the following:
Thoroughness: Look for the underlying question. Think it through, lay out the
problem and the solution completely.
Brevity and simplicity: Do it quickly and concisely. The only reason you are
writing is to provide information. You may be brilliant, but if it takes too long to
develop and explain your idea, you may lose your reader and fail to make your
point. Make it about communication, not art.
Accuracy: If you state a fact, be correct. One wrong fact undermines the
credibility of your entire document.
Any material being presented must be:
o Easy to read: (be very clear with your design, font, and colors)
o Professional: Branding is good, but be professional. Your presentations
are a reflection of you, and if they are silly and unprofessional then your
audience will have that impression of you.
o CORRECT.
Spelling: There is no excuse for spelling mistakes. Ever.
Grammar must be correct. On slides, phrases can be appropriate,
but they must make sense. There is no dishonor in asking
someone to double-check your work.
Grading
Attendance &
Participation
Periodic Assignments
Cases
Group Project--Group
Score
Group Project--Individual
Score
Final Exam

100
%
25%
20%
15%
10%
10%
20%

Attendance and participation: Most of this class is lecture and participation.

As such, attendance and participation are mandatory and will be a significant part
of your grade.
Attendance: Showing up on time and staying to the end of class is expected and
required. The instructor may require students to sign in at any point(s) during the
class, and credit for attendance will be issued based solely on the sign-in
sheets.
Participation: Students should contribute to this class where appropriate. While
one is expected to participate in discussions and provide their thoughts to the

class, all students are also expected to be respectful and attentive to the
instructor and the other students.
Assignments:
Each student must complete the assignments as scheduled. This will either be a
written assignment, a PowerPoint, Excel project, or a combination of these.
Unless specifically stated otherwise, work should be done in a Powerpoint-type
deck
Some of the assignments will be credit/no credit, others will have a grade. All will
be judged on thoroughness, completeness, brevity, and simplicity. Get to the
point, make the point, and finish the story.
Assignments must be uploaded to Moodle no later than the beginning of class
(upload must be time-stamped prior to 6pm). Any projects received and/or timestamped after this time will have a penalty of 30% to the grade of the
assignment. Projects submitted later than 48 hours will receive 0 credit.
Cases
We will rely extensively on cases to examine business situations. The cases will
be found on Moodle (either links or direct access to the files), and should be read
prior to the class so that you can discuss.
Additionally, each student will prepare two (2) case analyses to present to the
class. Case schedule will be selected in the beginning of the term.
Each analysis will be in Powerpoint, supported by written slide
documentation/commentary. A sample case analysis will be provided for
reference and format suggestion, but these should be YOUR projects, not a
mirror of mine.
Your case grade score will independently include your case analyses, case
presentations, and contribution to the analysis as a class member. Cases must
be available for presentation to the class at the time scheduled and may not be
presented at a subsequent class.
Group Project:
There will be one group project comprised of a well-created slide deck with a
group presentation. All members of the group will be expected to contribute to all
components. This project will provide an opportunity to analyze and provide
recommendations to a real world situation. Project details will be provided in
class in the beginning of the semester.

Final Exam:
There will be a Final Exam which will bring together the concepts covered in
lectures with your experience in the group project.
Course Policies:
Class Time and Attendance: This class is scheduled by the registrar to run
from 6pm until 9:05 pm. All students are expected to be in class and ready
through the duration. If a student has an urgent and unexpected need to leave
prior to 9:05pm, s/he is expected quietly and discreetly pack and exit, causing as
little disruption to the class as possible. Compliance with this policy is
considered part of the Attendance and Participation grade.
Email Communication: Students must use their NJIT sanctioned email address
for any written communication with the instructor. All email should contain a
subject which clearly relates to the content. If an assignment is attached, the
assignment information should be specified within the email. Note: ALL
assignments must be submitted in Moodle to receive a grade, but this option
provides an emergency backup in the event of a problem with Moodle.
Phone Communication: The instructor provides his mobile phone number on
the syllabus. Calls are welcome, but please allow for 24 hours to return a call.
Text messages are an acceptable means of communication for emergencies or
11th hour issues (i.e. problems with moodle, etc), but should not replace email
for non-emergent communication.
Instructor Slide Decks: All Instructor Slide Decks should be posted on Moodle
within 48 hours after class
Deadlines/Late Work/Makeups: Students are expected to complete work on
time. Specific details for each work type can be found within their respective
sections.
Incompletes: Incompletes will be given only to students who cannot finish the
course on time due to major reasons outside of their control (e.g. serious illness,
family tragedy, military service, etc). The school requires documentation of the
reasons for the incomplete and a description of the work needed to remove it to
be put in your file. Students may need to contact the Dean of Students office for
determination of the validity of the reasons given for not doing the work on time.
Grading Scale: This is the ONLY scale you should use to calculate grades

A
B+
B
C+
C
D
F

90.0 +
87.0 - 89.9
80.0
86.9
77.0 - 79.9
70.0
76.9
60.0 -69.9
0 - 59. 9

Homework: Assignments are required to be completed and turned in prior to the

beginning of class on the due date. If a document is not uploaded/turned in
before the instructor begins class with a date later than 6pm on the day of class,
the student will receive credit less a late penalty. Written work received more
than 48 hours after the deadline will receive a 0.
Presentations must be ready on the due date in order to receive credit.
Absentee: Each absence up to and including the third absence will result in a
discount of proportionate points to the Attendance Score. Each absence in
excess of the third will result in a further 5 point penalty against the attendance
and participation components.
Make-ups: Group project and Presentation make-ups are not feasible. If truly
extraordinary circumstances make it impossible for a student to participate in and
contribute to the group project and we cannot come to a solution that works for
the group, a replacement assignment will be given to him or her. Verification of
these truly extraordinary circumstances by the Dean of Students will be required.
Presentations: Whether instructor or student, any speaker deserves respect and
attention from the class. Any student who chooses to be disrespectful may be
asked to leave the class; in the unlikely event this should happen, it would be
considered a class absence.
Students with Disabilities: Students with disabilities needing accommodations
of any nature so as to have a fair chance to perform in the class need to contact
the counseling center. Staff at the counseling center will determine what
constitutes a reasonable accommodation and inform the instructor appropriately.
Honor Code: You are expected to follow NJITs Honor Code, which can be
found by following this link: http://www.njit.edu/academics/integrity.php.
Violations of the honor code, including academic dishonesty will be treated
appropriately.

Extra Credit: This instructor is dedicated to credibility and accountability. Those

who have read this far and find a major mistake on a deck in one of my
presentations or email will get 1 point extra credit to his/her final grade.
Examples of major mistakes include spelling errors, wholly inappropriate
(unintentional) grammar, and unreadable content. All attempts to garner extra
credit must be submitted in writing within 24 hours of the end of class with
enough specificity to act as proof and with this paragraph included (no paragraph
+ no proof = no extra credit!). Max 2 pts per student.