Algoma University

Department of Business &

Economics

ADMN 1016: Introduction to Canadian

Business
WINTER 2024

Instructor: Srikanth Balachandran, MBA, PMP, PSM1, SAFe® 5 Agilist

Office Hours: E-mail to book a time
E-mail: srikanth.balachandran@algomau.ca
Class Schedule: Office Hours: By appointment (in-person, phone, Skype) or 30 minutes
before class time.

Course Outline

ABOUT THE COURSE

DESCRIPTION – COURSE MISSION STATEMENT

This course will present a general overview of the business enterprise system and business
management in the Canadian context. Through a combination of lectures and class discussion the
student will gain an appreciation of the controllable and uncontrollable forces that influence the
management of a business in an ever-changing environment.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will:

 Have a full understanding of the Canadian Business environment

 Understand the functional areas of a typical business and how these functional areas
relate to and affect one another
 Be able to conduct an elementary environmental scan with respect to the effects on a
particular business

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

 Familiarize students with the Canadian and North American business environment
 Get students thinking of business as an organic, open process that must incorporate
change to succeed

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  Have students come to the realization that a team-based, systemic approach to business
operations usually results in greater success and financial gain.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

TEXTBOOK REQUIREMENTS

Nickels, W.G., McHugh, J.M., McHugh, S.M., Cossa, R., & Sproule, B. (2019), Understanding
Canadian Business 11th ed.), McGraw-Hill Ryerson, ISBN 1259654958.

PREREQUISITES

None identified.

TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS

Students will be expected to have access to the internet and have the capacity to submit
assignments electronically.

Students will be automatically enrolled in the class.

APPROACH TO TEACHING AND LEARNING

I hope that all of you will join me in transforming this course into a lively, intellectually-vibrant,
interactive seminar. In an effort to realize this, I ask each class participant (“teacher” and
“student” alike) to assume an active role in:

 Critically reading and reflecting upon course texts;

 Work to develop a welcoming classroom culture in which all participants feel “safe” to
share their perspectives on assigned readings;

As a way to engage your interest and promote authentic understanding of course material, I have
built in a number of diverse learning experiences into this course, including small group
activities, videos, student lead presentation sessions. My hope is that these learning experiences
will further enrich the overall quality of learning and understanding that we have in the course.

MARKING SCHEME

Weight %
Assignments Assignment Description Final Grade

2
 Class preparedness
& Participation Class participation in online
Discussion posts and live
sessions 10%
Assignments #1 Week 3 20%
Assignment #2 Week 10 20%
Assignment #3 Week 9 20%
Final Exam Exam 30%

STUDENT EVALUATION

MISSED TESTS and EXAMS

Quizzes will be dated prior to the course beginning. Students will be required to take each quiz
online at the predesignated times. Each quiz will consist of 20 multiple choice questions. There
will be an allotted time limit. Each quiz will be closed book.

MISSED TESTS and EXAMS

The class tests will consist of multiple choice, fill in the blank, lists and short answer questions.
There are no make-up tests or examinations in this course (the exception being if one has a
physical/learning disability that prevents them from taking the midterm). All examinations are
closed book. The percentage weight of any tests or examinations missed due to documented,
legitimate or medical reasons will be added to the percentage value of the final examination.

Class tests will deal with only the specified chapters covered. The schedule for the final exam
will be posted on CMS when determined. Students are advised to make note of the date and time
of the final exam and are expected to adjust their schedule to deal with any possible conflicts
well before the exam date.

TEST and EXAM POLICIES

The following procedures will be followed for each test and exam. Any violation of these
policies will result in a grade of 0 (zero) for the exam and possibly a grade of 0 (zero) for the
course, depending on the infraction. During the tests and final exam students are not allowed to
have the following materials: textbook, notebooks, notes, computer files, jump drives, mp3
players, cell phones, pagers, web browsers, internet websites, or any other device which can be
used to store and retrieve information to aid one on a test or exam. Non-programmable
calculators are allowed, if necessary.

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COURSE POLICIES

ATTENDANCE

Regular attendance, reading the assigned chapters in advance, and being prepared for each online
live session are essential to your success in this course. Given the importance attached to class
lectures, attendance will be monitored and AUC regulations regarding class absenteeism
exceeding 20% of classes will be enforced (Absences in excess of 20% may jeopardize receipt
of credit for the course). ONLY PERTAINS TO IN-CLASS SECTION

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Academic integrity is central to any community of scholars. The rights and responsibilities that
accompany academic freedom are at the heart of academic integrity. The university takes a very
serious view of such offences as plagiarism, cheating, and impersonation. Penalties for dealing
with such offences will be strictly enforced? The instructor reserves the right to assign a final
grade of F for these types of infractions.

The Disciplinary Regulations on Academic Dishonesty Policy is designed to preserve the

credibility of certificates, diplomas and degrees by ensuring the grade reports demonstrate the
true capability of students. This regulation shall apply to any academic work submitted by a
student to meet course requirements.

For further information, please go to:

https://employees.algomau.ca/services/wsDocuments/3154

CANCELLED CLASSES

Students are expected to monitor their AUC e-mail accounts on a regular basis as messages
pertaining to the course will be forwarded via the class alias, which automatically forwards
messages to the individual student e-mail accounts issued by AUC

TUTORIALS

N/A

Withdrawal Deadline

Please refer to the AUC Academic Calendar (on algomau.ca)

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

ITS HELPDESK

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The ITS Helpdesk offers support for CMS related problems as well as general computer or
software problems.

All IT requests be submitted through http://my.algomau.ca.

To do so, log in using your Algoma username/password and click on the "Contact IT Helpdesk"
button. If you have problems logging in, there is another "Contact IT Helpdesk" link which can
be used on the login screen (however it will not populate your personal information).
Please bookmark this website for easy access.

As a general reminder, for urgent IT requests that need to be fixed/solved as soon as possible, the
Helpdesk can be contacted at extension (x4450), otherwise submitting your request electronically
is preferred.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

ADMN 1016 - CLASS SCHEDULE

Week TOPICS COURSE WORK
Review CMS course shell Review resources
Review syllabus/overview of course Review assigned readings
1 CH01: Business environment Complete key terms assignment CH 01
Chap: 2 Economics and the effects on Review resources
business Read and take notes on CH 02
Chap: 2 Economics and the effects on Review resources
2 business Read and take notes on CH 02
Review resources
Read and take notes on CH 03
Chap: 3 Competing in global markets In-class Assignment #1
Review resources
3 Chap: 3 Competing in global markets Read and take notes on CH 03
4 STUDY WEEK STUDY WEEK
Review resources
Chap: 4 Role of government in business Read and take notes on CH 04
Chap: 5 Ethics and Social Review resources
5 Responsibilities Read and take notes on CH 05
Review resources
Chap: 6 Forms of business ownership Read and take notes on CH 06
Review resources
6 Chap: 6 Forms of business ownership Read and take notes on CH 06
7 High School Leave High School Leave
8 Chap: 7 Entrepreneurship and Starting a Review resources
Small Business Read and take notes on CH 07
Chap: 7 Entrepreneurship and Starting a Review resources

5

Small Business
Chap: 8 Management and Leadership
9 Chap: 8 Management and Leadership
CH 09: structuring organizations for
today’s challenges
CH 09: structuring organizations for
10 today’s challenges
Chap: 10 Producing world-class goods
11 Chap: 10 Producing world-class goods
Chap. 11 Motivating Employees
12 Chap. 11 Motivating Employees
Chap. 12 Human Resource Management
Chap: 13 Employee – Management
13 Issues
Chap: 14 Marketing: Helping buyers buy
14 Chap: 15 Managing the Marketing Mix
Final Project
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DO NOT PLAN ANY TRAVEL/FLIGHTS DURING EXAM PERIOD
Read and take notes on CH 07
Assignment #2 setting expectations,
due by one week
Review resources
Read and take notes on CH 08
Review resources
Read and take notes on CH 08
Assignment #2 due
Review resources
Read and take notes on CH 09,
Review resources
Read and take notes on CH 09,
Review resources
Read and take notes on CH10
Review resources
Read and take notes on CH10
Assignment #3 Setting expectations,
due by one week
Review resources
Read and take notes on CH11
Review resources
Read and take notes on CH11
Assignment #3 due
Review resources
Read and take notes on CH12
Review resources
Read and take notes on CH13
Review resources
Read and take notes on CH14
Review resources
Read and take notes on CH15
Watch pre-recorded session – Final
Project samples and expectations