COURSE POLICIES

[ Home ] [ Announcements ] [ Course Policies ] [ Assignments ] [ Classnotes ]

Instructors

Course Overview & Objectives

Teaching (Learning) Philosophy

Course Materials

Class Procedures

Course Grading

Problem/Case Write-Ups

Hallmarks of Good Writing

Instructors

Professor

Clifton Brown
274 Wohlers Hall
333-2849
ce-brown@uiuc.edu
Office Hours:  1-3PM, Tue & Thurs

Teaching Assistant

Sam Han
205 Survey
333-6412
shan3@uiuc.edu
Office Hours:                 

Course Overview & Objectives [Top of Page]

This course studies the concepts, methods and uses of managerial accounting information with an emphasis on decision making and control in organizations.  Learning objectives include: (1) understand basic processes employed by managers to control business processes and to achieve organization objectives and strategies,   (2) understand information measurement and communication methods employed in management control and accounting information systems, and (3) analyze and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of management control and accounting information systems.

Teaching (Learning) Philosophy [Top of Page]

Learning is a process of construction.  That is, knowledge is a state of understanding in the mind of the individual knower and must be constructed by each individual through iterative processes of experimentation/application and reflection on the outcomes of such experimentation/ application.  Thus, learning is a process involving interaction among students and between students and the instructor.  Accordingly, you have the right to expect the following from me as your course instructor:

1. Personal concern for your education and development as a professional,
2. Fairness and honesty,
3. Openness to your ideas and opinions, and
4. Personal commitment to excellence in scholarship.

Correspondingly, I expect the following from you as my student:

1. Thorough preparation of assignments (both reading and written) for each class,
2. Class attendance and active class participation,
3. Active participation in and contribution to group projects,
4. Fairness and honesty,
5. Openness to the ideas and opinions of others, and
6. Personal commitment to excellence in scholarship.

Course Materials [Top of Page]

1. Jerold Zimmerman. Accounting for Decision Making and Control, 4th edition. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2003 (available in campus bookstores).

2. Criteria of Control Board. Control and Governance No. 1: Guidance on Control. Toronto, CA: The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, 1995 (available in campus bookstores).

3. Michael Porter. What is Strategy? Harvard Business Review, November-December 1996, pp. 61-78 (available on UIUC Library Electronic Reserves).

4. Case and problem assignments available for download in Adobe Acrobat format in the Assignments section of the course website.

Class Procedures [Top of Page]

This course uses problems and cases to emphasize and develop the important skills of learning from experience. These skills are the skills of discovery.  Discovery learning skills include problem identification, information search and evidence evaluation - all leading to understanding - and communication of one's understanding to others. Professional accountants, as all professionals, must develop these discovery skills to enable a lifelong process of learning and growth.

Much of your prior school learning experiences may have focused on knowledge repetition and technique practice questions typically found at the end of textbook chapters. You may feel a sense of frustration with cases that focus on more real-world situations. Many case questions are open-ended and have no straightforward, simple solutions. But the rewards for students engaged in problem-based and case learning lie in developing and honing their skills of discovery and communication.

Problems and cases are meant to stimulate inductive reasoning - the reflective reasoning from observations and particulars to statements and theory that we can use more generally.  That is, knowledge that we can use in situations other than the specific problem or case in which it arises. The inductive risk, however, is that such knowledge is only probable and thus, contains an element of falsity.

The key to successful problem- and case-based learning is PAPA:  preparation, attendance, participation, and attitude. The process of problem- and case-based learning consists of four steps: 

1. Individual analysis and preparation. Students who learn the most from problem-based assignments are those willing to become immersed in the case, engaging in the various roles and issues that the case portrays. By actively studying the case, the student practices discovery skills necessary to develop effective plans of action. Be prepared to discuss the assignment in class. In many instances, you may need to consult sources other than the assigned reading. Also, reading assignments "accumulate" over the term - do not "forget" earlier readings when thinking about a current assignment. Work to integrate the readings as you move through the term.
2. Informal small group discussion. The collective resources and efforts of a group generally far exceed that of an individual. You should form an informal study group of three or four students to meet and discuss individual analyses of each case prior to the general class discussion of the assignment. The skills required to work effectively and efficiently in a group are as important to today's professional accountants as are personal discovery skills. In order for groups to function well, you should discuss and agree on a set of behavioral guidelines (i.e., what the group expects of each group member) and you should consider the consequences to members who fail to follow these guidelines. One fundamental guideline should be that each group member expects and values contributions from every group member. 
3. Classroom discussion. Generally, the instructor will act as the classroom discussion moderator. As moderator, the instructor guides students through the key conceptual and problem-solving issues without pre-judging the correctness of students' contributions. Core decision-making processes are analysis, choice and persuasion. By participating in an involved, conscientious manner, the student learns to choose and articulate a position.
4. End-of-class generalization. The reading assignments provide information and techniques. The problems and cases provide simulated experience in the application of the information and techniques. But learning requires generalization. At the end of each class discussion, the instructor will draw together what he believes are the important conceptual and problem-solving issues that the assignment presents. But is the responsibility of students to reflect on these generalizations and to attempt to further generalize their learning by integrating what they learn from earlier problems and cases with the generalizations from the current assignment. Learning is a very difficult process - it is recursive (i.e., observe, theorize, test, reflect, observe, . . .) and it is never over until you hear the angels singing. 

Course Grading [Top of Page]

Problem/Case Write-ups [Top of Page]

Written assignments should be typed, single spaced with 1" margins, and in type and font similar to 12-point Times New Roman. Page limitations are no more than two pages not including tables, charts and graphs.  

Problem/case write-ups should be in memo format (download an approved memo form in Word for Windows).   Although our primary focus is on content, writing style and composition are also important to business success. The Hallmarks of Good Writing discusses criteria for writing style and composition, as well as incorporating  tables, graphics and exhibits in reports.  You should follow these criteria in preparing your case/problem write-ups.

Problem/case write-ups are due in class on the day that the class discusses the assigned problem/case.  See the appropriate Assignment Write-up Schedule (Section A or Section B) for the problems/cases you are responsible to turn-in for grading.