Suffolk University

^11.28

After chatting with a few of you during the past two days, I thought it might be helpful to offer all of you these clarifications!

In certain of my other classes, final presentations are relatively large-scale events with formal dress requirements. But this will be different; please feel free to dress casually and be prepared to simply speak conversationally about your work.

However, please keep in mind that (to keep things flowing smoothly) I am going to enforce a four minute time limit for each presenter. We'll meet at 4:30, hold a brief round of introductions, and ask each of you to present your work. Then we'll chat for 20 minutes or so about your experiences and ask Rosa for her feedback ... and then we'll wrap things up!

The term project requirements call for you to prepare a one page handout. Please keep in mind that the handout should be designed as a “handy guide” to help the audience follow your verbal presentation; it should not be prepared as a comprehensive summary of everything that you write in your paper!

Finally, please remember that a talented business professional should always be prepared to speak extemporaneously (i.e. without notes or slides) about a topic he (she) knows well if the time frame is brief. And, in my opinion, four minutes is pretty brief ... though I acknowledge that it might not feel that way while you're speaking!

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^11.21

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Well ... given that no one (not one student!) has requested a review session on Tuesday 11/27, I guess we won't need to hold one on that day! Nevertheless, please let me know if you'd like to meet with me individually at that time to discuss your work.

Your term projects are due via email in PDF format on Monday 12/3 at 8:00 pm. You will then present your work to (and discuss your work with) Dr. Rosa Abrantes-Metz of consulting firm LECG at 40 Court Street at 4:30 pm on Tuesday 12/4.

Each presentation will be limited to a duration of four minutes; in addition, the guest judge will be permitted to ask one “clarification” question of each individual.

Good luck!

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^11.03

Thank you for your outstanding participation in class on Thursday! You all sounded quite intelligent ... certainly more intelligent than your nutty professor ... and you made me proud of you! :)

As you know, I've scheduled an “optional session” for Tuesday 11.27 at 4:30 pm to help you finalize your papers. But I need your help in deciding how to prepare for it. For instance, I could walk us through my “espresso cart” sample research manuscipt, i.e. the one that is posted on my 10.27 blog entry (below). Or I could carve up the time and meet with you individually to discuss your projects. Or I could do both ... or something completely different that you may suggest.

Please let me know how you'd like to proceed. And please don't be shy ... as long as a single one of you would like to attend the session, I'll gladly be there! :)

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^11.01

Here is my latest innovation ... questions for the guest speakers! :)

DEVELOPING RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Have you ever attended a presentation where the speaker made outlandish claims based on flimsy support?

2. Have you ever felt that a speaker obviously only looked at information that supported his own view?

3. How important is it to consider opposing points of view and explicitly address them in your own presentation?

PRESENTING RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. How do you deal with the situation if the audience hasn't read your materials in advance as you expected?

2. How do you deal with the situation if the audience is obviously hostile to your recommendations?

3. How can you try to lead the audience to invite you to become involved in a follow-up project?

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^10.27

I've already posted the reading assignment for this Thursday's class in my 10.24 blog entry (below), but I also wanted to post the results of your student feedback survey and (in response to your request for more structured guidance) a sample research manuscript.

I've also added an optional class meeting date to the calendar below (see the 11.27 calendar entry) for review and practice. We'll discuss all of these issues in class this Thursday.

In the meantime, enjoy the weekend! :)

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^10.24

Hello class! I'm looking forward to our next meeting ... Thursday next week (11.01) from 1:00 to 2:15 pm at 40 Court Street. Our time is very limited, so we'll begin promptly!

The topics are “drawing conclusions” and “presenting recommendations.” To prepare for our discussion of our first topic, please read an article from Slate entitled The Search for 100 Million Missing Women. And to prepare for our discussion of our second topic, please go to the Practice Standards 400 Series of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, i.e. the series entitled Developing and Presenting the Financial Planning Recommendation.

You do not need to read all of the information on that Practice Standards page. However, I would like you to read the first part of section 400-1 (i.e. the italicized definition below the title and the following subsection entitled Explanation of this Practice Standard) and the first part of section 400-2 (i.e. again, the italicized definition and the following Explanation).

Slate article; Financial Planning standards

^10.06

Happy Columbus Day, class! I hope you're enjoying this balmy summer-like weather. :)

First and foremost, I want to let you know that I've moved up our Tuesday 11.06 @ 4:30 meeting to Thursday 11.01 @ 1:00. As we discussed in class, I did so in order to accommodate our two guest speakers that day ... but please let me know if this places an onerous burden on you!

Our next class is still scheduled for Tuesday 10.23 at 4:30 pm; we will meet again in the 2^nd floor conference room of 40 Court Street. Our guest will be Robin Gorski of Tofias, and we will discuss the development and testing of research hypotheses.

To prepare for our discussion, please read (and bring copies to class) three brief articles related to this topic. First, please read about how we develop hypotheses based on a Straw Man concept. Then read about how researchers across all professions develop solid hypotheses. Finally, read the first three sections (i.e. the ones entitled Basic Types of Research Designs, Goal Definition, and Research Questions, Hypotheses, and Null Hypotheses) in an extract from a business manual entitled Survival Statistics.

Incidentally, please keep in mind that the terms “straw men” and “null hypotheses” are generally synonymous. Also, please keep in mind that you don't need to explore all of the secondary web pages connected to these articles; just review the material on each of the three single web pages that you reach by clicking on my links (above).

Straw Man, Solid Hypotheses, and Survival Statistics articles

^09.29

Hello again, class! Our advance reading assignments and room meeting location are posted below, in my blog entries of 09.22 and 09.26.

Sometimes things happen unexpectedly, though, so I just wanted to let you know that I found a relevant article in today's Wall Street Journal entitled “The Secrets of Intangible Wealth.” You don't need to read it in advance or bring a copy to class, but I do intend to discuss it with you on Tuesday.

Enjoy the weekend!

See 09.22 entry below for assignment

^09.26

Good news! We have a room for our next class. :)

We'll meet in the Accounting Department offices on the 2^nd floor of 40 Court Street. It's a relatively small building, so just take the small stairway behind the elevator bank up a flight, and ask the receptionist to direct you to the large conference room.

I've posted the advance preparation assignment in my 09.22 entry (below). See you soon!

See 09.22 entry below for assignment

^09.22

Hello class! Here is the reading assignment for our next session, which is “set” for 4:30 pm on Tuesday, October 2^nd. I'm still working on our meeting location (hopefully one with a computer internet connection!); at the very latest, I'll post it here on this blog no later than Monday evening, October 1^st.

During our next class, we shall chat about fact gathering, i.e. defining the research question and conducting the literature review. To prepare for our “research question” conversation, please read an article that appeared in Stanford University's Graduate School of Business magazine entitled Stock Valuation Traffic Drives Internet Stock Price. Please don't worry if you don't understand much of it; we will discuss it in class together!

Then, to prepare for our “literature review” conversation, please watch the brief trailer video that appears on the web site of Harvard Law School. You'll need a computer with speakers (or a headset) to hear the conversation in the video.

I know, I know ... you might be wondering why that video is relevant to our discussion of research literature! Please bear with me as we pursue that line of conversation this week ... :)

Stanford article; Harvard video

^09.17

Welcome, class! I look forward to meeting you tomorrow. We'll begin by reviewing some administrative documents: our course calendar (below), our syllabus, and the term project requirements. We'll read about The Art of the Pitch, watch (if the technology permits us to do so) an Elevator Pitch, and discuss an article entitled “The New Battle for MBA Grads” that appears on page R1 of today's Wall Street Journal. Then we will proceed to our introductory discussion of applied business research techniques.

Our introductory discussion will focus on a pair of documents, one a chart of "Libby boxes" and the other a Wall Street Journal column from Friday 09.14 on page B1 entitled “Most Science Studies Appear To Be Tainted By Sloppy Analysis. ”

Your term paper must be submitted in PDF format. If you do not have software to convert a word processing file to PDF, here is a free online service that has been recommended to me by former students. Please note, though, that I have no relationship with the company that runs the site ... and I can't guarantee that it will always work for you!

Libby boxes, 2 WSJ articles

Tue 10.02 @ 4:30 pm

Gathering The Facts: Defining the Research Question & Conducting the Literature Review

Tue 10.23 @ 4:30 pm

Analyzing The Situation: Developing & Testing the Research Hypotheses (Tofias Visit)

Thu 11.01 @ 1:00 pm

Defending Your Position: Drawing Conclusions & Presenting Recommendations (Capstone, Zulauf Visits)

Tue 11.27 @ 4:30 pm

Optional Review Session / Practice Session

Tue 12.04 @ 4:30 pm

Final Discussions (LECG Visit)