Penn state harrisburg

http://www.psu.edu/ufs/policies/47-00.html#47-60.

Students are responsible for all the work of the course, which includes class lectures, readings, exams and quizzes, a short paper, and participation in class discussions. Some students may be unclear on the concept of participation. To clear up any misunderstandings, participation in discussion requires an active and vocal or, on occasion, written response to questions posed in class. Students do not receive participation credit for only attending discussions. Participation is graded on the basis of quality and frequency of comments. To receive credit for comments students need to show knowledge of the readings and that they have thought about them and the questions I have asked about them. Many questions posed have many possible answers and all I ask is that you do the readings and make an effort to discuss them in some way. Those students who choose not to participate in class discussions (or those who choose to not attend them) will lose points from their grade for their failure to participate. Participation makes up 10% of your total grade.

There will be 6 quizzes during the semester; most will be in class, some out of class, and some will be taken on Angel; some will be mandatory and others will be “optional.” Most of them will focus on the readings, but some will cover material that is on Angel or presented in class. “Most” of the quiz dates will be announced in this syllabus, but “some” will not be announced. Quizzes are very important feedback for you and me. They let both of us know how well you are learning the material. They are also timely reminders of the need to keep up with your history readings and assignments. Finally, they make-up 20% of your final grade and can have a significant impact on your class grade.

Each student will be required to write a short paper on one of the assigned textbooks --- Oil & Ice: A Story of Arctic Disaster and the Rise and Fall of America’s Last Whaling Dynasty. This book is about the whaling industry in America during the mid-1800s. At one time America had the largest and most profitable whaling industry in the world. It was the fifth largest industry in the USA in the 1850s. America dominated this industry and had superior technology, markets, human resources, leadership, and capital. Yet, the industry crashed! We will study the reasons for the rise and fall of this industry. The oil industry is one of the largest and most dynamic, global industries. There are numerous events in this industry --- people, wars, monopolies, oil discoveries, fortunes, etc. You are required to write a short research paper (8-9 double-spaced, typed pages) on some aspect of the whaling industry --- technology, ships, markets, important participants, whaling towns and communities or the oil industry --- people, fortunes, discoveries. This is NOT a book report. This paper requires research from other sources and analysis of this information. You are required to submit your topic to me for approval. Below is a grading rubric for the paper. Also see paper outline on the course Angel site. Both of these items are helpful, so it is best to study them before beginning this project.

There will be a mid-term (25% of your total grade) and a final exam (35% of your total grade). Both of these exams will consist of 3 or 4 discussion questions. You will be expected to write at least 2 or 3 significant paragraphs to answer each question. The rubrics below highlight how your essay answers will be graded. Please see exam guide on the course Angel web site. It will provide you with a prior exam question and answer.

Week 1
8/25: Introduction, Themes, and Objectives.

Conal Furay and Michael Salevouris, The Methods and Skills of History, (Arlington Heights, IL: Harlan Davidson, 1988), Chapter1.

George David Smith and Laurence E. Steadman, “The Present Value of Corporate History,” Harvard Business Review, 59:6 (November/December 1981): 164-173.

Alfred D. Chandler Jr., et al, “Why History Matters to Managers,” Harvard Business Review, 64:1(January/February, 1986): 81-88.

Nichols Book: Oil & Ice: read pages 1-50.

8/27: Lecture on the whaling industry and economic systems.

Topics: Economic systems: What are the major economic systems that were in operation during the Colonial period? Why did the American whaling industry rise and fall?

Lecture --- Systems include --- colonialism, mercantilism, physiocracy, and classical capitalism.

Nichols Book: Oil & Ice: read pages 51-105.

Week 2 (9/1-9/3) {Drop/Add Ends, 9/3};
9/1: Topics: Boston, New York City and Philadelphia merchants in colonial era. Plantation businessmen in colonial era. Artisans and manufacturers in the colonial era. Peddlers in the colonial era. American work ethic. The Navigation Acts. The close of the Colonial Period.
Summary: The colonists' first regular work was raising food for themselves, and throughout the colonial period this was the main occupation of many families. A European company that sent colonists to America, however, expected a return on its investment. There were those among the settlers, also, who hoped to win a fortune in the New World. Consequently, commercial activities were an important part of colonial life.
Read & Discuss:

Blackford & Kerr, Business Enterprise, Introduction and Chapter 1.

			After the Revolution When Martha Ballard began her diary in 1785, the Revolutionary War had been over for just a year. The states, still a confederation and almost entirely agrarian, had a total population of under 4 million. The former colonies were struggling through a major economic depression and just beginning to understand how to operate outside the confines of British rule. By the time of Ballard's last entry, in 1812, the United States, now organized under a central, constitutional government, had a population of 10 million people. The nation had changed dramatically in just under thirty years. The transition, however, was not an easy one, for either the military, political, and business leaders who had led the colonies to independence or for ordinary citizens like Martha and Ephraim Ballard.

4 recent business articles from the Wall Street Journal (wsj.com). You read any article from the front pages of the three sections.

Blackford & Kerr, Business Enterprise, Chapter 2.
Week 3 (9/8-9/10)
9/8: Topics: The Origins of the British North American Empire
Summary: Three types of colonies existed in the British Empire in America during the height of its power in the 18th century. These were charter colonies, proprietary colonies and royal colonies. After the end of the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815), British territories in the Americas were slowly granted more responsible government. In 1838 the Durham Report recommended full responsible government for Canada, but this was not fully implemented for another decade. Eventually, with the Confederation of Canada, the Canadian colonies were granted significant autonomy and became a self-governing Dominion in 1867. Other colonies in the Americas followed at a much slower pace. In this way, two countries in North America, ten in the Caribbean, and one in South America have received their independence from the United Kingdom. All of these are members of the Commonwealth of Nations and nine are Commonwealth realms. The eight remaining British overseas territories in the Americas have varying degrees of self-government.
Read & Discuss: Angel-Course Readings:

Business and Economics Encyclopedia Articles - Some of these will be tough going, give yourself time to read them. It might be slow going.

Ronald F. Duska and Julie Anne Ragatz, “Business, Purpose of,” Encyclopedia of Business Ethics and Society, ed. Robert W. Kolb. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc., 2008) 1:210-216;

Gale Virtual Reference Library, Roger L. Luft, “Economics,” Encyclopedia of Business and Finance, ed. Burton S. Kaliski, 2nd ed. (Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007) 1:223-227; Gale Virtual Reference Library Christopher J. Castaneda, “Capitalism," History of World Trade Since 1450, ed. John J. McCusker, (Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2006) 1:103-108;
9/10: Topics: The Origins of the British North American Empire. Wealth of Nations.
Summary: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, generally referred to by its shortened title The Wealth of Nations, is the magnum opus of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith. First published in 1776, the book offers one of the world's first collected descriptions of what builds nations' wealth and is today a fundamental work in classical economics. By reflecting upon the economics at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the book touches upon such broad topics as the division of labor, productivity, and free markets.
Read & Discuss:

Adam Smith and The Wealth of Nations (Wikipedia).

By the time of the American Revolution (1775-1783), the status of slave had already become a caste associated with African ancestry, contributing to a system and legacy in which race played an influential role. At the time the United States Constitution was ratified (1789), a relatively small number of free persons of color were among its voting citizens. After the Revolutionary War, abolitionist laws and sentiment gradually spread in the Northern states; in addition, as most of these states had a higher proportion of free labor, they abolished slavery by the end of the 18th century, some with gradual systems that did not free the last slave until the late 1820s. But the rapid expansion of the cotton industry from 1800 in the Deep South after invention of the cotton gin led to the Southern states to depend on slavery as integral to their economy. They attempted to extend it as an institution into the new Western territories, believing that slavery had to expand, or it would die; they dreamed of annexing Cuba as a slave, plantation-based territory. The United States was polarized over the issue of slavery, represented by the slave and free states divided by the Mason–Dixon line, which separated free Pennsylvania from slave Maryland and Delaware.