Beginning with the spring 2005 semester, all School of Business graduates will be required to complete a digital portfolio of their work. Note: Those who declared majors prior to the 2003/2004 academic year are exempt from this requirement. A digital portfolio offers students an opportunity to document their academic achievements in the competency and knowledge areas identified in the School of Business objectives. Students who have carefully developed career goals are better able to use their portfolio evidence make a persuasive case with potential employers. The competency and knowledge outcomes identified by the School of Business Faculty are as follows:
Knowledge areas
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Competencies
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Core values
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As you reflect on these knowledge areas, competencies and values, it is probably evident that different courses will give you varying opportunities to build and demonstrate your capabilities. Furthermore, some of the "building" processes take place every day (or at least we hope they do, as in critical thinking), but the tangible recording of your achievements happens only when you have an assignment to hand in or a presentation to make. The table below provides further information about how these outcomes are covered in the course and how you can use work from this course to build your portfolio.
| Effective use of technology & information systems | Ethical decision making | Written communication | Critical thinking |
| All the quantitative assignments in the course are done on Excel. Students completing the course will have solid competency in basic spreadsheet use, including the =IF function, financial functions, spreadsheet modeling, layout, formatting, etc. | We will study one case which has a significant ethical focus. We will reflect on the H. J. Heinz financial reporting manipulations of the late 1970s and consider the implications of such practices for managerial behavior in general. | Professional writing is required for all written work. Most of the quantitative assignment involve at least some written work in addition to the quantitative analysis. Note that these assignments will provide an opportunity for you to document critical thinking and your understanding of the results of your analyses. | Critical thinking will be an essential component of all our discussions and written assignments. The Excel case analyses require careful consideration of the data and how to use it. We will frequently address questions such as So what? What does it mean? Who cares? Why? What difference does it make? |