The Lee Kong Chian School of Business
Academic Year 2015 /16
Term 1
MGMT 300 BUSINESS CAPSTONE
TOPIC 1: APPROACHING BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE THROUGH CLASSICS
Instructor:
Title:
Tel:
Email:
Office:
Professor Pang Eng Fong
Professor of Strategic Management (Practice)
+65 68280721
[email protected]
LKCSB # 5008
COURSE DESCRIPTION
‘A good education prepares a student to dig deeply, critically, and analytically when confronted with a problem; to
be able to see the problem analytically from different points of view; and perhaps, most important, to develop a
sense of self and of personal identity in which these capacities and dispositions are well integrated’ (Rethinking
Undergraduate Business Education, Carnegie Foundation For the Advancement of Teaching, 2011) In this course we
examine the meaning of our lives as a way to develop our sense of self and ties to family, community, work and the
world. We look at how big ideas including communism, feminism and global capitalism have shaped the business
world and our lives. We pursue the search for meaning in modern life through a reading of selected texts and the
portrayal of life’s dilemmas in classic films.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course, students will be able:
• Examine the meaning of their lives and explore their futures based on an appreciation of major themes in
history and philosophy;
• Think self-reflexively about their educational, work, and social experience as business students, using
selected texts/films.
PRE-REQUISITE/ CO-REQUISITE/ MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE COURSE(S)
Please refer to the Course Catalogue on OASIS for the most updated list of pre-requisites / co-requisites for this
particular course.
Do note that if this course has a co-requisite, it means that the course has to be taken together with another
course. Dropping one course during BOSS bidding would result in both courses being dropped at the same time.
ASSESSMENT METHODS
Students will be assessed through a combination of group projects and individual contributions:
(1) Group Mid-term Project
40%
(2) Class participation
20%
(3) Reflection Essay
40%
(1) Team Project and Presentation (40%)
Students will produce a group/video presentation on readings and documentaries demonstrating a grasp of the
basic concepts explored.
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(2) Class participation (20%)
Every week students will participate in discussion of a text or film.
(3) Reflection Essay (40%)
Students will write a reflection paper discussing their total experience at SMU and relate it to themes from novels,
films or documentaries of your own choosing. The paper should not be longer than 2,000 words. Alternatively,
students may choose to produce a video to illustrate their take on issues discussed in class.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
All acts of academic dishonesty (including, but not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, facilitation of acts of
academic dishonesty by others, unauthorized possession of exam questions, or tampering with the academic work
of other students) are serious offences.
All work (whether oral or written) submitted for purposes of assessment must be the student’s own
work. Penalties for violation of the policy range from zero marks for the component assessment to expulsion,
depending on the nature of the offence.
When in doubt, students should consult the course instructor. Details on the SMU Code of Academic Integrity
may be accessed at http://www.smuscd.org/resources.html.
INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS AND EXPECTATIONS
Focus of Class
This course will allow students to examine diverse perspectives on the meaning of modern life and the role of the
individual and business in modern society. Close reading of excerpts of texts will form the focus of this class. The
professor will give an overview of the materials at the outset of each class placing them in the context of other
readings and the themes of the course. This segment will be followed by a film or documentary supporting or
extending the theme of the session.
Expectation
Students will be assessed on the quality of their argument and the depth of their introspection. This class is set up
as a discussion-based class. To support these discussions the class has the following expectations:
What the professor expects:
• The student will do the reading each week which will average 30 pages a week.
• The student will take notes on the important points of the day.
• The student will participate in class and answer questions when called upon.
What students should expect:
• The professor will explain materials and answer questions related to the prescribed readings.
• The professor will restate the important points of the day at the end of each class.
Consultation
Consultation with the professor is by appointment.
Readings and Films
Readings will be distributed electronically. Documentary films shown will be from public websites. Readings/films
are subject to change.
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WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Week 1
Philosophy: Practical or Irrelevant?
Watch:
Monty Python, Meaning of life (part 6)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucgU2DJlBiw&list=PL5988BD5DA3CA52D8&index=6
Peter Singer ‘s Ethics (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVViICWs4dM)
Examined Life: Martha Nussbaum (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbcGbflpFzI)
Read:
“Why not just weigh the fish?” by Robert Pansau
(http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/29/why-not-just-weigh-the-fish/)
Watch (before class): http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/how-live-philosophy/
Week 2
Meaning through work?
Read:
Karl Marx, Estranged Labour
Watch:
Clip from Glengarry GlenRoss directed by James Foley
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVQPY4LlbJ4)
Week 3
Meaning in things?
Read:
Karl Marx, The Fetishism of Commodities and the Secret Thereof (Section 4)
Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects (read chapter 16 on Flood Tablet and
chapter 23 on Chinese Zhou Ritual Vessel)
Watch:
What Would Jesus Buy? directed by Ron Van Aklemade
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAxuNdtZt7c
Objectified directed by Gary Hustwit (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqPGscXtTg8)
Week 4
Meaning from life experiences?
Read:
Marcel Proust, Remembrance of Things Past Excerpts (https://www.fisheaters.com/proust.html;
http://www.authorama.com/remembrance-of-things-past-1.html)
An Excerpt From Karl Ove Knausgaard’s My Struggle II: A Man in Love
(http://biblioklept.org/2014/03/07/an-excerpt-from-karl-ove-knausgaards-my-struggle-ii-a-man-inlove/)
Karl Ove Knausgaard: 'Self-Loathing Is a Big Part of My Life' (Jun 3, 2015) | Charlie Rose
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI6PhzyBeWI)
Watch:
Citizen Kane directed by Orson Welles
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Week 5
Did we evolve to be happy?
Read:
Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature, chapter 8 on inner demons
“Implacable optimism: Steven Pinker on human nature, violence, feminism and religion” by Mosaic
(http://www.psypost.org/2014/06/implacable-optimism-steven-pinker-on-human-nature-violence-feminism-andreligion-26068)
Watch:
Watch
(before class):
Freakonomics 3 (The price of success) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EqG4fxsdNQ)
The Godfather, Part III directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Sam Harris - The Happiness Experiment
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C3JcAYXF8E&index=4&list=PLIny1ZCJ0pZwLqxnuotG4JZ
VoLrVe0JBn)
Week 6
Can we find fulfillment in organizations?
Read:
Max Weber, Bureaucracy;
Watch:
The Social Network directed by David Fincher
Week 7
Is the search for meaning a security blanket?
Read:
Albert Camus, The Outsider; The Myth of Sisyphus
Karl Ove Knausgaard, My Struggle: Book 1excerpt
(http://us.macmillan.com/excerpt?isbn=9780374534141
“Abandon (Nearly) all hope” by Simon Critchley
(http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/19/abandon-nearly-all-hope/)
Watch:
Connection directed by Jude Law
Team Presentations
Break Week
Week 9
Does gender matter in finding meaning?
Read:
Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex
Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique
“An Analysis of Reasons for the Disparity in Wages Between Men and Women” by CONSAD
(http://www.consad.com/content/reports/Gender%20Wage%20Gap%20Final%20Report.pdf)
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Watch:
One of America's great feminists Betty Friedan: CBC Archives
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfgxHKli9CU)
1950s Housewife to Women's Activist: Betty Friedan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO304aoUAWE)
Whale Rider directed by Niki Caro
Team Presentations
Week 10
Is success/failure in life due to luck or hard work?
Read:
Watch:
Rogue Trader directed by James Dearden
Team Presentations (Cont’d)
Week 11
Is it immoral to be rich in a highly unequal world
Read:
Watch:
Watch
(before class)
Two Monkeys Were Paid Unequally: Excerpt from Frans de Waal's TED Talk
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meiU6TxysCg)
Something Ventured -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVrfQIafeYI
Week 12
Can spirituality save us?
Read:
MacGregor, chapter 41 on Seated Buddha from Gandhara
Watch
(before class)
Death and the Present Moment, Youtube talk by Sam Harris
THE FEYNMAN SERIES – Beauty (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRmbwczTC6E)
Listen:
Shunryu Suzuki, Zen’s Mind, Beginner’s Mind, read by Peter Coyote
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCOVusLqXmk)
Week 13
Presentation of Individual Essays
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