Thinking on your feet and doing presentations are a part of life in business. Now that you have your stock portfolio built, it's time to do some explaining.
In today's class you'll need to justify each of your picks before the class in a short presentation. Use your previous work to explain what a good stock portfolio is and how you used these principles to build your portfolio. Demonstrate your analytical skills by telling the class why you believe your picks will grow in value. Be prepared for questions from the audience! Your conference shouldn't take more than 10 minutes.
Building a stock portfolio involves more than just picking a bunch of random stocks of companies that you might like. It involves analyzing industries or "sectors." These are simply companies which are involved in the same type of business. The major sectors include the following 9 sectors:
1. Technology (XLK)
2. Industrials (XLI)
3. Consumer Discretionary (XLY)
4. Materials (XLB)
5. Energy (XLE)
6. Consumer Staples (XLP)
7. Health Care (XLV)
8. Utilities (XLU)
9. Financial (XLF)
Now you need to do a little research on each sector. You'll want to make sure that you don't own an more than one stock in each sector. So you'll want to own the most profitable sectors and the best company in the best sector.
Write an analysis of each industry using the five competitive forces model.
Work with one other classmate to research and write this paper. You must write 2-3 sentences summarizing all five points of the sector. Submit an industry analysis by creating an analysis paper in your Portfolio Project folder. Name your file by the Industry Title, and the last names of you and your classmate. Turn in by the end of class.
Now that you understand a little about stocks, it's not time to put together a portfolio. Research five stocks that you'd like to invest in using Yahoo Finance or any other resource you like. Open an account on the Money.CNN web site. Select 5 stocks and "invest" a total of $1000 in your portfolio. Allocate no more than $200 per stock.
Now, how do I pick stocks? Here's a quick primer from the Money.CNN web site. Note the growth rate of the stock as well as the PE ratio. This will tell you whether a stock is overpriced or bargain.
Create and share a folder on your Google Drive called Stock Portfolio Project. Create a Google Doc called Five Elements. List the elements of a good stock portfolio. Write 2-3 sentences explaining each element in your own words. Submit it by the end of class for credit.
Here is the link to your test answer sheet. You'll be provided a question sheet when you arrive. There are 4 versions of the test and each version has different questions. Please put your test letter (A, B, C, or D) in the appropriate space on the form. Good luck!
Today, we're going to talk about something that everyone has experienced which is almost always unpleasant to think about, failure. Think back to something you attempted to do and failed. It may have been a sporting event, a test, a skill such as playing an instrument or or a sport. If you have ever attempted anything challenging, you will have failed at some point.
Think: How did the experience of failing influence you. How did you respond? Did you give up or did you try again? Did failure cause you to change how you worked on the problem or did failure teach you to just work harder in the same manner?
Listen to this presentation by Shark Tank star Barbara Corcoran.
Discuss: How did Corcoran handle failure? What is the connection between innovation and failure? How did her company create intrapreneurs?
Currently, one out of four businesses fail within the first three years.The top causes are listed on page 19. These include:
Economic Causes: Industry weakness, low profits, and low sales
Finance Causes: Heavy expenses,and business debts
Disaster and Fraud: Hurricanes, flood and employee theft
Neglect: Business conflicts, family problems, and poor work habits
Strategy Causes: Over-expansion and difficulty collecting debts
Experience Causes: Inadequate planning and inexperience.
Think: Which of these can be controlled by business owners and which cannot? How can entrepreneurs use this information to prepare for the future?
Assignment:
Write: Create an e-mail (manersj@k12tn.net) titled "Failure" and list causes of failure, numbered one through six. Write a sentence or two below each item in the list summing up what you believe business owners could do to prepare for these potential problems. Write in complete sentences with correct grammar. The exercise is worth 10 points. You'll be graded on completeness, insight and grammar.
This e-mail must arrive at my in-box before the end of class!
Recently, two European countries moved to recognize illegal activities as a part of their GDP. Should governments recognize underground economic activity? What are the arguments both for and against?
Does Bhutan have a point? Is there more to a country's wealth than GDP?
Assignment:
Imagine that you are a business leader in your community. Think of what you could do to promote individual well-being besides providing job opportunities. What are some ways businesses could contribute to happiness in your community? Write down your thoughts in a business letter and send it as an attachment to your instructor.
Also, consider mailing a letter to your local chamber of commerce.
In 2005 Steve Jobs gave one of the most memorable commencement speeches in recent memory at Standford University. Listen for what he has to say about innovation and what it takes to be an innovator.
Discussion Questions:
What innovations did Jobs incorporate into the Macintosh as a result of his experiences at college?
How do you think innovation happens?
What aspect of Jobs personality do you think led to his success? What is the only way to do "great work"? How does "connecting the dots" work?
Compare effectiveness to efficiency.
Companies are successful for two reasons, either they are effective (they do the right things) or they are efficient (they are run efficiently) or both. Compare the stock performance of McDonalds (MCD) to Chipotle (CMG). Both companies are very efficient. Which company do you believe is more effective? Why?
You deal with businesses every day. Business provides most of the products and services that our economy needs in order to function. Here is a list of some stock tickers of companies you might be familiar with. Some, you might not find as familiar.
You'll draw one of these at random and look up the following using Yahoo Finance.
Company Name
Stock Price
Dividend and Yeild %
52 Week Range
Market Cap
P/E Ratio
Earnings Date
Is the business classified as industrial, commercial or service?
Also, locate and read 3 articles on the company and it's current challenges and opportunities. List the three URLs. Do you think this stock would be a good investment?
Keep in mind that 3 things have to happen for a stock to significantly rise:
1. It has to make money.
2. It has to beat the earnings estimate.
3. Future projections have to be readjusted higher.
Put all of this in an e-mail and send it to me by midnight tomorrow night.
We had a lot of students changing schedules last week. As a consequence, many of you missed assignments. To give you an opportunity to get your assignments turned in, I'm going to give you some extra time to work. We'll have a shortened class on Monday. When you come in, pick up a textbook and read section 1.1. Here are some terms that you'll need to understand for the test. (I did mention that you'd be tested didn't I?). Create a study sheet by looking up the definitions in the glossary of the textbook.
Balance Sheet - Know the elements of a balance sheet and how it's set up
Income Statement - Know the elements of an income statement and how it's set up
Know where to find each of these on an Income Statement or Balance Sheet:
Assets
Liabilities
Equity
Revenue (Sales)
Expenses
Industrial Business
Commercial Business
Industry
Business
*Profit - Revenue-Expenses
*Book Value - Total Assets - Total Liabilities = Book Value
*Earnings Per Share - Yearly Earnings - Dividends / Total Shares of Stock
*Market Capitalization - Value of each share of stock x total number of shares
Watch this short instructional video on stocks and bonds. While this deals primarily with stocks and bonds, it does give you a good idea of how companies grow and create wealth. Learn the following terms: Assets, Liabilities, and Owners Equity. These are the elements of a balance sheet. If you know these terms, you can read one from any company and judge it's health. Write down each of the three terms and we'll discuss them. How would a company go bankrupt? How would a company increase it's equity?
Watch the following episode of Shark Tank. Watch and listen carefully. Pay attention to what priorities they have and how their priorities might differ from the contestants. Who gets a "bite" from the sharks and why?
Think: What questions do the Sharks tend to ask each contestant? Why would a "Shark" value a company higher than it's assets? Is there some other value other than what's on the balance sheet?
Assignment:
Write an e-mail to your instructor(manersj@k12tn.net). Explain what common questions the Sharks ask. Why do you think these questions are important? Write a paragraph and back up your answer with your observations. Your e-mail is due by midnight Saturday night. You have some time on this so give it your best effort. I want to see how observant you are and how well you can listen.
E-mail has been around since the earliest days of the Internet. I
won't go into a history lesson but e-mail as we now it really took off
in the early 90s. Despite being a rather old technology, e-mail still is
considered a core technology for business users. E-mail is simple,
portable and relatively easy to use. It's also very inexpensive to
implement, anyone with a computer or smart phone can set up an account
in a matter of minutes. You probably already have at least one e-mail
account. Some sites such as Facebook, Google and Apple automatically set
up one for you.
Here's a quick and easy way to set up an account with Google:
A
few tips about log in names. Try to use something related to your name
without making it too long. For the purposes of this class, use your
first two initials and your last name. If its already taken, add the
last two digits of the year you were born. Do not try to be cute by
using a nickname or something unprofessional. Remember, your e-mail
address represents you. Make a good first impression by keeping your
address short and easy to remember. Also. Remember that you will have to
be sharing your e-mail address with others over the phone. If your name
is long, difficult to pronounce or spell, you might want to shorten it
to just your initials. A difficult address can create a lot of work
later on if you're not careful.
Now for a few tips on using e-mail properly:
1.
The address line. You can enter one or more recipients in the main
address line. Personally, I only do this when I'm needing to send a
message out to a group. If someone wants to respond, they can reply to
me only or reply to the group if they want everyone to see their
response. Try not to reply to an entire group unless it's necessary
since many responses can clog up you in box very quickly!
2.
Carbon Copy. The carbon copy or CC: line gives you a space to list
additional addresses. If you want to key someone in on a conversation,
use the CC: line to enter their address. This is a great way to keep
colleagues involved in a conversation. This is a very useful tool in
business since you will want someone else to know what's been said. This
way, if you're out of the office, another colleague can pick up where
you've left off. Keep in mind though that recipients of your e-mail will
be able to see who else is receiving the message.
3.
Blind Carbon Copy: If you do not want to recipient to know that you are
sharing their message, use the blind carbon copy line to enter their
address. But please be ethical about using this feature. Do not use this
feature to share information that someone would want kept private.
4.
Signature. Create a signature for your e-mails. Some e-mail providers
allow you to have two or more. You might want to set up a primary that
contains most of your contact information and a second one that contains
just your name. You usually use the abbreviated one for replies. Set up
your signature like this:
Name
Title
Organization
Address
Phone number
You
might also want to include social media that you frequent line your
twitter handle. Also insert a few blank lines above your signature so it
won't crowd the rest of your message.
5. Writing.
most people receive many e-mails throughout the day. So keep your
messages brief and to the point. Also, make it a habit of including at
least one "please" and one "thank you" in each e-mail you send. It's
easy to come across as rude or curt if you do not. Also, try to include
useful information in each e-mail. Don't waste people's time. It's
annoying.
6. Replying. Always use the reply
feature when responding to e-mails. It's much easier to keep up with a
conversation. Do not change the subject line. The only time you might
change the line is if two unrelated conversations develop. Then you
might split the one into two separate e-mails. Also, try to stay on
topic. If you need to change the subject in the middle of a
conversation, just start a new e-mail with a new subject line. It makes
tracking things down later much easier.
7. Attachments.
You can attach files to an e-mail. But please watch the size. Files
over 500 mb are often rejected by some e-mail servers. For large files,
you'll want to use an online dropbox. (more on that in another lesson.
8.
Etiquette. Do not use slang, jargon, or emoticons when sending e-mail.
Use complete sentences and keep your conversation professional and
concise. Also, avoid sarcasm in an e-mail. People cannot hear your voice
tone or see your body language. What you might think is a joke could be
offensive.
9. Know how to use Cc: and Bcc:
Congratulations! You're now ready to get started using your e-mail.
Assignments:
1.
Send an e-mail to your instructor introducing yourself. Don't forget to
use a salutary line when you begin. Again, keep it short and
conversational. Make sure your signature appears at the bottom. Have a classmate check your spelling and punctuation before sending.
2. Send a thank you e-mail. One of the
best uses of e-mail is to express gratitude. Think of a teacher or other
adult that helped you in some way last year. Send them an e-mail
expressing your gratitude. It will lift their day and it will make you a
better person as well. Live a life of perpetual thankfulness and you'll
be a better person.
3. Be prepared for a short quiz at the next class period. You need to understand what should be in a signature, what cc: and bcc: mean, what should be in a username, and how to reply to e-mails.
Finally, save your e-mails! You
can create tags for specific people or organizations. Also, some programs allow you to create an archive folder for older e-mails. I usually archive e-mails
after 6 months. You will find that an e-mail archive can be an
invaluable resource. Often people forget what they said in an e-mail and
it's easier to settle disputes when you can produce a copy of an e-mail
that they sent. E-mails take up very little space on a server so keep
them all if you can.
Welcome to Business Management at HHS. This class will focus on businesses, how they are organized, how they generate profits, and how they function in the larger economy. You'll also learn some of the basics about how to read financial statements. You can check this blog from your home computer or smart phone to get a heads-up on the latest assignments.
First a few housekeeping items we'll need to cover. I have three basic rules that guide this class.
1.Be on time. This may seem trivial but it very important in business and in life in general. Arriving to meetings and class on-time tells others that you respect their time and you take them seriously. If you want to be respected, you need to respect other people's time. It's not difficult, just stay organized, be on-time and be prepared. Simple.
2.Know your job. Simply put, know what you have to get done for that day. I'll do my best to make it clear for you. You'll have a list of tasks that must get done. If you stay focused, you can get everything done within the class period. If not, you'll need to make arrangements with me to get your work turned in on time (refer to rule 1). Late work will not be accepted. Again, consult with me if you have extenuating circumstances.
3.Work hard. Always do your best work, even in the little things. Make the extra effort to make sure your work is the best it can be. This principle will serve you well throughout life. Even if no one else sees shortcuts and shoddy work, you'll know it, and it will influence how you approach your job. Be a perfectionist and everyone will want to hire you. Remember, character is who you are and what you do when no one is looking.
Also, respect our computers by not changing settings, moving them around or altering them in any way. Remember, these are not your personal computers, every class has to use them, so respect your classmates. Don't forget to log off at the end of the day. Don't bring food to class. We don't want our computers or anyone hurt by spills.
Finally, working with computers can be frustrating at times. Things don't always work the way they are supposed to. If you can't figure something out, ask a friend before you come to me. Don't be lazy. If something isn't working the way you thought, try figuring it out.
This is going to be a great year. If you have questions, please feel free to drop me an e-mail at manersj@k12tn.net. I look forward to working with all of you.
