1. Participate extensively in the course lectures and
contribute relevant prior experience to the
discussions;
2. Complete all homework assignments and be prepared
to i esent them in class;
3. Pursue controversial or debatable points of class
discussion through recommended or other outside
readings;
4. Understand the role, function and responsibilities
of the health service controller;
5. Know the purpose and nature of various fund categories;
6. Understand the unique features of non-profit versus
investor-owned hospital accounting,.and the managerial
implications of these differences;
7. Be capable of understanding, using, and preparing a
departmental budget and a capital budget;
8. Develop insights into the role of financial
information as a management and control tool;
9. Know how to account for transactions of the past
and resent and be able t lan for future events.
Homework assignments:
Homework problems should be worked out to your best ability
prior to the class session. You will be asked to present your
preparation during the class time for review and discussion.
Every class member will receive the opportunity to participate
with their homework problems during the course of the class quarter.
My Expectations:
It has been my experience that learning is enhanced where
those participating in a class understand one another. This,
of course, is a highly relative state because such understanding
is not carved in stone -- it emerges as our relationship with
each other develops and will change as the course unfolds. Provided
below are some of my personal thoughts and feelings that influence
the way in which this course is designed and conducted.
I feel that it is impossible to teach anybody anything; one
learns by and for themselves. In this course I expect that you
will take responsibility for your own learning. My objective
is to provide you with guidance and resources. Some of the guidance
is rather structured -- lectures and assigned readings. This
forms the foundation for your highly personalized learning experiences
in this course. However, you must construct the superstructure
for yourself -- through thought and reflection, reading beyond
what is assigned, active participation in the classroom, and
informal discussion with colleagues.
Education is truly a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.
I've always found myself getting in the most trouble when I thought
that I totally understood a concept, situation or problem. I
feel that learning is enhanced by maintaining a healthy sense
of skepticism. There are few "absolutes" and a lot
of "relatives," and we must learn how to tolerate relatives.
Finance is not an exact science and there is no "instructions
manual" to allow the lay person to become an instant Controller
or VP of Finance!
If a group of people view a topic from the same perspective,
chances are that they will learn very little from one another.
It is my hope that differences in experiences, backgrounds, and
previous education will stimulate conflict around ideas in this
class that will enhance learning for all.
I feel that there is nothing quite so practical as a good
theory. The problem is that many theories viewed as "good"
are often not practical. This is especially true in finance where
many of the theoretical models are based upon assumptions that
simply do not exist in reality. Ideally, theory development and
practice should be mutually reinforcing: good theory refines
practice, good practice embellished and modifies theory. We will
use the theoretical base you have developed from your previous
classes in accounting and finance to test whether or not those
theories "hold water".
I think it unfortunate that much that passes for scholarship
consists of putting what everybody already knows into terms no
one can understand. Mathematical models of accounting, finance,
and econometrics are often far more complex than they need to
be to be useful contributions to practitioners. The elegance
and worth of ideas should not be measured by their complexity
or their unintelligibility. On the other hand, I find that almost
everything is really more complex than it appears on first examination.
Complex problems and situations cannot be addressed in simple
terms. I would hope that in discussing the subject matter of
this course we can respect the complexity of the underlying phenomenon
while searching for rigorous yet simple concepts that explain
and predict them.
You are expected to take responsibility for your attendance,
your timely reading of assignments, and your active participation
in the classroom.
I feel strongly that learning should be fun -- when this is
not the case it's the surest sign that something is wrong. I
will do my part to help make this course an enjoyable experience
for all of us, but I will fail if you don't help me.
Learning Resources:
Required: To Be Announced!
and
Finkler, Steven A., Finance & Accounting for Nonfinancial
Managers. Prentice Hail. 1992
Course Grade
The assignment of grades is a necessary task that I always
approach with a great deal of trepidation. My problems flow from
the fact that I must assign a grade that evaluates your performance
in the course but I can never accurately assess how much you
have learned, the amount of effort you have expended, or the
benefit you have gained. The only thing I can evaluate is that
which I can observe directly which, at best, is merely a shadow
of what is really important.
To assist me in the evaluation of your performance in this
course, you are required to complete a self evaluation.
During the last week of class you must turn in to me a statement
of your own evaluation of your work in this course. The statement
should include, but not necessarily limited to: a) the criteria
by which you are judging your work; b) a description of the ways
in which you have met or failed to meet these criteria; and c)
the letter grade that your think appropriate to the way
you have met or failed to meet your own criteria. This information
will assist me in the comparison of my assessment of your performance
with your assessment. There is no implied contract that your
assessment is going to be the grade I assign as your final course
grade.
