MANAGEMENT 358

FUNDAMENTALS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Winter 2015/2016

December 27 – January 16, 2016

COURSE SYLLABUS

Instructor:                          Instructor Bernhard Schroeder

Office and Phone:               1502 Gateway Center, 619 594-2781

E-mail:                               bschroeder@mail.sdsu.edu

Office Hours:                      Weds, 2:00pm – 3:45pm

Class Time and Room:        To be Determined

COURSE OVERVIEW

When you complete this course, you will have acquired the knowledge to examine a service or product idea thoroughly, through a very solid new business model framework, to determine its viability of ever becoming a business.  You will learn that all initial ideas need to be examined, trends are examined, feasibility analysis needs to be conducted, and secondary and primary research provides additional insights.  You will learn how to target customer segments within marketplaces, to conduct a competitive analysis and to work with team members in analyzing course cases.  And you will prepare a final plan and presentation of one idea that you have thoroughly examined as a team.

REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS:

The New Business Road Test: What Entrepreneurs and Executives Should do Before Writing a Business Plan (3^rd Edition) 2010 Paperback….Author: John Mullins  (Main Course Book)

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It,” author, Michael E. Gerber  (Paper Due Jan 13^th, 2016)

Fail Fast or Win Big, author: B. Schroeder (Top 3 Learnings, 2-3 pages, Due on Jan 30^th)

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

1. Explain why entrepreneurship can be viewed as arising out of the intersection of enterprising people, markets, industries and trends
2. Define entrepreneurial opportunities and explain why such opportunities exist
3. Understand and explain the seven domains of the new business road test
4. Explain why entrepreneurs need to gather several kinds of information and understand trends before launching their new ventures
5. Explain the basic tools necessary to forecast size of markets, industries and market segments
6. Define real customer need and explain why an entrepreneur should seek to develop a product or service that meets a real need
7. Describe how entrepreneurs can create proprietary advantages and barriers to entry for possible competitors

GRADE DISTRIBUTION:

Individual Case work                                        60 points

Group Case Work                                             50 Points

E-Myth paper                                                   20 points

Fail Fast paper                                                 20 points

Group Paper and Presentation                           40 points

Group Peer Evaluation                                      10 Points

Total                                                                200 pts

Grades Conversion (Percentiles vs. Letter Grade) 

94-100%=A                                 80-82%=B-                            67-69%=D+

90-93%=A-                                  77-79%=C+                           63-66%=D

87-89%=B+                                 73-76%=C                             60-62%=D-

83-86%=B                                   70-72%=C-                            Below 60%=F

CLASS PARTICIPATION:

Class participation is the key to learning.  Students are expected to attend and contribute to the class discussions.  Please note that the quality of what you contribute (it can be a thoughtful question, some astute analysis, and/or some other meaningful contribution) will count far more than the quantity of your remarks.

WRITTEN WORK:

All written work is to be typed single-spaced using letter sized papers (8.5×11 inches) with 1-inch margins and at least 11-point Times New Roman text.  Clearly state the authors’ names and group number and name.

PEER EVALUATION:

You will provide a Peer Evaluation assessment of the other students in your group; provide a fair and truthful assessment; this one page assessment will be handed in on the final day of class.

CLASS POLICIES

Attendance: Unless pre-arranged with the instructor, students are expected to attend and participate in all classes.  Unexcused absences can affect your final grade.

Class preparation: Reading assignments and cases for class discussions should be prepared in advance of class meetings.

Smartphones and computers are not to be used in class except during the research or group case workshops

Emyth Assignment

Read the E-Myth Re-visited by Michael Gerber and answer the following questions:

1. What is the entrepreneurial myth? (one page)
2. What role do the technician, manager and entrepreneur play in a business? (one page)
3. What does Gerber mean by the phrase,” Your Primary Aim?” (one page)
4. What is “Your Strategic Objective” and what are the first two standards? Why do these standards matter to a potential start-up business?  (two pages)
5. Write a one page Executive Summary Conclusion of your top three learning’s from this book. (one page) Please use 11 point font, Times New Roman, double spaced with your name, Red ID and date clearly on the top right of the first page.

Course Schedule